Networks and Network Connections

As the Internet evolves, we can see specialization increasing in the portions of the systems providing communications support. In the mainframe era of the 1960s, communications were directly supported by the systems. This changed in the 1970s, as needs grew, and led manufacturers to produce semi-autonomous communications subsystems coupled to the main system. These were known as front-end processors, and examples include IBM�s 37xx series and Bull�s Datanet.

This trend increased with the rise of local area networks, with the emergence of a new generation of network equipment�routers, concentrators and so forth�that off-load a number of chores from the servers.

Nowadays, we do not expect a server to directly support a variety of communications interfaces, but rather to provide a number of high-bandwidth pipes that carry requests for it to operate on the data it owns.

We expect this trend to continue, especially with convergence resulting in the same network carrying voice (and video) along with data, from the point of view of provisioning sufficient physical resources as well as from the IP point of view. Forecasts suggest a continuing significant increase in data traffic, with voice traffic stagnating; thus, the effects of this convergence will likely be felt more in the telephony industry (makers of automatic telephone exchanges and switches) than in the data-processing industry.

Look for data analyst programs via Guide to OnlineSchools.com.

Increased use of multimedia will impose further demands on servers, because of the need to observe and guarantee temporal properties. This might suggest deployment of specialized realtime operating systems as well as use of special peripherals, such as disks optimized for this type of use. The industry has at its disposal a number of technologies, particularly optical, which will allow it to support demand; increasing bandwidth; reducing latency; the address space increase offered by IPv6; the concept of quality of service, and so on.

A key issue, though, is driving new uses that will themselves make use of the possibilities available and allow these technologies to be deployed.

Cisco, the world leader in networking equipment, envisages the emergence of the intelligent network, whose components are:

� Interconnection with proprietary networks like SNA, DSA or others;

� Broadcast or multicast facilities, allowing one message to be sent to many destinations

� Video services (both video conferencing and video-on-demand)

� Cache services

� Administration

� Voice-related services

� QoS (quality of service)-related services

� Security services

Looking at these a little deeper:

� Interworking with proprietary networks is a necessity while these networks exist

� Some applications would benefit from a multicast capability�one message with multiple recipients (examples of such applications include videoconferencing, updating workstation software, Internet �push� technologies, information replication, and more)

� Expect videoconferencing to grow, since it can reduce travel and thus reduce costs and the polluting side-effects of vehicle usage; however, it is a new form of interaction, and there will need to be a learning curve as individuals adapt to it (video on demand, except for specialty niches such as within hotels, should grow at a much lower rate)

� Caching data in the network improves access to information

� It is difficult to overemphasize the requirements for good administration and security in networks

� The concept of QoS appeared a few years ago, and still needs time to develop fully. It is a fundamental parameter for the usability of a system. In use, the quality�in terms of bandwidth, or latency, for example�of a connection is negotiated, and then the network guarantees that level while the connection is open

When a number of disks are assembled within a single enclosure, but without any special organization (such as RAID) being implemented, the collection is known as JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks).

Source of Information : Elsevier Server Architectures 2005

Intelligent Disks

We will now look at yet another proposal from researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, a place with a high output in the field of innovative architectures. Their proposal is to do with making good use of the processing capabilities embedded with each disk drive; they call it Intelligent Disks (or IDISKs).

In the early days of magnetic peripherals, the interface provided facilities closely matched to the operations the disk mechanism could naturally perform. This changed; in the 1960s, with processing power causing a system bottleneck, disk units with autonomous data-handling capabilities began to appear, with a concomitant increase in the level of abstraction supported by their interfaces. An example from IBM in the S/360 family was the ckd interface, which, for example, allowed the system to delegate to the disk a key-based search for a record.

The economics of minicomputers and then microprocessors made processing power cheap enough that intelligence began to migrate back into the system proper, and we saw the emergence of standard low-level disk interfaces like SMD and ESDI. The growth of complexity in the peripherals drove the existence of a higher-level interface, SCSI. Implementing SCSI more or less requires a microprocessor and supporting memory, to provide protocol support, cache, local management of the peripheral, management of read/write head positioning, error management, buffer space for SCSI bus transfers and so on. Current technology already makes it possible to integrate, low cost, and low power processing/memory and interface electronics directly with the peripherals themselves, along with system interface support (such as FC-AL). The idea behind intelligent disks is to make greater use of this embedded intelligence, allowing both off-loading of the server and greater computational concurrency. We note here the balance swinging back: new technology allows us to effectively re-implement old ideas.

