TechSpot

Installing Required Software Components Prior to Exchange Server 2010 Setup.

2012-02-20T12:22:00.000+05:30

In order to prepare a Windows Server 2008 R2 for Microsoft Exchange 2010 installation, you have to install several components. Most of the components are available in the server itself in the form of Roles, Features, and Role Services.

You can use PowerShell to instantly add all the required components on the Server. But few of the components needs to be Downloaded from Microsoft websites and installed.

Components need to be downloaded and installed:

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1).
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Family Update for Windows Vista x64, and Windows Server 2008 x64 updates.
Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 2.0
Windows PowerShell V2 (If you are using Windows Server 2008 R2, this will be installed by default.)

Components need to be added from Roles and Features:

There are several component to be added including IIS services. But it depends on the roles installed. You can use below PowerShell command to add necessary components for a typical Exchange Server 2010 installation with three roles, Hub Transport, Client Access and Mailbox.

Open PowerShell using elevated account.

Load Server Manager module using command:

Import-Module Servermanager

Copy paste below commands and hit enter:

Add-WindowsFeature Net-Framework,RSAT-ADDS,Web-Server,Web-Basic-Auth,Web-Windows-Auth,Web-Metabase,Web-Net-Ext,Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console,WAS-Process-Model,RSAT-Web-Server,Web-ISAPI-Ext,Web-Digest-Auth,Web-Dyn-Compression,RPC-Over-HTTP-Proxy,NET-HTTP-Activation

This will start adding each Roles, Features and Role Services listed there. Once installation finishes, you can find the output and check if all the components were added successfully:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PS C:\Windows\system32> Add-WindowsFeature Net-Framework,RSAT-ADDS,Web-Server,Web-Basic-Auth,Web-Windows-Auth,Web-Metaba
se,Web-Net-Ext,Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console,WAS-Process-Model,RSAT-Web-Server,Web-ISAPI-Ext,Web-Digest-Auth,Web-Dyn-Compression
,RPC-Over-HTTP-Proxy,NET-HTTP-Activation
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Web Server (IIS) Tools. You must restart this
server to finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] IIS Management Console. You must restart this server to finish
the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility. You must restart this server to
finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Logging Tools. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Request Monitor. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Tracing. You must restart this server to finish the installation
process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Client Certificate Mapping Authentication. You must restart this
server to finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Static Content Compression. You must restart this server to
finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Digest Authentication. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Basic Authentication. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Dynamic Content Compression. You must restart this server to
finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Windows Authentication. You must restart this server to finish
the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] HTTP Logging. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] HTTP Redirection. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] HTTP Errors. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Default Document. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] ISAPI Extensions. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Static Content. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Directory Browsing. You must restart this server to finish the
installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Server for NIS Tools. You must restart this
server to finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] AD DS Snap-Ins and Command-Line Tools. You must
restart this server to finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell.
You must restart this server to finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] IIS 6 Management Console. You must restart this server to finish
the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Active Directory Administrative Center. You
must restart this server to finish the installation process.
WARNING: [Installation] Succeeded: [RPC over HTTP Proxy] RPC over HTTP Proxy. You must restart this server to finish
the installation process.

Success Restart Needed Exit Code Feature Result
------- -------------- --------- --------------
True Yes Succes... {Web Server (IIS) Tools, IIS Management Co...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Restarting the system is mandatory at this point to proceed further with the Exchange Server 2010 deployment.

When you are deploying Exchange Server in GUI mode, you can select the option to add required roles and features at the time of installation, as seen in the below screenshot:

Also, find out more checklists while preparing a network for Exchange Server 2010 deployment here.

Installing Exchange Server 2010; Required Group Memberships

2012-02-20T11:45:00.000+05:30

Microsoft Exchange Server setup process will create wide spread impact on the domain and the forest. It will modify the security settings and event expand the Schema. Thus, only people with highly elevated group membership can install and configure Exchange Server 2010 on a Domain.

To install Exchange Server, you must be a member of below groups:

Enterprise Administrators

Schema Administrators

Domain Administrators.

Check Lists for Installing Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

2012-02-18T16:00:00.001+05:30

You have to consider hardware, domain and software compatibility of your environment before deploying Exchange Server 2010. I have just installed Exchange Server 2010 in my test environment. below is the Check lists I prepared before installing Microsoft Exchange Server 2010.

Hardware Checklists:

A server machine with x64 architecture

Minimum 4GB RAM for a single role. If all the roles areinstalled in a same server, minimum 10 GB of RAM is required. The requirement of Main memory will increasedepends on the number of mailboxes configured.

(The above configuration is regarding a productionenvironment. I have installed Exchange Server 2010 all roles on a VM with 1 GBRAM!)

1.2 GB hard disk size to contain Exchange Server files.

All the hard disk which is hosting files related to ExchangeServer should be set to NTFS format.

Domain EnvironmentChecklists:

An Active Directory Domain

A fresh installed Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard orEnterprise edition (Exchange Server 2010 can also be installed also on WindowsServer 2003 SP2)

Schema Master role must be running on Windows Server 2003Operating System or later(I am running Widows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controller).

Global Catalog Server must be on Windows Server 2003 SP1or later(My GC is on Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition)

Forest and Domain functional levels are recommended to beWindows Server 2008 or later.

