MS: Third-Party Solutions for SMS

Web Sites:

MyITForum is the premier online destination for IT professionals responsible for managing their corporations’ Microsoft Windows systems; it is especially useful for IT professionals working with Microsoft Systems Management Server. (http://www.myitforum.com)

FAQshop endeavors to provide a “one-stop-shop” for systems management questions, answers, and utilities. (http://www.faqshop.com)

SMS Alliance is a consortium of companies that leverage joint resources to strengthen the capabilities and benefits of SMS. Their mission is to provide organizations with the best-of-breed solutions and services to enhance and extend SMS 2003. (http://www.sms-alliance.com)

1E is one of the founding members of the SMS Alliance, 1E is a company on the cutting edge of systems management. It enhances and extends Microsoft management and deployment technologies, delivering advanced automation and reporting across the enterprise. (www.1e.com)

Macrovision Corporation, another founding member of the SMS Alliance, Macrovision Corporation is a recognized leader in software deployment packaging, software installation, and software updating solutions. They offer one of the best software packaging tools with AdminStudio.
(http://www.macrovision.com/)

PS’SOFT, as a founding member of the SMS Alliance, offers extenders for SMS 2003 that focus on IT asset management. They offer a web-based software cataloging system called SMS Software Requests. (www.pssoft.com)

Vintela, another founding member of the SMS Alliance, Vintela offers a seamless solution to extend security and compliance of Microsoft Active Directory to Unix, Linux, and other platforms and applications. They offer solutions that help IT administrators manage Unix, Linux, and MAC systems using SMS 2003. Vintela is now part of Quest Software. (www.vintela.com)

iAnywhere, the last founding member of the SMS Alliance, iAnywhere offers frontline security and management to SMS and provides extensions to manage your enterprise’s mobile and wireless devices through SMS. (www.iAnywhere.com)

AppDeploy is the Internet resource to go to when you need to script or repackage an application for distribution. Among other points of interest at the site is a massive library of applications, sorted by application name and vendor name. For each application listed, you’ll find a community-based thread discussing the best practices, links, scripts, and challenges met/overcome with working with the application in regard to installation scripting/repackaging.(http://www.appdeploy.com/)

DesktopEngineer is perhaps one of the best resources in the Windows Installer arena. This site offers a wealth of information on Windows Installer technology, techniques, and troubleshooting tips. I have noticed that he is starting to increase the content related to Microsoft’s upcoming PowerShell scripting language. (http://www.desktopengineer.com/)

Tools

SMSView is a utility that is used to extend the functionality of the Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 advanced client. SMSView allows you to perform the following actions on an SMS advanced client: All nonadmin users to view current mandatory assignments and advertisement status, View advertisement history (past 60 days), View current mandatory assignments, Rerun advertisements, Remote operations (remotely view and manage the SMS client), Display hardware/software inventory status, Display management point/proxy management point, Repair the SMS advanced client. (http://www.smsview.com/)

SMS 2003 Monster MOF is a MOF file that contains several new classes of MOF that will improve SMShardware inventory capabilities. The Monster MOF will enhance inventory data without requiring intimate knowledge of the SMS_DEF.MOF file. (www.smsexpert.com)

SMS 2003 Web Remote Tools assist SMS administrators and allow client administration from a web page. (http://www.myitforum.com/articles/19/view.asp?id=8662)

Corey Becht’s Right-Click Tools is one of the best set of tools for all SMS administrators. This tool allows you to right click on any collection or individual PC within the SMS Administrator console and initiate hardware inventory, reassign the site code, restart the SMS Agent Host service, rerun advertisements without modifying the advertisement, perform discovery, initiate software inventory, create file collections, monitor software metering usage, refresh machine policies, evaluate policies, update Windows installer sources,change port number, and change cache size.These tools can run per computer resource or for all the members of a collection.(www.myitforum.com/articles/8/view.asp?id=7099)

Microsoft SMS Toolkit 2: Microsoft released a very nice set of tools for SMS called the SMS Toolkit version 2 . It contains the following tools: IIS Lockdown 2.1 Template, URLScan 2.5 Template, Policy Spy, SMS Trace, Advanced Client and Management Point Cleaner, Advanced Client Spy, Policy Verifier, Send Schedule, Management Point Spy, Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP, Delete Certificate, Patch Management Evaluation, Delete Group Class, Transfer SMS ID, Package Loader, Management Point Troubleshooter, Client Site Assignment Verifier, Site Boundary Tool, Create Secondary Site Tool, Create SMS Address Tool.(www.microsoft.com/smserver/downloads/2003/tools/toolkit.mspx)

Security Logon Audit Tool (SLAT) extends SMS hardware inventory to include user logon information.This data can be used in web reports and queries. The tool includes the following samplereports: Top users for all systems, User logon information for a specific computer, Systems where the last logged-on user is not the top user, Systems where a specific user has logged on SLAT searches the security event log for the 528 event, which is created when user logon events occur and is enabled via Group Policy. (http://www.systemcentertools)

Enhanced System and User Discovery Tools, out of the box, SMS 2003 does a pretty good job of discovering systems from Active Directory. It’s not perfect, though—there are a few gaps in its methods. The Enhanced System Discovery tool, assists in filling these gaps. Out of the box, SMS 2003 does not perform Windows NT 4 domain discovery. This tool solves that by enumerating all machines from a list of NT 4 domains, resolving their IP addresses from DNS or WINS, and creating data discovery records for each system. (http://www.systemcentertools/)

BITS Bandwidth Manager is an SMS Installer script that lets you throttle BITS bandwidthon Windows XP SP2 systems. You do not need to manually adjust any settings. The script takes care of the Registry key manipulation for you.(http://www.myitforum.com/inc/upload/11332BITSManager.zip)

1E SMSWakeUp: this WOL product is able to turn on computers after they have been shut down by users. The wake cycle can be triggered on a regular schedule to power up systems in preparation for the workday, or to perform software deployment activities. (http://www.1e.com/)

1E NightWatchman: Since we are talking about waking systems that have been shut down, it maybe a good practice to examine how best to shut down those systems in the first place. Why dowe want to shut down systems? We do this to enforce reboot cycles and to save energy costs. (http://www.1e.com/)

1E SMSNomad Branch: Some offices may not have the server hardware to allow for a Distribution Point (DP). But those offices may have a substantial number of users and/or be separated from the rest of the network by a low-speed or saturated WAN link, which you would rather not send multiple copies of a package across. SMSNomad Branch acts similar to a peer-to-peer network, allowing other computers to become DPs. If one machine is shutdown, another is selected as the DP. Included in this technology is multicast, increasing its efficiency to reduce network traffic on the local network segment. (http://www.1e.com/)

