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A member server provides the same level of interaction as a server because neither contains a copy of the configuration file or account database. All authentications are referred to the units higher up in the hierarchy.
When you plan your installation, you should follow the same rules as when you planned your Windows NT Server installation. You should have a minimum of two servers: one primary configuration server and one backup configuration server. Preferably, you should have one or more backup configuration servers, just in case of failure, and one or more member servers to handle the increased loads on a large network.
After choosing how you will fit SNA Server into your current network configuration, you need to consider what physical hardware is required to support your goals. By this, I mean just how much hardware and what type are required to support your network clients. After all, there is a limit to the number of clients and sessions each client can have open on a single SNA Server installation. The actual number varies depending on your hardware platform and its configuration. And even if your server can support all these clients simultaneously, your connection to your mainframe might not. Your connection to your mainframe might be the limiting factor in the number of connections you can support at once. This is because, as the available bandwidth is used, your network clients will become very irate at the lengthy mainframe response times. At some point, the system becomes unusable.
The first step in solving this particular problem is to choose a minimum hardware platform. This minimum platform is limited strictly to providing a stable and functional SNA Server platform. If you want this computer to provide additional services other than SNA Server, you should increase the minimum requirements or be willing to suffer the associated performance degradation. The realistic minimum requirements for an SNA Server platform are as follows:
The various RISC platforms also offer acceptable and, in some cases, quite excellent performance for SNA Server platforms. The available device drivers and link services drivers are not as widely available, however. If you choose to use a RISC platform, make absolutely sure that the device drivers you need are available in a retail (not beta) product before you purchase your RISC platform and peripherals.
Just as you can increase your ability to service network requests by adding additional network adapters, you can increase your available bandwidth to your mainframe (assuming that it can handle the additional data traffic) by adding additional SNA adapters. This is particularly useful if your current budget does not include the money to purchase additional mainframe hardware to support your faster SNA adapter hardware. Instead, you can use two or more slower SNA adapters on slower connection pathways. Although it’s not the perfect solution, it is a workaround until you can fit the appropriate hardware into your budget.
This chapter points out some of the types of resources you need to take into account when managing your network. The chapter also explores the differences between workgroups and domains, the types of Windows NT Server computers you can have on your network, and the different domain models offered by Microsoft. In this chapter, you learned how to create computer accounts and trust relationships (if you stopped to read the sidebars). You also had a chance to explore the different types of servers you may encounter, which include resource servers and a variety of application servers, along with basic recommendations for their resource allocations. This information should place you in good standing as you try and optimize your network.
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