Two New Tutorials available for Microsoft and Cisco

February 28, 2013, 5:40 pm

≫ Next: Quick March April May Activity Update

$

0

0

Two new Tutorials are now available for Microsoft and Cisco. The Microsoft tutorial covers the best way to find the 5 FSMO roles using ntdsutil and netdom. The Cisco tutorial involves a Cisco Nexus 5000 CLI Pocket Guide for Reference that I will constantly add too.

Microsoft – Identify the 5 FSMO Roles easily within Active Directory http://www.sysadmintutorials.com/tutorials/microsoft/windows-2008-r2/the-best-way-to-find-the-5-fsmo-roles-in-microsoft-active-directory/

Cisco – Nexus 5000 CLI Pocket Guide http://www.sysadmintutorials.com/tutorials/cisco/cisco-nexus-5000/cisco-nexus-5000-cli-pocket-guide/

---

Quick March April May Activity Update

June 14, 2013, 6:31 pm

≫ Next: E3 Expo 2013 Los Angeles Convention Center

≪ Previous: Two New Tutorials available for Microsoft and Cisco

$

0

0

Hi, I thought I would give everyone an update as you would not of seen much activity from me since March.

First up, in March, a car exploded in our apartment block garage, causing the whole building to be evacuated. The fire effected all services such as electricity, water, phone lines, sewage, etc. Nearly all cars and contents were damaged and had to be examined via insurance. We were living in hotels for about 5 weeks until we were giving the ok to move back in. Even though we could move back in the whole block was on temporary power, water and sewage was working, but no phone line, no internet.

Car Explosion

Beginning the 2nd week of May my wife and I had our honeymoon where we were travelling for 5 weeks and just returned today.

Hanauma Bay

I got our internet service connected and away we go.

There are a few updates that I need to install on the site and the forums, following on I will be able to continue updating and creating new content.

During our honeymoon, I was fortunate enough to get a pass to the E3 Gaming Expo in the LA convention center. I took a few photos and videos of the latest and greatest games coming out (Ps3/4, Xbox 360/one, Nintendo and PC). I will create a new post tomorrow with some content for the gamers amongst us

E3 Expo

E3 Expo 2013 Los Angeles Convention Center

June 15, 2013, 7:04 pm

≫ Next: Netapp Clustered Mode Tutorials Comming Soon

≪ Previous: Quick March April May Activity Update

$

0

0

Like I mentioned in my post yesterday, I was very fortunate to get a pass to attend this years E3 Video Games Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Every single publisher and studio of video games were there presenting their new and upcoming releases.

I attended the Tuesday and Thursday and was able to get my hands on some of the most innovative games that will be hitting your favourite game shop soon.

I thought you guys and girls would find it interesting as most people working in IT have a huge interest in video games. While working through some of the larger tutorials on my site, feel free to take 5 and scroll through some of the photos and videos below.

Photos

E3 Expo

Ubisoft Stand

The Crew

Watchdogs

Assassin’s Creed Multiplayer

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Awards

The Division Awards

Watchdogs Awards

Battlefield 4 Multiplayer

Battlefield 4 Multiplayer Control

Call of Duty Ghosts

Batman Arkham Origins

 

Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag Game Play

 

Netapp Clustered Mode Tutorials Comming Soon

June 23, 2013, 12:53 am

≫ Next: Netapp Clustered Mode Tutorials are now available

≪ Previous: E3 Expo 2013 Los Angeles Convention Center

$

0

0

Hi everyone, just a quick post to let you all know that i’m currently working on and getting trained up on Netapp Clustered mode 8.2, I will be creating some tutorials and reference pocket guides for everyone soon.