1E OSD Plus Pack: This is an enhancement to the SMS OSD Feature Pack. It allows you to leverage the SMS OSD Feature Pack in offices that do not have DPs. OSD Plus Pack offers similar functionality to SMSNomad Branch, but also has a few other applications bundledwith it: State Migration Editor, which is an interface for the User State Migration Tool, AppMigrator, which allows the automatic reinstallation of applications after OS imaging, PXE Lite, which is a local PXE server to allow deployment of OS images to bare-metalmachines booted from the network PXE server. (http://www.1e.com/)

SMS Companion 2006: This product provides WOL capabilities, similar to 1E’s SMSWakeUp, but leverages slightly different technologies behind the scenes. A key difference is that SMS Companion puts systems in hibernation, rather than powering them off. The following are some of the key applications included with this product:Wake-on-Schedule: Allows clients to come out of a hibernation state. Service Windows: Allows you to restrict the SMS inventory and software distributions from happening during specific time periods, to reduce or eliminate user interruptions. Load Balancing: Allows you to reduce peak network and SMS server loading by making sure that the clients use these resources in a controlled manner. (http://www.smsexpert.com/)

Quest Management Xtensions for SMS: Since Windows platforms are not the only systems in an enterprise, you may need a way tomanage other platforms, such as Unix, Linux, and Mac OS X. These management extensions offer that capability for SMS 2003. One of the unique aspects of this product is its support route: first-level support is handled by Microsoft Product Support Services. (http://www.quest.com/quest-management-xtensions-for-sms)

MS: Redirect Desktop or Favorites to a Different Disk or Folder

Sometimes you need to keep your desktop or your favorites in a different disk partition or folder, in my case for backup purposes.

You will need to modify two registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

MS: Exchange 2003 Change Password in OWA

Implementing the Change Password feature with Outlook Web Access
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/297121

VMware: Install Windows Vista x86 on ESX Server 3.0

1) Create a new VM with at least 512 MB of RAM and a 16 GB Hard Disk.
2) Copy the IMG/ISO of Windows Vista and the Floppy drive image to the ESX host using Veeam FastSCP, or insert the DVD and a Floppy with the driver into the ESX host.
3) Connect the IMG/ISO file to the Windows Vista VM. Make sure the "Connected" is selected.
4) Power on the Windows Vista VM.
5) Vista install starts and then stops at a point where it can't find the CD/DVD driver. A pop-up with "Load Driver" as the title appears indicating that a required device driver at this point.
6) Connect the Floppy drive image (and ensure "Connected" is selected).
7) After ESX has attached the floppy drive, click on "Rescan".
8) Continue the Setup of Windows Vista.
9) Remove the floppy image from the VM or uncheck "Connected".

Download the Floppy Image with the CD-ROM Driver from http://sti.epfl.ch/intranet/informatique/virtualisation/drivers-vista-rtm-esx.flp.zip

VMware: Veeam FastSCP for ESX Transfer Timeout

Cannot transfer or edit files on ESX. Transfer timeout. No data transferred in the last 20 seconds.
To fix this problem please check whether the EMC AAM Client is opened for outgoing connections. It should be open to get FastSCP 2.0 work.
(You can enable it through the VI client: Configuration->Security Profile->Properties)

VMware: Exchange Server 2003 Performance on VMware ESX Server 3

This paper discusses the performance and scalability of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 when deployed within virtual machines running under VMware ESX Server 3.01.

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/Virtualizing_Exchange2003.pdf

VMware: VMware Converter Runtime Error

When you run the VMware Converter v3.0.1 you get this error:

Create the C:\TEMP directory, and then correct Enviroment Variables for the current username and System Variables (Control Panel, System, Advanced,Enviroment Variables)

VMware: SSH Access to ESX Server 3.0

Direct root user ssh connections are disabled by default in fresh installations of VMware ESX 3.0 (VI3). Two options:

1) The recommended way to access the system is to ssh to the server as a non-root user and then use the su command to switch to the root account; this leaves an audit trail for accountability purposes.

2) An alternative way to allow root access is to configure ssh to allow the root user to log in.

Edit the ssh configuration file:

* vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
* Find PermitRootLogin and change to yes (use ESC, then Insert)
* Save the changes (ESC then :wq!)
* Restart the ssh daemon: service sshd restart

3) You can download Veeam RootAccess Wizard from http://www.veeam.com
Veeam RootAccess Wizard helps you to enable or disable remote root access, or create a regular non-root user account. The newly created non-root user will belong to the default ‘users’ group and will be automatically granted remote ssh access. Su or sudo commands can then be used to elevate to the root account for privileged operations.

MS Windows Licensing for 3rd Party Virtualization Platforms

Licensing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 to Run with Virtualization Technologies (VMware ESX Server, VMware VMotion, SWsoft Virtuozzo, and Microsoft System Center Virtualization Machine Manager)
http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/a/a/7aa89a8b-bf4d-446b-a50c-c9b00024df33/Windows_Server_2003_R2.docx

Microsoft Virtualization Solutions:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualization/default.mspx

Licensing Microsoft Server Products with Virtual Machine Technologies (Brief):
http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/8/9/68964284-864d-4a6d-aed9-f2c1f8f23e14/virtualization_brief.doc

Licensing Microsoft Server Products with Virtual Machine Technologies (White Paper):
http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/8/9/68964284-864d-4a6d-aed9-f2c1f8f23e14/virtualization_whitepaper.doc

Multicore and Hyperthreading Processor Licensing:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/1/e/f1ecd771-cf97-4d98-9a1b-b86e3f24e08f/multicore_hyperthread_brief.doc

Step-up Licenses:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/6/9/a69a4aa0-717a-4f73-bbcd-9d7451fddbbc/stepup_license_v4.doc

Volume Licensing Glossary:
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/glossary.mspx

Volume Licensing Product Use Rights:
http://www.microsoftvolumelicensing.com/userights/PUR.aspx

Script: Detect VirusScan Installed in a Remote Machine

@echo off
rem * Change MachineName Here *
set machinename=192.168.1.100

rem * Change UsernmeName Here *
set username=Administrator

rem * Change Password Here *
set Password=Passw0rd

net use \\%MachineName%\C$ %Password% /USER:%Username%
psservice \\%machinename% query mcshield findstr /i "mcshield"
if not errorlevel 1 goto Installed

echo ** Virusscan NO installed **
goto VSEnd

:Installed
echo ** Virusscan 8.0 installed **
Goto VSEnd

:VSEnd

Remove HP Universal Print Monitor

To remove the HP Universal Print Monitor you'll want to go into the registry and delete the following entries:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\CONTROL\MONITORS

HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\CONTROL\Print\MONITORS\HP Universal Printing PCL5

HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\CONTROL\Print\MONITORS\HP Universal Print Monitor"

You can delete this key using this command in a script:

reg delete "HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\CONTROL\Print\MONITORS\HP Universal Print Monitor" /f

