Comparison of Network Operating Systems

The assignment content discusses different network operating systems, including Active Directory, Linux/UNIX Servers, MAC OS X Server, Novell, and Windows NT. It highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each system, including their flexibility, scalability, and security features. The report concludes that the best practice for designing an active directory is to integrate different services, utilize windows products, and apply group policy and mandatory service.

Running head: DESIGN AND REPORT
PART 2- Research Paper

1
DESIGN AND REPORT
Executive summary
The active directory is configured in the network using windows server for the authentication,
management and the authorization of the directory service. LDAP is used for accessing the
database and construct the LDAP service for copying the data to be served using the domain
controller. There are different tools that can be used for the management if the domain service
such as group policy editor, management of the printing service, management of the group policy
used for the management of the remote servers. For the management of the domain
administrators the services and the sites of the active directory and the trust and domain of the
active directory can be implemented for increasing the efficiency of the network. The resources
in the network can be shared for increasing the availability of the network.

2
DESIGN AND REPORT
Table of Contents
1. Introduction......................................................................................................................3
2. Comparison of Windows active directory with different network operating systems....3
2.1. LDAP and Active Directory.....................................................................................4
2.2. Windows active directory vs apache active directory..............................................5
2.3. LINUX /UNIX Servers vs Windows Active Directory............................................5
2.4. MAC OS X Server vs Windows Active Directory...................................................6
2.5. Novell vs Windows Active Directory:.....................................................................6
2.6. Windows NT:............................................................................................................7
3. Result...............................................................................................................................7
4. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................8
Bibliography........................................................................................................................9

3
DESIGN AND REPORT
1. Introduction
The research report is prepared after evaluation of different research articles and journals
available on the internet. In the peer to peer network the sharing of the resources is done using a
single platform that are suited according to the design of the network. The client server
architecture of the network are used by the network resources for the management of the network
resources. The resources and the communication channels in the network should be encrypted for
the maintenance of the confidentiality of the network. The physical security policy should be
produced for increasing the security of the network and the data centers and the server should be
checked for reducing the errors in the network.
2. Comparison of Windows active directory with different network operating
systems
The configuration of the windows active directory is important for the management of the
windows server and controlling the authentication and centralized management of the windows
network. There are different service available in the windows server such as device management
as a service and identity and access management which are missing in some of the network
operating system. Moreover the windows server offers virtualization of the active directory that
can be used for better resource management and handle number of request at a time. The
directory are important for the configuration of the domain and it is utilized for sharing
information in a closed network. The windows server can be configured with domain name
system and DHCP for creation of a pool and assign IP address to the nodes automatically.
There are different network operating system available that can also be used as a
replacement of the windows server and reduce the cost of the network. The main working of the

4
DESIGN AND REPORT
NOS is to store the login information of the users in the directory and restrict it from illegal
access. There are different best practices such as control of the clock drift, optimization of the
performance of the network, modification of the DNS, replication of the information of the
database, implementation of the access control for the virtual machine, preparing from disaster
recovery and high availability of the network resources. As an alternative of the virtual active
directory service of the windows server the cloud identity management solution can be applied
for securing the functionality and the IT resources of the different network operating system
servers.
The different network operating system are compared with each other for the
identification of the functionality and selection of the OS for the management of the
organizational network.
2.1. LDAP and Active Directory
The main difference between the windows active directory and the lightweight directory
access protocol is that the active directory is used for authentication, policy management and the
other service used for the management of the windows. The windows active directory have no
support for the MAC and Linux operating platforms. It cannot be used for connecting with the
cloud platform and it is best suited for the in house server solution for the organization.
The LDAP is utilized for the modification and querying the items residing in the
directory service and for interacting with the data residing in the active directory and increasing
the interoperability of the third party applications. The LDAP is used as an open source protocol
for the management of the Linux operating system and due to the flexibility of the LDAP the
administrator needs to configure the settings and it is a time consuming process for the network
administrator.

5
DESIGN AND REPORT
2.2. Windows active directory vs apache active directory
The apache active directory is based on the LDAP service and open source solution are
used for the management of the LDAP service. It is difficult to maintain and manage the apache
servers and it is extremely flexible and the user have the permission to modify the solution using
source code. But in case of the windows active directory it can be maintained easily using the
group policy for sharing of the information between the nodes. It also helps in print management
and changing of the wallpaper of the nodes connected in a group or installation of application
software in the nodes connected in the network.
2.3. LINUX /UNIX Servers vs Windows Active Directory
The linux or unix servers are available at a free of cost whereas for the installation of the
windows server the license is required to be purchased and thus it adds extra cost in the network.
Moreover with the application of the windows server the user can face lock in situation and this
situation can be avoided with the deployment of the linux server in the network solution. The
LINUX / UNIX OS are old compared to the windows server operating system but still they are
widely used in many network servers for the peer to peer and client server architecture. The
application of the end users should be compiled for increasing the security and reliability of the
network. Some of the network services are common with the windows server such Network file
system, remote login service and windows graphical user interface. The windows server offers
remote desktop service to the users and thus the users can use the software without the need of
installing it on the stand alone machines. Private session can be established using the remote
login service. The printing jobs are used using the LPR command.