In the meantime here is a link to the Netapp Support site with a cli command line map from 7-mode to clustered mode. You will need a NOW account, which is free to create, to be able to access the link

https://library.netapp.com/ecm/ecm_download_file/ECMP1196780

Netapp Clustered Mode Tutorials are now available

July 20, 2013, 5:48 am

≫ Next: BgInfo and Group Policy

≪ Previous: Netapp Clustered Mode Tutorials Comming Soon

$

0

0

Three Netapp Clustered Mode Tutorials are now available: Upgrading from 7-mode to Clustered Mode, Cluster Interconnect CN1610 Switch Configuration and Netapp Cluster Mode CLI Pocket Guide

Netapp Data Ontap 7-Mode to Clustered Mode Steps

Netapp Clustered Mode CN1610 Interconnect Switch Setup

Netapp Clustered Ontap CLI Pocket Guide

BgInfo and Group Policy

July 27, 2013, 7:59 am

≫ Next: vSphere 5.1 Web Interface HTTP 404

≪ Previous: Netapp Clustered Mode Tutorials are now available

$

0

0

I have previously used BgInfo and find it such a great tool for displaying some key information on the desktop of servers such as hostname, username, ip address, cpu, free space, last boot time, etc Have a look below at my lab server running BgInfo

BgInfo Demo

You have a few options to run BgInfo and have the information displayed on your desktop.

Option 1: Create a batch file and place it into the Windows Start Up folder so that it runs each time the user logs on. The only issue with this is that you must do this on each individual server. What happens if you need to run BgInfo on 100′s of servers ?

Option 2: Create a batch file and run it as a script with Group Policy. Attach the Group Policy to an OU where your servers are located and each server will be updated automatically.

First Step, download BgInfo here from SysInternal:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/sysinternals/bb897557.aspx

Second Step, check out Ahmed Bayoumy’s step-by-step guide on configuring BgInfo, creating a simple batch file and applying it to a new Group Policy.

vSphere 5.1 Web Interface HTTP 404

August 2, 2013, 6:30 pm

≫ Next: Alcatel OmniSwitch Reference Guide

≪ Previous: BgInfo and Group Policy

$

0

0

I’ve come across this issue a few times now and I mention this in my video on vCenter 5.1 Upgrade Part 2 – vSphere Web Client and Inventory Service Installation where you might receive a 404 error on the vSphere 5.1 web interface. In the video I point out an article from VMware which helps to resolve this error, for those who have not seen my video, here is an extract from the website and a link to the direct article on VMware

SYMPTOMS

• The vSphere Web Client service fails to start
• Accessing the vSphere Web client URL results in a Page Not Found or 404 error
• The vSphere Web Client service starts and then stops immediately after being enabled

In the Windows Event logs, you see the error:

The vSphere Web Client service terminated with service-specific error Incorrect function…..
Event ID 7024
EventRecord ID 2655

CAUSE

This issue occurs if the vSphere Web client service is incorrectly reading the directory path listed under the image path registry value.

RESOLUTION

vSphere 5 web client service starts and then stops immediately after being enabled (2012473)

 

Alcatel OmniSwitch Reference Guide

August 2, 2013, 7:38 pm

≫ Next: Windows Multiple IP Addresses and Default Gateway

≪ Previous: vSphere 5.1 Web Interface HTTP 404

$

0

0

I’ve just completed the first revision of the Alcatel CLI Pocket Guide which can be used as a How To or Reference Guide when configuring Alcatel OmniSwitch devices. Please comment if you would like me to add something that is not on the list

http://www.sysadmintutorials.com/tutorials/alcatel/alcatel-omniswitch-cli-pocket-guide/

 

---

Windows Multiple IP Addresses and Default Gateway

August 5, 2013, 7:28 am

≫ Next: Snapmirror from Netapp 7-Mode to Netapp C-Mode

≪ Previous: Alcatel OmniSwitch Reference Guide

$

0

0

I wanted to write this post in regards to anyone currently using or admins that are about to use Microsoft Windows Servers or workstations with multiple ip addresses and how Windows will determine your preferred source address.

In this example say we have a Windows 2008 Server with 3 IP addresses:

1. 192.168.1.10
2. 192.168.1.20
3. 192.168.1.30

Now if the default gateway is 192.168.1.1, the Windows 2008 Server will use 192.168.1.10 as a preferred source address, this is true as it is the IP address closest to the default gateway.

