Dennis Chung - Windows MVP: Windows

Windows PowerShell – excellent screencast now available

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:49:04 GMT

Original Post Here:
http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/archive/2008/07/22/windows-powershell-excellent-screencast-now-available.aspx

Jeff Alexander is perfecting the art of screencasting and his latest adventure with Windows PowerShell is certainly well worth watching. He stole my intro but it’s all good matey. I think in return he needs to tell us where he snagged that cool spinning globe on his desktop.

So what is PowerShell you ask?

I would imagine a lot of you have at least heard of PowerShell. If you aren’t a developer you’ve probably steered clear of it simply because it looks like complex code. Fear not, it isn’t that complex. Here’s the description from microsoft.com:

Microsoft Windows PowerShell command line shell and scripting language helps IT professionals achieve greater control and productivity. Using a new admin-focused scripting language, more than 130 standard command line tools, and consistent syntax and utilities, Windows PowerShell allows IT professionals to more easily control system administration and accelerate automation. Windows PowerShell is easy to adopt, learn, and use, because it works with your existing IT infrastructure and existing script investments, and because it runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003. Windows PowerShell is now included as part of Windows Server 2008. Exchange Server 2007, System Center Operations Manager 2007, System Center Data Protection Manager V2, and System Center Virtual Machine Manager also leverage Windows PowerShell to improve administrator control, efficiency, and productivity.

Here’s the 20 minute screencast video Jeff created. Jeff demonstrates some really cool tools so stick with him through the entire video. Double click the small window below while playing and it will go full screen. If you want to download the video and watch it offline, right mouse click this link and SAVE AS to your local disk.

For more information on PowerShell, see the website at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/management/powershell/default.mspx.

See the TechNet Script Center at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/hubs/msh.mspx.

Get PowerShell version 2 (CTP) @ http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=7C8051C2-9BFC-4C81-859D-0864979FA403&displaylang=en.

/Dennis

ANWYCDFYSBWYSCDFY - Episode 1

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:49:58 GMT

Together with Matty, we are doing a series of informative, simple and fun videos on Windows Server 2008.
This is a mirror post.

Welcome to the first edition of ANWYCDFYSBWYSCDFY (Ask not what you can do for your server but what your server can do for you).

Yes Ill admit its a terrible title, but the intent behind these videos is to quickly show you what can be achieved with Windows Server 2008 and its various features. They videos themselves aim to be informative and fun, so we hope you feel the same way when you watch it too!

Please leave comments and let me know if these are beneficial/fun for your to see. ;-)

/Dennis

AdminPak.msi is no longer in Windows 2008

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:43:04 GMT

If you have been administering your Windows 2003 environment from XP or Vista, you have probably installed Adminpak.msi. Well, with the launch of Windows 2008, adminpak has disappeared.

That is now known as RSAT. (Remote Server Administration Tools).

There is a 64bit version and a 32bit version of this tool.
This is just another discussion taken from SWUG.

/Dennis

How to obtain evaluation of Windows Storage Server 2003 R2

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:58:55 GMT

This post is for an old friend, Steven Hill, from eGroup.com.sg

Steven, to obtain the Windows Storage Server 2003 R2, visit this link.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/solutions/specializedservers/OEM/Evaluation.mspx

Here are some other links which i thought you might be interested;

Product Home Page: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/wss2003/default.mspx
White Paper- Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 for IT Pros
Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 - Planning and Deployment

Hope this helps pal..

/Dennis

Why can't you get HyperV working properly on your Intel hardware?

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:06:20 GMT

Just recently, in Server Wave Launch in Suntec, there were a few showcases. One of the showcase was about virtualization. Specifically at the showcase, HyperV was featured. Since HyperV hasn't been widely understood and in many cases, very new to many, some are facing difficulties getting it to work. So i am just going to tell you what you have to be aware of, to get it working.

There are some requirements that is needed;

Operating System: You need the 64bit version of Windows 2008. HyperV does not work on the 32bit version. Hey, 64bit is the way to go.
You need to have hardware virtualization support. That means you need an Intel-VT or AMD-V processors to support this.

Once you have those, you are ready to rock and roll with HyperV.

However, there are some things you may encounter even if you have satisfied the above. Perform the following in sequence, saves you lots of problem;

Enter the BIOS of your machine, and make sure Virtualization is turned on (Found so far in Intel CPU based machines)
Load up the HyperV bits. With WS2008 RTM, its shipped with Beta version of HyperV.
After you have loaded up HyperV, you will be prompted to reboot. (Instead of a Reboot, so a Shutdown). Cut the power for about 10 seconds (PULL THE PLUG) and power up. You should be ready to fire up HyperV without error. You need to do a complete Power Cycle. Warm Bootup / Reboot is not enough.

You should then be able to load it up nicely and get it work.

Here are some instructions on how to load up Windows Server 2008 with HyperV Release Candidate.
To load up HyperV RC, you need the update here (KB 949219).

/Dennis

MS Learning going into Silverlight...

