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3.2.2. Networked Host Services

šŸ’” First Principle: To improve efficiency, security, and manageability, you should centralize common services like file sharing, printing, and authentication on dedicated servers.

Scenario: In an office, instead of every user managing their own files and printers, you set up a central file server for shared storage using SMB, a print server to manage all print jobs, and a DHCP server to manage IP addressing.

Networked hosts provide services that are shared by many clients.

  • Server Roles:
    • DNS Server: Resolves domain names.
    • DHCP Server: Assigns IP addresses.
    • File Server: Provides centralized file storage and sharing (e.g., using SMB).
    • Print Server: Manages print jobs sent to shared printers.
    • Mail Server: Handles sending and receiving email.
    • Web Server: Hosts websites (e.g., Apache, Nginx, IIS).
    • Syslog Server: A centralized server for collecting log messages from network devices.
    • AAA Server: Provides Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting for network access (e.g., RADIUS).
  • Internet Appliances:
    • UTM (Unified Threat Management): An all-in-one security appliance that combines a firewall, antivirus, intrusion detection, and other security functions.
    • Load Balancer: Distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers to improve performance and reliability.
    • Proxy Server: An intermediary server that forwards requests from clients to other servers. Can be used for content filtering, caching, and anonymity.

āš ļø Common Pitfall: A single point of failure. If you have only one DNS server or one file server and it goes down, the entire network or a critical service will be impacted. Redundancy is key for critical services.

Key Trade-Offs:
  • Centralized (Server) vs. Decentralized (Peer-to-Peer): Centralized services are easier to manage, back up, and secure. Decentralized services have no single point of failure but are much harder to manage.

Reflection Question: What are the main benefits of using a dedicated print server in an office with 50 employees and 5 printers, compared to having each employee connect to each printer directly?