CompTIA Server +

What are key security protocols you can configure with RAS servers?

(1) Password authentication protocol (PAP) or unencrypted or clear text. (2) Shiva password authentication protocol (SPAP) encrypted and (3) Challenge handshake authentication protocol (CHAP) encrypted.

Intel XEON is targeted at servers due to advantages in?

- Cache size - Cache speed - Larger size of addressable memory - Support for advance programmable interrupt controller - Symmetric Multiprocessing or SMP

USB 1.0 transfers data at?

1.5 MB per second. USB devices can present a security risk because they are highly portable, hot swappable and plug-and-play.

What is SDRAM?

168 pin and 3.3 volts. Popular in P-3 era.

What is DDR?

184 pin adn 2.5 volts. Popular in Pentium IV era.

What is Rambus RAM?

184 pin and 2.5 volts. never gained big market share.

What is DDR-3?

240 pin and 1.5 volts. Introduced in 2007.

What is DDR-2?

240 pin and 1.8 volts. Introduced in 2003.

What is SIMM DRAM?

30 or 72 pin and 5 or 3.3 volts. Popular in P-I and P-II eras.

For servers, the overall trend is towards?

64-bit in both areas. Intel's 64-bit CPUS are Itanium, Intel-64 (formerly EM64T).

What is WINs (Windows Internet Naming Service)?

A MSFT protocol the translates older NetBIOS names for computers and other network resources into IP addresses. WINS servers support this function. Usually there are multiple WINS servers that replicate and the translation database (in whole or in part).

What is a server?

A computer device that responds to or "services requests from clients. A client is a machine that makes requests to a server.

What are the components of SNMP?

ANMP agents, SNMP management system console, Management information base (MIB) and SNMP community.

What is AGP?

Accelerated graphics port. For graphics cards for video displays. Not commonly encountered in servers. ISA and EISA are obsolete standards that preceded PCI.

What is a proxy server?

Act as intermediaries between clients in the organization and the Internet. They often store cache or store web pages for caster client access. Anonymous proxy servers strip out IP addresses to provide client anonymity.

What is memory interleaving?

Allows memory access between two or more memory banks or boards to occur alternatively. This means faster access because it eliminates wait states. All modules involved must be of the same kind of density (density of speed).

What is a RAS or Remote Access Server?

Allows support for remote clients. Allows client to remotely connect to a local area network. Remote clients can access RAS servers by dial-up or by internet connections (such as VPN). VPNs are established using a tunneling protocol or L2TP. When setting up a RAS server, security is paramount.

What is PCI-X?

An extension standard to PCI and is generally physically backward compatible with cares based on PCI 2.x. Max bandwidth varies from 1024 MBps for V.1 up to 2.14 GB/s or 4.3 GBps. They are parallel interface, 64.bit data path at faster speeds than PCI, 10-fold performance increase over PCI.

What is firewire?

An external BUS rather than an interface BUS. A competing standard to USB. Also known as IEEE 1394 interface. Hot swappable and plug-and-play.

USB or Universal BUS?

An external BUS rather than an interface card or BUS. Fast serial port communications designed to replace traditional serial and parallel ports. Hot swappable and plug-and-play. Provides power to lower-power devices. A USB hub expands one USB port to serveral devices.

What is cache memory?

Applies to places other than the CPU or servers. For example, disk drives and CDs, DVDs also have their own cache memory.

What is a Network Attached Storage (NAS) Server?

Are an alternative to local file servers. They use NIC (network interface cards) or to connect to the network and are assigned Internet addresses. NAS is very flexible since all kinds of storage devices can use this principle to connect to the network. It's very easy to take NAS devices on-or-off line. They can be used by any client or server on the network regardless of OS.

In a hierarchical server architecture, some servers are designated?

As control points for the other servers. This may mean easier administration and better security through a single control point.

What is a storage area network (SAN)?

Attaches remote storage devices like disk arrays and tape libraries to servers such that they appear to the server operating systems to be locally attached. SAN servers provide the connections to the storage devices used in SANs.

What is a PCI hot plug?

Boards can be powered on/off independently, so adapters can be added/removed without powering down the entire server.

What does the BIOS provide?

Callable services to programs through its API.