Various levels of functionality may be envisaged for intelligent disks.; Examples include:

� Off-load database management software, along with necessary supporting OS functions, in a share-nothing architecture implemented across the disks themselves

� Off-load some database management functions onto the disks�for example, searches and joins, with the control of these operations being done by the server-resident DBMS

� Off-load file system activities�for example, optimizing a string of commands by reordering them in the disk to minimize head movement

While there is little quantitative information available for the benefits this approach can bring, the real problem is standardization. Indeed, widespread deployment of intelligent disks would mean that the most widely used software (from basic file systems with simple access methods, such as those offered by Windows and Linux, all the way up to DBMSs) would be adapted to such machinery. This requires agreements between the players behind this software and the disk manufacturers; an agreement between the disk manufacturers is in the realm of the possible, and is in any case a prerequisite for any larger agreement between software vendors and the disk manufacturers.

These latter possibility seems more remote; we can easily observe that historically, DBMS manufacturers have avoid using the magic features of any system platform, preferring to use extremely low-level interfaces so that they could be certain that execution of vital functionalities is under their control and could therefore be guaranteed across platforms. This view also simplifies porting across platforms and reduces support and development costs for the DBMS.

Source of Information : Elsevier Server Architectures 2005

Disk Evolution

We expect the rate of improvement in basic technology for disks�storage density and access time�to slow down. Improvements in the architecture of disks and storage subsystems will be able to compensate somewhat for this slowing, particularly for the high-end products, which is where we concentrate our discussion.

Image, inspired by [MOO99], summarizes some predictions about disks and storage subsystems.

A few comments are in order, including the observation that the suggested order of events is not to be taken literally.

� The first changes suggested are to do with improvements in the bandwidth of the system interface (with FC projected at 2x2 Gb/s in 2002), or with improvements in bandwidth between the disk units themselves and the disk subsystems (using FC-AL or SCSI at 360 MB/s in 2003), as well as the projected increase in disk capacity (to beyond 100 GB) and rotational speed (moving first to 10,000 rpm and then on to 15,000 rpm). Increasing disk rotational speed improves average access time (which is the time for half a turn of the disk).

� Using high-level interfaces such as SCSI or FC-AL implies the use of a 32-bit microprocessor and a few megabytes of memory in the disk units; the provision of memory allows the disks to provide a cache in a totally transparent manner.

� A spread in the use of data compression is seen. This allows economies in several aspects of disk usage�not only is effective data capacity increased, but also effective bandwidth is increased and latency reduced by the degree of compression attained�at the cost of some processing to effect the compression and decompression. Given the very favorable improvements expected in price-performance for microprocessors, the computational burden imposed by this extra processing should easily be supported, whether in the server proper or in processors embedded in the disk subsystem.

� Physical sharing of storage between servers is currently possible at the subsystem level, and is the basis for SAN.

� As the intelligence in the subsystems grows, it is possible to give them the responsibility for higher-level activities, such as implementing backup and restore: the system initializes as needed, and then the peripheral does the work autonomously.

� Sharing storage at the logical level is significantly more complex a problem than physical sharing, since it means that two different systems (different processor architecture, operating system and data manager) are sharing logical data. Because of the wide diversity of systems and because in many cases the stored data is managed by a DBMS, it is reasonable to suppose that logical sharing is not at all widespread (in heterogeneous systems); it is much simpler to base server cooperation on a client/server-like behavior between applications.

� With disk technology improvements, it is possible for a disk manufacturer to offer multi-disk subsystems, operating as a RAID system and/or as a SAN subsystem; that is, disk manufacturers could become players in the storage world. This would likely hurt the established storage vendors in the same way that Intel moved from being a mere chip manufacturer to a specifier and supplier of systems.

� Data availability requirements and risk avoidance are likely to make remote backup increasingly common, and perhaps commoditized. This could drive a market for companies offering backup storage, with network exchanges taking the place of physical exchanges of magnetic cartridges.

� We can then envision an increase in Fibre Channel bandwidth, and the arrival of 500 GB capacity disks.

� When a system's overall performance is dependent on the performance of its I/ O, the overall performance is (as we have noted previously) liable to drop as improved disk technology becomes available, since as capacity increases the number of physical disks needed is reduced, automatically reducing the amount of parallelism available to the I/O system. Having multiple independent read/write channels on a single disk could claw back some of this concurrency, by more or less doubling parallelism at the disk level.

The last point on the graph is a disk built from DRAM, sometimes called a RAM Disk or a Solid State Disk. For many years, some observers have repeatedly predictied the crossing of the cost prices for DRAM and magnetic storage, and consequently the replacement of disks by DRAM. Beyond the projected cost benefits, the driving force behind this movement is the simple fact that DRAM is orders of magnitude faster than magnetic storage (perhaps 40 microseconds in place of 10 milliseconds). However, cache technology works for disk accesses as well, and a disk subsystem marrying a traditional magnetic storage device to a large DRAM cache can approach the performance of a pure DRAM disk without having to overcome the key issues of cost (since the cost curves have still not crossed and show no immediate signs of doing so) and volatility.

