How to find user SID - Command Line

Hi People,

You can simply run this command on Server - 2003 & 2008 R2 editions to get the Users Romaing profile SID.

wmic useraccount where name='username' get sid

Say enter, once type this in command line.

There are couple of other Links related to User profile Issue, as below

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/154599

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=947242

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947215

Thanks for your time
Happy to help

Citrix Issues ICA listener / session down

Hi People,




We encounter this issue many times, when running on Citrix environments, especially when we do not reboot our Citrix server ever after 14 days, ideally recommended to bounce citrix server once in 14 days.

We have port 1494 – which holds the listener & respond to Citrix gateway & application is pulled from application server, this all can be managed from Citrix Management Console (CMC)

Steps to check & reset down session / ICA listener:-

 Please logon to Citrix server, Can use Citrix website, for reference

 Launch Citrix Management Console

 Check for the alerts raised on CMC

 Browse Application on CMC & select application, which has issue

 Change Display (in The middle Pane) to Session

 At your left hand side, You’ll see several session, Search & locate “down”

 Select “down” & right click perform “reset”

 Once done from CMC, go to Terminal Server Services (tsadmin)

 Select the server local or can connect to the another Citrix server in the farm

 At left hand side, search & locate “down” ICA listener, right click & say reset

 Doing it from Terminal Server is fast & effective

 Have the requestor to test the application, Issue will be resolved



Happy Learning, I thank you for your valuable time

 

route add command in windows server

Hi People,




We come across the situation, where we have to define route on windows servers, defining routes would be (Print / Add / Delete & Change)

Switches: -

 -p (Added the route to windows server registry, without p it will store the route to RAM-based IP routing table, this option without p is used very rarely

 -f (Clears the routing table of all gateway entries)

Route Commands:-



 route print (destination IP address) :- Will print the route of the destination IP address

 route add –p abc mask xyz pqr IF 15 :- Where (abc – IP to be routed, xyz – Subnet mask, pqr – gateway of the windows server, 15 – Interface)

 route delete (destination IP address) :- This will delete the route of the specified destination

 route change :- Changes the route (Please use similar values, as in route add )

 route mask (netmask) :- It specifies the next parameter of the next mask value, If nothing is provided, by default it takes 255.255.255.255)

Ideally Network admins deals with these things, however good to know information for Windows Admin, if they encounter any issues with route



Happy learning, I thank you for your valuable time

Unable to open websites, using newly added (bind) IP address on server 2008 R2, Using IIS

Hi people,



If you come across a situation, where your newly added (Bind) IP address are not responding on IIS, this could be related to several issue, as below

 DNS Records Issue – Check DNS server & verify records are resolving properly, use nslookup utility, If required perform flushdns, to have fast results

 Telnet port 80 or 443, using newly added IP address – Open cmd – telnet X.X.X.X 80, look for the result & act accordingly

 If you are getting – connection could not be established on telnet, for those IP address, it means that IP is not listened on port 80- by IIS, to check this, you can also type the IP address in browser and see, what it brings up, act accordingly

 If there is no blockage on Firewall – Both Windows & Network, you have to make IP listen forcefully, use below command



netsh http add iplisten 10.X.X.X



 After performing this command, you can telnet to the required port & it will have th IP up on that port, for 443, make sure, you have SSL & proper cert attached to the web site.



Please feel free to raise your questions on this



Happy Learning & I thank you for your valuable time

Some scripts

Scripts to check number of users under different CN & OU

dsget group "CN=ctxapp,OU=Production,OU=SDS,OU=Groups,OU=Citrix,DC=abc, DC=xyz, DC=123" -members > File name .csv

Scripts to check disable user on AD

dsquery user -name "user name" | dsmod user -disabled yes

Run these on command prompt

The general steps to migrate from Windows Server 2000 to Windows Server

Scenario:




Old server: Windows Server 2000 box

New server: Windows Server 2008 box



1. Verify that Windows 2000 SP4 have been installed on the old server and

Windows Server 2008 SP1 have been installed on the new server



Note: the domain functional level should be in Windows 2000 native mode for

the Windows 2000 domain.



2. Upgrade the Windows 2000 forest schema by running "adprep /forestprep"

command on old server



Note: you can copy the adprep folder from the Windows Server 2008

installation disc to the old server to run "adprep /forestprep".

The location is \source\adprep on the installation disc.



3. Upgrade the Windows 2000 domain schema by running "adprep /domainprep"

command on old server



4. Verify the new server's TCP/IP configuration has been pointed to

existing DNS server.



5. Add new server to existing Windows 2000 domain as a member server.



6. Run dcpromo on new server to promote it as an additional domain

controller in existing Windows 2000 domain, afterwards you may verify the

installation of Active Directory.



7. Enable Global Catalog on new server and manually Check Replication

Topology and afterwards manually trigger replication to synchronize Active

Directory database between 2 replica.



