Windows Server Virtualization Links

At the customers site we are calculating Microsoft Licenses to buy for a new environment. A few links with a lot of information about microsoft licensing and vmware:

Windows Server Virtualization Calculators

Edition comparison by Technical Specification

Overview of Licensing for Virtualization

Licensing Microsoft Windows Server 2008 to Run with Virtualization Technologies

Use your Phone (GPRS) as an internet modem – Dutch

Source: http://www.mobielbreedband.nl/detail/gebruik-je-mobiele-telefoon-als-internet-modem/

Het is ontzettend handig voor onderweg, of als je internetverbinding eruit ligt. Telecom aanbieders worden er niet blij van en sommige verbieden het in hun algemene voorwaarden: het gebruiken van de internetverbinding van je mobiele telefoon met een laptop of computer. Zonder gebruik van een applicatie, door een paar makkelijke instellingen in je computer. Bluetooth op laptop / pc en op mobiele telefoon zijn een vereiste.

Om te beginnen is het gewenst om een onbeperkt data abonnement te hebben voor je mobiele telefoon. Als je dit niet hebt loop je het risico dat je eind van de maand een dikke rekening van je provider krijgt. En daar zit natuurlijk niemand op te wachten. Dus kijk hiermee uit! Deze handleiding schrijf ik voor het gemak voor een laptop met Nederlandse Windows XP Professional. Details kunnen dus verschillen met andere hard- en software.

De eerste stap is een verbinding opzetten van je mobiele telefoon met je laptop via bluetooth. Schakel op beide apparaten bluetooth in en zoek op je laptop naar je telefoon in de bluetooth console onder configuratiescherm. Stel in met oog op veiligheid een sleutel in en accepteer op je telefoon de binnenkomende verbinding. Mijn laptop verteld me dat er een nieuw standaard modem via bluetooth is gevonden.

Om verwarring te voorkomen met andere mogelijke verbindingen heb ik mijn wireless, netwerk verbinding met kabel en mijn hardware modem uitgeschakeld. In de netwerkverbindingen van je laptop start je de wizard ‘nieuwe verbinding maken’. Kies de volgende serie opties: ‘verbinding met het internet maken’ –> ‘ik wil handmatig een verbinding instellen’ –> ‘verbinding maken via een inbelmodem’.

Geef de verbinding een naam, hier maakt het niet zoveel uit wat je invult. Bij telefoonnummer vul je de gegevens die bij jouw provider horen.

*99***1# is voor KPN, Debitel, Orange, Tele 2 en Telfort gemigreerd van O2.
*99# is voor Vodafone, T-Mobile, Telfort en Proximus.

Zoek bij jouw provider de juiste gebruikersnaam en wachtwoord. Deze zijn te vinden in de afbeelding hieronder. De overige 2 opties onder deze gegevens heb ik uitgezet om te voorkomen dat ik zinloos of per ongeluk het GPRS netwerk belast. Dit in verband met de ‘fair use policy’ en datalimiet van mijn provider, en mijn bankrekening dus. Nu is je verbinding klaar voor gebruik. Waarschijnlijk moet je bij het maken van de verbinding nog wel toegang verlenen op je mobiele telefoon.

gprssettings

Move IIS 7 to other drive

source: http://blogs.iis.net/thomad/archive/2008/02/10/moving-the-iis7-inetpub-directory-to-a-different-drive.aspx

With the following script you can move the default IIS 7 installation path from c:\inetpub to every disk you want.

@echo off
IF "%1" == "" goto err
setlocal
set MOVETO=%1:\

REM simple error handling if drive does not exist or argument is wrong
IF NOT EXIST %MOVETO% goto err

REM Backup IIS config before we start changing config to point to the new path
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd add backup beforeRootMove

REM Stop all IIS services
iisreset /stop

REM Copy all content
REM /O - copy ACLs
REM /E - copy sub directories including empty ones
REM /I - assume destination is a directory
REM /Q - quiet

REM echo on, because user will be prompted if content already exists.
echo on
xcopy %systemdrive%\inetpub %MOVETO%inetpub /O /E /I /Q
@echo off
REM Move AppPool isolation directory
reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WAS\Parameters /v ConfigIsolationPath /t REG_SZ /d %MOVETO%inetpub\temp\appPools /f

REM Move logfile directories
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites -siteDefaults.traceFailedRequestsLogging.directory:"%MOVETO%inetpub\logs\FailedReqLogFiles"
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:system.applicationHost/sites -siteDefaults.logfile.directory:"%MOVETO%inetpub\logs\logfiles"
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:system.applicationHost/log -centralBinaryLogFile.directory:"%MOVETO%inetpub\logs\logfiles"
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:system.applicationHost/log -centralW3CLogFile.directory:"%MOVETO%inetpub\logs\logfiles"

