Introduction

To prepare for the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure exam (Exam 70-291), you should begin by reviewing the foundations of networking: the models on which networks are built, the protocols they use to communicate, the addressing schemes by which they identify individual devices on the network, and the technologies they use to ensure that data reaches its destination. The vast majority of networks today (including the Internet) use Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to transmit information among computers and networks in a wide area network (WAN). Together, TCP and IP are referred to as a protocol stack or as network/transport protocols because they work together at two different levels (called the Network and Transport layers) to enable computers to communicate with each other.

A thorough understanding of TCP/IP is essential to successfully maintain servers and networks efficiently and securely, and to understand the Windows Server 2003 network services (such as DNS, WINS, and Routing and Remote Access) that will be discussed throughout this book.

In this chapter, we ll examine the history and evolution of TCP/IP from its humble beginnings in the 1960s to its current implementation in Windows Server 2003 networks. We ll look at the networking models that provide guidelines for vendors of networking products, including the early Department of Defense (DoD) model as well as the International Organization of Standardization s Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model.

Next, we ll move into the specifics of TCP/IP. You ll learn about the individual components of TCP/IP, a suite of protocols that are...