If the default gateway is 192.168.1.254, the Windows 2008 Server will use 192.168.1.30 as a preferred source address, as 192.168.1.30 is the closest IP address to the default gateway.

You can see what is being used as the preferred source address by typing in route print in the command prompt.

So even if in your TCP/IP address settings you have an IP address listed as primary, it may not necessarily be the source IP address when trying to route.

Keep the above rule in mind especially when setting up firewall rules.

Snapmirror from Netapp 7-Mode to Netapp C-Mode

August 21, 2013, 6:04 am

≫ Next: New StorageCraft ShadowProtect Backup and Restore Tutorials

≪ Previous: Windows Multiple IP Addresses and Default Gateway

$

0

0

In this new tutorial I have created the steps that you will need to create a snapmirror relationship between your Netapp 7-Mode SAN and Netapp C-Mode SAN. This will help you migrate your volumes from your older 7-mode systems to the new clustered data ontap systems. The following tutorial is based on Data Ontap 8.2

http://www.sysadmintutorials.com/tutorials/netapp/netapp-clustered-ontap/netapp-snapmirror-7-mode-to-cluster-mode/

New StorageCraft ShadowProtect Backup and Restore Tutorials

November 29, 2013, 4:42 pm

≫ Next: Netapp C-Mode Updating LS-Mirror on Root to Replicate Changes

≪ Previous: Snapmirror from Netapp 7-Mode to Netapp C-Mode

$

0

0

Three new tutorials are now available which will guide through how to backup and restore using StorageCraft ShadowProtect. If you don’t know about this software, it’s an excellent tool to backup your physical or virtual server and also assists in Physical to Virtual, Physical to Physical or Virtual to Virtual migrations.

If you would like to read more or trial the software which comes with a 30-day fully functional trial package you can visit their site by clicking here – StorageCraft ShadowProtect

Tutorials

ShadowProtect Online Backup

ShadowProtect Offline Backup

ShadowProtect Restore

Netapp C-Mode Updating LS-Mirror on Root to Replicate Changes

December 3, 2013, 2:22 pm

≫ Next: VMware vSphere Datastore UUID Change

≪ Previous: New StorageCraft ShadowProtect Backup and Restore Tutorials

$

0

0

This is just a quick post to let you know about a small issue that I ran into with ls-mirrors on the root volume of a vserver.

If you plan to make any changes on the vserver such as add or adjust nfs exports, the settings might not come into play until the ls-mirror schedule has kicked in and triggered an update.

In my case I would set up a new NFS export or add an IP address to the rules and would have to wait about an hour until I was able to successfully mount the NFS volume.

This is due to the ls-mirror destinations not having the latest settings. The settings are not replicated to the destinations until the snapmirror schedule kicks in and triggers an update.

If you need your settings to work in a hurry, it’s better to jump into the CLI and trigger a snapmirror update-ls-set -source-path (your source path)

Once the update has finished, your new settings will work immediately.

VMware vSphere Datastore UUID Change

December 6, 2013, 5:41 pm

≫ Next: Because VIX is not installed on this machine

≪ Previous: Netapp C-Mode Updating LS-Mirror on Root to Replicate Changes

$

0

0

When a Virtual Machine is first created with 1 hard disk, all the config files and hard disk vmdk is situated on the one datastore. Within the vmx file for this virtual machine the first hard disk vmdk is simply reference by the file only. In our example below we can see scsi0:0 is actually Web01.vmdk

VMware Hard Disk 1

If you create a second hard disk on the same virtual machine and store it within the same datastore, then that hard disk will be reference simply by it’s vmdk file, similar to the above image.

However if you add a second hard disk to the virtual machine and store this drive on a separate datastore, the scsi0:1.filename setting will have to refence the datastore and the file location. It does this by utilizing the datastore’s UUID value. You can see this in the example below:

 

VMware Hard Disk 2

 

So far so good. However what happens when you want to move this virtual machine or perhaps bring this virtual machine up in a disaster recovery location, the UUID will not be the same and you will receive an error.

