Windows NT Support-Lab Setup and Instructor's Notes

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Preparation

  1. Create the directory "c:\perf" on your local hard disk.

  2. Copy all files to your local c:\perf directory.

  3. Share the directory.

On This Page

Instructor's Notes for Lab 1: Setting Up User and Group Accounts
Lab 1: Setting Up User and Group Accounts
Lab 2: Configuring the Workstation
Lab 3 Using Disk Administrator
Lab 4:Administering File and Directory Sharing
Instructor's Notes for Lab 5 Printing From Windows NT
Lab 5: Printing From Windows NT
Instructor's Notes for Lab 6: Running Applications in Multiple Subsystems
Lab 6: Running Applications in Multiple Subsystems
Instructor's Notes for Lab 7: Installing Windows NT
Lab 7: Installing Windows NT
Instructor's Notes for Lab 8: Viewing Effects of Missing Files on System Boot
Lab 8: Viewing Effects of Missing Files on System Boot
Instructor's Notes for Lab 9: Performance Tuning and Optimization
Lab 9: Performance Tuning and Optimization
Instructor's Notes for LAB 10: Local Groups and the Single Domain Model
LAB 10: Local Groups and the Single Domain Model
Instructor's Notes for LAB 11: The Master Domain Model
LAB 11: The Master Domain Model
LAB 12: Directory Replication
Instructor's Notes for Lab 13: Remote Access Service
LAB 13: Remote Access Service
Lab 14: Performance Monitoring and Tuning

Instructor's Notes for Lab 1: Setting Up User and Group Accounts

No notes for this lab.

Lab 1: Setting Up User and Group Accounts

Objective

In this lab, you will use User Manager to set up user and group accounts and assign those user accounts to groups based on a case study.

Introducing the Case Study

A company is opening a new research facility in a city several hundred miles from its headquarters. The company wants to use Microsoft Windows™ as the platform for its personal computers. This will primarily involve using Windows NT as the platform for high-end and distributed processing, high-level security, and local area network functions.

About 120 company staff members will initially have offices in the building. Most of the staff will be scientists and engineers. There will also be a technical support staff and administrative personnel. The facility will be affiliated with a local university, from which students will act as interns to gather statistical information that will be used by the scientists.

The company will initially be setting up a Windows NT test lab for evaluation and tools prototyping, which will be used by several staff members. Eventually, the company plans to provide approximately 120 desktop computers in the facility. New applications will be used and developed at the facility. Also, applications designed to run on other operating system platforms will need to be incorporated into the system.

The company expects the facility to grow considerably, and plans to incorporate other operations on the site, such as a manufacturing facility or a customer service center. Within two years, there will be as many as 350 staff members.

Staff

The following staff members will be participating in the evaluation process.

Full Name

Position

Computer Use

[Your Name]

Administrator

Needs access to all information, except for highly sensitive research data.

Eddie Wong

Administrator

Needs access to all information, except for highly sensitive research data.

Melissa Mellom

Scientist

Needs access to highly sensitive research data, company archives, and statistical data.

Peggy Hines

Systems Engineer

Needs access to technical support data and company archives.

Michael Williams

Intern

Needs access to statistical data, project information, and company archives.

Terry Black

Scientist

Needs access to highly sensitive research data, company archives, and statistical data.

Carol Raymond

Intern

Needs access to statistical data, project information, and company archives.

Art Vaughan

Systems Engineer

Needs access to technical support data and company archives.

Terry Barnes

Scientist

Needs access to highly sensitive research data, company archives, and statistical data.

Lynn Black

Group Assistant

Needs access to applications and database directories only.

Planning User Accounts

In this section, you will read through the steps involved in planning user accounts. Refer to the case study and familiarize yourself with the needs of the facility and the users. When planning user accounts, you must be aware that some user environment choices will affect all users, and some will affect users individually.

Choices that affect all users include:

  • User Account Naming Conventions: Use a naming convention that is intuitive, easy to maintain, and easy to type. It should also accommodate multiple users with similar names.

    Note: For this lab we will use the first name and the first initial of the last name as the naming convention (as used by Microsoft)...

    Naming Convention

    Implementation

    Use up to 20 alphanumeric characters, with no spaces. For example, SmithJ.

    Melissa Mellom - meilissam

    Terry Black - terryb

    Terry Barnes - terryba

  • User Account Policies: What account policies (password rules) do you want applied to all users? For example, will all users be required to have a password? If so, will users be required to change their password frequently?

For this lab we will use the following policy:

Account Policy

Implementation

Maximum Password Age

Password Never Expires

Minimum Password Age

Allow Changes Immediately

Minimum Password Length

Permit Blank Password

Password Uniqueness

Do Not Keep Password History

Choices that affect individual users include:

  • Logon Scripts: Will the user's work environment require an application or batch file to run automatically upon logging on to the system?

  • Home Directories: Where will users store their data files? Will they need a directory that is private and secure?

  • Password Requirements: For example, which users will have the ability to change their own password?

Using the information provided in the case study, the User Accounts Table on the following page shows the configuration that we will use for the user accounts.

Note the following special considerations:

  • Carol Raymond will be attending school out of the country for the next six months but will return.

  • Lynn Black and Terry Barnes are new employees who will be starting in four weeks. Their user accounts don't need to be active until they start.

  • Upon logging on to the system, all users will require current project-related files to be copied from the server to a personnel directory.

  • The Group Assistants are responsible for the backup and restore operations on the system.

Full Name

User name

User Must Change Password at Next Logon (Yes/No)

User Can Change Password (Yes/No)

Password Never Expires (Yes/No)

Account Disabled (Yes/No)

Home Directory (Yes/No)

Logon Script Name

User Account Type

[Your Name]

 

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Logsys.bat

Admin

Eddie Wong

eddiew

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Logsys.bat

Admin

Melissa Mellom

melissam

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Logsys.bat

Scientist

Peggy Hines

peggyh

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Logsys.bat

Engineer

Michael Williams

michaelw

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Logsys.bat

Intern

Terry Black

terryb

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Logsys.bat

Scientist

Carol Raymond

carolr

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Logsys.bat

Intern

Art Vaughan

artv

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Logsys.bat

Engineer

Terry Barnes

terryba

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Logsys.bat

Scientist

Lynn Black

lynnb

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Logsys.bat

GroupAst

Guest

guest

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

 

Guest

Exercise 1 Setting Account Policy

In this exercise, you will set the default account policy for your Windows NT computer. This account policy will apply to all users.

Log on as Administrator and using the User Manager utility, select the Accounts option under the Policies menu. Fill in the options with the policy defined in the table on page 4 of this lab.

Exercise 2 Creating User Accounts

In this exercise, you will create a user account for each type of employee that will serve as a template for setting up future accounts for employees with similar account requirements. Use the User Account Type column from the User Account table on page 4 as a source for the account user names. New accounts can be created by selecting the New User option under the User menu.

Keep in mind:

You are only creating generic user accounts here (for example: Intern or Scientist) that will serve as templates not specific user accounts (for example: eddiew or peggyh).

Some default options for the accounts:

Password: Blank
Change Password at next Logon - Off
The Local Path (under the Profile option) will be:
X:\USERS\%USERNAME% 
where  X  is the drive that contains your NT system files.

Question: Do you need to create an Administrator account? How about a Guest account? Why or Why not?

No. There are two default accounts created at installation: Administrator and Guest.

Exercise 3 Setting up Group Accounts

In this exercise, you will create the group accounts that will be used for the company introduced in the case study.

Why we use groups:

  • Groups provide a convenient way to give and control access to multiple users who will be using Windows NT to perform similar tasks. By placing users within a group, you give all of the users in that group the same abilities and/or restrictions.

  • Default group accounts determine the rights a user has to a system.

  • By default, all new users are added to the default group named Users.

Default Group Accounts

The following table lists the capabilities associated with each default group account provided with Windows NT.

Default Group Account

Has the Ability To

Users

Run applications
Manage files
Create and manage groups
Keep a personal profile
Connect to a computer over a network

Power Users

Same as Users plus:
Create new user accounts
Modify user accounts they have created
Share directories on the network
Install, share, and manage printers
Set the computer's internal clock

Administrators

Same as Power Users plus:
Modify and delete user accounts and groups created by others
Assign user accounts to default groups
Create, delete, and connect to administrative shares
Override a workstation lock
Format or partition a hard disk
Assign user rights
Control auditing
Back up and restore the entire system
Debug the system
Take ownership of files and other objects

Backup Operators

Back up and restore files on a system

Guests

Log on to a computer
Connect to a computer over the network (resource access is controlled by users in the administrators group)

Replicator

Administer domain controller replication functions

  1. Using the Group Accounts column in the Group Accounts table below as a source for the group names, create the group accounts required by the company introduced in the case study. Select the New Local Group option under the User menu.

    Note: If any users appear in the Members list box while you are creating the groups then remove them.

  2. Group Assistants are responsible for the system backup and restore operations. Give the GRASSIST group you just created these rights.

    Question: There are two ways to do this, what are they?

    Go to the User Rights option under the Policies menu in User Manager. Select the backup and restore rights and add the GRASSIST group to the list of users that have those rights.

    OR

    Add the groups Assistant's user account to the Backup Operator's group.

  3. Referring to the table below, put the User Account templates in the appropriate groups. (Hint: To do this, first dbl-click the group name)

Group Accounts

User Accounts

Group Accounts

Scientist

Research

Engineer

TechSupp

Intern

Interns

Groupast

grassist

Exercise 4 Adding Multiple User Accounts

In this exercise, you will create a user account for each of the employees in the test case company. Use the Copy option under the User menu to copy one of the template accounts you created in the previous exercise for a user with the same account requirements. Do this for each user until you have accounts set up for all employees. Do not forget to disable the appropriate accounts!

Question: Does capitalization matter in the user name?

No. Only in Passwords.

After you have finished creating the accounts, dbl-click on one of the GROUPS that you created and note who the members of the group are.

Question: Do you have to add each employee's user account to their respective group? Why or why not?

No. Since the original account that was used as a template was a member of the group, any copies made from that account will also be a member of the same groups.

Close the group windows and dbl-click on one of the user accounts that you created. Select the Profile option.

Question: What information has changed on this screen?

When the orignal account was setup, the Local Path was

X:\USERS\%USERNAME%

Now the user's username will appear in place of %USERNAME%.

Instructor's Notes for Lab 2: Configuring the Workstation

No Instructor's notes

Lab 2: Configuring the Workstation

Objective

In this lab, you will modify user configurations through the Control Panel, determine how to modify the system configuration through the Control Panel and the Windows NT Setup program, and explore the Registry to determine the system configuration.

Exercise 1 Modifying the User Configuration

In this exercise, you will configure different environments for multiple users who will be working on the same system. Logon as each of the users listed and note the changes that you make in the table below. Pay attention to how it affects the other users.

User

Customization

Was the other account changed?

Guest

Change desktop colors, screen saver, wallpaper, and the cursor.
Create a personal group that contains the Regedit.
Create a common group that contains the Regedit.
Change the system time to Pacific Standard Time.
Give this user backup rights.

 

Administrator

Change desktop colors, screen saver, wallpaper, and the cursor.
Create a personal group that contains the Regedit.
Create a common group that contains the Regedit.
Change the system time to Pacific Standard Time.
Give this user backup rights.

 

Guest

Change colors again
Delete the personal group that you created.
Delete the common Group that you created.

 

Exercise 2 Modifying the System Configuration

In this exercise, you will review the following scenarios, each describing a need for a change to the Windows NT system configuration. List the utility that would be used to make the necessary configuration changes.

  1. Your mouse has stopped working. The replacement mouse requires a different driver.

    Setup

  2. A user is left-handed and would like the left and right mouse buttons switched.

    Control Panel - Mouse option

    Question: How will this change impact others using the same system?

