TekStorm

Migrating from Novell to Active Directory

noreply@blogger.com (JayTekStorm) — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 16:56:00 +0000

Thinking about migrating from Novell to Active Directory? Then this post will hopefully give you some advice of what I experienced going through the process over the last couple months.

Novell is a dying company, sadly that is. It was acquired by Attachmate a few years ago then again Attachmate was bought out by another company. Novell has cut so many staff over the years that it can't fix existing problems with their software. Novell has lost some of their largest clients in the last couple of years because of these issues.

We felt it was time to move our organization to Active Directory due to the existing problems with Zenworks and the lack of integration with other web services. Our login times on computers were very long and if we made a group policy change through Zenworks it would take 20 minutes to login to every computer that would be affected for the first time. It was becoming very frustrating, along with Zenworks imaging only wanting to work about half the time. To give an idea of our environment, we have 1800+ Windows based systems and around 3500 users.

I wanted to start off with Server 2012 since Microsoft is planning to support it till 2023. I began with planning everything that I would need for the migration process and mapping it out on paper. This included configuration info for a new DHCP server, drive mappings, file shares, user groups, applications and icons to push out, etc..

Setting up Server 2012
An excellent video walk through of setting up Server 2012, Directory Services, DHCP, DNS, file servers, and user management can be found here, Windows Server 2012. This video series was put together by Eli the Computer Guy, he has an excellent channel of videos related to I.T. content. I highly recommend subscribing to his channel, very valuable resources over there.

Once the domain, DHCP, and DNS was up and running I needed to get some file servers online. I created two file servers which I used simple and short names. For example, FILE01 and FILE02. I created folders on each server called "Share" where I gave out file permissions to users. From there I used a computer that was authenticated to both Active Directory and Novell's eDirectory where I was able to access all file shares. I began the migration process of copying the data from our old Novell servers to the new Windows file shares. This was the most time consuming process as we had a few terabytes of data to move.

The nice part about having a DNS server, which we didn't have before, is not worrying about host files. In the past we had to utilize a login script to push out updated host files to ensure computers knew where server names pointed to. Now everything is done through A.D. in terms of host names and we created A records for all of our internal websites.

Importing Users
Getting a list of users imported out of eDirectory is just about impossible, if you use Groupwise there are a few ways you can export the user names out into a csv file. Luckily we already migrated to Gmail from Groupwise a few years ago so I was able to do an export from the GAFE admin console with a list of users for each of our organizational units.

There are a few scripts out there or third party software for purchase that allows mass importing of users into Active Directory, I was trying to find the simplest way to import our staff into A.D.. After doing some research I read about an older piece of software called Active User Manager that a individual made for free back in the server 2003 days. Sadly his website was no longer around but I was able to find out the information I needed to get the software. In the web archive I was able to find a saved copy of his website which can be found here and a copy of the manual. I found a download link for the software still available from this website. The software is free if you use the activation code available on the saved website. Active User Manager allows you to import users with the import user wizard by OU. It can also help with the creation of home folders and permissions.

Management
I highly recommend that you install Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) on your computer to manage A.D. remotely. Information on setting up RSAT and download locations for each version of Windows can be found here.

I found creating group policies so much easier with Active Directory compared to eDirectory. I would recommend being very specific with the name of each of the GPO policies you create so you will know what they are when you need to go back and fix something. The best thing for us was being able to do just about everything through GPOs and not having to use login scripts.

We purchased PDQ Deploy to help push out applications to computers and it works really well. We also purchased PDQ Inventory for asset tracking. Both of these packages are cheap compared to most software out there that does remote software installations. We purchased Dameware remote control software to have the ability to remote control workstations for help desk support. Effectively by purchasing these tools we were able to replace just about everything that Zenworks was doing for our environment. The last thing on my list is to setup a FOG server for computer imaging since that was something we were doing in the past with Zenworks.

Overall we are happy with the switch over and seeing the benefits of using Active Directory. The only issues we had was users getting new profiles that had saved documents locally instead of using their home folder. We also increased user password security so users had to strengthen up their passwords. Several forgot their new passwords within the first week.

