Life of an IT Pro Advisor @ Microsoft Canada : Windows Server 2003

Infrastructure Optimization Tour '06 Landing page is live!

rclaus — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 06:40:13 GMT

In case you didn't catch my hints in this July blogpost, the first TechNet national tour is around Infrastructure Optimization and supporting Branch Office solutions.

The landing page went live yesterday - you can see it here if you like.

As always - more details can be found over at The Canadian IT Pro Blog...

Virtualization News over on the Canadian IT Pro blog site...

rclaus — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 05:32:00 GMT

I wanted to share the latest virtualization news around our announcement at LinuxWorld in Boston. Virtual Server 2005 R2 both 32 bit and 64 bit will be free for download and use in your production environments!

Check out my post on the Canadian IT Pro blog for more details...

Ottawa Windows Server User Group Meeting for Wednesday, April 12th

rclaus — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:33:38 GMT

Topic:
Windows 2003 R2 – What is New?

Description:
This presentation will cover what is new within Windows 2003 R2. This session will show attendees with demonstrations and video clips the latest features within Windows 2003 R2 including:

Improved Branch office Management
Storage Management
Virtual Server and Windows 2003 R2 Enterprise
64-bit support

Q & A will follow this presentation.

Location:
Microsoft Canada
100 Queen Street Suite 500
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1A4

Agenda: Wednesday April 12th
11:30 a.m. – Event registration
12:00 pm – Presentation
1:30 p.m. – Q & A
2:00 p.m. – Door Prizes

Cost:
Free

Notes:
Pizza and Pop will be served, Please RSVP to help us order enough of both.

RSVP:
https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=108352

Links:

OWSUG.ca Web Site          http://www.owsug.ca/cs/
OWSUG.ca Mailing list        http://lists.listleague.com/mailman/listinfo/owsug.ca
OWSUG.ca Forums             http://www.owsug.ca/cs/forums/

Build '06 Winnipeg UserGroup presentation and Community

rclaus — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 10:04:00 GMT

I am wrapping up the Build ‘06 tour in Winnipeg this week and just got back from the post event activities from the user group event this evening. User groups and communities around technology have been around since the time of the Altair personal kit computer once they started out of peoples garages. I wasn’t around to use the Altair, but I got an early start when my dad ordered and built his Sinclair ZX-81 once the kids went to bed. I still remember learning to program from articles in magazines and fiddling with the computer whenever I got the chance – you couldn’t keep me away from it.

Working with User Group is are part of my job that I really love doing. It allows me to share my passion for technology with other IT Pros across Canada. After tonights event, I got lots of “thank-you”s and “great job!” comments that were from sincere individuals who took the time to come down and talk to me face to face. We wrapped up a little later then expected, but for the most part, I would have to say the event was a success. Winnipeg IT Pro usergroup will hopefully get some new faces to add to their user base and hopefully it will encourage more to attend and participate in the local IT community. I e-mailed Jason Miller a copy of the slide deck / resources, so he should have it up on the site soon enough in case you wanted a copy of them.

After mostly everyone had left, a few people stuck around to continue talking about the event and other technologies. We decided to reconvene at a local establishment (Kings Head Pub) for a couple of pints and further discussion. This is what is commonly referred to as ‘The Beer SIG”. 6 of us showed up for the conversation: Phil Klassen (instructor at Red River College), Rod Buike (AD MVP and Admin of http://thelazyadmin.com website), Jordan Samulaitis (Sales and Technical Specialist with www.FatPort.com), Brent Barske (consultant, beta tester extraordinaire and sysadmin for River East Transcona School Division) and Jason Miller (www.somnio.ca and President of WITPro). We talked about everything under the sun: Voice over IP, Mobile 5, Virtualization, Broadband futures, DNS architecture, SBS Swing Server migration, 64 bit technology, Exchange 12, MSN Search vs. Google Search, iPOD, online music services, Travel and rewards booking with Aeroplan or AirMiles – you name it, it was discussed as part of the 2 1/2 hr conversation. There was never a low point in the discussion – someone was always involved, talking / debating / defending their position on one thing or another. Heck – it is such a small world, I found out that I might be staying in someone’s Honey Moon suite from 20 years ago (Room 613 at the Fairmont). ok – that last part might have been a little TOO much connecting the dots, but I can still ask to change my room if required.