Preparing the environment:

Prepare Schema:If you are installing a fresh Exchange Server environment, you have to runprepare schema. Run this command onDomain controller holding forest functional level:

Setup /PrepareSchema

Prepare ActiveDirectory: Run the below command on any Domain Controller in the Domain:

Setup /PrepareAD

Prepare Domain:You have to run this command in each Domain of the forest where you want todeploy the Exchange Server 2010 services:

Setup /PrepareDomain or Setup /PrepareAllDomains (This canbe used if Exchange is being deployed in all domains of the forest)

Software Checklists:

Below software, roles, role services or features need to beinstalled on the server where you are going to deploy Exchange 2010:

Microsoft .Net Frame work 3.5 with SP1

WinRM 2.0

Windows Powershell v2 (available by default on WindowsServer 2008 R2)

2007 Office System Converter Microsoft Filter Pack.

While installing Exchange Server 2010 in GUI mode, it willlist the missing components and you can straight away install all requiredcomponents before deploying Exchange 2010.

A full screenshot of installation will be followed in mynext post.

Verifying Forest and Domain Functional Levels of Windows Server 2008 Based Domain Environment

2012-02-15T19:18:00.001+05:30

I am going to install Exchange Server 2010 on my Windows Server 2008 R2 based test domain. While setting up the environment for Exchange Server 2010 installation, we have to ensure that the Forest and Domain functional levels of Active Directory is set up properly to support Exchange Server. For successful deployment of Exchange Server 2010 the environment should meet minimum functional level below:

Forest: Windows Server 2003 functional level or higher.

Domain: Windows Server 2003 functional level or higher.

This is how do we verify current functional levels of Forest and Domain:

1. Open ADUC (Active Directory Users and Computers)

2. Right click on the Domain name.

3. Click on 'Properties'

4. Check the functional levels listed in the property window. In this example all functional levels are set to the highest, ie. Windows Server 2008 R2.

Its also possible to find out the functional level using command line.

Open CMD as elevated user and run below command:

Dsquery * CN=Partitions,CN=Configuration,DC=TRAINING,DC=com -scope base -attr msDS-Behavior-Version

note: Change 'TRAINING' to your domain name.

In this example the output which I got is:

 msDS-Behavior-Version
 4

Here is how to verify functional level based on the output number you have got:

Forest:

0 or not set=mixed forest functional level

1=Windows Server 2003 interim forest functional level

2=Windows Server 2003 forest functional level

3=Windows Server 2008 forest functional level

4= Windows Server 2008 R2 forest functional level

Domain:

0 or not set=mixed domain functional level

1=Windows Server 2003 domain functional level

2=Windows Server 2003 domain functional level

3=Windows Server 2008 domain functional level

4=Windows Server 2008 R2 domain functional level

How to Add a Computer to Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain?

2012-02-14T17:15:00.000+05:30

This post is for newbies, for the people who are learning Windows Server and Active Directory administration. Follow below steps for adding a computer or a member server to Windows Server 2008 Active Directory based domain.

1. Go to Run and type 'NCPA.CPL' and launchNetwork settings.

2. Configure IP address, Subnet Mask, Gateway IP(if any) and DNS IP address.

3. Ensure connectivity by pining to DNS server / DomainController.

4. Right click on 'Computer' and click on properties. Click on 'Change Settings'.

5. Click on 'Change' button at System Properties.

6. Select 'Domain' and provide domain name. Inthis example its 'training'.

7. Click OK and provide user name and password ofDomain Admin or any other authorizeduser name.

8. Reboot the computer to enable the changes.

I have made a demo video of this using the above steps. Watch the video and follow the steps to add computer to a domain.

If your are getting any errors while adding the computer to domain, there seems to be connection issues with Domain Controller. Go to the AD server and check if it is functioning properly. Also check the DNS IP configuration at the client computer. It should be pointing to the correct AD / DNS server.

If any error while adding computer to domain, please let me know through the below comment column, I will try to answer.

How to Recover if I Forgot Windows Server 2008 Administrator Password?

2012-02-13T19:26:00.000+05:30

You might have forgot your Winodows Server 2008 Administrator password. When you lost the password, and still you will be able to log into the system if you have some other user accounts with Administrators privilege. But when you have only one account and you lost its password, its difficult.

But you can try the below method to recreate Administrator password of Windows Server 2008. But remember, no guarantee. But just try, if it works let me know through the comment.

Follow the steps below:

Insert Windows Server 2008 CD or load the image.
Boot to a Windows installation disk
Press enter to install windows now
Accept license
Start a repair
When you see the Installing Devices bar in the bottom left, press SHIFT + F10 to get a CMD prompt
At the CMD prompt type: "control userpasswords2" and in the password window set to no password required
Finish the repair
Then login as administrator with blank password.

Active Directory: How to Protect All Organizational Units from Accidental Deletion Using PowerShell?

2012-02-13T12:18:00.000+05:30

Windows Server 2008 Active Directory comprises of lot manynew features and functionalists. You can protect Active Directory OUs fromaccidental deletion. This can be done at the time of creation of OU. Thisoption will be active by default.

But if you want to protect the OU from accidental deletionlater time, use Active Directory Administrative Center and locate your OU. Take the properties of the particular OU from the right pane and check the option asseen in the below picture:

But if you have a bunch of OU that need to be protected, itcan be done using this PowerShell script.

