Networking is at the core of NT. Unlike other Windows products, networking is so critical to how NT works that it was designed into all of its inner workings. It has been designed so that premium security on the network is possible, and high network performance is expected.
NT Server and Workstation differ, but not in the way most people expect. The kernel of the software is exactly the same. Both use the same .DLL files, the same drivers, the same components, and the same Registry entries. The difference is in the tuning and the settings. Because NT Server's main duty is to allow access to files and to transfer them quickly, the system is tuned for that. NT Workstation is designed as a system where local application performance is at a premium, so the system resources are tuned for that.
The other main difference is in the included software. NT Server includes additional software such as Internet Information Server, DHCP Server, WINS Server, DNS Server, Migration Tool for NetWare, Network Client Administrator, Server Manager, and others. All of those are not found by default on the Workstation, although you can load management software for many of them on the Workstation platform. Additionally, there are features that you get on NT Server that you don't get on Workstation. The most noticeable is the lack of fault tolerance in Disk Administrator in NT Workstation.
None of the items listed can be loaded into NT Workstation, because of two Registry entries. If those two entries were to be changed, Workstation would tell software that it is Server, and so it is OK to load the software.
One of the Registry entries is hidden and unchangeable by the Registry editors. The other setting is easy to change, but may cause disastrous results if not used very carefully. Because it is not possible to make both changes, you can only change the system temporarily, allowing you to change system features or install software.
The changeable setting is in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\
ProductOptions key. The value name is
ProductType. To indicate that
it is NT Server, the value is LanmanNT. To indicate that it is NT Workstation,
the value is WinNT.
WARNING: The ProductType Registry change will cause a fatal system error if the data is different than the hidden entry during startup. If you reboot your system before changing the value back to the original, you will get the Blue Screen of Death, and you will have to restore your old Registry to be able to use your system again.
To allow NT Workstation to use fault tolerance functions in disk Administrator,
do the
following:
Figure 18.1. License agreement warning.
Even though the system will restart as Workstation, the fault tolerance will work perfectly. You can do the same thing to allow the installation of Internet Information Server or SQL Server on a Workstation.
The difference between NT Server and NT Workstation is really only one of focus. The underlying functions are identical.
This chapter divides the Registry information for Windows NT into common settings, NT Server networking settings, and NT Workstation settings. Obviously, if you are going to use your server as a non-dedicated server to run applications locally, you may want to implement more of the Workstation settings than normal. Likewise, if you are going to use your workstation as a server, either in a workgroup or a domain, you may want to change the tuning.
The settings that are common to both NT Workstation and NT Server deal mostly with the drivers and the protocols.
The network card driver information in the Registry in Windows NT is in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
System\CurrentControlSet\Services. My driver for my CreditCard Ethernet Adapter
IIps from Xircom uses a driver named
CE2XPS.SYS. In the Registry, as shown
in Figure 18.2, there are two entries for the driver.
Figure 18.2. Registry entries for the Xircom CreditCard Ethernet Adapter IIps network card.
The entry with the card driver name is the settings for the driver, including the
location of the driver, the labels, and other parameters. Figure 18.3 shows
the expanded
tree of keys below the driver listing.
Figure 18.3. Driver settings in the Registry.
The
network driver entry that has a number at the end of it is the instance of the
network card. With only one Xircom adapter in the system, the entry ends with a 1.
If there had been a second card, the Registry key would have been labeled
CE2XPS2,
and so on, incrementing the numbers for additional installed adapters. If you had
a second adapter, but it used a different driver, it would have that driver listed,
and the card settings entry would still have a 1 at the end. It is
the first instance
of that card. Figure 18.4 shows the Registry with 2 Xircom adapters loaded into the
system.
Figure 18.4. Settings in the Registry for the driver and two network cards.
The settings for each of the cards must be unique, or the resulting conflicts would
mean that data could not be transferred to the cards or
accepted by the cards.