    It will not change their setup. It will only affect the user that is currently logged on.

  3. You have just purchased a specialized keyboard. The vendor has provided a new keyboard driver.

    Setup

  4. You are installing a SCSI adapter and tape device driver to use with the Windows NT tape backup program.

    Go to Setup and use the Install Tape Devices menu option.

  5. Your Windows NT system requires an additional network adapter card to connect to a token ring network.

    Use the Network Option under Control Panel.

  6. Your Windows NT system will have battery backup power from a UPS.

    UPS option under Control Panel.

  7. The daylight savings time change is approaching, and you want the Windows NT system to automatically adjust for it.

    Date/Time Option Under Control Panel.

  8. Someone has removed the files associated with the CD Player, Media Player, and Sound Record programs, and they no longer appear in the Accessories group. You will need these files to use your new CD player.

    Setup.

  9. A user will be using an MS-DOS\expndtw-35 –\expndtw-35 based application that directly accesses hardware. It would more convenient for the user if the workstation would boot, by default, into MS-DOS rather than Windows NT.

    System option under Control Panel.

Exercise 3 Exploring the Registry

In this exercise, you will explore the Registry with the Registry Editor to determine the hardware and software configuration of your system. See how many configurations in the Configuration Table you can find.

  1. Make sure you are logged on to the workstation as an administrator.

  2. Start the Registry Editor.

  3. Minimize all windows except for the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on Local Machine window.

    You will see an \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder with \HARDWARE, \SAM, \SECURITY, \SOFTWARE, and \SYSTEM folders underneath it. The information within the registry database is stored in this tree-like format.

  4. Open the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder.

  5. Open the \HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\SYSTEM folder to display the System description.

    The System Identifier (your computer type) appears in the Identifier field.

  6. Record this information in the Registry Pathname\Entry column of the Configuration table below.

  7. Use the \HARDWARE folder to document your computer's hardware configuration in the following configuration table.

  8. Use the \SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT folder to document your computer's software configuration in the following configuration table.

Configuration Table

Hardware Configuration

Registry Pathname\Entry

System Identifier

 

Central Processor(s)

 

Bus Adapter Type

 

Keyboard Class

 

Parallel Port(s)

 

Communication Port(s)

 

Other Drivers

 

Other Drivers

 

Other Drivers

 

Windows NT Software Configuration

 

Registered Owner

 

Registered Organization

 

Current Version

 

Current Build

 

Current Type

 

Path Name

 

Default Domain Name

 

  1. Open the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE window. Select \SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS NT\CURRENT VERSION \INI FILE MAPPING\REGEDIT.INI. The entry that is displayed is a path that starts with a hive name - USR (USR = HKEY_CURRENT_USER). Write the path down and open the USR window.

If you follow the path, what do you find at the end?

They will find the Regedit.ini entries.

Even though there may be more than one entry for the same information in the registry, how does Windows NT keep from storing more than one copy of the information?

It will make entries consisting of pointers to other parts of the registry where the actual data is kept.

Exercise 4 Viewing the Registry on a Peer Workstation

In this exercise, you will view the Registry on a peer workstation to determine its software configuration. Ask someone sitting close to you for the name of their computer. This will be referenced in the exercise as the \\[PEER WORKSTATION]. Make sure you are logged on to the system as the administrator.

Note: The username and password (in this case the administrator) on your workstation must match the username and password on the peer workstation. This is necessary to access the other workstation's resources.

  1. Start from the Registry Editor.

  2. From the Registry menu, choose Select Computer.

    The Select Computer dialog box appears.

  3. In the Computer box, type \\[PEER WORKSTATION], and then choose the OK button.

  4. Document the following configuration information:

    Windows NT Software Configuration

    Registry Entry

    Current Version

     

    Current Build

     

  5. When you are done, choose Close from the Registry menu. This will close all windows for the peer workstation.

Exercise 5 Viewing Changes to the Registry

In this exercise, you will modify the Registry database through the Control Panel and view the changes using the Registry Editor.

  1. Start at the Registry Editor main screen, with the HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_USERS windows open.

  2. Display the mouse parameters for the HKEY_USERS by selecting the \DEFAULT\CONTROL PANEL\MOUSE folder, and for the HKEY_CURRENT_USER by selecting the \CONTROL PANEL\MOUSE folder.

    The mouse parameters appear in each window.

    What are the values for the SwapMouseButtons parameter?

    • In the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder? No

    • In the HKEY_USERS folder? 0 (zero)

  3. Minimize the Registry Editor.

  4. From the Main program group, open the Control Panel.

  5. Double-click the mouse icon.

    The Mouse dialog box appears.

  6. Select the Swap Left/Right Buttons check box.

  7. Choose the OK button.

  8. Maximize the Registry Editor and view the SwapMouseButtons parameter in each window.

  9. In which window did the parameter value change?

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER

  10. Which user(s) will be affected by this change?

    Only the user currently logged on.

  11. Double click the SwapMouseButton line in HKEY_CURRENT_USER and change the string to No. What Happened?

    Nothing will happen until the system is restarted.

  12. Leave everything the way it is and log out of Windows NT. Log back in as the same user. Has anything changed? Why or Why not?

    Yes. Since the system has been restarted the mouse will now be back to normal.

Exercise 6 Virtual Memory

In this exercise, you will use the Control Panel System Utility to configure the virtual memory setting.

  1. Log on as the Administrator.

  2. Look in the Registry at the following location and note the size of your current paging file: \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SAM \CURRENTCONTROLSET\CONTROL\SESSION MANAGER\MEMORY MANAGEMENT and note the settings.

  3. Go into the Control Panel and add 5 M to the size of your page file. (Do not reboot after this).

  4. Go back into the registry and note the changes.

  5. Go into the Control Panel and return the Control Panel to the original settings.

Lab 3 Using Disk Administrator

Exercise 1 Creating Partitions

In this exercise, you will use the Disk Adminstrator utility to create and set up an NTFS partition.

  1. Logon as Administrator, and using the Create Extended option under the Paritions menu in the Disk Administrator, create an Extended partition that uses 3/4 all of the remaining space. (In order to create a partition, you must select the portion of the remaining disk that you wish to partition using the mouse).

    * Does it matter what kind of partition you want to create at this point?_____________________________________

    * What would happen if you used the Create option instead of the Create Exteneded option at this point?_____________________________________________

  2. Using the Create option, create three logical drives on the extended partition you just created, each logical drive taking up 1/3 of the total space on the Extended partition.

  3. Close all applications that are currently running, and restart your system.

  4. Go to a command prompt. Use the NT Format command to format each of the new logical drives. Make one drive NTFS, one drive FAT, and one drive HPFS.

  5. Using Disk Administrator, extend your new NTFS partition to use the reamining space on the physical drive.

    * What are the steps you followed to do this?______________________________

Instructor's Notes for Lab 4 Administering File and Directory Sharing

This lab assumes:
Lab 1 and Lab 3 have been completed.
Each student now has:

a 100 MB FAT partition - drive C:
a 25 MB NTFS partition - drive D or E
a 10 MB FAT partition - drive D or E

The instructor's machine has a shared HPFS partition with the following file structure on it:

\DATABASE
\DATA\DBFILES
\DATA\RESEARCH
\ARCHIVES LIBRARY lineBreak/>\REPORTS\STATISTICS
\REPORTS\TECH
Each student has access to a copy of Word for Windows

Lab 4:Administering File and Directory Sharing

Objective

In this lab, you will copy files to partitions set up for FAT and NTFS file systems to see how directory and file names are supported, set directory permissions, create shared directories, and connect to shared directories. Some of the exercises are based on the case study.

Before You Begin

You will need the name of the instructor server __________________________

If the Disk Administration lab has not been completed, the instructor will step the class through creating an extended partition and two logical drives, D and E, and formatting them to NTFS and FAT for completing this lab.

Exercise 1 Determining File Systems

In this exercise, you will decide which file system and operating system will best support the following needs:

Need

File System

Operating System

Protect highly sensitive research data

NTFS

Windows NT

Run applications that need to directly access hardware

FAT

MS-DOS

Run applications that require Presentation Manager

HPFS

OS/2

Protect highly sensitive information on a workstation that will not be running MS-DOS

NTFS

Windows NT

Display creation and modification dates on files

NTFS

Windows NT

Exercise 2 Using Files in Multiple File Systems

In this exercise, you will copy files among three different file systems to see how file names are supported. First, you will copy files from a volume located on the instructor server to an NTFS volume on your workstation. Then, you will copy files from an NTFS volume to a FAT volume.

  1. Start File Manager.

  2. Connect to the instructor machine.

  3. Copy the HPFS directories from the instructor machine to your 25 MB NTFS partition.

  4. Compare the directory and file names on your NTFS partition with the directory and file names on the instructors machine. How are they different?

    They look the same

    ________________________________________________

  5. Copy the HPFS directories to your 10MB FAT partition.

  6. Compare the directory and file names on your FAT partition with the directory and file names on your NTFS partition. How are they different?

    The long names have been converted to XXXXXXXX.XXX on the FAT partition.

    ________________________________________________

Exercise 3 Converting File Systems

A high level of security is required for research data. To obtain the required level of security, you will need to convert a partition from the FAT file system to the NTFS file system.

  1. Use the File Manager to create a directory on your 10 MB FAT partition called PUBLIC.

  2. Using Notepad, create a file called TESTDATA.TXT and save it in the \DATA\RESEARCH directory (it does not matter what is in the file). Create a file called PROJECT.TXT and save it in the PUBLIC directory.

  3. From the NT Command prompt, type:

convert x: /fs:ntfs

where x is the drive letter of your 10 MB FAT partition.

**Question:** Are the Directories still there? How about the files? If so, did any of the names change (directory or file)?

*All the files and directories are still there and will be unchanged.*

Exercise 4 Identifying File Systems

In this exercise, you will view directory and file names to determine which file system a directory is using.

  1. Locally there are three ways of determining the file system, remotely, there is one. What are they:

    Local

    1.

    File Manager

    Remote

    1.

    File Manager

     

    2.

    Chkdsk

     

    3.

    Disk Administrator

  2. Examine the files that you copied in Exercise 3 on both your local partitions and on the instructor machine. What distinguishes files on NTFS, HPFS, and FAT volumes?

    Long File Names on the NTFS and HPFS volumes

Short on the FAT volume

FAT filenames are displayed like a DOS directory

NTFS and HPFS are displayed: Date..Time..Size..Filename

**Question:** If you were to run the conversion process mentioned in Exercise 2 and convert an NTFS partition to FAT Would the filenames change?

*Any long file name would be converted to the XXXXXXXX.XXX form.*

Exercise 5 Support Issue: Long file names

In this exercise, you will view the effects of file management problems involving long file names and the file handling process of a 16 bit application.

  1. Using notepad from Windows NT, create a text file with a line of text inside. Save this file on your 25 MB NTFS partition under the name of LONGNAMETEXTFILE.TXT.

  2. Start an NT command prompt and use the DIR command to view the name of the file you just created. Is the filename long or short? Long

  3. Use the DIR /X command to view the short version of the file name. Edit the file with the DOS editor. Type:

EDIT <shortfilename>

where \<shortfilename\> is the name you found using DIR /x. Add another line of text to the file. Save the file.
  1. Once again use the DIR command to view the file name. Is it long or short?

    Long

  2. Switch back to the Windows NT Program Manager and start Word for Windows. Load LONGNAMETEXTFILE.TXT and add one more line of text. Save the file and close Word.