The volatility issue is real; DRAM is volatile�cut the power for more than a rather short interval and all the information is lost. To avoid this, one can provide a battery to keep power on at all times, or look for a better technology. The semiconductor industry is well aware of this and has been developing a number of promising technologies which marry silicon and magnetic effects. Motorola's MRAM [GEP03] seems to be a leader, although more directed at embedded memory than commodity memory chips; IBM's TMJ-RAM (Tunneling Magnetic Junction�Random Access Memory) is also worthy of mention. These technologies promise most interesting benefits: MRAM can be roughly characterized as having the density of DRAM, the access times of a mid-range SRAM, non-volatility and the ability to be rewritten an indefinitely large number of times. Even if costs do not reduce enormously, memory chips built from these technologies could be beneficial for applications requiring very high bandwidths, or for specialized roles such as journaling transactions�that is, recording the journals which track transaction-based changes in a non-volatile memory.

Source of Information : Elsevier Server Architectures 2005

Network Communication Technologies

Within a system, multiple communications networks meet�from a chip handling internal connections all the way up to long-distance networks or networks formed from I/O buses and local networks. We will attempt to put the sundry communications technologies into perspective by organizing them by their potential data bandwidths and the distance they are intended to cover. What is usually covered by a discussion of networks is just one part of the whole picture.

The attach image, with no claim to completeness, lists various technologies classified by their distance (point-to-point) and bandwidths.

The very highest bandwidths, over extremely short distances, are the internal communications within a chip.

We then encounter a number of technologies which we can group together under the rubric of intrasystems networks, for which the acronym SAN has been used; in that context it meant System Area Network. However, nowadays the use of the acronym has been preempted to refer to network storage, when it means Storage Area Network. To minimize confusion, we shall adopt this latter meaning for the acronym. In the category of intrasystems networks we find:

� Systems buses, connecting processors to memory and I/O, are characterized by bandwidths of several gigabytes per second and distances in the 10-20 cm range�less than a foot

� I/O buses, such as PCI, which connect the processor-memory complex to I/O controllers. InfiniBand might replace PCI for this usage in mid-range and high-end servers. Connecting the processor-memory complex to the I/O subsystems, which would themselves likely still be built around PCI or a derivative

� Connections between I/O controllers and the peripherals themselves, using SCSI or FC-AL

� Connections between the processor-memory complex and a peripheral subsystem, such as disk or tape susbystems or a communications concentrator. Fibre Channel is the current prime example, and it may be joined by InfiniBand. HPPI (High Performance Parallel Interface) offers the same level of performance as Fibre Channel, but its use in practice is limited, essentially, to supercomputers

Beyond the intrasystems networks we find the local area network category:

� Ethernet, offering three classes of bandwidth: traditional Ethernet at 10Mbits/ second, fast Ethernet at 100 Mbits/sec (both these are very widely used) and gigabit Ethernet at 1 Gbit/second, which is finding its place in the market

� Token Ring at 4 to 16 Mbits/sec, which has an advantage over Ethernet in that it offers deterministic behavior. However, it has not had the same marketplace acceptance as Ethernet, probably because it is not an open technology and because of higher prices

� Fibre Channel and FDDI (Fibre Distributed Data Interface) make an appearance in this category as well, often as a concentrator of lowerspeed local area networks (such a network is referred to as a backbone)

� ATM has pretensions in the field of local area networks as well, with an emulation of a LAN named Lane (for LAN Emulation)

We then come to metro area networks, which are networks within a single city using technologies such as:

� Fibre Channel
� DQDB (Distributed Queue Dual Bus), which uses a pair of unidirectional bus connections
� FDDI, based on a token-ring technique
� ATM

And finally we see the category of long-distance or wide-area networks with technologies such as SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork), and SDH (Synchronous Data Hierarchy) which are standards (ANSI for SONET), and International Telecommunications Union (ITU�once known as CCITT). SONET and SDH both carry ATM packets. For private lines, Frame Relay is also worth mentioning; it extends the capabilities of X25.

In the image, we also show two technologies used to connect users to telecommunications networks: ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and HDSL (High Bit Rate Digital Subscriber Line), are standards in this area. They make it possible to sharply increase bandwidths using existing copper telephone connections, giving up to 52 Mbit/sec for distances up to 300 meters (a bit over 300 yards) and even 1.5 Mbit/sec at distances up to 3 kilometers (around 2 miles).

Alongside the convergence of the different technologies in the areas of distance and bandwidth, we also see a convergence between local and wide area networks. As an example, ATM technology is as well-suited to LAN usage as it is to WAN. And it incorporates the concept of quality of service, guarantee a user�once a connection is granted�a quality of service (in guaranteed bandwidth, for example) for the duration of that connection.

