Squirrel Success

Create bootable CUC CUCM CUP Image / ISO

2020-02-22T17:59:00.000+00:00

The following script allows you to automatically create a bootable CUCM/CUC/CUP image without the need for any paid for software when you only have access to the update outside of put or the datastore for the new server. I have spent several hours on this, but I just wanted to make it simple. Only really for lab purposes, the checksum will fail due to the ISO being manipulated but essentially once you fill in the variables, you will just be left with a single ISO file in the staging directory.

To use;
1. Download the mkisofs.exe file as described in the script
2. Paste script below into Powershell ISE Script Editer
3. Modify the variables
4. Execute the script. Simple.

Tested creating an ISO on a Windows 10 machine and running the ISO on a ESXI server.

Thanks for this guy Aaron Harrison as per the URL, was helpful in the finding out the mkisofs.exe command syntax.
http://www.ipcommute.co.uk/technical-articles/17--creating-isolinux-boot-dvds-with-free-software-cucm-uccx-cups.html

Clear-Host

#This script creates a bootable Cisco ISO image. Useful for lab purposes.

#V1.0

#Author - Squirrely

#Usage

#Fill in variables below.

#download Sample mkisofs from https://osdn.net/projects/sfnet_mkisofs-md5/ - for windows and extract

#Variables#

$ciscoISOFilePath = "D:\Downloads\CUP\CUP12.5\UCSInstall_CUP_12.5.1.12900-25.sgn.iso"

$stagingarea = "d:\temp\"

$mkisofsFilepath = "D:\Downloads\UCM12.5\Staging\mkisofs.exe"

#end of variables

$mkisofsnewFilepath = "$stagingarea" + "mkisofs.exe"

$mountdrive = Mount-DiskImage $ciscoISOFilePath -PassThru -Verbose

$driveletter = ($mountdrive | Get-Volume).DriveLetter

$outfile = (($ciscoISOFilePath.Substring($ciscoISOFilePath.lastIndexOf('\'))) -replace '\\', 'Bootable_')

$arguementList = "-o $outfile -R -J -hide-rr-moved -v -d -N -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 32 -boot-info-table -b isolinux/isolinux.bin ."

Copy-Item $mkisofsFilepath -Destination $stagingarea -Force -Verbose

Unblock-File $mkisofsnewFilepath -Verbose

Copy-Item -path "$driveletter`:\" -Destination "$stagingarea\iso" -Recurse -Force -Verbose

Remove-Item "$stagingarea\iso\isolinux\isolinux.bin" -Verbose -Force

Copy-Item "$stagingarea\iso\isolinux\isolinux.bin.orig" "$stagingarea\iso\isolinux\isolinux.bin" -Verbose -Force

Set-Location "$stagingarea\iso"

Set-ItemProperty -Path "$stagingarea\iso\isolinux\isolinux.bin" -Name IsReadOnly -Value $false -Verbose

#Start-Process -FilePath "cmd.exe" -ArgumentList "/k $mkisofsnewFilepath $arguementList" -WorkingDirectory "$stagingarea\iso"

Start-Process -FilePath $mkisofsnewFilepath -ArgumentList $arguementList -NoNewWindow -PassThru -Wait

Move-Item $outfile -destination $stagingarea

Set-Location $stagingarea

Remove-Item "$stagingarea\iso", $mkisofsnewFilepath -Force -Recurse

Dismount-DiskImage $ciscoISOFilePath

UCCX Phone Books - Powershell

2019-11-28T11:59:00.002+00:00

The UCCX Server Documentation API for Phonebook's was slightly out of date, so I have referenced in my blog for future use.

Download Phone Book - (4 being the ID of the phone book)
https://servername.com:8445/finesse/api/PhoneBook/4/Contacts/csvFileContent

if you post, you upload to the above link

List specific details for a phone book
https://servername.com:8445/finesse/api/PhoneBook/4/

List contacts for specific phone book
https://servername.com:8445/finesse/api/PhoneBook/4/Contacts/

Import (using Powershell)

$FileName = ".\pb.csv"

$Password = ConvertTo-SecureString “passwordhere” -AsPlainText -Force

$Cred = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential (“username”, $password)

Obviously, this is not very secure but its simply a proof of concept to do whatever you need,

Invoke-WebRequest - uri "https://servername.com:8445/finesse/api/PhoneBook/4/Contacts/csvFileContent" -Method Put -Credential $Cred -InFile $FileName

Cisco API Reference

https://developer.cisco.com/docs/finesse/#!phonebookimport-contact-list-csv

CUCM 11.5 - Esxi 6.5 - unable to create VM

2018-09-25T08:51:00.004+01:00

Hi Guys

Had an issue where I was unable to deploy a Cisco Unified Call Manager 11.5 OVA to the VMWare Esxi 6.5 standalone server.

The following error would appear during the provision of the VM - "At least one extra disk image was provided that will be ignored".

The solution to import the Cisco OVA into VMware is to use VMware's OVFTool. The commands I used worked for also UCCX and Cisco Unity Connect -

CUCM Deployment for 2500 Users
---------------------------------
ovftool --acceptAllEulas --datastore="datastore1" -dm="thick" --name="CUCM01-PUB" --net:"eth0"="Voice" --deploymentOption="CUCM_2500" "c:\temp\cucm_11.5_vmv8_v1.1.ova" vi://UserName:Password@IPAddress

UCCX
----
ovftool --acceptAllEulas --datastore="datastore1" -dm="thick" --name="UCCX1" --net:"eth0"="Voice" --deploymentOption="UCCX_400_Agent" "C:\temp\UCCX_11.6_vmv8_v2.5.ova" vi://UserName:Password@IPAddress

Unity
-----
ovftool --acceptAllEulas --datastore="datastore1" -dm="thick" --name="Unity1" --net:"eth0"="Voice" --deploymentOption="CUC-Overlay-1" "C:\temp\CUC_11.5_v1.2.ova" vi://UserName:Password@IPAddress

I figured out teh deployment option by running ovftool and the name of the ova. This returns the deployment options labels and descriptions. I used the ID in the references above.
ovftool "C:\temp\UCCX_11.6_vmv8_v2.5.ova"

Use at your own risk.