Firstly, Open Active Directory Module for WindowsPowerShell.

And run the below script to view list of OU that are notprotected from accidental deletion.

Get-ADOrganizationalUnit-filter * -Properties ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion | where{$_.ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion -eq $false} | ft

The scriptwill generate a list similar to what you see in below screenshot:

Once youhave detemined the number OU to be protected, run the below script. This willprotect all the OU in the domain from accidental deletion.

Get-ADOrganizationalUnit-filter * -Properties ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion | where{$_.ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion -eq $false} | Set-ADOrganizationalUnit-ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion $true

Now, use below script to check the status of the OUs:

Get-ADOrganizationalUnit-filter * -Properties ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion | where{$_.ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion} | ft

And see theoutput in the screenshot below:

As you seein the above screenshot, status will be ‘True’, that means all the OU areprotected from accidental deletion.

Installing and Configuring Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008 R2

2012-02-05T12:52:00.000+05:30

In Windows Server 2008, Active Directory is designed based on Identity and Access (IDA) technology. IDA comprises of 5 Active Directory technologies. Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) is one of those technologies which works as a central repository of Active Directory objects across the organization, and supports authentication of resources throughout the network.

In this post, I would like to explain you step by step method of installing and configuring Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Caution: This example is intended to use in a home or test environment. Please do not execute this in a production environment because this installation makes high level administrative changes in the network.

Prerequisites for installing AD DS:

We are going to install AD DS in a new and fresh environment, where we are creating new forest and domain with a single domain controller. Make sure you go through below preparation steps:

1. A Fresh installation of Windows Server 2008 R2.

2. An NTFS partition with enough free space.

3. Network card and Network connectivity (If you are doing this exercise in VMWare Virtual machine, select Host only network)

4. IP Address configuration with Subnet Mask, Gateway, DNS Server etc.

For This particular example, we can use below configuration:

IP Adress: 10.10.10.1

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway: Not required

Preferred DNS Server:10.10.10.1

Alternate DNS Server: Not required

5. DNS Server ( We can install DNS service along with AD DS and make this domain control as a DNS server as well, note the Preferred DNS server IP, it is same IP address of the Domain Controller)

6. A Windows Server 2008 R2 CD or ISO file.

Once all the prerequisite are met, we can start with the installation of AD DS.

1. Go to RUN and type 'dcpromo'. Windows will start installing AD DS binaries. Active Directory installation snap in will be launched once the AD DS binaries are installed.

2. At the welcome window, select 'Advanced mode installation' and click next.

3. Now, you will see the Operating System compatibility page, where it explains the improved security features of Windows Server 2008 and disability of co-existing with Windows NT domain. Click Next.

4. Deployment Configuration page is very important, which determines if we are going to install the domain controller in an existing forest or creating a new domain in a new forest. In this example we are creating a fresh environment from scratch. Hences, select 'Create a new domain in a new forest' and click Next button.

5. In this window, we have to provide fully qualified domain name for our new organization. In this example we can give training.com. Now click Next, and Windows will verify if the domain name already exist in the environment.

6. Domain NetBIOS Name will be same as the domain name, 'TRAINING'. NetBIOS name helps earlier Windows version to identify the domain controller for authentication.

7. This option allows you to set Forest Funtional Level of the organization. Forest functional level has high significance in a complex domain environment where lowest funcitonal level ensures backward compatibility with legacy domain controllers with limited Windows Server 2008 features while highest functional level (Windows Server 2008 R2) ensures all the features of Windows Server 2008 with limited backward compatibly. In this example, we can select Windows Server 2008 R2 because we don't have any existing legacy domain controllers. Click Next.

8. In the Additional Domain Controller Options, we should select DNS Server as there is no other DNS server already configured, and as discussed earlier, we are going to make this Domain Controller a DNS server as well. The 'Gloabal Catalog' role will already be checked because the first domain controller in the forest must be a GC. You cannot check RODC because this is a first domain controller in the forest. Only a secondary Domain Controller in the domain can be configured as RODC. Check DNS Server and click Next.

9. You will get a warning message related to DNS configuration, stating that there is no existing DNS Server. Click Yes to continue.

10. In this window, you can decide the location of Active Directory Database, Log and SYSVOL folder location. In a production environment these files should be stored in a faster and redundant disk group. In this example, leave the default location and click Next.

11. On the Directory Services Restore Mode Admin Password Window, provide a new password twice. This password is used for Advanced recovery option of Active Directory which can be launched through Safe Mode. Once the password is configured, click Next.

12. In this Windows, you can see the summary of the configuration and inputs you have provided. Please review the details and click Next.

13. Now, you server will start installation of Active Directory. You can Check Reboot on Completion, because reboot is mandatory to complete the configuration.

14. Once AD DS installation completion window appears, click Finish and restart your server.

Once Server is up, you can see the domain name and log in option. A Domain Controller will not show local computer name in log in option, by confirming this, you can ensure that AD DS is successfully installed.

To find out additional option to check successful installation of AD DS click HERE.

An Introduction to Microsoft Windows Server 8

2012-01-07T23:49:00.000+05:30

Microsoft has recently announced new version of Server Operating System from its Windows Server family. It will be the successor of Microsoft Windows Server 2008. A developer preview was released during Microsoft BUILD conference last year. The upcoming version of Windows Server family is expected to offer features such as complete virtualization platform, increased scalability and cost efficiency etc.