MS: Exchange 2007 IMAP4 Client Access Configuration

1. Set MSExchangeIMAP4 service to automatic
Set-service msExchangeIMAP4 -startuptype automatic

2.Configure IP Address and Port for IMAP4

a.To set the IP address and port for communicating with Exchange using IMAP4 with SSL, run the following command:
Set-IMAPSettings -SSLBindings: IPaddress:Port

b.To set the IP address and port for communicating with Exchange using IMAP4 with no encryption or Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption:
Set-IMAPSettings -UnencryptedOrTLSBindings IPaddress:Port

3.Configure IMAP4 Authentication - IMAP4 (143) /IMAP4 SSL (993)

a.If you will not be using TLS encryption and you want to allow Basic authentication on an unsecured port, run the following command:
Set-IMAPSettings -LoginType PlainTextLogin

b.If you will not be using TLS, but you want to restrict Basic authentication to use only secured ports, run the following command:
Set-IMAPSettings -LoginType PlainTextAuthentication

c.If you want to use TLS encryption before authentication, run the following command:
Set-IMAPSettings -LoginType SecureLogin

4.Enable IMAP4 Protocol for the User Mailbox (Enabled by default)
Set-CasMailbox MailboxName -IMAPenabled:$true ($false disables the protocol for the specified user)

5.Configure the SMTP Receive Connector on the Exchange Server to Allow Anonymous in order to send Email using the following command:
Set-ReceiveConnector "Servername\default Servername" -PermissionGroups “ExchangeServers,ExchangeUsers,ExchangeLegacyServers,AnonymousUsers"

6.Restart the Microsoft Exchange IMAP4
ServiceRestart-service MSExchangeIMAP4

7. Check the status of the Microsoft Exchange IMAP4
ServiceGet-Service MSExchangeIMAP4

8.Dump the IMAP4 configuration
Get-IMAPSettings

Note: Remember do not use the Administrator account to test IMAP4, IMAP, SMTP.

MS: Exchange 2007 POP3 Client Access Configuration

1. Set MSExchangePOP3 service to automatic
Set-service msExchangePOP3 -startuptype automatic

2.Configure IP Address and Port for POP3

a.To set the IP address and port for communicating with Exchange using POP3 with SSL, run the following command:
Set-PopSettings -SSLBindings: IPaddress:Port

b.To set the IP address and port for communicating with Exchange using POP3 with no encryption or Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption:
Set-PopSettings -UnencryptedOrTLSBindings IPaddress:Port

3.Configure POP3 Authentication - POP3 (110) /POP3 SSL (995)

a.If you will not be using TLS encryption and you want to allow Basic authentication on an unsecured port, run the following command:
Set-PopSettings -LoginType PlainTextLogin

b.If you will not be using TLS, but you want to restrict Basic authentication to use only secured ports, run the following command:
Set-PopSettings -LoginType PlainTextAuthentication

c.If you want to use TLS encryption before authentication, run the following command:
Set-PoPSettings -LoginType SecureLogin

4.Enable POP3 Protocol for the User Mailbox (Enabled by default)
Set-CasMailbox MailboxName -Popenabled:$true ($false disables the protocol for the specified user)

5.Configure the SMTP Receive Connector on the Exchange Server to Allow Anonymous in order to send Email using the following command:
Set-ReceiveConnector "Servername\default Servername" -PermissionGroups “ExchangeServers,ExchangeUsers,ExchangeLegacyServers,AnonymousUsers"

6.Restart the Microsoft Exchange POP3 Service
Restart-service MSExchangepop3

7. Check the status of the Microsoft Exchange POP3 Service
Get-Service MSExchangepop3

8.Dump the POP3 configuration
Get-PopSettings

Note: Remember do not use the Administrator account to test POP3, IMAP, SMTP.

MS: Terminal Server Printer Redirection Wizard Tool

This tool will help resolve Terminal Server Printer Redirection errors by scanning the event log of a Terminal Server or Citrix server to create a custom mapping file for administrators.

The Terminal Server Printer Driver Redirection Wizard will help you troubleshoot and replace print drivers that were unsuccessfully redirected. This tool automates the process found in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article KB239088 entitled “Windows 2000 Terminal Services Server Logs Events 1111, 1105, and 1006”. http://support.microsoft.com/?id=239088

This tool will scan a server’s System Event Log and detect all events with Event ID 1111 and Source ‘TermServDevices.’ These events occur when a client machine has a printer driver that the Terminal Server does not recognize.

You can download the tool here

CTX: Event 39 - The CDM redirector has timed out a request to SessionID XX

Event Type: ErrorEvent
Source: CdmEvent
Category: NoneEvent
ID: 39
Date: 03/07/2007
Time: 5:07:34
User: N/A
Computer: SERVER
Description: The CDM redirector has timed out a request to SessionID XX.

This can happen when an application is attempting to access a client device during a disconnect. Check Citrix Server Administration when you see this event appear.
The best way to determine what client device is causing this issue is to turn off client device mapping (client drive, client COM ports, client printers).
Enable them one at a time and monitor the client's logon process.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdm\Parameters

Increase the settings for the following:

RequestTimeout: Default is 60 (seconds)
DirCacheTimeout: Default is 30 (seconds)
CacheTimeout: Default is 60 (seconds)

Incresea these timeout x 2 or x3 (registry example)

--- Start Registry File ---

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdm\Parameters]
"CacheTimeout"=dword:000000b4
"DirCacheTimeout"=dword:0000005a
"RequestTimeout"=dword:000000b4

--- End Registry File ---

VMware: Changing the IP Address of Service Console in ESX 3.x

To change the IP address of the ESX 3.x host, you need to change the configuration of the vswif. By default this is vswif0 and this is assumed in this document.
Login to the service console with root permissions, either by using root or doing a su - to get the permissions.

Once in the service console run the command "esxcfg-vswif -d vswif0". This command deletes the existing vswif0. Don't worry if you get a message about nothing to flush.

Then you need to run the command to change the ip address, subnet mask and broadcast address. They are also specified in that order when the command is given. An example command is below.
"esxcfg-vswif -a vswif0 -p Service\ Console -i 192.168.100.10 -n 255.255.255.0 -b 192.168.100.1"
In this command the -a switch is to add a vswif, the \ in the Service\ Console is deliberate, the -i is the ip address, the -n is the netmask and the -b is the broadcast address.

You now need to change your default gateway, you can do this by editing the network file located at /etc/sysconfig/network. To do this at the command prompt, follow the steps below.
"cd /etc/sysconfig", then "vi network"
Then while in vi, go to the location of the default gateway using the arrow keys. Hit "i" which will perform an insert and change the default gateway to your liking.
(Optional: yo can edit the host name too).
Hit the escape key twice to exit insert mode.type ":wq!" to write (i.e save) and quit.
At this point you can run some commands to restart the vmware management, but I prefer to restart the server and will recommend you do that. Once the server comes up there are a few things that still need to be done for management in virtualcenter.