Restoring Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced V12

2018-06-20T09:49:00.000+01:00

I recently had an issue where I needed to complete a restore (new build) of Cisco's Attendant Console Advanced V12 in order to satisfy testing criteria. I followed Cisco's documentation (CUACA_120101_Install-Guide.pdf) however the steps were not completely clear. The solution that I am working with here is a standalone deployment.

Delete all devices and numbers related to Cisco Attendants Console in CUCM. These include;

CT Gateway Devices
Service Devices
Park Devices
CTI Route Points
Numbers related to the above (directory number in CUCM)
You may need to refer to your low level design to find this information out. In the CUCM, the descriptions for these devices are prefixed with ASD. The devices are names are prefixed with PD, SB, GB and RB.

Setup new server using OVA
Install the same Windows OS
Ensure the hostname of the new server matches the name of the old server
Restore the CUACA crypto keys including aeskey.dat - these need to be taken from the live publisher by clicking Help / Export Crypto Key File otherwise you will not be able to restore the databases onto the restored server as it will complain of a crypto key failure in the logs
Install the same version of CUACA
Change G729PassThrough in the registry to 1 [HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-20\SOFTWARE\Cisco Systems, Inc.\RTPLib].
Stop all Cisco named services and the BLF service in services.msc
Restart the SQL Service
Restore the original backed up databases overwriting the ones installed during the new installation of the publisher you are restoring.
Restart the server (or just start the services)
Log back in in the web interface and click Engineering / Service Management. Ensure that all services are operational. If not, click the refresh a few times and click the Infroamtion button onthe Cisco Unified Attendant Server Status.
Click Engineering / CUCM Connectivity and click 'Test connectivity'. If that fails fix the issue and then stop and start the services in Service Management.
Cross fingers and hope all works
Re-licence the server

Convert IMCEAX to X500 Address for NDRs

2017-08-17T15:22:00.005+01:00

Paste this into Powershell ISE and modify accordingly.

This script will replace all parts of a problematic X500 address into a readable format when an NDR is delivered.

Example IMCEAEX value -
IMCEAEX-_o=EXCH_ou=Exchange+20Administrative+20Group+20+28FYDIBOHF23SPDLT+29_cn=Recipients_cn=d8d4ee95afb-Squirrel+20Success@blogger.com

$x = Read-host 'Enter IMCEAEX full value'
$x = $x -replace "IMCEAEX-_", "X500:/" -replace "\+20", " " -replace "\+28", "(" -replace "\+29", ")" -replace "_", "/" -replace "\+2E", "." -replace '@.*', '';cls;Write-output $x

Understanding VLAN Access Filters

2017-06-17T22:24:00.002+01:00

Evening All

I've spent a few days trying to get my head around VLAN Access-Maps and VLAN Access-Filters. I am sharing my configuration which works fine in my GNS3 lab. This is not been tested in a production environment so I would advise caution and some thorough testing before bringing into a live environment.

So above is my test environment for VLAN Filters. Layer three is done on Router 1. I did actually try it on the L2 Switch however I couldnt get intervlan routing working so I had to use the Router.

This is what is allowed -

Communication both ways between 10.0.20.4 and 10.0.20.3
Communication both ways from 10.0.20.0/24 to 10.0.10.5

I have provided a limited output of the switch. Basically, I am covering the access-lists, VLAN configuration and interface configuration for review. If you don't create the MAC access-list and apply it to the VLAN access-map, then the endpoints will not learn the IP address of the other end points. You can be restrictive and say, only allow the gateway MAC to talk to any endpoint and any endpoint to talk to the MAC of the gateway and lock it down further but for my testing I was happy with the below which helped me absorb this possible configuration.

mac access-list extended VLAN20-MACL
permit any any
!
vlan access-map VLAN20-VACL 5
match mac address VLAN20-MACL
action forward
vlan access-map VLAN20-VACL 10
match ip address VLAN20-ACL
action forward
vlan access-map VLAN20-VACL 15
action drop
!
!
vlan filter VLAN20-VACL vlan-list 20
interface Ethernet0/0
switchport access vlan 10
switchport mode access
spanning-tree portfast edge
!
interface Ethernet0/1
switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
switchport mode trunk
!
interface Ethernet0/2
switchport access vlan 20
switchport mode access
spanning-tree portfast edge
!
interface Ethernet0/3
switchport access vlan 20
switchport mode access
spanning-tree portfast edge
!
interface Ethernet1/0
switchport access vlan 20
switchport mode access
spanning-tree portfast edge
!
ip access-list extended VLAN20-ACL
permit ip host 10.0.20.3 host 10.0.20.4
permit ip host 10.0.20.4 host 10.0.20.3
permit ip 10.0.20.0 0.0.0.255 host 10.0.10.5
permit ip host 10.0.10.5 10.0.20.0 0.0.0.255
permit ip 10.0.20.0 0.0.0.255 host 10.0.20.1
permit ip host 10.0.20.1 10.0.20.0 0.0.0.255
!

Have Fun!

Windows 10 Wireless connection asking for proxy server credentials

2017-01-12T11:19:00.000+00:00

When using Windows 10 on a domain network, the wireless may show attention required and upon clicking the wireless connection name it disconnects and states "enter proxy server sign-in info".

In the background, the client machine is making a connection to msftconnecttest.com/connecttest.txt. As the computer is not authorised to use the internet, but rather the user this was the cause of the popup. I whitelisted the domain msftconnecttest.com for computer authenication and now the wireless connects with no requests for further authentication.

Configuring Oracle 12c backups on Veritas Backup Exec 16.

2016-12-10T00:21:00.001+00:00

This is a short guide to configuring backups of Oracle 12c using Veritas Backup Exec 16.

1. Establish trust with Oracle Database server within Backup Exec console and ensure agent is installed.

2. Create a login to the database for backup purposes in Oracle;

Open up a command prompt and run the following command –

Sqlplus /nolog

Log in with your database admin account as sysdba

Connect myusername/mypassword@databasename as sysdba

CREATE USER BACKUP IDENTIFIED BY MYPASSWORD;

GRANT UNLIMITED TABLESPACE TO BACKUP;

GRANT AQ_ADMINISTRATOR_ROLE TO BACKUP;

GRANT DBA TO BACKUP;

GRANT CONNECT TO BACKUP;

ALTER USER BACKUP DEFAULT ROLE ALL;

ALTER USER BACKUP DEFAULT TABLESPACE SYSTEM;

3. Within the Local Users and Groups section of Computer Management on the Oracle database server, add the backup servers windows domain administrator account to the following groups –

a. ORA_OraDB12Home1_SYSBACKUP

b. ORA_DBA Not sure if this is strictly necessary

4. Open the Veritas Backup Exec Agent Utility

a. Under the Oracle tab, ensure you add the following;

i. Instance name

ii. Local oracle user created in step 2

iii. Hostname of Backup Server

b. Under the Database Access Tab, type in the windows domain administrator account which was added in step 3 to the local security groups.