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:47:00 GMT

Microsoft Learning is beginning to tap into the rich experience environment of Silverlight technology. While I don't evangelize Silverlight, my team does. Silverlight is capable of delivery that rich experience across different platforms. I recall a term, "Cross Browser, Cross Platforms". The plugin is small and installs in under a minute. There is a site called Tafiti. www.tafiti.com which applies Silverlight to Microsoft's Search engine, Live.Com

Again, I don't evangelize Silverlight, but I evangelize on Windows Server 2008. It was brought to my attention from the MS Learning team about this. http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/ws08/snack01/Default.html

They have applied Silverlight into learning and the first of which talks about Windows Server 2008. Check out the link above. You will learning about Introduction to;

- Branch Office Management Solutions
- Branch Office Solutions
- Installing a Server Core-Only Branch Office Server
- Read Only Domain Controller Deployment
- How Bit Locker Encryption Works

Take a look at it... Nice.

/Dennis

Vista SP1 did improve performance

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:49:06 GMT

You probably heard Microsoft is going to release Vista Service Pack 1. In the next couple of weeks, Vista SP1 will be made available. No exact dates that i could recall, but it will definitely be available by mid of mar or latest end March 08.

In the office, I received the RTM bits of Vista SP1. I downloaded the x64 version and installed it. I made a few snap shots just to share with you. My overall Windows Experience Index increased by 0.2. I discovered performance increase in these following areas; Memory, and Gaming Graphics.

Before (Left) and After (Right)

Be sure to get Vista Service Pack 1 when its publicly available. Things are a lot more stable now...

/Dennis

Windows 2008 Step By Step Lab (Pre-Release)

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:07:55 GMT

Hi everyone,

managed to rush out a set of steps of instructions for Windows Server 2008 Hands On Lab. I've compiled from various sources, piece them together and use my trainer background put all these into a lab environment in Microsoft Innovation Center's lab.
The instructions were corrected several times with the help of 3 batches of IT Pros who attended the hands on lab. The last session on 29th Dec 07 was successful with no errors. :-) Which means, these steps are working now. They are all based on Windows Server 2008 RC1 and Vista SP1 RC.
The following topics were covered in this lab;
1. Installing Hyper-V
2. Active Directory Backup and Restore
3. Using Restartable Active Directory
4. Implementing Read Only Domain Controller
5. Managing and Installing IIS 7.0
6. Implementing Terminal Services RemoteApps
7. Network Access Protection through DHCP

I'm making this document available to anyone who wants them. You may drop me a comment or a thank you note if you find it useful for you.

To download the 29 pages document, click here. When i have more time, i will definitely be doing more only if you want to see more, so let me know. ;-)

/Dennis

The path to Windows 7

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 03:21:03 GMT

Well, if you have been following the version numbers, you will realize that if your type "winver" in your command prompt, you will see this.

Windows 6.0

Over the past years, Windows version has been building. Yup, you probably already know the next number. its is 7. :-)

If you would like to know more about the next generation Windows, check this out.
http://apcmag.com/7668/beyond_vista_windows_7_what_we_know_so_far

/Dennis

All editions of WIndows 2008

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 12:04:10 GMT

Many people has been asking me what are the editions of Windows 2008.

Well, Microsoft has Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter and Web editions for Windows 2008.

However, with the release of Windows Server Virtualization, we have another 3 SKUs.

So the final SKUs are out. Virtualization in Windows 2008 is now known as Hyper-V.

If you do not need Virtualization, you can purchase editions of 2008 without Hyper-V.

So there are now 8 Editions of Windows Server 2008.

Here's the summary. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/editions/overview.mspx

/Dennis

Server Core + IIS7 + PHP + MySQL

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:45:36 GMT

Wow. Take Windows Server 2008 Server Core + PHP + IIS7 + MySQL + WordPress, mix them together, will they blend well and work out as a nice concoction? Matty challenged me to this blend, and guess what, we have a powerful cocktail to offer after all!

I scuffled around to see if anyone had come up with this powerful blend. Surprisingly, no one offered it on Server Core. There are bits and pieces everywhere, but none quite fit the blend we needed. I then decided to take up Matty’s challenge and come up with one.

With my buddy Matty, we decided to take a spin for it (He challenged me to it). The whole ordeal was over in a day and we finally got it working. Thanks to another great pal in the next cube, Chris Ismael (Interop Expert).

Alright, here is the story on my adventure.

The Hardware

Matty brought me his machine for the adventure. A cool looking machine with a red glow. Deserves some mention because he sponsored this equipment to mess with. It is a Dell XPS. But it is more like desktop replacement than a laptop. ;-) It is powered by an Intel Core2DUO 2GHz with 4GB of ram. In this adventure, a Server Core installation took a mere 4 minutes to complete on this beast.

Windows Virtualization

I chose to do my adventure using Virtualization technology. I loaded a Windows 2008 x64 onto the Dell machine and installed the Virtualization server role. Using virtualization allows me to take snap shots in time. This will allow me to revert back to a previous time in seconds. So for example, if I crash and made a grave mistake, I do not have to redo or try figure out what to undo. Windows Server Virtualization is definitely a technology every one serious in optimizing the data centre should take a serious thought about it.