8. Disable Global Catalog on old server.



9. Use NTDSUTIL utility to transfer all the 5 FSMO roles from old server to

new server. You'd better transfer FSMO roles via GUI method instead of

using NTDSUTIL.



10. Install DNS component on new server and configure it as a new DNS

Server(Active Directory Integrated-Zone is preferred)



Note: all the DNS configuration need to be transferred from the existing

DNS Server.



11. Migrate DHCP service from Windows Server 2000 to Windows Server 2008



Please refer to:

How to move a DHCP database from a computer that is running Windows NT

Server 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows Server 2003 to a computer that is

running Windows Server 2003

http://support.micro....aspx/kb/325473

(This should work on Windows Server 2008)



12. Migrate File Sharing service from



You can also use robocopy.exe from the Windows Server Resource kit to copy

the files and maintain NTFS permissions.



For the shares, the shares definitions and permissions are stored in the

following registry key on the server:



HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\lanmanserver\Shares



If you export out the whole key and import in the new server, and if you

have the files and folders in the same path as in the old server, then you

will retain all you shares and share permissions.



12. It's better to make the old DC offline for several days and check

whether everything works normally with the new server online. If so, you

may let the old DC online and run DCPROMO to demote it.



For more information, please refer to:



Identifying Your Windows Server 2008 Functional Level Upgrade

http://technet2.micr....03a77-d9ba-4a2

6-b756-eba5499f15581033.mspx?mfr=true



How To Install and Configure DNS Server in Windows Server 2003

http://support.micro...b/814591/EN-US/



How To Convert DNS Primary Server to Active Directory Integrated

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816101

What is GRUB & How is Works

GRUB :- GRand Unified Bootloader


GNU GRUB is a bootloader (can also be spelled boot loader) capable of loading a variety of free and proprietary operating systems. GRUB will work well with Linux, DOS, Windows, or BSD. GRUB stands for GRand Unified Bootloader.




GRUB is dynamically configurable. This means that the user can make changes during the boot time, which include altering existing boot entries, adding new, custom entries, selecting different kernels, or modifying initrd. GRUB also supports Logical Block Address mode. This means that if your computer has a fairly modern BIOS that can access more than 8GB (first 1024 cylinders) of hard disk space, GRUB will automatically be able to access all of it.



GRUB can be run from or be installed to any device (floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, USB drive, network drive) and can load operating systems from just as many locations, including network drives. It can also decompress operating system images before booting them.

How does GRUB work?


When a computer boots, the BIOS transfers control to the first boot device, which can be a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or any other BIOS-recognized device. We'll concentrate on hard disks, for the sake of simplicity.



The first sector on a hard is called the Master Boot Record (MBR). This sector is only 512 bytes long and contains a small piece of code (446 bytes) called the primary boot loader and the partition table (64 bytes) describing the primary and extended partitions.



By default, MBR code looks for the partition marked as active and once such a partition is found, it loads its boot sector into memory and passes control to it.



GRUB replaces the default MBR with its own code.



Furthermore, GRUB works in stages.



Stage 1 is located in the MBR and mainly points to Stage 2, since the MBR is too small to contain all of the needed data.



Stage 2 points to its configuration file, which contains all of the complex user interface and options we are normally familiar with when talking about GRUB. Stage 2 can be located anywhere on the disk. If Stage 2 cannot find its configuration table, GRUB will cease the boot sequence and present the user with a command line for manual configuration.



Stage 1.5 also exists and might be used if the boot information is small enough to fit in the area immediately after MBR.



The Stage architecture allows GRUB to be large (~20-30K) and therefore fairly complex and highly configurable, compared to most bootloaders, which are sparse and simple to fit within the limitations of the Partition Table.

GRUB :- GRand Unified Bootloader

GNU GRUB is a bootloader (can also be spelled boot loader) capable of loading a variety of free and proprietary operating systems. GRUB will work well with Linux, DOS, Windows, or BSD. GRUB stands for GRand Unified Bootloader.

GRUB is dynamically configurable. This means that the user can make changes during the boot time, which include altering existing boot entries, adding new, custom entries, selecting different kernels, or modifying initrd. GRUB also supports Logical Block Address mode. This means that if your computer has a fairly modern BIOS that can access more than 8GB (first 1024 cylinders) of hard disk space, GRUB will automatically be able to access all of it.

GRUB can be run from or be installed to any device (floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, USB drive, network drive) and can load operating systems from just as many locations, including network drives. It can also decompress operating system images before booting them.



How does GRUB work?

When a computer boots, the BIOS transfers control to the first boot device, which can be a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or any other BIOS-recognized device. We'll concentrate on hard disks, for the sake of simplicity.

The first sector on a hard is called the Master Boot Record (MBR). This sector is only 512 bytes long and contains a small piece of code (446 bytes) called the primary boot loader and the partition table (64 bytes) describing the primary and extended partitions.

By default, MBR code looks for the partition marked as active and once such a partition is found, it loads its boot sector into memory and passes control to it.

GRUB replaces the default MBR with its own code.