Each of the card settings must be different, or the cards would not work correctly. The card settings are in the Parameters key, and the TCP/IP settings for the individual cards are in the Parameters\Tcpip key.
Some protocol settings are set for the individual card, and others are set for
the system as a whole. The settings that are unique to the card are
set in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\
CurrentControlSet\Services\card driver\Parameters\Tcpip. The settings
that are generic to the card are usually settings for all systems on this network.
Those settings are in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters.
Figure 18.5 shows the parameters that need to be set for TCP/IP to work in the network.
The most important settings are the domain name, the name server address, the host
name, and whether IP routing has been enabled. All of those settings are normally
made in the Control Panel, but could be made with a Registry editor, either locally
or remotely.
Figure 18.5. General TCP/IP settings in the Registry.
Regardless of the type of driver, the type of card, or the number of cards in the
system, this information is critical.
The four main functions unique to NT Server are
Each is recorded in a different location in the Registry. Because all the information is in the Registry, the system can access it equally whether at the interface, through networking functions, and directly from an application.
The information about shares is stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\
Services\LanmanServer\Shares. All of the shares created are stored here, each
using a
single REG_MULTI_SZ entry. All of the information about the name,
the maximum number of users, the security permissions, and other functions is stored
in each value.
Through remote Registry editing, you can add or remove shares from a machine, if you know the syntax of the data in the value.
Windows NT tunes itself for optimum performance. You have some choices in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows key and also in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT key.
The Control Panel System Properties has a Performance tab that allows you to select a performance boost for the Server service. Even if you move the slider all the way to maximum, it will not change the server performance. It is basically a non-feature, and it just doesn't work.
For optimum performance, adjust the settings about the paging files, the caching, and the hardware. Together, little changes add up to better performance.
Besides the NTFS security and the user rights information that each have their own hives, there is much more regarding security and Windows NT Server. Most risks are isolated to people trying to get access to unauthorized locations on the network. That all starts with a password. A user may have certain rights and privileges with his own user name and password, and want more. Other individuals may not currently have access, and want to get it. Whichever the case, access to the system is limited to those who have the correct rights.
In order to make it more difficult for unauthorized users to get access, you can do several things. An example would be to not show the last user name that was logged on. Then the user would have to guess the name and the password, making it more difficult. That setting and almost all other settings regarding logon to the network are in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon.
DNS, WINS, and DHCP management allow a server to communicate with other computers through TCP/IP. Because it is the most complex, there is more in the Registry about TCP/IP than both of the other protocols combined. Servers manage the settings, and allocate information to other systems on the network. All of the settings such as IP addresses, host names, and NetBIOS names are managed by servers on the network.
The settings are in several keys in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services, and the configuration of the managers are there also.
In addition to the functions that are common to both Server and Workstation, there are settings that affect the performance of a Workstation. Specifically, working as a client is fundamental to connecting to a server.
The client connections to Microsoft networks
have settings in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Rdr. The settings are normally made in the
Control Panel, but may be done in the Registry as well. Settings that control the
connection can be added also, and some of
those are in Chapter 20, "Troubleshooting
and Configuring Networking Registry Settings" and Chapter 21, "Questions
and Answers for Networking and the Registry."
You can easily add a connection to NetWare servers with a client for NetWare,
included with NT Workstation. Once installed, the client has settings in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\
CurrentControlSet\Services\NwRdr key. The client then reads information from
the Registry and uses it to control the connection. If there are any errors in the
settings, usually connections will be impossible.
There are client connections available for NFS (UNIX), Banyan VINES, IBM's AS/400,
and others. If the client connection installs as a service, the settings will be
in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\
CurrentControlSet\Services. If the client does not install as a service, but
rather as an application that runs at startup, the settings will be in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software
with a key assigned to it.
All of the settings for networking are in the Registry. Most are set in the Control Panel, but they can also be set directly with a Registry editor, or with remote editing or System Policy Editor. Most of the settings are in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services key or in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software key.
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