Securing a reliable, and expandable configuration for a company is important to build a strong network. The new and enhanced features of the Windows Server 2012 can be used to implement the network. In this deployment and administration proposal, the necessary aspects of the network structure and the server will be covered. It will include the deployment strategy and server editions required, virtualization options, and the physical locations for each of the servers. Additionally, the document will look into the DNS namespaces, the Active Directory hierarchy, and the file and printer sharing abilities for the network.
Deployment and Server Editions
Based on the number of employees and the employment of servers within the organization, the location will have three physical servers. Two of the servers will be located in Location 1 in Los Angeles while the third server will be in location 2 in New York. Location of servers in different places will enable the provision of adequate backup. The servers will involve the high use of virtualization that requires the use of Windows Server 2012 Datacenter- R2. The Windows Server 2012 Standard version may not function effectively with the organization since it has a limited number of two virtualizations. The Datacenter will provide an unlimited virtualization to facilitate effective functioning ("Microsoft Evaluation Center", 2018).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
All the three servers will make have Hyper-V installed with virtualized machines that can handle the server roles of the entire network. The two servers located in the first two locations will be called VR1 and VR2 while the server in the third location will be VR3. Based on the Information Technology staff being hired, the Server Core will not be utilized to reduce the extra training of staff. This is due to the use of the command line interface on the Server Core. The deployment of servers is set to be conducted manually because of the initial stand of the network within the organization. Once the IT staff has been properly trained and the network is fully operational, and the staff becomes accustomed to the organization’s network, automatic deployment can be used for future deployment of servers. An automatic deployment enhances the ease and improves the speed of working with the server.
| Server | Roles | Location | Edition |
| VirtualServer1 | Active Directory Active Directory Services | Los Angeles | Enterprise |
| Server2 | Main DHCP Primary DNS Main Active Directory (DC) | Los Angeles | Enterprise |
| VirtualServer3 | File & Sharing services Print and Document Services | Los Angeles | Enterprise |
| Server4 | Active Directory Active Directory and Rights Management Services | Los Angeles | Enterprise |
| VirtualServer6 | File and Sharing Application Services Backup AD Print services | Los Angeles | Enterprise |
| VirtualServer7 | Remote Desktop Services Windows Update Services | New York | Enterprise |
| VirtualServer8 | Active Directory Active Directory Certificate Services Active Directory Rights Management Services | New York | Enterprise |
| VirtualServer9 | DHCP DNS Web Server (IIS) Streaming Media Services | New York | Enterprise |
| VirtualServer10 | Remote Desktop Services Windows Update Services File and Storage Services Print and Document Services | New York | Enterprise |
Active Directory
The Active Directory domain of the organization will be in a single domain as a result of the size of the organization. In case the organization grows in site locations and personnel, multiple domains will be implemented in the architecture. The domain will be configured to not contain Read-Only controllers since the implementation of the three Active Directory Domain Controllers that spreads across the two locations. The Domain Controllers located in the first location will be able to handle the primary functions for people in the first location and will serve as a backup for the second location. Likewise, the servers in the second location will handle primary functions for personnel located in the second location and will serve as a backup for the second location.
An Active Directory is going to be configured with the organizational units for every department located in the organization. Printers and computers in the organization will also have an account in the Active Directory to help in the prevention of unwarranted devices that connect to the network. The entire structure of the organization is as shown in the following diagram.
DNS and DHCP
The organization will use a DNS structure which is Secure Only. It allows machines that have an Active Directory account to be registered with the DNS server. The feature is like an Active Directory structure of printers and workstations that has Active Directory accounts. It will aid in the prevention of unwarranted devices from connecting to the server. The DHCP is set to be implemented in the network and the DNS will be configured for a dynamic update of the DNS database. It should also assist in the improvement of network administration by the IT staff.
The DNS structure will not make use of the Active Directory Integrated DNS as the size of the organization is large. In case the organization grows in the near future to the extent where it would be feasible to implement the Active Directory Integrated DNS, then the change will be made. Before that, the DNS structure will only make use of the Primary zone within the VR1 with the secondary zone within the VR3 to aid in fault tolerance. The primary zone is also set to handle various activities for the office in location 1 in Los Angeles while the secondary zone will handle the office in location 2 in New York. This should assist in load balancing the DNS network traffic.