Furthermore, GRUB works in stages.

Stage 1 is located in the MBR and mainly points to Stage 2, since the MBR is too small to contain all of the needed data.

Stage 2 points to its configuration file, which contains all of the complex user interface and options we are normally familiar with when talking about GRUB. Stage 2 can be located anywhere on the disk. If Stage 2 cannot find its configuration table, GRUB will cease the boot sequence and present the user with a command line for manual configuration.

Stage 1.5 also exists and might be used if the boot information is small enough to fit in the area immediately after MBR.

The Stage architecture allows GRUB to be large (~20-30K) and therefore fairly complex and highly configurable, compared to most bootloaders, which are sparse and simple to fit within the limitations of the Partition Table.

GRUB :- GRand Unified Bootloader

GNU GRUB is a bootloader (can also be spelled boot loader) capable of loading a variety of free and proprietary operating systems. GRUB will work well with Linux, DOS, Windows, or BSD. GRUB stands for GRand Unified Bootloader.

GRUB is dynamically configurable. This means that the user can make changes during the boot time, which include altering existing boot entries, adding new, custom entries, selecting different kernels, or modifying initrd. GRUB also supports Logical Block Address mode. This means that if your computer has a fairly modern BIOS that can access more than 8GB (first 1024 cylinders) of hard disk space, GRUB will automatically be able to access all of it.

GRUB can be run from or be installed to any device (floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, USB drive, network drive) and can load operating systems from just as many locations, including network drives. It can also decompress operating system images before booting them.



How does GRUB work?

When a computer boots, the BIOS transfers control to the first boot device, which can be a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or any other BIOS-recognized device. We'll concentrate on hard disks, for the sake of simplicity.

The first sector on a hard is called the Master Boot Record (MBR). This sector is only 512 bytes long and contains a small piece of code (446 bytes) called the primary boot loader and the partition table (64 bytes) describing the primary and extended partitions.

By default, MBR code looks for the partition marked as active and once such a partition is found, it loads its boot sector into memory and passes control to it.

GRUB replaces the default MBR with its own code.

Furthermore, GRUB works in stages.

Stage 1 is located in the MBR and mainly points to Stage 2, since the MBR is too small to contain all of the needed data.

Stage 2 points to its configuration file, which contains all of the complex user interface and options we are normally familiar with when talking about GRUB. Stage 2 can be located anywhere on the disk. If Stage 2 cannot find its configuration table, GRUB will cease the boot sequence and present the user with a command line for manual configuration.

Stage 1.5 also exists and might be used if the boot information is small enough to fit in the area immediately after MBR.

The Stage architecture allows GRUB to be large (~20-30K) and therefore fairly complex and highly configurable, compared to most bootloaders, which are sparse and simple to fit within the limitations of the Partition Table.

How does GRUB work?


When a computer boots, the BIOS transfers control to the first boot device, which can be a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or any other BIOS-recognized device. We'll concentrate on hard disks, for the sake of simplicity.



The first sector on a hard is called the Master Boot Record (MBR). This sector is only 512 bytes long and contains a small piece of code (446 bytes) called the primary boot loader and the partition table (64 bytes) describing the primary and extended partitions.



By default, MBR code looks for the partition marked as active and once such a partition is found, it loads its boot sector into memory and passes control to it.



GRUB replaces the default MBR with its own code.



Furthermore, GRUB works in stages.



Stage 1 is located in the MBR and mainly points to Stage 2, since the MBR is too small to contain all of the needed data.



Stage 2 points to its configuration file, which contains all of the complex user interface and options we are normally familiar with when talking about GRUB. Stage 2 can be located anywhere on the disk. If Stage 2 cannot find its configuration table, GRUB will cease the boot sequence and present the user with a command line for manual configuration.



Stage 1.5 also exists and might be used if the boot information is small enough to fit in the area immediately after MBR.



The Stage architecture allows GRUB to be large (~20-30K) and therefore fairly complex and highly configurable, compared to most bootloaders, which are sparse and simple to fit within the limitations of the Partition Table.

GRUB :- GRand Unified Bootloader

GNU GRUB is a bootloader (can also be spelled boot loader) capable of loading a variety of free and proprietary operating systems. GRUB will work well with Linux, DOS, Windows, or BSD. GRUB stands for GRand Unified Bootloader.

GRUB is dynamically configurable. This means that the user can make changes during the boot time, which include altering existing boot entries, adding new, custom entries, selecting different kernels, or modifying initrd. GRUB also supports Logical Block Address mode. This means that if your computer has a fairly modern BIOS that can access more than 8GB (first 1024 cylinders) of hard disk space, GRUB will automatically be able to access all of it.

GRUB can be run from or be installed to any device (floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, USB drive, network drive) and can load operating systems from just as many locations, including network drives. It can also decompress operating system images before booting them.



How does GRUB work?

When a computer boots, the BIOS transfers control to the first boot device, which can be a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or any other BIOS-recognized device. We'll concentrate on hard disks, for the sake of simplicity.