Open a remote console to your virtualcenter server, do a ping to make sure the ESX host is pingable after the IP change. Make sure you are seeing the new IP address and it is assumed you have already changed that in DNS. If you are seeing the host correctly, open virtualcenter and disconnect then reconnect the host.

Once the host is connected in virtualcenter we need to change a few bits of configuration information, namely the vmkernel ip address, subnet and gateway. This is so we can vmotion correctly. Click on your host and bring up the configuration tab. Select networking and then properties on the vitual switch.

Select your vmkernel and hit the edit button. Change your ip address here for vmotion and subnet mask. You will not be able to change the default gateway until you hit ok and go back in. Once you have selected ok, then hit edit again on the vmkernel. Select the edit button on the default gateway and change the default gateway on the menu that appears. Select ok, ok again and then close.

Please note all the commands in this document should be used without the "".

CTX: OKI Printers Supported in Citrix

Compatibility with Presentation Server 3.0/4.0
http://www.okidata.com/mkt/html/nf/PS_CitrixPresentationServer.html

MS: Windows Server compatibility list

The new Windows Server Catalog of Tested Products is designed to be the complete reference for products that have been tested for Windows Server compatibility.

http://www.windowsservercatalog.com

CTX: HP Printers Supported in Citrix

HP Printers Supported in Citrix Presentation Server Environments
http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX110571

MS: Exchange 2003 ports

For Exchange Communication:
Port 80 for HTTP
Port 691 for Link State Algorithm routing protocol

For Active Directory communication:
Port 389 for LDAP (TCP and UDP)
Port 3268 for Global Catalog Server LDAP (TCP)
Port 88 for Kerberos Authentication (TCP and UDP)

For DNS communication:
Port 53 for DNS (TCP and UDP)

For RPC communication:
Port 135 – RPC endpoint mapper (TCP)
Ports 1024 and higher for RPC services

If you are using IPSec between Frontend- and Backend Servers you have to open:
Port 500 for IKE (UDP)
Port 51 for Authentication Header (AH)
Port 50 for Encapsulation Protocol (ESP)

Rules for firewall

DNS
SMTP
CIFS (Both)
FE/BE Link State Routing (691)
LDAP
LDAP (GC)
LDAP (UDP)
NTP
Ping
Kerberos Sec (TCP)
Kerberos Sec (UDP)
Kerberos Adm (UDP)
RPC (All)
HTTP Exchange Link State Routing (TCP691)
RPC over HTTP Information Store (TCP6001)
RPC over HTTP DSReferral (TCP6002)
RPC over HTTP DSProxy (TCP6004)

Client Access protocols:

HTTP
HTTPS
POP3
POP3 Secure
IMAP
IMAP Secure
SMTP
SMTP Secure

CERTIFICATION: Citrix Test 1Y0-306 passed!

Today I passed the Citrix Test 1Y0-306: Citrix Access Gateway 4.2 Advanced Edition: Administration and I got the Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix Access Gateway 4.0 certification.This is a very, very easy exam, the official course material is enough (plus some experience, the Administrator Manual I have +5 years using Citrix :)
If you don't have the appliance you can install on VMware, check this post

Exam Statistics:

13 Citrix Exams
06 Citrix Certifications
24 Microsoft Exams
15 Microsoft Certifications
05 VMware Certifications
11 VMware Exams

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

MS: How to Reset or Change Microsoft Office 2007 License Key

How to Reset or Change Microsoft Office 2007 Product License Key or Volume License Key (VLK)

Close all Microsoft Office programs.

Locate the following subkey in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration

Inside, you will find another subkey that resembles the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration\{30120000-0011-0000-0000-0000000FF1CE}

Optional: Backup this registry branch by exporting the Registration subkey to a file, just in case the new product key does not work and you have to restore back the old product key.

Under the Registration subkey, there may be several GUID subkeys that contain a combination of alphanumeric characters. Each GUID is specific to a program that is installed on your computer. If you find additional subkeys that reference Microsoft 12.0 registration, then click and open each GUID subkey to view and identify the Office product version by the ProductName registry entry in the right pane.

For example: ProductName=Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007

After you find the GUID subkey that contains your Office product or program which you want to remove the existing product license key or registration details, delete the following registry entries by right clicking on the registry entry in the GUID subkey, click Delete, and then click Yes.

Exit Registry Editor.

Run or open an Office application program, such as Microsoft Word or Excel or Outlook. Office 2007 will prompt you to enter a new 25-character product key.

Type in the valid and genuine product key, and then click OK. Then when prompted to choose your preferred type of Microsoft Office 2007 installation, press on “Install Now”. Microsoft Office 2007 will be updated with new product CD key or volume license key, and ready for activation (if it’s a non-VLK serial) or use.

CTX: Favorites Web Sites

• www.jaytomlin.com/citrix
• www.dabcc.com
• www.msterminalservices.org
• www.thomaskoetzing.de
• www.brianmadden.com
• www.printingsupport.com
• www.xs4all.nl/~soundtcr
• www.thincomputing.net
• www.parosproxy.org
• livehttpheaders.mozdev.org
• www.friendsofaccess.com
• www.smartaccesscentral.com
• www.epafactory.com
• www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals

CTX: Guide for Application Developers

The guide has been developed to provide information on how best to use Citrix technologies for application deployment. It is designed to assist developers that are new to Citrix, as well as seasoned Citrix developers. Please use this guide as a starting point or a reference for basic application concepts of Citrix deployments.

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX111705

CTX: StressPrinters 1.2 for 32-bit and 64-bit Platforms

Many driver problems in the Terminal Services environment revolve around poor multi-threaded performance, which in turn can cause Print Spooler instability. Problematic multi-threaded performance is usually exposed when multiple users connect to a Terminal Server simultaneously using the same print driver. Symptoms include the failure to autocreate client printers, increased thread count of the Printer Spooler and/or Citrix Print Manager services, and possibly the unresponsiveness and/or unexpected termination of these services (crashes).
This tool can be used to simulate multiple sessions autocreating printers using the same print driver.
It can also be used to compare the following among various drivers:
• CPU load incurred while creating a printer using a particular driver
• Time required to successfully create a printer using a particular driver

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX109374

CTX: Citrix ICA Client Memory Footprint Toolkit

The Citrix ICA Client Memory Footprint Toolkit allows developers to remove features from a Citrix ICA Client that are not required. This enables better control over the amount of memory required to store and run the client. All information necessary to remove features is included in this toolkit.