5. Adding the Oracle Server Name

a. Within Backup Exec, go into the setting section labelled ‘Backup Exec Settings’.

b. Within the Oracle Section, add in the server name and use the windows domain administrator credentials supplied in step 4b.

6. Add the Credentials of the Oracle Backup User (which was added in step 2) to the credentials section within Backup Exec

7. Create a new backup job.

a. In the credentials selection, expand the Oracle icon to show a list of the actual databases. Ensure that the logon account used is the account created in Step 6.

b. Proceed to configuring the remainder of the backup.

I’m not so sure why Veritas decided to make this procedure so disjointed. It took a fair few hours to get this far due to the local of documentation I could find.

Provided without any warranty.

Hope it works for you.

References;

https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.000038273

Running Office 2003 on Server 2008 R2

2016-09-19T16:00:00.002+01:00

When trying to open documents using the file converter in Excel 2003 SP3 on Server 2008 R2, the following message is displayed
"microsoft excel is waiting for another application to complete an ole action 2003"
or
"the converter failed to open the file".

The following KB article allows this feature to work.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/980210 - KB Article

http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/6/2/A624F8C9-B51E-4CC6-A0AC-ACB684E2E265/office-kb980210-fullfile-x86-glb.exe - Direct Download

Microsoft NPS Console fails to launch

2016-09-05T17:14:00.002+01:00

The Microsoft NPS console fails to launch. The error shown is -

FX:{6630f2d7-bd52-4072-bfa7-863f3d0c5da0} NPS

This was due to an issue with WMI.

Running the following in Command Prompt as an Administrator resolved my issue.

cd C:\Windows\System32\wbem\AutoRecoverfor /f %s in ('dir /b *.mof *.mfl') do mofcomp %s

Excessive TAP-Windows Adapter V9 Cleanup

2016-07-29T21:00:00.000+01:00

I had an issue recently where the client machine could not connect to any network resources. We noticed that the user had many TAP-Windows Adapters for VPN (OpenVPN). Some research suggests it occurs due to Microsoft products activating against a KMS server.

Anyway, I have created a simple vbs (wsh) script which removes the excess devices in a safely manner. All you might need to change is the location of tapinstall.exe as it might be deployed with your VPN application.

I have actually deployed the script by placing it in the netlogon share and using a GPO to create a scheduled task which executes the script on a weekly basis. I used a WMI filter and only targeted laptops.

Here is the script. Its not perfect, but I think it does a good job.

Dim Shell,path,tempPath,tapInstPath32,tapInstPath64,objFSO
Set Shell = CreateObject ("Wscript.Shell")
Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
strComputer = "."
count = 0
tapInstPath32 = "c:\program files\securePoint SSL VPN\bin\tapinstall.exe"
tapInstPath64 = "c:\program files (x86)\securePoint SSL VPN\bin\tapinstall.exe"

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")

Set TapDriver = objWMIService.ExecQuery("Select * from Win32_PnPSignedDriver")
Set OSType = objWMIService.ExecQuery("Select * from Win32_OperatingSystem", , 48)

'Identify whether OS is x64 or x32 and change file path variable accordindly.
For Each OSTypeItem In OSType
If OSTypeItem.OSArchitecture = "64-bit" Then
path = tapInstPath64
Else '32-bit
path = tapInstPath32
End If

Next

'Check if tapinstall.exe exists and exit if does not
If not objFSO.FileExists(path) Then
Shell.LogEvent 0, "VPNTapDeviceCleanup.vbs: path not found for tapinstall.exe executable - " & testpath & " Script quitting...."
wscript.quit
End If

'Find TAP Network Devices
For Each TapDriverItem in TapDriver
If inStr(TapDriverItem.DeviceName, "TAP-Windows Adapter V9") Then
Count = count + 1
'View deletion of drivers when cleanup occurs. Disabled.
'tempPath = chr(34) & "c:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" & chr(34) & "/k " & chr(34) & path & chr(34)
tempPath = chr(34) & path & chr(34)
'Wscript.Echo "Device Name: " & TapDriverItem.DeviceName
'Wscript.Echo "Device ID: " & TapDriverItem.DeviceID
'Remove excess TAP drivers, preserving the first detected device
If Count > 1 Then
'Wscript.Echo "Device ID: " & TapDriverItem.DeviceID
TempPath = TempPath & " remove @" & TapDriverItem.DeviceID
Shell.Run TempPath
End If
End if
Next

'Write Windows Event Log under application and source of WSH for script success activity
If Count > 1 Then
Count = Count -1
Shell.LogEvent 0, "VPNTapDeviceCleanup.vbs: Total excess TAP-Windows Adapter V9 Devices Removed: " & Count
Else
Shell.LogEvent 0, "VPNTapDeviceCleanup.vbs: No VPN TAP devices removed due to their being no excess"
End If

I accept no responsibly for my script above, and suggest you test in a lab environment before bringing into production.

IPFX Divert to Associate keeps going back to Voicemail (CUCM - Call Manager)

2015-01-30T23:27:00.000+00:00

When setting the divert within the Outlook IPFX plugin, it keeps defaulting to 'Voicemail' and will not change to Associate or any other user configured diverts.

I enabled the logging on IPFX Explorer (Log onto the server) and noticed the following logs under PBX Cisco & Data Server.

