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January 2009 - Posts
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Hello folks,
I was reading Mohamud’s post and it made me think of my own lab environment. I had been thinking about writing about it for a while now, but something always came up. So, this morning I gathered the documentation i had kept when i setup my environment (and yes for those who doubt, i do document my setups) and actually got to it.
When i started my preparation for the EnergizeIT demos, and for other screen casts I am planning. I realized I needed to rebuild the domain setup for my lab. I also wanted to check out a few scenarios discussed with TechDays attendees during the “Streamlining Administration of Your Deployments of Active Directory Using Group Policy Preferences, Templates, and Scripting” session.
So I started looking for a spare machine for the DC. I know, I can do all this virtualized, but I wanted to setup a permanent infrastructure I can work with for the long haul. Therefore I was looking for a DC, I could setup in my wiring closet in my home office and leave it there.
I found some pieces from different computers in storage (yes, I’m a pack rat... I never throw out anything.) an ATX case, an ASUS P4B motherboard, a Pentium 4 processor (2.2GHz) and 768MB of memory (1x512 + 1x256) and an old DVD reader. The only part I had to source outside was the HHD. For that I bought a 250GB drive, and I was good to go.
As you can guess the hardware platform is fairly weak. So, a core installation should be perfect, small footprint and more resources dedicated to what it is needed for.
I was off to the races. Booted from the DVD of Windows 2008 Enterprise Server x86, and I proceeded with the installation. I will spare you the details of the initial installation, I believe that most of us can click next... ;)
Ok, now I have a core server. WOOOOHOOOO!!!!
But, at this point, it does nothing!!!!
Here comes the part that is fun. How do I turn this brick into something useful? What will I need it for? Hmmm... Planning… Something I should spend more time doing. Anyway, I need the following:
- An Active Directory Domain controller
- A File server
- A DHCP and DNS servers
Ok. Now that I knew what I needed, I proceeded with the configuration
Find interface index and set IP address
Before anything else i needed to establish connectivity. The following command identified the interfaces currently installed.
netsh interface ipv4 show interface
This returned:
Idx Met MTU State Name
--- --- ----- ----------- -------------------
2 50 1500 connected Local Area Connection
1 50 4294967295 connected Loopback Pseudo-Interface 1
I needed to apply the changes to the idx= 2 interface.
netsh interface ipv4 set address name="2" source=static address="192.168.1.50" mask="255.255.255.0" gateway="192.168.1.1"
now that I have an IP address, I need to define name resolution. Since I will be setting up a DNS server on this box later I configured the DNS settings to point to the following
- 127.0.0.1 (local host)
- 206.248.154.22 (my ISP DNS)
netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver "Local Area Connection" 127.0.0.1
netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver "Local Area Connection" 206.248.154.22 index=2
Enter activation key & Activate Server
In order to enter the proper product key (which I forgot do during the installation) and to activate my server i executed the SLMGR.VBS script from the c:\windows\system32 directory:
cscript slmgr.vbs -ipk ABCDE-FGHIJ-KLMNO-PQRST-UVWXY (enter a new product key)
cscript slmgr.vbs -ato (Activate the server)
Enable automatic updates
To verify the current setting, type:
cscript scregedit.wsf /AU /v
To enable automatic updates, type:
cscript scregedit.wsf /AU 4 (not “/4” like I’ve seen it everywhere documented on the net.)
Rename the computer
To rename the computer from “WIN-GT7XU399GSZ” to “CENTRAL”, type:
Netdom renamecomputer win-gt7xu399gsz /NewName:Central
Restart the computer
I needed to restart the server in order to have the new name active:
Shutdown /r /t 0
Once the server is restarted, it’s now time to install the DNS role, the DHCP role and the Active Directory Domain Services role.
Install DNS service
The command to install the DNS Role is:
start /w ocsetup DNS-Server-Core-Role
Active Directory Domain Services role and create a Domain Controller
The dcpromo command in a server core need to be accompanied by an unattended text file since the dcpromo graphical interface cannot be displayed.
The unattend.txt Content is:
[DCINSTALL]
AutoConfigDNS=Yes
DomainNetBiosName=Homenet
NewDomainDNSName=homenet.local
ReplicaOrNewDomain=Domain
NewDomain=Forest
ForestLevel=3
DomainLevel=3
SafeModeAdminPassword=PassW0rd12#
RebootOnCompletion=No
The dcpromo command is
dcpromo /unattend:c:\unattend.txt
I specified “RebootOnCompletion=No” in my unattend.txt file since i want to validate that no error occurred during the dcpromo process. I restarted the server after the verification using the following command.
