Microsoft Press Windows Server 2012

Introduction

Welcome to Windows Server 2012 Inside Out. As the author of many popular technology books, I’ve been writing professionally about Windows and Windows Server since 1994. Over the years, I’ve gained a unique perspective—the kind of perspective you can gain only after working with technologies for many years. The advantage for you, the reader, is that my solid understanding of these technologies allowed me to dig into the Windows Server 2012 architecture, internals, and configuration to see how things really work under the hood and then pass this information on to you throughout this book.

From top to bottom, Windows Server 2012 is substantially different from earlier versions of Window Server. Not only are there major changes throughout the operating system, but this just might be the first version of Windows Server that you manage using a touch-based user interface. If you do end up managing it this way, mastering the touch-based UI and the revised interface options will be essential for your success. For this reason, I discuss both the touch UI and the traditional mouse and keyboard techniques throughout this book.

When you are working with touch UI–enabled computers, you can manipulate onscreen elements in ways that weren’t possible previously. You can enter text using the onscreen keyboard and manipulate onscreen elements in the following ways:

Tap: Tap an item by touching it with your finger. A tap or double-tap of elements on the screen generally is the equivalent of a mouse click or double-click.

Press and hold: Press your finger down, and leave it there for a few seconds. Pressing and holding elements on the screen generally is the equivalent of a right-click.

Swipe to select: Slide an item a short distance in the opposite direction of how the page scrolls. This selects the items and also might bring up related commands. If pressing and holding doesn’t display commands and options for an item, try swiping to select instead.

Swipe from edge (slide in from edge): Starting from the edge of the screen, swipe or slide in. Sliding in from the right edge opens the Charms panel. Sliding in from the left edge shows open apps and allows you to easily switch between them. Sliding in from the top or bottom edge shows commands for the active element.

Pinch: Touch an item with two or more fingers, and then move those fingers toward each other. Pinching zooms in or shows less information.

Stretch: Touch an item with two or more fingers, and then move those fingers away from each other. Stretching zooms out or shows more information.

In this book, I teach you how server roles, role services, and features work; why they work the way they do; and how to customize them to meet your needs. Regardless of your job title, if you’re deploying, configuring, managing, or maintaining Windows Server 2012, this book is for you. To pack in as much information as possible, I had to assume that you have basic networking skills and a basic understanding of Windows Server, and that you are familiar with Windows commands and procedures. With this in mind, I don’t devote entire chapters to basic skills or why you want to use Windows Server. Instead, I focus on configuration, security, auditing, storage management, performance analysis, performance tuning, troubleshooting, and much more.