SS:[14:25:52.121346] [1234] EXTN: Suspend: 30/01/2015 14:25:56¤
SS:[14:25:52.121346] [00|1501301425|19144] Failed: Extn[1234] Call Forward - Dest[] Type[0-CANCEL_FWD_ALL][Device Not Found] [-2147220491]¤SS:[14:25:52.121346] REQ-OUT: Failed [00|1501301425|19144]¤
PBX:[14:25:52.105721] [LL:1][T:005B75A0][L:MSGS]REQUEST - [Fails] ID[00|1501301425|19144] [Extn[1234] Call Forward - Dest[] Type[0-CANCEL_FWD_ALL][Device Not Found]]
PBX:[14:25:52.105721] [LL:1][T:005B75A0][L:MSGS]REQUEST - [Start] ID[00|1501301425|19144] [Extn[1234] Call Forward - Dest[] Type[0-CANCEL_FWD_ALL]]
SS:[14:25:52.90095] REQ-OUT: pbxForward: DeviceID=1234, Type=0, By=MYSERVER¤VM [00|1501301425|19144]¤

If you look at what's highlighted in red, its basically complaining that it cannot find the device to control.

This can be resolved by navigating to Cisco Unified Call Manager Administrator and modifying the Application User Account for IPFX to have control of the device MAC related to extension 1234.

This will take affect immediately.

Woop!

Configuring Cisco CME Voice Gateway (VG) for incoming and outgoing calls using Sipgate trunk

2013-06-17T01:05:00.002+01:00

Hi All

For my reference and your's, here is a working sample configuration for configuring sipgate (sipgate.co.uk) for incoming and external VOIP calls on a 2800 series Cisco router.

Using GNS3; My wireless adapter has internet connection sharing enabled, and I have created a loopback adapter which is the 'internet' adapter as you can see below.

I have tested making calls using Cisco's CIPC version 8 and receiving calls. This doesn't have to be done in GNS3, just pick up yourself a real voice gateway.

version 12.4

service timestamps debug datetime msec

service timestamps log datetime msec

no service password-encryption

hostname VG-EP

boot-start-marker

boot-end-marker

aaa new-model

aaa authentication login http local

aaa authentication login ssh local

aaa authorization exec http local

aaa session-id common

resource policy

memory-size iomem 5

clock timezone GMT 1

no ip icmp rate-limit unreachable

ip cef

ip tcp synwait-time 5

ip domain name myn.local

ip name-server 8.8.8.8
crypto key generate rsa general-keys modulus 1024

ip ssh version 2

voice service voip

allow-connections h323 to sip

allow-connections sip to h323

allow-connections sip to sip

redirect ip2ip

sip

registrar server expires max 1200 min 60

voice class codec 1

codec preference 1 g729r8

voice translation-rule 1

rule 1 /^9/ //

voice translation-rule 2
rule 1 // /9/
!

voice translation-profile INCOMING

translate calling 2

voice translation-profile OUTGOING

translate called 1

crypto pki trustpoint TP-self-signed-4279256517

enrollment selfsigned

subject-name cn=IOS-Self-Signed-Certificate-4279256517

revocation-check none

rsakeypair TP-self-signed-4279256517

crypto pki certificate chain TP-self-signed-4279256517

certificate self-signed 01 nvram:IOS-Self-Sig#3704.cer

username admin privilege 15 password 0 admin

interface FastEthernet0/0

ip address 192.168.0.100 255.255.255.0

duplex auto

speed auto

interface FastEthernet0/1

ip address dhcp

duplex auto

speed auto

no cdp enable

ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.137.1

ip http server

ip http authentication aaa login-authentication http

ip http authentication aaa exec-authorization http

ip http secure-server

ip http path flash:/cme

ip dns server

control-plane

dial-peer voice 2 voip

description *Outbound to Sipgate*

translation-profile outgoing OUTGOING

voice-class codec 1

voice-class sip dtmf-relay force rtp-nte

destination-pattern 9.T

session protocol sipv2

session target dns:sipgate.co.uk

session transport udp

dtmf-relay rtp-nte

clid network-number 000000 ! Put your SIP-ID here. (all calls to Sipgate will go via your account id)

no vad

dial-peer voice 1 voip

description *Incoming from Sipgate*

translation-profile incoming INCOMING

voice-class codec 1

voice-class sip dtmf-relay force rtp-nte

session protocol sipv2

incoming called-number .%

dtmf-relay rtp-nte

ip qos dscp cs5 media

ip qos dscp cs4 signaling

no vad

sip-ua

credentials username myaccountid password myaccountpassword realm sipgate.co.uk

authentication username myaccountid password myaccountpassword

no remote-party-id

retry invite 5

retry register 10

timers connect 100

registrar dns:sipgate.co.uk:5060 expires 3600

sip-server dns:sipgate.co.uk:5050

telephony-service

srst mode auto-provision none

max-ephones 10

max-dn 20

ip source-address 192.168.0.100 port 2000

system message Cisco Unified CME Test Lab

time-zone 22

date-format dd-mm-yy

max-conferences 8 gain -6

web admin system name admin password

admin

dn-webedit

time-webedit

transfer-system full-consult

ephone-dn 1

number 100

label 100 Reception

name Recept

ephone-dn 2

number 101

label 101 ITICS

name ITICS

ephone-dn 3

number 102

label 102 Marketing

name Marketing

ephone-dn 4

number 103

label 103 Finance

name Finance

ephone-dn 5

number 0000000 !SipID

label 0151XXXXXXX

name 0151XXXXXXX

ephone 1

description WifiPhone

mac-address 001D.E0D6.1111

type CIPC

button 1:1 2:2 3:5

ephone 2

description XP CIPC

mac-address 000C.29C2.3463

button 1:3 2:4

line con 0

exec-timeout 0 0

privilege level 15

logging synchronous

line aux 0

exec-timeout 0 0

privilege level 15

logging synchronous

line vty 0 4

privilege level 15

login authentication ssh
logging synchronous

transport input all

ntp clock-period 17179938

ntp server 85.119.80.232

end

Immensely proud!

Connecting to Cisco Virtual Wireless Controller Console within VM Workstation

2013-03-27T20:44:00.001+00:00

Connect to your Cisco vWLAN via console within VM Workstation 9;

Turn off your VM
Go into the Settings of your VM
Within the Hardware tab, Select Add.
Select Serial Port
Click Create / Use a Named Pipe.

Make sure these are selected for the Named Pipe
\\.\pipe\com_x (x being 1, 2, 3, 4, etc).
This end is the server
The other end is an application

Save all changes and power on VM.
Open up Putty

Click Serial
Type in Named Pipe.
Thats it - it should connect.

