Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

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Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

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Recommended Book

Recommended Book 

Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional in 10 Minutes

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About Clients and Servers

Modern computer networks are based on a client/server model, in which some computers are servers and others are clients. Servers make certain network resources available to the rest of the computers on the network. Those other computers, when they are accessing resources made available by a server, are clients. Both the server and client computers generally have to run special software that enables them to work with each other, although often the client and server functions are built right into the operating system.

The most common kinds of servers include file servers, print servers, communication servers, and application servers. File servers store users' files in one place. They usually have lots of disk capacity. Users are allotted some amount of that space for their personal file storage needs. The rest of it may be allotted for shared file storage. The shared files may be files that users create and make available to each other. Or they may be programs that are available to all users. A big benefit of storing files centrally this way is that one can back them up more easily and reliably than if they are stored on local workstations.

For another example, instead of connecting a printer and a modem to each computer (and providing each computer with its own telephone outlet), you can connect one or more printers or modems to the network and people can take turns using them. Typically, a single computer will control the printers or modems and mediate between computers competing for their use. Computers that fill this role are called "print servers" and "communication servers."

As a final example, some computers may be designated "application servers." For example, one computer may be a mail server, another a fax server, and yet another a database server.

In the early days of network computing, servers were usually dedicated to their tasks, while users' workstations were solely clients. Today's operating systems, however, allow you to designate any computer as a server of some sort, and it can act as a server while simultaneously being a user's workstation.

On most corporate networks these days, most computers are still dedicated to either a server or a client role. However, small networks (especially the ones people set up at home or in small offices) may consist solely of workstations doing double-duty as servers and clients. Such networks are sometimes called "peer-to-peer" networks. Peer-to-peer networks are networks that you can install at home to share computers and printers. At work, your PC is likely a Windows 2000 client or an earlier version of Windows, such as Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT Workstation attached to one or more servers running Windows NT, Novell NetWare, or Microsoft LAN Manager. At work, you might attach (log onto) more than one server: a file server on which you are storing files, a server running messaging software through which you send and receive mail, or a server that runs a specific software program such as Lotus Notes.

When you connect to a network, you gain certain advantages:

• Access to shared resources, such as modems and printers.
• Access to shared data, such as files and databases.
• The capability to send and receive electronic mail messages with others on the network using a mail program.
• Access to shared software programs, such as Microsoft Word or Excel.
• The capability to store your files on the server, where the system administrator will be backing them up religiously, and you don't have to worry about it.

If you are new to networking, you may need a little time to become accustomed to choosing resources you need—such as printers and disk drives. But, for the most part you'll find working on a network is the same as working on a standalone PC.