  3. Return to the command prompt and use the DIR command once again. Is the name long or short?

    Short

Explain what happened in this Exercise: The DOS editor only understands the short file names. If you try to load a long name into EDIT you get a Bad File Error. Using DIR /X will display the short name that EDIT can use. Windows NT's file system takes care of the translation from long to short and knows which file is needed when the Editor asks for it. When EDIT saves the file, NT's file system translates the short name back to the long name.

When Word saves a file, it saves a temporary version of the file first. Deletes the original and renames the copy. Once deleted, the NT file system no longer retains the long filename so it is lost. Since Word does not understand long file names, it will only rename the file with the short name it has been using.

Exercise 6 Setting Directory Permissions

In this exercise, you will set permissions on directories and files and assign group accounts to them.

  1. Using the Security menu in File Manager, set the permissions described in the following table.

    Directory 10 MB NTFS

    Groups

    Permissions

    \PUBLIC

    ALL GROUPS

    All

    \DATA\RESEARCH\TESTDATA.TXT

    All Groups

    All

    \PUBLIC\PROJECT.TXT

    INTERNS

    All

    Question: What happens if you try to set permissions on your DOS directory on the C: drive? It will inform you that is not an NTFS partition so the operation is not possible.

  2. Use the table on page 2 of Lab 1 and decide which groups should have access to what directories. Then fill out the table below and set the permissions to the appropriate directories.

    Directory 10 MB NTFS

    Groups

    Permissions

    \DATABASE

    Admins
    Interns
    Grassist

    All
    Read
    All

    \DATA\DBFILES

    Admins
    Interns
    Grassist

    All
    Read
    All

    \ARCHIV-1

    Admins
    Research
    Techsupp
    Interns

    All
    All
    All
    Read

    \DATA\RESEARCH

    Research

    All

    \REPORTS\STATIS-1

    Admins
    Research
    Interns

    All
    All
    All

    \REPORTS\TECH

    Admins
    Techsupp

    All
    All

  3. Try logging on as different employees of the company introduced in the case study and try accessing the various directories and files you created using File Manager.

  4. Using Notepad, try to edit the TESTDATA.TXT file and the PROJECT.TXT file while being logged in as different users.

    Question: Do Directory Permissions affect File Permissions? If so, how?

    Directory permissions come first. A user must be able to access a directory before they can access a file in the directory regardless of whether or not they have specific access rights to a file.

Exercise 6 Sharing Directories

  1. Using File Manager, create a share using the root directory on your 10 MB NTFS partition. Try connecting to a share on another machine in the class room and accessing the same directories as you did in Exercise 5. Try this while being logged on to your own machine as different users.

    Question: Do the same permissions apply over the net?

    Yes

    Question: Is there a difference in how the systems display the files and directories that you have and do not have access to when you are accessing a remote drive verses your local drive?

    Yes. Locally File Manager Displays an Access Denied message. When you are accessing over the net directories that you do not have access to will appear to be empty (even if they are not)

Instructor's Notes for Lab 5 Printing From Windows NT

This Lab Assumes:

That the instructor's machine has a printer attached.

That the instructors printer is NOT an Epson.

The Printer name and the Share name given to the printers locally (instructor's and students) are the same name. When a printer is created it must be named. When a printer is shared it must be given a share name. These two names must to be the same. Each student can name their printers anything they want as long as they give their printers the same name and share name.

Lab 5: Printing From Windows NT

Objective

In this lab, you will use Print Manager to set up and share a printer on your workstation, set printer permissions, connect to shared printer, delete a print job, and route a print job to another printer.

Before You Begin

You will need:

• Name of the instructor server

______________________________

• Name of the instructor printer

______________________________

Exercise 1 Setting Up a Local Shared Printer

In this exercise, you will set up and share a printer on your workstation.

  1. Make sure you are logged on to the system as an administrator.

  2. From the Main program group, open Print Manager.

  3. From the Printer menu, choose Create Printer.

  4. In the Printer Name box, type a name for your printer.

  5. In the Driver box, select the an EPSON DOT MATRIX printer driver from the list.

  6. In the Description box, type a brief description.

  7. In the Print to box, type the printer port or select one from the list.

  8. Select the Share this Printer on the Network check box.

  9. In the Location box, type a comment about your printer, and then choose the OK button.

  10. Install the printer driver.

The Print Manager window appears and displays a window with the status of the new printer.

Exercise 2 Setting Permissions for Shared Printers

In this exercise, you will set permissions for your workstation printer. Everyone will have access to the printer. The Interns will manage the printer.

  1. Start from Print Manager.

  2. From the Security menu, choose Permissions.

  3. From the Printer Permissions dialog box, choose the Add button.

  4. In the Names box, select the Interns group account, and then choose the Add button.

  5. In the Type of Access box, select Manage Documents from the list, and then choose the OK button.

  6. Choose the OK button when done.

Exercise 3 Connecting to a Shared Printer

In this exercise, you will use Print Manager to connect to the printer located on the instructor machine, print a file, view the status of a print job, and disconnect from a printer.

  1. Start from Print Manager.

  2. From the Printer menu, choose Connect To Printer, or choose the Connect To Printer button from the toolbar and connect to the printer on the instructor's machine.

  3. In the Default box, select the printer that is attached to the instructor machine. Set it as the default printer and minimize the Print Manager.

  4. Create and save a small Notepad file. Send it to the printer on the instructor's machine.

  5. Maximize Print Manager.

  6. Click your print job, and then choose Remove Document from the Document menu, or press DEL.

  7. From the Printer menu, choose Remove Printer.

    A message box prompts you for a confirmation.

  8. Choose the Yes button.

    Question: You have an Epson printer driver installed but the printer on the instructor's machine is not an Epson - and the job still printed. How is this possible?

    In Windows NT the printer drivers reside on the machine that owns the printer. When a print job is sent over the net to an NT server, the server provides the driver and does not care what driver the workstation has installed.

Exercise 4 Managing Printers and Files

In this exercise, route a print job to another printer.

  1. Start from Print Manager. Make sure that your Epson is selected as the active printer.

  2. From the Printer menu, choose Pause, or choose the Pause Printer button from the toolbar.

  3. Minimize the Print Manager window.

  4. Use Notepad and print a test document 3 times.

  5. Maximize Print Manager.

  6. From the Printer menu, choose Properties, or choose the Properties button from the toolbar.

  7. In the Print To box, select Network Printer from the list. Then select Local Port.

  8. Click OK and a dialog will ask you for the network path. Enter the path to the instructors machine.

    The Printer Properties appears with the new Print To destination.

  9. Choose the OK button to re-route the printer.

  10. From the Printer menu, choose Resume or choose the Resume Printer button from the toolbar.

    The file status changes to printing and the file is routed to the instructor printer.

  11. Exit Print Manager.

Instructor's Notes for Lab 6: Running Applications in Multiple Subsystems

This Lab assumes:

That the students know the name of the instructor's machine.

Windows 3.1 is installed on the student machines.

Word for Windows is available to the students.

Both the 16-bit and 32-bit versions of BadApp.exe are on the student machines.

Lab 6: Running Applications in Multiple Subsystems

Objective

In this lab, you will run sample applications that use different subsystems to determine how they run in a Windows NT environment.

Exercise 1 Subsystem Protection

In this exercise, you will see the effect of bad applications on the different subsystems.

  1. Go to a command prompt and use the start command to launch the MS-DOS editor from the DOS directory on your computer. Now launch one 16-bit Windows application.

  2. From Program Manager launch one more 16-bit Windows application. Notice how much faster the second 16-bit Windows application started.

    Question: Why did the second 16-bit Windows application load so much faster than the first?

    Because all 16-bit Windows apps run as separate threads in the WOW subsystem. The sub system loads once (when the first 16 bit Windows app is loaded) and creates a new thread for each additional Win16 app that is loaded. Since the subsystem is already loaded, each additional app loaded will load faster than the first.

  3. Start one Windows NT application. .

  4. Minimize all of the applications you have started.

  5. Now launch the 16-bit version of BadApp.exe. Select Hang. As soon as the app has hung itself, attempt to restore one of the other 16-bit Windows apps. Move your mouse around the screen and note any changes in the cursor.

    Question: How is the cursor affected by a frozen application?

    It will appear as an hour glass when the pointer is touching an application that is running in a frozen subsystem.

  6. Start the Task Manager and terminate BadApp.

    Question: Which subsystems were affected and how could you tell?

    Only the WOW subsystem will be affected. When you terminate BadApp one of two things will happen depending on which option you chose (Hang or GP-Fault). If GP-Fault was selected then BadApp will terminate and all of the other icons at the bottom of the screen will remain. This shows that the single thread of execution in the WOW subsystem that represented BadApp has been terminated. If the Hang option was selected, BadApp and the other 16-bit Windows application icons at the bottom of the screen will disappear. This is an indication that the entire WOW subsystem has been terminated.

    Question: Did the DOS Editor icon disappear? Why or why not?

    No it will not. The DOS Editor runs in a Virtual Dos Machine (VDM). 16-bit Windows apps run in the WOW sub system. These are two separate unrelated entities.

  7. Now launch the 32-bit version of BadApp.exe. Select Hang. As soon as the app has hung itself, attempt to restore the other 32-bit app.

    Question: Do they still run? Why or Why not?

    Yes, the other apps still work. This shows that they are all running on separate subsystems that do not affect each other even if one hangs.

  8. Use the Task Manager to terminate BadApp.

    Question: How were the other subsystems affected?

    They are not affected.

Exercise 2 Using the PIF Editor

In this exercise, you will use the PIF Editor to configure a virtual DOS machine.

  1. Go into Notepad and create an autoexec.xxx that sets any environment variable to any value. Save the file in the root directory.

  2. Set up a PIF that will run the 16-bit version of MSD from the Windows directory on your machine. (If this file is not on your machine, let the instructor know).

  3. As part of the configuration information for the PIF, select the Windows NT button. In the dialog box enter the name and path of the autoexec file that you just created. Save the PIF in the user default directory. Call it MSD.PIF.

  4. From the Program Manager, create an icon for 16-bit MSD. On the command line specify the PIF you just created.

  5. Double click on the icon. Go into OS Version option in MSD and view the environment settings.

Instructor's Notes for Lab 7: Installing Windows NT

This Lab assumes:

The instructor will have Windows NT disk sets available for the students to use.

There are at least two blank floppy disks per student.

Lab 7: Installing Windows NT

Objective

In this lab, you will become familiar with the setup process for Windows NT. It is very important that by the end of this lab everyone has a copy of the same build of Windows NT workstation installed so that we will have connectivity.

For More Information

For more information, refer to the Release Notes and Chapter 1, Getting Started, in the Microsoft Windows NT System Guide and Chapter 18 in Inside Windows NT.

Before You Begin

You will need the following items before starting setup:

  • A blank formatted high-density disk labeled Windows NT Setup

  • A blank (formatted or unformatted) high density disk labeled Emergency Repair

  • Instructor server name ___________________________________

Exercise Installing Windows NT

In this exercise, part of the class will install Windows NT from CD-ROM and part of the class will install from diskette. Check with your instructor to find out which group you are in. Also, check with your instructor to determine which disk drive you are to install Windows NT on.

Installing Windows NT from diskette or from the net

  1. Install Windows NT.

    Note: Check with the instructor regarding the build number and install location.

  2. Make notes on any places in the installation that may cause customer questions.

    Question: What is the command that you type to start setup for Windows NT?

    WINNT

Installing Windows NT Using CD-ROM

These are the steps that you follow to install Microsoft Windows NT from CD-ROM.

  1. Insert the Microsoft Windows NT CD-ROM.

  2. Insert the CD-ROM Setup disk 1 into drive A, and restart the computer.

  3. Complete the Windows NT setup.

Instructor's Notes for Lab 8: Viewing Effects of Missing Files on System Boot

This lab assumes:

That students will have at least one copy of Windows NT installed on a FAT partition.

