By Sole on 4. February 2010
Please pretty please do not just hit the button and P2V/ColdClone/HotClone/Copy your Windows Server Domain Controllers, regardless if they run Windows Server 2000/2003/2008 etc.
In best case You accomplish to virtualize your domain controllers, wich You could have done with a few simple steps just as easily with out any danger.
In worst case You render your Domain Controllers useless, create several other problems and hickups in your infrastructure, not limited to complete production halt and at least several hours of pain and horror trying to get everything back and running!
Personally I have nothing against virtual Domain Controllers, usually best practice is not to run all kinds of other software or services on a Domain Controller, plus the need to have multiple Domain Controllers for redundancy will quickly add alot of boxes doing very little. Virtualizing some or all of these Domain Controllers, will put better use of ressources and still keep the box seperate from other services. Dont forget to change time synchronisation settings in the w32time service, vmware tools and ntp servers in the ESX’s, but thats another story.
One of the big problems with doing a clone of a Domain Controller, is that if you get problems, you will not notice them untill it is too late. The domain controller will seem to function and work with clients, but it will actually have stopped replicating with all other domain controllers, because it has detected that it has been copied. The result is an inconsistent domain with client records not being updated, they will slowly stop working depending on what domain controller they get in contact with, untill everything goes dead. If you have then virtualized ALL domain controllers, You will be left with 1-3 months of changes going down the tube together with your damaged Domain Controllers. Dont forget to take a full backup of at least 1 Domain Controller before starting your cloning!
So what happens when things go bad? Continue reading “Virtualizing Your Domain Controllers without getting fired!”
Posted in Active Directory, Microsoft, VMware | Tagged Active Directory, AD, Domain Controller, FSMO, Global Catalog, Microsoft, P2V, VMware, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008
By Sole on 6. December 2009
Getting SSL root certificates into mobile phones, has always and still is a hastle. My personal advice to people trying to use a server certificate on mobile phones, for example for e-mail, is very simple. But before I go more into that.. The reason I came on to this subject, was because a friend asked me if I knew of an easy way to put your own root certificates into mobile phones. I didnt when he asked, but I just found a nice guide explaining how to, for Windows Mobile phones – yes each type needs it’s own way of installing – sigh.
The guide can be found on two Swedish IT consultants Blog (Yes I am swedish – No it’s not me), I find it worrying how many posts include stuff I work with as well, including some info about my beloved WRT54GL that I am pondering swapping with something faster soon. The blog post about how to install Root SSL certificates on Windows Mobiles, with a CAB setup file, and a simple XML format can be found here: http://poweradmin.se/blog/2009/11/15/smooth-root-certificate-deployment-for-mobile-devices/
Back to my personal advice on how to get root certificates on mobile phones. Continue reading “Getting root certificates into your Windows Mobile without using a chain saw”
Posted in Mobile Phones, Tips & Tricks | Tagged CA, Certificate Authority, cheap ssl certificate, install root certificate, mobile devices, Mobile Phones, mobile units, nokia symbian, root certificate, root certificates, server certificate, sony erricsson, ssl certificates
By Sole on 27. November 2009
Adding to my remote Novell migration and removal toolkit, is here below a VBScript that can be used during a migration or as a login script to automatically remove the Novell client from a computer. Of course I dont know if this will work with all versions, but for me this worked to remove Novell in all the editions I encounted, without any tears or use of my feet. The downside of not having to uninstall the Novell client manually from all 2.500 computers, in this migration project is that I seem to be gaining in weight!
It goes without saying, the user used for running the script must have administrative rights, the computer definately wants to be rebooted when done, also I recommend removing any novell printers, shares, iPrint, ZenWorks, etc. before removing the actual Novell Client. And You most definately use this script at your own risk!
Continue reading “VBScript to automatically remove a Novell client and save your feet”
Posted in Microsoft, Novell & ZenWorks, Tips & Tricks | Tagged Migration, novell, novell client, novell migration, vbscript
By Sole on 26. November 2009
VBScript to automatically remove ZenWorks regardless of version, with no user prompting or hard manual labor
Adding to my collection of VBScript tools for migrating from Novell to Microsoft, here is a little gem to removing ZenWorks, by reading the uninstall information on the computer, we find any version of ZenWorks and the command to uninstall it quietly and without any user prompts.
In a few situations the computer will fail to uninstall ZenWorks, the primary reason for me has been on a computer that is awaiting a reboot from a previous install or uninstall procedure. Simply rebooting the machine and running the script again seems to fix this problem. I have made a script to do that as well, Continue reading “VBScript to automatically & silently remove ZenWorks regardless of version, with no hard manual labor”
Posted in Microsoft, Novell & ZenWorks, Tips & Tricks | Tagged Microsoft, novell, uninstall, vbscript, ZenWorks
By Sole on 26. November 2009
For the last couple of months, and some months ahead, I am working primarely on migration projects, currently I have just finished developing a lot of scripts to automatically migrate from Novell & ZenWorks to a purely Microsoft environment. So I might share some tips and tricks from my experiences.
Trying to uninstall Novell printers automatically with VBScripting in a login script gave me a headache, for some reason the good old function WshNetwork.RemovePrinterConnection would fail every time trying to uninstall a Novell printer. After some searching and testing I found that by executing a command to RUNDLL32 PRINTUI.DLL,PrintUIEntry, I could successfully uninstall the printers. My personal experience shows no warnings or errors to the user, as long as the computer can still access Novell, however I did have some warning messages appear when the computer could not connect, but the printer was still deleted, and the user could not abort it, so in my book thats a success!
Also i found some examples removing the printers with /dn instead of the /dl that I am using Continue reading “VBScript to remove network printers, when RemovePrinterConnection fails and still have time for popcorn and a movie”
Posted in Microsoft, Novell & ZenWorks, Tips & Tricks | Tagged Microsoft, Migration, migration projects, network printer, printer, scripts, Tips and Tricks, uninstall novell, vbscript
By Sole on 23. October 2009
Most experienced consultants use Google daily to find descriptions of problems and solutions, knowing your way around Google and making a good search, can mean the difference between identifying and solving a problem within minutes or hours.
Many times a customer have asked me how to solve a problem, that I didnt know the answer to on the top of my head, after all there is a lot of issues and only so much memory and experience. Not once have I recieved any negative responses from saying “let me do a little research and i will come right back to you”, on the contrary the customer is happy and relieved that I will help them. Dont drop the ball and say “no sorry cant help you”, must customers dont have the time or experience to search for an answer them self, why else would they be asking. Continue reading “Dont forget to google it and take a vacation!”
Posted in Tips & Tricks | Tagged consultant, Google, How To, Tips and Tricks
