Adnan Rafik = Adnan Rafique

It is very simple but it is not unless you don’t know. First time I had no idea how and where to do it until I spoke to TMG MVP Richard Hicks. Before getting in contact with him I’ve made a number of calls to Celestix and our reseller J

So how to do it?
What you have to do it Enter the AGREEMENT NUMBER (7 digit numbers starting with V as for volume. Don’t enter V – digits only) under License Details as shown below.

Once you are done here then set the dates as per your Microsoft license agreement.

 Apply it- Cheers:)

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lately I’ve added a new Windows Server 2003 R2 in the existing AD environment and successfully transferred the FSMO to this new server. The transfer went very fine and resolved many AD related issues and event viewer looks very good with no errors.

Here are the resources if you wish to do the same,

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/324801?p=1

http://www.anitkb.com/search/label/Active%20Directory

and the best resource is

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/categories

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If you ask me then I’d No ! – Google Sucks. Yes it does.

It may work for you – but for me it was a pain. I’ve moved the email system from Exchange 2007 to Google and since then I end supporting the users issues. Issue like

email is going to the junk folder
email is delaying for hours
calendar are not syncing
calendar sharing is not an easy task
it doesn’t work with mobile phone except Android and iPhone. It was nightmare for me to make it work on Windows Mobile.
User interface is not good or user friendly.

I must say Google Apps (the email) is good for those who are only looking for email but if you are looking for communication and collaboration then you must think twice.

For me I’m going back to Windows Email Messaging System.

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With the New Year, comes a new Community Virtualization Deep Dive Day.  This year, we have what looks like will be the best lineup ever.  In addition, we will be simulcasting part of the event to other locations across the country so people in other locations can enjoy the show! 

More details can be found on the Deep Dive Day Landing Page.   In a nutshell it is an all day virtualization event being held in Waltham MA on Friday Feb 12, 2010.  We have Panopto lined up to simulcast one of the five tracks to the New York City Microsoft Offices as well as other locations across the country.   Many of the sessions will be recorded and made available for online viewing after the show. 

When: Friday Feburary 12, 2010

Where:   http://deepdive2010.eventbrite.com

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Greetings,

We have most of the details ironed out about the Virtualization Deep Dive Day on Feb 12.  I think I have mentioned it to all of you.  I wanted to write to get commitment from you on your level of interest in participation.   At the very least, I would love for you to promote the event.  If possible, I would very much appreciate any assistance you could provide on the day of the event.  In a nutshell it is an all day virtualization event being held in Waltham MA.  We have Panopto lined up to simulcast to the web and would like to  have one track of the event presented at the NYC Microsoft Office on the day of the event.  There will be an opportunity for attendees in NYC to ask questions of the presenters and we hope to also have one or two subject matter experts onsite in NYC.  Edwin Woo will be the owner of the NYC part of the event.  We have reserved the MPR rooms (Belvedere & Bethesda Terrace Conference Room) which seats 75 people. We have at least one Microsoft person on cue to support the event.  I would be looking for you guys to do what you do best…

Help coordinate things on the ground in NYC and drive attendance.  Details of the event can be found at www.virtg.com/deepdive2010  All groups that participate at any level (even just promoting it to their users) will be listed on the website as sponsors.  Those that help with coordination will be eligible for profit sharing from the event.  We will handle registration on our end.  We have already lined up sponsors and speakers so it will be pretty easy on your part.  If you want to line up additional local sponsors/speakers, you are welcome to do that.