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX112014

CTX: Creating, Configuring, and Testing Health Monitoring & Recovery Tests

Health Monitoring & Recovery is a new feature of Citrix Presentation Server 4.5. The main function of the Health Monitoring & Recovery feature is to monitor the health of Presentation Server. If any of the tests fail, you can configure the Health Monitoring & Recovery feature to generate a recovery action, such as disabling the load balancing capability of the server or restarting the server. The Health Monitoring & Recovery feature includes a number of preconfigured tests; however, you can use the Health Monitoring & Recovery SDK to
create custom tests for your specific environment.
This white paper describes security considerations and how to create, configure, and test Health Monitoring & Recovery tests. The topics covered are:
• “Security Privileges and Testing”
• “Test File Location”
• “HMRSDKTester.exe Utility”
• “Creating and Configuring a Test”
• “Supported Formats”
• “Example of a Nonsupported Scripting Language Test”

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX112166

CTX: Stress Load of Citrix Server (TLoad)

TLoad is a capacity planning and regression testing solution that enables IT administrators to accurately predict how Citrix environments will perform under high levels of user load. By simulating real user interactions, TLoad customers are able to accurately forecast resource requirements, application behavior and performance bottlenecks ensuring potential obstacles are removed before the system goes live. Through a better understanding of how the Citrix environment will function under load, the system architects and administration team can definitively predict the resources required to deliver the best user experience while minimizing cost. http://www.thingenius.com

CTX: Citrix USB Keydrive Toolkit

This note explain how to create and run from a USB key an small ICA client.

http://support.citrix.com/kb/entry.jspa?externalID=CTX112013

CTX: Troubleshooting Tools for Citrix Environments

This is very large list of tools recommended by Citrix Technical Support to troubleshooting Citrix environments .

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX107572

CTX: Microsoft Updates and Information

This is the central location for Microsoft and Terminal Services related resources that specifically apply to Citrix administrators.

http://support.citrix.com/page.jspa?pageID=microsoft

MS: Top 7 Tips for Deploying Exchange Server 7

1 ) What are the hardware requirements for Exchange Server 2007?
Microsoft has published the hardware/software requirements for Exchange Server 2007 at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/sysreqs
In short, the server must have:
• X64 processor; either the Intel EM64T or AMB64 platforms
• At least 2GB of RAM (plus 2-5 MB per mailbox for optimum performance)
• Light = 2MB/Mailbox
• Medium = 3.5MB/Mailbox
• Heavy = 5MB/Mailbox
• Other factors including the number of Storage Groups, server role, etc play a huge part. See this link for more detailed information: http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2006/11/27/431644.aspx
• Windows Server 2003 x64 or Windows Server 2003 R2 x64, either Standard or Enterprise

2) What are the upgrade paths to Exchange Server 2007?
In-place upgrades are out. You will need to install a new Exchange Server 2007 machine into an existing Exchange 2000 or 2003 organization and move the data. Upgrading from Exchange 5.5 will require a little more work as you will need to completely upgrade the organization to Exchange 2000 or 2003 first. More information on the process can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/a313c016-0e51-466e-a3de-953e1e0d347d.aspx

3) How should I begin planning for disk space?
The factors that affect your storage plans are much more lenient than before, but they will still require some thought.
• Mailbox Size and Count In other words if your target is 1000 mailboxes at 500MB each then you need to think about 488 GB for the base.
• Dumpster Size You should calculate the additional drive space you will need to hold deleted items until the retention period has expired. This could range from 10-40% and even higher depending on the retention period and expected mail volume.
• Content Indexing If you plan to index mailbox items, then you should add another 5% to the overall volume requirements in order to hold the index.
• Growth You should factor in growth in either mailbox numbers or volume. 20% is a generally acceptable number to use to factor growth.
• Log Files The amount of storage they consume will be based entirely on the frequency of backups and the volume of changes made daily to the database files. Many Exchange administrators use 10% as an initial estimation of log files. As always, plan to have logs stored on a separate set of disks.
• IOPS Mailbox IOPS or Database I/O per mailbox, per second is still an important calculation but we have far more breathing room than we did with previous versions of Exchange. (These numbers are possible if you are using Outlook in cached mode.)
• Light Usage (Receive 20 messages a day) 0.11 expected IOPS per user
• Average Usage (Receive 40 messages a day) 0.18 expected IOPS per user
• Heavy Usage (Receive 80 messages a day) 0.32 expected IOPS per user
• Very Heavy Usage (Receive 120 messages a day) 0.48 expected IOPS per user
• In our mailbox example above; 1000 Average mailboxes would require 180 Disk IOPS for adequate performance. A good 7200 RPM drive can usually get a true 100 IOPS while the more expensive drives can get closer to 150.
• To meet our capacity and IOPS goals, we would need to look at a disk system that could hold at least 860 GB of data and operate at 220 IOPS (for growth) Four disks in a RAID 10 confi guration would probably fit the bill.
Here is a great place to learn more about the variables and to perform a more scientific approach to drive estimation: http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2007/01/15/432199.aspx

4) What do I need to know about Server Roles?
Well, you can’t install a server without choosing a role so you must first understand the roles (and your design) before you can proceed. There are five server roles in Exchange Server 2007; Mailbox Server, Client Access, Hub Transport, Unified Messaging and Edge Transport. Here are a few key notes on each:
• Mailbox Server The name says it all. These will likely be your largest servers
• Client Access Provides HTTP/HTPPS access to the data; OWA, RPC over HTTP and ActiveSync
• Hub Transport Think of this as your internal Bridgehead server
• Unified Messaging Communicates with your PBX system. These components are usually installed on a separate server.
• Edge Transport Inbound SMTP traffic goes here. These components must reside on a separate server. This is where message hygiene is configured and how mail gets into your environment. In single-server environments, the Inbound SMTP and message hygiene functionality can be forced on your Mailbox/CAS/Hub server.
• For more detailed information and the Server Role Roadmap, follow this link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996319.aspx

5) What role does the AD Site have with Exchange Server 2007?
The AD site definitions are important for internal mailbox routing in an Exchange Server 2007 environment. Exchange Server no longer uses routing groups. Instead, it routes based on the routing topology defined within the Active Directory Sites and Services. Here are a couple of important items to note:
• Ensure there are no IP subnets defined in more than one AD site and that there is no overlap
• At least one Hub Transport server should be installed in each Active Directory site
• A Client Access server must be deployed in each site that contains Mailbox servers

6) Does my Active Directory need to be at a certain functional level before I can install Exchange Server 2007?
Yes. First and foremost the Schema Master for your Active Directory Forest must be running Windows Server 2003 R2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1.
Second, you need to make sure the Active Directory domain level functional level must be set for Windows Server 2000 (or higher) native mode for all domains in the forest.

7) Do I have to upgrade my Outlook clients before I install Exchange Server 2007?
Probably not. Outlook 2003, 2003 and Outlook 2007 are all supported. For Outlook Web Access, clients need to have a supported browser such as Internet Explorer versions 7, 6, 5.5, and 5.01, Mac OS X, Linux, Safari, Firefox, Netscape, and Opera.

