Active Directory default Tombstone lifetime

Great post by Joe regarding Active Directory default Tombstone lifetime, a must read article!

Default Tombstone Lifetime yet again… Alternate working title: TechNet why do you hate tombstoneLifetime and correct information?

Upgrade edition in-place are possible as from Windows 7 and 2008 R2

As from Windows 7 and 2008 R2 it is possible to upgrade edition in-place using the DISM utility. However you can’t downgrade, it’s 1 way only.

Possible upgrade paths are:

- Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Server Core -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Server Core -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Server Core
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation -> Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

You can’t perform the operation on a DC, to accomplish this on a DC, you need to transfer FSMO roles (if applicable), demote it, reboot, upgrade, reboot, promote it, reboot.

To determine the installed edition, run:
DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

To check the possible target editions, run:
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions

Finally, to initiate an upgrade, run:
DISM /online /Set-Edition:<edition ID> /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Reboot at the end to activate the change.

 

TechNet Blogs – Server Core : Upgrading Windows Server 2008 R2 without media

Microsoft TechNet : Windows Edition-Servicing Command-Line Options

PowerShell: Return wandering VMs to their preferred ESX host

For the people that want to place VMs at specific ESX hosts, the scripts in the link below will make your life easy!

Return wandering VMs to their preferred ESX host

PowerShell: Outlook unified signature based on Active Directory information

I came across this nice PowerShell solution to have unified Outlook signature based on Active Directory information in your company. Check it out!

Outlook signature based on user information from Active Directory

Deploying a Unified Email Signature Template in Outlook

Microsoft TechNet Script Center link: Outlook signature based on user information from Active Directory

Create WPAD/PAC files the easy way…

A very basic but flexible WPAD/PAC file with which you can start:

function FindProxyForURL(url, host) {
    //check for local domains
    if (dnsDomainIs(host,"fqdnA.internal.domain"))   {return "DIRECT";}

    //check for local IP addresses
    if ((shExpMatch(host,"127.0.0.1"))
        || (shExpMatch(host,"10.*.*.*"))  // Enter you local IP subnets
        ) {return "DIRECT";}

    //check for short host names
    if (isPlainHostName(host)) {return "DIRECT";}
   
    //else return proxy
    return "PROXY proxyA.internal.domain:8080";
}

 

McAfee KnowledgeBase – Web Gateway: Using PAC files with Web Gateway

VMware: Which NIC for your vm?

These 2 links cover all information you need regarding that question…

What vnic? Choosing an adapter for your VM

Choosing a network adapter for your virtual machine

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features…

Found these great articles regarding vSphere 5.0 storage features… They can be found on the VMware vSphere Blog, below an overview of those articles.

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 1 – VMFS-5

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 2 – Storage vMotion

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 3 – VAAI

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 4 – Storage DRS – Initial Placement

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 5 – Storage DRS – Balance On Space Usage

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 6 – Storage DRS – Balance On I/O Metrics

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 7 – VMFS-5 & GPT

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 8 – Handling the All Paths Down (APD) condition

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 9 – Snapshot Consolidate

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 10 – VASA – vSphere Storage APIs – Storage Awareness

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 11 – Profile Driven Storage

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 12 – iSCSI Multipathing Enhancement

 

Additionally don’t forget to read these articles, published on the same blog!

2TB VMDKs on Upgraded VMFS-3 to VMFS-5. Really?

Exactly how big can I make a single-extent VMFS-5 datastore?

Microsoft BPA’s on Windows Server 2008 R2

They are now installed when you add a role to a Windows Server 2008 R2 installation, updates are released through MU. Use them to have a check on your configuration settings!!

Best Practices Analyzer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd759260.aspx

Running and Filtering Scans in Best Practices Analyzer
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd759206.aspx

PowerShell: Protect all OU’s in Active Directory from accidental deletion

1) Check which OUs aren’t protected:
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -filter * -Properties ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion | where {$_.ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion -eq $false} | ft

2) Protect them:
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -filter * -Properties ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion | where {$_.ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion -eq $false} | Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion $true

3) Then rerun the first command to verify they have been changed.

These commands should run with "Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell" for AD only or "PowerShell Modules" to load all of them.

 

AD DS: All OUs in this domain should be protected from accidental deletion
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd723677%28WS.10%29.aspx

Reclaim disk space after service pack installation on Windows Server 2008 & R2 / Vista / 7

After installing a service pack you will notice that the used disk space is increased. This because of uninstall files. You can free up disk space by making the service pack permanent, meaning you can’t uninstall it anymore… This also counts for Vista and 7 installations.

Windows Vista SP1: vsp1cln.exe /verbose

Windows Server 2008 SP2: COMPCLN.exe /verbose

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1: dism /online /cleanup-image /spsuperseded

More information in the deployment guides.

Windows Server 2008 SP2 Deployment Guide
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd351467%28WS.10%29.aspx

Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff817650%28WS.10%29.aspx

How to reclaim space after applying Windows 7/2008 R2 Service Pack 1
http://blogs.technet.com/b/joscon/archive/2011/02/15/how-to-reclaim-space-after-applying-service-pack-1.aspx