6
DESIGN AND REPORT
2.4. MAC OS X Server vs Windows Active Directory
Different network service can be implemented using the Mac OS and the apple share is
used for the sharing of the printing jobs and files in the organizational network. MAC OS can be
used for providing file service and is available at a fraction of cost as the windows server. The
built in mail server can be utilized using the Mac OS x server and it can be migrated using the
IMAP. SAMBA are used for the SMB files and it helps the client to create and access the files
from different network operating system. A built in service is used for the MAC OS for the
management of the printing jobs in the network and multiple users can be managed securely
using the SSL protocol. It works quite similar to the windows server and the active directory can
be integrated with the windows active directory for binding OS x with the windows domain. Peer
to peer network is used for small and moderate sized network and the adoption of the large scale
network is simplified for the corporation of the LAN setting. The Appleshare IP is used for the
management of the client using the Mac and it allows sharing of the NFS files and the FTP is
enabled for sharing of the SMB files that uses the AFP protocol. PAP can also be used by the
Apple talk using the LPR por LPD for supporting the applications using the HTTP protocol.
Email service can also be enabled using the SMTP. IMAP or POP service enabled for the MAC
CGI.
2.5. Novell vs Windows Active Directory:
Novell Netware network operating system is developed on the Linux platform for the
management of a binary based network infrastructure. It has evolved over times and was
developed by Netware for management of small network infrastructure. It can be applied in the
network for the sharing, translating, synchronizing and management of the network information
through the networking environment. It has an unique feature NDS that can be used for accessing

7
DESIGN AND REPORT
the server components from remote geographical location. It can be used for dedicated client
server architecture and encryption of the network communication channel using the RSA
algorithm.
2.6. Windows NT:
The windows server is used management of the workgroups and in the client server
network administrator. There are different routing protocols that can be used for designing the
internetworking OS and enabling the administrator for connecting with the WAN and LAN.
There are different advantages of the deployment if the Windows NT server and it allows the
network administrator for management of the password policy in the network. The Windows NT
can operate in low end machines and hardware configuration. The service is accessed on the
network and implementation of the domain security model is used for the management of the
user accounts and centralizing the control of the network.
3. Result
Research is done on the available network operating system for single or multiple users
for multiple batch processing and monitoring the activity in the network. The network speed and
the hardware platform are the main factors affecting the performance of the network and
virtualization of the active directory. The consolidation of the hardware and the standardization
can be used for the improvement of the network environment and the cost of the server can be
reduced ad flexibility of the network should be improved. The deployment and testing of the
configuration for the evaluation of the group policy and VMWare is used for the virtualization of
the servers. The alternative domain can be configured and problems associated with the
configuration of the domain service should be tested and controlled for reducing the security risk
associated with the configuration of the active directory in the different network operating

8
DESIGN AND REPORT
systems. Different types of support are provided by the different network operating system and it
is found that the windows server is the best for active directory configuration.
4. Conclusion
Different research papers are evaluated for the preparation of the research report and
different operating system are used for the evaluation. The main aim of the report is the
identification of the directory and the best practice that are followed for designing the active
directory. Integration of the different service for the development of the active directory are
analyzed and building blocks and utilization of the windows product for improvement of the
ability. The objects used for the development of the group policy and the mandatory service that
should be applied for the development of the framework. The use of the active directory and the
different network operating system are used for the identification of the resources required for
the development of the network framework.

9
DESIGN AND REPORT
Bibliography
[1].Arthursson, D., & Bristav, M. (2015). U.S. Patent Application No. 14/754,512.
[2].Casado, M., Amidon, K. E., Balland III, P. J., Gude, N., Pettit, J., Pfaff, B. L., ... &
Wendlandt, D. J. (2015). U.S. Patent No. 9,083,609. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office.
[3].Casado, M., Amidon, K. E., Balland III, P. J., Gude, N., Pettit, J., Pfaff, B. L., ... &
Wendlandt, D. J. (2015). U.S. Patent Application No. 14/746,816.
[4].Li, H. (2013). Network Operating System. Information Technology Journal, 12(22),
6531-6536.
[5].Link, D. F., Cordray, C. G., Chart, R. M., & Ginter, K. (2017). U.S. Patent No.
9,537,731. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
[6].Shin, S., Song, Y., Lee, T., Lee, S., Chung, J., Porras, P., ... & Kang, B. B. (2014,
November). Rosemary: A robust, secure, and high-performance network operating
system. In Proceedings of the 2014 ACM SIGSAC conference on computer and
communications security (pp. 78-89). ACM.
[7].Silberschatz, A., Galvin, P. B., & Gagne, G. (2014). Operating system concepts
essentials. John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
[8].Tock, T., Kurland, V., & Horn, M. (2013). U.S. Patent Application No. 13/746,975.
[9].Tofighbakhsh, M., & Wolter, D. R. (2017). U.S. Patent No. 9,565,576. Washington, DC:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.