VMware: VMware Workstation v6.0 released

Today VMware releases the new VMware Workstation version 6.0.0 .

New features in VMware Workstation include:

Windows Vista support: Users can deploy Windows Vista as a guest or host operating system, facilitating re-hosting of legacy systems, enabling upgrade and migration projects with minimal end-user disruption and simplifying Windows Vista evaluations.
Multiple monitor display: Users can configure one virtual machine to span multiple monitors or multiple virtual machines to each display on separate monitors with this industry-first capability, enhancing desktop productivity.
USB 2.0 support: Users can take advantage of high-performance peripherals such as Apple iPods and fast storage devices.
ACE authoring capabilities: As a companion to VMware Workstation 6, VMware now offers a VMware ACE Option Pack, which enables VMware Workstation 6 users to create secure, centrally manageable virtual machines. Mobility is one of the primary benefits of this Option Pack, as it allows users to securely transport virtual machines on portable media devices such as USB memory sticks.
Integrated Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) functionality: Users can create a virtual machine in minutes by “cloning” an existing physical computer.
Integrated virtual debugger: Users can deploy, run and debug programs inside a virtual machine directly from their preferred integrated development environments (IDEs), accelerating debugging with this industry-first integration with Eclipse and Microsoft Visual Studio.
Background virtual machine execution: Users can run virtual machines in the background without the VMware Workstation user interface for an uncluttered user experience.
Automation APIs: Users can write scripts and programs that automate and help quicken virtual machine testing with support for VIX API 2.0.

In addition, VMware Workstation 6 advances the state of the art in virtualization technology with groundbreaking new capabilities including:

Continuous virtual machine record and replay (experimental): Users can record the execution of a virtual machine, including all inputs, outputs and decisions made along the way. On demand, the user can go “back in time” to the start of the recording and replay execution, guaranteeing that the virtual machine will perform exactly the same operations every time and ensuring bugs can be reproduced and resolved.
Virtual Machine Interface (VMI) support (experimental): VMware Workstation 6 is the first virtualization platform to allow execution of paravirtualized guest operating systems that implement the VMI interface.

CTX: How to Install Citrix Access Gateway on VMware

How to Install Citrix Access Gateway v4.2 (Appliance CD) on VMware Workstation or VMware Server guide.
Download the FrameworkX Virtualizing Citrix Access Gateway Step by Step guide from here

MS: Troubleshooting SMTP problems in Exchange Server

General troubleshooting for transport issues in Exchange 2000 Server and in Exchange Server 2003
This article provides information about basic troubleshooting utilities that you can use with transport components in Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server and in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 to investigate transport issues. The most common issues involve mail flow.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257265

BETA: Microsoft Longhorn Server Beta 3 released!

Today Microsoft released a new BETA of the Windows Longhorn Server (AKA Windows Server 2007).

Versions available for download at Connect, MSDN or MS Public Beta:

• Microsoft Windows Longhorn Server Standard Edition (x86 and x64)
• Microsoft Windows Longhorn Server Enterprise Edition (x86 and x64)
• Microsoft Windows Longhorn Server Datacenter Edition (x86 and x64)
• Microsoft Windows Longhorn Server Web Edition (x86 and x64)
• Microsoft Windows Longhorn Server for Itanium-based Systems (IA64)

All of these versions are available in English, German and Japanese.

This is a list of new features included in the Beta 3:

• PowerShell - *new* for beta 3 - powerful scripting.
• Dynamic Partitioning - *new* for beta 3 - allocate resources on the fly.
• Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 - next gen web and app platform
• Server Core - more roles, low footprint, no GUI!
• Terminal Services Gateway - access your apps without RASing in.
• Failover Clustering - improved cluster management, security, and stability
• Network Access Protection - keep your network safe from un-healthy clients.
• Next Generation TCP/IP Protocol - built for speed.
• Server Manager - setup, config, and manage server roles and features in one place.
• Native UEFI 2.0 support - *new* for beta 3 - EFI support for OEMs.
• Read-Only Domain Controller - branch office DCs
• Distributed File System Replication Service (DFS-R) - fast replication
• Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)

MS: Remove a Exchange Server

How to manually remove an Exchange 2000 installation
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260378

How to remove Exchange Server 2003 from your computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/833396

CERTIFICATION: Citrix Test 1Y0-256 passed!

Today I passed the Citrix Test 1Y0-256: Citrix Presentation Server 4.0: Administration and I got the Citrix Certified Administrator for Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 (CCA) certification.
This is a very, very easy exam, the official course material is enough (plus some experience, I have +5 years using Citrix :).

Exam Statistics:

12 Citrix Exams
05 Citrix Certifications
24 Microsoft Exams
15 Microsoft Certifications
05 VMware Certifications
11 VMware Exams

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

CTX: How to install Hotfix Rollup Pack in Unattended Mode

How to install Citrix Hotfix Rollup Pack in Unattended Mode in Citrix Presentation Server

msiexec /passive /norestart /update PSE400W2K3R03.msp

MS: How delete a NTFS File or Folder with invalid name

Open a CMD Windows a type:

For files: del "\\?\filename"

Example: del "\\?\c:\files\exchange.txt "

For directories: rd "\\?\folder"

Example: rd "\\?\c:\software\demo "

More info http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320081

CERTIFICATION: VMware Certified Professional on VI3 (VCP)

Today I passed the VCP-310 exam and got the VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certification.

I readed the entire documentation (around 1800 pages) twice and a lot of experience (deployment for several companies in Spain including Dell Professional Services, Parmalat, etc) make this test easy.

Exam Statistics:

10 Citrix Exams
04 Citrix Certifications
23 Microsoft Exams
13 Microsoft Certifications
02 VMware Certifications
12 VMware Exams

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

MS: Windows Update Error 80245003 in Windows Vista

To fix this problem:

1) Stop the "Windows update" service
2) Rename the directory "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution" to "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution.old".
3) Start the "Windows update" service
4) Try "Windows update" again.

Script: Create Directory With Current Date

@echo off
set y=%date:~-4%
set m=%date:~3,2%
set d=%date:~0,2%
set a=%y%%m%%d%
mkdir C:\\%a%

MS: Deploy unattended applications

http://www.appdeploy.com/

MS: Windows Home Server Blog

Check the official blog here http://blogs.technet.com/homeserver/

1ST BLOG ANNIVERSARY

One year ago, I started this blog to keep my technical notes in one site.

Happy anniversary blog!

