Windows Server 2003 (also referred to as Win2K3) is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced

on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December
2005. Its successor, Windows Server 2008, was released on 4 February 2008.
New and updated features
 Internet Information Services (IIS) v6.0 - A significantly improved version of IIS.
 Increased default security over previous versions, due to the built-in firewall and having most services
disabled by default.
 Significant improvements to Message Queuing.
 Manage Your Server - a role management administrative tool that allows an administrator to choose what
functionality the server should provide.
 Improvements to Active Directory, such as the ability to deactivate classes from the scheme, or to run
multiple instances of the directory server (ADAM)
 Improvements to Group Policy handling and administration
 Provides a backup system to restore lost files
 Improved disk management, including the ability to back up from shadows of files, allowing the backup of
open files.
 Improved scripting and command line tools, which are part of Microsoft's initiative to bring a complete
command shell to the next version of Windows.
 Support for a hardware-based "watchdog timer", which can restart the server if the operating system
does not respond within a certain amount of time.
 Automated System Recovery (ASR) is used instead.
Editions
1. Windows Small Business Serves - SBS includes Windows Server and additional technologies aimed at
providing a small business with a complete technology solution.
SBS server has the following design limitations: [4]
 Only one computer in a domain can be running Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server.
 Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server must be the root of the Active Directory forest.
 Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server cannot trust any other domains.
 Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server is limited to 75 users or devices depending on
which type of CAL.
 Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server is limited to 4GB of RAM (Random Access
Memory).
 A Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server domain cannot have any child domains.
 Terminal Services only operates in remote administration mode on the server running SBS 2003,
and only two simultaneous RDP sessions are allowed. (Change from SBS 2000 policy) [5]
 To remove the limits from SBS server and upgrade from Small Business Server to regular
Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL and ISA server versions there is a Windows Small Business
Server 2003 R2 Transition Pack.
2. Web Edition-Windows Server 2003, Web Edition is mainly for building and hosting Web applications,
Web pages, and XML web services.
Limitations of web edition
1. Windows Server 2003 Web Edition supports a maximum of 2 processors with support
for a maximum of 2GB of RAM.
2. Windows Server 2003, Web Edition cannot act as a domain controller. [7]
3. It is the only edition of Windows Server 2003 that does not require Client Access
Licenses when used as the internet facing server front end for Internet Information
Services and Windows Server Update Services.
4. When using it for storage or as a backend with another remote server as the frontend,
CALs may still be required.
3. Standard Edition- Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition is aimed towards small to medium
sized businesses.
Features of standard edition
 1. Standard Edition supports file and printer sharing
2. offers secure Internet connectivity
3. allows centralized desktop application deployment.
4. Enterprise Edition-Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition is aimed towards medium to large
businesses.
Features of standard edition
 It is a full-function server operating system that supports up to 8 processors
 provides enterprise-class features such as eight-node clustering using Microsoft Cluster Server
(MSCS) software
 support for up to 32 GB of memory through PAE (added with the /PAE boot string).
 Enterprise Edition also comes in 64-bit versions for the Itanium and x64 architectures.
 The 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition are capable of addressing up to 1
TB of memory.
 Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions support Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA).
 It also provides the ability to hot-add supported hardware.
5. Datacenter Edition- is designed[9] for infrastructures demanding high security and reliability.
 Windows Server 2003 is available for x86, Itanium, and x86-64 processors.
 It supports a maximum of up to 32 processors on 32-bit or 64 processors on 64-bit hardware.
 32-bit architecture also limits memory addressability to 128 GB
 while the 64-bit versions support up to 1 TB.
 Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, also allows limiting processor and memory usage on a
per-application basis.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE IN SETTING DOMAIN CONTROLLER AND DNS SERVER
This tutorial will explain how to create a first domain controller(DC) in your network or company includes DNS
server setup in windows server 2003 .You have to install DNS server for DC without DNS the client computers
wouldn’t know which one is [Link] can host DNS on a different server than DC.
Before Starting the DC installation process you need to make sure the following points
 You have installed Basic windows server 2003 installation
 Make sure you have assigned a static ip address to your server
Now start DC and DNS Setup process
First you need to go to Start–>All Programs–>Administrative Tools–>Manage Your Server

Here you need to select Add or remove a role

Verify the following steps click on Next

Select Server Role as Domain Controller option click on Next

Summary of Your Selections click on Next

Active Directory Installation Wizard click on Next
Click “Next” on the compatibility window

Next window select the default option of “Domain Controller for a new domain” and click “Next”
In this tutorial we will create a domain in a new forest, because it is the first DC, so keep that option selected

Now we have to think of a name for our domain. If you have a domain like [Link]”, you can use it,
but it isn’t suggested because computers nside of your domain may not be able to reach the company website.
Active directory domains don’t need to be “real” domains like the one above – they can be anything you wish. So i
will create “[Link]”.
Now in order to keep things simple, we will use “windowsreferenc”, which is the default selection, as the NetBIOS
name of the domain.