Below is a blog post from Bill Laing, Corporate Vice President, Server and Cloud, on Windows Server 8 published in Technet blog:

Today at the Microsoft BUILD conference I had the pleasure of introducing the developer preview of the next release of Windows Server codenamed Windows Server 8, now available on MSDN. In a room full of software developers and hardware partners I got to share some of our thinking behind the design of Windows Server 8 to help them prepare their new and existing applications, systems, and devices for the new release. Now, on this blog, I want to share that same thinking more broadly with a series of posts from me and members of my team.

Let me start with a reminder that this is a developer preview version, the purpose of which is to enable our development team to engage with the industry as we progress toward final release. This developer preview is not for deployments in enterprise environments. However we do welcome feedback from IT professionals doing early evaluations, and I would like to thank many of you for your help in getting us to this point. So far we have surveyed over 26,000 customers, had more than 200 customer meetings and documented over 6000 customer requirements during the course of planning and development.

As the person who leads Windows Server and Windows Azure engineering, I have had the experience of building and operating a cloud platform. We have been able to apply many of our insights from Windows Azure to Windows Server 8, enabling us to deliver world class cloud capabilities to enterprises of all sizes. Windows Server 8 will be a big leap forward, especially in terms of helping IT organizations progress beyond virtualization to build private cloud services. We innovated and worked with the industry on virtualizing network and storage infrastructures for multitenant support. Our goal is to give customers the choice and flexibility to build and deploy applications across their choice of private and public cloud environments, or a combination of both.

Another big area of focus is on manageability and serviceability of cloud infrastructure without service down time. For example, one of the most common customer comments we have heard is that patching and updating servers is a costly and error prone process. We are delivering new technologies, such as “cluster aware updating,” and the ability to script workflows with Powershell to make it an easier and repeatable process to patch multiple servers while maintaining continuous service availability.

Continuous availability of services typically requires expensive hardware infrastructure, but not every IT organization can afford the necessary hardware. So, with Windows Server 8 we are delivering high availability and disaster recovery at a much better price point, using software technologies and commodity networking, storage and servers. For example, we are giving customers access to high-end storage capabilities that before required specialized hardware, such as device pooling, disk virtualization, and thin provisioning, in Windows Server 8. To evaluate how development is progressing I have a server in my office with 10 disk drives ranging in size from .5 to 3 terabytes. I find it very easy and quick to pool the disk drives, create volumes, and have them available for service within minutes using the new built in tools.

This is just a taste of what’s coming in Windows Server 8. There is much, much more to discuss over the coming weeks and months, so I’ve asked some of our engineering leaders to write posts on this blog to further explain some of the hundreds of new features. Be on the lookout for those posts in the coming weeks and months. We look forward to engaging with you on the new technologies in Windows Server 8.

Atheros AR8152 PCI-E Fast Ethernet Controller; Device Driver Issues and Fix.

2012-01-06T16:58:00.000+05:30

This post will help you to download latest driver for Atheros AR8152 PCI-E Fast Ethernet. My Dell laptop encountered a Network problem due to incompatible version of built in Atheros Network Adapter. Default driver which was shipped with the Dell laptop is not working with Windows 7 Operating System.

If you are facing similar problem, you can compare the version of driver that you have installed with the latest version available in the vendor website. You can determine the driver version using Device Manager console. More details are in this link.

If the version of driver you have installed is incompatible, you will see a yellow exclamation mark in the Device Manager, as seen in the below picture.

Sometimes you wont be able to update driver directly through the driver update wizard. You may get the below error message:

"Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device

Windows found driver software for your device but encountered an error while attempting to install it.

This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)"

In this case, try to download and install latest version of device driver.Click here to download.

If this version does not work, open Vendor website and search for latest driver version. (Atheros is now subsidiary of Qualcomm)

How to Find Device Driver Version Using DEVMGMT.MSC?

2012-01-02T10:41:00.000+05:30

Keeping latest version of device drivers is recommented for all devices for improved performance and better compatibility with the operating system. It is possible to download latest version of device drivers from the vendor website and upgrade exisitng driver software. Here in this post, let me explain you how to check and compare device driver version.

For instance, let us check the version of current Graphic Display driver software.
Go to Run and type 'DEVMGMT.MSC'
This will launch device manger as seen in the below picture.

Now, right click on Intel HD Graphics and open the properties.
Note down the driver release date and driver version as indicated in the below pucture.

Now, open the Intel website and search for latest version of Intel HD graphics Driver.
Compare the version of available driver with the one that you have already installed. If latest version is available, you can download and upgrade the driver software.

How to Map Network Drive Using Commandline?

2011-12-25T16:33:00.000+05:30

This post explains how to map a network drive to your local computer using DOS command prompt. This command will be useful in case you have to map several network drives as a batch job. We can use 'NET USE' command for this purpose.

Go to run and type CMD

Now type below command:

net use z: \\server4\docs

Here Z: will be the drive letter being added to your computer. If you Z: drive is already there in your computer, just replace this with some other letter.

SERVER4 is the network computer name or filer name.

DOCS is the shared folder name that will be available under Z: drive.