MS: Exchange 2007 Stress and Load Simulator

Download these tools:

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Load Generator (64bit version)
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Stress and Performance Tool (64bit version)

MS: Exchange 2007 and Active Directory

There are also several other significant changes involved with Exchange 2007 that will affect Active Directory more than ever before. Here are some currently known issues:

• The Schema Master and GCs need to be at Windows Server 2003 SP1. Of course, most DCs and GCs are probably at SP1 now anyway.
• All domains must be at domain functional level, Windows 2000 Server native level or higher.
• A GC must be in each site where there are Exchange servers holding the Hub Transport, Client Access Server and Mailbox roles. These roles could be held by one or more servers. A new utility is used to upgrade the schema: Setup /PrepareAD. This replaces the DomainPrep and ForestPrep utilizations previously used.
• Mailboxes will be configured from the Exchange Management Console or the new Exchange Management Shell, but not from the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) snap-in. In fact, the mailbox attributes are not even visible in the ADUC snap-in. However, Exchange admins can create new AD users in the context of creating mailboxes from the Exchange Management Console or the Exchange Management Shell. This will probably cause some redesigning of administration delegation.

MS: Windows 2003 Server Service Pack 2 Released!

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sp2.mspx

Top 10 Reasons to Install Windows Server 2003 SP2

1) Security Updates/Hotfixes
Windows Server 2003 SP2 will get all of your Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Professional x64 Editions up to date with the latest Security Bulletin updates and Hotfixes, ensuring the highest level of security, reliability, stability, manageability, supportability and compatibility.
2) Deploy your operating systems more effectively
Building upon our previous deployment solutions, Windows Deployment Services (WDS) offers customers a complete ‘out of the box’ provisioning solution. WDS provides organizations with manageable image store, remote booting, PXE boot support, and more; all in a greatly improved management interface. WDS also uses the new file-based Windows Imaging Format (WIM) which facilitates deployments on Windows Vista and Windows Server “Longhorn”.
3) Improved networking performance
Windows Server SP2 offers solutions to network traffic challenges in an era of the multi-Gigabit Ethernet. Increases to CPU resources required to handle high network traffic can potentially inhibit scaling and effectively reduce the performance gains that are possible with increased link speeds. Windows Server 2003 SP2 Scalable Networking Pack (SNP), introduces technologies that helps organizations cost-effectively scale network-based applications to meet growing demands. The Scalable Networking pack Increases network and application performance by freeing up CPU cycles and more efficiently using processor resources. More information on the Scalable Networking Pack can be found at www.microsoft.com/snp
4) Improved manageability for IPsec
Server and Domain Isolation are key security benefits offered on Microsoft Networks. By using Active Directory, domain memberships and group policies, Server and Domain Isolation allows companies to logically segment their networks. This means that you can restrict non-domain computers which aren’t managed at a corporate level (lab computers, guests or other unsecure systems) from communicating with non- domain members. Service Pack 2 improves Server and Domain Isolation by reducing the IPsec filter set that needs to be managed from potentially hundreds of filters to as few as 2 filters. More information on Server and Domain Isolation can be found at www.microsoft.com/sdisolation.
5) Utility improvements
Making common tasks easier, SP2 introduces customer-driven improvements to the Domain Controller Diagnostics tool (DCDIAG) and MS Configuration (MSCONFIG) tool. SP2 also has an updated Access Control List (ICACLS) program to allow for greater flexibility when backing up Access Control Lists.
6) Management tools made easier
SP2 includes the Microsoft Management Console 3.0 (MMC 3.0). MMC provides a framework that unifies and simplifies day-to-day system management tasks on Windows by providing common navigation, menus, toolbars, and workflow across diverse tools. MMC tools (called snap-ins) can be used to administer networks, computers, services, applications and other system components. MMC does not perform administrative functions, but hosts a variety of Windows and non-Microsoft snap-ins that do.
7) Single install experience
It patches both the R2 and non-R2 versions of Windows Server 2003. This reduces the amount of patch management for an organization.
8) Support for additional languages
Service Pack 2 will be released in 9 additional localized languages for Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions including: German, French, Korean, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Spanish, Italian, Russian and, Portuguese (Brazilian).
9) Performance improvements
Service Pack 2 offers performance improvements for Windows Server 2003 running as a Virtual Server guest under high Advanced Processor Interrupt Controller (APIC) rates. It also improves SQL Server performance under intensive workloads. Both of these improvements lead to more efficient data processing.
10) Manage new wireless settings without the hassle
SP2 provides the ability to manage the WPA2 protocol for wireless networks. This supports and simplifies the process of discovering and connecting to wireless networks in your home or on the road.

MS: How to disable Windows File Protection

You need to edit the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

and change the key SFCDisable to 0

MS: Installing Exchange 2007 Management Tools On a 32 Bit OS

The Exchange setup require a Windows 64 Bit Edition to initiated. Using Windows 32 Bit Edition isn't supported installation on the Management Tools from the Exchange 2007 Installation disk.
Download the 32 Bit evaluation edition of Exchange 2007 and install from this media

More Info:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555841
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2007/downloads

MS: Error message when you try to set an IP address on a network adapter

When you trying to set the IP address on a network adapter, you may receive the following error message:

The IP address XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to another adapter Name of adapter. Name of adapter is hidden from the network and Dial-up Connections folder because it is not physically in the computer or is a legacy adapter that is not working. If the same address is assigned to both adapters and they become active, only one of them will use this address. This may result in incorrect system configuration. Do you want to enter a different IP address for this adapter in the list of IP addresses in the advanced dialog box?

RESOLUTION

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd.exe, and then press ENTER.
2. Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1, and then press ENTER.
3. Type Start DEVMGMT.MSC, and then press ENTER.
4. Click View, and then click Show Hidden Devices.
5. Expand the Network Adapters tree.
6. Right-click the dimmed network adapter, and then click Uninstall.

More info: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/269155

CERTIFICATION: Microsoft Test 70-285 passed!

Today I passed the Microsoft Test 70-285: Designing a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Organization and I got the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE: Messaging) in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE: Messaging) in Microsoft Windows 2000 certifications.
It was a easy exam for me (I have +10 years working with Exchange) and +3 years with Exchange 2003. The Exchange 2003 Training Kit and Exchange 2003 Resource Kit is a required reading. You will find a very useful list of Exchange 2003 papers and documents in http://exchange.musumeci.com.ar

Exam Statistics:

10 Citrix Exams
04 Citrix Certifications
24 Microsoft Exams
15 Microsoft Certifications
01 VMware Certifications

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

CERTIFICATION: VMware Sales Professional (VSP)

I got new VMware Sales Professional (VSP) certification, required for VMware Partners.

To become a VSP you must complete all of the required courses and one of the specialty courses listed below. I passed al VSP Requirements and VSP Specialties:

VSP Requirements:

• Virtualization Overview
• VMware Corporate Overview
• VMware Products Overview
• VMware Solutions Overview
• Delivering the VMware Message
• Effectively Working With VMware

VSP Specialties:

• Selling to Testing and Development Environments
• Selling Server Consolidation and Containment Solutions
• Selling Business Continuity Solutions
• Selling Desktop Manageability & Security Solutions

Exam Statistics:

10 Citrix Exams

04 Citrix Certifications

23 Microsoft Exams

13 Microsoft Certifications

01 VMware Certifications

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

MS: Recover a Exchange 2000 Database

Yesterday, I enjoyed a very, very long day recovering successfully an Exchange 2000 corrupted database.

