Chapter 5 Connecting to a Network

 Please Do Not Throw Sausage Pizza Away!

 

Please - Physical

Do  - Data-Link

Not - Network

Throw - Transport

Sausage - Session

Pizza - Presentation

Away - Application

The first part of the chapter was review of the OSI model. It is a topic that is important to understand. Here's a video explaining the 7 layers.

The OSI MODEL Demystified

 

Network and Sharing Center has four main elements in the window.

 

 

·         Task list (left pane) - manage network adapter settings and configure sharing parameters.

·         Summary network map (top right) - graphical representation of computers and networks near the workstation

·         View you active networks (middle right) - name of network and location - can also connect/disconnect to network in this area

·         Change your networking settings (bottom right) - switches that allow you to control sharing and discovery of network

o   Modifying network discovery control two functions:

1.       Whether the computer can see or be seen

2.       If computer can share resources

o   If your computer fails to detect a network change, you go to the Network and Sharing Center and select a network location

The following settings are available:

·         Network discovery

·         File and printer sharing

·         Public folder sharing

·         Media streaming

·         File sharing connections

·         Password-protected sharing

·         Home group connections

Disabling a network connection does not affect configuration settings. The connection is only turned off, until you reconnect.

When Windows 7 is part of a domain, network mapping is disabled by default. Options for network discovery in domain are:

·         Turn on Mapper I/O (LLTDIO) - enables computer to map other systems on network

·         Turn on Responder (RSPNDR) driver - enables computer to be mapped by other systems on network

Some command TCP/IP tools discussed in the chapter included using:

·         Ipconfig.exe - page 175-176

·         Ping.exe - page 176-177

·         Tracert.exe - page 177-178

·         Nslookup.exe - page 179

·         Netstat.exe - page 179-180

 

Chapter 4 Working with Disks and Devices

Disk Management snap in tool is a GUI for creating/changing disk partitions and volumes.

A disk volume is like a file cabinet drawer, it can contain partitions, which are like files.

·         Primary partition - appear as a separate disk and can host OS (which is marked as active)

o   Only one active partition per hard disk

o   Up to 4 primary partitions  or 3 primary and 1 extended

o   Once you have reached the maximum partitions, the unallocated spaces changes to free space attached to last partition

·         Extended partition - a partition that is used only for creating a desired number of logical partitions

·         Logical partition - created in extended partitions - can contain up to 24 partitions

Basic disk uses primary, extended, and logical drives to organize data. By converting a basic disk to a dynamic disk, you can create unlimited number of volumes from that partition.

In the snap in tool, you can do the following:

·         Initialize disks

·         Select partition style

·         Convert from basic to dynamic

o   Make sure enough disk space to convert - must have at least 1MB at end of disk in order to convert

o   Do not convert if you are multi-booting

o   Cannot convert removable media to dynamic disk

o   Only way to change back to basic - back up entire disk, delete the dynamic volumes, last volume will change to basic

·         Create partitions and volumes

·         Extend/shrink/delete volumes

·         Format partitions and disks

·         Assign/change drive letters and paths

·         Examine/manage physical disk properties

VHD - virtual hard disk - supports virtual PC, server and Hyper-v products. A VHD file contains entire contents of a hard disk that can move entire virtual machines (VM) from one computer to another.

 Create VHD using Disk Management in Windows 7

Driver updates - 3 main reasons updates are released

·         To fix problems from previous driver releases

·         New features were added

·         Enhance performance of device

Rule to follow:

·         Do not install drivers immediately after release - give manufacturer some time to work out the bugs.

·         Test before deploying

·         See reviews on support Web site - way to see how they work out hardware problems

·         Only download from the manufacturer of the device - avoid third party drivers

·         Digitally signed device drivers have been tested and approved

o   Windows alerts you if it thinks there is a problem with digital signature

Chapter 3 Deploying Windows 7

For large-scale Windows deployment, the following items need to be addressed and Microsoft provides tools specifically designed for mass deployment.

·         Ability to create standardized computing environments

·         Minimize user interaction = less errors, faster, more uniform deployments

·         Continuance of hardware/software working properly

·         Minimizing down time

The following basic steps that are used for workstation deployment:

·         Deployment share - create share on network server instead of using individual disks

·         Reference computer - template for the workstations that need to be configured

·         Image file - copy of what is on reference computer - you can copy the configuration to as many workstations as necessary

·         Boot target - must boot with Windows PE using removal boot disk or image downloaded from server

·         Apply reference image to target computers - minimal interaction required

Primary tools available to perform a build to plan (BTP) or build to order (BTO) installation:

·         SIM - Windows system image manger

·         ImageX.exe - command line tool

·         DISM.exe - deployment image servicing and management

·         Windows PE

·         Sysprep.exe - removes all individual information

·         USMT - user state migration tool - similar to Windows Easy Transfer

Advice to self: find YouTube videos that match up to the lab. Watch and follow along with lab exercise directions to see if there are any directions that can be clarified to help them get completed quickly! Here are two I found that correspond with Lab 4:

Youtube videos "Creating Answer files using Windows AIK and Create Windows PE Boot disk with ImageX"

Creating Answer files using Windows AIK

 Create Windows PE Boot disk with ImageX

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2 Installing Windows 7

Planning prior to upgrading to Windows 7 is critical to organizations. You need to insure that the tasks your company needs to perform will be supported and the budget allowed for the upgrade. Prepare your system, and be able to troubleshoot any problems that could come up. The following are issues that need to be determined:

·         Will the hardware be supported or will new hardware need to be purchased

·         Will the OS support the existing applications?

o   You must test to make sure it works properly - otherwise the results could be disastrous - critical applications not working correctly can case extensive downtime

·         Which Windows Edition to use

·         Upgrade or Clean installation

o   Backup existing data - twice

o   Loss of configuration settings can cause problems

§  Clean install is the easiest way to deploy WIN7 on a new computer or a computer that you are willing to reformat (delete all info)

·         Single or Dual boot installation

·         Install multiple languages?

Windows PE 3.0 is a stripped down OS version with the Windows 7 operating kernel allowing admins to boot a computer with no OS installed to start the install.

 

Windows Easy Transfer has 2 ways to deploy WIN7 while retaining profile settings: upgrade and migration.

·         Upgrade - overwrite existing OS but user profiles remain in place

·         Migration - copy user profiles from existing OS to a temporary medium and transfer to the newly clean installation of WIN7

Step by step instructions for the following are outline in the chapter:

·         Performing clean installations

·         Installing third-party disk drivers

·         Working with installation partitions

·         Using easy transfer

·         Using user state migration tool - command line program similar to easy transfer

·         And more

Perform the following to ensure the upgrade goes as planned and the data is protected:

·         Run upgrade advisor

·         Check hardware compatibility

·         Search for updated drivers

·         Check application compatibility

·         Check disk space

·         Ensuer computer functionality

·         Perform a full backup - TWICE - just be safe

·         Purchase correct edition of Windows 7