A hybrid DHCP infrastructure will also be used to assist in handling the assignment of IP addresses to the different workstations. The ideal solution for implementation will be to provide a major DHCP backup at the main Los Angeles agency and a relay agent at the New York agency. This should help in freeing traffic from the WAN link. Self-acting sharing of IP locations will also be applied to avert the excessive mesh traffic on each of the sites. There will be a solid network layout for large subnets for every department. Fault tolerance will be carried out through the use of the 80/20 configuration that employs scope dividing.
The address range for the stations will be from 10.0.0.1 to 10.0.1.200. On the major DHCP, the exclusion will be set to range from 10.0.0.1 to 10.0.0.90. while the split scope DHCP will range from 10.0.0.91 to 10.0.1.200. For all the relay agencies, the New York station will be set to use boot threshold in order to double-check that the DHCP purchasers will always receive their addresses from the local servers. However, the use of a hybrid DHCP may take several hours to configure and test and may be accomplished through the use of a one scheme manager.
Applications
Applications that are in use within the organization will be deployed through the use of group policies also known as GPOs. The availability of the applications will be based on the requirements of the individual departments. For instance, Accounts and Sales department will have different applications available than that used by the Creative, Media, and Production section. Doing this will prevent users from having applications that they do not necessarily need or will not use. The use of an AppLocker will also be implemented. This will prevent users from having access to certain files like scripts or .exe documents. Automatic updates will be configured within the group policies. The updates will first be approved by the IT department and then later pushed to the users and workstations (Minasi et al., 2013).
File and Printer Sharing
The file shares of the organization will be created to match the different departments configured within the organization. A common share across the departments will be created to have common organization-wide information and a shared drive that contains personal folders for the employees. File Sharing will be granted in the home folder for one’s personal storage, a shareable folder for collaboration, and a collaborative workspace implemented through the use of SharePoint. Localized document services in every site will allow for the toleration in case the WAN connection fall short and thus minimizes the WAN traffic. Synchronization will be performed through the use of DFS replication that works with the DFS namespace and an isolated Differential Compression (RDC) (Tulloch and Team, 2013).
A Distributed File Service (DFS) will be executed to create a unified book, directions for users’ convenience and to create a supply and reliable backup. The DFS is a domain-based namespace that can boost the accessibility and can be implemented through the use of multiple servers. The origin of the namespace will have a conference cited in each of the distributed folders. Account names will have the first name as the primary name pursued by the four letters of their last names. The numbers will be identical in case there are sequential numbers set to be supplemented.
Storage
A File Server Resource Manager will be applied for the management to assist in the storage of the network. Storage limits will be different for different users. Users will have a 3GB data limit, managers have a 4GB data limit, and Executives will have a 5GB data limit. An implementation of file screening will be used to prevent certain files from residing within the network and to aid in improving the security of the entire station. Individual users will have a limit in the storage of files that include .avi, .mp4, or jpeg. Any department or user that would require any types of these files for their work should be able to store them within their respective departments and share them.
Bulk storage is configured in the storage locality network (SAN) within the Los Angeles site. Data from the New York site will be transmitted to the location in LA through the use of an iSCI network. An additional RAID 5 will also be implemented on the drives since it can tolerate a decrease in the user drives. However, the entire storage infrastructure will make use of the iSCSI expertise. Initiators and goals will be in place through the use of hardware versions. Hardware versions do not take up system assets such as the software-based goals and initiators (Panek, 2014).
Schedule and Manpower
The full implementation of the entire system will take approximately a week with the use of two scheme managers. One administrator will be required for each of the locations. More manpower could be applied to ensure that the work is completed before schedule.
Conclusion
The Windows Server 2012 deployment and administration proposal listed shown covers six primary sections. The various considerations will be implemented in the Windows Server Environment. The proposal covers various features included in the Windows Server 2012 R2, its Deployment and Server Edition, the Active Directory, the DNS and DHCP, various Application Services, and the File and Printer Sharing services. The implementation of all these features affects the deployment of Windows Server 2012 R2. The proposal sets up an accurate server to aid in an efficient operation of the system and provide for an immediate organizational growth.
References
Microsoft Evaluation Center. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2012-r2
Minasi, M., Greene, K., Booth, C., Butler, R., McCabe, J., Panek, R., & Roth, S. (2013). Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 . John Wiley & Sons.
Panek, W. (2014). MCSA Windows Server 2012 R2 Complete Study Guide: Exams 70-410, 70-411, 70-412, and 70-417 . John Wiley & Sons.
Tulloch, M., & Team, W. S. (2013). Introducing Windows Server 2012 R2 . Microsoft press.