DOS 5.00 system disks will be available to restart machines from floppy disk.

Lab 8: Viewing Effects of Missing Files on System Boot

Objective

In this lab, you will rename files needed for system boot and attempt to restart the system without the required files available. You will note where the system fails during system boot and then restore the system back to its original state.

Before You Begin

You will need an MS-DOS 5.0 system disk.

Exercise 1 Identifying System File Problems

In this exercise, you will rename the system files to identify when a booting problem occurs and its associated error message. Document the information in the following table.

  1. Make sure you are logged on to the workstation as an administrator.

    Rename one file at a time from the following list (this might require booting the workstation from an MS-DOS 5.0 system disk if the file is locked open).

    • C:\NTLDR

    • C:\BOOT.INI

    • C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\NTOSKRNL.EXE

    • C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\HAL.DLL

    • C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\FASTFAT.SYS

    • C:\NTDETECT.COM

    • C:\BOOTSECT.DOS

    • C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\NTFS.SYS

    • C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\VGA.SYS

    • C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\NPFS.SYS

  2. Shut down and restart the workstation. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to access the Windows NT Security message box, and then choose the Shutdown button. When prompted, choose the OK button to restart the workstation.

  3. Observe where the boot process fails.

  4. Document the failure point and error message.

  5. Rename the file to its original name (this might require booting the workstation from an MS-DOS 5.0 system disk if the file is locked open).

  6. Restart the workstation and repeat the steps for each file.

System Files

Filename

Failure Point

Error Message

Warm or Cold Boot Required to Restore File?

NTLDR

 

 

 

BOOT.INI

 

 

 

NTOSKRNL.EXE

 

 

 

HAL.DLL

 

 

 

FASTFAT.SYS

 

 

 

NTDETECT.COM

 

 

 

BOOTSECT.DOS

 

 

 

NTFS.SYS

 

 

 

VGA.SYS

 

 

 

NPFS.SYS

 

 

 

Exercise 2 Identifying Registry File Problems

In this exercise, you will rename registry files used during the boot process to identify when a booting problem occurs and its associated error message. Document the information in the following table.

  1. Make sure you are logged on to the workstation as an administrator.

  2. Rename one file at a time from the following list (this might require booting the workstation from an MS-DOS 5.0 system disk if the file is locked open). Rename the SYSTEM and SYSTEM.ALT files together.

C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM and C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM.ALT C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SECURITY C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\DEFAULT

  1. Shut down and restart the workstation. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to access the Windows NT Security message box, and then choose the Shutdown button. When prompted, choose the OK button to restart the workstation.

  2. Observe where the boot process fails.

  3. Document the failure point and error message.

  4. Rename the file to its original name (this might require booting the workstation from an MS-DOS 5.0 system disk).

  5. If renaming the file to its original state doesn't solve the problem, document the solution.

  6. Restart the workstation and repeat the steps for each file.

Registry Files

Filename

Failure Point

Error Message

Solution

Warm or Cold Boot Required to Restore File?

SYSTEM and
SYSTEM.ALT

 

 

 

 

SOFTWARE

 

 

 

 

SECURITY

 

 

 

 

DEFAULT

 

 

 

 

Instructor's Notes for Lab 9: Performance Tuning and Optimization

This lab assumes:

Each student will have access to the BEGIN.BAT file.

Lab 9: Performance Tuning and Optimization

Objective

In this lab, you will tune the paging file, change priorities of threads and processes, and monitor system performance with Performance Meter.

Exercise 1 Tuning the Paging File

In this exercise, you will determine the size of the paging file on your system.

  1. Open the Control Panel and run the System icon.

  2. Choose the Virtual Memory button.

    Question: What is the range of the Paging File Size?

    Question: How is the default minimum paging file size determined?

    Available RAM plus 12 MB

Exercise 2 Changing the Priority of Threads and Processes

In this exercise, you will change the priority of threads and processes so that applications will respond equally.

  1. Start from an MS-DOS prompt.

  2. Minimize all windows except for the MS-DOS prompt window.

  3. From the C:\DOS directory, start the BEGIN.BAT file. Type:

begin

**The BEGIN.BAT file starts two other batch files. You should see several directories scrolling on the screen.**
  1. Tile the applications so that they appear in two separate windows.

    Question: Which window has priority?

    The window in the foreground will have priority.

  2. Experiment with making each window active to see what happens when a window is in the foreground.

  3. Click the Program Manager icon to open the system menu.

    The System menu appears.

    Question: Did the priority of windows change? Which window has priority when the System menu is open?

    Yes. When another Window is in the foreground, the other two processes have equal background priority so they will start to run at the same speed.

  4. Open Control Panel and run the System icon.

  5. Choose the Tasking button.

  6. Select the Foreground and Background Applications Equally Responsive option, and then choose the OK button.

  7. Close the Control Panel, and minimize Program Manager.

    Question: Which window has priority?

    They will all have the same priority.

  8. Set tasking to its original state of Best Foreground Application Response Time.

Exercise 3 Monitoring System Performance

In this exercise, you will use Performance Meter to monitor system performance on the following:

Object

Counter

Instance

Scale

Processor

% Processor Time

0

---------------

Process

% Processor Time

PERFMON

---------------

Memory

Pages/sec

---------------

1000.0

Redirector

Packets/sec

---------------

1000.0

  1. From Administrative Tools program group, open Performance Meter.

  2. From the Edit menu, choose Add to Chart, or select the Add button from the toolbar.

    The Add to Chart dialog box appears (If you get a DLL initialization failure, choose the OK button to continue.)

  3. Using the table above, configure the Performance Meter.

  4. Move the window to a corner of the screen, and make it small enough so that you can see activity in other windows.

  5. What is the peak (max) percentage for Performance Meter?

    100%

  6. What's the average percent processor time for Performance Meter?

    Students will get various answers.

  7. Open File Manager, connect to a network drive. From the Disk menu, choose Connect to Network Drive, or choose the Connect icon from the toolbar.

  8. Which object's activity increased?

    Redirector

  9. If you have time, experiment setting different objects. Be sure to document any unusual results.

Object

Counter

Instance

Scale

Results

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructor's Notes for LAB 10: Local Groups and the Single Domain Model

This lab assumes:

  • There is a domain user account for each department in the class model on the instructor's machine.

  • There is a share created on the instructor's machine with access permitted to members of the Domain Users group that will contain a text file for the students to copy called DOMAIN.TXT.

  • There is an Administrator account on the instructor's machine called Add with a password of Add.

LAB 10: Local Groups and the Single Domain Model

Objectives

This lab is designed to familiarize you with the single domain model in the NT environment.

In this lab you will:

  • Become part of a class-wide domain.

  • Use Resources in the class-wide domain.

  • Implement a local group.

Before You Begin

Make sure you understand where you are in:

  • The class model map.

  • The domain model.

The domain name is:

Your domain account is:

The domain sharename is:

The Class Model

Cc767922.train1(en-us,TechNet.10).gif

The Single Domain model

Cc767922.train2(en-us,TechNet.10).gif

Exercise 1 Joining the Instructor's Domain

Overview

During this exercise you will add your computer to the instructor's domain.

Note: The name of the administrator on the instructor's machine is 'Add', password is 'add'.

Joining the Domain

  1. Go through Control Panel and use the Network utility to add your computer to the class domain.

Exercise 2 Using Domain Resources

Overview

In this exercise you will use a resource on the domain controller.

  1. Logon as a local user and attempt to access a resource on the domain controller (the domain share). Try to copy the DOMAIN.TXT file to your computer.

  2. Log on as your domain account and try to access the resource on the domain controller. Try to copy the DOMAIN.TXT file again.

  3. Make the domain account a local administrator.

  4. Log on as the domain account and verify that you have local administrative privileges.

Summary

  1. List one advantage of the Single Domain model over the workgroup model in a company-wide network environment.

    ____________________________________________________________

    It gives the network centralized administration capabilities.

  2. How do you determine if you are logging on to a local database or a domain database?

    ____________________________________________________________

    Examine the From box in the Win Logon screen.

  3. List two problems which might develop in the Single domain model in a large network consisting of many departments.

    Size

    ____________________________________________________________

    ____________________________________________________________

    Each department may want to administrate their own accounts.

Exercise 3 The Printing Problem

Workstation-Local Groups

  1. Create a printer and turn off all permissions.

  2. Pause the printer.

    Create a local group called Local Print Users according to the following guidelines:

    • Assign both a local user account and the domain user account to the group.

    • Give the group permission to use the printer you just created.

    • Share the printer on the network.

  3. Log on as the local account and send a file to the printer.

  4. Attempt to send a file to the printer of the person sharing your department name.

  5. Log on as the domain account and resend the file to the printer of the person sharing your department name.

Summary

  1. Could a local administrator add users to the global group?

    ________________________________________________

    No

  2. Could a domain administrator manage local resources on your machine?

    ________________________________________________

    Yes

  3. What would be the most economical way to enable all the students in the class to administer all the printers in the class?

    ________________________________________________

    ________________________________________________

    Create a domain global group that contains all of the domain user accounts in the class and put the new group in the workstation local group that you just created in exercise 3.

    You have finished the labs.

Instructor's Notes for LAB 11: The Master Domain Model

This lab assumes:

That there are domain user accounts created for each department in the class model that are different from the accounts in Lab 10. These will be referred to as master domain user accounts and will have access permissions to the shared directory set up in Lab 10.

There is a file called README.TXT in the same shared directory that was set up in Lab 10.

A global Print Users Group has been set up on the instructor's machine and it contains the master domain user accounts.

The instructor has 'Permitted to Trust' all of the domain controllers from the class model.

Make sure to point out to the class that if they use the wrong domain names during installation that the only way to fix it will be to reinstall.

LAB 11: The Master Domain Model

Objectives

This lab is designed to familiarize you with the master domain model in the NT advanced server environment, as well as local and global groups, so that you can communicate with other computers in a corporate wide, multi-domain network.

In this lab you will:

  • Install and configure NT advanced server according to a structured network map.

  • Promote a server to domain controller.

  • Synchronize your domain.

  • Implement and use trust relationships with a master domain according to a master domain model.

Before You Begin

Make sure you understand:

  • Where you are in the domain 'map'.

    Your domain name is: _______________________________

  • Which computer in your domain is the domain controller

  • Your master domain name is: ___________________________________

The Master Domain Model

train3

Exercise 1 Installing Advanced Server

Overview

During this exercise you will install NT Advanced Server.

Note: Be sure you know the following:

Your computer name: ____________________________________________

Your domain name: ______________________________________________

Installation

  1. Run the Windows Setup program to install advanced server.

    Remember that you are no longer in the class-wide domain.

  2. Enter your department abbreviation for the administration password.

Exercise 2 Promoting/Demoting Computers

Overview

During this exercise you will promote a server to a domain controller.

Promoting the Computer

  1. Go through the Server Manager's Computer menu and promote the other server in your domain to domain controller.

    Do you need to Demote the old domain controller to server? Why or why not?

    No. When you promote a server to domain controller, the old controller is demoted automatically.

Exercise 3 Synchronization

Overview

During this exercise you will synchronize all the computers in your domain on the domain controller.

Implementing the error

  1. At the domain controller, create a new account and include the new account in the server operators group.

  2. Immediately attempt to log on at the backup domain controller as the new account.

Synchronizing the Domain

  1. On the domain controller, go through the Server Manager to synchronize your entire domain.

  2. Return to the backup DC and attempt to log on again.

    What happened? Why?

    The server had not had time to update its copy of the account database from the Primary Domain Controller so it was not aware of the new account. When the domain was synchronized, the server's database was updated with the new account information.