Tracking Novell User Logins with a Batch File

noreply@blogger.com (JayTekStorm) — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 20:38:00 +0000

I wanted to find out a way to better track which users are logging in and which systems they log onto. I was able to use a old cool solutions article that was able to help me get started in the right direction. What I wanted saved to the log file was a time stamp, computer name, Novell user name, & IP address and have that performed through a batch file that would execute when the login script runs. We will be utilizing a vbs script to run the batch file silently.

Follow these steps

Create the folder LNScript somewhere on your server
Create a Sub Folder called logs
Give RF rights to LNScript and RW to logs
Create a file named silentrunner.vbs in the LNScript folder
Copy this code to the file

 Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")  
 WshShell.run chr(34) & "F:\LNScript\track.bat" & Chr(34), 0  
 Set WshShell = Nothing

The above code allows batch files to run silently, users will never see this batch file run. This code can be used for any other batch files you would like to run.

Create track.bat in the LNScript folder
Copy code below into track.bat

 for /f "delims=[] tokens=2" %%a in ('ping %computername% -4 -n 1 ^| findstr "["') do (set thisip=%%a)  
 echo Login Date: %Date%, Login Time: %Time%, Computer Name: %ComputerName%, User Name: %USER%, IP: %thisip%>>f:\LNScript\logs\login.csv

This will create a csv file that has the login time & date, computer name, novell user name, & IP.

Next we need to add this code to the login script (This creates a dos variable for the novell username that we can use in the batch file)

 DOS SET USER="%1"  
 @wscript.exe F:\LNScript\silentrunner.vbs

You can either periodically clear out the log file manually or setup a scheduled task that renames the log file. The next time someone logs in the log file will be recreated. You don't want the log to get too big as that will cause other problems. Below is a picture of the log file output,

Is Chromebox viable for classroom replacement?

noreply@blogger.com (JayTekStorm) — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 16:30:00 +0000

Chromebooks have been out for a while now and have made a huge impact in 1 to 1 initiatives for many school districts around the country. What makes them so attractive is the long battery life that can last an entire school day and the ability to boot into the O/S in under 5 seconds.

For some time now I have been looking at alternatives to desktops in the classroom. At the school district I work for we have 4 student computers per classroom in K-8, which is costly when it comes to electricity usage and keeping up with life cycle replacement. Thin clients had been promising due to each unit using anywhere from 20 to 65 watts, depending on the device, and reduced work orders for fixing viruses and Windows issues. Although the initial investment is still high with the servers and software licensing required for virtualization.

What is a Chromebox?

The Google Chromebox is relatively new low cost option which is similar to the Chromebook as far as running the Chrome OS but it doesn't come with peripherals or a screen. Most models have USB ports, HDMI or display port for video, LAN port, and built in wireless. The Chromebox also only uses 65 watts of power making it a attractive replacement for desktops. The ASUS model ships with a 16 GB SSD hard drive allowing for some local storage if needed.

With everything moving to the cloud and having all services being web based, there is very little need for windows based systems in the classroom. Sure, you still need Windows based computers for your labs to meet course requirements that run productivity systems like Office, video editing, and CAD. In the classrooms though there is little need for Windows when Chrome OS can handle Google Docs, web browsing, and other web based services.

Let's talk about savings

The ASUS Chromebox runs for a total of $209.99, $179.99 for the box and $30 for the license. This can be a significant savings when it comes to life cycle replacement compared to paying $500 per desktop computer. For our district we would need to replace 488 units, which would be a total cost of $102,475. Compared to buying desktops it would be a savings of $141,525. Not to mention the huge cost savings per year on the electric bill, going from 350 watt power supplies to 65 watt.

Other thoughts

Other things to think about is reduced licensing cost for Microsoft Office and antivirus since it is already built in, so one less thing to worry about if you happen to pay for antivirus. By going the route of Chromeboxes it should significantly reduce work orders and allow an organization to increase devices without having to hire additional tech staff.

For the next school year we plan on testing this with a couple of classrooms for the first semester and see how teachers and students react to the devices. If it ends up working out well, it very well could be a full replacement option in the future.