The Ordeal Begins

Alright, let’s get to our stuff and begin our adventure.
I will take you through Server Core, IIS7 with FastCGI, PHP, MySQL and WordPress. The rest are on your own. Seriously, there is nothing else apart from learning how to use WordPress. ;-)

Getting Server Core onto the Network

You will setup Server Core the same way as you setup a typical Windows server, except you select “Core” installation. The first thing Server Core will get you to do is force you to change your admin password.
A Server Core in Windows Server Virtualization (WSV) will not have any network card installed. We will need to install Integration Services into the Virtual Machine (VM). By the way, my tests so far, WSV allows my VMs to run 3 times faster than on Virtual Server 2005 R2.
Here are some tasks you need to get over;
1. Install Integration Services (Skip this if you’re not using WSV)
On the VM Connection Window, Click on Action -> Insert Integration Services Setup Disk or Hit Ctrl+I. This step loads vmguest.iso onto the VM’s DVD Drive and lets you access the ISO contents. In this case, the Integration Services.
Auto run won't happen. So you need to execute “<DRIVE>:\support\x86\ and execute setup.exe”
You will be prompted to reboot twice, go ahead.
This will load up the smooth mouse integration, NICs bla bla.. I'll save the details. Let’s move on.
2. Verifying NIC and IPConfig
If you have a DHCP server running on the network, you can skip this unless you want to use static IP configuration
To fix an IP Address;
netsh interface ipv4 set address name=”Local Area Connection” source=static address=<IPADDRESS> mask=<255.255.255.0> gateway=<GatewayIP>
To add a DNS Server entry;
netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="Local Area Connection" address=<IPAddress of DNS>
3. Changing the Computer Name & Joining a Domain if needed

Find out the current hostname: "hostname" (Take note of it)

To change the computer name:
netdom renamecomputer <Current Computer name> /NewName:<NewComputerName>
To join the domain (if you need to, Server Core and be in workgroup mode):
netdom join <ComputerName> /domain:<DomainName> /Userd:<UserName> /passwordd: *
4. Opening an Exception for MySQL
netsh firewall add portopening tcp 3306 "MySQL"
This step prevents a setup error in MySQL later.
You need to reboot at this stage to take effect: shutdown /r /t 0
5. Activation of Windows Server Core
If you are connected to Internet: slmgr.vbs –ato
Else to use phone activation:
slmgr.vbs –dti (Displays the Installation ID to be given to Microsoft)
slmgr.vbs –atp <ConfirmationID> (Activates server using Confirmation ID given by Microsoft)

Loading IIS 7.0 with FastCGI

This is where Microsoft has placed lots of focus on making IIS 7.0 highly secure, highly modular and highly interoperable. For more details on the installation commands, you may visit this web page for installation tips.
For this adventure, I will install the minimum required. I used the following command;
start /w pkgmgr /iu:IIS-WebServerRole;WAS-WindowsActivationService;WAS-ProcessModel;IIS-CGI
To verify the installation, use this command “oclist” and verify the installation.

Loading PHP

Reference: Using Fast CGI to Host PHP Applications on IIS7
Download: Non-Thread Safe PHP 5.2.1
Extract contents of downloaded files onto c:\php\
Updating the PHP.INI File
- Copy c:\php\php.ini-recommended c:\php\php.ini
- Notepad c:\php\php.ini
- Change: extension_dir=”c:\php\ext”
- Uncomment: extension=php_mysql.dll
- Add: Extension=php_gd.dll
- Save the file php.ini and exit notepad

Creating PHP Handler in IIS 7.0

Reference: Using Fast-CGI to Host PHP Applications on IIS7
appcmd set config /section:system.webServer/fastCGI /+[fullPath='c:\php\php-cgi.exe']
appcmd set config /section:system.webServer/handlers /+[name='PHP-FastCGI',path='*.php',verb='*',modules='FastCgiModule',scriptProcessor='c:\php\php-cgi.exe',resourceType='Either']

Setting Default Document to index.php

appcmd set config "Default web site" /section:defaultDocument /enabled:true
appcmd set config "Default Web Site" /section:defaultDocument /+files.[value='index.php']

Loading MySQL

Download: MySQL 5.0.45
This is the only section where you will encounter a GUI setup. ;-) Enjoy.
Running the Setup:
Execute the file, mysql-essential-5.0.45-win32.msi
At Welcome, Click next
Select Typical, Click next
Click Install, Next all the way and Finish.
Instance Configuration will now begin:
At Welcome, Click next
Select Standard Configuration, Click next
Select Install as Windows Service, Click next
Specify the root password and Click next
Click Execute and Finish

Creating a MySQL Database

Reference: PHP on IIS7.0 Wordpress
Execute “c:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.0\bin\mysql.exe –u root –p”
Key in your root password specified earlier.
mysql> create database wordpress;
mysql> grant all privileges on wordpress.* to ‘wordpress’@’%’ identified by ‘password’;

Loading Wordpress

Reference: PHP Applications on IIS7 - Wordpress
Download: WordPress
Extract the download file’s contents into c:\inetpub\wwwroot\wordpress\
Next make a copy of the WordPress Configuration Sample file;
cd c:\inetpub\wwwroot\wordpress
copy wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php
Edit wp-config.php
We need to modify the wp-config.php to reflect the right UserID, Password, MySQL Database Name and server. So we need to modify these 4 attributes to reflect what we have setup so far; DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_HOST
// ** MySQL settings ** //
define('DB_NAME', 'wordpress');    // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', 'wordpress');     // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password'); // ...and password
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');    // Change this to IP address of your database
We are done. Open a browser from a client that can see this server we have setup. Browse to http://<Server>/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php and start configuring the WordPress application.

Conclusion

We now have a running Web Server (on Server Core) with PHP enabled running the WordPress application. In essence, we have pieced together the following technologies; Windows 2008 Server Core + PHP + MySQL + IIS 7.0 + WordPress.