The first sector on a hard is called the Master Boot Record (MBR). This sector is only 512 bytes long and contains a small piece of code (446 bytes) called the primary boot loader and the partition table (64 bytes) describing the primary and extended partitions.

By default, MBR code looks for the partition marked as active and once such a partition is found, it loads its boot sector into memory and passes control to it.

GRUB replaces the default MBR with its own code.

Furthermore, GRUB works in stages.

Stage 1 is located in the MBR and mainly points to Stage 2, since the MBR is too small to contain all of the needed data.

Stage 2 points to its configuration file, which contains all of the complex user interface and options we are normally familiar with when talking about GRUB. Stage 2 can be located anywhere on the disk. If Stage 2 cannot find its configuration table, GRUB will cease the boot sequence and present the user with a command line for manual configuration.

Stage 1.5 also exists and might be used if the boot information is small enough to fit in the area immediately after MBR.

The Stage architecture allows GRUB to be large (~20-30K) and therefore fairly complex and highly configurable, compared to most bootloaders, which are sparse and simple to fit within the limitations of the Partition Table.

The remote session was disconnected because there are no remote desktop license servers available to provide a license

1.      Login to a server of same vlan.

2.      Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, point to Remote Desktop Services, and then click Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration.

 

3.      If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what you want, and then click yes. 

4.      Under Licensing, double-click Remote Desktop license servers. 

5.      In the Remote Desktop license servers area, click Add. 

6.      In the License sever name or IP address box, type the server name or IP address of the Remote Desktop license server. 

7.      Click OK, and then click OK again.

Verify

To verify that connections to the RD Session Host server are working properly, establish a remote session with the RD Session Host server.

How to create a datastore cluster in VMware

1.  Open vCenter and go to the Home tab.

2.  Click on the Datastores and Datastore Clusters option

3.  Right click on your Datacenter

*Note:  Datastore clusters cannot travers multiple datastores
4.  Select the New Datastore Cluster option from the pull-down menu

5.  A wizard will open.  Provide a name for your datastore cluster and make sure there is a check mark next to Turn on Storage DRS.

6.  Choose No Automation (Manual) or Fully Automated.

*I decided to use No Automation for now, at least in the testing phase.  No Automation makes recommendations to move virtual disks to other datastores that either have more space available and/or better I/O resources.  Fully Automated makes the changes automatically without getting administrator input.
7.  You can accept the defaults for the next couple steps of the wizard.

8.  When it’s time to select datastores, choose the datastores you’d like to put in this cluster.

Since we chose the No Automation method, we’ll need to check the recommendations SDRS has made manually.  To do this go to Home>>Datastores and Datastore Clusters.  Highlight the datastore cluster and then choose the Storage DRS tab.  All of the recommendations will be listed and selected by default.  You can click the Override Storage DRS Recommendations and select them individually if you so desire. Then click on Apply Recommendations and the appropriate tasks will execute.

This manual method, although safe, may go unnoticed by administrators.  To combat this, you might decide to create an alert notification that gets triggered whenever there is a Storage DRS alarm.  To set this up, highlight vCenter at the top of the tree on the left.  Click on the alarms tab, right-click the Storage DRS Recommendations and choose Edit Settings.  From this menu you can set it up to email you whenever this alarm is triggered.

There are many more details surrounding the implementation Storage DRS, but this brief overview is enough to set it up and start using it.  With alarm notifications you get the best of both worlds.  Using this strategy you won’t get caught off guard if SDRS tries to automatically storage vMotion a virtual machine using full automation, but you will be immediately notified of any recommended changes.

RDP connection to Remote Desktop server running Windows Server 2008 R2 may fail with message 'The Local Security Authority cannot be contacted'

Remote Desktop in Windows Server 2008 R2 offers three types of secure connections:




Negotiate: This security method uses TLS 1.0 to authenticate the server if TLS is supported. If TLS is not supported, the server is not authenticated.

RDP Security Layer: This security method uses Remote Desktop Protocol encryption to help secure communications between the client computer and the server. If you select this setting, the server is not authenticated.


SSL: This security method requires TLS 1.0 to authenticate the server. If TLS is not supported, you cannot establish a connection to the server. This method is only available if you select a valid certificate.


To resolve the issue, change the remote desktop security on the RD server to RDP Security Layer to allow a secure connection using Remote Desktop Protocol encryption. Below are the steps:



1. Navigate to Start > Administrative Tools > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration.

2. With RD Session Host Configuration selected view under Connections.

3. Right click RDP Listener with connection type Microsoft RDP 6.1 and choose Properties.

4. In general tab of properties dialog box under Security, select RDP Security Layer as the Security Layer.

5. Click OK.



Note: This setting does not need a restart of the Server or Remote Desktop Service.

I Thankyou for your time
Happy to help

tsadmin command details

Hi People,




You might have experienced issues, related to “Terminal server connection exceeded “ While trying to access servers, this is related to terminal server connection, which are on those servers.



