Need some advice on learning networking

[KenB]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Billy you pushed forward many of us including me to refresh or learn something new network-wise. Honestly me being copier engineer with modest overall networking skills following your thread with great interest and read many new(or forgotten ) stuff. Thank You for that!

This thread has been the can of compressed air to my cobwebs and dust bunnies, no doubt!

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Quick update: Slim was correct. When a user is assigned Local Admin Rights they can install software and perform other rights.

Here's the mistake I made when assigning local admin rights. I hope that I can explain it. Here goes nothing....

When you assign Admin Rights, they are attached to a computer. Or multiple computers if you desire. This is done by the computer name being attached to a user. The mistake I made was I logged in using a local admin account on a computer that was already assigned to someone else. The solution was I added that computer to the appropriate group. Something like that.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Just a quick note and I'll stop beating folks over the head with this stuff. The name of the game in Windows Server is "groups." Groups, groups, groups. Even if it's only a single user in a department...set him up in a group. If not you'll regret it later if someone else is hired for that department.

Also, file sharing is taken to a whole new level in Windows Server. It'll blow you're mind.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Does anyone have any experience with "Folder Redirect"? Basically what it does is this: If a copier scans to a shared folder in the server, that shared folder can be set to redirect the document to other shared folders on other PC's.

[tsbservice]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

My dear ol" Dad always used to say that there are 2 things required for learning: 1.) desire + 2.) time. If you have the desire and enough time, you can learn anything.

Dads always know better

Some good network info here:
Best Practices

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Does anyone have any experience with "Folder Redirect"? Basically what it does is this: If a copier scans to a shared folder in the server, that shared folder can be set to redirect the document to other shared folders on other PC's.

I got this all wrong. Here's what "folder redirect" does:


If I set up a scan folder on a client's PC, the server admin can implement "folder redirect" thus the documents will be redirected to a folder within the server where it can be backed up for safe keeping. And a copy of the documents stays in the folder on the client's PC.

This can be done for every folder, not just the scan folder.

And here's the kicker, The shared folder on the server that the files are redirected to is made "invisible" to the network. This is accomplished by placing a '$' at the end of the shared folder name. This way when a client launches File Explorer the folder will not show up.

[KenB]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Step by Step How to Configure Folder Redirection in Windows Server 2016 – Just a Random Microsoft Azure and Computing Tech info

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Step by Step How to Configure Folder Redirection in Windows Server 2016 – Just a Random Microsoft Azure and Computing Tech info

J just set it up and it worked. But let me tell you something...it's a lot of work.

I do understand why the file server can be structured in many, many ways. One of the main reasons is that files can be shared only with users in one departments but not other departments. Or they can be shared between 2 different (or more) different departments but remain invisible to other departments. It's genius, actually.

Edit: The experiment that I was working with a policy was applied for the entire desktop of a client's PC. So no matter how many files they created on their desktop, the folder path would automictically change to redirect the folder to the server. You could observe this by opening up File Explorer, opening the file and looking at the folder path.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

I started this thread on November 7. At the time I knew very little about networking and that's an understatement. I've learned a lot since that time and I have a few opinions that want to share about networking.

The world of networking is vast. In many cases it's highly specialized. It's impossible to know it all.

In my journey I've experimented with many different things. Some of these things I'll probably rarely use. Take WireShark for example. I was told by some that I'd never use WireShark. They were probably right abou that. But here's the thing. If someone tells you that you'll probably never use something, I wouldn't pay a lot of attention to that and here's why...

Even though I may never use WireShark in the real world, it taught me so much about the processes involved with SMB, SMTP and many other protocols. That's invaluable.

Another example of leaning something that I'll probably never use is Windows Server 2019. I can guarantee you that I'll never set up a Windows Server in a client's office. That was never my intention when I decided to learn something about it but I digress. Once again, I learned so much about the world of networking by playing around with Windows Sever 2019.

For example, we've all heard of DNS. You know...resolving an IP address to a website. But in a server environment, DNS becomes something totally different. You're joining many different PC's to a domain controller and I won't go into any great detail, but I highly recommend using VMWARE and doing it just one time. Trust me on this, if you've never done it, you'll learn a lot.

In conclusion, I would recommend trying as many things as you can. I don't think any of it is a waste of time. When you try one thing it will lead you down many different paths and you're gonna learn something new.