However, the largest portion of installed networks are IP networks; this domination can only be extended with the advent of the new IPv6 version of the protocol, which considerably extends the address space of an IP network. Given IP's commanding position, any new network technology must support IP if it is to succeed.

Source of Information : Elsevier Server Architectures 2005

Disabling Services with the Services Utility

There are dozens of services in Windows 7, you can start disabling the services that are not needed for your computer usage and that are slowing down your computer boot process. To do this, you will use the Services utility that enables you to start, stop, and configure Windows 7 services.

Before you begin changing your service setup, set a system restore point � a configuration where you can easily restore your system. However, be careful when you restore from restore points. Any applications or files that were created after the system restore point will be deleted when reverting back to an earlier restore point.

The Services utility is included in all versions of Windows 7, but is hidden away. Disabling a service with the Services utility is easy. Just complete the following steps:

1. Click the Start button, type services.msc in the Search box, and press Enter. This will start the Services utility.

2. When the Services utility has loaded, you will see a list of all the services available on your computer and the ones that are started. Before you can disable a service from starting up, it is best to stop it first. Scroll through the list of services until you find the name of the one you want to disable. Right-click the service name and select Stop.

3. When the service is stopped, right-click the service again and select Properties. On the General tab, look for the Startup Type drop-down box. Click the arrow on the drop-down box and select Disabled.

4. Click OK. From now on, the system will not start the service during boot, which should speed up your system start.

Bare-Bones Service Configuration
To get the maximum performance out of your system, you have the option of disabling all the services on your computer that are not critical to the system. This will take away a lot of the nice features and conveniences of Windows, but you would have a much faster machine. The following is a list of all services that started by default in Windows 7 and can be safely disabled:

� Application Experience
� Application Information
� Background Intelligent Transfer
� Base Filtering Engine
� Bluetooth Support
� Desktop Window Manager Session Manager
� DHCP Client
� Diagnostic Policy
� Diagnostic System Host
� Distributed Link Tracking Client
� EAPHost
� Function Discover Provider Host
� Group Policy Client
� IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
� IP Helper (if you are not connected to an IPv6 network)
� Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service
� Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider
� Multimedia Class
� Network Connections
� Network List
� Network Location Awareness
� Offline Files
� Policy Agent
� Portable Device Enumerator
� Program Compatibility Assistant
� Routing and Remote Access
� Security Center
� Server
� SSDP Discovery
� Superfetch
� Tablet PC Input (if you do not have a Tablet PC)
� TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
� Terminal Services
� Themes
� WebClient
� Windows Audio
� Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
� Windows Defender
� Windows Error Reporting Service
� Windows Firewall
� Windows Management Instrumentation
� Windows Search
� Windows Time
� Windows Update
� WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery
� Workstation

Recommended Service Configuration
The barebones system service setup is great for optimal performance, but you are eliminating a lot of the cool new features that make Windows 7 cool and new. Check out my list of recommended services to disable:

� Bluetooth Support
� DHCP Client (assign yourself a static IP address)
� Diagnostic Policy
� Diagnostic System Host
� Distributed Link Tracking Client
� EAPHost
� Function Discovery Provider Host
� Group Policy Client
� IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
� IP Helper (if you are not on an IPv6 network)
� Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service
� Offline Files
� Policy Agent
� Routing and Remote Access
� SSDP Discovery
� Tablet PC Input
� WebClient
� Windows Search
� WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery

Disabling these least commonly used services provides a good balance between saving boot time while keeping the cool new Windows 7 features and application compatibility.

Source of Information : Windows 7 Tweaks 2010

Common Windows Services in Use for Windows 7

ActiveX Installer: Provides UAC validations for Internet-based ActiveX installs. This only runs when needed.

Application Experience: Provides a compatibility cache for older applications that caches requests when they are run. This service can be disabled, but I recommend leaving it started for application compatibility with the new architecture of Windows 7.

Application Identity: Verifies the identity of an application. Used by AppLocker.

Application Information: Allows you to run applications with all administrative rights. Keeps this service running.

Application Layer Gateway: Provides support for additional protocols for the Internet Connection Sharing service. This service can be safely disabled.

Application Management: Used for software deployment and management through Group Policy. If you do not use Group Policy for software, you can safely disable this service.

Background Intelligent Transfer: Transfers data in the background when the connection is not in use. One use of this service is to download updates automatically in the background. This service is not system critical but can impair other services such as Windows Update if it is disabled. I would keep this service enabled.

Base Filtering Engine: Provides support for the firewall, IPsec, and filtering. I recommend keeping this service running.

BitLocker Drive Encryption Service: Provides critical support for BitLocker drive encryption. Only disable if you are not using BitLocker.