Works for me.

Have fun.

Rightfax - Unable to send fax

2013-03-11T08:38:00.001+00:00

When trying to send a fax as an email, you are presented with the following message from Rightfax.

Your fax has not been sent. The gateway was unable to validate the e-mail address of the message sender. The message has been discarded.

Open up RightFax Enterprise Fax Manager, go into users and ensure there is an email address entered in for the user who are sending a fax as.

How to change link, hover & visited CSS Styles within a div

2013-01-08T11:29:00.002+00:00

Create your div and name it appropriately and place a hyperlink in it, and then in the CSS, apply the following;

#mydiv A:link,#mydiv A:hover,#mydiv A:visited
{
color:#ffffff;
}

This then prevents the changing of colours of other links outside of that specific DIV.

Incoming mail problems - document libraries within SharePoint 2010

2012-12-05T16:23:00.003+00:00

I followed TechNet articles so I would be able to email my document libraries however something did not work. I created a host record for my SharePoint Web Front end, and named it SP to receive email. When I tried emailing my Document Library, I received the message;

Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:

mydocs@sp.mydomain.local

The recipient e-mail system can't process this message now. Please try resending the message later.

However, to fix the issue highlighted in red, I changed the SMTP Domain name and it worked instantly!

My References:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc287879%28v=office.14%29.aspx
http://sharepointgeorge.com/2010/configuring-incoming-email-sharepoint-2010/ - Screenshots!

I spent several hours on this, small detail! I suppose my next issue is external email.

Hope this helps one of you out here!!

Configuring WCS alarm notifications

2012-11-27T15:46:00.000+00:00

Follow these steps to configure alarm notifications on your WCS.

Log into WCS
Click Administration then Settings
Click Configure Mail Delivery Settings ( Can't remember the actual name, will modify)
Configure all necessary SMTP settings
Tick ‘Apply recipient list to all alarm categories’
Click Test

Make sure the settings are still there after testing

Click Save

Check settings are still there

Click ‘Configure email notification for individual alarm categories’.

Click the Alarm Category (not necessary, dependant on alert type)

i. Adjust the severity level

ii. Click Save

Enable whatever you want.
Save.

Job Done.

Sql 2008 Cluster - Add Node Error

2012-11-18T22:35:00.000+00:00

During the end of the installation for configuring a new cluster with the SQL 2008 Enterprise installation, the following error was shown;

The following error has occurred;
There was an error setting private property 'RequireKerberos' to value 1 for resource 'SQL Network Name () Error: Value does not fall within the expected range.

The solution to is to register the SPN of the user account you created to run the services.
Open up the Command Prompt and type the following;

setspn -L mynet\sqlservice
setspn -s MSOLAPSvc.3/sqlcluster:cluster1 mynet\sqlservice
setspn -s MSOLAPSvc.3/sqlcluster.mynet.local:cluster1 mynet\sqlservice
setspn -s MSSQLSvc/sqlcluster:cluster1
setspn -s MSSQLSvc/sqlcluster.mynet.local:cluster1

sqlcluster is the name of my SQL cluster set during the SQL installation and cluster1 is the name of my instance.

Once you have done this, make sure all computer accounts used in Cluster are enabled for Kerberos Delegation and that the user service account is allowed to Delegate Kerberos as well (Trust this user for delegation for any service).

This was all done in a lab and I take no responsibility if you try this in a real environment.

Have fun.

Ps. I used StarWind iSCSI to create my Cluster.

InfoPath Form errors when pulling data from UserProfileService within SharePoint 2010

2012-09-13T20:46:00.002+01:00

I created a simple InfoPath to submit data after the user has filled it in. To save administration time with filling in unnecessary fields, I used the UserProfileService to pull user attributes from Active Directory. The form works fine with InfoPath Filler but fails to work within the Web Browser. The following error message was displayed within Internet Explorer.

Created InfoPath form which pulls user data within web browser and places into fields. The form successfully pulls the user data using the ‘UserProfileService’ within InfoPath Filler but not within the web browser.

This error is shown in web browser

“You do not have permissions to access a Web Service that provides data required for this form to function correctly. An entry has been added to the Windows event log of the server. Log ID:5566. ”

I logged onto the SharePoint server and checked the Event Log as suggested above and the following message was shown;

“The following query failed: GetUserProfileByName (User: xxx\xxx Form Name: xxx, IP: ; Connection Target , Request https://xxx.com/sites/mysite/NewJobRequest.aspx Form ID: urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:infopath:NewJobRequest:-myXSD-2012-09011T07-47-27. Type:DataAdapterException,Exception Message: The underlying connection was closed: Could not establish trust relationship for the SSL/TLS secure channel. The underlying connection was closed: Could not establish trust relationship for the SSL/TLS secure channel. “

This message is slightly misleading because our web server has an SSL certificate issued by a trusted authority within IIS.

Next up – I used the ULS Viewer (http://archive.msdn.microsoft.com/ULSViewer) developed by Microsoft. You don’t need to use this to look though the event logs, but the data is presented in a nice format where you can search for the Correlation ID.

“An operation failed because the following certificate has validation errors:\n\nSubject Name: CN=xxx, OU=xxx, O=xxx, L=xxx, S=xxx, C=GB\nIssuer Name: CN=xxx SSL CA, O=Xxx, C=NL\nThumbprint: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx\n\nErrors:\n\n The root of the certificate chain is not a trusted root authority..”

After brief research, this error basically states that the certificate does not exist in the INTERNAL SharePoint Certificate trust.

The solution – import all root certificate’s into the SharePoint Security Trust.

Open up SharePoint CA, go to Security and Click Trusts.

Export each root of the certificate and import into the trust container as an X509 Cer. Watch your problems disappear.

This guy who wrote this article actually helped me solve my problem on th last point - http://sharepointfordeveloper.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/sharepoint2010-root-of-certificate.html#!/2011/11/sharepoint2010-root-of-certificate.html

Spent a fair few hours researching the solution to my issue and now I'm a happy man.

Have fun!

Configuring Apple MACs for use in an enterprise environment

2012-08-28T23:18:00.001+01:00

We currently own over 150 Apple computers, 20 which are MacBook Pro's and the remaining amount being iMAC’s. All of our MACs are unmanaged and require onsite assistance when issues occur.