REM Move config history location, temporary files, the path for the Default Web Site and the custom error locations
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:system.applicationhost/configHistory -path:%MOVETO%inetpub\history
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:system.webServer/asp -cache.disktemplateCacheDirectory:"%MOVETO%inetpub\temp\ASP Compiled Templates"
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:system.webServer/httpCompression -directory:"%MOVETO%inetpub\temp\IIS Temporary Compressed Files"
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set vdir "Default Web Site/" -physicalPath:%MOVETO%inetpub\wwwroot
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='401'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='403'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='404'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='405'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='406'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='412'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='500'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='501'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:httpErrors /[statusCode='502'].prefixLanguageFilePath:%MOVETO%inetpub\custerr

REM Make sure Service Pack and Hotfix Installers know where the IIS root directories are
reg add HKLM\Software\Microsoft\inetstp /v PathWWWRoot /t REG_SZ /d %MOVETO%inetpub\wwwroot /f
reg add HKLM\Software\Microsoft\inetstp /v PathFTPRoot /t REG_SZ /d %MOVETO%inetpub\ftproot /f
REM Do the same for x64 directories
if not "%ProgramFiles(x86)%" == "" reg add HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\inetstp /v PathWWWRoot /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d %MOVETO%inetpub\wwwroot /f
if not "%ProgramFiles(x86)%" == "" reg add HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\inetstp /v PathFTPRoot /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d %MOVETO%inetpub\ftproot /f

REM Restart all IIS services
iisreset /start
echo.
echo.
echo ===============================================================================
echo Moved IIS7 root directory from %systemdrive%\ to %MOVETO%.
echo.
echo Please verify if the move worked. If so you can delete the %systemdrive%\inetpub directory.
echo If something went wrong you can restore the old settings via
echo     "APPCMD restore backup beforeRootMove"
echo and
echo     "REG delete HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WAS\Parameters\ConfigIsolationPath"
echo You also have to reset the PathWWWRoot and PathFTPRoot registry values
echo in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\InetStp.
echo ===============================================================================
echo.
echo.
endlocal
goto success

REM error message if no argument or drive does not exist
:err
echo.
echo New root drive letter required.
echo Here an example how to move the IIS root to the F:\ drive:
echo.
echo MOVEIISROOT.BAT F
echo.
echo. 

:success

Or download the file
[wpdm_file id=11]

Change the logon screen of Windows Server 2008

After installing windows server 2008, you can choose the user with whom you want to logon (see the picture below).

W2K8 LogonScreen

Offcourse this is not desirable for many company’s and you should turn this off. Take the following steps to do this on a stand alone server:

  1. Logon to the server
  2. Click Start, Run and type secpol.msc, enter
  3. If you get a security warning, continue
  4. Go on the left to Local Policy, and then choose Security Policy
  5. On the right pane, enable the “Interactive Logon: Do not display last user name” 
  6. Log off

When logging off and pressing CTL+ALT+DEL you need to type in your username and password like the screen below:

W2K8 - LogonScreen

 

 

How to change the password in Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.x

Document ID: 2005041217010148

About the server group password
The “Remember this user name and password for me” check box saves a password so that you do not have to enter it the next time the server group is opened. Also, if you “Automatically unlock this Server Group when I start the Symantec System Center,” the password is saved in a secured cache.

To no longer save the server group password

  1. In the Symantec System Center console, in the left pane, right-click a locked server group, and then click Unlock Server Group.
  2. Uncheck Remember this user name and password for me.
  3. Uncheck Automatically unlock this Server Group when I start the Symantec System Center.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Exit the Symantec System Center console.
  6. When you are prompted to save, click No.

The server group is now configured to prompt for a password, and the server group will not be unlocked automatically when you start Symantec System Center.

Reset the Symantec System Center admin user password
You can use the Password Reset Utility to reset any user’s password. You must have Administrator access to the primary server of the server group.

To reset the Symantec System Center admin user password

  1. On the computer running Symantec System Center, start Windows Explorer.
  2. Go to \Program Files\Symantec\Symantec System Center\Tools.
  3. In the right pane, double-click the IFORGOT.exe file.
  4. In the Primary server field, type the name of the server group’s primary server.
  5. In the user field, type admin
  6. In the New Password and Confirm New Password fields, type the new password.
  7. Click Reset Password.
    You may be prompted for a Windows user name and password if you specify a remote server.