If you want the network drive to be disconnected during the next reboot of the server, you can use PERSISTENT (P) switch. See below example:

net use z: \\server4\docs /P:NO

NET USE command can also be used for disconnecting a network drive. Below is an example:

net use Z: /DELETE

Replace Z: with your drive letter of the mapped drive that you wish to remove.

Note: I will be back with more posts related to Windows Server and tips and tricks. Until then, happy holidays and new year!

How to Enable PowerShell on Windows Server 2008 Server Core Edition?

2011-12-23T06:27:00.000+05:30

You will not be able to run Powershell on a freshly installed Windows Server 2008 Core Operating System. But this option can be enabled through command line. This post explains how to enable Powershell on Windows Server 2008 Server Core.

Method to enable Powershell

Step 1 - Type "powershell" at the command prompt to find out if PowerShell is enabled or not. If PowerShell is enabled it will route you to the PS root directory. If PowerShell is not installed/enabled then Windows will not recognized this command.
PowerShell is not enabled on this machine so our next step will be to enable it.

Step 2 - Run the "sconfig.cmd" command on your command prompt and press enter. Once you will press enter, it will open all of the options of system configuration. The "sconfig.cmd" command is the Server Configuration Tool to configure and manage several common aspects of the Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core installation. You must be a member of the Administrators group to use the tool.

Step 3 - Once you have pressed "4" then press enter to see all of the options under the "Configure Remote Management" interface.

Step 4 - After you type "2" and press enter, the PowerShell configuration will start and the configuration process starts.

Step 5 - Once PowerShell has been successfully enabled, a separate command prompt screen will be pop-up and closed after the process reaches 100% completion. This is the deployment of features using the Dism.exe (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) tool. DISM enumerates, installs, uninstalls, configures and updates the features and packages in Windows images.

Step 6 - After all of the processes have completed, a restart window will appear and ask you to restart the machine in order for all of the changes to be committed. Click the "Yes" button to restart the machine.

Step 7 - Once the has been rebooted, type "powershell" on the command prompt. This time it will take few seconds to load then route you to a PS command prompt. You can run the "Get-Host" cmdlet to check the PowerShell version.
Source: mssqltips.com

Some Useful Guidelines for Safe Online Shopping

2011-11-24T07:59:00.001+05:30

With the Internet now being at nearly everyone’s hands, online shopping has become an easy way to browse online ads for new and used items. And most major companies allow you to search their merchandise online and purchase whatever you choose. The great part about online shopping is that you can search classifieds in India all the way from Brazil to find real estate for a retirement or vacation home or search around for the best deal on new and used cars. And while the internet has made this easier, it has also provided some hurdles as well.

Consider that over two billion people in the world use the internet. And with everything good comes something bad. Identity theft is a real issue that can affect any one of those two billion Internet users. How can you protect yourself when shopping online?

First of all, most sites allow you to browse ads or products for free without even having a user name or password. If the site is a trusted site (encoded by https:// and a lock at the bottom of the screen), then and only then is it safe to give a name. But even then, be discriminatory when giving out your name and address. Once your information is on the web, it’s out there for any hacker to take, and they live off this easy bait.

Second, never store your personal information on the database. The site may look professional and have a good privacy policy, but that does not insure that the site will never be hacked. Storing your credit card information online only makes it easier for hackers to steal. Save yourself the hassle and enter your password, address, and account information on your own.

Lastly and most importantly, it is a better idea to use your credit card instead of your debit card. More credit card companies have a better fraud insurance where if your identity is stolen, you are more likely to get all or most of the money back. However, once someone gets a hold of your debit card number, they can wipe out your account in a matter of seconds without getting anything back. To be even safer, use gift cards not attached to any account.

When searching through ads for apartments and cars, never send personal information over email. For large purchases, such as cars and real estate, it is always best to search through the adverts and call the retailer personally if possible. Be certain that whoever you are talking to is an actual employee with actual merchandise to sell. But never give out your account information, personal identification number, address or anything important.

Online shopping can be easy since the world is at your fingertips without having to get dressed for the day. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a risk that you take when you buy products online. Not all sites are secure and not all retailers can be trusted. Protect yourself.

MCSE 70-291 Exam Simulation; Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure [Video]

2011-11-18T22:33:00.001+05:30

MCSE is still a much sought-after certification among Windows IT professionals. I am re-posting a video I have made few years back, which will be helpful for those who are preparing to appear for MCSE exam paper 70-291 - Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure. This video contains three simulation questions and its answers demonstrated.

Wireless Networks: Difference between 802.11b and 802.11g

2011-11-17T08:17:00.001+05:30

You mighthave seen these numbers while connecting your laptop to your WiFi device.802.11 is the IEEE standard given for Wireless Local Arean Networks or WLAN. Today, WiFi devices are abundant in householdsand offices. But there are various WiFi bands based on its speed and frequency.This post explains basic difference between two WiFi network standards, 802.11band 802.11g.

802.11b

IEEE expanded on the original 802.11 standard in July 1999,creating the 802.11b specification. 802.11b supports bandwidth up to 11 Mbps,comparable to traditional Ethernet.

802.11b uses the same unregulated radio signalling frequency(2.4 GHz) as the original 802.11 standard. Vendors often prefer using thesefrequencies to lower their production costs. Being unregulated, 802.11b gearcan incur interference from microwave ovens, cordless phones, and otherappliances using the same 2.4 GHz range. However, by installing 802.11b gear areasonable distance from other appliances, interference can easily be avoided.

