Windows Server Deployment Proposal - Install PDF

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CMIT 369 6384 Windows Server: Install and Storage Windows Server Deployment Proposal By Ricardo L Munn July 7, 2020

2 Windows Server Deployment Proposal

The Problem I have been hired by a new advertising firm named We Make Windows, Inc. (referred to as WMW) as an IT consultant for implementing their Windows network infrastructure. They require internal IT services configuration support for two locations, while they are actively hiring IT staff and other employees. Once the IT staff are in place they will assume responsibilities of all IT administration. In regards to IT implementation, WMW is only concerned with a “right solution to fit their needs now,” and for the next 2-3 years. Cost is of no consequence. I have been given some details for this job from WMW that will have to be taken into consideration while configuring my implementation:

1. WMW will start with 90 employees, in the following departments: 2. Executive Department - 9 employees. 3. Accounting/Sales Department - 15 employees. 4. Creative, Media and Production Department - 49 employees 5. Human Resources/Finance Department - 12 employees 6. IT Department - 5 employees 7. Locations - WMW will have one location in Los Angeles and one in New York. A majority of the staff will be located in LA and at least one person from each of the departments above located in New York.

My proposal to WMW will discuss new features of Windows Server 2016 that the firm can leverage, Active Directory (AD), DNS, DHCP, File and Print Sharing, and application services.

2 Windows Server Deployment Proposal

Windows Server 2016 New Features Windows Server 2016 new features include improvements to Hyper-V, Nano Server, Active Directory, and PowerShell 5.1. When Hyper-V is installed it uses an ‘Always on/Always connected (AOAC) power model for the virtual machines (VMs) to remain in a connected standby state. Generation-2 VMs are now protected with a Shielded VM that supports disk encryption, live migrations, and a recovery environment for troubleshooting. Also, BitLocker encryption is also available to protect generation-1 VMs with drive encryption (Gerend, 2019)1. Next, Nano Server has an updated module to build images that improves the separation if the physical host and virtual machine functionality. AD features abilities to secure its environments with better identity management and assist in cloud-based deployments. Last, PowerShell 5.1 now features improved control and management of Windows-based environments; remote commands can be sent directly from PowerShell into Hyper-V virtual machines.

Deployment and Server Editions Before deploying any servers, it is important to understand how many servers are required. In the case of WMW, I will take in consideration of the immediate needs and incorporate the growth of the company for the next two to three years. With 90 employees now I recommend installing the Standard Edition of Windows Server 2016 at both locations. Standard Edition is designed for medium to large businesses and can support an unlimited amount of user and computer accounts (Gerend, 2019)2. Licenses for the servers will have to be purchased for all servers. To properly configure all the requirements that WMW will need to operate smoothly, I would suggest more servers at the Los Angeles location than the New York. Figures #1 will provide a breakdown of servers needed for each site:

2 Windows Server Deployment Proposal Figure #1. Servers to be installed in Los Angeles.

Figure #2. Server to be installed in New York.

Server Name

Server Name

Primary Role Server

NYDC23

Read-Only Active Directory DC

Primary Active Directory DC/DNS/DHCP

NYFSP2

Backup File& Storage/Printer

Backup Active Directory/DNS/ DHCP

NYAPS2

Backup Apps Services and WDS

WMWDC1

WMWDC2

LAFSP1

Primary Role Server

Primary File& Storage/Printer As illustrated by the two figures above, a total of

LAAPS1

Primary Apps Services and WDS

seven servers will be required and the primary location for the Windows Server 2016 Standard server installation will be in Los Angeles with

two backup servers located in New York. I would suggest installing them manually at the primary location and in New York. No Server Core servers will be installed. Because New York is three hours ahead of Los Angeles, this will provide the IT personnel adequate time to arrive before the Los Angeles employees to resolve any issues and to provide early support. AD, DNS and DHCP will be the on dedicated servers for those services are vital to the daily operation of an organization. DNS and DCHP will be combined, file storage and printer services roles will be combined, and so will application services and Windows deployment services.

Active Directory

2 Windows Server Deployment Proposal Los Angeles will host the primary and backup AD/DNS/DCHP servers. These two servers, as will all the primaries and backups, will require a static IP address. Most employees of WMW will work there and these services are the most vital to operation. I would suggest the two full time IT staff be assigned to this location, instead of all the IT personnel working in New York. This will give the firm redundant domain controllers in case of a catastrophic failure at one location. New York will host the read-only controller so that the IT personnel can still perform tasks while not actually located with the primary and backup AD servers. Only one domain will be needed, however each department will require its own organizational unit (OU) to keep is files/folders, computes, and user accounts separate from the others. Implementing group policy to enforce these file/folder, computer, and user from unauthorized access to another department via AD will organize the firm’s resources well.

DNS and DHCP Together, DNS and DHCP combine to provide key functionality within a network as DNS is used to translate domain names to IP Addresses and vice versa, and DHCP provides IP address automatically once it is configured (Parahar, 2019). A recognizable name representing the firm, such as www.wemakewindows.com, would make an easily recognizable DNS name for assignment to the AD domain

2 Windows Server Deployment Proposal Fault tolerance and load balancing are two results of DHCP. With the primary located in Los Angeles and the backup in New York this is accomplished. After a scope and pool of IP addresses has been assigned, those IP addresses can then to leased throughout the network. With 90 total employees to begin and expected growth over the next two to three, I would suggest a network address space for 256 hosts: or a class Charlie IP addressing scheme. The IP address will only be for all clients on the networks and not the servers. Servers will require static IP addresses for these IP will need to be the same for consistent communication on the network.

Application Services In a firm basic applications that the employees will use everyday will consist of internal/external mail services, office services, web or Internet services, and cloud storage are just a few. Some examples are Microsoft Office, Azure, and Google. Other application services such a firewall, antivirus, and software that are managed by the IT department will all be installed via GPO. GPO places user in and computers in groups to receive the software they will utilize in the firm. For example, those employees in the Human Resources and Finance department will need different software to process claims and filing than those in Accounts and Sales Department. GPO allows this to be done without committing errors if the user’s account is created in the correct OU. I would suggest using WDS to update and install the software as needed.

File and Printer Sharing

2 Windows Server Deployment Proposal Each location will have a file and printer server. The Los Angeles location will host the primary and the New York location will host the backup. The IT department will most likely do less printing than the employees in Los Angeles. To prevent unauthorized access to files and folder I suggest using NT file system (NTFS). NTFS allow for quick and easy storing and organizing on the server’s hard drives and NTFS provides compression to conserve storage space. Granting file permissions to keep need-to-know data safe is the main reason I would recommend NTFS. File permissions are security measures implemented to control the access to data stored on a server.

References:

2 Windows Server Deployment Proposal Gerend, J (2019, May 21). What's New in Windows Server 2016. Retrieved from: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/whats-new-in-windows-server2016 1

Gerend, J (2019, Oct 4). Windows Server 2016 Products and Editions. Technical documentation, API, and code examples | Microsoft Docs. Retrieved from: https://docs.microsoft.com/enus/windows-server/get-started/2016-edition-comparison 2

Parahar, M (2019, Nov 27) Difference between DNS and DHCP. Retrieved from: https://www.tutorialspoint.com/difference-between-dns-and-dhcp TestOut Server Pro 2016: Install and Storage English 4.0.5. 5.3.2 TestOut Corporation 2020. Retrieved from: https://cdn.testout.com/client-v5-1-10-620/startlabsim.html?ls6link=true...