For me, this has become a hobby and I have a feeling it will last for as long as I'm on this earth. I find it very entertaining and rewarding.


Edit: I need to be more specific about DNS. I said it was totally different in a server environment. That's not totally true. In one case DNS deals with the internet and in the other case DNS deals with the intranet. In both cases it still involves resolving host names to an IP address. When we're talking about the DNS records for a website, those records are stored in an offsite server. When talking about the intranet, the DNS records are stored on a local server.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

More on Windows Server 2019....

In a previous post slim and I were discussing Local Admin Rights on a client PC and how it works with the server. Well, that sent me on a 2 day journey that took a lot of twists and turns. It was very frustrating until I got it completely figured out. It's more complicated than you may think.

First things first. In Widows Server 2019 there's something called a "forest". Until you fully understand this so-called "forest", you're pissing in the wind. I had it set up wrong and it caused me to chase my tail.

Let's discuss the "forest" for a moment. The same forest that you find in Windows Server 2019 is also on your Windows 10 PC...you just don't see it, but it's there.

Let me explain: In Widows Server 2019 you can see the forest and the logical progression of the different settings in Windows 10. While that same forest exist on a Windows 10 PC, you can't see it laid out in logical order. Instead, you just start clicking on different settings and you finally get to the one you're looking for.

The other difference with the forest in Windows Server 2019 is you can add to it depending on your different needs. As an example, the Domain Admin can take the clock off your PC. You know the little clock at the bottom right of your screen? When I say he can change any setting, I mean ANY setting. He can do this while you're working on your PC and you'd never know it. The changes wouldn't take effect until you restarted your PC.

In a nutshell, Windows Server 2019 allows the Domain Admin to control every setting for every PC on the network.

I think 'forest" is an appropriate name because you'll get lost quickly in there until you get it figured out.



Edit: One benefit to learning the "forest" is that you'll be able to navigate your way thru the settings on a Windows 10 PC like champ. It took me to settings in Windows 10 that I didn't even know existed.

Edit: I like to split the forest in to 2 different forests: The computer forest and the user forest. It makes it easier to understand for me. More on that later....

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

One last thing before I go to bed. When you join a new device (PC, copier, ect.) to the domain server for the first time, it automatically goes in to the default groups in the forest. Don't fuck around with the default groups. They're there for a reason. Once the devices are added to the default groups, you can move them to the appropriate departments or locations.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Back at it again.

Thus far I figured out how to grant Local Admin rights to individual users or groups of users by making a new GPO (Group Policy Object) and then applying it to those individual users or groups of users.

But I still had questions. There was something that I was missing. When I added 2 computers and a couple of users to the domain, why couldn't they create a folder on their desktop or install print drivers?

Here's the answer. Windows Server 2019 has a default GPO for every user and computer. Basically, the user is granted the lowest level of "rights" thru the default GPO. You can't edit these settings. You must create a new GPO and apply it according to the users or computers that you want to have a higher level of "rights".

Sound complicated? Not really. I should have grasped this sooner.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

To this point I've been focusing in on the small picture...things like granting permissions for local admins, sharing files and launching print drivers from the server to groups of computers. All of that is cool, but why would a company spend thousands of dollars for a server and then pay someone to manage said server?

This is where the big picture comes in to play. The biggest threat to a network most often times isn't a hacker...it's the employee that sits down behind a computer and decides to install Napster or download some screen saver that they think is cool. Now imagine that a company has 1000 computers? Imagine the headache it would cause to run around and fix all the problems that they created by doing something stupid. Nightmare, right?

We've talked about granting "permissions" but we haven't talked about "security". Those are 2 separate things. Think of "security" as "permissions" x 1000.

With Windows Server 2019, you can focus in like a laser beam on security settings and fine tune for each department depending on what they need to access. I can block them for accessing "control panel", for example. I can block them from using the USB drive. The possibilities are endless.

[slimslob]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Now imagine that a company has 1000 computers? Imagine the headache it would cause to run around and fix all the problems that they created by doing something stupid. Nightmare, right?

Imagine even 50 employees that install a screen saver that downloads new images to use on a daily basis. Think of the band width those computers can consume if they are all downloading at the same time.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Need some advice on learning networking

Imagine even 50 employees that install a screen saver that downloads new images to use on a daily basis. Think of the band width those computers can consume if they are all downloading at the same time.

I've been meaning to ask you this. I take it from some of your comments that you some experience with Windows Server?