Shutdown /r /t 0
Once the Domain controller is created and that that server has rebooted, I needed to enable a few items:
| Enable remote desktop |
SCregEdit.wsf /ar 0 |
| Enable Remote Management |
WinRM quickconfig |
| Enable firewall for remote management |
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="Remote Administration" new enable=yes |
Enabling the Remote Administration firewall rules allows pretty much any MMC to connect. However, there may be situations where you only want to allow certain MMCs to connect for remote administration. Not every MMC snap-in has a firewall group, here are those that do:
|
MMC Snap-in |
Rule Group |
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Event Viewer |
Remote Event Log Management |
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Services |
Remote Service Management |
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Shared Folders |
File and Printer Sharing |
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Task Scheduler |
Remote Scheduled Tasks Management |
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Reliability and Performance |
“Performance Logs and Alerts” and “File and Printer Sharing” |
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Disk Management |
Remote Volume Management |
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Windows Firewall with Advanced Security |
Windows Firewall Remote Management |
You need to enable these on the DC firewall in order to allow the MMC to connect across the network. To do so, use the following command:
Netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group=“<rule group>” new enable=yes
Where <rule group> is the name in the above table.
Install DHCP server
To install the DHCP server on the DC I simply installed the role, set the service to start automatically and started it using the following command:
start /w ocsetup DHCPServerCore
sc config dhcpserver start= auto
net start dhcpserver
Install File Services role
The last role I needed installed is the File service role. This one installed by using:
start /w ocsetup FRS-Infrastructure
Done!
My Core DC is now installed and ready to assist me in testing new scenarios and to build my demos. The only thing remaining is to spin up a Vista or another Windows 2008 box so i can use the management tools to manage my DC remotely.
I hope this is useful for you. If you have scenarios you would like us to try out don’t hesitate to contact me. Now that I have a proper lab.... ;)
Cheers!
Pierre Roman, MCSE, ITIL| Microsoft Canada Co.| IT Pro Advisor | pierre.roman@microsoft.com
phone: 613-212-2370 | mobile: 613-715-2311
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I met Mohamud Ashoor in my travels to Vancouver at various VanTUG events and we regularly chat on IM as well. A few weeks back he was telling me about his home lab setup and how he uses it to sharpen his skills, keep up with technology. In our discussions the topic of a blog post came up as Mohamud has quite the setup. Between Hyper-V, ESXi, Windows Mobile and everything in between. Take a read and let me know about your lab or how you keep up with technology!
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Over the past few years I have been working on simulating enterprise level networks in my home lab. The idea was simple. Learn new technologies and at the same time test complex and difficult migrations in a lab before doing it in production. At the earlier days, I started working with Connectix Virtual PC which later became MS Virtual PC as well as VMware Workstation. I have tested these products on my desktop. Virtualization became a mainstream technology and I remember getting a free promotional copy of Virtual Server 2005 Enterprise Edition which later became a free product. I built a lab around Virtual Server 2005 and created some test labs. Microsoft has some step by step instructions on how to build a two node cluster using Virtual Server 2005: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/virtualserver/deploy/cvs2005.mspx
That was one of the labs I created for testing. Others included AD migrations, SQL migrations, Exchange migrations and client operating systems. I was even running Windows 98 SE in a lab to be able to update my Casio Watch, the first MP3 wrist player: http://www.gadgetcentral.com/casiomp3_intro.htm
With the release of Windows Server 2008, I've started to rebuild the entire lab and replace some of the legacy components. I built a lab with a Hyper-V server running AD and DNS, an ESXi server running some Linux and Windows environments and my desktop which is on Windows Vista 32bit and manages the Hyper-V and ESXi environments with the Hyper-V Manager and the VMware Infrastructure Client.
The desktop and the Hyper-V server are within the same domain as well as some downloaded test versions of SCE 2007, SCVMM2008, etc. Microsoft has tons of VHD files that you can evaluate and test high availability features of products without the need of purchasing expensive hardware. The majority of these VHDs were created for Virtual Server 2005 and therefore you would have to convert them to run in Hyper-V which is simple to do. It will mostly require the removal of VM Additions and installing the Integrations Services. An example of one of the images I've downloaded is found here: http://blogs.msdn.com/granth/archive/2008/11/03/converting-vs2010-ctp-to-hyper-v.aspx
If your environment uses Visual Studio Team System 2008, another useful image for testing is the current VHD file which doesn't expire until Dec 31st 2009: http://www.pluralsight.com/community/blogs/brian/archive/2008/12/24/happy-holidays-and-look-what-santa-s-brought.aspx
In my current home lab, I have the following domains:
· TrueG.local (a lab built for my own testing and migrations)
· Contoso.com (VHDs from Microsoft)
· NWTraders.msft (VHDs from Microsoft)
· LitwareInc.com (VHDs from Microsoft)
On the ESXi server, I have a Windows Server 2008 Core edition that provides DHCP services to any client that requires a Dynamic IP. There are more test machines in Hyper-V and the ESXi servers than what is displayed in the diagram.
