• Planning
• Installation and Configuration
• Managing Resources

This month’s article is the first of two taking an in-depth look at the NT Workstation 4.0 exam – the starting point for the majority of aspiring Systems Engineers. Last month’s MCSE Help column offered a selection of sample questions, also drawn from the Workstation exam, to help brush up your exam technique. We now take a closer look at the subject matter of the exam, identifying what you should look out for in order to gain that all-important ‘Pass’ mark.

There’s not much difference between NT Server and NT Workstation, so it’s no surprise to learn that there is a large overlap between the NT Workstation exam and the NT Server exam. This means that you can use revision time productively by ‘doubling up’ and revising for both exams simultaneously. If you are really confident, you could sit one exam straight after the other.

There are differences between the exams of course, so we will now look at the content of exam 70-073 in close detail. This month I will be focusing on the following four sections of the examination: Planning, Installation and Configuration, and Managing Resources. Next month, I will offer my advice on the final five sections: Connectivity, Running Applications, Monitoring and Optimisation and finally Troubleshooting.

Planning

You will need to know the following:

When to use NTFS and when to use FAT volumes, Which network protocols to install,When to use roaming or mandatory profiles, When to implement a system policy, When to upgrade and when to install afresh, When to use the Convert.exe utility, When DNS, WINS and DHCP servers are required, When hardware profiles are needed, When to use a UDF (uniqueness database file), When to use an unattended installation file, When to use the sysdiff utility.

Watch out for:

1. Selecting the right method of installation.

You will be asked what combination of unattended installation file and UDF to use. For example, if you have 250 identical desktop PCs and 50 identical laptop PCs, you will need two unattended installation files, one for each type of computer to include the main installation selections, such as hardware drivers and networking components. You will also need one UDF which will simply contain the unique settings on a per-computer basis, and will thus be quite capable of working with multiple hardware types within a single file.

2. Running WINS, DNS and DHCP services

WINS resolves NetBIOS names into IP addresses, therefore it is only required when you are using both TCP/IP and NetBIOS (basically any Microsoft operating system or anything with LM or Lan Manager in its title). If both the above apply then you need it.

DNS resolves Host (or domain or FQDN) names into IP addresses. Host names are not the native format for Microsoft networks and are only supported for two reasons:

To resolve names for computers (such as Unix workstations) that do not have NetBIOS names.

To support TCP/IP-based utilities that require the use of host names (such as Internet or intranet utilities like FTP or HTTP using a browser).

If one or the other of the above applies, then you will need DNS.
DHCP dynamically allocates IP addressing information to client computers. If you have either a limited number of IP addresses or a large number of client PCs, DHCP can be an invaluable utility to manage IP addressing on your network.

3. Hardware Profiles

There are two uses for hardware profiles. Firstly, if you have a laptop with a docking station, hardware profiles allow you to load the drivers for the extra hardware available when docked. Secondly, if you have a limited set of resources – most commonly IRQs – but a larger number of hardware devices, profiles allow you to select which device drivers to load for any given session.

Installation and Configuration

You will need to know about:

The AppleTalk and DLC protocols
Optimising the binding order
Configuring the page file
Procedures for installing (WINNT or WINNT /B)
Installing a dual boot or upgrade correctly
TCP/IP parameters to configure
REGEDIT & REGEDT32
Using the loopback adaptor
Converting FAT to NTFS
Updating printer drivers
NTFS permissions & file compression
Control Panel utilities
Modifying the PATH statement
Modifying the boot delay time
Installing a tape backup unit
Backing up the registry
Threads and processes
Uninstalling NT
Configuring UPS
Minimum hardware requirements

Watch out for:

1. Installation Methods

Know the difference between WINNT and WINNT32. Be familiar with the /B and /OX switches.

2. AppleTalk and DLC

Remember that AppleTalk is installed when you install Services for Macintosh, not from the Protocols tab in Network Properties.

DLC must be installed before the HPJetDirect option is available when selecting a port in the Printer Wizard.

3. Optimising the binding order

The binding order for upper and lower layers can be adjusted on the client to optimise network traffic. Changing the binding order on the server makes little or no difference, since the server always responds to the client’s request using the protocol that it received the request with.

4. Registry Editors

Use REGEDT32 for its read-only mode. Use REGEDIT to search for both value names and data.

5. NTFS Permissions and File Compression

This catches a lot of people out. The rule is as follows:

As you can see, the same rule applies in both cases. In effect, ‘the file always inherits unless you are moving within the same volume’.

6. Uninstalling Windows NT

To uninstall NT, first remove any NTFS volumes, then boot from a bootable DOS floppy disk. At the prompt type SYS C:\ to set the system partition back to booting into DOS. Finally, remove the WINNT folder and the NTLDR, BOOT.INI and NTBOOTDD.SYS files from the root.

7. Upgrading and Dual Booting

To upgrade, install into the same folder as the previous operating system. This will retain Start Menu, application registration and personal settings. To dual boot you must install into a different folder, which will mean that you will have to re-install your applications and redefine your personal settings. There is no upgrade path from Windows 95 to Windows NT.

Managing Resources

You will need to know about the following:

The Audit, Account and User Rights policies
NTFS & share permissions
Creating a roaming user profile
Using System policies
Printing using CSNW
User Permissions across domains
Creating Printers
Directory replication
Printer priority, scheduling & pooling
Printing from DOS

Watch out for:

1. Policies

Know which built-in groups have which user rights. Understand the different user rights, as you will be asked which one(s) to assign to perform specific tasks. Be familiar with the different options in the Accounts policy. It is also necessary to know the different choices for items that can be audited in the Audit policy.

2. Combining NTFS and Share Permissions

NTFS and share permissions will be looked at both individually and together. Remember that it is the combination of all permissions within share permissions and within NTFS permissions that gives you your effective permission. If you have both NTFS and share permissions it is the least of these two effective permissions that will prevail. Calculate both share permissions and NTFS permissions separately. Now take the least of the two effective permissions as being the final permission given to the user.

3. Printing using CSNW

You will be asked which options to choose when printing using CSNW.

Add Form Feed: Use this to feed an extra page through the printer. If the NetWare administrator has set this up on the NetWare printer driver as well, you will end up with two form feeds at the end of every print job.
Notify When Printed: Sends a message to the user upon completion of their print job.
Print Banner: Prints a banner before every document printed.

4. Permissions across Domains

Be familiar with what the user must do to gain access to a resource across a trusted and a non-trusted domain. You will get two or three scenario-based questions on this point. Remember that if no trust exists with the domain that the user is currently logged on with, the user must log off and back on as a user in either the resource domain or a trusted domain.

Richard Adams is a member of the Institute of IT Trainers