In this scenario, you simply cannot kill or disconnect the session of next person, as he might be doing or performing some important activity, Below command will give you the details of users who are logged in & also their status disconnected or active

What you need to do is



Click on Start ->Go to Run-> type “tsadmin”

Tsadmin -> Terminal Server Admin Console



This command will open a console, which will have list of servers, including the one from which you are executing this command, so you just need to look for the domain name and right click & say “connect to the server” & enter the IP address or FQDN of the server, for which you need information of users logged on to it.



Now when you have this information & status of that user’s, you can contact them and ask them to release their session & can login to that box, without impacting next person’s task

Hope this helps you; feel free to write your questions on this

I Thank you for your time & happy to help

What is ARIN

Hi People,



The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is a nonprofit corporation that serves users of Internet number resources, such as Internet Service Providers, governments, and end-users in its region. ARIN's service region includes Canada, the United States, and several islands in the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean.

ARIN is one of five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) worldwide that provide Internet number resource services to all regions of the globe.


Can know more about Internet Numbers visit


http://whois.arin.net/rest/net/NET-66-220-144-0-1/pft



Happy to help

Sysprep in VMware, while cloning VMs

Hi People

We all know and familiar with sysprep - System Preparation executable file

Sysprep Executable :-

Sysprep.exe is the main program that calls other executable files that prepare the Windows installation. Sysprep.exe is located in the %WINDIR%\system32\sysprep directory on all installations. Sysprep must always be run from the %WINDIR%\system32\sysprep directory and must run on the version of Windows with which it was installed.
Above is the little Information of sysprep, which you can use in VMware, when cloning VMs

Why do we require sysprep While cloning VMs:-


1. You can set Computer Name

2. You can set Administrator password, for post installation task

3. SID is created separately, Because in VM cloning, it does take the same SID, which in future conflicts with the original VM

Long story in short :- It allows you for custom installation, where you can specify IP address & other required details of system, as per your choice.

You can browse some more details, how to use this in VMware, It really works

Happy to help

Creating a WinSSHD User For UNIX Access

Hi People,

 Creating a WinSSHD user will allow Unix user to communicate with Windows system , using password less autehntication.

This requires following things

1. WinSHHD software
2. RSA Key generated by Unix
3. Existing Unix user
4. Path of Root directory

Please find thge steps below as how to configure WinSSHD software on Windows System

1. Log into server


2. Launch WinSSHD Control Panel (you can find this by clicking START and using search)

3. Under Settings click Open Easy Settings

4. Go to Tab #3 Virtual accounts

5. Click Add

6. Under Virtual Account Name enter the Unix Name

7. Click Public Keys

8. On new window that opens, click Import

9. Browse to SSH key click OK

10. Click Close to close out the Public Keys window

11. Uncheck “Allow Terminal”

12. To the right of Virtual Filesystem Layout select Limit to root directory

13. A new field will appear “Root Directory” enter the path provided by client.

14. Click OK to close out Account Add window

15. Click Save Changes to close out Easy Settings window

  Please feel free to communicate   Happy to help

Robocopy Command

Hi People

When it comes to copy data from source to destination, we have several commands and utilities.
Like xcopy, robocopy, copy and etc.

One of these command is robocopy,
Command Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2
And it works like any thing, if the data size is less than 100 GB, I would suggest this command


Command options are

/Z : Copy files in restartable mode (survive network glitch).
/R:n : Number of Retries on failed copies - default is 1 million.
/W:n : Wait time between retries - default is 30 seconds.
/COPYALL : Copy ALL file info (equivalent to /COPY:DATSOU).
/E : Copy Subfolders, including Empty Subfolders.
/LOG:file : Output status to LOG file (overwrite existing log).
/FP : Include Full Pathname of files in the output.
/TEE : Output to console window, as well as the log file.
/V : Produce Verbose output log, showing skipped files.
/ETA : Show Estimated Time of Arrival of copied files

Simple command syntax would be with example would be  :-



ROBOCOPY E:\ G:\ /ETA /E /Z /V /R:0 /W:0

How to find LDAP server details in your domain

Hello People

We all have LDAP configured in Infastructure, however not aware on which all servers it is, what is the port number (Default is port 389, avoid changing this port number, as it will break connections)


Step One :- Check the list of Domain Controllers in your Domain

Command is :-  nltest /dclist:Domain Name

Here after :  Specify youir domain name without space, It will list all the DC's under your domain.

E.g.   Abc.Xyz.com       [DS] Site: Thornton

Here Abc.Xyz.com - Complete FQDN of server: [DS = Directory Services]; Site - Name of Site


Setp Two :- How to check LDAP server & its Priority & Port in your Domain

• Open Command Prompt - Start - CMD - Right click and say Run as Administration
• Enter Administrator passwrd and you'll get Command Prompt
• Type - nslookup & Press Enter
• You'll be at nslookup prompt, Like this :- >
• At nslookup prompt type - set type=all
• You'll be back on nslookup prompt again, then execute below command to find LDAP server & its priority & port number
•  _ldap._tcp.dc._msdcs.Abc.Xyz.com

Here :- Abc.Xyz.com is your domain name; Also very important you need to specify sign like _ & .
any mistake will not execute result.