There will be a very small fee for attendees.  I think it will be $10 early bird and $15 after that.  We am arranging to get some Swag to you guys so at the end of the day when we do Swag handout’s you will do the same at your event.  All of the funds you bring in for the entry fee will go to the NYC groups that actively participate in the event. We will also be offering an online option after the event so people can attend virtually if they cannot make it the day of the event.  The online option will be $15.  If Live attendees want to also have access to the online content they can get a ticket for only $10.  All of these details and more will be documented once the registration site goes up next week.  All content will be streamed from Waltham MA.  If you have a speaker locally that you would rather cover the content (or change the content) that is fine with us.  We do have agreements with some vendors so there may be one or two sessions that we will not be able to change.  The NYC Schedule currently looks like the following:

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You’re invited to an evening of conversation, inspiration and dinner! Join us to mix and mingle with others working in technology. Dinner, dessert, wine and beverages will be served. We’ll culminate the evening raffling off not just 3, but 15 great prizes. The first 50 people to purchase tickets online will receive a gift bag from Microsoft.

Subject & Speakers:
Bonnie Halper, Founder of StartupOneStop.com
Sara Chipps, Freelance Developer, GirlDeveloper.com
Peter Laudati, Developer Evangelist, Microsoft
Melek Pulatkonak, President & COO of Hakia.com

Click here for more – http://www.ggdnyc.com/?page_id=14

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TechNet Events Presents:

TechNet Unleashed: The Microsoft Virtualization Tour

Join our TechNet IT Evangelists as they hit the road again this fall to bring you the highlights of Microsoft’s great virtualization solutions. We’ll go from the desktop to the enterprise, starting with VHD native boot – a new feature for Windows® 7 and Windows Server® 2008 R2. Next, we’ll move into Windows XP mode, Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V™, and finish with System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM).

AGENDA

VHD Native Boot

We’ll kick off the afternoon by exploring VHD Native Boot, which is a new feature for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. VHD Native Boot can be used as the running operating system on designated hardware – without a parent operating system, virtual machine, or hypervisor. This is one of the best virtualization features to date for technology professionals of every kind – from enterprise to small and medium-size business pros and consultants.

Windows XP Mode

With Windows XP Mode, it’s easy to install and run multiple Windows XP productivity applications directly from your Windows 7-based PC. Do you have application compatibility issues? Windows XP Mode can ease those compatibility headaches, because it gives you the best of both worlds. You can easily run older Windows XP business software – including web applications that require an old version of Internet Explorer® – while taking advantage of the many benefits of your Windows 7 desktop. This is a can’t-miss session for IT pros who juggle both new and established software and web applications.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V

It’s time to focus on enterprise with an overview of Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V. In this session, we’ll look at how to create virtual machines in Hyper-V and demonstrate how the snapshot feature can easily revert the virtual machine to a previous state. You’ll come away from this session with a sold understanding of all the capabilities and new features in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V.

System Center Virtual Machine Manager

Finally, no virtualization discussion is complete without a conversation about management. When it comes to managing virtual infrastructures, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (SCVMM) is the best of the best. This member of the System Center family of system management products provides a straightforward, cost-effective solution for unified management of physical and virtual machines.

Reservations are required and space is limited, so register today to save your seat.

For more information or to register, visit: www.technetevents.com

OR CALL   1-877-MSEVENT  1-877-MSEVENT

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I’ve come across two issues lately

1-      How do I sort the folders by size, since this feature is not available in windows, so there you go and it is free..wow
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Folder-Size-Explorer-Extension-Download-20671.html

2-      How-to find the duplicate files on your desktop or on the server

Bing  for Windows Search 4.0 , that’s it

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II’ve come across a situation where we need to configure the RAID O (mirror) on HP ML 110 G5. This server comes with a onboard SATA RAID Controller. The OS is SBS Server 2008. RAID was configured using HP utility but after you boot the system with OS media it doesn’t recognize any volume where it can write the files or make partition.   I tried using the HP Smart Array but it gave the error that this ACU (Array Controller Utility) doesn’t support this array and you better install the OS using the Windows media. So what is the solution then?

Then I just end up doing the manual installation of the RAID Controller driver and got it fix. It did work for me and am sure it will work for you as well.

