I assume you are refering to the fact that the the host
could be compromised over the network and the virtual hard drive or virtual
machine itself simply copied. (Just for the record, this is covered in the white
paper. Did not mean to imply that it is not. Security in this respect is refered
over to NTFS permissions).
So given that you could have a single physical machine at a
branch office and that you must have a DC and F/P service, what is the prefered
configuration?
-- nme
P.S. thanks for keeping this thread
going.
From: Dean Wells [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2005 8:42 PM
To: Send - AD mailing list
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] Virtual Servers in Branch Offices"Does placing the DC inside a virtual machine add any security? Would it be harder for someone with physical access to compromise the DC? The white paper does not really make this clear. Also, I am assuming that a host machine would be a domain member, right? Does it authenticate off the virtual DC?"<Dean>Virtual DCs effectively weaken the broader-definition of security in a number of ways including the context of physical access ... this is due primarily to the relative ease with which the entire DC's state can be duplicated, subsequently, becoming portable and reproduced in a running state elsewhere with little to no effort.The host machine has no bearing ... it's rather like saying "the rack in which the server is physically housed has to be a domain member" (or any further extension of that particular metaphor). Keep in mind the VM (for the most part) doesn't even realize it's virtual.</Dean>--
Dean Wells
MSEtechnology
* Email: dwells@msetechnology.com
http://msetechnology.com
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Noah Eiger
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 12:01 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] Virtual Servers in Branch OfficesThanks for the thoughts. And thanks Tony for the reference -- just finished reading it.Unfortunately, deploying the DC at HQ or simply authenticating over the WAN is not really an option. The WAN links are ok (and getting better) but are located in places where environmental (as in the weather) conditions often cause short interruptions.Does placing the DC inside a virtual machine add any security? Would it be harder for someone with physcial access to compromise the DC? The white paper does not really make this clear. Also, I am assuming that a host machine would be a domain member, right? Does it authenticate off the virtual DC? [1]Thanks again.-- nme[1] This sort of reminds me of the scene in Animal House when they talk about the "whole universe as we know it existing under the fingernail of some other giant being..." Whoa, dude!
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 12:48 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] Virtual Servers in Branch OfficesOther important factors in this scenario must be the physical and logical security of the server housing the DC role.1. Will the server be securely locked away in the branches? If not, do not deploy a DC.2. Do you trust the file server admins to have physical access to the server hosting the DC role?3. Who administers the server that hosts the file and DC roles? Are they also trusted?When designing the branch office, I would always ask the questions below, too:1. Is a local DC required? i.e. what are the drawbacks if a DC is not deployed?2. Is logon/startup traffic over the WAN larger than replication traffic over the WAN? If not, consider not deploying a local DC.3. Does a local DC offer redundancy in the event of a WAN failure? If other apps are accessed over the WAN, then consider deploying the DC at a central location and not at the branch.hth,neil___________________________
Neil Ruston
Global Technology Infrastructure
Nomura International plc
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Tony Murray
Sent: 13 October 2005 01:12
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [ActiveDir] Virtual Servers in Branch OfficesHere's a link to a Microsoft document that covers what you need to do to run a production DC on Virtual Server 2005.Tony
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Noah Eiger
Sent: Thursday, 13 October 2005 11:30 a.m.
To: [email protected]
Subject: [ActiveDir] Virtual Servers in Branch OfficesHi -Just to follow up on the design thread.... Since I am placing DCs in small branch offices is there a value in using Virtual Server 2005 to create separate virtual boxes (DC & file server) running on the same physical box? Some users have administrative access to the file server, and I'd love to keep them off the DCs. I am also curious about optimal physical and virtual drive configurations for such a box.I reviewed the thread here about Virtual Domain Controllers but it seemed to focus on using them as backups. I am talking about production.Any thoughts most welcome.-- nme
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