Network Server Architecture Overview

For campus servers, after a long semester of operation, the various systems in the server have been turbulent, and I am afraid to reinstall the operating system or application software. Below we will explain some of the issues that need to be addressed during the software maintenance process.
Preparation before installation

It is necessary to back up the necessary data before performing OS maintenance. The backup method can use an extra hard disk or back up the data with a recorder. In addition, before reinstalling the system, you need to check whether the hardware is working properly. Download the latest hardware driver installation disk (CD or floppy disk) from the Internet, otherwise the system may not be installed successfully. In particular, some RAID card drivers must have floppy disk support, because you will be asked to insert a driver disk when installing the operating system.

Installation of the operating system

After confirming that everything is ready, you can reinstall the operating system. First, you need to format the hard disk. After booting the system with the operating system's boot disk, you can run the format command. If necessary, you can re-partition the hard drive, but do not perform a low-level formatted hard drive unless you confirm that the hard drive has bad sectors.

After the hard disk is formatted, the operating system is installed. The specific operation process of installing the operating system is not mentioned here. After installing the operating system, install the drivers for the graphics card, network card, SCSI card, motherboard, etc., so that the operating system can run normally.

In addition, you need to be reminded that after installing the operating system, remember to download and install the latest operating system patches, so that the server security vulnerability is minimal.

Setting and starting network services

It is not enough to install the operating system. At this time, the server does not provide various network services, so a series of settings are required for the server. Here are a few of the most important network services.

1. DNS Service

DNS (Domain Name Resolution System) is one of the most important network services in TCP/IP-based networks. The most important function is to provide host name to IP address. Resolution service. In a network composed of Windows 2000 Server, the DNS service is at the core. Without DNS, the Windows 2000 network will not work. So in a Windows 2000 network, there must be at least one DNS server.

2. Domain Controller

There is a concept of "domain" in Windows NT/2000. A network with a "domain" can implement "single account single record, universal resource access", which means that as long as there is a legitimate account on the domain controller, you can access the resources of other servers in the domain. If there is no domain controller, it can only form a peer network. Peer-to-peer networks are very troublesome in terms of access control and resource management. So first install the domain controller in the network; if you already have a domain controller in the network, you don't have to install the domain controller, but you can set this server as the backup domain controller when a domain controller fails. At the same time, another domain controller can take over its work.

3, DHCP service

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is the IP address of the server to provide other clients with IP addresses and other network services (such as DNS, IP address of the default gateway, etc.) Network service. In a computer network with more than a few dozens, the use of DHCP brings great convenience. The IP address of the client, the IP address of the DNS, and the IP address of the default gateway can be automatically allocated, which will greatly reduce the network. Management difficulty. Unless you have only a few computers, you should use DHCP.

4, Web services

Web services are the basic functions provided by the server, especially in the campus network, how could there be no campus home page? After copying the data of the campus homepage to the server, you need to reset the Web service to make the campus homepage work properly.

Installation of Application System

After the basic network service is installed and set up, various server application systems need to be installed. Here are a few of the required application systems.

1. E-mail service

E-mail is one of the most frequently used network services in the network, so the E-mail server is indispensable. There are many mail server software. In Windows NT/2000, the most used one is of course Exchange Server. In Linux, the most commonly used mail server software is Sendmail. Due to space limitations, the specific installation and settings will not be discussed.

2, database services

Database services are also often provided in the server, many applications are based on the database server. In the Windows NT/2000 network, the most commonly used database service system is MS SQL Server; in Linux, the most commonly used database service system is My SQL. Large database systems such as Oracle can also be used.

3, agency services

At present, many schools use a proxy server to connect to the Internet, which can save a lot of Internet access costs. Common proxy server software is SyGate, WinGate, MS Proxy, and so on. Some softwares need to be installed on the server side as well as on the client side. Therefore, when installing, ensure that the client and server are consistent.

4, other application systems

It is not enough to install these services, because the campus server also runs other application systems, such as education and teaching resources library, campus management system, electronics Library, electronic preparation system, etc. The installation of these softwares varies, and you can follow the instructions step by step.

OK, after a series of steps, the new server is now re-appearing in front of you. I believe that the ready-to-go server will perform better in the next semester.

Expert Tips

1. Preparations Before Installation

Before reinstalling the operating system, first determine if you need to reinstall. If necessary, determine the version of the operating system, the version of the application such as the database, web service, mail service, etc., to determine whether to use the current version, or upgrade. After that, prepare the operating system, patches, applications, and prepare drivers. It is best to use the drivers provided by the manufacturer.

There are many ways to back up data. The most useful way to do this in a campus network is to back up your network or back it up with a tape drive. When backing up, it is necessary to distinguish between file system and database. File system backup is very simple. Copy can be used. Database backup can't be copied simply. Use backup tool under database to back up, or use dedicated backup software to backup, such as Veritas, IBM. Backup management software for companies such as CA and NETAPP.

2, the operating system installation

If the hard disk was previously installed UNIX, the partition of the hard disk is not a FAT partition, but VFS, E2FS, E3FS and other partitions; or the hard disk has been RAID, hard disk The first 16K bytes will save the RAID setting information. In this case, in order to ensure that the system installation will not be disturbed, it is required to clear the information. You can use a small tool to completely clear the system partition information, it is the Clear program, this small program can completely clear the partition information of the hard disk. If the Clear program is not found, Fdisk/mbr can also be used to clear the master boot record.

When installing the driver in the system, it is best to use the driver provided by the manufacturer. Do not use the driver of the system self-test. In many cases, the driver of the system self-test will have various problems. For example, sometimes the driver using the NT self-test SCSI card will cause the system to not find the hard disk; the NT self-checking network card will cause the system blue screen; the Linux self-checking RAID card driver will crash during installation; the SCO Openserver self-checking network card In the case of large data transmission, the network card will be broken.

3, network service settings and startup

In order to optimize the performance of the system, so that the system's CPU, memory resources get a reasonable application, to determine what services are needed when the system is running, the system needs The service starts and the unwanted service is closed. For example, if your server is just a web server, there is no need to start the DNS, DHCP, ICF, IPSEC services. If you don't want to remotely manage the server, you can turn off the TelNet service, and the system performance will be optimized.