The net result? A bunch of guys got together to have a passionate discussion around technology and how it can be used to make their world (and their customers world) a better place. These guys were true “geeks” that were passionate about what they were saying and were happy to be making the connection with like minded people. These passionate IT Pros also happen to form the core group of members from the user group that keep the group moving along, alive and well. I see this at each of the user groups I meet up with – small core groups of individuals who are passionate about keeping the community alive and provide value back into their local communities. Imagine if we expanded on these small core groups and got more people involved and working together with their local IT Pro community!

One usergroup event with free pizza and great content – $0
1 plate of nachos from Kings Head Pub – $7.50
6 pints of various brews including tip – $38
building and strengthening the local IT Pro community – $$ priceless $$

What have you done to support your local IT Pro community lately? Any ideas on how to make it better? Post them on up here for all to share!

The .local VS real DNS Top Level Domain naming question - SBS (Small Business Server)

rclaus — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 07:44:39 GMT

I just posted a lengthy discussion around the question that comes up when one installs Small Business Server and what to call your Active Directory domain. This has been a topic of discussion with a number of my friends and IT pros I’ve met while on the road whenever we discuss Small Business Server issues.

It’s not something to be taken lightly and it deserves a little more thought then just pressing “next” during the install process. Check it out over at the Canadian IT Professional blog. join in the discussion by posting a comment.

As-tu des problèmes avec un erreur « [strings] section is too long » quand tu travailles avec un GPO?

rclaus — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 20:20:00 GMT

J’avais beaucoup de questions dans mon courriel électronique au sujet d’intégrer les nouveaux *.ADM fichier qui sont en place avec Windows XP SP2 dans une environnement Active Directory. Peut-être j’aurai beaucoup d’autre question maintenant que les personnes travaillent avec Windows Server 2003 SP1. Les deux systèmes changes la longueur des « strings » au point qu’ils sont incompatibles avec un MMC qui est utilisé sur un system au niveau précédent de Windows XP SP2.

J’ai déjà écrit un article qui explique la méthode que les *.ADM fichier se mis a niveau automatiquement dans un environnement d’Active Directory et comment tu as besoin d’évaluer et choisir la procédure qui est correct pour votre environnement. (La manière défaut fonctionne pour presque tous les gents)

Pour essayer de répondre au question la plus simple et le plus court que possible :
Si tu crée ou change un GPO avec un MMC sur un system de Windows XP SP2 ou Windows Server 2003 SP1, la réaction défaut est que les fichiers seront télécharger au Domain Controllers et en effet remplace les versions plus ancienne. Pour éviter les erreurs de « [strings] too long », toutes les systèmes utilisés pour gérer les GPO a besoin d’un patch pour mettre a niveau un DLL qui est utiliser par le MMC.

(Cette réponse est simple et court?)

Regarder l’article KB842933. Il est trouvé ici. Tu n’as pas besoin beaucoup d’analyse pour cette patch. Les systèmes n’ont pas besoin d’être redémarré après l’application du patch si tu fermes le MMC avant de commencer. Seulement les systèmes utilisés pour gérer les GPO on a besoin du patch. Les systèmes au niveau de :

Windows XP sans SP2
Tous les systèmes Windows 2000 Professional
Windows Server 2003 sans SP1
Tous les systèmes Windows 2000 Server

Si tu décide de ne pas appliquer le patch – c’est OK – tu ne casse pas ton GPO si tu les changes avec un MMC plus ancien. Tu dois tous simplement « clicker » un vingtaine fois sur le « ok » bouton. ;-)

Perplexed with a "[strings] section is too long" error when editing a GPO?

rclaus — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 16:23:00 GMT

I've had a number of questions around the *.ADM templates that come with a Windows XP Service Pack 2 machine and what they do to the GPOs in an Active Directory Domain. With people using Server 2003 SP1 systems, I might get more questions being asked. Both systems increase the length of strings beyond what the MMC console can take on a older OS (by older I mean PRE-XP-SP2).