Exercise 4 Implementing Trust Relationships

Overview

In this exercise you will implement your part of a master domain model so that you may use resources in other domains.

Note: Your master domain account name is: _______________________________

Implementing Trust Relationships

  1. At the main logon dialog box, list all the resources in your From box.

  2. In the User Manager for Domains window, go through the User Menu to set up a trust relationship with the instructor's domain.

  3. Log on to the master domain using the master domain user account.

    Has the From box in the Win Logon screen changed?

    Yes. It now lists the master domain as one of the choices.

Exercise 5: Using Trust Relationships

In this part of the exercise, you will take advantage of the trust relationship to use a resource in another domain.

  1. Connect to the shared subdirectory in the target domain and copy the README.TXT file from the target computer to your own computer.

Exercise 6: Implementing Groups

  1. Create a printer on your department PDC and pause it.

  2. Remove all permissions from the printer.

  3. Give full permissions to the Global Print Users group.

  4. Log on as your master domain account.

  5. Send a print job to the printer on your PDC.

Summary

  1. What are the three levels of administration in the master domain model?

    _______________________________________________________

    _______________________________________________________

    _______________________________________________________

    Master Domain - Domain - Local

  2. List one advantage of the master domain model in a corporate network consisting of several departments.

    _______________________________________________________

    It allows centralized administration of the user accounts while allowing departments to manage their own groups and local users through global accounts.

The Permission Problem

HR, in the company in your model, has an employee list which every company employee needs to be able to read.

Draw a group/domain model which makes this possible.

stop

LAB 12: Directory Replication

Objectives

This lab is designed to illustrate how to set up directory replication between a Windows NT Advanced Server machine and a Windows NT workstation in the same domain. Also explored is various directory replication management options.

In this lab you will:

  • Set up directory replication.

  • Replicate a directory structure from an export server (Windows NT Advanced Server) on to an import computer (Windows NT workstation).

  • Explore various directory replication management options.

Exercise 1 Directory Replication Prerequisites

Overview

During this exercise you will create the initial account necessary for directory replication. You will also perform other prerequisites necessary for directory replication.

Export Server

  1. From your Windows NT Advanced Server machine (export server), log on as the administrator and create a user account for the Directory Replicator Service to use. Make certain:

    • The Password Never Expires option is selected

    • The User Must Change Password at Next Logon option is cleared

    • All logon hours are allowed

    • The account is a member of the domain's Backup Operators, Domain Users, and Replicator groups

  2. Using the User Manager for Domains select User Rights from the Policies menu.

    Select the Show Advanced User Rights check box.

  3. Grant the Log On As A Service right to the domain's Replicator group.

  4. Use the Services applet from the Control Panel to configure the Directory Replicator Service to start up automatically and log on under the directory replicator user account created in #1 above. Click on the Start button, or shutdown and restart the system to start the Directory Replicator Service.

Import Computer

  1. From your Windows NT workstation (import computer), use User Manager to grant the directory replicator user account created on the export server membership in the Replicator local group.

  2. Using the User Manager select User Rights from the Policies menu.

    Select the Show Advanced User Rights check box.

  3. Grant the Log On As A Service right to the Replicator local group.

  4. Use the Services applet from the Control Panel to configure the Directory Replicator Service to start up automatically and to log on under the directory replicator user account created on the export server (The username for this account should be specified in the form of: SERVERNAME\USERNAME.). Click on the Start button, or shutdown and restart the system to start the Directory Replicator Service.

Exercise 2 Setting Up Replication

Overview

During this exercise you will setup the export server to replicate subdirectories onto the import computer.

  1. From the File Manager on the export server, create the subdirectories that will be exported. The subdirectories must be in the path \<winnt root>\SYSTEM32\REPL\EXPORT.

  2. Select Server Manager from the Administrative Tools program group. In the Server Manager window, double-click on the computer name configured as the export server.

  3. In the Properties dialog box, chose the Replication button.

    Make sure the Export Directories button is selected.

  4. Choose the Add button at the bottom of the To List box. Add the computers or domains to which the directories will be exported.

  5. Choose the OK buttons in the Directory Replication and Properties dialog boxes.

  6. In the Server Manager window, double-click on the name of the import computer.

  7. In the Properties dialog box, chose the Replication button.

    Make sure the Import Directories button is selected.

  8. Choose the Add button and add the export server computer name or domain from which the directories will be exported.

  9. Choose the OK buttons in the Directory Replication and Properties dialog boxes.

  10. Add some files to the subdirectories that you created in step #1.

  11. Periodically check the \<winnt root>\SYSTEM32\REPL\IMPORT directory on the import computer to see if the files have arrived from the export server. This may take up to five minutes.

Exercise 3 Managing Replication

Overview

During this exercise you will manage various aspects of directory replication from the export server. This exercise assumes there is more than one subdirectory present under \<winnt root>\WINNT\SYSTEM32\REPL\EXPORT.

  1. On the export server, select the Server Manager. Double-click on the name of the export server. From the Properties dialog box, select the Replication button. From the Directory Replication dialog box, select the Manage button.

  2. Select one of the subdirectories to stop exporting. Click on the subdirectory and then click on the Add Lock button. Confirm the directory is no longer being exported by adding some files to the directory on the export server and verifying that they are not exported.

  3. Select a subdirectory to stop importing. From the Server Manager, double-click on the name of the import computer and perform the steps necessary to stop importing the subdirectory. Confirm the directory is no longer being imported by adding some files to the directory on the export server and verifying that they are not imported..

  4. Check on the status of imported directories using the Manage Imported Directories dialog box.

Instructor's Notes for Lab 13: Remote Access Service

This lab assumes:

That the students will be using null-modem cables.

If the machines have modems, you will have to supply the settings that should be used to configure the modems as well as a number to try dialing.

This lab requires either a set of disks or a CD to install the services.

LAB 13: Remote Access Service

Objectives

In this lab, you will install and configure Microsoft Remote Access Service (RAS) on a server (Windows NT Advanced Server system) and a client (Windows NT) workstation. After installing RAS, you will use a null-modem cable to simulate communication between a remote client and a RAS server and explore the various options available with RAS.

Before You Begin

You will need:

  • A null-modem cable, or a modem if available.

  • A Windows NT or Windows NT Advanced Server CD or set of diskettes.

Exercise 1: Installing and Configuring a RAS Server

  1. From the Control Panel Network applet, install RAS on your server according to the following guidelines and parameters:

    • COM1

    • Null-modem 38400 baud

    • Install all components: The server, client, and administration

Note: If the machines have modems, the instructor will give you the proper parameters.

Exercise 2: Administering the RAS Server

Procedure

  1. From the RAS Admin utility, start the Remote Access Service

  2. Grant remote access permissions to a domain user account

  3. Configure callback for No Callback

Exercise 3: Installing RAS on the Client Workstation

  1. From the Control Panel Network applet, install RAS on your NT workstation according to the following guidelines and parameters:

    • COM1

    • Null-modem 38400

    • Install only the client component

  2. Note: If the machines have modems, the instructor will give you the proper parameters.

  3. If you are using a null-modem cable, remove the NT workstation from the corporate network.

Exercise 4: Using RAS

Testing Your Installation

Note: If the machines have modems, the instructor will supply other directions.

  1. From the client workstation, logon as a domain user and select Remote Access in the Remote Access Service program group. Add the RAS server's name to your phone list by specifying it in the entry field. Also, add any number in the phone number field.

  2. Connect to the RAS server by clicking on the Dial button.

  3. Net use to the server.

  4. Try to copy files from the server down to the client.

Exercise 5: Managing and Monitoring RAS

  1. From the RAS Admin utility, pause and continue RAS.

  2. Check the port status.

  3. Send a message to the client workstation.

  4. Disconnect a user.

  5. Verify access permissions and monitor active users.

  6. Monitor auditing through the Event Viewer, clear the audit log, and use the audit log.

Lab 14: Performance Monitoring and Tuning

Objective

In this lab, you will use all four view modes of the Performance Monitor utility for:

  • Bottleneck Detection

    Identify devices that have become performance bottlenecks, and identify the process(s) that are loading those devices and causing them to bottleneck

  • Design Verification

    Test application to determine if it uses resources correctly, efficiently and fairly

  • Capacity Planning

    Determine load level under which resources (such as main memory) will bottleneck. Ascertain resource level required to reduce or eliminate bottleneck under "standard load".

  • Design Prediction

    Monitor performance variations that occur as an application uses optional methods to accesses system resources (such as disk, cache).

  • Configuration Management

    Monitor "standard load" statistics to identify areas where tuning might increase performance. Assess the effect of subsequent performance tuning

Before You Begin

The performance tuning labs must be run on Windows NT Advanced Server. exercise 6 requires two stations - one that will be used as a workstation and one that will be used as a server*.

You will need the following items before starting the lab:

• Instructor server name

_________________

• Name of instructor server share that contains lab files

_________________

• Your station's name

_________________

• You're team's server name

_________________

Preparation

  1. Create the directory "c:\perf" on your local hard disk.

  2. Connect to the instructor server share and copy all files from the [instructor server] perf directory to your local c:\perf directory.

  3. From a command window, execute the command "diskperf -y". This step is necessary to enable disk performance monitoring.

  4. Shutdown and restart your PC.

Exercise 1 Identify and Resolve Mystery Bottleneck #1

In this exercise, you will use performance monitor to identify the device that is causing a performance bottleneck. Once you have identified the device, you will then identify the process(s) that are causing the device to bottleneck. In addition, we'll get a chance to see how application priorities can affect application performance.

Run a benchmark test before introducing the bottleneck

  1. From Control Panel, run the System applet. Click the Tasking button and select "Foreground and Background Applications Equally Responsive". Minimize Control Panel.

  2. Use Program Manager File\Run to start the "c:\perf\test1.exe" application (move the Test1 window to the top left corner of your display).

  3. Click the Test1 application "Do Test" option to run mystery benchmark 1. Record the number of seconds it took to complete the test:

    _________________________________ seconds

Introduce mystery bottleneck #1 and re-run the benchmark

  1. Use Program Manager File\Run to start the "c:\perf\test1.bat" application. This starts five background applications.

  2. Click the Test1 application "Do Test" option to re-run mystery benchmark 1. Record the number of seconds it took to complete the test.

  3. _________________________________ seconds

Determine which device is bottlenecked

  1. Start the Performance Monitor. Size Performance Monitor as large as possible, leaving enough screen space for TEST1 and for icons at the bottom of the workspace.

  2. Select View\Report. Select Options\Report modify the following setting:

    Periodic Update 2 (seconds)

  3. Click the Add To Report button (+), and add the following counters:

Object

Counter(s)

Instance(s)

Processor

% Processor Time

0

Physical Disk

% Disk Time

0

Memory

Pages/sec

N/A

  1. After the counters have had a chance to refresh, use the counter values to determine which device object is bottlenecked?

    The _________________________________ is bottlenecked.

stop

BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

Don't continue to the next page until you have completed all steps up to this point.

Determine which process(s) is causing the processor to bottleneck

  1. Select Performance Monitor View\Chart. Select Options\Chart and modify the following settings:

    Periodic Update

    2 (seconds)

    Gallery

    Histogram

  2. Click the Add To Chart button (+), and add the following counters to the chart:

    1. Press Ctrl-H. This causes the colored graphic bar to turn white when the associated counter (at the bottom of the display) is selected.

    Object

    Counter(s)

    Instance(s)

    Process

    % Processor Time

    APP1-1, APP1-2, APP1-3, APP1-4, APP1-5, and TEST1

  3. After the chart has had a chance to refresh, view the chart bars - with reference to the counter list at the bottom of the window, to determine which background application is taxing the processor.

