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I am having problems setting up the DNS server. I am getting confused with forwarders reverse forwarders and things like that. I am not sure what IP to use for the fowarder, and I would really like to know how I can get it to work. 
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I am having problems setting up the DNS server. I am getting confused with forwarders reverse forwarders and things like that. I am not sure what IP to use for the fowarder, and I would really like to know how I can get it to work.

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I just installed Windows Server 2003 for the first time and I would like to experiment a bit with it in order to learn some more about managing networks. I have a four computer in-home network. If someone could provide me a near step by step guide as to how to set up a working dns server &nbsp;(for domain) and how to actually get active directory services to work. There is such a variety of options I would first like to know what is important. I also have this problem with creating users, whereby everytime I try to create the password and click ok it tells me it is unable to do so because of pasword strenght is not adequate, which is bs because i tried a billion combinations, on top of that I disabled the password requirements under group policies. Thanks ahead of time! &nbsp;(also a stupid question, but what is the real benefit of running a domain server?)
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I just installed Windows Server 2003 for the first time and I would like to experiment a bit with it in order to learn some more about managing networks. I have a four computer in-home network. If someone could provide me a near step by step guide as to how to set up a working dns server  (for domain) and how to actually get active directory services to work. There is such a variety of options I would first like to know what is important. I also have this problem with creating users, whereby everytime I try to create the password and click ok it tells me it is unable to do so because of pasword strenght is not adequate, which is bs because i tried a billion combinations, on top of that I disabled the password requirements under group policies. Thanks ahead of time!  (also a stupid question, but what is the real benefit of running a domain server?)

How can I set up a working in-home domain with users and permissions

Windows Server 2003 was based on Windows XP and was released in four editions: Web, Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter. It also had derivative versions for clusters, storage and Microsoft’s Small Business Server. Important upgrades included integrating Internet Information Services (IIS), improvements to Active Directory (AD) and Group Policy (GP), and the migration to Automated System Recovery (ASR).

Windows Server 2003

Network Management involves issues that are independent of specific hardware or software, including email policies, upgrade planning, backup scheduling and working with managed service providers for Desktop-As-A-Service (DaaS), Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) and the like through the use of tools, coupled with manufacturer standards, best practice guidelines, policies and procedures plus all other relevant documentation. Network management also includes monitoring, alerting and reporting, management reporting, planning for device or service updates, the backup of configurations, the setting of key performance indicators and measures (KPIs/KPMs), associated service level agreements and problem records as part of the IT Service Management (ITSM) framework.

Network Management

The Windows operating systems have distinct methodologies for designing and implementing networks, and have specific systems to accomplish various networking processes, such as Exchange for email, Sharepoint for shared files and programs, and IIS for delivery of web pages. Microsoft also produces server technologies for networked database use, security and virtualization.