Some links:

What to Do When an Exchange Store Won't Mount
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/wontmount.mspx

Error c1041724 Occurs When You Try to Mount a Database on an Exchange 2003 Server
http://support.microsoft.com:80/kb/822449/en-us

Funny post about Exchange 2000 recovery:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/12009443/m/204009322631

VMware: How to Install Windows Home Server Beta 2

How to Install Windows Home Server Beta 2 in VMware Workstation or VMware Server:

Create a VM with 512 MB of RAM.
Remove the SCSI Hard Drive.
Create a new IDE Hard Drive with a least 40 GB.
Install the Windows Home Server Beta 2

VMware ESX Must Read Papers

Command Line Interface Tips and Tricks for VMware ESX Server 2 and 3
http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/tac9685.pdf

Troubleshooting VMware ESX Server 3 and VMware VirtualCenter 2
http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/mdc9694.pdf

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread: Effective DRS and HA in production
http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/tac9413.pdf

VirtualCenter 2 - Templates Usage and Best Practices
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vc_2_templates_usage_best_practices_wp.pdf

VMware: Error in HA

VMware Infrastructure v3.0 (ESX Server)

Error: Insufficient resources to satisfy HA failover level on cluster in data center.
Error: Internal AAM error. Agent did not start.

Solution:

- Check the HOSTNAME entry in /etc/sysconfig/network to the short name.
- Check if your FQDN is greater than 30 characters, in which case HA will not configure properly. This is a known bug in VC20 (see KB article 2259).
- Check IP, routing, and DNS for each host.
- Make sure that storage and network are available across the cluster - Ensure that the hosts are not managed directly: perform all host management through VC.
- May want to add nodes to /etc/hosts on ESX Server AND hosts file on VC Server. A better plan would be to use primary and secondary DNS servers.
- Check if Service Console has default gateway defined.
- Verify logs: /opt/LGTOaam512/* and /opt/LGTOaam512/vmsupport/*.
- Check /etc/hosts and /etc/resolv.conf.
- In ESX 3.x the memory reservation is zero, and the limit is "unlimited." To see this, edit the settings of a virtual machine, click on the Resources tab, and select Memory on the left. To conform to the ESX 3.x defaults, change the settings to a reservation of 0, and check the Unlimited box under limit. After doing this for all virtual machines, edit the settings for the cluster. Disable HA, and then edit the cluser settings again to reenable HA. The current failover capacity should now match the configured capacity.

CERTIFICATION: Microsoft Test 70-284 passed!

Today I passed the Microsoft Test 70-284: Implementing and Managing Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and I got the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA: Messaging) in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA: Messaging) in Microsoft Windows 2000 certifications.It was a very easy exam for me (I have +10 years working with Exchange) and +3 years with Exchange 2003. The Exchange 2003 Training Kit and Exchange 2003 Resource Kit is a required reading.You will find a very useful list of Exchange 2003 papers and documents in http://exchange.musumeci.com.ar

Exam Statistics:

10 Citrix Exams
04 Citrix Certifications
23 Microsoft Exams
13 Microsoft Certifications

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

VMware: Deploying Microsoft Exchange in VMware Infrastructure

Deploying Microsoft Exchange in VMware Infrastructure offers many advantages, including higher availability,simplified recovery, and more efficient use of resources. This paper discusses best practices for running Exchange 2003 in a VMware Infrastructure environment, in the areas of servers, virtual machines, storage, and implementation. In addition, a case study shows an example architecture, and the Appendix provides some sample metrics for Exchange performance.
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/exchange_best_practices.pdf

MS: Deploying Exchange Server 2007

Deploying a Simple Exchange Server 2007 Organization
This document provides descriptions and overviews of features, guidelines for planning, and steps for deploying a simple Exchange 2007 organization.

Deploying a Large Exchange Server 2007 Organization
This document provides descriptions and overviews of features, guidelines for planning, and steps for deploying a large Exchange 2007 organization.

Deploying a Standard Exchange Server 2007 Organization
This document provides descriptions and overviews of features, guidelines for planning, and steps for deploying a standard Exchange 2007 organization.

Deploying a Complex Exchange Server 2007 Organization
This document provides descriptions and overviews of features, guidelines for planning, and steps for deploying a complex Exchange Server 2007 organization.

MS: Robocopy

My favorite tool in the entire world is robocopy. This is an amazing and fast tool to copy files. I'm using robocopy every day, in my day by day work, in my servers and my laptops.

I good example for a simple copy:

robocopy c:\data e:\software\data /e /r:1 /w:1

This example copy all files and directories (/e) from c:\data to e:\software\data, retries 1 time (/r:1) and wait 1 second between retry (/w:1).

robocopy file:////Server1/Data E:\software\data /E /copyall /np /r:3 /w:1 /log+:c:\log_robocopy.txt /TEE

This example is useful to migrate all files and directories (/e) from the share \\server1\data to e:\software\data, retries 3 times (/r:3) and wait 1 second between retries (/w:1), copy all NTFS attributes and permissions (/copyall), turns off copy progress indicator (/np), redirects output to the specified file, appending it to the file if it already exists (/log+:c:\log_robocopy.txt) and displays output in the console window, in addition to directing it to the log file specified by /LOG or /LOG+ (/TEE).

You can download robocopy (included in Windows 2003 Resource Kit) here

Install Nero 7.5 Lite in Unattended Mode

Download Nero 7 Lite v7.7.5.1 Lite from http://www.updatepack.nl

Create a script

Nero-7.5.1.1_eng_lite.exe /VERYSILENT /LANG="English" /TASKS="desktopicon"
/COMPONENTS="nero_core,nero_toolkit\nero_cdspeed" /USER="Your Name" /COMPANY="Your Company" /SERIAL="Your Serial"

More info: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?act=ST&f=80&t=69886

VM: Performance Tuning Best Practices for ESX Server 3

The paper provides a list of performance tips that cover the most performance-critical areas of Virtual Infrastructure 3 (VI3).
The intended audience is system administrators who have already deployed VI3 and are looking to maximize their performance.

Download:http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi_performance_tuning.pdf

MS: Debugging Windows Dumps

WinDbg - Tool for dump analysis or debugging

WinDbg provides source-level debugging through a graphical user interface and a text-based interface.

Usage: Use WinDbg to open crash dumps obtained from Dr. Watson or Windows crashes (blue screens). Once the crash dump has finished loading, many commands can be used to provide helpful information about the error.
The command !analyze –v performs basic exception analysis, reporting the error that occurred and the module in which it occurred. The command lmv can be used to show all of the modules loaded, including their full path and version information.

More info: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315263