Have you considered looking into Chromeboxes?

How to take back your privacy

noreply@blogger.com (JayTekStorm) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:21:00 +0000

By now we have all been well informed by the media that the federal government is trying to listen in to all of our phone calls and tap into our e-mail. All thanks to whistle blower Edward Snowden we know now the full extent of the unconstitutional spying on American citizens.

During my online readings this morning I found an excellent copy/pasta from Reddit on how to take back your privacy and prevent the government from invading it.

Don't ask your government for your Privacy, take it back:

Browser Privacy: HTTPS Everywhere, AdBlock Plus + EasyList, Ghostery, NoScript (FireFox), NotScript(Chrome)
VPNs: Private Internet Access (US), BTGuard (Canada), ItsHidden (Africa), Ipredator (Sweden),Faceless.me (Cyprus / Netherlands)
Internet Anonymization: Tor, Tor Browser Bundle, I2P
Disk Encryption: TrueCrypt (Windows / OSX / Linux), File Vault (Mac).
File/Email Encryption: GPGTools + GPGMail (Mac), Enigmail (Windows / OSX / Linux)
IM Encryption: Pidgin + Pidgin OTR
IM/Voice Encryption: Mumble, Jitsi
Phone/SMS Encryption: WhisperSystems, Ostel, Spore, Silent Circle ($$$)
Google Alternative: DuckDuckGo, StartPage
Digital P2P Currency: BitCoin
Live Anonymous/Secure Linux: TAILS Linux

If you have any problems installing or using the above software, please contact the projects. They would love to get feedback and help you use their software.

Have no clue what Cryptography is or why you should care? Checkout the Crypto Party Handbook or the EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense Project.

Just want some simple tips? Checkout EFF's Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy.

Thinking about going One to One? Read This First

noreply@blogger.com (JayTekStorm) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:53:00 +0000

Going one to one at your school district is a huge decision that can impact you for years go come. How can you be sure you are ready for it? There are many factors that need to be addressed before even considering a one to one initiative. If you are in good shape infrastructure wise you can begin moving forward with what types of hardware you would like to go with.

Infrastructure Needs
First you need to see if your existing infrastructure can support a one to one initiative in your district. Is your wireless network running N speeds and do you have enough wireless coverage? Do all of your switching segments have fiber optic up links between them? Are segments of your network running at Gigabit? Is your internet bandwidth enough to support cloud computing and one to one? Most of these numbers rely entirely on the size of your district and can vary widely what your needs may be. If you have all of your bases covered in these areas then you should be ready to start researching which hardware you would like to move to.

Hardware: Tablets, E-Readers, Laptops?
So many decisions when it comes to which hardware to choose. Let's start off with tablets, we have iPad, Android, & Microsoft based tablets to choose from. The problem with the iPad is it doesn't have flash which eliminates a lot of websites on the internet from ever reaching our classrooms. Android based devices do have flash but you may not be able to get the same hardware in a few months of your purchase. The hardware is changing all the time and parts are hard to come by. Microsoft based tablets are great, they run Windows 7 but they have a high price point which can stop a one to one project dead in it's tracks.

E-Readers have a great price point and both the Kindle Fire & Nook Tablet share the Android market place which is a huge plus. They also feature the ability to rent books and textbooks from the device. Lastly laptops are a standard device we have known for years that just works. Lenovo just came out with a 15" laptop that sells for $350 and is much more powerful than a netbook. It's an excellent price point plus you get a device that runs Windows 7.

A big issue with marketplace devices is the apps can bleed you dry on licensing. Think about all the apps you might need then how many times you will have to purchase said app on the marketplace. The numbers will easily pile up. That's why I prefer having a Windows device because you can get site licensing for software or access everything you need from the web (compared to iPad with the flash limitations).

How to Manage?
This is the biggest question for all of these devices, how the heck am I going to manage them all? You wouldn't hand out 700 tablets to your high school students without a way to manage them right? I have seen some presentations on software that are supposed to help you manage tablets but they are lackluster and far from being polished. There is limitations on what policies can be put in place and no real way to image each tablet. Pushing out updates and applications is a real pain where you are still touching every device. My techs don't have enough time to touch that many units.