Off my mind, there are many aspects which are compelling;

- Small foot print - Server Core is light in foot print. Much lesser binary. Takes about 1/4 to 1/5 the footprint of a full install. Disk storage is less demanding.
- Small surface attack area - Less binaries, less requirements to update the binaries if a vulnerability is discovered
- Requires less resources to run
- Concentrated workload
- Fast and speed server provisioning

I had fun in this adventure and thanks to Matty and Chris. We are looking out for more fun and will share with you what we have. If you have an idea or would like to know more, contact me or Matty anytime. Drop us an email today.

BTW, this is a supported scenario in IT Pro Momentum. So if you like to give Server Core running IIS7 a try in your environment and receive a free 1 year TechNet+ Subscription, wait no further, drop me an email now.

/Dennis

MKLink command in Windows Server 2008

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:42:43 GMT

I came across this command which i thought was very interesting.

It allows you to create a "Directory Junction" and lets you basically redirect all requests in the system to another location you define. You can use this to "fool" a program or script that looks for that folder.

Lets see what the command can do. For a reference of the command, click here.

Here's the story;

1. Create a physical directory in Windows 2008.
md c:\dennis
2. Create a Junction reference to c:\dennis
mklink /d /j crazy c:\dennis
3. List the directory under C:\

I can now traverse the junction "crazy" just like any folder. However, there is one small difference. Whatever you put in c:\crazy\ will show up in c:\dennis. The junction is a redirect if you think about it.
To IT Pros, this can be a huge impact. Say for example you have lots of scripts that references a folder called c:\dennis. For some reason, storage in that path is not available anymore, so you kind of have to update to perhaps another location. You can either change all your script references, or use the journal. ;-)
To remove the journal entry, use your normal delete commands like "del" or "rmdir".
Be very careful when you use the "del" command. If you specify "del c:\crazy" in this case, it will remove the journal and all the files in c:\dennis\*.* Use with care. It'll prompt you, just don't be fast fingered like me. ;-)
Well, if you're really fast fingered like me, you have Shadow copies to help you do a quick restore.

/Dennis

Can't find Viridian in your Windows Server 2008 RC0 ??

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:21:15 GMT

Can't find the Windows Server Virtualization role in your Windows Server 2008 RC0 build?

Look for the Viridian bits under c:\windows\wsv and install the bits in order you find there.

After which, you'll find the roles listed in the Server Management.

For more details, check this blog from the virtualization team. http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2007/09/28/windows-server-2008-rc0-and-virtualization-ctp-faq.aspx

/Dennis

Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (RC0) is released

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 01:50:52 GMT

Another major milestone for Windows Server 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2007/sep07/09-24windowserverrc0.mspx

Lets start loading using RC0. This milestone is the release that will closely resembles what will make it to RTM. ;-)

/Dennis

Windows 2008 Upgrade paths

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:35:02 GMT

- Windows Server 2003 can be upgraded to WS2K8 Beta3, WS2K8 RC0, WS2K8 RC1, and WS2K8 RTM

- Windows Server 2008 Beta3 can be upgraded to WS2K8 Beta3, and WS2K8 RC0

- Windows Server 2008 RC0 can be upgraded to WS2K8 RC0, WS2K8 RC1, and WS2K8 RTM

- Windows Server 2008 RC1 can be upgraded to WS2K8 RC1, and WS2K8 RTM

Example, if right now you have Windows 2003 and want to try Windows 2008, you upgrade it to Windows 2k8 Beta3 to play around with. Later on you purchased W2k8 RTM, you need to upgrade the same machine to W2k8RC0 first then to RTM.

/Dennis

Know the health level of your machines on the network?? Pluto does…

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 09:25:55 GMT

For the past couple of weeks, I presented at several events and witnessed tremendous excitement about Windows Server 2008. At the same time, i was telling people about a great program Microsoft is running, the IT Pro Momentum. I want to let everyone know the great stuff we have coming, in a HUGE way. A huge amount of interest in Windows Server 2008 is Network Access Protection (NAP).

For the past 2 weeks, I had been working with Desmond Kung of Pluto Tech. He deployed NAP using Windows Server 2008 in his organization and is using it to ensure that his clients have a base level of health before they are granted access to the network. He used to have clients using different brands of firewalls/antivirus software and was a huge challenge to enforce and update them.

With NAP, he wants to make sure clients comply with base levels of health throughout the duration of the network connection. He is now able to ensure continuous compliance of all clients on the network. The moment a client is not compliant, network access is taken away. To make it better, there can be auto remediation, which makes non-compliant clients, compliant. ;-) Administrators no longer have to worry about how to enforce compliance. After the implementation, Desmond discovered that they had machines without any form of basic protection at all. Now, they are able to restrict network access of “non-healthy” clients to a remediation network, and get them compliant before allowing them full network access.

In his own words, “We could dictate that Windows XP / Vista must be updated with the latest patches, firewall must be turned on and anti-virus signatures must be updated before systems can be even allowed full access to the corporate network. Should any system breach any of the above-mentioned conditions at any point in time, they’ll immediately be kicked out of the corporate network into a restricted network, with access only to the remediation servers. NAP has given Pluto an edge over network security and allows us to sustain a high level of network health which previously, had no way of enforcing them.”

If you are interested to implement NAP, I can provide you resources to get started and implement it just like Pluto. Simply drop me an email at i-dchung@microsoft.com with subject: “IT Pro Momentum: NAP”. I’ll promptly get in touch with you and make you successful, just like Pluto did.

