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Hi all, Jonathan here again with the latest edition of the Intermittent Mail Sack. We've had some great questions over the last few weeks so I've got a lot of material to cover. This sack, we answer questions on: Issues upgrading DFSR hub servers to Windows Server 2012 AD FS Sign-out behavior...

Hi folks, Ned here again. I know this is supposed to be the Friday Mail Sack but things got a little hectic and... ah heck, it doesn't need explaining, you're in IT. This week - with help from the ever-crotchety Jonathan Stephens - we talk about: Multiple WMI Filters LDAP MaxPoolThreads Many...

Hiya world, Ned is back with your best questions and comments. I’ve been off to teach this fall’s MCM , done Win8 stuff , and generally been slacking keeping busy; sorry for the delay in posting. That means a hefty backlog - get ready to slurp. Today we talk: Weirdness with NETDOM...

Hi, Mike here again. Today, I want to write about a common administrative task that can lead to disaster: removing stale computer accounts from Active Directory. Removing stale computer accounts is simply good hygiene-- it’s the brushing and flossing of Active Directory. Like tartar, computer accounts...

Hi folks, Ned here again. We introduced the AD Administrative Center in Windows Server 2008 R2 to much fanfare. Wait, I mean we told no one and for good measure, we left the old AD Users and Computers tool in-place. Then we continued referencing it in all our documentation. And people say we're a marketing...

Hello all, Jonathan here again. Today, I want to address a question that we see regularly. As customers upgrade Active Directory, and they inevitably reach the point where they are ready to change the Domain or Forest Functional Level, they sometimes become fraught. Why is this necessary? What does this...

Hi folks, Ned here again. Customers periodically ask us for a rumored replacement for the Windows 2000 acctinfo.dll that works on 64-bit Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 . That old DLL added an extra tab to the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in to centralize some user account info: ...

Ned here. The Remote Server Administration Toolkit update to support Windows 7 Service Pack 1 has released. Come and get it: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7d2f6ad7-656b-4313-a005-4e344e43997d - Ned “ all complaints go here ” Pyle

Hi folks, Ned here again. I recently wrote a KB article about some expected DCDIAG.EXE behaviors . This required reviewing DCDIAG.EXE as I wasn’t finding anything deep in TechNet about the “Services” test that had my interest. By the time I was done, I had found a dozen other test behaviors...

Ned here again folks. We introduced granular auditing in Windows Vista and a few years later we released Advanced Audit Policy Configuration . Legacy Windows audit policy didn’t go away, of course. To make things interesting, all of this can be configured through domain policy, local policy, multiple...

Hi folks, Ned here again. I mentioned this once in a Friday Mail Sack but today I circle around and explain a well-hidden security feature added in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2: Global Object Access Auditing Oh boy, auditing! I bet you are excited! What is it and how to enable it ...

Hi folks, Ned here again. Despite the reputation for cutting edge technology, a lot of IT departments can get stuck in the now or worse, the past. Since it’s a new year, a new economy, and winter is coming to a close, here are some articles you should find interesting if you are looking to the...

Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 SP1 has shipped. Here’s the bottom line: Volume Licensed, MSDN and TechNet subscribers get access February 16 . All customers get access February 22 through Windows Update and direct download. More info and high-fiving here at the Windows Server...

Ned here. The Windows Server division is looking for your feedback. A snippet from their post: From our research we have identified 5 areas where our customers have expressed increased concerns: Enabling an increasingly mobile workforce Working within the constraints of tightening...

Updated to include SP1 being RTM and some last minute fixes that were included post RC Hi all, Ned here again. Back in October I joined the Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 beta support team. Our job is to support customers in a special early adopters program. As SP1 has now released, I’m...

Hiya folks, Ned here again. In today’s Mail Sack I discuss SP1, DFSR, GPP passwords, USMT, backups, AD disk configurations, and the importance of costumed pets. Boo. Win7/R2 SP1 RC in production USMT ramp up Daily DFSR health reports Recommendations for separating AD folders and...

Hello folks, Ned here again. By now many businesses have begun deploying Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. Since Active Directory has become ubiquitous, Kerberos is now commonplace. What you may not know is that we made a significant change to default cryptographic support in Kerberos starting in...

Hello folks, Ned here again. Previously I explained how swapping out existing storage can be a method to migrate an existing DFSR environment to new hardware or operating system. Now in this final article I will discuss how reinstallation or an in-place upgrade can be used to deploy a later version of...

Hello folks, Ned here again. Previously I covered how to use an N+1 server placement method to migrate an existing DFSR environment to new hardware or operating system. Now I will show you how to replace servers in an existing Replication Group using the disk swap method. Make sure you review the...

Hello readers, Ned here again. In the previous two blog posts I discussed planning for DFSR server replacements and how to ensure you are properly pre-seeding data. Now I will show how to replace servers in an existing Replication Group using the N+1 Method to minimize interruption. Make sure you...

Ned here again. Previously I discussed options for performing a hardware or OS replacement within an existing DFSR Replication Group. As part of that process you may end up seeding a new server’s disk with data from an existing server. Pre-seeded files exactly match the copies on an upstream server...

Ned here again. The MS Product Quality and Online team has released three new RSS feeds for Windows Server, Windows 7 Client, and Windows 7 IT Pro to get you to the "high impact issues" happening right now that have solutions. Great for proactive work, finding emerging issues, or seeing common problems...

Ned here. Our friend and colleague Jose Barreto from the File Server development team has posted a very interesting article around multiple NIC usage on Win2008/R2 file servers. Here's the intro: When you set up a File Server, there are advantages to configuring multiple Network Interface Cards (NICs...

Hello folks, Ned here again to kick off a new five-part series on DFSR. With the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, the warming of economies, and the timing of hardware leases, we have started seeing more questions around replacing servers within existing DFSR Replication Groups. Through the series...

Ned here again. Beginning in Windows Server 2008 R2, Active Directory supports an optional AD Recycle Bin that can be enabled forest-wide. This means that instead of requiring a System State backup and an authoritative subtree restore, a deleted DNS zone can now be recovered on the fly. However, due...