Pros - lowest cost; signal range is good and not easilyobstructed.

Cons - slowestmaximum speed; home appliances may interfere on the unregulated frequency band.

802.11g

The IEEE's 802.11g standard is designed as ahigher-bandwidth - 54M bit/sec - successor to the popular 802.11b, or Wi-Fistandard, which tops out at 11M bit/sec. An 802.11g access point will support802.11b and 802.11g clients. Similarly, a laptop with an 802.11g card will beable to access existing 802.11b access points as well as new 802.11g accesspoints.

This is applies to wireless LANs and is used for transmission over short distances at up to 54-Mbps in the 2.4 GHz bands.

Pros - fast maximumspeed; signal range is good and not easily obstructed.

Cons - costs more than 802.11b; appliances may interfere onthe unregulated signal frequency.

How to Add a Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Account in HTC Android Phone?

2011-11-13T17:52:00.001+05:30

This post explains how to add your office Exchange mail box in your HTC phone with Android Operating System. Using this step by step method, you canconfigure Exchange mail box in HTC Desire, HTC Wildfire or other Androidmodels. You can only add one Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync account on yourphone. You can sync with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2(SP2),Exchange Server 2007 or Exchange Server 2010.

From the Home screen, tap the Arrow icon
Scroll down and select Mail icon.
Do one of the following:

If this is your first time to add an email account in Mail, tap Exchange ActiveSync on the Choose a mail provider screen.
If you’ve already added an email account in Mail, tap at the top of the screen, and then tap new account. If the Choose a mail provider screen is displayed, tap Exchange ActiveSync.

Enter the Exchange ActiveSync account details. Options and its description are listed below:

Email address: Add your full organizational email address. Example: firstname.lastname@yourcompanyname.com
Server Address: Add the Exchange server name where your mail box located. You can contact your IT support helpdesk to get Exchange server name.
Domain: Give the domain name here. Usually it will be your company name.
Username: Add the user name that you use to login to your office system.
Password: Provide the password which you are using with above user name.

Select 'This server requires an encrypted SSL connection' option.

Now click Next

Your corporate Exchange Server must support auto-detect for the phone to automatically set up the Exchange ActiveSync account. If your corporate Exchange Server does not support auto-detect, you will need to enter your Exchange Server settings after you tap Next. Ask your Exchange Server administrator for details.

Select the types of information you want to synchronize, and then tap Finish setup.

Error While Resuming Suspended VM Guest; VMWare Workstation Unrecoverable Error: (vmx) Exception 0xc0000006 (disk error while paging) has Occurred.

2011-11-01T12:04:00.000+05:30

IssueDescription: VMWare virtual machine is throwing error while resuming suspended virtualmachine. This is basically related to disc error occurred while paging. A logfile can be found at Virtual Machine location with the name ‘vmware.log’.

Here is thescreenshot of the error message:

Log file islocated at ‘H:\winsrv2\vmware.log’ . Below are the excerpts from log file:

2011-11-01T10:57:25.034+05:30| vmx| I120:backtrace[12] frame 0x0021fd60 IP 0x13f1634e7 params 0 0 0 0 ??? [C:\ProgramFiles (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\x64\vmware-vmx.exe base 0x13f1600000x0001:0x000024e7]

2011-11-01T10:57:25.034+05:30| vmx| I120:backtrace[13] frame 0x0021fe10 IP 0x13f1611de params 0 0 0 0 ??? [C:\ProgramFiles (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\x64\vmware-vmx.exe base 0x13f1600000x0001:0x000001de]

2011-11-01T10:57:25.040+05:30| vmx| I120:backtrace[14] frame 0x0021fe18 IP 0x7770f33d params 0 0 0 0 BaseThreadInitThunk+ 0x000d [C:\Windows\system32\kernel32.dll base 0x776f0000 0x0001:0x0001e33d]

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120:backtrace[15] frame 0x0021fe48 IP 0x77bf2cc1 params 0 0 0 0x77789280RtlUserThreadStart + 0x0021 [C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll base 0x77bc00000x0001:0x00031cc1]

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120: Warning: thesystem was unable to load a page of memory; this can be caused by networkproblems or a failing hard disk drive.

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120: 

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120: Msg_Post:Error

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120:[msg.log.error.unrecoverable] VMware Workstation unrecoverable error: (vmx)

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120+ Exception0xc0000006 (disk error while paging) has occurred.

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120:[msg.panic.haveLog] A log file is available in"H:\WinSrv2\vmware.log".  

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120:[msg.panic.haveCore] A core file is available in"H:\WinSrv2\vmware-vmx-6940.dmp". 

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120:[msg.panic.requestSupport.withLogAndCore] You can request support and includethe contents of the log file and the core file. 

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120:[msg.panic.requestSupport.vmSupport.windowsOrLinux] 

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120+ To collectdata to submit to VMware support, choose "Collect Support Data" fromthe Help menu.

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120+ You can alsorun the "vm-support" script in the Workstation folder directly.

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120:[msg.panic.response] We will respond on the basis of your support entitlement.

