What you will learn in this module:

• The key features of each member of the Windows 2000 product family
• Administrative tools and tips

The Windows 2000 Family

Windows NT has been with us for almost eight years, and as the product has matured, Microsoft have added more features in an effort to address users' needs and administrators' requirements.

With Windows 2000, they have made considerable enhancements to the product line.

Windows 2000 Professional is the preferred 32bit desktop environment, providing a combination of Windows 98 usability and Windows NT 4 reliability. New features include support for power management and plug and play (a great bonus for portable users) and support for new file system features, including EFS.

Windows 2000 server has been created in three different flavors, each with features appropriate to the target audience. All share the same core features as Windows 2000 Professional, but then add additional features.

Windows 2000 Server is the standard, entry level server platform providing similar power to the Windows NT 4 Server product. However, it also includes support for Terminal Services and Active Directory.

Users requiring more power should opt for Windows 2000 Advanced Server, similar in power to Windows NT 4 Enterprise Server. It provides enhanced scalability and clustering support.

Users who need Enterprise size database or web servers should opt for the Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. This is currently the most powerful server product in the range.



Management Console



With Windows 2000, Microsoft have added an entirely different set of management tools. Gone are the User Manager and Server Manager programs of Windows NT. They have all been replaced with Management Console.

This program allows the administrator to build their own custom tools using snap-ins and extensions.

To access management console, click START/RUN and type MMC and click OK.

The standard, empty console appears. You can now use the console menu to add or remove any snap-ins.



Depending upon the type of your computer (Professional or Server or Domain Controller) will determine what snap-ins are available.

Select the snap-ins you want, and then using the various console menu options you can customize the look and feel of the tool.



If you wanted someone else to be able to use the tool, you could control their access to editing the tool.

Options include the ability to set the tool to user mode with limited access - preventing the user from customizing the tool.