Full Review

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition is quite possibly the best server product that Microsoft has released yet. They are definitely showing their willingness to compete with Linux, and in fact have brought forth an offering that very well could if it wasn't so expensive. Microsoft has combined the look of Windows XP with a rather nice server operating system. Wizards are available for every configuration option, as well as a nice front end management interface.


Installation foibles

Installation was the only part of this operating system that is a little bit of a bear. The install process takes about 35-40 minutes, depending on your system. This wasn't the hard part, however. As anyone doing an install knows, the install isn't over until ALL of the drivers work. Well, unfortunately, while Microsoft did an excellent job of including driver support for just about everything in Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 doesn't have drivers for Netgear FA-310TX network cards. I had to burn a special CD with my Windows XP drivers and INF files to use to make the network cards work. Undaunted, I completed the install process successfully.


A bit of wizardry

Upon successfully booting the first time and logging in, I was greeted with a management interface that suggested I add roles to the server. This allowed me to install and configure everything from DHCP to Active Directory. I even have Terminal Services running. The newest wizard and management console option is for Routing and Remote Access. This allows you to operate a firewall capable of Network Address Translation in both directions (inward and outward). This was an impressive answer from Microsoft to the Linux ipchains&ipmasqadm/iptables firewalls that have been the biggest advantage Linux has had over Windows servers. Everything was easy to configure, and was done within a few hours.


Route THIS!

Routing and Remote Access is rather impressive, and makes internet connection sharing and firewalling a breeze. One thing I have noticed, however, is that there are greater delays in Microsoft's implementation when compared to Linux. Sometimes websites will freeze up for absolutely no reason. It even killed my cable modem once, and I had to reset it. I guess it's back to the drawing board on that one.


Exchange information

In conjunction to Windows Server 2003, I have also installed Exchange 2003. This was fairly easy, since there is a step-by-step guide telling you everything you need to do to prepare for installation of Exchange. Once installed, Exchange now is integrated fully with Windows Server 2003 and handles all of our domain e-mail without a hitch.


Internet Misinformation Service?

IIS 6 is included with Windows Server 2003. Of course, it's always rather astounding that there are already holes in the great wall of Microsoft security (oh wait, Microsoft security is an oxymoron). I guess since its release, Microsoft's patch release department has been rather busy. Still, you have to give them a few points for trying.


DHCP and DNS

DHCP and DNS were the easiest to configure, except for the fact that my machine is multihomed. It keeps wanting to add my local interface as another alias for the domain's hostname, which has caused us no end of grief. After a little digging and some reconfiguring, it's been mostly ironed out. DHCP was very easy to configure, and in fact even allows for static assignment based on MAC address. Very handy indeed.


All too active directory

Active Directory is the pride and joy of Microsoft when it comes to their servers. It tends to be a nice feature and can allow for a nice centralization of user information. The only complaint I have about it is that it takes bloody ages for Windows to start up after enabling this monster. It hasn't gone down often, thankfully, and when it did it was due to power outages.


Why are you doing this, Dave?

Windows Server 2003 has one particular feature to it that is rather interesting, and I guess can help sysadmins track downtime. It actually asks you why you're shutting down the server, and requires you to provide a reason. If the system goes offline unexpectedly and comes back up, it will prompt you with a query as to why it went down upon logging in the first time.

In summation, Windows Server 2003 provides a robust, stable upgrade from the Windows 2000 Server series. Anyone running a Microsoft shop that doesn't feel like making the transition to Linux will definitely want to get this. The only problems I have ran into are the fact that the drivers for my network cards weren't included, it likes to boot up at the speed of pond water after getting Active Directory working, and DNS is a little stubborn about keeping unwanted records out of your configuration. Once you get past those hurdles, the server runs like well-engineered clockwork.