Brian W. McCann

What Version is Your Schema at?

2008-07-09T00:44:00Z

Have you ever had one of those jobs where you just weren’t sure what Schema update had been applied in an environment? The following command will let you know which of the Windows Server Schema updates have been applied. dsquery.exe * "CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=domain,DC=com" -scope base -attr objectversion Here is what the versions will mean: 44 = Windows Server 2008 31 = Windows Server 2003 R2 30 = Windows Server 2003 13 = Windows 2000 If anyone knows the Exchange Schema update...(read more)

Upcoming Trip to Israel

2008-07-02T17:12:04Z

You know I haven’t had a personal post about me and my life in quite some time. Just thought I’d share that next week I’ll be traveling to Israel for the first time. I’ll be staying in Tel Aviv and am really excited about being there for two weeks. I can’t wait to really take in the sights and history. Of course it won’t all be about site seeing as I’m going there for work. For those not in the know, Intel has several locations in Israel. My wife Sami is a bit scared for me...(read more)

Windows Server 2008 Command Lines for Administrative Consoles

2008-06-20T16:41:29Z

I’m always of fan of shortcuts and the Windows Server 2008 Administrator's Companion from Microsoft Press has a complete list of the command line shortcuts for starting Administrative Consoles for Server 2008. There are plenty of other goodies in this book so make sure you take a look at getting this one. Command Line Console Name AdRmsAdmin.msc Active Directory Rights Management Services Adsiedit.msc ADSI Edit Azman.msc Authorization Manager Certmgr...(read more)

Process Explorer on Server Core

2008-06-09T21:10:28Z

While I’ve always been a fan of Task Manager but lets face the facts…its has its limitations. Mark Russinovich has rolled up his wonderful Sysinternal Troubleshooting Utilities into a single download that can be found here . In there you will find the ultra popular Process Explorer . Well I wanted to test out some stuff on Server Core…like what type of tools will really work on it. I copied over Process Explorer and it ran like a champ! Now all I need to do is go into the...(read more)

RODC Compatibility Issues with Down-Level Clients

2008-06-05T20:15:01Z

I just read over at Jane Lewis's blog that if you plan on deploying Server 2008 Read Only Domain Controllers (RODC) and have down-level clients (XP and 2003 clients) then you will want to check out the RODC Compatibility Pack. I know a lot of people are planning on deploying this so this should be something that you should pay attention to. The KB article (and patch) addresses 10 potential issues. The patch itself can be downloaded from Microsoft here ....(read more)

Administrator's Guide to Server Core Commands

2008-06-04T14:25:00Z

Server Core has been a popular topic for me over the last year as it is something completly different from what i'm used to working on. I love the GUI but I know there are times when I have to do things via the command line. Well if you are going to deploy Server Core in your environment then you will need to have the following guide to ensure that you know how to configure your new server. I've finally compiled a list of commands for Server Core into one article over at AdminPrep . Swing...(read more)

Active Directory Health Checks for Domain Controllers

2008-06-04T01:35:00Z

I've just written a small article on the common steps that I perform when doing health checks on domain controllers. Head on over to AdminPrep to check it out. I would love for you to come back here and let me know what else you do when you do health checks on domain controllers....(read more)

Installing Active Directory on Server Core with an Answer File

2008-05-07T14:11:23Z

Last week I spent some time at my former employer taking a Server 2008 upgrade course . Shame on you if you haven't checked them out for training because their Hard Hat courses are hands down the best out there. I spent a lot of time in that course working with Server Core (which needs a dedicated home page on ms.com) I've posted in the past about using CoreConfigurator to configure common options on Server Core. In fact Active Directory can be installed with this tool too...however there...(read more)

Server Core CoreConfigurator

2008-04-29T01:54:40Z

I know i'm late on this but I've got to blog about it. Fellow Directory Services MVP Guy Teverovsky has created the coolest tool yet for Server 2008 Server Core. It is the Server Core CoreConfigurator . After you copy the four files to your Server Core server you have a great tool to help with the most common tasks within Server Core. Included features are: Features: Product Activation Configuration of display resolution Clock and time zone configuration Remote Desktop configuration Management...(read more)

RSAT Missing Tabs in Active Directory Users and Computers

2008-04-08T14:26:13Z

Some of you may have noticed there were some missing tabs in Active Directory Users and Computers after you installed RSAT on Windows Vista. Specifically the Terminal Services Profile, Remote Control, Environment, and Sessions tabs are not there. The reason behind this is because Windows Vista is missing the TSUSEREX.DLL...basically it can't be a Terminal Server. Ned from the Directory Services team has posted an unsupported fix for this on the Directory Services blog . I snagged the fix here...(read more)

