Configuring Services

The configuration of the File Services we just installed can be performed from the Server Manager as well. On its start page, the File Services are now listed in the server roles.

The overview in the Server Manager directly after the installation

Clicking on this link brings the administrator directly to the options available for this service. The following survey page shows all relevant information, such as related event log entries and the processes that are currently running. This exemplifies the advantage of the new Server Manager. Should the server role not be available for some reason -- for example because of a missing or stalled service -- the Server Manager would display a warning here. The administrator could even (re)start the stalled service from this page.

A summary of the system services and events

The Server Manager />

Disk management is also found in the sub menu.

SMB 2.0 - Copying Files Faster

Whenever files are copied between Windows systems, the SMB protocol (short for Sever Message Block) is used. Version 1 of this protocol, which is still in use today, was developed 15 years ago and was introduced with Windows 3.11 for Workgroups. Since the fastest networks in use at the time generally offered a maximum transfer rate of 10 Mb/s, the protocol has become out of date. Indeed, with Gigabit Ethernet interfaces now a common feature even on budget motherboards, SMB can't keep up with current network speeds.

Copying from \ServerShare - a classic application for the SMB protocol.

In specifying and creating version 2.0 of SMB, Microsoft has brought the protocol up to date. Among its benefits are that it can combine several requests in one data packet, meaning that more requests can be sent using fewer packets. Effectively, this reduces the overhead and consequently improves data throughput. Besides, more connections can be kept alive simultaneously, which in turn means more files can be open at the same time, improving the quality of the connection.

Bandwidth comparison SMB1 vs. SMB2 on the LAN

Bandwidth comparison SMB1 vs. SMB2 on the Internet

In order for the protocol to be used, both the server and the client need to support SMP 2.0. Windows Vista already uses SMB 2.0 and can thus benefit from the higher performance. The protocol is chosen automatically when a file transfer is initiated without requiring any additional settings by the user.

Creating Virtual Machines

After the installation of the two wsv patches, the virtualization environment becomes available in the Server Manager, allowing virtual machines to be set up and installed.

The servers can be managed either remotely or locally.

The inconspicuous menu entry "New" in the top right-hand corner lets you create a new virtual machine

Another wizard helps you set up a virtual machine. This process only takes a few minutes. Just enter the size of the virtual machines RAM, hard drive and network adapters, and you're all set.

Choosing the amount of RAM for the Virtual machine

<is >Selecting the network adapter

Creating a virtual hard drive

Creating the system