For information about creating and managing user accounts in Symantec System Center, see the document Using Symantec System Center roles in Symantec AntiVirus 10.x and Symantec Client Security 3.x.

Use a client uninstallation password
It is possible to configure the client component of Symantec AntiVirus to request a password before allowing a user to uninstall it. By default, this feature is enabled, but often the password is not set by an administrator. When the client can communicate with the server, the password can be reset or disabled.

To require a password before uninstalling

  1. In the Symantec System Center console, right-click a server, a server group, or a client group, and then click All Tasks > Symantec AntiVirus > Client Administrator Only Options.
  2. On the Security tab, check Ask for password to allow uninstall of Symantec AntiVirus Client.
  3. Click Change.
  4. In the Configure Password dialog box, type a new password, and then confirm by typing the password again.
  5. Click OK, and then click OK again.

If the client system needs to be uninstalled but can no longer communicate with the parent server, please contact Symantec Technical Support for assistance.

Use a client network scan password
In a networked environment where most, if not all systems are running some form of antivirus software, it is inefficient to allow the systems to perform real-time or manual scanning of network resources. In such a setting, the network resources are already protected by the local antivirus system. However, it may not be desirable to completely disable this functionality as you may want to remote scan a system at a later date. The best solution is to implement a password known only to the system administrators that prevents casual scanning of network resources, while leaving it available as a useful tool. If the client system can still communicate with the parent server, the password can be reset or disabled.

To require a password before uninstalling

  1. In the Symantec System Center console, right-click a server, a server group, or a client group, and then click All Tasks > Symantec AntiVirus > Client Administrator Only Options.
  2. On the Security tab, check Ask for password to allow scan of Mapped Network Drives.
  3. Click Change.
  4. In the Configure Password dialog box, type a new password, and then confirm by typing the password again.
  5. Click OK, and then click OK again.

Install windows 2003 Server on a Dell Latitude E6500

When you try to install windows 2003 server onto a dell laptop, it will crash during the dos setup.

This is because the Hard disk mode has the wrong type. Change the hard disk mode in the bios of the system to ATA and try again.

When booting press F12
Select BIOS
Change Hard disk mode to ATA
Reboot, and install Windows 2003 Server

Errors when gathering disk information during a physical to virtual conversion

KB Article: 1010341

Symptoms

When gathering disk information during a physical to virtual conversion, you may see the following errors:

  • Fatal error occurred. The most common reason for this is loss of network connection.
  • The wizard will now be closed.
  • Please check your network connection and try again.
  • Exception getting Disks and Volumes
  • sourceStorageInfo is missing

Purpose

This article provides troubleshooting steps for converting a physical Windows source computer to a virtual machine. It assists you in eliminating common causes for this issue by verifying that networking is still in place between the Converter server and the the Windows source, and that the Windows source is not using any virtual disks.

Resolution

Please validate that each troubleshooting step below is true for your environment. Each step will provide instructions or a link to a document, in order to eliminate possible causes and take corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and identify the proper resolution. Please do not skip a step.

Note: If you perform corrective action in any of the following steps, attempt the conversion again.

  1. Verify that networking is still in place between the Converter server and the source computer. For more information, see Required VMware vCenter Converter ports (1010056).
  2. Confirm that there are no virtual disks appearing as disk devices in the Disk Management utility.
    1. Click Start > Run.
    2. Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.
    3. Review the list of drive letters and devices in the bottom window. If there is a drive that is not associated with a physical device then remove it.

      Note:  You must determine what software process has mounted this virtual drive and consult with its product documentation.

Note: If your problem still exists after trying the steps in this article, please:

Network Load Balancing Manager does not work with imaged servers

Source
Symptoms:
When you try to use the Network Load Balancing Manager to configure Network Load Balancing, the first node is configured successfully and comes online, but subsequent nodes do not join the Network Load Balancing cluster. You may receive the following error message:

 No interfaces are available for installing a new cluster

Cause:
This problem may occur if the subsequent nodes are on servers that were created by using an image. The problem occurs because the servers that are created by using an image may have the same Network GUIDs in their registry if the network adapter is installed as part of the image. The Network Load Balancing Manager uses this GUID to attach and configure Network Load Balancing on the servers. The Network Load Balancing Manager detects the GUID of the first server, and then does not register subsequent network adapters that have the same GUID.

Resolution:
To resolve this problem, remove, and then re-install the network adapter that you want to use for Network Load Balancing for subsequent nodes on servers that were created by using an image. After you remove and re-install the network adapter, configure Network Load Balancing by using the Network Load Balancing Manager.