Re: networking requirements - do I need a domain controller?!

From: Chris (Chris_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 06/14/04 

Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2004 11:17:02 -0700

Steve:

Thank you for your great response; very helpful. My one remaining question is why does my current network cease to function when I turn off the NT domain controller? The only place where user accounts are set up is directly on the Powervault file server and the print server is set up to allow access to anybody...

Jut want to be sure I understand the angles as much as possible before i go setting up a "simplified network' that could throw me into fits!

-Chris

"Steven L Umbach" wrote:

> Your small network can work perfectly fine without a domain controller. What you
> mainly lose is centralized user management, centralized management of group and
> security policy including password policy, and loss of certain technologies such as
> kerberos authentication which can be very useful for implementing ipsec network
> security. If you don't need any of that and don't mind managing the users in a
> workgroup environment then that is your choice. In a workgroup for example, if you
> have twenty users that need access to two servers then those user accounts will need
> to be manually entered and maintained on each server which can be cumbersome managing
> password changes. I personally prefer the domain configuration but each to their
> wn. --- Steve
>
>
> "Chris" <Chris@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:2C99C105-8E7C-4B53-9BD7-222DB075D722@microsoft.com...
> > I'm trying to figure out whether or not I NEED to go through the hassle and added
> overhead of maintaining a domain controller; hopefully, someone can answer this for
> me as I plan out our office's new network...
> >
> > We are a 20-person office, mixed Mac and Win 2k/WinXP systems. We have one Win
> 2K-based file server (Dell Powervault file server appliance), our e-mail and web
> services are outsourced and our office printers are handled by a Win2k Server-based
> print server (has to be Win2K Server). That's it.
> >
> > We're about to upgrade our network w/ unmanaged switches and a Linksys router which
> will handle DHCP, firewall and routing services.
> >
> > Right now, however, our desktop systems have manually-assigned IP addresses and we
> have an old WinNT server acting as a domain controller. I know this because shutting
> doen the server makes all of the network printers and the file server disappear.
> >
> > I would love to be able to abolish the need for a domain controller w/ our new
> network and am hoping that this will be possib;e considering our modest setup.
> >
> > Can anybody tell me if i can get away w/o one once we make the described hardware
> upgrade? Shouldn't systems be able to see our file server and print server w/o having
> to have a domain controller?
>
>
>

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