Block Level Backup Engine Service: Used by Windows Backup. Disabling would disable the backup and recovery operations of Windows Backup.

Bluetooth Support: Provides support for Bluetooth wireless devices. Disable this service if you do not use Bluetooth devices with your computer.

BranchCache: Provides a local cache of a remote file share in a branch office. Disable if you are a home user and have not configured BranchCache.

Certificate Propagation: Utilizes certificates from smart cards. Most users have no use for this service.

CNG Key Isolation: Isolates cryptographic operations to protect the cryptographic key. I recommend leaving this service as is because it runs only when needed.

COM+ Event System: Provides event notification to COM objects. Some applications depend on this service. I recommend experimenting with your applications to see whether you can disable it.

COM+ System Application: Used to configure and monitor COM object components. Leave as manual because it is started only when needed.

Computer Browser: Responsible for keeping the list of computers on your network and updating the list. If you have no need for this information, you can safely disable it if started.

Credential Manager: Provides secure storage and retrieval of passwords. This service only runs when needed and I would not disable it.

Cryptographic Services: The main provider of all encryption and encryption operations for all types of applications. It manages private keys, certificates, and other encryption operations. I recommend leaving this service running.

DCOM Server Process Launcher: Starts DCOM processes. Several other system-critical services use this service to start, so I do not recommend disabling.

Desktop Windows Manager Session Manager: This service is behind the Windows 7 �glass� look and enhanced desktop features. If your hardware does not support the new �glass� look, I suggest disabling this service.

DHCP Client: Provides automatic network address configuration. If you set a static IP address, gateway, and DNS servers, disable this service.

Diagnostic Policy: Provides automatic problem monitoring and troubleshooting of components. If this service is disabled, automatic diagnostics and searching for resolutions will be stopped. If you are an advanced user, you might be able to get away with disabling this service.

Diagnostic Service Host: Diagnostic Policy service helper service that is run only when necessary.

Diagnostic System Host: Diagnostic Policy service helper service that is run only when necessary.

Disk Defragmenter: The service behind the disk defragmenter. This service only runs when needed. Do not disable unless you have a SSD and want to ensure your drive won�t be defragged.

Distributed Link Tracking Client: Used with NTFS file links across networks. If you have no need for this service, and not many do, you can safely disable it.

Distributed Transaction Coordinator: Provides support for managing transactions generated by applications. Some applications use this service, but it is not running unless it is in use.

DNS Client: Provides the computer the ability to resolve a DNS address such as www.Tweaks.com to an IP address as needed by web browsers and other Internet tools. Unless your computer is not connected to the Internet or any other type of network, you should keep this service enabled.

Encrypting File System (EFS): Provides file system encryption support. If disabled, you will not be able to access any NTFS encrypted files.

Extensible Authentication Protocol: Provides authentication support to the Wired AutoConfig and WLAN AutoConfig services. Unless you use all manual network configurations, leave this service enabled.

Fax: Provides support to send and receive faxes. No need for faxes? Disable this service.

Function Discovery Provider Host: Hosts other services that search the network for other devices such as the Media Center Extender service. If you have no need for these services, disable it.

Function Discovery Resource Publication: Allows this computer and devices connected to it to be published over the network so that other computers on your LAN can share them.

Group Policy Client: Responsible for applying local and domain-based group policy settings and restrictions. This service cannot be disabled in Windows 7.

Health Key and Certificate Management: Manages the keys used by Network Access Protection. Disable this if your network is not using any sort of authentication-based access.

HomeGroup Listener: Provides basic HomeGroup client services.

HomeGroup Provider: Provides basic HomeGroup server services.

Human Interface Device Access: Supports Human Interface Devices (HID) expanded functionality such as additional buttons on a keyboard, remote controls, and more.

IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules: Manages the keys used by IP Security (IPsec) network access. Disable this if your network is not using any sort of authentication-based network access.

Interactive Services Detection: Provides notification and access to interactive dialog boxes. Do not disable this service.

Internet Connection Sharing (ICS): When started, this service allows you to share your Internet connection among other computers with Network Address Translation (NAT).

IP Helper: Provides IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) connectivity over an IPv4 network. Disable this service if you have no use for IPv6 network connections.

IPsec Policy: Agent Provides agent support for policy based IPSec policies
and remote firewall management.

KtmRM for Distributed Transaction Coordinator: This is a helper service that aids in the communication between the Distributed Transaction Coordinator and the Kernel Transaction Manager.

Link-Layer Topology Discover Mapper: Provides a generated network map of all computers and other connected devices.

Media Center Extender Service: Allows Media Center Extender hardware and software devices, such as an Xbox 360, to connect to your computer and share the Media Center features if installed. Disable this service if you have no use for this scenario.

Microsoft iSCSI Initiator: Manages connections to iSCSI-connected network devices.

Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider: Provides Shadow Copy file operations when needed by applications such as Explorer.

Multimedia Class Scheduler: Helps multimedia applications by prioritizing CPU loads of various system-wide processes and tasks.

Netlogon: Responsible for the connection between the domain controller and your computer if your computer is on a domain. Disable this service if your computer is not on a domain.

Network Access Protection Agent: Primary service for supporting the NAP (Network Access Protection) services.

Network Connections: Provides the user with the graphics interface to manage all network connections. If this service is disabled, Network & Sharing Center will not work. I recommend against disabling this service.

Network List Service: Manages a list of networks the computer has connected to and their individual settings and properties.

Network Location Awareness: Manages a list of networks the computer has connected to and their individual settings and properties.

Network Store Interface: Provides notification of network interface changes. This service is critical to network operation but can be disabled if you do not use a network.

Network TCP Port Sharing: Allows Windows to share TCP ports over the network. This service is disabled by default in Windows 7.

Offline Files: Provides file operations for the offline files feature of Windows Explorer. Feel free to disable this service if you do not use it.

Parental Controls: Provides parental rating controls on games, software, and other aspects of Windows 7. Disabling this will shut down any parental controls.

Peer Name Resolution Protocol: Allows your computer to resolve names using peer-topeer connections. This is required by applications such as Windows Collaboration.

Peer Networking Grouping: Provides peer-to-peer networking services. Depends on Peer Name Resolution Protocol Service.

Peer Networking Identity Manager: Provides peer-to-peer identification services for application and Windows peer-to-peer applications. This service also depends on the Peer Name Resolution Protocol.

Performance Counter DLL Host: Enables 64-bit processes to query performance counters from 32-bit DLLs.

Performance Logs & Alerts: Collects performance data for use in Windows Diagnostics and other troubleshooting utilities.

Plug and Play: Allows the computer to automatically detect and configure computer hardware. Several other services depend on this service to be running to operate.

PnP-X IP Bus Enumerator: Detects devices on the virtual network bus. It runs only when the service is needed.

PNRP Machine Name Publication: Broadcasts the computer name using the Peer Name Resolution Protocol.

Portable Device Enumerator: Provides support for portable storage devices, such as USB devices and MP3 players, to communicate with other Windows components such as Windows Media Player. You can safely disable this service if you do not use any such devices with WMP.

Power: Manages power policy and notification delivery. Do not disable.

Print Spooler: Allows you to save your print services to memory to allow for faster printing within your Windows applications. This service can be disabled but may impair printing in some situations.

Problem Reports and Solutions Control Panel Support: Provides support in Control Panel to view and delete problem reports generated by the Diagnostic services.

Program Compatibility Assistant Service: Aids in application compatibility. When this service is disabled, you can no longer run applications properly in Compatibility mode. This service is not system critical.

Protected Storage: Provides secure storage support to protect data.

Quality Windows Audio Video Experience: Provides support for audio and video streaming over home networks with traffic prioritization. This service runs only when it is needed by an application.

Remote Access Auto Connection Manager: Automates the creation of connections when applications attempt to access remote computers.

Remote Access Connection Manager: Provides support for modem dial-up connections and VPN connections made through the Windows Networking features.

Remote Desktop Configuration: Provides all remote desktop services and session management activities.

Remote Desktop Services: Provides remote desktop services a way to connect to a remote computer and host incoming connections.

Remote Desktop Services UserMode Port Redirector: Provides the support for redirecting posts/drives/printers across RDP connections.

Remote Procedure Call (RPC): Responsible for communication between COM components. It is not system critical but is used by dozens of other Windows services. I do not recommend disabling this one.

Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator: A helper service for the Remote Procedure Call service that manages connections and the lookup of components in its database.

Remote Registry: Provides remote access to your computer�s registry when running. It is safe to disable this service.

Routing and Remote Access: Provides network traffic routing to incoming and outgoing traffic. This service is disabled by default.

RPC Endpoint Mapper: Resolves RPC interface identifiers to transport endpoints. If disabled any RPC services will fail. Do not disable.

Secondary Logon: Allows you to run applications using a different account. This is often used when it is necessary to start a program with an administrator account. I recommend leaving this service running.

Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol Service: Provides SSTP support to connect to remote computers over a VPN.

Security Accounts Manager: Acts as a database of account information that is used for authentication and validation. This is a system-critical service that should not be disabled.

Security Center: Monitors of all your security applications such as antivirus and malware protection. This service is also responsible for notification messages that can drive advanced Windows users crazy. Feel free to disable this service but you will not receive warnings if protection software such as Antivirus utilities and your firewall is turned off.

Server: Allows you to share files, printers, and other devices over your network. This is not a system-critical service but is often useful in a home network environment and in the enterprise.

