NT Advice ...
Ted Kazinski
Paul Brown wrote in message ...
>
>Hi,
>
>Want some advice on NT Server that I will be installing this week.
>The hub has only 4 computers running off it at the moment. I don't
>know a great deal about NT Server so any advice would be appreciated.
>
>1. Can I safely install NT Server V4 over NT Workstation V4 or shall
>I do a clean install? The Workstation was a clean install yesterday
>with only the isdn software loaded.
If you feel comfortable reloading the software, as a rule of thumb I always
prefer clean installs, especially from a W/S to a Server or from 98 to NT.
>
>2. What do you recommend putting the ip address of the server and
>the windows machines? At the moment the windows machines are
>194.194.194.1 and 194.194.194.2 etc. Its only going to be a small
>network with no more than 5 computers attached and limited internet
>use.
If it is internal what is wrong with DHCP? server 10.0.0.5 the W/S DHCP?
That is how my SBS network is configured and works fine. Only thing you
cannot host a website on it with that IP.
>
>3. Is there anything else I need to change or configure on the
>server so the windows machines can see the server and if so what are
>they?
>
>4. The windows machines have file and print sharing enabled at the
>moment - I assume when server is going this can be turned off. The
>machines also have client for microsoft networks loaded which is
>normal to speak to server I suppose?
You can still use file and print sharing, it depends if you want to be able
to access these drives from the network or not...it is always nice to have
printers available from the network. It would be a good idea to invest in
an HP Jet direct if you want to use network printers...or you could leave
them as local shares...it depends on how much traffic you plan to have...a
lot of traffic on a local printer will slow up the users machine.
>
>5. There is going to be 1 mac on the hub so I assume I have to have
>appletalk protocol loaded on Server?
Yes load that & TCP/IP
>
>6. The server has a thirteen gig drive at the moment for which 2 gig
>is FAT partition and the rest NTFS. Is this alright for now and what
>do you recommend?
For security purposes always use NTFS for PDC's, no reason to keep as FAT
(yes even the system partition). If for some reason the drive won't boot
and you need to boot with a floppy to swap files from System32, then there
is a utility that you can download to boot from DOS to an NTFS drive.
>
>7. What do you recommend to beef up the security with NT. I have
>took off the guest privileges, will enforce long mixed passwords and
>will install the latest service pack - anything else?
Never share a directory from the root, go into user rights - check advanced
user rights and remove everyone from all the groups. Only add domain users
where the everyone is. Make sure any modems you have are only configured
for outgoing not answering, unless of course you wish to use RAS for your
server. In that case make sure you have a good admin password, >8
characters with a good number mix in it. If you are having your users dial
in then I would recommend forcing them to change every month or so to >8
characters.
>
>8. The machine at the moment has 128meg ram what size paging file do
>you recommend ? The machine is a Pentium III 500.
>
I usually setup an NT server to 1.5 times the RAM as a minimum, you would be
safe setting it at 200MB, also be sure to change that system drive to NTFS
you will get better performance.
>9. What other tweaks can I do to make NT run more quickly and
>efficiently? Can I disable some of the runservices etc at bootup?
It depends on what you wish to utilize or not....be careful though , always
know what a service does before disabling it....
>10. I know how to configure users rights etc with Novell 4 quite
>well and I assume you do it a similar way with NT? Where do I start
>and what advice can you offer me?
A good book is NT 4 server unleashed...it covers everything you need to
know, by QUE
>
>11. I remember someone saying that to set up dial up networking on
>NT (for internet only) you have to do it in a certain order and do
>quite a few reboots. Where do I start?
You will need MS proxy server installed, run the wizard, and then run the
proxy client on the W/S. You may want to look into MS Small Business Server
4.5 if you want that. Included you get Winnt 4 Server, Proxy 2, IIS,
Exchange 5.5 and SQL server. You may get it cheaper that way, you will need
a few client liscences but it is a good product for a small network and the
wizard is easy enough.
>
>12. Shall I load Diskeeper defragmenting program on server?
Yes you will need a defrag program, diskeeper is a fine utility...
>
Hopefully I helped you a bit with my limited knowledge....good luck
friend....
Ted
>Cheers - hopefully havent taxed your brain to much this early morning!
>
>
>--
>Best Regards, Paul Brown
>Mailto: pa...@NOSPAMmrx.clara.co.uk
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