WindowsAdminGuru BLOG

We can publish shared folders to Active Directory so that users can search for share folders in Active Directory. When we publish folders in Active Directory, we can provide a description or keywords with the shared folder. When clients need to locate that shared folder, they can use an argument based on object name, keywords, or description. The only limitation with shared folder is that if we move the shared folder from one server to another, then clients will be unable to access the shared folder, since shared folders are mapped to a drive and original location has been changed. We can publish shared folder from the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.

As we all know the procedure of renaming a regular Windows Operating system is very simple, which is just open the Properties of My Computer and usually requires one reboot. But renaming a Domain Controller uses a different approach. There are few steps required be performed for renaming a Domain Controller. But one important note to remember is that Domain Controller running Microsoft’s Certificate Authority services (CA) can never be renamed and the domain functional level must be set to at least Windows Server 2003 . NETDOM command is used to rename Domain Controller. This utility is the part of the Windows Server 2008 operating system and not to desperately download it just like in previous versions. Here are the steps required to rename the Domain controller:- 1.        Provide a FQDN as a new computer name for the domain controller 2.        Ensures computer account updates and DNS registrations are completed 3.        Remove the old name To perform below steps, you m

When any object is deleted from Active Directory, the object is not actually removed from Active Directory. Instead, the object is marked as deleted, most of its attributes are removed, the object is renamed, and the deleted object is moved to the Deleted Objects container. This object is now referred to as a tombstone and is kept till tombstone lifetime time expires. Information of this tombstone object is replicated to all other domain controllers.   You can modify the default value for tombstone lifetime by using ADSIEdit.msc. Default Tombstone Lifetime for New Active Directory Forests Operating System   Default Tombstone Lifetime   Windows 2000 Server 60 days Windows Server 2003 no service pack 60 days Windows Server 2003 SP1 180 days Windows Server 2003 R2 60 days Windows Server 2003 SP2 180 days Windows Server 2008 180 days

Parent-child trust This trust is implicitly created when we add a new child domain to a tree. This trust is a two-way and transitive in nature. Tree-root Trust This trust is implicitly established when we add a new tree root domain to a forest. This trust is two-way and transitive in nature. Shortcut Trust This trust is created to improve user logon times between two domains in a forest. This trust is created explicitly, transitive and can be one-way or two-way. As you can see in the above diagram, one-way trust is created from techpeoples.net to asia.microsoft.com so that users in asia.microsoft.com can logon to techpeoples.net domain, but not vice-versa. In other scenario, two way trusts is created between usa.techpeoples.net and europe.microsoft.com so that users in each domain can logon to other domain, two-way trust. External Trust External trust is created between two different forests or between a Windows Server 2003 domain and Windows NT 4 domain. This trust is e

SYSVOL folder contains logon scripts, group policies templates and other resources which are critical to the health and management of an Active Directory. Any change made in the Group policies or logon scripts should be replication to the all domain controllers in the network and so SYSVOL should be consistent on each domain controllers. In previous versions of Windows, File Replication Services (FRS) was responsible for replicating SYSVOL contents to all domain controllers. But FRS had lots of limitations in terms of troubleshooting, and capacity and performance wise. Windows Server 2008 introduced a new feature where DFS-R is used to replicate SYSCOL contents. But this new feature will only be available if domain functional level is raised to Windows Server 2008.   As we know, there are three Windows Server 2008 Active Directory functional levels:- ·          Windows Server 2000 Native ·          Window Server 2003 Native ·          Windows Server 2008 Once domain functio

Active Directory data is logically partitioned so that each domain controller does not store all objects in the directory. Each directory partition, also called a naming context, contains objects of a particular scope and purpose. Below are the three major Active Directory partitions described:- ·          Schema Partition defines the object classes and their attributes for the entire directory. The configuration is replicated to every domain controller in the forest. ·          Domain Partition contains all the objects stored in a domain, including users, groups, computers, and Group Policy containers (GPCs). This partition information is replicated to all domain controllers within a domain, but not to domain controllers in other domains. ·          Configuration Partition contains objects that represent the logical structure of the forest, domains, as well as the physical topology, including sites, subnets, and services. ·          Application Directory Partition r

Active Directory design is a science, and it’s far too complex to cover all the nuances within the confines of one article. But I wanted to share with you 10 quick tips that will help make your AD design more efficient and easier to troubleshoot and manage. 1: Keep it simple The first bit of advice is to keep things as simple as you can. Active Directory is designed to be flexible, and if offers numerous types of objects and components. But just because you can use something doesn’t mean you should. Keeping your Active Directory as simple as possible will help improve overall efficiency, and it will make the troubleshooting process easier whenever problems arise. 2: Use the appropriate site topology Although there is definitely something to be said for simplicity, you shouldn’t shy away from creating more complex structures when it is appropriate. Larger networks will almost always require multiple Active Directory sites. The site topology should mirror your network top