I completed the SCVMM 2008 setup in the lab this past weekend and divided it into two, the SCVMM2008 server / admin console and the Self-Service Portal. Both are running on virtual machines under Hyper-V and ESXi. The Virtual Machine Manager Configuration Analyzer is a great tool to use before and after the deployment. As many others have experienced, I don't always read the entire deployment documentation and after the SCVMM2008 setup, my Hyper-V had a status of "Needs Attention". Luckily it was blogged on TechNet and only required two updates on the Hyper-V server and a quick reboot: http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/archive/2008/10/26/hyper-v-server-needs-attention-after-scvmm-2008-rtm-install.aspx
Continuing on my learning path there are few more features that I would like to test and implement in this lab:
- Running Dell Open Manage Server Administrator on server core (the Hyper-V server). I haven't found a way to run the Dell Open Manage in a server core environment and I'm not sure if it is supported.
- Install Dell OpenManage Management Pack for SCE Operations Manager on SCE 2007 Virtual Server. I want to monitor CPU, Memory, Storage, etc., from the Hyper-V server core server and pass the info to the SCE2007 virtual server.
- Enable Network Load Balancing and/or NIC teaming in the Hyper-V server core server.
- And try 2008 R2 of course….
 Mohamud Ashoor is an IT Professional from Vancouver. He is the network administrator of TP Systems Ltd., a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. TP Systems is software and IT services company focused on government, health care providers and public service organizations. Mohamud works with various Server 2003 and Server 2008 technologies (Exch2007, TFS2008, SQL 2005/2008, TS 2003/2008, Hyper-V, Citrix XenApp, etc.) as well as delivering a broad user experience from the desktop to the data centre. He is very passionate about technology and always delighted to see how it enables people become more productive!
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I met Jonathan Cusson in Montreal a couple of months ago while I was there with the IT Manager “AlignIT” tour. We got to talking about virtualization and he offered to write a couple of posts on things he’s doing at Alpha Mosaik and in his spare time. Not long after getting his hands on Windows 7 he had it up and running on multiple hardware and virtualization platforms to see what the install experience was like as well as general usability. I get asked “the hardware question” all the time – what is it like on older platforms?
In steps Jonathan with the answer - after a couple of weeks of installing it, he sent along this post with his initial gut feel of having it up and running.
You can still get the bits to install and try it out yourselves – Rod posted about that on Sunday the 25th.
+1-613-940-3320 | Live messenger rick.claus@hotmail.com
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Windows 7 beta is available and I could not wait to test it. I already have 3 installations of Windows 7 for intensive testing. I have decided to put Windows 7 trough a really good test.
When Vista came out people complained that it took too much resources and that you needed a powerful computer to run it. Well, I just tested Windows 7 with a 6 years old computer and believe me the performance are surprisingly good even on old PCs. Here is the hardware setup of that machine:
As you can see the system global score is 3.0 but keep in mind this is a 6 years old computer with slower CPU, memory and video card. What is also amazing is that all the hardware was detected and Windows Update to care of installing latest drivers. I have installed Office 2007, Norton 360 version 3(beta), Photoshop CS and Nero 9. Well the performance are good enough to work on it. I am used to very good performance on my main computer (Dual Core T9300, 4GB RAM & Quadro FX 1600 512MB) and I can say that Windows 7 performs well even with older configurations. I even went to a slower configuration with a Pentium 4 2Ghz, 1GB of RAM and a very old ATI R92LE 32MB video card. (don’t ask me how I got this card, I can’t remember) With that, the system got slower but would still be enough to use for Internet navigation, Word and Excel.
The most amazing is that so far I did not get any errors or crashes and this is the first beta version! All of those waiting for a new Windows that offers stability, compatibility and performances are served!
This post was written with Live Writer on Windows 7.
Jonathan Cusson
IT Consultant, MCP
Member of TechNet, IT Pro Momentum and Experts Exchange
 
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Hot off the presses, or in this case the IE8 Team Blog, is the announcement that IE8 RC1 has been released and is ready to download! The IE8 team has focused on three major areas with the work put into IE8, consumers, IT Pros and developers and each has their own set of wants and needs. To be honest, at times the web scares me. While I don’t manage a companies network, I am still concerned about security. I’d say it is my number one concern with anything on the web. It is why I paid $5 for a PayPal security token, why I use InPrivate Mode to do my online banking and why I am careful with where I surf. I’ve shared that information with everyone I know and always get a smile when my wife calls me asking what to do when a pop up pops up! While I can appreciate the tools available to control IE from installation with the IEAK to the management via new group policy options, it is things like the phishing filter, clickjacking prevention and continued support for EV-SSL certificates that I personally care about. I do love the new UI, am addicted to Accelerators and have even started using Web Slices to monitor eBay auctions, I do so feeling a little safer now! So start downloading the latest RC1 for IE8 and testing out the new features and surf safe! 