These are some of the issues we experience when using MACs in our enterprise environment;

DNS resolution issues
Proxy settings disappearing from the Network Settings for the Network Adapter.
Constant bombardment of proxy authentication prompts once logged into the MAC for the first time using your Windows Credentials. There are two prompts for system HTTP & HTTPS and two prompts for the Safari Web Browser (HTTP & HTTPS).
Safari Web Browser not set to the default home page for our company
Printers have to be manually configured on the MACS
Blocking of applications is too complicated for staff to manage (causes other issues with other programs)
Attached network drives, home shares and memory sticks are not always visible on the users desktop
All of the computers individually connect to Apple’s update repository wasting bandwidth
Unable to perform any remote administration to the MACs
MACs regularly showing ‘Network Accounts Unavailable’ (NAU) which prevents Active Directory users from logging into the MACs.
Docks should be consistent with the most frequently used applications available to select instantly.

Our current setup;

All Apple computers run 10.7.1
All MACs joined to the Active Directory Domain

NTP configured in clock preferences. This is important as if the time is out of sync with Active Directory then you may find the computer showing the error ‘Network Accounts Unavailable’
Option specified to allow administration by network accounts via Active Directory Group Membership. See Reference 1.
Modified the Search Policy to include a custom path. We found that adding the missing item within the authentication policy reduced the frequency which we would experience NAU error. All Domains is the last entry of the Search Policy.

Users home directory available within the User Dock
Windows printers manually attached to computer. See Reference 2.
All computers are connected to the Microsoft ForeFront 2010 Firewall Web Proxy Service.
Fully Functioning Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Domain

What we have done to address the issues our users are experiencing;

DNS resolution issues - within the DHCP Scope, I have ticked the ‘Dynamically update DNS A and PTR records for DHCP clients that do not request updates.’ This fixes the issue of trying to contact the host name of the machine when trying to provide remote assistance.
Computer Preferences - We have obtained an old iMAC, installed 10.7.4 MAC OSX and downloaded and installed MAC OSX Server. Once the MAC Server is installed, you can use the Work Group Manager (WGM) to create a Computer Account Group and configure deployment of settings such as;

Proxy Configuration
Browser Customization
Login Messages
Blocking of Applications
Advanced configuration of Finder Preferences
Printer Deployment
Login Scripts
Software Update Repository
Dock Customization

Once the deployment is configured, you need to select computers who will be ‘members’ of that group. This is discussed next. See References 3 & 4 for help downloading and installing MAC Server

Join the MACS to the Open Directory Domain and ensure the LDAP Directory for the MAC server is the last entry is the Search Policy. Once the MAC is joined to the OD (Open Directory), it is also necessary to bind it using an OD administrator account. Once this is complete, the computer will appear in the WGM. You need make sure the computer account is a member of a Computer Group within WGM. Once this is done, all you need to do is log out and back in and the preferences will have applied. If not, check;

The MAC is binded to the OD domain properly
You have an IP Address
You have attached the MAC to the correct container which contains preferences
Do some digging!

Configuration of Software Update Server on MAC Server - Identify the URL and attach it to the preferences for the ‘Software Update Repository’ within the Computer Group Preferences. See Reference 5.
All MACs updated to 10.7.4. The change log specifically states that issues have been resolved with ‘Improve the reliability of binding and logging into Active Directory accounts.’ We have instantly noticed the difference. An example would be some machines showing the NAU message. After the installation, the error message would disappear. See Reference 6 for list of updates.
In order to provide remote assistance to the MACs, the following features within Sharing have been enabled;

‘Remote Login’ for Administrators only. This allows you to use SSH to connect to the terminal of the MAC and perform remote commands.
‘Remote Management’ for specific users (unable to select AD Accounts, but you can control another users account who is logged in if you have their username and password). If you click the Options button, you can select the ‘force VNC users to type in a password before connecting to this machine’.
Installed TightVNC Client on our Windows Clients. Once the hostname is specified, we are prompted for the VNC password and then connected to the remote MAC.

Multiple Proxy Prompts - This actually look a while to resolve. I was looking at third party software such as Centrify and Thursby which might allow me to use my current credentials to authenticate to proxy server but they all failed. The issue was related to the Kerberos ticket issued to the user from the Domain Controller once logged in. Although the Kerberos ticket was perfectly valid and allowed me to authenticate to other network shares without prompting me for a password, it would not allow me to authenticate against the firewall. The issue came down to the ServicePrincipleName (SPN) attribute attached to the computer account for the firewall. If a specified service is not listed, the Kerberos ticket is not allowed to be utilized. After I made the change to the SPN, all of the four proxy prompts disappeared after a reboot. If you specify the proxy server via IP address, you would have an SPN value of ‘HTTP/10.1.1.1’ for example. See Reference 7 for my support query within Microsoft’s Forums and Reference 8 which helped me resolve the issue from McAfee.
Login Scripts - we have used a simple bash script which runs as root to apply various settings such as disablement of the 'Cloud' popup storage notification.

The End

This is just my experience of using MACs within a corporate environment. I am not responsible for any damage caused to your network environment by following the content of this article - I am only trying to help someone out there.

I hope it helps you and gives you a pointer in the right direction. Comments welcome.

Thanks

References:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4332 - Adding Network Groups to Adminster MAC
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3049 - Adding SMB Printers
http://www.apple.com/osx/server/how-to-upgrade/ - How to download MAC OSX Server
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-create-an-open-directory-master-using-lions.html - How to install MAC OSX Server
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4069 - Software Update Service
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5167 - MAC 10.7.4 updates
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-GB/Forefrontedgegeneral/thread/3c6a6c16-0ac0-41c4-95ab-cfaf19c04f31 - Kerberos Authenication
https://community.mcafee.com/docs/DOC-2682 - Configuring Kerberos for Web Gateway on McAfee

Camino not authenticating with proxy

2012-08-09T10:14:00.002+01:00

When using Camino to access the internet via a proxy which requests authentication, the default settings do not work as you are not prompted for credentials, so internet access is denied. .

To enable Camino to ask for a username and password when requesting access to the internet;

navigate to about:config
set network.negotiate-auth.allow-proxies to false

Now you should be prompted for your credentials when accessing a secure website.

Good Luck!