What is a firewall server?

Can be hardware or software based. They protect an organizations internal network and servers from outside penetration. They scan incoming and outgoing data traffic. Firewall security can be configured in many ways such as packet filtering and permitting or denying access based on the original internet protocol (IP address).

Randomly Accessible memory (RAM) is?

Can be read directly (as opposed to media in which data can be read sequentially, such as tape).

What are the 3 key factors that effect the speed and performance of CPUs

Clock speed, data bus width and cache memory.

What is CISC?

Complex Instruction Set Computer. Risk benefits have diminished as chips have become more dense. While it has many success stories, most computers are based on CISC architectures today e.g., family and others). Hybrids have also blurred the once-clear distinction between RISC and CISC.

What is a print server?

Control printers for shared access, thereby avoiding the need for each individual to have their own computer-attached printer.

Processors can either be 32-bit or 64-bit in respect to what?

Data bus width and internal operations and instructions.

What is a PCI hot swap?

Devices can be replaced while the computer remains up.

What is the North Bridge Chipset?

Divides FSB (or the processor BUS) from teh PCI bus and manages data traffic in that area. It sets the speed for teh FSB and determines how many CPUs and how much memory the machine can have. Often called system controller chip.

What is the South Bridge Chipset?

Divides the PCI from the ISA BUS and Super I/O chip and manages data traffic in that area for slower devices like IDE ports, USB ports, ISA bus, etc. Sometimes called the peripheral BUS controller.

Most modern memory DRAM is based on?

Dual Inline Memory Modules or DIMMs. They have separate contacts on both sides of the module that make the electrical connection to the memory socket or bank into which it is inserted. They are faster than SIMMs that preceded DIMMs.

What is a DHCP Server?

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. They dynamically assign temporary IP addresses to clients. For client computers that will get dynamically assigned IP addresses from DHCP server, you dictate this when configuring their network connections. Clients request dynamic IP addresses by a discovery broadcast during their bot processing and DHCP server responds by leasing an IP address to the client for a limited time.

What is DRAM?

Dynamic RAM - because chips need periodic electrical refresh in order to hold data which opposed to static RAM and SRAM which does not require the refresh adn is not volatile. SRAM is traditionally higher cost and so it is used in specialty sub-systems. DRAM is primarily the main memory used in servers and computers.

What is a System Network Architecture or SNA server?

Enable clients to access IBM mainframes and other IBM-proprietary computers using IBMs SNA networking protocol. SNA protocol is multi-layered and hierarchical. Microsoft's SNA server and its successor product host integration server allow personal computer clients to access IBM mainframes and iSeries servers in data centers.

What are back-end servers responsible for?

For voluminous data and archival storage. Database servers and data warehouse servers are examples.

What are distributed servers?

Geographically dispersed. In a peer-to-peer server architecture, all distributed servers are equal.

What is data BUS width?

How many bits can pass into or out of the processor in a single cycle. It is increasingly 64-bit (versus slower (32-bit) for servers. 64-bit also yields a larger memory address space.

Interleaved memory must be configured?

Identically across the banks (or boards) involved. It is described in terms of the number of banks,. For example, with two banks on each of the two boards, you have 2 bank times 2 boards or 4-way interleaving.

What is Internet Message Protocol (IMAP) used for?

Incoming mail

What is POP3 used for?

Incoming mail

What does peer PCI BUS do?

Increases expansion slots, offers flexible bus width and speed, and facilitates load balancing.

What is PCI-Express?

Intended to replace PCI, PCI-X, AGP, etc. Uses point-to-serial connections called lanes, between devices & slots. Faster, smaller cables and connectors, many other benefits. Hot swappable and hot plug capable.

What does scaling up do?

It adds hardware to an existing server to increase its power.

What is accelerated hub architecture?

Know as Intel Hub Architecture (IHA) was designed to replace the traditional North Bridge/South Bridge design. IHA offers higher-speed channels between sections and it optimizes data transfer based on data type.

From fastest to slowest and from smallest t largest, they are?

L1 cache - proximate to the CPU runs at CPUs speed rather than motherboard speed. L2 cache - used to be discrete (separate) from the CPU, running the back side bus. Since advanced transfer cache it is on the CPU die like the L1 cache. L3 cache - a third-level of cache on some systems.

