windows 2000 server & active directory domains help

Can you advise me whether to go with 2000pro or 2000 server or NT4...... &
how to implement the ActiveDirectoryDomains considering the scenario
below.

I have been asked by my wife (a high school math/computer teacher) to help
her network an assortment of donated windows machines in their small
computer lab classroom.

I'll see that there is an NIC card & driver in each computer and use
standard cat 5 to cable them to a hub with sufficient ports (presently there
are about 8 computers but they may expand in the future to maybe 15). Then
bind them to the recommended protocol/s - Tcp/ip and Netbeui or ..? Client
for MS
Networks & File & Printer sharing.

Problem is they dont want a simple peer to peer because the kids mess with
all the settings and leave the hd in a jumble. It's out of control.
Ideally the teacher has full control:
-To provide/prohibit access at each workstation.
-To determine which programs are accessed, launched and run.
- To prohibit the kids from altering settings (in the control panel etc) and
other files/folders on their hard drive
-To clean & restore the drive when the day is done (perhaps this could be
done with Ghost or Driveimage from the server ?)
- To control where the students can save their data files

The way I'm beginning to see it unfold is to have a "group" for each class
e.g. Grade 10, Grade 11 etc.
And provide a "username /password" for each student in each group. Which can
be changed as students may join or leave the class. Or if the teacher
doesn't want a particular student to have access any longer

At this time, Internet access is not a priority. Although I'd prefer to
incorporate it into the planning. Not sure how,but maybe from the hub to a
standalone router which will be connected to the telephone or cable feed
into the building. Or put a second NIC card in the server connected to a
router?

Any help with the best OS to use and how to go about setting up these
controls please.

Thank you for your anticipated assistance,
Frank


--

fros

>
> Any help with the best OS to use and how to go about setting up these
> controls please.
>

nt4 or win2k will do this lot easy
if you where made to run win9x, then it gets messy....

Geoff

Hey fros,

Been watching your postings on this, and first, want to congratulate you on
your endeavor. It's great that you wish to help out your wife and the kids,
as well.

I'm by no means a genius on this stuff, but my suggestion would be 2000
Server. Just finished a class on it, and have to say, when you install, has
a lot of options and wizards for helping with the AD stuff. Just get a good
idea of what type of network you wish to run, and go through the wizards. I
setup a dhcp and dns for the class in literally, about a half hour. Never
did it before, just figured it out.

The main thing, to start, keep it off the net. Start with a LAN, and have
the system use DNS for the other machines. Make sure Tcp/Ip is bound to the
NIC, and the other machines are setup to obtain ip address auto (with
tcp/ip), and use the server machine's ip address for the DNS. Also make sure
that they have the same workgroup name. You all ready figured out part of
it, make sure file and print sharing is enabled on all machines.

As to the kiddies playing with settings, well, curiosity killed the cat.
They shouldn't be able to access the server machine, but try using 2k pro on
the other machines, and setup their user accounts on the server machine.
This way, they will have to log on to the network for the ip address
(through DNS on the server machine), and you can disable them being able to
access the control panel on each seperate machine. It will involve some
sneaker work on your end, but probably the best setup. Keep the main
programs on the Server machine, give them all read access, don't give them
write access. If the time comes, your wife can easily change that through
the administrative tools on the server, if needed. Just setup all the kid's
accounts in a group, make it a lot easier to change on her end, if needed.

As far as a 'rollback' feature, that may be tough, but if you keep the main
programs on the server, and only allow them to use those as needed, you will
save a ton of headache. If needed, get a windows 2000 server and pro MCSA
text, and read from there. That way, if you get stuck, they make great
references

