General question of features

  • Thread starter Thread starter CLS
  • Start date Start date
C

CLS

Hi All,

I am thinking of getting win2000 AS, for our office. Right now we are using
Win98 and it is just not cutting it. I was hoping to get some input. This
is what we will be using it for:

Access files through windows
Access files though DOS programs running in windows
2 printers will be connected to it.
Send/Receive E-Mail
CD backup

All computers connected to the server will be Win98.

I think win2000 has fat32/ntfs filesystems. Can DOS programs in windows 98
access files from the server if it is NTFS?

TIA
Chad
 
CLS,
An Advanced Server might be overkill unless the number of clients is high or
you have a need for clustering and plan future domain creation. A plain W2K3
server might just fit the bill.

Whether a Dos application can read a networked server's file system is
irrelevent. That's because it's the server that reads it's own file system
and manages access. The network media and protocols don't care about file
systems either. The only issues that need to be satisfied is a)
authentication and b) permission to the resource (at the server) once the
protocols are correctly configured and name resolution is resolving.

You'll probably end up running a login script from a GPO (Group Policy
Object) so that clients get a mapped share for DOS apps to use. That's a
fairly easy task. In fact, the DOS applications won't even recognize the
server shares as a network resource. That's the magic of network
redirectors.

Without doubt, your biggest challenge will be understanding the W2K
architecture and dealing with management /security of the server. While this
might be for some a daunting task, the benefits are multifold. Also, hiring
a consultant for a few hours might be a very wise choice.
 
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