The next dialog suggests storing the AD database and log on separate hard disks

and you can just leave the default settings.

The SYSVOL folder is a public share, where things like .MSI software packages can be kept when you will distribute
packages and you can just leave the default settings or you can change the path.

Next Screen basically says that you will need a DNS server in order for everything to work the way we want it (i.e.,
our “[Link]” to be reachable).we will install the DNS server on this machine or if you want you can
installed else where select “Install and Configure…” and click next.
Here you need to select the permissions for win 2000 or win 2003 server if you have any NT4 select first option
otherwise select second option and click next

The restore mode password is the single password that all administrators hope to never use, however they should
also never forget it because this is the single password that might save a failed [Link] next
Now we will see a summary of what will happen click next

Active directory installation process started this can take several minutes. It’s likely that you will be prompted for
your Windows Server 2003 CD (for DNS) so have it handy.

Active directory Installation finish screen click Finish.

Now you need to select “Restart Now” option to reboot your server.

After rebooting you can see new option for logon

After logging in you can see similar to the following screen saying your server is now domain controller.

That’s it now your server is configured as domain controller and DNS server.
If you want Step by step guide how to install windows server 2003 check here

How to Start the Group Policy Editor

To start the group policy editor, follow these steps.
NOTE: You must be logged on to the computer using an account that has administrator privileges in order to use
Group Policy Editor.
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type mmc, and then click OK.
3. On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.
4. Click Add.
5. Under Available Stand-alone Snap-ins, click Group Policy, and then click Add.
6. If you do not want to edit the Local Computer policy, click Browse to locate the group policy object that
you want. Supply your user name and password if prompted, and then when you return to the Select
Group Policy Object dialog box, click Finish.
NOTE: You can use the Browse button to locate group policy objects linked to sites, domains,
organizational units (OU), or computers. Use the default Group Policy Object (GPO) (Local Computer) to
edit the settings on the local computer.
7. Click Close, and then in the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog box, click OK.
The selected GPO is displayed in the Console Root.

How to Use the Group Policy Editor

The Group Policy snap-in contains the following major branches:
  Computer Configuration
Administrators can use Computer Configuration to set policies that are applied to computer, regardless of
who logs on to the computers. Computer Configuration typically contains sub-items for software settings,
Windows settings, and administrative templates.
 User Configuration
Administrators can use User Configuration to set policies that apply to users, regardless of which
computer they log on to. User Configuration typically contains sub-items for software settings, Windows
settings, and administrative templates.
To use the group policy editor, follow these steps:
1. Expand the GPO that you want. For example, Local Computer Policy.
2. Expand the configuration item that you want. For example, Computer Configuration.
3. Expand the sub-item that you want. For example, Windows Settings.
4. Navigate to the folder that contains the policy setting that you want. The policy items are displayed in the
right pane on the Group Policy Editor snap-in.
NOTE: If no policy is defined for the selected item, right-click the folder that you want and then on the
shortcut menu that appears, point to All Tasks, and then click the command that you want. The
commands that are displayed on the All Tasks submenu are context sensitive. Only those commands that
are applicable to the selected policy folder appear on the menu.
5. In the Setting list, double-click the policy item that you want.
NOTE: When you work with policy items in the Administrative Templates folder, click the Extended tab in
the right pane of the MMC if you want to view more information about the selected policy item.
6. Edit the settings of the policy in the dialog box that appears, and then click OK.
7. When you are finished, quit the MMC.
Example
The following example illustrates the use of the Group Policy Editor to customize the Windows XP user interface. In
this example, we will use the Group Policy Editor to temporarily remove the Turn Off Computer button from the
Start menu. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Start the Group Policy Editor and open the Local Computer policy by using the steps provided in the How
to Start the Group Policy Editor section of this article.
NOTE: You can start the Group Policy Editor snap-in from the command line. This automatically loads the
Local Computer GPO. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type [Link], and then click OK.
b. Expand User Configuration (if it is not already expanded).
c. Under User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates.
d. Click Start Menu and Taskbar.
e. In the right pane, double-click Remove and disable the Turn Off Computer button.
f. Click Enabled, and then click Apply.
g. Click Start.
Notice that the Turn Off Computer button is no longer displayed.
h. Select the Remove and disable the Turn Off Computer button Properties dialog box.
i. Click Not Configured, then click Apply, and then click OK.
j. Click Start.
Notice that the Turn Off Computer button is again displayed on the Start menu.
k. Quit the Group Policy Editor snap-in.