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I ran across this post on the Windows 7 Team Blog and thought I’d pass on the information. It was previously announced that the download deadline for the Windows 7 beta was going to be January 23rd but this date has been extended. From the Windows 7 Team Blog… The shutdown of general availability for the Windows 7 Beta will occur in 3 phases over the course of the next few weeks: - Starting January 27th, the Windows 7 page will be updated with a warning that time is running out on downloading the Windows 7 Beta and that we will be limiting downloads shortly. People will be encouraged to register and start the download of the Windows 7 Beta sooner rather than later.
- February 10th, new downloads of the Windows 7 Beta will no longer be available. People who have already started their Windows 7 Beta download and have not yet finished will still be able to finish their download and are encouraged to do so.
- February 12th, people will no longer be able to complete their download of the Windows 7 Beta. Anyone who hasn’t finished downloading the Windows 7 Beta will be unable to do so.
Product keys for the Windows 7 Beta will continue to be available. So if you have the Windows 7 Beta but didn’t get a product key you will be able to do so even after February 12th. MSDN and TechNet Subscribers will continue to have access to the Windows 7 Beta bits throughout the Windows 7 Beta phase. The above dates do not apply to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers. You can read the whole post here. 
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 There has been some confusion around the submission process for the Ignite IT Awards. In the submission form you’ll see that one of the field is “Project title”. Because of that many people are not submitting en entry for themselves or their team because either they are between projects or the one they are working on is not finished.
Let me explain in my own term what we are looking for. We are looking for the best of the best in the different categories. That means that you can enter what you think defines you or your team in the project title field. (Think of it as just a title for your submission). Take a look at a few submissions already entered… As you can see, it is very simple. We do want to hear your story and recognize you or your team for what you do, not just the single projects. Thanks. If you have questions you can email us! 
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So as you’ve seen with Rick’s posts we are in Vancouver for TechDays Vancouver. We all got out West a little early and Rick and I decided to take a day off and spend it skiing. We headed up to Cypress Mountain based on the advice of the bartender at the VanTUG pub night we attended. Considering it is the location for a few skiing events at the 2010 Winter Olympics, it must be good.
We had a great time, it was a beautiful day and we both walked away sore, but without injury! The lack of injury was most likely due to the fact that we stayed off the expert runs and obeyed the warning signs like this one.
_thumb.jpg "Cypress Mountain (8)")
That said we were curious if a Windows Mobile device with GPS and a fully charged battery qualifies as “proper” equipment for self rescue.
If you’ve tried Windows 7 already you have have noticed a new feature that allow you to simply create your own theme with rotating background photos. You can find out more about these themes as well as download additional themes here. So while we were up there we took some photos and I created a widescreen theme with the following photos and you can even download it below and test it out on your Windows 7 PC.
BTW that is a new feature of Windows Live Writer that automatically creates photo albums when you insert multiple pictures at the same time :) So with the theme created and ready for you to download our job was done, we headed into the lodge to have a drink before heading back into the fog and setting up for TechDays Vancouver. You can see the rest of the photos here.
Download our Windows 7 Ski Theme here!
P.S. In case you are curious Cypress Mountain is running Windows Vista on their desktops and we even got a peek at the server room :) 
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So as you’ve seen with Rick’s posts we are in Vancouver for TechDays Vancouver. We all got out West a little early and Rick and I decided to spend a day skiing. We headed up to Cypress Mountain based on the advice of the bartender at the VanTUG pub night we attended. Considering it is the location for a few skiing events at the 2010 Winter Olympics, it must be good.
We had a great time, it was a beautiful day and we both walked away sore, but without injury! The lack of injury was most likely due to the fact that we stayed off the expert runs and obeyed the warning signs like this one.
That said we were curious if a Windows Mobile device with GPS and a fully charged battery qualifies as “proper” equipment for self rescue.
So how did we do this without taking a day off? Well if you’ve tried Windows 7 already you have have noticed a new feature that allow you to simply create your own theme with rotating background photos. You can find out more about these themes as well as download additional themes here. Well in order to do this we needed to take photos and because it was foggy in Vancouver we had to head up above the fog and if we are the mountain already you might as well ski right?
I created a widescreen theme with the following photos and you can even download it below and test it out on your Windows 7 PC.