Shell Hardware Detection: Provides notification for AutoPlay hardware events.

Smart Card: Keeps track of smart cards that your computer has used.

Smart Card Removal Policy: Provides the ability to monitor your smart card and lock your computer when your smart card is removed.

SNMP Trap: Processes messages received by the Simple Network Management Protocol.

Software Protection: Provides support for digital licenses for software that are downloaded.

SPP Notification Service: Provides software licensing activation and notification. SSDP Discovery Looks on your network using the SSDP protocol to detect other compatible networked devices such as game consoles and extender devices. This service can be disabled but will affect Media Center Extenders in addition to other PnP network devices.

Superfetch: Provides caching of application information to speed up application loading. This service can be disabled, but its benefits outweigh the initial performance decrease of loading the service.

System Event Notification: Monitors system events and reports back to other COM components.

Tablet PC Input: Provides software support for Tablet PC�s pen device and the use of ink in Windows applications. Disable this service if it is running and you do not have a Tablet PC.

Task Scheduler: Allows you to schedule processes to run at specified intervals. Windows 7 uses this service for all background maintenance, which will stop if this service is disabled. I do not recommend disabling this service.

TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper: Provides NetBIOS protocol support over a TCP/IP connection. This is primarily used for machine name resolutions over a LAN.

Telephony: Provides support for applications to interact with the modem.

Themes: Provides support for visual styles that enable the nonclassic Windows look. Disabling this service will result in the entire interface reverting to the classic Windows look.

Thread Ordering Server: Provides thread management and prioritization for Windows applications and components. Disabling this service may break applications and will also disable the Windows Audio service.

TPM Base Services: Provides access to the Trusted Platform Module used to store encryption keys and other important authentication information. It is run only when needed and is not available on computers that do not have a TPM chip.

UPnP Device Host: Provides the ability to host UPnP devices on your computer for use on your local network. This service is required for Windows Media Player library sharing. User Profile Service This is a system-critical service that loads your user profile when you sign on.

Virtual Disk: Responsible for managing your drives and file systems. Do not disable this service; it is required for many operating system requests. In addition, it does not run when it is not needed.

Volume Shadow Copy: Provides support for Shadow Copy hard drive data used by backup applications.

WebClient: Provides support for the WebDAV protocol for accessing remote servers over the Internet through Explorer. If you have no need for this protocol, this service can be safely disabled.

Windows Audio: Provides audio to Windows 7. I do not recommend disabling this unless you do not like audio. But who doesn�t like audio?

Windows Audio Endpoint Builder: A helper service for Windows Audio that manages various audio-related hardware in your computer.

Windows Backup: Part of the backup application in Windows 7 that allows you to easily back up your documents and other important data.

Windows Biometric Service: Provides applications the ability to capture, compare, manipulate, and store biometric data.

Windows CardSpace Manages digital identities.

Windows Color System Allows other applications to configure your monitor color settings in Windows 7.

Windows Connect Now - Config Registrar: Part of the Windows Connect Now feature that lets you automate the addition of other computers on your wireless network by saving the configuration of one machine to a USB flash drive and then using it to set up new PCs. Windows Defender The spyware protection application in Windows 7. If you have a different anti-spyware utility that you use, feel free to disable this service.

Windows Driver Foundation � Usermode Driver Framework: Supports drivers in User mode. Do not disable.

Windows Error Reporting: When things go bad, this service lets you check with Microsoft to see whether it has a solution for you and to notify Microsoft of what is happening to your computer. Don�t feel like notifying Microsoft about your error messages? This service can be safely disabled.

Window Event Collector: Provides the ability to subscribe to remote event sources to monitor activity and store data.

Windows Event Log: This is the primary source of all local event management and collection. This service can be stopped but is used by a lot of the performance enhancements in Windows 7. Stopping it would result in a negative performance benefit.

Windows Firewall: Provides network security by blocking inbound and outbound network access based on the firewall rules applied. Unless you have a third-party firewall application that you use, do not disable this service; the benefits outweigh any performance decrease.

Windows Font Cache Service: Optimizes applications by caching commonly used font data.

Windows Image Acquisition (WIA): Provides an interface used by applications to work with various types of scanners and cameras. This service is run only when needed.

Windows Installer: Allows applications packaged into MSI files to be installed and uninstalled from your computer. Do not disable this service unless you do not want any software to be installed, uninstalled, or modified.

Windows Management Instrumentation: Provides an interface for scripts and other applications to control various components of Windows 7. Disabling this service will result in the Internet Connection Sharing, IP Helper, and Security Center services stopping, too. If you do not use these services, feel free to safely disable it.

Windows Media Center Receiver Service: Provides the Media Center application with TV and radio reception.

Windows Media Center Scheduler Service: Provides the Media Center application with notification of when to start and stop recording an application.