    The application that is taxing the processor is

It's a matter of priorities

  1. View the Performance monitor chart display while you click the Test1 application "Do Test" option to run the benchmark again. Which application gets the processor's time when TEST1 and APP1-5 are running simultaneously; TEST1, APP1-5, or both?

    ______________________________________________________________

    1. At what priority do you suppose TEST1 and APP1-5 are running?

      Priority _____________

  2. Click the Add To Chart button (+), and add the following counters to the chart:

    Object

    Counter(s)

    Instance(s)

    Process

    Base Priority

    APP1-5, and TEST1

  3. After the chart has had a chance to refresh, view the chart bars - with reference to the color keyed counter list at the bottom of the windows, to determine the base priority of APP1-5 and TEST1.

    APP1-5 priority _____________ TEST1 priority _____________

  4. Use the mouse (or Alt-Tab) to alternately select the TEST1 and APP1-5 applications. As you select the applications, does their priority change?

    ___________

  5. Maximize the Control Panel and run the System applet. Click the Tasking button and select "Best Foreground Applications Responsive Time". Minimize the Control Panel.

  6. Use the mouse (or Alt-Tab) to select the TEST1 application (selection "brings the application to the foreground"). With the TEST1 application selected, view the Performance Monitor chart display to determine TEST1's priority?

    TEST1's priority is now _____________.

  7. Note the Performance monitor chart % Processor Time bars for TEST1 and APP1-5 while you click the Test1 application "Do Test" option to run the benchmark again. Record the number of seconds it took to complete the test.

    _________________________________ seconds

    What happened this time, and why ?

    ______________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

  8. Use the mouse (or Alt-Tab) to alternately select the TEST1 and APP1-5 applications. As you select the applications, does their priority change? If so, why?

    ______________________________________________________________

Cleanup!

  1. Select and close all 5 background applications (APP1-5 might take a while to respond - it's busy).

  2. Select Performance Monitor File\New_Chart to clear the chart display.

    Leave TEST1 running, we'll need it for the next exercise.

Exercise 2 One Bad App Can Spoil the Whole Bunch!

In this exercise, we'll see how a badly written application can drastically affect the performance of other applications and the system as a whole.

Start out tame ..

  1. Use Program Manager File\Run to start the "c:\perf\burncpu5.exe" application.

  2. Click the TEST1 application Do Test option to run the benchmark again. How long did it take to complete the test?

    _________________________________ seconds

.. then get nasty!

  1. Maximize the Control Panel and run the System applet. Click the Tasking button and set it back to "Foreground and Background Applications Equally Responsive". Minimize the Control Panel.

  2. Click the TEST1 application Do Test option to run the benchmark one last time (you need not wait for it to finish).

    What happens?

    ______________________________________________________________

  3. Try running the Cardfile application from Program Manager.

    What happens?

    ______________________________________________________________

    Do TEST1 and Cardfile seem a bit slow? ____________

OK, What's going on?

Here's a hint. When a Win32 application (like BurnCPU5, TEST1, Cardfile, Performance Monitor, etc.) starts, it normally loads, initializes and then gets activation (becomes active). The programmer who wrote BurnCPU made a small, but costly, error. BurnCPU is coded such that it loads and initializes, but does not get activation.

With that hint, can you guess what is happening?

__________________________________________________________________

Note: For you Win32 programmers, in the initialization code SW_MINIMIZE was accidentally used instead of SW_SHOWMINIMIZED)

  1. In Performance Monitor, click the Add To Chart button (+), and add the following counters to the chart:

    Object

    Counter(s)

    Instance(s)

    Process

    % Processor Time

    BURNCPU5

    Process

    Base Priority

    BURNCPU5, CARDFILE, PERFMON, progman, and TEST1

    Using the information presented on the Performance Monitor display:

  2. Explain why TEST1 and Cardfile are performing so poorly.

    ______________________________________________________________

  3. Explain why Program Manager (progman) and Performance Monitor (PERFMON) have always remained responsive.

    ______________________________________________________________

  4. Identify and explain BurnCPU5's priority.

    ______________________________________________________________

  5. What might you do to bring BurnCPU5's priority back to normal?

    ______________________________________________________________

  6. Watch BurnCPU5's priority as you use the mouse (or Alt-Tab) to select the burnCPU5 application icon. What happened and why?

    ______________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

  7. Select and exercise TEST1 and Cardfile. Do they respond differently now? If so, why?

    ______________________________________________________________

Cleanup!

  1. Close Cardfile, BurnCPU5, TEST1 and Control Panel.

  2. Select Performance Monitor File\New_Chart to clear the chart display; select View\Report; then minimize Performance Monitor.

Exercise 3 Identify and Resolve Mystery Bottleneck #2

In this exercise, you will use performance monitor to identify another device that is causing a performance bottleneck. Once you have identified the device, you will identify and remove the process(s) that are causing the device to bottleneck.

Run a benchmark test before introducing the bottleneck

  1. Use Program Manager File\Run to start the "c:\perf\test2.exe" application (move the Test2 window to the top left corner of your display).

  2. Click the Test2 application "Do Test" option to run mystery benchmark 2. Record the number of seconds it took to complete the test:

    _________________________________ seconds

Introduce mystery bottleneck #2 and re-run the benchmark

  1. Use Program Manager File\Run to start the "c:\perf\test2.bat" application. This starts five background applications.

  2. Click the Test2 application "Do Test" option to re-run mystery benchmark 2. Record the number of seconds it took to complete the test.

_________________________________ seconds

Determine which device is bottlenecked

  1. Restore Performance Monitor.

  2. After the counters have had a chance to refresh, use the counter values to determine which device object is bottlenecked?

    The _________________________________ is bottlenecked.

stop

BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

Don't continue to the next page until you have completed all steps up to this point.

Determine which process(s) is causing the disk to bottleneck

  1. Select Performance Monitor View\Chart.

  2. Click the Add To Chart button (+), and add the following counters to the chart:

    Object

    Counter(s)

    Instance(s)

    Process

    File Read Bytes/sec
    File Write Bytes/sec

    APP2-1, APP2-2, APP2-3, APP2-4, APP2-5, and TEST2

  3. After the chart has had a chance to refresh, view the chart bars - with reference to the color keyed counter list at the bottom of the windows, to determine which background application is taxing the disk.

    The application that is taxing the disk is

    _________________________________ .

    What type of disk I/O is this application performing?

    _______________________

  4. Note the results on the Performance Monitor display as you close the disk intensive application.

    ______________________________________________________________

Cleanup!

  1. Select and close the four remaining background applications.

  2. Close TEST2.

  3. Select Performance Monitor File\New_Chart to clear the chart display; minimize Performance Monitor.

Exercise 4 Getting to Know the File Cache

In this exercise, you will use the Performance Monitor to learn more about how the Windows NT file cache operates. You will observe physical disk vs. file cache access patterns for the three primary file cache provided optimizations:

  • Read ahead

  • Write behind

  • Read from cache

You will observe and quantify the raw I/O performance gains derived from these optimizations.

Set the stage

  1. Restore Performance Monitor.

  2. Use Program Manager File\Run to start the "c:\perf\iotest.exe" application. Move the I/O Test application window to the top left corner of your display.

  3. Start a command prompt from Program Manager (Press Alt-Enter to put it in a window if it starts up full screen). Size the Command Prompt window to about the same size as the I/O Test window and position it just below the I/O Test window.

  4. From the Command Prompt window, execute the following commands to stop the Netlogon and Browser services if they are running on your station:

    "net stop netlogon" and

    "net stop browser"

    These services periodically perform some disk I/O and, if not stopped, could confuse the results of this lesson's activities.

Write-through (writes don't return until data is written to disk)

  1. Select Performance Monitor File\Open to load in a pre-defined set of chart view settings - the file name is "c:\perf\wcache.pmc".

    The wcache.pmc settings file sets Gallery to Graph, Periodic Update to .5 seconds, and adds the following counters to the chart:

    Object

    Counter(s)

    Instance(s)

    Description

    Memory

    Cache Bytes

    N/A

    Memory allocated as file cache

    Process

    File Write Operations/sec

    IOTEST

    Write commands from IOTEST

    Cache

    Lzy Write Pages/sec

    N/A

    Cache manager write behind pages

    Physical Disk

    Disk Write Bytes/sec

    0

    Bytes actually written to the hard disk

  2. Select the I/O Test application Settings option and fill in the dialog box as follows:

    File Name

    c:\perf\iotest.tmp

    File Size

    3000000 (~3 megabytes)

    I/O Size

    64000

    Action

    Write and Write Through

    Pause

    0

    Click OK to exit the dialog

    stop

    BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

    Carefully read through the instructions for step 3 through 5 before continuing.

  3. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

  4. Immediately after executing step 3, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

  5. When the graph activity has stabilized (return to basically straight lines), and before the time bar reaches the right side of the display, select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK. This sequence will halt the time bar so that you can view the graph activity without worrying about it being erased.

    Record the amount of time required to complete the test:

    _________________________________ seconds

    In this test, I/O Test wrote 3 megabytes of data to drive C. You selected Write Through indicating that the write operations should not return (to I/O Test) until the data was indeed written to the hard disk (you can select I/O Test Settings option if you want to review the options for this test).

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following questions:

  6. Did the I/O Test write operations finish before the data was actually written to the disk?

    __________

  7. As the data was written to disk, did it also get written to the file cache?

    __________

  8. Take a guess. If we were to now read the same 3 megabytes of data, would it be read from the file cache, or would the data have to be read from disk?

    ______________________________________________________________

Write behind (writes return after data is written to cache)

  1. Select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time back to Periodic Update, then click OK.

  2. Select the I/O Test application Settings option and modify the following setting:

    Action Write (deselect Write Through)
    Click OK to exit the dialog

    stop

    BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

    Carefully read through the instructions for step 3 through 5 before continuing.

  3. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

  4. Immediately after executing step 3, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

  5. When the graph activity has stabilized, select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK.

    Record the amount of time required to complete the test:

    _________________________________ seconds

    In this test, I/O Test wrote 3 megabytes of data to drive C. You deselected Write Through indicating that the file cache could utilize the write behind optimization. This means that the write operations could return (to I/O Test) as soon as the data was written into the file cache. The cache manager can then defer actually writing the data to disk until a later time.

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following questions:

  6. Did the I/O Test application write operations finish before the data was actually written to the disk?

    _____________________________

  7. How much less time did it take I/O Test to write the 3 megabytes with write behind than with write through (subtract the benchmark time from the last test from the benchmark time for this test)?

    _________________________________ seconds

    How much faster was write behind than write through?

    ((write through result - write behind result) / write behind result) * 100 =

    % faster

    Write behind was _____________________________ % faster than write through.

  8. Again, take a guess. If we were to now read the same 3 megabytes of data, would it be read from the file cache, or would the data have to be read from disk?

    ______________________________________________________________

After the data is written (whether write through or write behind), as long as the system doesn't need the cache memory the data stays in cache until the file is closed. When the file is closed (as you can observe by the graph activity display), the data seems to disappear from cache. You may well think that if you subsequently read the data, it would have to come from disk.

What actually happens is the [3 megabytes of] pages of memory that were allocated as cache are deallocated as cache when the file is closed. However, the pages remain in memory. When the file is subsequently read, and if the pages have not since been grabbed by the VM manager for other use, the pages will be quickly remapped into cache and the data will indeed be read from cache without having to go to disk.

We'll observe evidence of this in the next exercise.

Read, data in cache (no need to go to disk)

  1. Select Performance Monitor File\Open to load in a new pre-defined set of chart view settings - the file name is "c:\perf\rcache.pmc".