Laptops are Still the Answer
To be able to manage a one to one initiative we need Window 7. Why? Most of us are managing our networks with Microsoft Domains or Novell. This allows us to continue managing the devices with our current infrastructure. I use Novell Zenworks to manage all of our computers in the district and by going with laptops I will be able to easily move into a one to one initiative.

Waiting for Microsoft
I am really hoping the Microsoft Surface Tablet that was just announced last week is the answer we have been looking for. When looking for one to one devices I set my price point at $400 or less. I think this is a price point that is achievable for maintaining a one to one initiative at our district. Supposedly this is supposed to be a big iPad competitor and have a similar price point. There is also the Acer Iconia which I have read good reviews on, it runs Windows 7 but it sell for $545. That's still above the price point I look for but the price has been dropping over the last year. Maybe in 6 to 8 months it might get closer to $400. If I can get a tablet that runs Windows 7 or 8 then I will be able to manage the devices easily and finally move away from laptops.

Next semester we are going to roll out a pilot of 30 laptops at our high school to start our first one to one project. This was we can iron out the bugs and streamline the whole process before we give it to an entire grade level.

Building a Campus Video Portal with PHPmotion

noreply@blogger.com (JayTekStorm) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 19:31:00 +0000

As a Tech Director for a k-12 school district one of my biggest challenges is managing our district's internet bandwidth. I use a variety of techniques from throttling services to using our Sonicwall NSA's IPS system to block a wide range of non educational web services that suck the life out of our internet bandwidth.

We only have a 20Mbps leased fiber channel for internet that we are doubling next month to 40Mbps which has to support 1800 computers, 3100 students and 350 staff. It's not a lot of pipe for that many users and I am always looking for a way to lighten the load. After some brainstorming I thought, what about building a YouTube like intranet site to host all of our videos? We have many free video sources and pay subscription services that we can legally download but streaming them through the day eats a big part of our internet bandwidth. My line of thinking was if I could get teachers to download these videos that they use for their lessons outside of school hours then upload them to our servers it would save a considerable amount of bandwidth throughout the school year.

Where to begin? I had no idea how I was going to pull this off. I started off trying drupal addons, joomla addons, kaltura, clipbucket, and a couple other scripts I had found but none of them were even close to a finished product. After spending two weeks on various software and platforms with install problems, dependency issues, bugs and lack of features, I was just about to give up. Then, after more research I found a free script called PHPmotion and it was exactly what I was looking for. A near YouTube clone that was easy to use, professional looking, and supported many audio and video formats.

PHPmotion was highly recommended to run off of Linux as many users had problems with trying to get it to work on Windows server. I decided my best bet was to load up Ubuntu server 12.04 as the Ubuntu distro has the best documentation of any Linux distro on the net. I ran this off of a 3 year old server that was retired sitting on the shelf. It was suitable for the project because it had 1.3 TB of storage, 4 gigs of ram and 64-bit Xeon processors. It took me a solid week of slow downloads off repositories, fixing some minor bugs, installing undocumented dependencies and unexpected issues with PHPmotion. After all of that work I finally had a finished product where I did some customization to some of the menu options, removal of social buttons and disabled commenting. I was able to tweak my video settings on the site to convert uploaded videos to 480p to save on storage space and edited some of the logos to fit our school district.

I plan on creating a tutorial or guide of how I accomplished this to give to other school districts. I will be posting the guide on this blog as well as giving a presentation on this concept at our state's school technical conference where other tech directors will be able to see what I have built and whether or not they can use it in their districts.

Other Benefits? Teachers will benefit from having a centralized place on campus to put videos plus they can easily share videos with other teachers who may be teaching a similar lesson. It will eliminate slow loading videos and buffering issues as well. The only thing that could be an issue in the future is video portal becoming very popular in the district and we begin having storage issues. Then we may have to look had buying a larger server or sans to support all of the videos.

What do you think? Could you use a intranet video portal for your company or campus?