Error Creating Visual Studio 2010 Silverlight Phone Application on Shared Drive

2012-03-30T11:45:00.002+01:00

We have been experiencing issues creating projects within Visual Studio 2010 for Silverlight for Windows Phones where the project location is on a shared drive / resource.

During the build, this error is displayed;

C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\Silverlight for Phone\v4.0\Microsoft.Silverlight.Common.targets(249,9): error : Could not load the assembly file:///p:\visual studio 2010\Projects\PhoneApp5\PhoneApp5\obj\Debug\PhoneApp5.dll. This assembly may have been downloaded from the Web. If an assembly has been downloaded from the Web, it is flagged by Windows as being a Web file, even if it resides on the local computer. This may prevent it from being used in your project. You can change this designation by changing the file properties. Only unblock assemblies that you trust. See http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=179545 for more information.

It is possible to get this working by creating a new environment variable, system or user with the following data;

COMPLUS_LoadFromRemoteSources=1

You can do the above by typing the below in command prompt (for system, not just user);

setx COMPLUS_LoadFromRemoteSources 1 /m

If that still does not work; try adjusting the Microsoft.Net V4.0 Security Policy using CASPOL from command prompt. Add in your network drive or share and try again. The command line is provided below;

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\caspol -q -machine -addgroup 1 -url file://p:/* FullTrust -name "P Drive"

Using both command lines above solved all of my problems with regards to running projects from untrusted locations. Just adjust the drive location and create a batch file with the following lines and away you go.

setx COMPLUS_LoadFromRemoteSources 1 /m

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\caspol -q -machine -addgroup 1 -url file://p:/* FullTrust -name "P Drive"

Pause

Hope this helps you out there!

Configuring Frame Relay in GNS3 with OSPF

2012-03-06T23:00:00.002+00:00

Today I have been configuring frame relay in GNS3.

My setup is one frame relay switch with one virtual frame relay circuit, point to point.

Here is the configuration for the interfaces on R1 and R2.

R1#sh run | sec interface Serial0/0
interface Serial0/0
no ip address
encapsulation frame-relay
clock rate 2000000
cdp enable
interface Serial0/0.1 point-to-point
ip address 192.168.1.254 255.255.255.252
frame-relay interface-dlci 101
R1#

R1#sh run | sec interface Loopback1
interface Loopback1
ip address 172.16.1.1 255.255.255.0
R1#

R2#sh run | sec interface Serial0/0
interface Serial0/0
no ip address
encapsulation frame-relay
clock rate 2000000
cdp enable
interface Serial0/0.1 point-to-point
ip address 192.168.1.253 255.255.255.252
frame-relay interface-dlci 202
R2#

R2#sh run | sec interface Loopback1
interface Loopback1
ip address 172.16.2.1 255.255.255.0
R2#

Notice the clock rate is specified on both R1 and R2. This is not an error as GNS3 is unable to simulate DTE and DCE interfaces properly. I belive this works fine in Packet Tracer though.

Here is the configuration for OSPF for routers R1 and R2

R1#sh run | sec ospf
router ospf 100
router-id 11.0.0.0
log-adjacency-changes
network 172.16.1.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
network 192.168.1.252 0.0.0.3 area 0
R1#
R2#sh run | sec ospf
router ospf 100
router-id 10.0.0.0
log-adjacency-changes
network 172.16.2.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
network 192.168.1.252 0.0.0.3 area 0
R2#

Here is the output of various 'show frame-relay' commands for both routers.

R1#sh frame-relay map
Serial0/0.1 (up): point-to-point dlci, dlci 101(0x65,0x1850), broadcast
          status defined, active
R1#sh frame-relay lmi

LMI Statistics for interface Serial0/0 (Frame Relay DTE) LMI TYPE = ANSI
Invalid Unnumbered info 0             Invalid Prot Disc 0
Invalid dummy Call Ref 0              Invalid Msg Type 0
Invalid Status Message 0              Invalid Lock Shift 0
Invalid Information ID 0              Invalid Report IE Len 0
Invalid Report Request 0              Invalid Keep IE Len 0
Num Status Enq. Sent 159              Num Status msgs Rcvd 156
Num Update Status Rcvd 0              Num Status Timeouts 3
Last Full Status Req 00:00:26         Last Full Status Rcvd 00:00:26
R1#sh frame-relay pvc

PVC Statistics for interface Serial0/0 (Frame Relay DTE)

              Active     Inactive      Deleted       Static
Local          1            0            0            0
Switched       0            0            0            0
Unused         0            0            0            0

DLCI = 101, DLCI USAGE = LOCAL, PVC STATUS = ACTIVE, INTERFACE = Serial0/0.1

input pkts 226           output pkts 240          in bytes 25460
out bytes 27109          dropped pkts 0           in pkts dropped 0
out pkts dropped 0                out bytes dropped 0
in FECN pkts 0           in BECN pkts 0           out FECN pkts 0
out BECN pkts 0          in DE pkts 0             out DE pkts 0
out bcast pkts 209       out bcast bytes 23929
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
pvc create time 00:26:16, last time pvc status changed 00:25:43
R1#

R2#sh frame-relay map
Serial0/0.1 (up): point-to-point dlci, dlci 202(0xCA,0x30A0), broadcast
          status defined, active
R2#sh frame-relay lmi

LMI Statistics for interface Serial0/0 (Frame Relay DTE) LMI TYPE = ANSI
Invalid Unnumbered info 0             Invalid Prot Disc 0
Invalid dummy Call Ref 0              Invalid Msg Type 0
Invalid Status Message 0              Invalid Lock Shift 0
Invalid Information ID 0              Invalid Report IE Len 0
Invalid Report Request 0              Invalid Keep IE Len 0
Num Status Enq. Sent 269              Num Status msgs Rcvd 266
Num Update Status Rcvd 0              Num Status Timeouts 3
Last Full Status Req 00:00:15         Last Full Status Rcvd 00:00:15
R2#sh frame-relay pvc

PVC Statistics for interface Serial0/0 (Frame Relay DTE)

              Active     Inactive      Deleted       Static
Local          1            0            0            0
Switched       0            0            0            0
Unused         0            0            0            0