2011-11-01T10:57:25.049+05:30| vmx| I120:----------------------------------------

Solution: This is an unrecoverableerror. Once you suspend a virtual machine, there won’t be an option to shutdown or restart the machine. Resuming is the only possible option.

But you can discardthe Virtual Machine state by deleting or renaming the *.vmss file - this is thevirtual equivalent of a power-outage in a real machine. You can find out locationof vmss file from the VMWare guest file location. For example:

H:\winsrv2\ WindowsServer 2003 Enterprise Edition-ca6f1a7e.vmss

Delete thefile as seen in the below screenshot:

Now try toboot up the virtual machine. But you will not be able to resume from thesuspended state, hence you will lose all the open data and applications.

Active Directory: Intrasite and Intersite Replication Interval

2011-10-26T12:08:00.001+05:30

There are two types of Active Directory replication based on site topology. Intrasite and Intersite replication. In intrasite replication, all the domain controllers inside the same site will replicate each other. In Intersite replication, Selected Domain controllers of two different sites will replicate during specified interval. Domain controller which is assigned for replication over the site is called Bridge Head Servers.

Interval for Intrasite Replication:
Intrasite replication occurs automatically on the basis of change notification. Intrasite replication begins when you make a directory update on a domain controller. By default, the source domain controller waits 15 seconds and then sends an update notification to its closest replication partner. If the source domain controller has more than one replication partner, subsequent notifications go out by default at 3 second intervals to each partner. After receiving notification of a change, a partner domain controller sends a directory update request to the source domain controller. The source domain controller responds to the request with a replication operation. The 3 second notification interval prevents the source domain controller from being overwhelmed with simultaneous update requests from its replication partners.

But for some of the directory updates, domain controllers will not wait for 15 seconds for replication. This situation is called Urgent Replication. Some of the directory updates such as assigning of account lockouts and changes in the account lockout policy, the domain password policy, or the password on a domain controller account etc. are example for Urgent Replication.

Interval for Intersite Replication:
Intersite replication occurs between replication partners in two different sites. Active Directory preserves bandwidth between sites by minimizing the frequency of replication and by allowing you to schedule the availability of site links for replication. By default, intersite replication across each site link occurs every 180 minutes that is 3 hours. You can modify this replication interval, and it can be brought down till 15 minutes. But its always recommended to keep the default interval because the intersite replication occurs between low speed WAN links, hence reducing the replication interval could cause high network traffic and latency.

This article is applied for Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 Active Directory.

How to download and install Windows Server 2003 Support Tools?

2011-10-10T12:33:00.001+05:30

As far as System Admins are concerned, Support Tools are very much helpful for day to day tasks and troubleshooting. SupTools contain command line utilities such as, REPADMIN, ADSIEDIT, NETDOM etc. This post explains how to download and install Support Tools.

DOWNLOAD Support Tools for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 32 bit edition.

DOWNLOAD Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 32-bit Support Tools

Windows Server 2003 Support Tools include below helpful utilities:

    Acldiag.exe
    Adsiedit.msc
    Bitsadmin.exe
    Dcdiag.exe
    Dfsutil.exe
    Dnslint.exe
    Dsacls.exe
    Iadstools.dll
    Ktpass.exe
    Ldp.exe
    Netdiag.exe
    Netdom.exe
    Ntfrsutl.exe
    Portqry.exe
    Repadmin.exe
    Replmon.exe
    Setspn.exe

How to find out FSMO handling Domain Controllers using NETDOM command?

2011-10-10T12:16:00.000+05:30

This post explains how to find out Domain Controllershandling FSMO roles using command line tool NETDOM. In Active Directory domainenvironment, particular Domain Controllers will be handling FSMO (FlexibleSingle Master Operations) or Operations Master roles. As I have explained in myearlier post, there are 5 FSMO roles handled by specific Domain Controllers inthe forest.

The five FSMO roles are:

Schema master – One per forest
Domain naming master – One per forest
RID master – One for each domain
PDC - One for each domain
Infrastructure master - One for each domain

You can read more about 5 FSMO categories here.

To start with NETDOM tools you have to install MicrosoftSupport Tools on your Windows Server 2003 Operating System. But NETDOM will beinstalled by default on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Read more details about installing Support Tools here.

Open command prompt and type below command:

netdom query /domain:YourDomain FSMO

Where, replace ‘YourDomain’ with your domain name. See an examplebelow:

C:\>netdomquery /domain:test FSMO

Schemaowner                srv1.test.com

Domain roleowner           srv1.test.com

PDCrole                    srv1.test.com

RID poolmanager            srv1.test.com

Infrastructureowner        srv1.test.com

The commandcompleted successfully.

In this example, my domain name is ‘TEST’, and I have onlyone Domain Controller 'srv1' in the forest, therefore all the 5 FSMO roles arehandled by a single Domain Controller.

iCloud; a brand new cloud computing service from Apple to use with Mac, iPhone and iPad.

2011-10-09T12:49:00.000+05:30

Apple announced the release of new iCloud cloud service on June 6, 2011 during Worldwide Developer Conference. Now, iCloud is all set to launch on 12th October 2011 along with Apple iOS 5 and iPhone 4s. iCloud is basically a successor of MobileMe, a subscription-based collection of online services and software, widely used with earlier Apple devices.