I've already wirtten an article outlining the ADM template update process, how they get copied up to the domain controllers AND about how you need to choose the right process for your organization - default works great for almost all situations.

To make a long blog post shorter and to come to the point:
If you edit a GPO with an XP-SP2 or Server 2003 SP1 management console with the updated *.ADM templates, the default action is that the templates will be copied up to the Domain Controllers and overwrite the old ones. As a result of this action - all admin workstations (and servers) that are NOT XP-SP2 or Server 2003 SP1 need to be patched with the appropriate patch if they are going to be used to manage GPOs.

(that was short?)

You might want to read the details contained in Knowledge Base article 842933. It can be found here. Not to worry - no major testing require of this patch. No reboots are required (unless the GPO MMC or GPMC is open at the time of the patch - in which case, close it and patch again). Only the systems used to manage GPOs need to be patched. They apply to workstations that are running:

Windows XP PRIOR to Service Pack 2
All Windows 2000 Pro systems
Windows Server 2003 PRIOR to SP1
All Windows Server 2000 systems

If you don't patch them - don't worry - you won't "break" your GPO by editing it with an older version of the console. You'll just have to be proficient at clicking 20 or so times on the OK button. ;-)

Server 2003 SP1 - Getting ready...

rclaus — Sun, 09 Jan 2005 19:41:00 GMT

In case you didn’t notice this one go up a while back (mid December), Microsoft has published a detailed document library on Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. It can be found here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C3C26254-8CE3-46E2-B1B6-3659B92B2CDE&displaylang=en

I’ve already downloaded it and have been digesting the content for the last week or so. It’s fairly impressive and like XP SP2 – it will have a definite impact on your day to day lives as IT Professionals. I strongly suggest you download a copy and start your reading.

Are you looking for the Service Pack Release Candidate 1 code bits to start up your lab testing? Testing before implementing is always a good thing J. I’ve been running it on my server for a while now to get used to the new functionality. Here is the main download page for most things to do with W2K3 RC1.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/servicepacks/sp1/default.mspx

Finally – can’t let you go without giving you the link on TechNet resources for the RC…

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/servicepack/default.mspx

I’ll be posting some more on this release and giving you some highlights.

Serveur 2003 SP1 - RC1 - Etès-vous prêt?

rclaus — Sun, 09 Jan 2005 19:17:00 GMT

Je veux essayer de faire mes post de blog en français et anglais quand c'est possible. Désoler, mon français écrit n'est pas très bon. J'emploie les services de traduction inclus avec Word 2003 - WordLingo et puis je les édite ainsi ils semblent plus « normal ». C'est ma première post en utilisant cette méthode – on vas voir si c’est acceptable.

Ce document a été poster au site web de Microsoft en mi-décembre. C'est leur document détaillé au sujet des changements du serveur 2003 avec Service Pack 1. Malheureusement - il est seulement disponible en anglais. On peut trouver ici :

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C3C26254-8CE3-46E2-B1B6-3659B92B2CDE&displaylang=en

Je l'ai déjà téléchargé et je suis en train de le lire au complet. Le service pack est assez impressionnant et comme XP SP2 - il aura un impact défini pour tous professionnels en TI. Je suggère fortement que vous téléchargiez une copie et commenciez votre lecture. Recherchez-vous les « bits » de RC1 pour commencer votre essai en laboratoire? L'essai avant de mettre en production est toujours une bonne chose! Je l'avais installer sur mon serveur « demo » pour tester la nouvelle fonctionnalité. Voici la page principale de téléchargement pour que la plupart des choses fassent avec W2K3 RC1.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/servicepacks/sp1/default.mspx

Enfin – je ne peu pas vous laisser partir sans vous donner le lien sur des ressources de TechNet pour le RC...

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/servicepack/default.mspx

Je vais poster encore plus sur Serveur 2003 RC1 et je vous donnerai quelques points culminants.