BTW that is a new feature of Windows Live Writer that automatically creates photo albums when you insert multiple pictures at the same time :) So with the theme created and ready for you to download our job was done, we headed into the lodge to have a drink before heading back into the fog and setting up for TechDays Vancouver. You can see the rest of the photos here.
We just wonder if John (our manager) is going to buy this excuse for work :)
Download our Windows 7 Ski Theme here!
P.S. In case you are curious Cypress Mountain is running Windows Vista on their desktops and we even got a peek at the server room :)
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Day one is about to wrap up for TechDays Vancouver. Lots of people, lots of technology and probably the coolest part – LOTS OF CONNECTIONS. We brought back the designated “Ask The Experts” area, based on feedback we got from the other cities. We encourage the speakers to spend time in this area to connect with people who might not have been comfortable asking questions in a large room or who weren’t able to ask them in the designated 15 minute Q&A timeslot at the end of each session or at the informal Chats with the speakers that take place at the end of day one.  I decided to sit in on a session that was a bit out of my comfort zone and see how our newest team member was doing. Joey DeVilla was delivering a “deep dive into ASP.NET Ajax” session with his usual flair. He’s adjusting well to his new role since joining the team and he is quite happy that he’s passed his 3 month probation without any major incidents. After his session there was a lot of people who were milling about and having conversations in the back of the room, up with Joey or just outside the doors.
These connections and conversations that happen between sessions or at lunch time are the golden nuggets you get by attending these types of conferences. We’re doing everything we can to facilitate them. It’s really up to YOU to participate and reach out and talk to people when you attend. Sometimes it is not the easiest thing to do if you’re not the type of person who likes to mingle and introduce yourself to strangers. We’ve got colour coded ribbons to identify areas of interest and have marked out areas at lunch and breakfast where you can sit with other “birds of a feather”. 
If that isn’t enough - Joey has stepped up and provided some of his signature “social hardware”.
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Today is Day One of TechDays Vancouver – our last BIG stop on our skills development conference and experience. 
I was recently talking with our team earlier this month talking about our “post conference experience” and what sort of resources and tools we make available to registered attendees. I can’t quite talk about the full detailed plans as of yet, but let’s just say it’s going to be something we haven’t done before and it’s something that you’ll be wanting to go back to again and again throughout the year.  I’m roaming the halls, talking with IT Professionals and Developers, taking pictures and listening to stories they want to share. It’s great! If you’re here – be sure to stop by the Experts area to connect with the local and Microsoft speakers as well as share YOUR it story.
Check out the pictures as I upload them to the TechDays Flickr Group Photo Pool.
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 John Policelli is a solutions-focused IT consultant with over a decade of combined success in architecture, security, strategic planning, and disaster recovery planning. He has designed and implemented dozens of complex directory service, e-Messaging, web, networking, and security enterprise solutions. John has spent the past 9 years focused on Identity and Access Management and providing thought leadership for some of the largest installations of Active Directory in Canada. He has been involved as an author, technical reviewer, and subject matter expert for over 50 training, exam writing, press, and whitepaper projects related to Windows Server 2008 Identity and Access Management, networking, and collaboration. John is currently writing his second book, Active Directory 2008 How-To by SAMS publishing, which will be released in the spring 2009.
- If you could ask Steve Ballmer one question about Microsoft, what would it be?
Although I have seen clips some of his previous speeches, the 2008 MVP Summit was the first time I saw Steve Ballmer give a keynote in person. I found Steve’s keynote to be motivating and it was great to experience Steve’s passionate expression of enthusiasm in person. If I could ask Steve Ballmer one question, I would have to ask him what motivates him. - What do you think the best software ever written was?
There’s a long list of great software that has been written over the years, and there’s so many factors to consider when selecting the best of the best. Active Directory is definitely on my short list of the best software ever written. I believe Microsoft has done a great job evolving Active Directory from its initial release in Windows 2000 Server to the current version in Windows Server 2008. If you compare Active Directory to its predecessor, Windows NT, there is no question that Active Directory is far more superior. However, the magnitude of additional features and new functionality has made Active Directory an extremely complex product. Moreover, there are countless applications (both Microsoft and third-party) that cannot function without Active Directory. All of this, coupled with the fact that Active Directory is deployed in virtually all organizations today, makes me believe that it is a great product that deserves proper recognition as one of the best software ever written. - If you were the manager of Active Directory, what would you change?
It would be great to see some improvements to the delegation capabilities within Active Directory. I would like to have the ability to implement role-based data management and service management delegation models directly within Active Directory. Additionally, it would be great to see the level of default permissions that are granted to the built-in privileged security groups, such as the Domain Admins group, be reduced. - What are the best features/improvements of Active Directory?
