CTX: Optimization (Tweaks and Tune) of Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server 4.0

DABCC Methodology in a Box 4.0 for Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 'How to Tweaks and Tune Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server 4.0 Section'
http://www.dabcc.com/forumcontent.aspx?sectionid=18

VMWARE: Reduce (o Shrink) a Virtual Disk

Shrinking a virtual disk reclaims unused space in the virtual disk. If there is empty space in the disk, this process reduces the amount of space the virtual disk occupies on the host drive.
Shrinking a virtual disk is a convenient way to convert a virtual disk to the format supported by Workstation. Virtual disks created in the new format can be recognized only by VMware Workstation 3.0 and higher. If you allocated all the space for your virtual disk at the time you created it, you cannot shrink it.

To shrink a virtual disk:
1. Launch the control panel. Double-click the VMware Tools icon in the system tray, or choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, then double-click VMware Tools.
2. Click the Shrink tab.
3. Select the virtual disks you want to shrink, then click Prepare to Shrink.
4. Click Yes when VMware Tools finishes wiping the selected disk partitions. Shrinking disks may take considerable time.
5. Click OK to finish.

More info: http://www.vmware.com/support/ws5/doc/ws_disk_shrink.html

MS: Test the SMTP Service in Exchange Using Telnet

You can use TELNET to test your SMTP service. SMTP uses port number 25, so in order to use telnet to open an SMTP session with the Exchange server we use the command:

TELNET localhost 25

If the connection is successful, we should see a banner and a command line interface:

220 mailtest.local Microsoft ESMTP MAIL Service, Version: 6.0.3790.1830 ready at Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:03:43 +0100
helo
250 mailtest.local Hello [127.0.0.1]
mail from: admin@mailtest.local
250 2.1.0 admin@mailtest.local....Sender OK
rcpt to: guillermo@mailtest.local
250 2.1.5 guillermo@mailtest.local
data
354 Start mail input; end with .
subject: test
This is a test
.
250 2.6.0 <CAMMSVRMMFRaqbC8wSA00000002@mailtest.local>Queued mail for delivery
quit
221 2.0.0 cammdomain.dev
Service closing transmission channel
Connection to host lost.

MS: Change A Computer's SID or Regenerate SID

Demand from the Windows community has lead several companies to develop programs that can change a computer's SID after a system has been cloned.
Microsoft only support images that are prepared using SysPrep. SysPrep is a great tool but if you need only to change the SID of computer, it will take a lot of time and requieres the CD KEY.
However, Symantec's SID Changer and Symantec's Ghost Walker are only sold as part of each company's high-end product. Further, they both run from a DOS command prompt (Altiris' Changer is similar to NewSID).
NewSID is a program developed by Sysinternals (now partthat changes a computer's SID. It is free and is a Win32 program, meaning that it can easily be run on systems that have been previously cloned. NewSID works on Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows .NET Server.

You can download NewSID from:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Utilities/NewSid.mspx

MS: How to switch from one installation type (Internet Mail Only or Corporate) to another in Outlook 2000

In Microsoft Outlook 2000, the Internet E-mail Information Service stores information that allows you to log on to your Internet Mail Server and by which initiates the log on process. Outlook provides this service during a typical setup scenario.
The Internet E-mail service is designed for those users who have installed Outlook with the Corporate or Workgroup (CW) setup option and also need to use other e-mail services, such as cc:Mail, or Exchange Server mail on the same computer. If you only use an Internet Service Provider's POP3 e-mail server and no other type of e-mail account then you should use Outlook with the Internet Mail Only (IMO) setup option.
To switch from CW to IMO on the Outlook Tools menu, click Options. Under the Mail Delivery tab, click the "Reconfigure Mail Support..." button.
More Info: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/195500/en-us

CTX: Troubleshooting and Debugging Citrix Servers

Troubleshooting tools for Citrix environments
The document is divided into two sections: Citrix Tools and Third Party Tools. Many of the tools listed are installed during either the Windows or Citrix installations.
http://www.citrixthings.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=9

Using the Microsoft Debug Diagnostics Tool to Create Dump Files
The Debug Diagnostics Tool (a subset of Microsoft’s IIS Diagnostics toolset) can be used to capture dumps from Windows or Citrix services or processes.
This tool can be used as an alternative to Dr.Watson, NTSD, ADPlus, and WinDBG (see a list of Citrix and Microsoft articles on these tools below) to generate dumps that can help Citrix Technical Support correctly identify the cause of a hanging service or a process/server crash.
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX108889

MS: Setting Up Fault Tolerant Terminal License Servers

One activated license server can serve many terminal servers and Terminal Server users simultaneously. In large implementations of Terminal Services, you might want to deploy at least two licensing servers for fault tolerance. Terminal Server Licensing is not cluster-aware. However, you can improve fault tolerance for the license server by deploying two license servers per domain.

Choose two host servers for licensing and install all licenses on one license server; do not install any licenses on the backup server. The full server functions as the primary license server and can service all license requests. If the primary license server becomes unavailable, the backup license server can issue 90-day temporary license tokens to clients that need them. When the primary license server is back online, it replaces the temporary license tokens the next time the clients connect.

You can configure a Terminal Server to use a specific license server via the Terminal Server’s registry. Be careful though, because this registry edit is not like most others. In this case, rather than specifying a new registry value and then entering data, you have to create a new registry key (or “folder”). To do this, browse to the following registry location:

HKLM\SYSTEM\ControlSet\Services\TermService\Parameters\

Add a new key called “LicenseServers.” Underneath the new LicenseServers key, create another key with the NetBIOS name of the license server that you want this Terminal Server to use. You don’t need to add any values or data under this new key.

Add multiple keys for multiple servers if you wish, although the Terminal Server will only communicate with one license server at a time. Once you’re done, reboot the server for it to take affect.

More info: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/279561 and
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/library/b6c02871-7bef-4e26-9aab-48730511c1261033.mspx

MS: Microsoft Root Certificate Program Members

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931125

You will find more info about SSL certificate here: http://www.ssl.com

CERTIFICATION: Microsoft Test 70-447 passed!

Today I passed the Microsoft Test 70-447: UPGRADE: MCDBA Skills to MCITP Database Administrator by Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and I got the Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional (MCITP): Database Administrator certification.The MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-444): Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Administration Solution Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005, MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-443): Designing a Database Server Infrastructure Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005
and MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-431): Microsoft SQL Server 2005—Implementation and Maintenance books, lab practice, some Microsoft e-Learning Courses was enough to pass this test (Some lucky, common sense and patience is required too ... is a very, very long exam... two in one)

Exam Statistics:

10 Citrix Exams
04 Citrix Certifications
22 Microsoft Exams
11 Microsoft Certifications

More Info: http://www.musumeci.com.ar/Web_English/certificaciones_eng.htm

Download Acrobat Reader v8.0

To download the Adobe Reader version that you would like to distribute, please visit the following URL:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html?type=distrib