Available Technology - For Professionals

2 TB: Using GUID File Allocation Tables (GPT GUID Partition Table)

jeffl — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:23:00 GMT

2 TB Drives have been around a while and certainly building raid arrays over 2 TB has been possible for quite some time. If you haven't stumbled across this read on. Why GPT? GUID Partition Table disks can grow to a very large size. As of July 2001...(read more)

Outlook 2010: How to change your default Contacts Address Book

jeffl — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:24:00 GMT

Have you ever wondered how to change the default address book in Outlook when you are using Exchange. If you have ever sent an email and tried to find your contacts using the To: button you know that by default the Exchange Global Address Book is the...(read more)

Small Server Room Design: Cooling for Seasonal and Sub-Zero Climates

jeffl — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:39:00 GMT

A client of ours is currently going through not only an unseasonably cold snap but some of the coldest weather in the history of the North West, USA. His server room is well designed with cooling for the summer but who would have thought that cooling...(read more)

Branch Office: Removing an RODC from AD

jeffl — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:20:00 GMT

Well eventually you are going to remove an RODC and if you are running in a test lab sooner rather than later. Microsoft has a TechNet Article which covers removing the RODC with the claim that AD metadata is removed. I have not found that to be entirely...(read more)

Common Security Identifiers SIDs

jeffl — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:13:00 GMT

The following TechNet Article lists common SIDs. This is very useful when you are trying to sift through the otherwise obscure AD references. Well-known security identifiers in Windows operating systems http://support.microsoft.com/kb/243330 Jeff Loucks...(read more)

Scripting NTDSUTIL

jeffl — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:12:00 GMT

NTDSUtil.exe is an Active Directory Utility which is used for a number of administrative tasks. In my blog I have talked about a number of administrative tasks such as defraging AD, removing AD objects and so on. Using scripts is some times easier and...(read more)

SQL Server - How to Determine Which Version

jeffl — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:21:00 GMT

To determine which version of Microsoft SQL Server is running, connect to SQL Server by using SQL Server Management Studio, and then run the following Transact-SQL statement. For SQL 2008, 2005, 2000: SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('productversion'), SERVERPROPERTY...(read more)

Windows 7: What to do if you can't find a driver

jeffl — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:01:00 GMT

I am not one to plug companies I wouldn't use. So know this first, I have used Driver Detective. Some people out there will be upgrading to Windows 7 and will run into problems finding a driver. Now when I ran into the this problem in the early betas...(read more)

48-Core Intel Processor - Leveraged by Barrelfish

jeffl — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:11:00 GMT

Intel has released a research chip with 48 cores. Called a single-chip data center, its core selling point is that it uses dramatically less energy. What I noticed is that its new architecture leverages software memory control and messaging. As you will...(read more)

Keyboard Shortcut for Internet Explorer Back Button.

jeffl — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:48:00 GMT

I enjoy keyboard shortcuts. One for Internet Explorer: Back Button: alt + left arrow Forward Button: alt + right arrow Jeff Loucks Available Technology Subscribe in a reader...(read more)

Windows 7: Display settings - how to make your monitor display perfect for you

jeffl — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:45:00 GMT

I started out troubleshooting my Logitech Webcam software which is not perfect and low and behold I stumbled across the Display Color Calibration Wizard. Now I had used this wizard with Vista 64bit but somehow and it might be DirectX11, Windows 7 is better...(read more)

Global EBS User Group Topics List November, 2009

jeffl — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:41:00 GMT

Limitations of EBS2008 Premium & Other Questions Re: EBS Domain Join Error Thread Domain Join Error Removing VPN Policies EBS Premium w/3 physical servers parperation wizard licens cal Partner Training Virtualisation and OEM EBS New file uploaded...(read more)

Branch Office: 5 Ways Server 2008 Improves WAN Utilization.

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:43:00 GMT

Bandwidth utilization, latency, and the reliability of the Wide Area Network are three major concerns when administering a branch office environment. Windows Server 2008 helps to address these concerns through the following 5 technologies. RODC Since...(read more)

RODC: How to Defrag or Compact the Active Directory Database

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:22:00 GMT

A Read Only Domain Controller has the benefit of being able to perform administrative maintenance tasks without entering into Active Directory Restore Mode which previously required a reboot. The following command shows how to compact the Active Directory...(read more)

RODC: What Services Stop when you stop the Active Directory Domain Service

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:11:00 GMT

When you stop the Active Directory Domain Services you should make note that the following services also stop: File Replication Kerberos Key Distribution Center Intersite Messaging DNS Server DFS Replication Stopping the Active Directory Domain Services...(read more)

RODC: Effects of being able to start and stop the Domain Controller Service without reboot.

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:28:00 GMT

A primary benefits of Read Only Domain Controllers is that the Domain Controller service can be managed like a regular service. It can therefore be stopped and started without rebooting the server. The effect of this is that the Active Directory database...(read more)

RODC: Administrative Permisions Available for Delegation

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:07:00 GMT

The following is a list of permissions which are supported or not supported for delegation to an RODC delegated administrator. Supported: Active Directory Users and Computers Domain Controller Service Kerberos Key Distribution Center Active Directory...(read more)

RODC: Using the dsmgmt.exe utility to manage local administrators

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:49:00 GMT

One of the benefits of of RODC is that you can add local administrators who do not have full access to the domain administration. This gives them the abiltiy to manage the server but not add or change active directory objects unless those roles are delegated...(read more)

Getting rid of the Red X's of the mapped drives

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:49:00 GMT

Susan has got a great post on Getting rid of the Red X's of the mapped drives. Man, these things bug you but never enough to go looking for an answer. Thanks Susan! http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/2009/11/27/getting-rid-of-the-red-x-s-of-the...(read more)

Read Only Domain Controllers - Features and Benefits

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:26:00 GMT

The folowing is a list of features and benefits for read only domain controllers. Features: The deployment of RODC major features : Unattended installation and DCPROMO changes . You install an RODC by selecting Additional Options in the DCPROMO wizard...(read more)