/Dennis

Windows Server 2008 - Active Directory... very promising

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 08:13:37 GMT

As most of you probably know, I am running a Windows Server 2008 Insiders Group, aimed to provide first hand exclusive trainings to selected group of IT Pros. These IT Pros are passionate people willing to come beyond office hours to learn about Windows Server 2008. Kudos to them.

Over the past months, an Insider Group member, Suhendar Gunawan from Siemens IT Solutions and Services (ADFR Team), has been heavily evaluating Windows Server 2008 as a compelling solution to ease the management burden of managing his Active Directory. Here are some facts from his Siemens Active Directory based on Windows Server 2003 Native Mode implementation;

A forest with single tree, named siemens.net
85 Child Domains world wide
1200 Active Directory Sites
1400 Domain Controllers (including 1070 Global catalogues )
Approx. 600,000 user accounts and 575,000 computer accounts
About 20 GB of AD Database (ntds.dit)

Check out the numbers, you can imagine how large the environment is and how extreme they could push Active Directory. But they do find some pain in managing the current Active Directory due to the scalability and missing features on Windows Server 2003.

For now, they have been actively piloting the various builds of Windows Server 2008 to upgrade their current Active Directory infrastructure and are currently running an AD forest (a test forest) consisting of Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 (mixed mode). Great work Suhendar.

In his words, “I (and ADFR team) have been supporting and managing Siemens Active Directory since Windows Server 2000. Due to the size and complexity of our Forest, the ADFR team has been experiencing some pains. The Windows Server 2003 appeared to be more reliable than Windows Server 2000, but somehow is still lacking of scalability and missing features. Windows Server 2008 is a very promising candidate to ease our current burden, and we’re seriously considering upgrading to it”.

By the way, on a side note, Suhendar will be sharing his experience on Active Directory with the local Microsoft communities too. If you like to know more about Active Directory, you can get in touch with me, I can send you the resources. Email me at i-dchung@microsoft.com with subject “IT PRO: W2k8 Active Directory”.

/Dennis

Determining the SKU of your Longhorn

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:39:03 GMT

New in Windows 2008 and Windows Vista, there is a WMIC command you can use to quickly find out the version or SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) of the version of your windows. This command is useful if you are faced with a Core installation of Windows Server 2008.

In this screen shot, traditionally in Windows, we'll use the command "winver" to identify the build and version of Windows you're running. Works fine in GUI version of Windows. However, in a new SKU of Windows Server 2008 is the Core installation, without the GUI. The Winver command doesn't work.

Making use of this new property, try out this command:

"wmic path win32_operatingsystem get OperatingSystemSKU /value"

It will return a value like this.

In this case, 14 is returned, which indicates this is Enterprise Server Core Edition.
You can find a list of reference for the values here. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394239.aspx

/Dennis

What is Network Access Protection?

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:08:12 GMT

Network Access Protection, aka NAP, from Microsoft, is fast becoming highly recognized by Enterprise IT as a new, upcoming and very promising solution to a long requested protection for any networks.

So exactly what is it? I'm trying to avoid getting technical here so we can get an understanding about it.

The network that is precious

Core routers, switches, wires, wireless APs all over. What do they do? They hook up the clients and the servers, put them together on the same communication medium and let magic work. Easy said, but i have a lot of respect for Networking Guys. Kudos.
Now, every piece of information on the wire can be deemed as important, need to be secured and should be resilient against intruders. Agree? I'm sure you'll say yes. Well, you're supposed to.
Think again, what could go into that wire. Logon IDs and passwords, that research document that could fetch you millions, that secret love letter you are sending to the girl/guy in the other end of the office etc.. Alright, i think you got the point. You want to protect your network.

What's the problem?

As your network gets heavily depended on for business operations, you will come to a stage where you have to make data highly available. You will start beginning introducing remote access elements to your network solution.
That's good because your staff can now work from home, that hotspot at Macdonalds, or even from customer's place. You will usually implement a VPN solution for remote access. In any case, you're allowing a machine into the network from a remote location.
Because of the so many avenues of accessing your network, you inevitably open up a whole avenue for someone to attack your network, steal your data, cause disruptions etc.
How can you be sure, the computer which was used to VPN in has the following;
1. Latest Anti Virus signature
2. Firewall running
3. Latest System Updates applied
4. Or any other security requirements you may have.
How can you be sure, the computer that plugs into the network faceplate, is a machine that can be trusted?

What can you do?

You can implement NAP. Microsoft's answer. The system admin can define policies governing network access. You can stipulate that the client must be healthy and meet all the corporate access policy before it is allowed to connect to the server. It works in all networks. There are of course several components to it.
It can help you easily say that the computer/machine that is connected to the network, before granting it access to the corporate network and services, run a series of test and configuration against it. If found to be non compliant, the machine could be isolated and be given a chance to get compliant, before you allow it to get into the network to access resources.

Learn about it.

Here's a Whitepaper about NAP. Please take come time to read it. There are various network access control solutions that i know out there, but nothing is quite close to what NAP can offer.
Frequently Asked Questions about NAP
NAP Platform Architecture

Watch this space again. I'll be talking more about NAP in preparation for a few events coming up. Will be using this space to share what i know about NAP. The Windows 2008 Insiders group will be covering NAP in the upcoming August meeting.