There are a number of great features that were introduced in Active Directory in Windows Server 2008 and more to come in Windows Server 2008 R2. Fine-grained password policies, RODCs, additional auditing capabilities, and the database mounting tool are on the top of my list of great improvements to Active Directory in Windows Server 2008. I am also looking forward to the new Active Directory features coming in Windows Server 2008 R2, specifically the Active Directory PowerShell cmdlets, the built-in Recycling Bin feature, and the new Active Directory Administrative Center. - What was the last book you read?
Since I have authored two books in the past year, and over a dozen courses, I have not had the time to read a full book lately. The last book that I read was “The World Is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman, which analyzes globalization. It’s a great account of how advances in technology and communication have connected people all over the world in ways like never before. - What music CD do you recommend?
I listen to a wide range of genres, but I have to say that U2’s “U218 Singles” is a great album and it would appeal to a wide range of individuals. - What makes you a great MVP?
I’m not sure I would call myself a great MVP. There are so many others that have held the designation for many years. Throughout my career, I have consistently shared my knowledge with others. I am not the type of person that uses my knowledge solely for personal gain. In recent years, I have tried very hard to share my knowledge with the community by participating in newsgroups, posting on my blog, and through my publications. I truly believe that this has been rewarding to me in so many ways and I am glad that I have been able to give back to the community. - What is in your computer bag?
I try to keep it light; my laptop, a power adapter, a wireless mouse, and a few USB flash drives. - What is the best thing that has happened since you have become an MVP?
Because of the wide recognition of the MVP designation, becoming an MVP has opened a number of doors for me professionally. I have also been able to connect more regularly with product groups and other MVPs. 11. What is your motto? I don’t really have a motto. However, I try to ensure that I always learn from my mistakes. I realized a very long time ago that mistakes are only natural and learning from them is much more beneficial than being regretful. 12. Who is your hero? That’s a tough question. There are so many great people that I have had the privilege of having in my life. It would be virtually impossible for me to pick a single person as my hero. 13. What does success mean to you? To me, success is really about achieving the goals you set for yourself. I am very persistent and committed when I set out to achieve something. I will do everything possible, and sometimes the impossible, to ensure I achieve something that I want to achieve. I also believe success is achieving a perfect balance between your professional and personal lives. 
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I wanted to get a quick note out to say that I will be heading out to Vancouver as part the last city of TechDays 2008 Canada. It’s the end of our pilot of events in Canada which were designed based on YOUR FEEDBACK - to give you and your colleagues the technical skills you need to be successful with technologies the industry is talking about. The feature I hear the most positive feedback about over the last 6 cities – We give you the choice in what content you sign up to see across 5 different technical tracks and it’s NOT marketing! If you are in Vancouver and the surrounding area and have not signed up to attend yet – you can still register in advance online or on site at 999 Canada Place. 
So why is this post called “looking to connect”? Simple really. I want to connect with you if you are in the Vancouver area. - Do you want to meet up and have a coffee / pint / bite to eat?
- Do you want the opportunity for bending the ear of a guy who works at Microsoft? I’d love to have a conversation to listen to what you have to say.
- What challenges do you have as an IT manager these days?
- What could our team do to make you and your staff more successful in your roles?
- Basically anything is game – you choose the topic.
I will promise to make myself as accessible as I can to connect with you while I am in town – I get in around noon Monday and have an early flight on Friday. Call my Cell (613) 795-9216 if you are a telephone person or better yet - email me directly at rick.claus@microsoft.com – it goes right to my inbox on my Motorola Q9H Windows Mobile 6.1 device and it’s attached to my hip. I look forward to meeting and talking with you.
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It’s called the Ignite IT Award. And it’s a way for the community to recognize and reward the work that you do. Yes, that‘s not a typo… The community, your peers… They can review any submission and will have the opportunity to vote for their favorites. Voting starts in: 47 days (March 1st 2009). Tic Toc ….
There will be some great prizes but the best part is that you will be able to highlight your successes, your innovating thinking and by the same token, advance your career. Winners will receive the IT Professional grand prize or the Software Developer grand prize—including the Crystal trophy, a Software Kit valued at $1,000, and a prize of $5,000. Plus, all entrants who include a video in their submissions will be entered to win a prize pack valued at over $500 that may include an XBOX 360 Elite and a Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition XBOX game. So go ahead, go to the site Ignite IT Award, submit your stories and tell the world how good you are. We know it. Why not shout it out?
I’m always looking for ways to learn from the successes of others. And if you’re like me, you can review all the submissions for the Ignite IT awards. It may give you ideas; spark interest, who knows...
Don’t make me go out and get you… I will if I have to. But I’d prefer if you all signed up and told us about the wonderful things you guys and gals are cooking up.
Get the glory. Share your I.T. story.
Bookmark this page—submissions posting started on January 5, 2009 and voting begin on March 1, 2009, so check back often!