How is the UUID calculated ? Glad you asked, there is an excellent article in the Netapp Communities explaining this:

https://communities.netapp.com/community/netapp-blogs/getvirtical/blog/2011/09/28/nfs-datastore-uuids-how-they-work-and-what-changed-in-vsphere-5

How do you work around it ?

DR Testing

In the case of DR testing you can simply edit the file and replace the UUID with the Datastore name (Symlink), save the file and boot the virtual machine.

DR

In the case of a real DR, you can edit the file and replace the UUID with the Datastore name (Symlink), save the file and boot the virtual machine. Once the virtual machine is booted, create a new datastore in your vSphere environment and Storage vMotion the second disk to the new Datastore

Moving from 1 vSphere Environment to another

In the case of a moving the virtual machine to a new vSphere environment, you can edit the file and replace the UUID with the Datastore name (Symlink), save the file and boot the virtual machine. Once the virtual machine is booted, create a new datastore in your vSphere environment and Storage vMotion the second disk to the new Datastore

Because VIX is not installed on this machine

December 17, 2013, 4:32 am

≫ Next: Happy New Year for 2014

≪ Previous: VMware vSphere Datastore UUID Change

$

0

0

I’ve come across this error message a few times now when running VMware PowerCLI scripts, especially the command wait-tools. The exact error that I receive is:

The requested operation could not be performed because VIX is not installed on this machine. Please install VIX if you want to use this

I have found that this is caused by either 2 problems:

1. The VIX version that is installed is old – Uninstall VMware VIX in Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features, Uninstall PowerCLI and install a newer PowerCLI version. This will also install a new version of VMware VIX.
2. The Commandlet you are trying to run is a 32-bit command and not able to run under 64-bit – In this case launch 32-bit powershell and run the command from there.

Happy New Year for 2014

January 15, 2014, 2:11 am

≫ Next: VMware Upgrade 5.5 with vSphere Distributed Switch

≪ Previous: Because VIX is not installed on this machine

$

0

0

Hi everyone just wanted to write this quick post wishing everyone a happy new year for 2014 and I hope everyone had a great time off over Christmas.

Now that we are hard back at work we’ll be bringing you some new tutorials shortly so stay tuned.

---

VMware Upgrade 5.5 with vSphere Distributed Switch

January 16, 2014, 6:38 am

≫ Next: Netapp Clustered Ontap Adding Disks

≪ Previous: Happy New Year for 2014

$

0

0

VMware Upgrade 5.5 of vSphere Distributed Switch

If you have upgraded your vSphere environment to vSphere 5.5 and you currently use the vSphere Distributed Switch, you will find that after the upgrade you must manually upgrade the virtual switch to version 5.5.

Within the web interface if you select your VDS and display the information on the right hand side, you will notice that there is an Upgrade available link present.

VMware Upgrade

 

VMware Upgrade 5.5 VDS Pre-Requisites and Upgrade

Before upgrading to VDS 5.5 you need to make sure you have completed all pre-requisites which are:

• vCenter must be running as version 5.5
• All ESXi hosts must be running version 5.5

Clicking on the Upgrade available link will trigger a wizard that checks host compatibility and executes the virtual switch upgrade.

The upgrade is non-disruptive

Here is the link directly to the VMware vSphere 5.5 Documentation about upgrade your Virtual Switch

Netapp Clustered Ontap Adding Disks

January 17, 2014, 4:53 pm

≫ Next: New Sysadmin Tutorials Monthly Newsletter

≪ Previous: VMware Upgrade 5.5 with vSphere Distributed Switch

$

0

0

Clustered Ontap Adding Disks

When adding disks into an existing aggregate you expand the current Raid Group and also potentially create new Raid Groups. As the Data is already spread across existing Disks and Raid groups it is necessary to manually reallocate your volumes across all the new disks and raid groups within the aggregate.

Clustered Ontap CLI Commands

To add a disk into an existing aggregate within Clustered Ontap you can simply use the GUI to edit the existing aggregate and type in the number of spare disks that you wish to add, or you can use the CLI:

CLUSTER::> aggregate add-disks -aggregate <aggregate_name> -diskcount <amount_of_disks_to_add>

Once the disks have been added into the aggregate and the status of the aggregate is normal you can now reallocate each volume on this aggregate.

