Windows NT Administration: A 2 Day Workshop

Overview This course is designed to provide an introduction to administering a network of Windows NT based systems. The workshop focus is on providing overviews to key features and functions for the student to investigate further on their own.

Course Requirements The course assumes that the students have some current responsibility for administering UNIX based systems. Experience with other Microsoft operating systems is not a prerequisite.

Course Objective At the end of the workshop, each student will be familiar with the key tools used in most day to day administrative tasks for Windows NT. They will have been introduced to system installation and updates, layered software installation, network setup and management, performance tuning, and troubleshooting issues.

Target Audience Any system administrator who is beginning to use Windows NT as a replacement for, or in addition to, some UNIX variant. The typical student administers a workgroup of 3-15 systems running Windows NT that is part of a larger environment dominated by UNIX systems. The focus will be on Workgroup, not Domain-based, environments.

Lab Requirements A lab will need to be available for use for 2 days for 8 continuous hours a day (exact hours are negotiable). Maximum class size of 15 students (preferred 10). Lecture environment needs to have a presentation display driven by an Intel-based system running Windows NT. Lab environment needs to include 3-5 Intel-based systems which contain no critical data. The systems should be on an isolated network.

Windows NT Administration: A 2 Day Workshop

Course Outline

I. Introduction .75 Hr

A. Overview of Course

B. Windows NT History

C. Key features of Windows NT

1. Multitasking and multithreading

2. GUI

3. Windows NT Workstation and Server

4. Network model - Domains and Workgroups

5. Windows NT vs. other Microsoft Platforms

II. Windows NT from a UNIX Perspective 1 Hr

A. Overview of Windows NT’s Structure

1. Kernel, HAL, Drivers

2. Protected and User mode services

B. File system architectures

C. Multi-OS Networking

1. Windows based

2. NetWare

3. Macintosh

D. Security

III. Basic Windows NT Workstation Installation 1 Hr

A. Prerequisites

B. Disk partitioning

C. Network setup

D. Repair disks

E. Multi-OS boot

F. Service packs

IV. Lab - Windows NT Installation 1 Hr

V. File and Printer Setup and Management .75 Hr

A. File sharing

B. ACL based security

C. Local printer setup

D. Sharable printer setup

E. Sharing a UNIX printer

VI. User Setup and Management 1 Hr

A. User profile manager

B. Establishing Groups

C. Adding Users

D. Setting Account Policies

E. Login scripts

VII. Lab - Setting up users and printers 1 Hr

VIII. Networking 1.5 Hr

A. Dial-up connections

1. Drivers

2. HyperTerminal

3. RAS

4. Internet via dial-up

B. LAN setup

1. Drivers

2. Single and Multiple NICs

3. Services

4. Multiple protocol LANs

C. LAN browsing

D. TCP/IP

1. Windows NT tools

2. Host file and lmhost

3. WINS, DNS, and DHCP

4. Routing

5. Internet Gateway

IX. Lab - Networking 1 Hr

X. System Maintenance 1.5 hr

A. Backups

B. Event Viewer

C. Key Tools

D. The Registry

E. Repair disk

F. "Last Known Good configuration …"

G. Basic trouble shooting

XI. Administration of user tools 1 hr

A. Mail systems

B. User profiles

C. Application preference settings

D. Application installation and de-installation

XII. Lab - System administration and maintenance 1 hr

XIII. Integrating Windows NT in a UNIX Environment 1.5 Hr

A. Window NT Tools

B. Commercial NFS Tools

C. X Windows

D. Shell replacements

E. Freeware

F. Data sharing

G. Security

H. The issues

XIV: Conclusion .5 Hr

A. Summary of other Resources

B. Summary of any Issues/Questions

C. Class Feedback