In simple terms, iCloud is a service in which documents are stored in remote Apple servers through Internet, can be accessed through multiple Apple devices such as iPhones, iPods, iPads, Mac OS Computers and even Microsoft Windows desktops.

Features of iCloud listed in Apple's webiste:

Photostreem

Take a photo on an iOS device or import a photo from your digital camera to your computer. iCloud automatically pushes a copy of that photo over any available Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection to the Photos app on your iOS devices, iPhoto or Aperture on your Mac, and the Pictures Library on your PC. You can even view your Photo Stream album on your Apple TV. So you can show off your shots to friends and family from whichever device you’re using at the time.

Documents in the Cloud

Apps make it possible to create amazing presentations, write reports, and more right on your iOS device. You don’t have to manage your documents in a complicated file system or remember to save your work. Your documents are just there, stored in your apps, and ready whenever you need them. And now your apps can store that information in iCloud. Which means you can access your documents — with your latest updates — on whichever device you happen to be using at the time. It all happens automatically, without any effort from you.

Applications

If you own multiple iOS devices, iCloud makes sure your apps are everywhere you want them. Download a new app on your iPhone, and it automatically appears on your iPad. You don’t have to worry about keeping your devices in sync because iCloud does it for you. Or say there’s an app you bought way back when that you wish you had on your new iPod touch. iCloud lets you see your past downloads in one convenient place: your purchase history on the App Store. Since you’ve already purchased these apps, you can download them again — at no additional charge — to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Calendar, Mail and Contacts in iCloud

Update your schedule in one place and see your changes everywhere. When you have multiple devices, iCloud updates them with your most recent appointments — saving you time for all the other things you have going on. You can also share calendars with other iCloud users. A datebook your whole family can add to. Or a team schedule that every player can access. As soon as someone adds or edits an event, iCloud updates it wirelessly on everyone’s devices.

When you set up iCloud, you get a free me.com email account. iCloud automatically pushes new email messages to all your devices, so your inbox is up to date everywhere you check it. And iCloud keeps all your folders in sync, no matter which device you’re using.

iCloud stores the web pages you’ve bookmarked, notes you’ve written, and reminders you’ve created. It’s all there, everywhere you go. So when it comes to your devices, you can switch things up without mixing things up.

iTunes in the Cloud

iCloud can automatically download new music purchases to all your devices over Wi-Fi — or over 3G if you choose. Which means you can buy a song from iTunes on your iPad at home, and find it waiting for you on your iPhone during your morning commute. All without having to sync.

How to change Metro-style lockscreen image of Windows 8 computer? [VIDEO]

2011-09-23T16:14:00.004+05:30

Windows 8 Developer Preview was launched last week, its loaded with plenty of new features, notably the lock screen. This screen is a part of Microsoft's Metro-style User Interface. Here you can customize the Windows 8 lock-screen by changing the default picture to your favorite outdoor photo.

Below is the default lock-screen image:

To change this picture:

1. just log into your account

2. Click on your user name on the top right of the window

3. Click on 'Change User tile'

4. Under 'Personalize' option, click on 'Lock Screen'

5. Now the screen will be listed with number of pictures

6. Click on the picture that you wish to display to your lock screen.

This video will help you to find out the options to Change lock screen picture, Restart or shutdown your Windows 8 computer.

How to Shutdown or Restart a Windows 8 Computer?

2011-09-22T20:31:00.000+05:30

Windows 8 is loaded with many exciting features. Even though its initial installation steps are almost similar to Windows 7, configuration steps has got many changes. Notably, your session can be configured for cloud applications using Windows Live ID. At the time of first log-in, we will experience a complete redesign of its GUI, the large icon view of Windows desktop is called Metro view. But if you are going to shutdown or restart a Windows 8 machine, it will be little bit difficult to find the option, because Microsoft has complete relocated the SHUTDOWN button.

Here I will just show you the option to shutdown or restart a Windows 8 machine.

1. If you are at the Metro screen, move your mouse pointer towards left bottom of the screen.
2. Now above top of the start button you can find Settings button, as seen in the below picture.

3. Click on the settings button.
4. Now a green pane will appear on the right side of the screen, as seen in the below picture

5. Click on the Power button there.

6. Now you will get a choice window, and you can click Shutdown or Restart as per your choice!

Also, watch this video which shows how to shutdown or restart a Windows 8 computer.

Configuring Virtual Machine for Windows 8 BETA on VMWare Workstation 8

2011-09-19T11:22:00.001+05:30

Windows 8 Developer preview cannot be installed on earlier VMWare version. You should download latest VMWare make, VMWare Workstation 8 to support Windows 8. We have discussed how to download and install VMWare 8 in another post. In this post, I will show you how to configure a VMWare virtual machine capable of Windows 8.

Make sure that you have already downloaded and installed VMWare Workstation 8 and downloaded Windows 8 Developer Preview ISO. More instructions to download Windows 8 is HERE.

Go through the hardware requirements to load Windows 8. Windows 8 will work on the same hardware configuration which powers Windows 7.

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch
To run Metro style Apps, you need a screen resolution of 1024 X 768 or greater

Below video is a short tutorial on how to configure a Windows 8 capable Virtual Machine on VMWare Workstation 8.

Once you have configured Virtual Machine, the settings should look as shown in the picture below:

More instructions on how to install Windows 8 on VMWare workstation 8 is in this post.