Hoot

"fros" <> wrote in message
news:iXHEb.22098$ ...
> Can you advise me whether to go with 2000pro or 2000 server or NT4...... &
> how to implement the ActiveDirectoryDomains considering the scenario
> below.
>
> I have been asked by my wife (a high school math/computer teacher) to help
> her network an assortment of donated windows machines in their small
> computer lab classroom.
>
> I'll see that there is an NIC card & driver in each computer and use
> standard cat 5 to cable them to a hub with sufficient ports (presently
there
> are about 8 computers but they may expand in the future to maybe 15). Then
> bind them to the recommended protocol/s - Tcp/ip and Netbeui or ..?
Client
> for MS
> Networks & File & Printer sharing.
>
> Problem is they dont want a simple peer to peer because the kids mess with
> all the settings and leave the hd in a jumble. It's out of control.
> Ideally the teacher has full control:
> -To provide/prohibit access at each workstation.
> -To determine which programs are accessed, launched and run.
> - To prohibit the kids from altering settings (in the control panel etc)
and
> other files/folders on their hard drive
> -To clean & restore the drive when the day is done (perhaps this could be
> done with Ghost or Driveimage from the server ?)
> - To control where the students can save their data files
>
> The way I'm beginning to see it unfold is to have a "group" for each
class
> e.g. Grade 10, Grade 11 etc.
> And provide a "username /password" for each student in each group. Which
can
> be changed as students may join or leave the class. Or if the teacher
> doesn't want a particular student to have access any longer
>
> At this time, Internet access is not a priority. Although I'd prefer to
> incorporate it into the planning. Not sure how,but maybe from the hub to a
> standalone router which will be connected to the telephone or cable feed
> into the building. Or put a second NIC card in the server connected to a
> router?
>
> Any help with the best OS to use and how to go about setting up these
> controls please.
>
> Thank you for your anticipated assistance,
> Frank
>
>
> --
>
>

hootnholler

It all depends on your budget. I wouldn't however roll out NT4 at this
stage due to the upcoming lack of support. But I guess first of all it
depends on what specifications the machines are.

W2K server on the server and W2K Pro on the client machines would be the
best bet for an integrated network. Use policies to stipulate what the
students can or can not do.

If the machines come with W98 and/or your budget is severely limited you
could always set the server up with W2K Pro and the client machines with W98
(remembering that support for W98 is finishing). Point their My Documents
folder to their share on the server and then make a ghost image of each
machine for easy repair. Being kids you will find that they love to play
with settings and even under fairly strict control will screw things up, so
Ghost makes a good fallback and since their data will be on the server there
should be nothing important lost (Not sure if you would want to do this
daily though. From my experience with a couple schools I administer I
suggest a couple times a year should suffice).

Protocols - TCP/IP only should do the trick very satisfactorily.

RussS

thanks for all help and suggestions

--
newsgroups signature
"fros" <> wrote in message
news:iXHEb.22098$ ...
> Can you advise me whether to go with 2000pro or 2000 server or NT4...... &
> how to implement the ActiveDirectoryDomains considering the scenario
> below.
>
> I have been asked by my wife (a high school math/computer teacher) to help
> her network an assortment of donated windows machines in their small
> computer lab classroom.
>
> I'll see that there is an NIC card & driver in each computer and use
> standard cat 5 to cable them to a hub with sufficient ports (presently
there
> are about 8 computers but they may expand in the future to maybe 15). Then
> bind them to the recommended protocol/s - Tcp/ip and Netbeui or ..?
Client
> for MS
> Networks & File & Printer sharing.
>
> Problem is they dont want a simple peer to peer because the kids mess with
> all the settings and leave the hd in a jumble. It's out of control.
> Ideally the teacher has full control:
> -To provide/prohibit access at each workstation.
> -To determine which programs are accessed, launched and run.
> - To prohibit the kids from altering settings (in the control panel etc)
and
> other files/folders on their hard drive
> -To clean & restore the drive when the day is done (perhaps this could be
> done with Ghost or Driveimage from the server ?)
> - To control where the students can save their data files
>
> The way I'm beginning to see it unfold is to have a "group" for each
class
> e.g. Grade 10, Grade 11 etc.
> And provide a "username /password" for each student in each group. Which
can
> be changed as students may join or leave the class. Or if the teacher
> doesn't want a particular student to have access any longer
>
> At this time, Internet access is not a priority. Although I'd prefer to
> incorporate it into the planning. Not sure how,but maybe from the hub to a
> standalone router which will be connected to the telephone or cable feed
> into the building. Or put a second NIC card in the server connected to a
> router?
>
> Any help with the best OS to use and how to go about setting up these
> controls please.
>
> Thank you for your anticipated assistance,
> Frank
>
>
> --
>
>

fros