CLUSTER::> reallocate start -vserver vmware -path /vol/datastore1 -force true -once true
The above command reallocates volume datastore1 on vserver vmware and it will only run once.

For more Netapp Clustered Ontap CLI commands please visit my Netapp Clustered Ontap CLI Pocket Guide Page

New Sysadmin Tutorials Monthly Newsletter

January 20, 2014, 5:19 am

≫ Next: New Tutorial Netapp Disk Shelf Cabling Examples

≪ Previous: Netapp Clustered Ontap Adding Disks

$

0

0

This week brings the addition of a new feature to the website, Monthly Newsletters.

Each month you will have a professionally drafted Newsletter sent to you highlighting all the recent posts, pages, tutorials and forum threads on the site. You will be able to simple click on the link within the newsletter and you will be taken directly to the information you select.

Please tell your friends and colleagues about this new service so they too can keep updated.

I’ll be sending out my first Newsletter on 1st of February 2014 so please sign up and let me know any feedback you have.

If you wish to unsubscribe for any reason there will be a link at the bottom of the Newsletter where you can simply remove yourself from the list.

The signup form will be permanently on the right hand side of the site when you’re ready to signup.

 

New Tutorial Netapp Disk Shelf Cabling Examples

January 24, 2014, 1:57 am

≫ Next: Microsoft Outlook Email Prompting for Authentication

≪ Previous: New Sysadmin Tutorials Monthly Newsletter

$

0

0

I’ve just completed a new Tutorial on how to cable disk shelves to a Netapp system using examples of FAS2040, FAS3240 controllers and DS4243, DS2246 disk shelves.

The examples include cabling a single disk shelf right up to a multi stack configuration with the FAS3240′s

The Tutorial

Netapp Disk Shelf Cabling Examples

Microsoft Outlook Email Prompting for Authentication

January 30, 2014, 6:27 am

≫ Next: New Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 VMM Tutorial

≪ Previous: New Tutorial Netapp Disk Shelf Cabling Examples

$

0

0

Microsoft Outlook Email Prompting for Authentication

When you search for Outlook Email prompting for password with Exchange, you will find a large number of posts.

There is a large number of causes and most of them will say that you need to adjust your RPCoverHTTPS or Outlook Anywhere Authentication settings, That it shouldn’t be set to NTLM or Negotiate. That it should be set to Basic.

I’m going to try and explain the missing bits that never get mentioned.

Outlook Email and NTLM

NTLM is NT Lan Manager. Simply, its domain based authentication. Instead of asking for the password, it just uses the domain credentials of the current logged in user. However, NTLM isn’t just DOMAINUsername or username@domain.com. It’s a token that you’re given when you authenticate to a domain controller.

Now that’s all well and good in Exchange 2010, SharePoint and maybe a few other products. But Exchange 2013 uses HTTPS (OutlookAnywhere) only. No MAPI. MAPI loves NTLM but NTLM over HTTPS is sporadic…

The simplest answer is to change the authentication settings to RPCoverHTTP (OutlookAnywhere). And it is a very valid fix. However it doesn’t really answer the question “Why is my outlook prompting for my username and password all the time”, “Why doesn’t outlook remember my username and/or password”.

The answer is not with Outlook. The answer is Windows.

Windows Credential Manager

As I discovered the issue seems to be with a Windows 7 default setting and that Windows Credential Manager cannot save NTLM Credentials (even those typed in by the user with the remember password box ticked) permanently. By that I mean it does save the credentials for that session. However as soon as you log off, they are gone. Below is a screenshot of credential manager showing all the saved passwords from Outlook.

Windows Credential Manager

Summary

You really have two options. Muck about with the settings for Windows Credential Manager via Group Policy (I would give it a miss), or play with the Exchange RPCoverHTTPS Authentication settings on the exchange server. You also need to make sure Autodiscover gives out the new Authentication Setting.

But at least now you know why.

Article Written By: Tim Lourey (Managed Services/Cloud Lead Tech) @tlourey