/Dennis

Adding a Web Server Role into Windows Server 2008

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 02:03:34 GMT

Having talked about Server Manager in the previous post. We can have a very quick look at installing the Web Server role. Web Server in W2k3 has taken on a tremendous overhaul i would say. Many things has been re-written. You might be quite so very lost when you first look at it. The new interface makes good sense.

Most of the time when an IT Pro looks at IIS, they're really concerned about configuring it, and not so quite bothered by the "Content View" which is presented by default in IIS6. Serious, those of you who have seen it in IIS6 actually use the content view. I don't. In fact 90% of the time, i got my web designers to supply the content, while i go to IIS Manager to configure it. Key thing, i don't touch the content. So content view is relatively useless to me.

Lets look at how you use the Server Manager to Add a Role and the wizards takes out all the guess work. Many things has also been changed. Bits of the IIS server doesn't get deployed until you tell it to. So features like Integrated Authentication is something you can add. ASP.NET support, ASP Support, CGI Support and etc.

Adding the Server Role

From Server Manager, under Roles, Click on the Add Role. Its really easy, so intuitive, you won't miss it.

I just want to catch some screen shots here and share the installation experience with you. Click on Next to go to the Server Roles Dialogue. Here, you will see most of the Roles that W2k8 can run as. There is a Streaming Services Role that isn't here, but can be added by an Add-On to make it appear. Anyway, just Click on the Web Server Role.

Once you click on the Web Server roles, the wizard will detect that several mandatory components are needed for a base IIS to be functional. Take a look at the required components, were you aware they are the minimum for IIS to run? you probably don't. :-)

Click on Add Required Features to continue and click on Next to progress further. You are then given an Introduction to IIS. Click on next to start loading the features you need in IIS.

The entire IIS has been quite deeply "componentized". So whatever web app you put into IIS7 (basic setup), will break for sure. Reason why normally those web apps break is because the feature isn't loaded. Scroll down the list and take a look. I've for a portion of that list here.

Just wanted to highlight under Security. You will see Basic Authentication, Windows Authentication, Digest and various other mechanism. By default, anonymous is loaded. Nothing else unless you specify. Select the Features you need and continue.

On the next page, you're give the summary of the installation and you will then begin installation. After which, your Windows Server 2008 is now a web server. Have fun.

/Dennis

Intro to Server Manager of Windows Server 2008

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 01:09:18 GMT

In the upcoming release of Windows Server 2008, many features has been reorganized. Take for instance, Add/Remove Programs isn't there any more. Its been replaced by Control Panel features similarly to the one laid out in Windows Vista. Since Windows Server 2008 (W2k8 Server) will be Microsoft's next Big Wave, we'll talk about W2k8.

Many of the interfaces has been redesigned and having asked several IT Pros that i've shown about W2k8, more than 80% of them like being about do manage a server from a Single Console for more than 60% of the routine tasks.

Most things related to managing the server has been placed into a new console known as the Server Manager. You can access Server Manager from under Administrative Tools.

Click on Server Manager brings up the console. The console is made up of several components giving you a very quick view of your server. You used to have to navigate a few other places in Windows 2003 to be able to obtain the same piece of information which you can easily find in W2k8.

From this console, you can have a very quick view to the following; Computer Information, Security Information, Roles and Features summary, Resources and Support.

Computer information,

you can have a quick view of Computer name, Workgroup, Networking Information, Is remote desktop enabled? and the ProductID. You can also make a quick change if needed. Neat isn't it. I love it. On clicking the portion highlighted in the picture by Red Arrow, it will bring up the relevant panels for you to make changes.

Security Information

you can get information on the Firewall status, if Automatic update is enabled, when it was last updated and what were the updates and if IE has got its Enhanced Security Enabled. Likewise, like the previous, you can quickly click on the relevant item and make immediate changes.

Roles and Features

you can list manage the roles and features of your server. Say you want to make your Server a web server, you add the Web Server Role. If you want DHCP Server, you add the DHCP Server Role. If you need .NET 3 Framework for things like CardSpace, you add the .NET 3 Framework features. If you need Remote Server Administration Tools, you look for it in the Features. Well, there are too many things to cover for that one, but you get what i mean. I'll cover it seperately on what is in there.

Resources and Support

Lastly, you can use the last one to help you to gain access to resources, for example, Community Support. When was the last time you had to frantically look for your vendors for help. Now you can tap on the power of Community Support. Oh, before i forget, CEIP. Customer Experience Improvement Program. This won't take up a lot of resources and doesn't send out sensitive information that identifies who you are. Please enable this if possible. Microsoft uses this piece of information to help us improve our products to serve you better.

That's it for now. I'll come back with more.

/Dennis

Windows 2008 Server Core Installation : Screen Cast

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:56:51 GMT

Here we go again. Another dosage of Windows Server 2008.

A colleague of mine, Jeff Alexander, IT Pro Evangelist in Australia came up with a screen cast which is on his blog now.

What is Server Core?

Its a flavor of Installation for Windows Server 2008. What we dubbed as minimal install. There are many advantages why you want to run on Server Core. Windows takes up much lesser resources in such an installation. Since Server Core installs so much lesser than the normal installation, lots of stuff are not loaded. And what that translates to is that if an update is available, chances are you may not even need it.

Say for example, you don't need Media player on server core, so if you have an update for Media Player, you don't need to update the server core. Got it?