    The rcache.pmc settings file sets Gallery to Graph, Periodic Update to .5 seconds, and adds the following counters to the chart:

    Object

    Counter(s)

    Instance(s)

    Description

    Memory

    Cache Bytes

    N/A

    Memory allocated as file cache

    Cache

    Fast Reads/sec

    N/A

    Reads satisfied from cache

    Physical Disk

    Disk Read Bytes/sec

    0

    Bytes actually read from the hard disk

    stop

    BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

    Carefully read through the instructions for step 2 through 6 before continuing.

    It's been a while since we wrote the data, so the VM Manager has had plenty of time to grab some of the associated memory pages and use them for other purposes.

    Before we read, we want to re-run the Write test to assure that the pages are available.

  2. Select I/O Test Do_Test option. Wait until the graph activity stabilizes.

  3. Select the I/O Test application Settings option and modify the following setting:

    Action Read (deselect Write and select Read)
    Click OK to exit the dialog

  4. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

  5. Immediately after executing step 4, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

  6. When the graph activity has stabilized (return to basically straight lines), select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK.

    Record the amount of time required to complete the test:

    _________________________________ seconds

    In this test, I/O Test read 4 megabytes of data from drive C. Thanks to the previous Write test, the data was still in memory (although not allocated as cache). The associated memory pages were mapped back to cache, and the data was read directly from cache.

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following questions:

  7. Where was the data read from, disk or cache?

    _____________________________

  8. Does it appear as though any data was read from disk? __________

Read, data not in cache (must read from disk)

  1. Select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time back to Periodic Update, then click OK.

    We now want to run a Read test with the data actually coming from disk. However, as we learned in the previous test, the data is still in memory. Therefore, if we want to force a read from disk, we must first cause the associated memory pages to be modified.

  2. From the Command Prompt window, execute the following commands:

"copy c:\perf\bigfile c:" and "del c:\bigfile"

What type of activity do you observe on the performance monitor chart display while the file is being copied?

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

![stop](images/Cc767922.stop(en-us,TechNet.10).gif "stop")

**BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...**

Carefully read through the instructions for step 4 through 6 before continuing.
  1. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

  2. Immediately after executing step 3, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

  3. When the graph activity has stabilized (return to basically straight lines), select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK.

    Record the amount of time required to complete the test:

    _________________________________ seconds

    In this test, I/O Test read 4 megabytes of data from drive C. Because we performed significant I/O activity before re-running the read test, the data was no longer in memory - and thus had to be read from disk.

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following questions:

  4. Where was the data read from, disk or cache?

    _____________________________

  5. Does it appear as though any data was read from cache? __________

  6. Can you guess why some of the data was read from cache (hint - notice when some of the reads began to be satisfied from cache in relation to when data began to be read from disk) ?

    ______________________________________________________________

    Don't be fooled, when we copied BIGFILE (~10 megabytes) all of the I/O Test data was indeed purged from memory. The cache manager employs an optimization known as read ahead. When the application issues a read request, the cache manager will often read more data from the disk (into cache) than the application requested. When the application issues the next read request (especially sequential, where the application is asking for data located immediately following the previously read data), the requested data will most likely be in cache - no need to go to disk. The sequence is essentially as follows:

    Application

    Cache Manager

    Read X

    Read XXX from disk into cache; Return X to application

    Read next X

    Return X to application

    Read next X

    Return X to application

    <repeat>

     

  7. How much less time did it take I/O Test to read the 3 megabytes from cache (previous test) than from disk [with read ahead]?

    _________________________________ seconds

    How much faster was read from cache than from disk (even with read ahead)?

    ((read from disk result - read from cache result) / read from cache result) * 100 = % faster

    Read from cache was _____________________________ % faster than read from disk [with read ahead]

A few last questions

  1. The application programmer makes the decision as to whether to use write through or write behind. If there's memory available for cache, which write method is faster?

    _________________________________________

  2. Under what condition(s) might a programmer want to specify write through?

    ______________________________________________________________

  3. The programmer doesn't get to make the decision as to whether data is READ from cache or disk. Under what condition will the data be read from cache?

    ______________________________________________________________

  4. When file read/write I/O is performed, will the data always get written to cache?

    _________

    If not, why not?

    _________________________________________________________

  5. On a station that runs a fixed set of processes, it is determined (by using Performance Monitor of course) that 60% of cacheable reads and writes are having to be satisfied by physical disk access. What can be done to increase the cache hit rate?

    ______________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

Cleanup!

  1. Close I/O Test. Leave Command Prompt window up - we'll need it for the next exercise.

  2. Select Performance Monitor File\New_Chart to clear the chart display.

Exercise 5 "I Don't Wana Wait, Computers Should Respond IMMEDIATELY!"

In this exercise, you will use Performance Monitor's logging feature to observe the results of loading memory. In addition, you will use information from the log file to predict the memory required for best application performance with a specific set of applications.

Start a performance statistics log

  1. Select Performance Monitor View\Log.

  2. Click the Add To Log button (+), and add the following objects to the log:

    Object

    Memory

    Paging File

  3. Select Options\Log and modify the following settings:

    File Name

    c:\perf\memory.log

    Periodic Update

    2 (seconds)

  4. Click Start Log to start logging and to exit the dialog

How long does it take to load Microsoft Write?

  1. Use a watch - or just count seconds (quietly, to yourself please •) to determine how long it takes to load the Write application from the Program Manager.

    1st load: _________________________________ seconds

  2. Close Write.

  3. Use a watch - or just count seconds to determine how long it takes to load the Write application a second time.

    2nd load: _________________________________ seconds

  4. Indicate if write loaded faster or slower the second time, and explain why.

    __________

    _____________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

  5. Close Write

Load a typical set of applications

  1. You are now going to load and exercise several applications that might represent the application set that a network administrator would want active on her desktop all of the time.

  2. From the Command Window, execute the following command:

    "c:\perf\mtest".

    The following applications will be started:

    File Manager, Calculator, User Manager, Server Manager, Event Viewer
    Allow all applications to load.

Exercise the applications

Restore File Manager and perform the following operations:

  • Double click a subdirectory or two

  • Highlight any file and select File\Associate; click Cancel

  • Minimize File Manager

Restore User Manager and perform the following operations:

  • Select Policies\account; Click Cancel

  • Select Policies\User_Rights; Click Cancel

  • Double click a user account; Click Groups-Cancel-Profile-Cancel-Cancel

  • Minimize User Manager

Restore Server Manager and perform the following operations:

  • Double click your station name; Click Users-Close-Shares-Close-Cancel

  • Minimize Server Manager

Restore Event viewer and perform the following operations:

  • Double click an event; Click Close

  • Select View\Filter_Events; Click cancel

  • Minimize Event Viewer

Set a log file bookmark

  1. Select Performance Monitor Options\Bookmark

  2. Enter the following in the Bookmark Comment box:

    "Start Write 3rd time"

    Click Add

Load Write one more time

  1. Use a watch - or just count seconds to determine how long it takes to once again load the Write application.

    3rd load: _________________________________ seconds

  2. Minimize Write

View the log to determine why Write loaded slowly

  1. Make sure that it has been at least 10 or 20 seconds from when you last loaded Write.

  2. Select Performance Monitor Options\Log and click Stop Log

  3. Select Options\Data from; click Log File and enter the following in the Log File box:
    "c:\perf\memory.log"
    Click OK

  4. Select View\Chart

  5. Select File\Open to load in a pre-defined set of chart view settings - the file name is "c:\perf\memory.pmc"

    The memory.pmc settings file sets Gallery to Graph, and adds the following counters to the chart:

    Object

    Counter(s)

    Instance(s)

    Description

    Memory

    Available Bytes

    N/A

    Free main memory

    Memory

    Pages/sec

    N/A

    How much paging is occurring

    Paging File

    % Usage

    pagefile.sys

    How much code and data have needed to be swapped out to the page file

  6. Select Edit\time_Window

  7. In the Bookmark box, highlight the "Start Write 3rd time" bookmark. Click Set As Start to set the chart display to show the activity that occured when Write was loaded. Click OK

  8. Referring to the chart activity, why did Write take a while to load?

    ______________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

What if I don't want to wait?

  1. Most of the operations that you performed in the various applications, up to and including loading Write one last time, executed slower than they might have. As you may have already determined, this is due to paging. Under most circumstances, the performance hit due to paging is tolerated. However, if you were a spoiled network administrator and this was your primary workstation, and you wanted all of these applications to load and execute all of their functions at maximum speed, what could you do?

    __________________________________________________________________

    How much memory would need to be added to this station to minimize paging (rhetorical)?

  2. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Time_Window

  3. In the Bookmark box, highlight the "New set of log data" bookmark. Click Set As Start to set the chart display to show all activity that occured during the exercise. Click OK

  4. What is the Maximum value recorded for the Paging File object % Usage counter?

    Note: You may have to make the Performance Monitor Window larger to be able to see the "Max" field (to the right of the "Min" field) on the bottom of the Window.

    ______________________________________ %

  5. From the Command Prompt window, execute the following command to view the current size of the page file:

    "dir c:\pagefile.sys" (assuming your page file is on drive C)
    Record the page file size:

    _________________________________ bytes

  6. The % Usage counter Maximum value represents the portion of the page file that was actually used to hold paged data and code at the time (during this exercise) when this station's memory was taxed the most.

  7. What is the maximum number of bytes of code and data that had to be paged to disk during our test?

    Maximum % Usage * Page file size = ____________________ bytes

    This is the amount of memory that would need to be added to this station to allow all of those applications to perform their operations with a minimum of paging (with the current set of active Windows NT components all configured as present).

Cleanup!

  1. Close all applications except Performance Monitor and Program Manager and Command Prompt.

  2. Select Performance Monitor File\New_Chart to clear the chart display.

  3. Select Options\Data_From; Click Current Activity; Click OK.

Exercise 6 Optimizing Network Data Transfer

In this exercise, you will use the Performance Monitor to monitor data transfer statistics to recognize opportunities for tuning. You'll then perform the appropriate tuning, then use Performance Monitor to assess the effect of the performance tuning.

Set the stage

You will perform this exercise with a partner.

  1. Designate one of your two PCs as the server and the other as the workstation.

    • On the server PC:

  2. Use the Program Manager File\Run to start the "regedt32.exe" application (Windows NT's Registry Editor). Minimize Registry Editor for now.

    • On the workstation PC:

  3. Use the Program Manager File\Run to start the "regedt32.exe" application (Windows NT's Registry Editor). Minimize Registry Editor for now.

  4. Use Program Manager File\Run to start the "c:\perf\iotest.exe" application. Move the I/O Test application window to the top left corner of your screen.

Note: The remainder of the instructions are to be executed on the workstation PC unless stated otherwise.

Write to the server using local cache

  1. From the command prompt window, execute the following command to redirect drive X: to the C: drive of the server station, and to make sure that the test file doesn't already exist:

"net use x: \<servername>\c$" and "del x:\perf\iotest.tmp"

**Note:** you will need to be logged on with an account name (and password) that has been assigned *administrator* privilege on the *server* station.
  1. Select the I/O Test application Settings option and fill in the dialog box as follows:

    File Name

    c:\perf\iotest.tmp

    File Size

    3000000 (~3 megabytes)

    I/O Size

    64000

    Action

    Write

    Pause

    0

    Click OK to exit the dialog

  2. Select I/O Test Do_Test option.

    Record the time required to complete the test.

    _________________________________ seconds

Write to the server without using local cache

  1. From the Command Prompt window, execute the following command to cause the redirector configuration parameters to show up in the registry:

"net config redirector /charwait:3600"

Note that this command does not change the charwait parameter as 3600 is the default.
  1. Restore Registry Editor and drill down (double click on each key) to System•CurrentControlSet•Services•LanmanWorkstation•Parameters

  2. Double click on UtilizeNTCaching and change the highlighted data value from 1 to 0.

    This instructs the redirector not to use the local file cache.

