Day 12 Specialized Support Areas PDF

**Module 1: Introduction to Specialized Areas** **Topics Covered:** 1. Basic Concepts of Network Administration - Networking Fundamentals: IP Addressing, Subnets, and Routing - **Private vs. Public IPs:** - Private IP addresses are used within local networks and are not r...

**Module 1: Introduction to Specialized Areas** **Topics Covered:** 1. Basic Concepts of Network Administration - Networking Fundamentals: IP Addressing, Subnets, and Routing - **Private vs. Public IPs:** - Private IP addresses are used within local networks and are not routable on the internet. Common ranges include 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, and 192.168.0.0/16. - Public IP addresses are globally routable and must be unique across the internet. Organizations usually obtain public IPs from an ISP. - **Classful IP Addressing and CIDR Notation:** - Classful addressing categorizes IP addresses into classes (A, B, C) based on their first few bits. However, this has mostly been replaced by CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing). - CIDR notation expresses the network portion of an IP address by appending a suffix (e.g., /24), indicating how many bits are used for the network part. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1. 2. 3. 4. - - - - - - 1. 2. 3. 4. - - - - - - - - **1. Overview of Server Management** - **Explanation**: Server management refers to the process of managing and maintaining the hardware and software resources of a server, ensuring that it operates efficiently and securely. Server management is crucial for the smooth operation of IT services, network resources, and applications. - **Example**: A system administrator monitors server performance, applies security patches, manages user access, and ensures that the server meets business needs. **2. Types of Servers** - **Physical Servers**: - **Explanation**: These are standalone machines used for hosting applications, data, or services. They are physical hardware systems such as rack-mounted servers or tower servers. - **Example**: A company uses physical servers for hosting their internal file sharing system and email server. - **Virtual Servers**: - **Explanation**: Virtual servers are software-based servers that run on physical hardware through a hypervisor, which allows multiple virtual servers to share the same physical resources. - **Example**: Using VMware or Hyper-V, you create a virtual server for hosting a web application without needing to buy additional hardware. - **Cloud Servers**: - **Explanation**: Cloud servers are virtual servers provided by cloud service providers, hosted in a remote data center. These servers are scalable and offer flexibility. - **Example**: A company may use AWS EC2 instances to host their application, which automatically scales based on demand. - **Application Servers**: - **Explanation**: These servers are designed to run specific applications or software and provide services to client systems. Application servers host applications like web servers, database servers, and more. - **Example**: An Apache Tomcat server is used to run Java-based web applications and serve dynamic content to users. **3. Server Roles and Functions** - **Web Servers**: - **Explanation**: Web servers handle HTTP requests and serve web pages to users. They are the backbone of websites and web applications. - **Example**: An Apache or Nginx server serving a website\'s HTML, CSS, and media files to visitors. - **File Servers**: - **Explanation**: A file server stores and manages files that are shared over a network. It allows multiple users to access, upload, and download files. - **Example**: A Windows Server with shared folders allowing users in the company to access and store documents on the server. - **Database Servers**: - **Explanation**: These servers are designed to store, manage, and provide access to databases for applications and users. - **Example**: A MySQL server is used to store data for a website's backend, providing dynamic content based on user input. - **Mail Servers**: - **Explanation**: Mail servers manage the sending, receiving, and storing of email messages. They work by handling SMTP, POP3, and IMAP protocols. - **Example**: Microsoft Exchange Server hosting corporate email accounts, allowing employees to send/receive emails. - **DNS and DHCP Servers**: - **Explanation**: DNS servers resolve domain names to IP addresses, while DHCP servers automatically assign IP addresses to devices on a network. - **Example**: A company's DNS server resolves the domain www.company.com to its IP address. The DHCP server assigns dynamic IPs to employee laptops on the network. - **Backup Servers**: - **Explanation**: Backup servers are used to store copies of critical data to prevent data loss in case of hardware failure or disasters. - **Example**: A backup server regularly copies data from a file server to an offsite location, ensuring that the company