DLCI = 202, DLCI USAGE = LOCAL, PVC STATUS = ACTIVE, INTERFACE = Serial0/0.1

input pkts 203           output pkts 212          in bytes 22853
out bytes 23512          dropped pkts 0           in pkts dropped 0
out pkts dropped 0                out bytes dropped 0
in FECN pkts 0           in BECN pkts 0           out FECN pkts 0
out BECN pkts 0          in DE pkts 0             out DE pkts 0
out bcast pkts 197       out bcast bytes 21952
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
pvc create time 00:22:58, last time pvc status changed 00:22:58
R2#

Here is the output for 'show ip route' on both routers

R1#sh ip route
Codes: C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP
       D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
       N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
       E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2
       i - IS-IS, su - IS-IS summary, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2
       ia - IS-IS inter area, * - candidate default, U - per-user static route
       o - ODR, P - periodic downloaded static route

Gateway of last resort is not set

     172.16.0.0/16 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks
C       172.16.1.0/24 is directly connected, Loopback1
O       172.16.2.1/32 [110/65] via 192.168.1.253, 00:22:42, Serial0/0.1
     192.168.1.0/30 is subnetted, 1 subnets
C       192.168.1.252 is directly connected, Serial0/0.1
R1#

R2#sh ip route
Codes: C - connected, S - static, R - RIP, M - mobile, B - BGP
       D - EIGRP, EX - EIGRP external, O - OSPF, IA - OSPF inter area
       N1 - OSPF NSSA external type 1, N2 - OSPF NSSA external type 2
       E1 - OSPF external type 1, E2 - OSPF external type 2
       i - IS-IS, su - IS-IS summary, L1 - IS-IS level-1, L2 - IS-IS level-2
       ia - IS-IS inter area, * - candidate default, U - per-user static route
       o - ODR, P - periodic downloaded static route

Gateway of last resort is not set

     172.16.0.0/16 is variably subnetted, 2 subnets, 2 masks
O       172.16.1.1/32 [110/65] via 192.168.1.254, 00:22:04, Serial0/0.1
C       172.16.2.0/24 is directly connected, Loopback1
     192.168.1.0/30 is subnetted, 1 subnets
C       192.168.1.252 is directly connected, Serial0/0.1
R2#

Here is output for 'show ip ospf database' and 'show ip ospf interface'. This has been executed on both routers.

R1#sh ip ospf database

            OSPF Router with ID (11.0.0.0) (Process ID 100)

                Router Link States (Area 0)

Link ID         ADV Router      Age         Seq#       Checksum Link count
10.0.0.0        10.0.0.0        1522        0x80000003 0x00DA0B 3
11.0.0.0        11.0.0.0        1521        0x80000001 0x00C620 3
R1#sh ip ospf interface
Loopback1 is up, line protocol is up
Internet Address 172.16.1.1/24, Area 0
Process ID 100, Router ID 11.0.0.0, Network Type LOOPBACK, Cost: 1
Loopback interface is treated as a stub Host
Serial0/0.1 is up, line protocol is up
Internet Address 192.168.1.254/30, Area 0
Process ID 100, Router ID 11.0.0.0, Network Type POINT_TO_POINT, Cost: 64
Transmit Delay is 1 sec, State POINT_TO_POINT
Timer intervals configured, Hello 10, Dead 40, Wait 40, Retransmit 5
    oob-resync timeout 40
    Hello due in 00:00:06
Supports Link-local Signaling (LLS)
Index 1/1, flood queue length 0
Next 0x0(0)/0x0(0)
Last flood scan length is 1, maximum is 1
Last flood scan time is 0 msec, maximum is 0 msec
Neighbor Count is 1, Adjacent neighbor count is 1
    Adjacent with neighbor 10.0.0.0
Suppress hello for 0 neighbor(s)
R1#

R2#sh ip ospf data

            OSPF Router with ID (10.0.0.0) (Process ID 100)

                Router Link States (Area 0)

Link ID         ADV Router      Age         Seq#       Checksum Link count
10.0.0.0        10.0.0.0        1564        0x80000003 0x00DA0B 3
11.0.0.0        11.0.0.0        1565        0x80000001 0x00C620 3
R2#sh ip ospf database

            OSPF Router with ID (10.0.0.0) (Process ID 100)

                Router Link States (Area 0)

Link ID         ADV Router      Age         Seq#       Checksum Link count
10.0.0.0        10.0.0.0        1567        0x80000003 0x00DA0B 3
11.0.0.0        11.0.0.0        1568        0x80000001 0x00C620 3
R2#sh ip ospf interface
Loopback1 is up, line protocol is up
Internet Address 172.16.2.1/24, Area 0
Process ID 100, Router ID 10.0.0.0, Network Type LOOPBACK, Cost: 1
Loopback interface is treated as a stub Host
Serial0/0.1 is up, line protocol is up
Internet Address 192.168.1.253/30, Area 0
Process ID 100, Router ID 10.0.0.0, Network Type POINT_TO_POINT, Cost: 64
Transmit Delay is 1 sec, State POINT_TO_POINT
Timer intervals configured, Hello 10, Dead 40, Wait 40, Retransmit 5
    oob-resync timeout 40
    Hello due in 00:00:02
Supports Link-local Signaling (LLS)
Index 2/2, flood queue length 0
Next 0x0(0)/0x0(0)
Last flood scan length is 1, maximum is 1
Last flood scan time is 0 msec, maximum is 0 msec
Neighbor Count is 1, Adjacent neighbor count is 1
    Adjacent with neighbor 11.0.0.0
Suppress hello for 0 neighbor(s)
R2#

I have posted this as I thought it might be useful to someone who wants to briefly study the configuration.

Hope it helps!!!

Code Snippets in NetBeans

2012-03-01T22:09:00.000+00:00

Just found out how to use Code Snippets in Java. A pretty basic feature which I found useful so thought I would share.

This basically saves you time when typing the same command regularlly. If you don't completely understand, just try it out and see what you think. I wish I had found it years ago!

To complete;

Open NetBeans
Click Tools, Options
Click Editor button
Click Code Templates Tab
Click New
Type in Abbreviation and press OK. Example 'So'
Within Expanded Text, type in the code you want to display when you type the abbreviation. An example may be System.out.println("");
To change the way the code is inserted into the java document, click the drop down box for Expand Template and select whatever you want. I just left it on default, Tab.
Go back to your Java document and type the abbreviation followed by Tab.

Have Fun