Cheers!
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I posted this to my other blog, thelazyadmin.com but thought it might be useful to post here as well. One of a new features in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 is the ability to boot from a VHD. It is pretty simple to enable this feature and have it ready at your disposal! Before you begin you should note the following… - You can only boot a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 VHD
- You must configure the boot editor from a Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 install
- You cannot use a Virtual PC VHD, I suggest a Hyper-V VHD
- You need to start with a clean slate, don’t try and reuse an old VHD
I am sure this will change as Windows 7 goes through the beta and RC stages on its way to RTM and we’ll update this as necessary but here goes… Start by launching a Command Prompt and be sure to run as Administrator, once that is done run the following commands… bcdedit /copy {current} /d “Boot_From_VHD” Copy the CSLID that is displayed and then run… bcdedit /set {CLSID} device vhd=[C:]\vhdname.vhd bcdedit /set {CLSID} osdevice vhd=[C:]\vhdname.vhd bcdedit /set {CLSID} detachal on You can replace [C:]\vhdname.vhd with the path and name of your VHD. Once that is complete reboot and you will have the option to “Boot_From_VHD”! You can verify the bootloader is configured correctly with the bcdedit command which will list all the boot options. If you want to delete the entry make note of the GUID listed in bcdedit and use the following command… bcdedit /delete {GUID} /cleanup For more information be sure to check out the Windows 7 resource page on Technet.com 
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With all the news about the release of the first public look at Windows 7 something might have slipped past you and that was the release of Windows Server 2008 R2. As you might imagine there are quite a few upgrades and improvements and there is a great four page document that covers the Top 10 IT Pro Tasks Made Easier with Server 2008 R2 as well as a PowerPoint that gives a Windows Server 2008 R2 Overview and finally a Windows Server 2008 R2 Reviewers Guide that covers off everything new and different. Probably the biggest changes, or at least the most important ones in my mind being a virtualization guy, are those related to Hyper-V 2.0. During TechDays one of the most often asked questions was around QuickMigration vs. VMotion and the associated downtime with with a Quick Migration vs. a VMotion migration. Well Hyper-V 2.0 now supports Live Migration which provides seemless migration of VMs between hosts in a cluster with no loss of connectivity, no downtime! Finally I can answer that question, now all I need is the hardware to demo it! There are a couple of other new bits in there as well, like support for 32 logical processors (v1 supports 24), hot add/remove of storage so you no longer have to take a VM down to add another VHD to it and the ability to boot from a VHD allowing you to mount a VM on physical hardware if necessary. Lastly is something called Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) which takes advantage of new processor features to reduce the load on the hypervisor and increase performance. I haven’t looked into this too much to see what CPU requirements there are or how it works but I will be attending a Windows Server 2008 R2 Airlift in Redmond after TechDays Vancouver and you can be sure I’ll be sharing everything I learn there! Oh I almost forgot, for those of you using Microsoft Hyper-V Server, there is an R2 version of that as well that adds the same support and new features as above but also adds Windows Server Failover Clustering to the mix allowing you to add high availability and Live Migration capabilities to your free Hyper-V Server deployments! You can grad the Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta here and be sure to also check out the Virtualization Team Blog for more. 
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You might have heard that the first Windows 7 beta was released today and you may have even downloaded it! If not you can find out how to get it here! While you are downloading it be sure to check out the new, revamped Springboard portal dedicated to Windows 7. Windows 7 Springboard Portal So what will you find here? Well currently you’ll find… - Windows 7: A First Look for IT Pros
- A Windows 7 Feature Walkthrough
- Mark Russinovich Goes Inside Windows 7
- Links to Windows 7 blogs, forums and more
The site will be continually updated of the coming months with more information on piloting, deploying and managing Windows 7 as well as how to manage and transition a mixed Windows XP, Vista, and 7 environment. Windows 7 Springboard Portal 
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So I spent $5 on what is one of the most secure ways to do any online logins, in this case my PayPal account. PayPal now offers a one time password token (OTP) to give its users a more secure login methodology. Now instead of a username and password you must also provide the current passcode displayed on the token they provide. 
