When I first glimpsed the name Windows Server 2003 R2 I foolishly though that it was SP 2 –wrong. R2 is a Windows Server 2003 release separate from
the SP path. In a nutshell, RC for Windows Server 2003 is a topic to put on the back burner. I advise await developments. Assign R2 priority C rather than priority A.
The first difference between other versions of Windows Server 2003 is that you get a two CD pack. On the first CD is a slipstream installation of Windows Server 2003 with SP1.
Meanwhile, all the Windows Server 2003 R2 features are
found on the second CD. When you install the second R2 CD,
Windows Server 2003 R2 resource files are merely copied to the hard drive, the point is the Add or Remove Programs wizard is aware of their presence. The new R2 components themselves are not installed. The benefit of
this arrangement is that you can launch Add or Remove Programs, and selecting Manage Your Server (MYS)/Configure Your Server (CYS).
If you try and upgrade a Windows Server 2003 domain controller, to R2, you
need to run run Adprep.exe /forestprep and thus extend the schema. Naturally, you run the adprep from the R2 cd.
Windows Server 2003 R2 provides technologies that assist in simplifying branch office management for the following scenarios:
Publishing files from centralized hubs to branch offices.
Replicating
files from branch to hub locations for backup, fault tolerance, or cross-branch publishing. Loose collaboration of documents between branches or between hubs and branches.
Efficient management of
printers in branch offices, including drivers and queue management.
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One of the main goals of R2 is improving branch
office management and replication. To achieve this goal, DFS has a major face-lift. The Distributed File System
(DFS) solution in Windows Server 2003 R2 provides simplified, fault-tolerant access to files and WAN-friendly replication. Distributed File System consists of two technologies:
Distributed File System has mutated into DFS Namespaces. This enables administrators to group shared folders located on
different servers and present them to users as a virtual tree of folders known as a namespace. A namespace provides increased availability of data and load sharing.
Meanwhile, File Replication service
(FRS), has become DFS Replication. The big improvement is multi-master replication. As I mentioned earlier, branch offices are the main target for R2 and DFS Replication uses a better compression algorithm
known as Remote Differential Compression (RDC). RDC detects new records and replicates only the deltas (changes) when updates are required.
Printer Management Console (PMC) provides a central GUI for managing all printers connected to all print
servers within an organization. What I like is that you can add the PMC as snap-in to your MMC. PMC enables branch servers to perform as print servers because they are remotely manageable on a one-to-many
basis.
PMC provides useful information, for example, queue status, printer name, number of jobs, driver name, and server name. The PMC even allows custom views to filter, information, for example, error state
or only printers that have more than 5 jobs in the queue.
In cases where a printer has a printer Web page, PMC can give details of where a paper jam is happening. The idea is that a central Administrator
can remotely cure printer problems, or if the cannot actually add more toner, then at least they can pin-point the solution to local staff.
Organizations with SharePoint are ideal
candidates to extend federation functionality with Windows Server 2003 R2. Federated Windows SharePoint Services enables:
Users can access external partner’s SharePoint sites without presenting a separate
password
SharePoint administrators can integrate with their partners, saving administrative costs
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RC seems to be creeping up un-noticed. It's hand to get an overview to see what's new and in which direction Microsoft are heading. For example
DFS has been beefed up, and SharePoint has a future. Perhaps the biggest message with R2 is that that the branch or small office is having its moment in the spotlight.