can recover lost data if needed. **4. Server Architecture** - **Client-Server Model**: - **Explanation**: In a client-server model, servers provide resources or services, and clients (user devices) request and use them. Servers handle requests from multiple clients simultaneously. - **Example**: A web server (server) responds to requests from multiple web browsers (clients) to load a website. - **Server Clusters**: - **Explanation**: Server clusters are a group of servers that work together to provide high availability, load balancing, and failover protection. - **Example**: A company uses a cluster of web servers to handle high traffic. If one server fails, the others continue providing service without downtime. **Introduction to Operating Systems** **1. Overview of Server Operating Systems** - **Explanation**: A server operating system is specifically designed to manage and support the hardware and software resources of a server, optimizing it for tasks such as handling network services, running databases, and serving web applications. - **Example**: Windows Server provides tools to manage Active Directory, DNS, and file sharing, while Linux provides flexible tools for networking, web hosting, and custom server configurations. **2. Windows Server** - **Windows Server Editions**: - **Explanation**: Windows Server comes in different editions, such as 2016, 2019, and 2022, with versions that vary in features and licensing models (Core, Standard, Datacenter). - **Example**: A small business might use Windows Server 2019 Standard for file and print services, while a large enterprise might use Windows Server 2022 Datacenter for data center applications. - **Active Directory**: - **Explanation**: Active Directory (AD) is a directory service that stores information about network resources and users, allowing for centralized management of users, permissions, and security policies. - **Example**: A company uses Active Directory to authenticate users and manage access to resources based on their roles. - **Server Manager**: - **Explanation**: Server Manager is a tool in Windows Server for configuring server roles, managing services, and monitoring system performance. - **Example**: A system administrator uses Server Manager to add the DNS role to a Windows Server, allowing it to resolve domain names in the network. - **Remote Desktop**: - **Explanation**: Remote Desktop enables administrators to access and manage Windows Server remotely via a graphical interface. - **Example**: A network administrator remotely logs into a Windows Server to install software updates or perform maintenance tasks. - **Windows Server Services**: - **Explanation**: Windows Server offers several built-in services like DNS, DHCP, and file sharing, which are essential for managing networks and devices. - **Example**: A Windows Server is configured as a DNS server to resolve domain names and a DHCP server to assign IP addresses to network devices. - **Group Policies**: - **Explanation**: Group Policies are used to define and enforce user and system configurations across a network. - **Example**: An administrator uses Group Policy to prevent users from installing unauthorized software on their workstations. - **PowerShell**: - **Explanation**: PowerShell is a command-line interface used for automating tasks and managing configurations in Windows Server. - **Example**: An administrator writes a PowerShell script to automate the process of adding a new user to Active Directory. **3. Linux Distributions** - **Linux Overview**: - **Explanation**: Linux is a popular open-source operating system used in server environments for its stability, security, and flexibility. - **Example**: A company might use Ubuntu Server to host a website or CentOS for running a web application. - **Common Linux Distributions**: - **Explanation**: There are several Linux distributions, each designed for specific use cases (Ubuntu Server, CentOS, Red Hat, Debian). - **Example**: Ubuntu Server is user-friendly for new administrators, while CentOS or Red Hat is preferred in enterprise environments for stability. - **Package Management**: - **Explanation**: Package management tools like apt (Ubuntu) and yum/dnf (CentOS, RHEL) are used to install, remove, and update software on Linux servers. - **Example**: Using the command apt install apache2 to install the Apache web server on an Ubuntu server. - **File System**: - **Explanation**: Linux uses file systems such as EXT4, XFS, or Btrfs, which determine how data is stored and managed on disk. - **Example**: An administrator formats a new disk in EXT4 to store web application data on a Linux server. - **Permissions and Users**: - **Explanation**: Linux uses file permissions and ownerships to control access to files and resources. Users and groups are managed using commands like useradd and groupadd. - **Example**: An admin creates a user admin\_user and assigns it to the sudo group to grant it administrative privileges. -