Chapter 2 - Overview of Windows 2000 Administration

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of Windows 2000 administration as well as a general introduction to network administration. Network administration is a broad term covering a number of responsibilities. Generally, network administration can be broken down into the following categories: designing and setting up the network, managing the network, protecting the network, and documenting the network. Each is important to the life of a network and can be further broken down into other categories. Active Directory, which is the foundation of Windows 2000 distributed networks, plays a key role in the administration of Microsoft's operating system. It is a directory service that puts users, groups, applications, printers, and other information into one central directory. Microsoft Windows 2000 Server introduces many new terms, as well as familiar names from the earlier versions of Windows, which now have a different meaning. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the overhauled Windows 2000 Help system.