  3. Minimize the Registry Editor.

  4. Select I/O Test Do_Test option.

    Record the time required to complete the test.

    _________________________________ seconds

  5. Describe, in technical detail, why the first test was faster than the second.

    ______________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

Large reads from the server using RAW mode data transfer

  1. Select Performance Monitor File\Open to load in a pre-defined set of chart view settings - the file name is "c:\perf\redir.pmc".
    The redir.pmc settings file sets Gallery to Graph, Periodic Update to 3 seconds, and adds the following counters to the chart:

    Object

    Counter(s)

    Instance(s)

    Description

    Redirector

    Bytes Received/sec

    N/A

    How fast is the data transfer

    Redirector

    File Read Operations/sec

    N/A

    Application read requests (from IOTEST)

    Redirector

    Read Packets/sec

    0

    SMB read request messages sent on the wire

  2. Select the I/O Test application Settings option and modify the following option:

    Action Read (deselect Write)
    Click OK to exit the dialog

    stop

    BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

    Carefully read through the instructions for step 3 through 5 before continuing.

  3. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

    Immediately after executing step 3, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

    • Repeat steps 3 and 4 four times

      Record the time required to complete each iteration of the test. Circle the smallest time:

      1st __________ 2nd__________ 3rd__________ 4th__________ seconds

  4. When the graph activity has stabilized (from the last iteration), select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK.

    In this test, I/O Test read 3 megabytes of data from network drive X. You configured I/O Test to read 64000 bytes at a time - this is typical of the data transfer unit size used when applications are loaded from a network server, or when large files (more than just a few Kbytes) are copied over the network. The redirector used RAW mode to transfer the data.

  5. Why did the redirector use RAW mode data transfer as opposed to CORE mode (hint: the default server request buffer size is 4356 bytes)?

    ______________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following questions:

  6. What was the maximum Bytes Received/sec (data transfer rate) during the test?

    ____________________________________ Bytes per second

  7. What was the approximate ratio of SMB requests (Read Packets/sec) to application read requests (File Read Operations/sec)?

    ______________________________________

Large reads from the server using CORE mode data transfer

  1. Select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time back to Periodic Update, then click OK.

  2. Restore Registry Editor and drill down (double click on each key) to System•CurrentControlSet•Services•LanmanWorkstation•Parameters

  3. Double click on UseRawRead and change the highlighted data value from 1 to 0.

    This instructs the redirector not to use RAW mode data transfer ("always use CORE").

  4. Minimize the registry Editor.

    stop

    BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

    Carefully read through the instructions for step 5 through 7 before continuing.

  5. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

    Immediately after executing step 5, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

    • Repeat steps 5 and 6 four times

      Record the time required to complete each iteration of the test. Circle the smallest time:

    • t __________ 2nd__________ 3rd__________ 4th__________ seconds

  6. When the graph activity has stabilized (after the last iteration), select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK.

    The redirector used CORE mode to transfer the data.

  7. How much faster was RAW mode than CORE mode data transfer?

    ((CORE smallest time - RAW smallest time) \ RAW smallest time) * 100 =
    % faster

    RAW data transfer was

    ((CORE time ________ - RAW time _______ ) \ RAW time ________ ) * 100 =

    ________ % faster than CORE data transfer.

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following questions:

  8. What was the maximum Bytes Received/sec (data transfer rate) during the test?

    ____________________________________ Bytes per second

    How does this number compare to that of the RAW test?

    __________________________

  9. What was the approximate ratio of SMB requests (Read Packets/sec) to application read requests (File Read Operations/sec)?

    ______________________________________

Tuning CORE mode data transfer

The redirector will use RAW mode data transfer when the following conditions apply:

  • Application I/O request size is larger than:

    2* the server's request buffer size for read requests, or

    1.5* the server's request buffer size for write requests

  • RAW mode is not explicitly disabled on the workstation or server

  • The data transfer is not over a very slow link

  • Multiple workstation threads are not simultaneously issuing I/O requests to the same server

  • The server has enough available memory to allocate the requisite (up to 64K) raw buffer

In all other cases, the redirector will use CORE mode data transfer.

As you observed in the test, when RAW mode is used, the redirector creates and sends only one SMB request message per application I/O request. When RAW mode is used, the server receives data directly into (client write) - and sends data directly from (client read), either the server station's file cache (if applicable and available) or special 64K buffers that are set aside specifically for RAW data transfer. Therefore, when using RAW mode, the redirector can prepare and send a single SMB request message that represents up to 64K of data.

When CORE mode is used, the number of SMB request messages that the redirector must create and send per application I/O request is dependent on the size of the servers request buffer . This is because with CORE mode, the server must receive the data into - and sends data from, one of its request buffers.

  • Each SMB message that must be created and sent carries with it a small amount of overhead. Therefore, when an application issues a read request for 8K bytes of data, the request will take longer to complete if the redirector has to satisfy it by creating and sending 2-4K SMBs than if it could have used 1-8K SMB.

    By default, the server request buffer size is 4356 bytes. Therefore, the SMB message size cannot exceed 4356 bytes. If all an "SMB message" carried was the data to be transferred, we could conclude that if the application read or write request was for 4356 bytes or less, it would fit nicely into a single SMB message. However, all SMBs include a small header. For example, a read SMB contains 63 bytes of header; a write SMB contains 64 bytes of header - the rest is data.

    Therefore, when the server's request buffer size is set to default, and conditions require that the redirector use CORE:

  • Max size read request that will be satisfied with 1 SMB = 4356 - 63 = 4293 bytes

  • Max size write request that will be satisfied with 1 SMB = 4356 - 64 = 4292 bytes

Core reads smaller than the server's request buffer

  1. Select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time back to Periodic Update, then click OK.

  2. Select the I/O Test application Settings option and modify the following option:

    I/O Size 4293
    Click OK to exit the dialog

  3. Can you predict what the SMB request to application read request ratio will be when we run this test?

    ____________________________________

    stop

    BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

    Carefully read through the instructions for step 4 through 6 before continuing.

  4. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

    Immediately after executing step 4, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

    • Repeat steps 4 and 5 four times

      Record the time required to complete each iteration of the test. Circle the smallest time:

      1st __________ 2nd__________ 3rd__________ 4th__________ seconds

  5. When the graph activity has stabilized (after the last iteration), select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK.

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following Question:

  6. What was the approximate ratio of SMB requests (Read Packets/sec) to application read requests (File Read Operations/sec)?

    ______________________________________

Core reads larger than server's request buffer

  1. Select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time back to Periodic Update, then click OK.

  2. Select the I/O Test application Settings option and modify the following option:

    I/O Size 8000
    Click OK to exit the dialog

  3. Can you predict what the SMB request to application read request ratio will be when we run this test?

    ____________________________________

    stop

    BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

    Carefully read through the instructions for step 3 through 5 before continuing.

  4. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

  5. Immediately after executing step 3, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

    • Repeat steps 3 and 4 four times

    Record the time required to complete each iteration of the test. Circle the smallest time:

    1st __________ 2nd__________ 3rd__________ 4th__________ seconds

  6. When the graph activity has stabilized (after the last iteration), select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK.

  7. Which data transfer test was faster, the 4293 byte per read test or the 8000 byte per read test?

    The _____________________ byte per read test was faster

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following Question:

  8. What was the approximate ratio of SMB requests (Read Packets/sec) to application read requests (File Read Operations/sec)?

    ______________________________________

A customer can use Performance Monitor log view to monitor the following Redirector object counters - from several or all workstations that access a given server, over a representative period of time:

Object

Counter(s)

Description

Redirector

File Read Operations/sec

Application read requests

Redirector

File Write Operations/sec

Application write requests

Redirector

Read Packets/sec

SMB read request messages sent on the wire

Redirector

Write Packets/sec

SMB write request messages sent on the wire

Redirector

Reads Denied/sec

Times server denied RAW read

Redirector

Writes Denied/sec

Times server denied RAW write

  • If the ratio of Packets/sec to File Operations/sec is consistently more than 1-1, and the server is denying RAW I/O requests, the server's rawworkitems parameter (number of large buffers allocated for raw data transfer) should be increased.

  • If the ratio of Packets/sec to File Operations/sec is consistently more than 1-1 on all workstations, and some workstations indicate that the server is denying RAW I/O requests, the server's rawworkitems parameter and sizreqbuf parameter (request buffer size) should be increased.

  • If the ratio of Packets/sec to File Operations/sec is consistently more than 1-1, and the server is not denying RAW I/O requests, the server's sizreqbuf parameter should be increased.

Note: If the server request buffer size is increased, it should be increased by a multiple of its default value (4356 bytes). This is due to the fact that when the redirector can take advantage of local file cache, the SMB read and write size will be a multiples of 4K bytes (memory page size).

Adjust the server's request buffer size to optimize core I/O

Some of the configurable parameter values will never show up in the registry, but are indeed available for modification (these are the ones that they don't want you to mess with unless you know what you're doing •). The server request buffer size parameter, sizreqbuf is one such parameter.

• On the server PC:

  1. Restore the Registry Editor and drill down (double click on each key) to System•CurrentControlSet•Services•LanmanServer•Parameters

  2. Select Edit\Add_Value

    Enter the following into the Value_Name box:

"sizreqbuf"

Click the *Data\_Type* box and select **REG\_DWORD**

Click OK  
Enter the following into the *Data* box:

<pre IsFakePre="true" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

"2208" (Hex value, = 8712 in decimal -2*4356 byte default)

Click OK
  1. Minimize the Registry Editor.

  2. From the Command Prompt window, execute the following commands to cause the new sizreqbuf parameter to take effect (as you found with the redirector registry parameters, some registry parameter modifications take effect immediately - this one doesn't):

"net stop server /y"

and

<pre IsFakePre="true" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

"net start server"

Re-run benchmark with adjusted server request buffer size

• On the workstation PC:

  1. Select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time back to Periodic Update, then click OK.

    stop

    BEFORE YOU CONTINUE ...

    Carefully read through the instructions for step 2 through 4 before continuing.

  2. Select Performance Monitor Edit\Clear_Display to set the chart time bar to the left hand side of the chart display.

    Immediately after executing step 2, select I/O Test Do_Test option. You will observe some graph activity on the Performance Monitor display.

    • Repeat steps 3 and 4 four times

    Record the time required to complete each iteration of the test. Circle the smallest time:

    1st __________ 2nd__________ 3rd__________ 4th__________ seconds

  3. When the graph activity has stabilized (after the last iteration), select Performance Monitor Options\Chart and set Update Time to Manual Update, then click OK.

    Analyze the Performance Monitor graph activity to answer the following Question:

  4. What was the approximate ratio of SMB requests (Read Packets/sec) to application read requests (File Read Operations/sec)?

    ______________________________________

  5. Was this test faster than the previous 8000 byte per read test (with the server request buffer size still set to default)? If so, why?

    ______________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

  6. Was this test faster than the 4293 byte per read test? If so, why?

    ______________________________________________________________

    ______________________________________________________________

    Bonus questions:

  7. When applications request large reads or writes, where the I/O request size would normally cause the redirector to use RAW mode but other factors (besides the server not having enough memory) prohibit the redirector from using RAW, will this have an effect on the ratio of SMB requests to application I/O requests? If so, what effect would it have?

    (Hint: refer back to the "Large reads from the server using CORE mode data transfer" exercise and look at the observed ratio)

    _______________

    ______________________________________________________________

  8. If the high ratio of Packets/sec to Operations/sec is partially caused by these large (normally would have gone RAW) I/O requests going CORE, would you still want to increase the server's request buffer size? If so, why?

    _______________

    ______________________________________________________________

End of Lab