What Is RAID? Organizing Data Storage for Availability and Performance Choosing RAID Levels and Concatenation Comparing RAID Level and Concatenation Performance Storage Management provides storage management using RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology. Understanding storage management requires an understanding of RAID concepts, as well as some familiarity with how your system's RAID controllers and operating system view disk space. What Is RAID? RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a technology for managing how data is stored on the physical disks that reside in your system or are attached to it. A key aspect of RAID is the ability to span physical disks so that the combined storage capacity of multiple physical disks can be treated as a single, extended chunk of disk space. Another key aspect of RAID is the ability to maintain redundant data which can be used to restore data in the event of a disk failure. RAID uses different techn

Whether you are an Apple fanboy/fangirl or not, I am pretty sure you would love these creative and interesting comics below. All the comics were created by our Joy of Tech friends at Geek Culture, Nitrozac and Snaggy. They publish comics about technology, especially on Apple news and events. Among the 1,300+ comics they have created so far, we have shortlisted the “20 Funny Comics About Apple” in this post. My personal favorite is the comic on “How Steve Jobs spends the weekend before a keynote”. What’s yours? Apple Online Store Touch An iPad Steve Jobs Before A Keynote Carry Your iPad iPhone Wedding iReporters Multi-Touch Screen Computer Bill Gates’ Home Apple Computer A Greener Apple Apple Tablet Apple Tax iPad Hope Beggar iPhone Accessories iPhone iPhone iTunes Sync Snow Leopard Behind A Steve Jobs Keynote Steve Jobs Mid-Life Crisis

Facing a tough challenge to explain the birds and the bees to your teens? Given today’s technologically advanced world, why not explain sex to them by using iPods? Teens tend to understand better when things are explained to them on their terms.

Apple is known as the most secretive consumer company in Silicon Valley, and leaks are rare. But the iPhone prototype was left in a bar in the Silicon Valley town in Redwood city. Photos of the device began surfacing on technology blogs, sparking a frenzy of hype among the Apple-obsessed. This embarrassing leak has caused the California-based tech juggernaut a huge impact economically. At the point of writing, potential iPhone 3GS customers are abandoning their plans to purchase the widely-popular smartphone, which sold 8.75 million units for the quarter ended March 27. People prefer to wait for the newer and faster iPhone 4G, which is rumored to be announced on June 22 and available in stores in September. I believe that this iPhone prototype will not become the next generation of iPhone, and Steve Jobs and Co. will make Gizmodo a laughing stock by launching a phone of different design. Apple can’t possibility sell an iPhone that millions of pairs of eyeballs have

After tons of leak story talking about the lost iPhone 4G prototype, the iPhone 4G is finally announced yesterday night (1am Singapore Time) at the WWDC 2010. During the keynote, many new features of iPhone OS4 and the new additions to the iPhone has been introduced. The new iPhone has a design which is very different from other iPhones. It is shaped like a rectangle with a straight back.  The first thign that will capture your eyes would be the stunning high resolution display it has. 326 pixels per inch, 4 times the pixels than the previous iPhones. It uses a very highly precise lamination of the glass screen. It prevents light from reflecting. Facetime. The long awaited feature on the iPhone. It allows you to video call using WiFi to see your loves ones Live, you can switch between two cameras easily. They updated the camera from 3.5 Megapixels to 5 Megapixels and allow HD video shooting up to 720p at 30 frames per second.  They also include a LED flash for low li

“If ever, oh ever, a wiz there was The Wizard of Oz is one because…” – Wizard of Oz, 1939 As the 1939 cinematography classic, Wizard of Oz , is one of my favorite movies of all time, I had to write about this one. So today, on August 12th, 2010, Google has updated their Google doodle today to celebrate the Wizard of Oz’s 71st anniversary. However, it does not seem to be showing up on all Google home pages, as I can see it on the Netherlands home page (eg http://www.google.nl/ ), for example, but not on the USA home page ( http://www.google.com/ ). Other sites, however, such as CBS News , appear to be able to see it on the Google USA home page. Despite its age, the Wizard of Oz still seems strikingly modern, a testament that some forms of art, sciences, or technology can have a timeless appeal to them. However, what was especially revolutionary at the time for that movie was that it adroitly combined the newly-developed Technicolor, fantasy, and an emotionally ric

The year was 1996.  It had only been 15 years since 1981, when Microsoft had introduced their revolutionary DOS operating system on IBM and other PCs, and started their ambitious goal of putting a personal computer into every home.  The world had also just started to transition to the color of Windows 95 monitors after more than a decade immersed in monochrome monitors. That same year, Netscape Navigator, the world’s first successful internet browser, came out with two improved versions of its browser, versions 2.0 and 3.0. Two years ago, in 1994, Yahoo! had created the first comprehensive directory of the world wide web with their Yahoo! directory. The internet for the general public was born in the mid 90s, as many people rushed to post information onto the internet, supporting its initial growth. An early version of Netscape: With all this information on the internet, it was critical to find a way for people to find information. With a way to find information