Anyway, here's Jeffa's article and screencast, i urge you to watch it. It shows you how to install server core. :-)

http://blogs.technet.com/jeffa36/archive/2007/07/25/windows-server-2008-screencast-server-core-installation.aspx

/Dennis

Virtual Labs: Windows Server 2008 Enterprise - Failover Clustering

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 03:08:41 GMT

Click here for the Virtual Lab

If you're into High Availability, you will probably have heard about Clustering Technologies. Clustering allows a couple of servers to be "banded" together and watching of each other.

In Simple, say for example, you have Server 1 and Server 2. Server 1 is actively processing and performing some services to users. And for no apparent reasons, Server 1 went down due to hardware failure. Right now, if you do not have Clustering, your users can basically go home and stop work because no server is available.

But if you set up clustering, Server 1 goes down, Server 2 will automatically take over and resume. Users will not notice that the server is down. Sounds cool? Go on, take the virtual lab. Its free anyway.

See what Windows Server 2008 has to offer in the Failover clustering scenario.

/Dennis

How big should that System Drive be?

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 02:24:18 GMT

We've gone through various generations of Windows Server, and if you've installed Windows Server before, you'll know you need ample space of the system drive. Many of us have the practice of setting up dual partitions. For example,

- C: Drive
- D: Drive

And most of the time C: is dedicated to the Operating System and Programs that we install in them. D: Drive is dedicated to putting in data. There are several advantages to having dual or more partitions. If you later decide at anytime to wipe out the Operating System, you can move whatever data you want from C: Drive to D: Drive. Then wipe out C: Drive and do whatever you want, without losing data in your D Drive. Convenience of not requiring the data to be transferred somewhere else and have the ability to do something major to your D Drive.

Of course, you have to exercise care and that backup should always be done before any major exercise. :-)

If your D Drive is done based on Software Raid, you need to know a little more on how to handle that. Generally, if you're putting in newer OS, that's generally fine becuase the new OS will know how to deal with the dynamic disk.

Back to the topic. Over the various generations, we've got Windows NT4 Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2003 and coming Feb 08, we'll have Windows 2008. Below are some good practices i felt should be in that C: Drive (I'll just put up the later 3 OS, don't think any uses NT4 now. :+) )

- Windows 2000 Server -> min. 10GB
- Windows 2003 Server -> min. 40GB
- Windows 2008 Server -> min. 50GB to 100GB.

The more roles or features and software that you're going to put into that server, you should cater for more space. Anyway, hard drives are getting so much cheaper than before. My last server i built (IBM x3950 - fully populated (CPU, RAM, HDD) , i put in 146GB in the C: Drive (Hardware Raid - Mirror).

Point is, you should have ample space on your C: Drive before things starts to mess up and you finally realize that you ran out of space. If that ever happens, and you want to repartition it, you got to use tools to have your repartition. A good one i know is Acronis Disk Director. Cool tool to repartition your C:Drive in under 20 mins. Works like magic.

/Dennis

Technorati Tags: Windows Server 2008, Acronis Disk Director

PING - Packet InterNet Grouper

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:21:17 GMT

Something interesting.. An old friend/ex colleague of mine, told me about ping.

Hmm, i've always though ping was just a name we used to call the utility which checks if a server is reachable on the network.
In windows, we have the ping utility.

My friend, Tian An, told me Ping stands for Packet InterNet Grouper. Interesting isn't it.

Anyway, i was searching around, and found a Wiki on ping. Check it out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping

/Dennis Chung

Streaming Videos over Internet?

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 02:34:15 GMT

Do you have video contents that you're sharing over the Internet or in your company? If you have got videos to share, whether with the Internet or within the Corporate environment (eg. Internal Training Videos), one headache people often have is, "How shall i share it?"

The common answer is, just put them on the Web Server. For example, IIS. If you truly want to put the Videos on the web server, you might want to be aware of several behaviors.

Videos Shared over Web Server will send out in burst modes. Web Servers are design to send out contents fast, as in the case of web pages and images. As such, this is not ideal for videos. Videos needs to be sent out in real time, and not in accelerated mechanism.
In order for viewers to see the video in streams, the servers needs to configure MIME. If web servers don't setup properly to stream out videos, what happens is when a viewer clicks on the video link, instead of Windows Media Player or the configure player opens and start buffering and playing the video, the users gets prompted to save the file. Only when the file has completed download, can the video be watched.
Since you're using Web Server, communications are based on TCP. UDP is the preferred mechanism to reduce choppiness. So user will experience period of halting, lags/latency if you will, which does not provide good viewer experience.

Above are just come behaviors which I feel, are disadvantages on using a web server to stream out Videos.

So then what is the preferred way of streaming out videos and yet maintain good user experience? The answer is to use Windows Streaming Services. Take a look at Windows Server 2008. It can be configured with an additional role of Windows Media Streaming Service.

Works on both 32bit and 64bit flavors of Windows Server 2008.

Technorati Tags: Windows Server 2008, Windows Media Services

You can get rid of all those problems/behaviors I mentioned above. Plus the following;

Multi Bit Rate Support
Indexing of the Video files to allow quick forwarding and rewinding of the video without having to wait for the entire video to be downloaded
You get monitoring and logging tools too

You can visit this site for more information on Windows Media Services on Windows Server 2008

Initial Loading Experience of Windows Server 2008

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 07:10:32 GMT

Technorati Tags: Windows Server 2008

Many people probably have installed Windows Server 2003. Can you remember how many pieces of information you have to furnish at various stage to commence installation? Quite a number right? And if you don't have a piece of information it needs, you cannot proceed. Not quite friendly in terms of installation convenience.

