Brien M. Posey

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the idea that Windows 2000 allows you to cache network-based files and folders so that mobile users can use them on the go, just as if they were attached to the network. In that article, I explained that there are three distinct types of caching for files […]

Because the Active Directory is a part of the core Windows 2000 operating system, it’s easy to take it for granted. After all, the Active Directory quietly works in the background, servicing the needs of your enterprise. You hardly ever hear so much as a peep out of it, unless there’s a major problem. Of […]

In Part 1 of this series, I began explaining the process of adding custom attributes to Active Directory classes. In this article, I’ll complete the process. As I mentioned in Part 1, this process is dangerous: Making a mistake could destroy Windows and/or your data. Therefore, before attempting to use any of the techniques in […]

In Part 2 of this series, I showed you how to create custom attributes. Now you must add those custom attributes to a class before you’ll be able to use them. Unless you’ve created an attribute that’s very similar to an existing attribute, it’s usually more practical to create a new object class than to […]

In spite of its flexibility, many administrators tend to think of the Active Directory as a generic operating system database. Although it’s true that the Active Directory’s primary purpose is servicing the operating system, it has real-world uses as well. As you probably know, the Active Directory contains (or can contain) a wealth of information […]

It often seems that most of the computer-related books and magazines I read are geared toward making the administrator’s life easier. Of course, this is no surprise, because these publications are usually written for systems administrators. But often such publications (including mine) forget all about the end user. Sometimes it’s nice to do something to […]

A few months ago, I decided to add wireless capabilities to my home network. You see, my computers are all in the basement, and my wife tends to get upset if I spend too much time down there. Besides, why work (or play) in a cold, dark basement, when I can work in my living […]

Practically everyone knows that the TCP/IP protocol is a little complicated. Part of this complexity is due to the fact that TCP/IP is made up of many subcomponents, which consist of ports and protocols. Many of these ports and protocols are necessary for accomplishing day-to-day tasks; others are seldom (if ever) used. These obscure protocols […]

So far in this series, I’ve introduced you to the various types of groups in Windows 2000 and shown you some techniques that you can use to enhance your organization’s security by nesting those groups. However, I haven’t yet discussed one type of group. Like Windows NT, Windows 2000 has many built-in groups designed for […]

Some administrators back up only the data portions of their servers. Other administrators back up everything; that way, in the event of a catastrophic server failure, they could simply restore the backup tape and have the server ready to go with no additional configuration. If you like the idea of backing up the entire server, […]

In Part 1 of this series ( Infrared Networking Basics ), I explained how infrared communications work. In this article, I’ll explain how to install and configure infrared support in Windows 2000. Preparing the Port The first step in the process is to make Windows 2000 aware of your […]

When you’re creating a new network or installing a new file or application server, it’s easy to get confused about how to share the resources on the server. There are a couple of schools of thought on the subject. Some administrators like to share everything at the root level and allow NTFS permissions to control […]