Result would be like as below

_ldap._tcp.dc._msdcs.Abc.Xyz.com  SRV service location:


priority = 0

weight = 100

port = 389

svr hostname = mickey.Abc.Xyz.com - This is your complete FQDN of your LDAP server   

mickey.Abc.Xyz.com  internet address = 00.00.00.00   - This is your LDAP Internet Address



Feel free to raise any queries  
Happy to help you  
I Thank You for your time

Add DNS forwarder to 2003 Domain controller

Add DNS forwarder to 2003 Domain controller




1. Connect to DNS server with RDP

2. Launch DNS management from administrative tools

3. Right click the root of the DNS server and select properties

4. Select the forwarders tab

5. Select “All other DNS domains” and add the IP of server (DNS) into the new domain forwarder IP field

6. Click Add and then Ok.

7. Launch nslookup on your DNS server & try to resolve your added DNS server entry.

8. If not getting resolved, please flush DNS entries on your DNS server and try again, it will resolve the added DNS server entry.



I Thank You for your time

Convert To A Dynamic Disk In Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 supports two different types of disks: basic disks and dynamic disks. All disk devices added to a computer are basic disks until they are converted to dynamic. You may be asking why you would want to convert to your disks from basic to dynamic. Well the answer is that dynamic disks include features that are not available under basic disks such as the ability to create volumes that span multiple disks and the ability to extend a volume.

It is a relatively simple process to convert from basic to dynamic. You can do so through the Computer Management console as outlined below. However, keep the following points in mind before you proceed:

• There must be at least 1 MB of free space on the disk you are converting
• You will not lose any data by converting to a dynamic disk
• Dynamic disks are not supported by mobile computers
• Pre-windows 2000 operating systems do not supported dynamic disks

How to Create Basic Disk to Dynamic Disk :-

1. Right click My Computer and click Manage
2. Click Disk Management.
3. In the right pane, right click the disk you want to convert and click Convert to Dynamic Disk.
4. Place a check beside the disk you want to convert. Click OK.
5. Click Convert.
6. Click Yes.
7. Click OK.

I Thank You  for your time

Use the Dell ExtPart utility to expand your Window partitions

Hi People,

You can use Dell ExtPart utility to expand your windows partition without any downtime.

You can download this tool from :-  http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/driverdetails?driverid=R64398

This simple utility lets you grow basic disks in Windows operating system. I myself have only used it to extend the system disk C:\ on a Windows 2003 server, and it worked without a hitch.

How to use this Utility :- 

Step 1. Power down your virtual machine so you can grow your HDD in "edit settings" (Note that you can not have snapshots saved as you cant resize your virtual disk if you do)

Step 2. Once you have grown your virtual disk, power on your virtual machine and check in DiskManager that you have unallocated space next to the disk you intend to expand

Step 3. Extract the Dell ExtPart utility and then start cmd.exe since this a cmd based tool

Step 4. Simply grow your disk the following syntax:

extpart partition: size

The size is given in MB and dont forget the :

An example :

extpart c: 1024 (This grows my system partition with 1 GB)

Feel Free to go and browse more details on this 

I Thank You for your time

 

Important files and commands in Linux 6

Hello people

While practicing RHEL6, I found couple of commands, that can be used frequently in Linux system administration or they can be very useful, when we wish to change some settings related to hostname, NIS domain, DNS, adding DNS entries like IP address and all.

Note :- all commands that we perform or run on Linux are case sensitive and even small space does make a difference.

Here we go

• vim /etc/sysconfig/network

When you enter this command at root # prompt, you can change or modify settings of IPV4 & IPV6

by defult you will see NETWORKING=yes :- this is IPV4 state
if you wish to change it to IPV6 modify it to :- NETWWORKING_init6=yes & you are done with it.

You can also add your hostname & NIS domain name here in this file

Make sure (vim) is a eidtor, it has command mode, execution mode, so when you wish to modify this file, Please type (i) and can write / modify

Save and exit by :- Esc - semi co symbol (:) - wq (write & quit)

You'll be out of this file, to implement changes you restart your network service or system

by command - service network restart OR reboot

to check and confirm, you can also use command

# cat /etc/sysconfig/network

This command will only execute the content, you won't be able to modify it. For modification use above command.

• vim /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts.ifcfg.eth0

here - eth0 - is NIC card one which is installed in my Linux 6, so when you have another NIC card it will be eth1

Simple understanding Ethernet Wired Card - eth & Wireless Card - wlan

Linux OS works on some different concept so when you add IP address through (ifconfig command)
it stores IP address temporary & also the NIC card get down after network service restart or system reboot.