The passcode is valid for 30 seconds upon which time a new passcode is provided and that passcode can only be used once. I am sure you are all familiar with RSA SecureID or one of Canada’s own AuthAnvil (run by Canadian MVP Dana Epp) and this is really not very different. The device has a serial number and once it is synchronized with the authentication server you are ready to go. Now you have something you know (your username/password) and something you have (the passcode on the token) for a nice secure two factor authentication scheme. This got me thinking, why isn’t this standard from all financial institutions? I asked around with some people I know and there is no reason why it isn’t feasible. The banks could do, like they do for credit/debit cards, centralize the authentication/token sync so that you could use one token for your different banks and accounts. When compared to the smartcard technology they are just starting to implement on credit cards in Canada, which is pretty lame since they all still have magnetic stripes on the back with the data and they use the same PIN as your debit card, isn’t this a better route? I was more than willing to pay the $5 to cover the costs which included shipping for the added protection and I’d even go as far as paying an additional fee every month with my bank to provide me a real level of security. The token is small enough to stick on your keychain and as a backup you can authorize a mobile phone and get a OTP sent to your phone via SMS for emergencies. Doesn’t this make more sense than adding a smart chip but leaving the “dumb” mag stripe on the back? 
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There is a little battle going on right now in Twitterland between Mark Relph (@mrelph) and Rick Claus (@Rickster_CDN) on who's going to install Windows 7 on their Dell Latitude E4300 notebook first. Looks to me that Mark is winning but that's now why I'm writing this post. I'm writing it because I know that many of you have a TechNet Plus subscription that you may have received at TechDays (free for 6-months for attending TechDays), or purchased because it provides amazing value in being able to evaluate MS software without any time restrictions. Plus, you also get a couple of free support incidents worth the price of the subscription. In any case, no matter how you got it, log on to Subscriber Downloads right now!! Why, you may ask? If you have been waiting with baited breath for Windows 7 to come out so that you can play with it, wait no more. It is available on Subscriber Downloads right now!! Not only that, you can also download Windows Server 2008 R2 beta as well so that you can test out both the client and server piece of the next version of Windows. In case you're wondering, yes, it is downloading to my machine as I write this post. We'll keep you informed on more details and links on Windows 7 as they become available. In the meantime, if you are a TechNet Plus subscriber, download it, install it on a test machine (don't use it in production, please) and let me know what you think by posting a comment on the blog or sending me an email at damirb@microsoft.com. Cheers....Damir 
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I got back into the office yesterday and in the course of a number of "Happy New Years" and other conversations, I was also asked what I did over the Holidays. Besides spending some well-deserved time with the family (I probably travel more than my kids would like), the most exciting thing we did was purchase a new vehicle.
Truth be told, I was not specifically looking to get a new vehicle but my own car (1995 BMW M540) is in need of some work and I wanted to get something more winter-friendly. Looking at the news reports of the auto sector bailouts, and having leased a Chrysler Town and Country for my wife to use earlier this year, I was curious at what was out there from Ford, GM or Chrysler that I would find attractive while at the same time be able to make a small contribution to the North American economy. To make a long story short, we (because a new vehicle is always a family purchase) settled on a 2009 Ford Escape with Ford Sync (powered by Microsoft).
While I was pleasantly surprised by the Ford Escape in terms of overall handling, finish, performance and the like, what really blew me away was the Sync system. After only using it for a little over a week, I don't think I will ever get a car without it, and here's why.
When I get into my Ford Escape and turn on the key the Sync system automatically connects to my Windows Mobile device, a Samsung Jack, via Bluetooth and now my phone calls play over the internal speakers. The microphones in the car work so well that my wife tells me it's clearer than using the phone directly. Furthermore, when I paired my phone initially with the Sync system, it downloaded my entire address book, and through what I would consider quite amazing voice recognition, allows me to issue such commands as "Call John Oxley at work". The response is a very efficient "Calling John Oxley at work" and I am connected. Incoming calls also display the name of the person calling on the dashboard (if in my address book) or the phone number for easy reference. I suspect that I am probably only scratching the surface on the phone features, and need to look at the manual to find out how to do more wonderful stuff with it - like have Sync read out my text messages to me!!
Another cool thing about the Ford Sync system is the ability to take the music content of my Zune (or iPod, if you choose) and index it within the system. This allows me to issue such voice commands as "Play Artist Guns and Roses" and Sync connects to the Zune, gets the appropriate tracks and starts playing. Oh so cool!! I can even have it play similar songs to the one I'm listening to, shuffle all songs or a subset of them, play my playlists, and so on. Great for those long trips after the free 6-month Sirius subscription has run out!!
The one thing I have yet to try is the Vehicle Health Report which provides you with an email on how your vehicle is doing and if there is anything you need to worry about or recalls to deal with. Quite handy and I'll give it a try in a month or so, whether it needs it or not.
The one Sync service I don't want to try is the 911 Assist, but is is great to know that it is there in case I ever need it.
All in all, I can say that the Ford Sync (powered by Microsoft) really made the decision to buy my new 2009 Ford Escape an easy one. I've only had my Escape and Sync for a short time and am loving it. I would love to hear from others who have also bough the Sync system or are considering it so send me an email (damirb@microsoft.com) and tell me your Sync story or post a comment on the blog.
Cheers.....Damir 
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