What is Desktop Management Interface (DMI)?

Less popular alternative to SNMP. It complements SNMP by carrying more specific levels information, it is sometimes used in conjunction with SNMP.

What is error correction (ECC)?

Memory is a specialized form of SDRAM. ECC recognizes when memory errors occur.

What do dual-core CPUs share?

Memory through a single memory controller and appear as one to the outside world via single system request interface. Designs differ about cache sharing. L1 nay not be shared while lower level caches usually are shared.

What is PCI Interrupts and PCI Steering?

More addresses are available for interrupt requests or IRQs.

What is Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)?

More sophisticated with more functions and better scalability, flexibility and accuracy than RIP. It calculates routes based on routing tables reflecting the network topology and their current status (rather than simply the number of hops like RIP.

What are Dual Core and Multi-core CPUs?

More than one execution core on a single die or chip. Their strength is in multi-threaded applciations or when several programs run simultaneously. Where tasks can not be separated into multiple threads, or wher only a single monolitic program runs at a time, they offer less benefit.

What is multipurpose Internet mail extensions (MIME used for?

Multimedia data. It adds the ability to send and receive multimedia files as attachments. Both sender and receiver must have MIME capability.

Are all all PCI cards hot capable?

No.

What is clock frequency?

Number of times per second that a quartz crystal vibrates or oscillates. Measured in millions or billions of times per second Mhz or GHz. They provide synchronous system operation and helps determine system speed performance. Processor or CPU instructions are executed on the basis of the clock cycle. High frequency means better performance.

What is AMDs rival to Intel Itanium?

Opteron series of server CPUs has included dual-core-designs since 2003 and quad core starting in 2007.

What is Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) used for?

Outgoing mail

Which is more popular, PPP or SLIP as a terminal service?

PPP since it supports more protocols e.g., TCP/IP/IPX/SPX, etc. It adds features like data encryption and compression. Adequate security is big concern with dial-in facility. There must be more ways to authenticate users to determine who they say they are.

What is front side BUS or FSB?

Path to communicate with the main memory and graphics card running at motherboard clock speed.

What is Intel Celeron CPUs?

Pentiums with lesser cache sizes and cheaper supporting chipsets, so Celerons are nto used for servers. Though, some low-end servers due use some Celeron CPUs, they are, by and large consumer oriented chips.

What is PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)?

Plug-and-play by default auto-configuration.

What are some of the advanced features CPUs have gained in recent years?

Protected mode, instruction pipelining, superscaler architecture, out of order execution, brand prediction, speculative execution, hyper-threading, explicity parallel instruction computing (EPIC), on-chip cache, dual adn quad core CPU and RISC.

What is a terminal server?

Provide remote dial-in access to other servers or a network. To support this access, they use serial protocols such as point-to-point (PPP) or serial line IP or (SLIP).

What is a file server?

Provide shared storage and shared file access to files. They tie together clients within workgroups through file sharing.

What is a fax server?

Provide shared telephone fax access, analogous to the same way print servers share printers. They are often considered superior to fax machines because they can service remote users, add security, transmit faxes faster, and they don't jam.

What is SNMP or Simple Network Management Protocol?

Raised alerts when issues occur and informs server administrators about problems and changes. Notification can be by e-mail, pager alert, log message or network message to the client the administrators logged to.

What are registered memory and buffered memory?

Re-drive or amplify the signal entering the memory module. They handle heavily loaded server memory and allow modules to have more memory chips with higher reliability. They cost more than unregistered, unbuffered memory used in consumer computers.

What is RISC?

Reduced Instruction Set Computer - CPU with smaller set of instructions that tries to gain speed through reducing instruction set complexity. The alternative is CISC.

For setting servers up as routers, there are two common router protocols, what are they?

Router Information protocol (RIP and Open Shortest Path First (OSPF).

What is a news server?

Run software to store and distribute news articles to and from newsgroups either on a specific network or on the Internet. They Internet's USENET consists of many news servers running Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP).

When If you want to increase server power and capability, you can either?

Scale up or scale out or sometimes referred to as building up and building out.

What does scaling out do?