In above command we can set following things like

ONBOOT=yes :- This keeps NIC alive even after network service restart / system reboot; If you say (no) it will bring the NIC card down after network service restart or system reboot

You can mention your system IP address & Netmask / Subnet Mask also

You can eneable IPV6=enable

USERCTL :- Thsi option is to ensure that no user other than root, can access this file. Ofcourse you can modify this option, however not recommended under system administration.

Please don't forget to restart you network service / system reboot to implement changes

• vim /etc/hosts

This file is to add / modify IP address or FQDN in Linux, same like what we have in Windows

after adding data to this fiule, restart your system / network service

• vim /etc/resolv.conf

This is usually used by DNS client to contact other DNS server in our Infrastructure, Only you should know the IP address / FQDN of that DNS server

so when you wish to add IP address say :- nameserver 192.168.1.1 OR DOMAIN mickey.mouse.com

save and exit this file, restart your network service / system & done with it

Also ensure, if you add # before any of the entries, that you do in all vim commands, they will be considered as disabled.
So if you wish to disable a perticular entry, just add # before that entry or can delete that entry.

I Thank you for your time & Happy to help you

Linux Basic Networking Commands

Linux Basic Networking Commands



hostname :- can display /change hostname temporary, after system reatrt it will take previous hostname / or hostname which is their in /etc/sysconfig/network

ifconfig :- Display NIC card info, number of cards installed /enabled in Linux (eth0 - Ethernet Card & wlan0 - Wireless Card)

setup :- utility to add/change/modify NIC,Firewall, Keybard settings

ifup / ifdown :- Enabled / Disabled NIC - as per word (ifup eth0 -enabled / ifdown etho -disabled)

system-config-network :- utility to add/change/modify NIC,Firewall, Keybard settings

system-config-network-tui (tui -text user interface) :- same utility as above

ethtool :- this tool display information of your NIC card - so ethtool eth0/wlan0

mii-tool :- to check the cable connectivity of NIC

system-config-network-gui(gui - Graphis User Interface):- utility to add/change/modify
NIC,Firewall, Keybard settings -however it requires graphical user interface

lokkit :- utility to enable or diable firewall


Note :- commands are case senstive in Linux /Unix. Also after any network change it is recommended to restart "network / NetworkManager" service like service network restart

Linux File System Diagram

What is Runlevel in Linux

What is RunLevel ?


A runlevel is a preset operating state on a Unix-like operating system.

A system can be booted into (i.e., started up into) any of several runlevels, each of which is represented by a single digit integer. Each runlevel designates a different system configuration and allows access to a different combination of processes (i.e., instances of executing programs).

The are differences in the runlevels according to the operating system. Seven runlevels are supported in the standard Linux kernel (i.e., core of the operating system). They are:

0 - System halt; no activity, the system can be safely powered down. 
1 - Single user; rarely used. 
2 - Multiple users, no NFS (network filesystem); also used rarely. 
3 - Multiple users, command line (i.e., all-text mode) interface; the standard runlevel for most Linux-based server hardware. 
4 - User-definable 
5 - Multiple users, GUI (graphical user interface); the standard runlevel for most Linux-based desktop systems. 
6 - Reboot; used when restarting the system.

By default Linux boots either to runlevel 3 or to runlevel 5. The former permits the system to run all services except for a GUI. The latter allows all services including a GUI.

In addition to the standard runlevels, users can modify the preset runlevels or even create new ones if desired. Runlevels 2 and 4 are usually used for user defined runlevels.

The program responsible for altering the runlevel is init, and it can be called using the telinit command. For example, changing from runlevel 3 to runlevel 5, which allows the GUI to be started, can be accomplished by the root (i.e., administrative) user by issuing the following command:

telinit 5

Booting into a different runlevel can help solve certain problems. For example, if a change made in the X Window System configuration on a machine that has been set up to boot into a GUI has rendered the system unusable, it is possible to temporarily boot into a console (i.e., all-text mode) runlevel (i.e., runlevels 3 or 1) in order to repair the error and then reboot into the GUI. The X Window System is a widely used system for managing GUIs on single computers and on networks of computers.

Likewise, if a machine will not boot due to a damaged configuration file or will not allow logging in because of a corrupted /etc/passwd file (which stores user names and other data about users) or because of a forgotten password, the problem can solved by first booting into single-user mode (i.e. runlevel 1).

The runlevel command can be used to find both the current runlevel and the previous runlevel by merely typing the following and pressing the Enter key:

/sbin/runlevel

The runlevel executable file (i.e., the ready-to-run form of the program) is typically located in the /sbin directory, which contains mostly administrative tools and which by default is not in the user's PATH (i.e., the list of directories in which the system searches for programs). Thus, it is usually necessary to type the full path of the command as shown above rather than just the name of the command itself.

The default runlevel for a system is specified in the /etc/inittab file, which will contain an entry such as id:3:initdefault: if the system starts in runlevel 3, or id:5:initdefault: if it starts in runlevel 5. This file can be easily (and safely) read with a command such as cat, i.e.,

cat /etc/inittab

As an alternative to telinit, the runlevel into which the system boots can be changed by modifying /etc/inittab manually with a text editor. However, it is generally easier and safer (i.e., less chance of accidental damage to the file) to use telinit. It is always wise to make a backup copy of /etc/inittab or any other configuration file before attempting to modify it manually.