Windows Media Player Network Sharing: Provides the ability to share your music collection with other computers running Windows Media Player. This service requires the UPnP Device Host service to be running to function.

Windows Modules Installer: Allows Windows components and security updates to be installed and uninstalled.

Windows Presentation Foundation Font Cache: Similar to the .NET Optimization service in that it is designed to increase the performance of Windows Presentation Foundation applications.

Windows Remote Management (WS-Management): Provides support for the WS-Management protocol to remotely manage your computer.

Windows Search Provides the ability to index various files on your computer.
This service can be disabled, but it will slow down any searches in your computer because the entire drive must be searched every time instead of just the index.

Windows Time: Responsible for syncing the time on your computer. It can be safely disabled.

Windows Update: Provides the ability to detect and download new updates for your copy of Windows 7. Disabling this service will stop both automatic updates and the ability to manually update Windows. Because security patches and automatic updates have been so critical to Windows in the past, I suggest keeping this service started.

WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery: Provides both an API for applications to make HTTP connections and to auto-detect connection settings. This service is not system critical and can safely be disabled if you do not use the auto-detect connection feature in Internet Explorer and none of your applications use its� API.

Wired AutoConfig: Manages your wired NIC connections, including support for 802.1X authentication. The Network and Sharing Center in Windows 7 may malfunction if this service is disabled.

WLAN AutoConfig: Manages your wireless network connections and settings. The Networking Center in Windows 7 may malfunction if this service is disabled.

WMI Performance Adapter: A helper service for the Windows Management Instrumentation service that runs only when requested.

Workstation: Provides support for creating network connections using the SMB network protocol (a.k.a. Lanman). Disabling this service disables Windows File Sharing.

WWAN AutoConfig: Manages mobile broadband such as GSM and CDM connections.

Source of Information : Windows 7 Tweaks 2010

Commonly Used Windows Fonts for Windows 7

Segoe: The variations of this font can be found in elements of the Windows interface.

Calibri: Common font used in Office 2007 applications and documents.

Verdana: This font is often used on web pages and applications.

Arial: Another common web page font, and used in applications.

Trebuchet: Common application font and used in some web pages back in XP days. Some older applications may still require it.

Tahoma: Common Windows font that you may want to hold on to for application and web page compatibility.

Times New Roman: The default font for web pages and word processing applications such as Microsoft Word.

MS Sans Serif: Default font for Visual Studio applications that is now required for a lot of legacy and newer applications.

For more resources, look into graphic arts classes through online universities.

Source of Information : Windows 7 Tweaks 2010

Which Unneeded Hardware Devices Should I Disable in Windows 7?

Each user uses (or doesn�t use) devices differently depending on the system setup. = Nonetheless, some classes of devices are more commonly disabled than others. Knowing which ones will help you make your decision as to which devices you should disable. The following classes of devices are frequently disabled: People who have completed computer repair training may need these tips as they are working.

� Network adapters: Especially on notebook computers, there is often more than one network device. Disabling the network devices that you do not use will definitely save you some booting time.

� FireWire: If you have 1394 connections, otherwise known as FireWire, you might consider disabling them. Unless you are using your FireWire port to connect your digital video recorder to your computer, or have other external FireWire device, you have no need to have this device enabled.

� Biometrics: Some of the latest computer hardware includes biometric sensor equipment such as a fingerprint scanner. If you do not use these security features, you can save time by disabling theses devices, too.

� Modems: Do you have a broadband connection? If so, consider disabling your modem. If you rarely use it, why not disable it? If you ever need to use it again, just re-enable it.

� TPM security chips: Does your computer have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM)? These chips are typically used as a secure place to store an encryption key that would be used for something such as hard drive encryption. If you are not using any of these advanced security features of Windows 7, disable these devices, too.

� Multimedia devices: Your computer has lots of multimedia devices. Take a look at the �Sound, video, and game controllers� section in Device Manager. You will find a lot of device drivers that are loaded during your boot. Some are used by all users, but you will find a few that you do not use. For example, I do not use my game port or my MIDI device, so I disabled both of them.

� PCMCIA cards: If you are a laptop user, consider disabling your PCMCIA card controller located under �PCMCIA adapters.� The PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) slot is a special expansion slot that is rarely used today on laptops except for wireless and wired network cards and card reader attachments for compact flash and other solid-state memory cards. Most laptops now have builtin network adapters, and some even have built-in wireless adapters. If you do not use your PCMCIA adapter, it is yet another device you can safely disable.

Do not disable any hardware devices located under the Disk Drives, Computer, Display Adapters, IDE Disk Controllers, and the System sections (except for the system speaker). These hardware devices are critical to the operation of your system.

Source of Information : Windows 7 Tweaks 2010