Scaling out adds more servers to the network to increase capabilities. It means more servers to manage and administer, and could possibly lead to data sharing and security issues. On the positive side, scaling out means greater redundancy among systems and probably increased availability of at least some systems. It's very easy to scale out using cookie-cutter approach to setting up new servers.

What is a mail server?

Send, receive and store e-mail. they usually support industry standard e-mail protocols such as post office protocol (POP3), internet message access protocol (IMAP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) and multipurpose internet mail extensions (MIME).

What is a shared server?

Server performs other tasks like print or file sharing, it is a shared server.

What are gateways, routers and bridges?

Servers can be used in various network-support roles, for example, as network gateways, routers, and bridges. Dedicated devices care often viewed more favorably in these roles than servers, since they are typically more plug-and-go and also designed to be secure in their roles. However, for smaller organizations properly configured servers with appropriate software provide lower-cost options.

What is Router Information Protocol (RIP)?

Simple but serviceale, a distance vector-based protocol that calculates the best route to a destination based on the least number of hops.

What is an appliance server?

Single-function servers built with the idea of being "'plug-ready" with only very minimal configuration. Appliance servers are field-replaceable units (FRUs) in that if one fails, you just plug in another to replace it.

To manage a large group or network of servers, you need?

Software that helps manage the servers based on one of the two predominant protocols e.g., SNMP, DMI and MIF.

What is the BIOS?

Software that provides the lowest-level interface between the system hardware and the operating system. The vast majority of BIOS's are from either of two vendors. Phoenix Software or American Megatrends (AMI).

What does cache do?

Speeds performance by holding most recently-used data.

What does BUS mastering eliminate?

The CPU from communications. It allows devices to communicate across the BUS with little or no processor involvement, so it can be faster and also conserve CPU resources.

What is a BUS?

The data path the motherboard provides for communication across the system. It is 32 or 64 bits wide. Wider means more bits transferred simultaneously and is generally faster. It is extended via the I/O expansion bus. Common I/O bus standards are PCI, etc.

What is a motherboard?

The primary circuit card to which all others in the computer connect.

What are chipsets?

These subdivide the BUS into logical components that run at different clock frequency speeds, thereby avoiding the bottleneck that a single system-wide clock speed would create. Chipsets create hierarchical BUS that places the slower buses beneath the faster ones for maximum performance.

What are dedicated servers?

They are allocated to a single function or use. An example would be if a database server runs only a relational database management system and performs no other function it would be dedicated.

What are server architectures?

They can be arranged in various architectures, models or topologies. For example, large companies may organize servers into 3 levels or tiers.

What is a Web Server?

They host web sites. They provide security through user authentication, data encryption and web permissions for access to particular data or folders. Digital certificates validate the web server and its supporting organization internet users. Most popular are software products for web servers are Apache (Open Source) and Internet Information Server (IIS/Microsoft).

What is a database server?

They store data. They usually run relational database products such as SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2 and MySQL or competing software databases to perform this function.

What is an FTP server?

Transfer files across the internet. They support user authentication for security purposes. Or, you can allow users to log in with anonymous FTP if you want files to be accessible to the public without user authentication.

What is a Domain Name Server or DNS?

Translate high-level english like names TCP/IP names into Internet protocol or IP addresses. For example, a server name like www.mycompany.com might translate into numeric IP address that looks like 108.45.93.17. DNS servers replace the old hosts file that lists the static IP address translations in operating systems like Windows server, etc.

What is a general purpose server?

Typically perform multiple functions and so can not be classified as any specific type of server. An example wold be a server in a small company that handles file, print, e-mail, and web proxy functions.

How many levels of cache are there?

Typically two or three levels.

Where do mid-tier servers interact?

With clients located within the organization and include file servers, print servers and e-mail servers.

Where do front-end servers interface?

With the world beyond the organization. Examples include mail servers, web servers, proxy servers and firewalls.

Can software programs be considered servers?

Yes. For example, an Oracle database server could be considered both as a hardware device acting in the role of a server, and also as a database software application that acts as a server.

What is I20 Intelligence Input/Output?

has an I20 processor on the device itself (such as an adapter) that communicates with the I2o driver. I20 may still be on the exam but it is largely defunct.