Resource

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=3577715&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=3577708&swLang=8&taskId=135&swEnvOID=1005#113214

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While I’ve been going through the documentation of Windows Server 2008 R2 I’ve come across few geeky stuff  which you (systems admins) must know. I’m so excited about few of the enhancements.  I’ve compiled them in the form of tips.

Tip#1
Read-Only Domain Controllers
A read-only domain controller (RODC) is a new type of domain controller in the Windows Server® 2008 operating system. With an RODC, organizations can easily deploy a domain controller in locations where physical security cannot be guaranteed. An RODC hosts read-only partitions of the Active Directory® Domain Services (AD DS) database.

 Tip#2
Fine-grained password policies

You can use fine-grained password policies to specify multiple password policies within a single domain. You can use fine-grained password policies to apply different restrictions for password and account lockout policies to different sets of users in a domain.

For example, you can apply stricter settings to privileged accounts and less strict settings to the accounts of other users. In other cases, you might want to apply a special password policy for accounts whose passwords are synchronized with other data sources.

 Tip#3
Restartable Active Directory Domain Services
Administrators can stop and restart Active Directory® Domain Services (AD DS) in the Windows Server® 2008 operating system by using Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins or the command line.

Restartable AD DS reduces the time that is required to perform certain operations. AD DS can be stopped so that updates can be applied to a domain controller; also, administrators can stop AD DS to perform tasks such as offline defragmentation of the Active Directory database, without restarting the domain controller. Other services that are running on the server and that do not depend on AD DS to function, such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), remain available to satisfy client requests while AD DS is stopped.

Tip#4
Active Directory Recycle Bin
Information technology (IT) professionals can use Active Directory Recycle Bin to undo an accidental deletion of an Active Directory object. Accidental object deletion causes business downtime. Deleted users cannot log on or access corporate resources. This is the number one cause of Active Directory recovery scenarios. Active Directory Recycle Bin works for both AD DS and Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) objects. This feature is enabled in AD DS at the Windows Server 2008 R2 forest functional level. For AD LDS, all replicas must be running in a new “application mode.”

Tip#5
Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell and Windows PowerShell™ cmdlets
The Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell provides command-line scripting for administrative, configuration, and diagnostic tasks, with a consistent vocabulary and syntax. It provides predictable discovery and flexible output formatting. You can easily pipe cmdlets to build complex operations. The Active Directory module enables end-to-end manageability with Exchange Server, Group Policy, and other services.

Tip#6
Active Directory Administrative Center
The Active Directory Administrative Center has a task-oriented administration model, with support for larger datasets. The Active Directory Administrative Center can help increase the productivity of IT professionals by providing a scalable, task-oriented user experience for managing AD DS. In the past, the lack of a task-oriented user interface (UI) could make certain activities, such as resetting user passwords, more difficult than they had to be. The Active Directory Administrative Center enumerates and organizes the activities that you perform when you manage a system. These activities may be maintenance tasks, such as backup; event-driven tasks, such as adding a user; or diagnostic tasks that you perform to correct system failures.

Tip#7
Active Directory Best Practices Analyzer
The Active Directory Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) identifies deviations from best practices to help IT professionals better manage their Active Directory deployments. BPA uses Windows PowerShell cmdlets to gather run-time data. It analyzes Active Directory settings that can cause unexpected behavior. It then makes Active Directory configuration recommendations in the context of your deployment. The Active Directory BPA is available in Server Manager

Tip#9
Active Directory Web Services
Active Directory Web Services (ADWS) provides a Web service interface to Active Directory domains and AD LDS instances, including snapshots, that are running on the same Windows Server 2008 R2 server as ADWS

Tip#10
Authentication mechanism assurance
Authentication mechanism assurance makes it possible for applications to control resource access based on authentication strength and method. Administrators can map various properties, including authentication type and authentication strength, to an identity. Based on information that is obtained during authentication, these identities are added to Kerberos tickets for use by applications. This feature is enabled at the Windows Server 2008 R2domain functional level.
Resource – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754718(WS.10).aspx

cheers:)

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