In Windows Server 2008, this process has tremendously improved. The process is so much easier and from the time you load in the disc to the time the operating system is running, it so much faster. I don't need have to prepare a whole bunch of information ready. I recalled just requiring to do the following;

1. Enter the CD Key (You can skip this too. If you skip it, the operating system will run as trial for 30 days)
2. Select the disk partition to load the Server (You can also choose to repartition or rearrangement your disks)
3. Select the type of installation (Normal or Server Core).

Yup, That's it.

You might ask me, "Don't i need to set a password". Well, yes you need to, but not at the pre-installation stage now.

After installation and on the first boot of the OS, a window/applet, if you will call it appears. Its called the "Initial Configuration Tasks". I've capture some screen shots of it. Take a look. Through that screen, you will be able to configure the 4 main core activities to get the machines on the network (Of course there are several others);

1. Set the Administrator Password
2. Set Time Zone
3. Configure the Network
4. Join a domain if applicable.

Isn't this design better? It even has help to help you decide what you should be doing and how. It makes installation so much easier now.

/Dennis

Technorati Tags: Windows Server 2008

Vista Volume Activation - KMS

Tue, 29 May 2007 01:44:45 GMT

Most of the time when I post here, seems like it is always triggered by someone who asked something. J

Anyway, if you have purchased a Volume Licensing for Windows Vista, you might want to know about this.

Volume licensing customers for Windows Vista has 3 choices for activating their Vista. (XP Volume license does not need activation, but Vista does require).

Activate over the Internet
Activate over the Phone
Active over internal Key Manage Service (KMS)

Activating over the phone can be a pain. I dislike talking to a machine, especially if you are in a noisy environment. Over the internet is easier, but not in everyone's environment, internet is available.

If your office environment does not allow clients to go Internet, as in some banks, you will need to provision activation in your environment. Known as the KMS service, it is available in Vista and LongHorn server (now known as Windows Server 2008). KMS Service for Windows 2003 is being developed and should be available in 2007. You might want to check Microsoft's web site to see if Windows 2003 KMS for Vista is ready.

To know more about the KMS, look here. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb335288.aspx

/Dennis

How to remove Vista after upgrading

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 07:12:56 GMT

This is something I seldom see in Microsoft Support Articles.

Microsoft is actually telling you how to remove their OS. This time round, they're telling you how to remove Vista if you have upgraded from an older version of Windows.

Pretty cool. You could actually see what folders were renamed to what. Interesting to read through.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=933168&SD=tech

/Dennis

What is GPT Disk in Windows 2003?

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 06:31:27 GMT

Windows Server 2003 supports 3 styles of disk partitions; Basic, Dynamic, GPT

Basic and Dynamic are very common partition styles. Many have asked me what is GPT style.
Well, GPT styles are meant for Itanium Server running 64-bit versions of Windows 2003.

GPT – GUID Partition Table
GUID – Globally Unique Identifier

GPT style is able to support up to 2 terabytes of data and 128 partitions per disk.

For more information about Windows Server 2003 Disk and Partition styles information, visit TechNet

/Dennis

How to AJAX Ready your Web Server

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 06:25:29 GMT

I was given this question. How does an IIS Admin AJAX enable a web server?

To the IT Pros, AJAX seems to be a developer thing. Yes it is. However, the web server which the AJAX enabled application runs on, also needs to be AJAX Capable. AJAX is a very cool technology. It allows a web browser to communicate with the web server without having to reload the page or doing any post back.

Saves on bandwidth, and provides a very rich experience on the web user end. AJAX – Asynchronous JavaScript and XML

To find out more about the AJAX Framework, http://ajax.asp.net

To download the AJAX Framework, Click Here (IIS Admin, just download this and install on your web server. The AJAX namespace will be available to your AJAX web application and should run without an error. I'm not a developer, so please don't flame me if I'm wrong. ;P )

/Dennis

Upgraded version on Print Screen in Vista: Snipping

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 02:34:24 GMT

You may be familiar with the Print Screen button. It basically allows you to capture what you see on your monitor and allows you to save it as a picture (JPEG) most of the time depending on your graphics application. Print Screen button basically takes a snapshot and put it into the clipboard of Windows.

Windows Vista (Snipping Tool)

Vista comes with a very cool Snipping Tool. Its able to capture your monitor's look in 4 forms.

- Free Form

- Rectangular

- Window

- Full Screen

I love the free form, it can get pretty artistic. To activate the Snipping tool, click on Start, and type in Vista Search box "Snip". The tool should appear. Click to launch it.

I've put up screen shots of the tool and attached picture of the output. Pretty cool and fun. Take a look.

TechSmith (www.techsmith.com) has a very popular tool called SnagIt, which is very good too. In fact, i would say its more functional than snipping tool. Its a good alternative if you have the extra cash and are really serious into the business of clipping. :-)

Putting a server to everyone's home

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 04:12:27 GMT

Windows Home Server

This is a new product from Microsoft. You might have heard by now.

Bill Gates unveiled this at CES.

This is the press statement.

http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2007/jan07/01-08WindowsHomeServerPR.mspx

Bill used to want to bring a computer into everyone's home.

Now he's thinking of bringing a server into everyone's home.

This fella has got crazy ideas... But i love this one... haha.