MVP Again 2008

2008-04-01T22:14:00Z

Wow...I can't believe i've been awarded my MVP in Directory Services again!!! This is my third year in a row and i'm honored again. It really does go to show that karma is alive and well. Brian...(read more)

DNSCMD Reference

2008-03-28T16:09:00Z

Fellow Directory Services MVP Mark Minasi has a great table that shows a ton DNS commands using dnscmd. For those of you getting ready to use Server Core here is yet another list of commands that will come in handy. All I can say is WOW!!! Function DNSCMD option Example Comments Do any dnscmd command on a remote system dnscmd servername command dnscmd main.bigfirm.com /zoneprint bigfirm.com Create a primary zone dnscmd /zoneadd zonename /primary dnscmd /zoneadd bigfirm.com /primary Create a secondary...(read more)

Server Core Commands

2008-03-27T19:58:32Z

It's been quite awhile since my last Server Core blog so I feel obligated to share some of the other findings that I have. I've been asked several times how to configure TCP/IP settings on a Server Core server. To configure the IP address we will have to remember (or learn) Netsh. Configure a Static IP Address on Server Core: Netsh int ipv4 set address “Local Area Connection” static 10.1.1.10 255.255.255.0 10.1.1.1 Netsh int ipv4 set dnsserver “Local Area Connection” static 10.1.1.5 primary...(read more)

Windows Vista Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) Finally Released

2008-03-26T13:24:00Z

It looks like Microsoft finally released RSAT for Windows Vista. What a relief. We can finally effectively manage our environment with Vista. It can be downloaded in two versions, 32bit or 64bit . What Is Included in RSAT? This is the list of Windows Server 2008 administration tools which are included in RSAT: Role Administration Tools: · Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Tools · Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Tools · Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)...(read more)

Will the Real FTP Service Please Stand Up?

2008-03-24T22:34:00Z

I'm confused...really confused. One of Windows Server 2008's new touted upgrades is IIS7. Maybe it's just me but I've always thought FTP was part IIS...and it is in Windows Server 2008. So why am I so confused. Well apparently Microsoft and the IIS team (which I'm a big fan of!) released another version of FTP as a separate download. Oh and get this, it's name is FTP7. Yes you heard correct. FTP7 is not the same FTP service that is included with IIS7. I saw this over at IIS...(read more)

Group Policy Spreadsheet for Server 2008 and Vista SP1

2008-03-24T22:15:41Z

I've always loved these spreadsheets as they allow a quick and easy way to search for Group Policies. With Server 2008 live and Vista SP1 out Microsoft has updated their reference sheet to add all the new Group Policy settings. There are now over 2700 settings you can apply in your environment...have fun!...(read more)

Windows Server 2008 Reviewers Guide - Reviewed

2008-03-18T22:04:33Z

After spending a bit of time on Amazon I noticed that books, movies, and other random things you can buy all had customer reviews. I started to think, why don't white papers and technical documents have the same? Today I've decided to take action against poorly written technical papers and ensure that those companies are held accountable to what they are publishing. OK, maybe I'm not that gun-ho about it but I do think it would be nice to give a review here and there on stuff i've...(read more)

Windows Server 2008 Sysprep.xml help

2008-03-18T19:41:00Z

My friend Norm asked if I could post this sample Sysprep.xml file as he couldn't find anything online yet to really help him with Server 2008 and Sysprep. If you have any questions or feedback just leave it in the comments and I'll be sure to have Norm review them. Here's a sample sysprep.xml that you can use to get your Server 2008 build going. It has some of the basic functions you'll need if you are deploying Server 2008 in an enterprise environment. This example is for the 64...(read more)

Free Windows Server 2008 Labs Available Online

2008-02-27T22:40:00Z

Since today is the official launch day of Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 I thought it would be a good idea to check out the Heroes Happen {here} site . Not sure how I stumbled upon it but I found a real gem. I found 10 labs that you can "Test Drive" for Windows Server 2008, 7 for Visual Studio 2008, and 11 for SQL Server 2008. These are excellent labs that put you on a live virtual machine environment to really play around with the technology. Just click on...(read more)

Hyper-V Terminology Explained

2008-02-27T17:22:24Z

The Virtual PC Guy blog has a great post defining some of the components and features of Hyper-V . For those that want to learn more about Hyper-V this is the blog you should be reading....(read more)