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To start i am a first year student and I'm unclear on server and server types. If i have at least 196 workstations on a LAN network running win. XP and then segment the network into a student side and administration side how many servers running a Win. server 2008 OSI would i need. Is there a way to run everything on one server i.e mail server app., file services, web services ect. ?

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A short, practical framework rather than a single headcount is the most useful answer for . The number of servers depends on which roles must be available, how much redundancy is required, and whether virtualization or hosted services will be used. Focus on role separation, fault tolerance and licensing instead of a one‑server/one‑client ratio.

A sensible minimal production design for ~196 workstations (split student/admin) usually includes:

  • Redundant domain controllers (at least two) for authentication and DNS.
  • File/storage service sized for expected capacity and I/O (can be clustered or replicated).
  • A mail solution (hosted email is a common way to avoid heavy on‑prem Exchange servers).
  • Web/application servers isolated from domain controllers.
  • Backup target and an edge device (firewall/UTM).
    Virtualization lets all of the above run as VMs on a small number of physical hosts, but running every role on a single physical server creates a single point of failure.

Segmentation: combine VLANs/firewall rules for network isolation with Active Directory OUs and Group Policy for policy-based segregation (as hinted). Put sensitive admin services on a separate VLAN and limit admin accounts and management interfaces. For DHCP and other services, consider the high‑availability options available in the chosen Windows Server version (older Server 2008 designs often used split‑scope DHCP; newer versions add built‑in failover features).

Operational cautions: do not place heavy applications (for example, Exchange) on domain controllers; budget for Client Access Licenses (CALs); document backup and restore procedures and test them; monitor CPU/memory/disk I/O and grow storage/hosts before they become bottlenecks. Start by listing required services, estimate load and storage needs, then decide whether 2–3 physical hosts with virtualization (plus redundancy) or more dedicated servers best match availability and budget.

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Member Avatar for bharat2008

To start i am a first year student and I'm unclear on server and server types. If i have at least 196 workstations on a LAN network running win. XP and then segment the network into a student side and administration side how many servers running a Win. server 2008 OSI would i need. Is there a way to run everything on one server i.e mail server app., file services, web services ect. ?

It depend which kind of applications you are using from Server...

Member Avatar for scorpion_ana

i'm a net admin i installed one server contains the following active directory+DNS+DHCP+IIS7 (for web sites)+antivirus server and this server serves 250 client and the performance is good.

Member Avatar for jbennet

depends on server spec.

I have seen a 64 bit dell poweredge with server 2003, 8gb ram handling ~350 clients just fine for doing AD/DNS/DHCP (No IIS).

then segment the network into a student side and administration sid

Why when you can just use group policies? (possibly in loopback mode?)

Edited by jbennet because: n/a
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