How to unmount external / internal devices in Linux

How to unmount external / internal devices in Linux :-

Unmounting is done with the umount command. No, I didn't make a typo: the command really is umount, not unmount.
When unmounting, you'll need to tell umount what mounted device to unmount, either by telling what's the device or the mount point. For example, if /dev/fd0 is mounted to /mnt/floppy, you'll unmount it with

$ umount /mnt/floppy
or
$ umount /dev/fd0

It's not wise to remove the floppy from the floppy drive without unmounting it first! In the worst case the data you were writing to the floppy wasn't written into it yet. With CD-ROMs you can't do this: the tray won't even open if you haven't unmounted the CD first.

How to mount external / internal devices in Linux

How to mount external / internal devices in Linux :-

Mounting is done with the mount command.
When mounting, you must tell the mount command what is the device or partition you want to mount and what is the mount point. The mount point must be a directory that already exists on your system. For example, to mount your floppy:

$ mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy

In this example, /dev/fd0 is your floppy drive, and /mnt/floppy is the mount point. Now when you access /mnt/floppy, you'll actually access the files on your floppy.
Usually /dev/fd0 is your floppy drive, although some distros are configured so that /dev/floppy is the same thing as /dev/fd0. Usually your CD-ROM is configured the same way: /dev/cdrom is your CD-ROM device (or, more specifically, /dev/floppy is a symbolic link to your actual floppy drive, and /dev/cdrom is a symbolic link to your CD-ROM drive).

What is mounting in Linux Operating System

What is mounting  in Linux Operating System ?

As you know, you can store your data in different physical storage devices, like floppies, CD-ROMs, and hard disk drives. Your hard disk or disks are also very likely split up into different partitions with different filesystems.
If you're migrating to Linux from Microsoft Windows, you're probably used to accessing all your filesystems very easily: you just boot up your puter, go to My Computer, and find all your Windows partitions there immediately. For example, if you have a second hard drive (or a second Windows partition), it automatically appears as D:\ and you can immediately access it. The same goes for floppies, CD-ROMs, digital cameras, and other storage devices - you just plug them in, and you'll be able to immediately access them. However, this isn't the case in Linux.
You're probably a bit confused at first: you put your floppy or CD into the drive and start wondering why you're not able to access it! This is because your floppies, CDs, hard disk partitions, and other storage devices must be attached to some existing directory on your system before they can be accessed. This attaching is called mounting, and the directory where the device is attached is called a mount point.
After the device is mounted, you can access the files on that device by accessing the directory where the device is attached. When you're done and want to remove the floppy or CD or other device, you need to detach, unmount, it before removing it.

What is GRUB & How does it Work

GRUB :- GRand Unified Bootloader

GNU GRUB is a bootloader (can also be spelled boot loader) capable of loading a variety of free and proprietary operating systems. GRUB will work well with Linux, DOS, Windows, or BSD. GRUB stands for GRand Unified Bootloader.

GRUB is dynamically configurable. This means that the user can make changes during the boot time, which include altering existing boot entries, adding new, custom entries, selecting different kernels, or modifying initrd. GRUB also supports Logical Block Address mode. This means that if your computer has a fairly modern BIOS that can access more than 8GB (first 1024 cylinders) of hard disk space, GRUB will automatically be able to access all of it.

GRUB can be run from or be installed to any device (floppy disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, USB drive, network drive) and can load operating systems from just as many locations, including network drives. It can also decompress operating system images before booting them.

How does GRUB work?

When a computer boots, the BIOS transfers control to the first boot device, which can be a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or any other BIOS-recognized device. We'll concentrate on hard disks, for the sake of simplicity.

The first sector on a hard is called the Master Boot Record (MBR). This sector is only 512 bytes long and contains a small piece of code (446 bytes) called the primary boot loader and the partition table (64 bytes) describing the primary and extended partitions.

By default, MBR code looks for the partition marked as active and once such a partition is found, it loads its boot sector into memory and passes control to it.

GRUB replaces the default MBR with its own code.

Furthermore, GRUB works in stages.

Stage 1 is located in the MBR and mainly points to Stage 2, since the MBR is too small to contain all of the needed data.

Stage 2 points to its configuration file, which contains all of the complex user interface and options we are normally familiar with when talking about GRUB. Stage 2 can be located anywhere on the disk. If Stage 2 cannot find its configuration table, GRUB will cease the boot sequence and present the user with a command line for manual configuration.

Stage 1.5 also exists and might be used if the boot information is small enough to fit in the area immediately after MBR.

The Stage architecture allows GRUB to be large (~20-30K) and therefore fairly complex and highly configurable, compared to most bootloaders, which are sparse and simple to fit within the limitations of the Partition Table.