Top 10 Benefits of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008

Microsoft has announced availability of the beta of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008. This latest version of the product incorporates all the functionality of its predecessor and brings exiting new capabilities to the management of virtual machines. Here are ten of the most valuable benefits that Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (VMM) can provide to your organization.

1. Designed for virtual machines running on Windows Server® 2008 and Microsoft Hyper-V™ Server
   Hyper-V is the next-generation hypervisor-based virtualization platform from Microsoft which is designed to offer high performance, enhanced security, high availability, scalability and many other improvements. VMM is designed to take full advantage of these foundational benefits through a powerful yet easy-to-use console which streamlines many of the tasks necessary to manage virtualized infrastructure. Even better, administrators can manage their traditional physical servers right alongside their virtual resources through one unified console.
2. Support for Microsoft Virtual Server and VMware ESX
   With this release, VMM now manages VMware ESX virtualized infrastructure in conjunction with the Virtual Center product. Now administrators running multiple virtualization platforms can rely on one tool to manage virtually everything. With its compatibility with VMware VI3 (through Virtual Center), VMM now supports features such as VMotion and can also provide VMM-specific features like Intelligent Placement to VMware servers.
3. Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO)
   Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO) enables the dynamic management of virtual resources though Management Packs that are PRO enabled. Utilizing the deep monitoring capabilities of System Center Operations Manager 2007, PRO enables administrators to establish remedial actions for VMM to execute if poor performance or pending hardware failures are identified in hardware, operating systems or applications. As an open and extensible platform, PRO encourages partners to design custom management packs that promote compatibility of their products and solutions with PRO’s powerful management capabilities.
4. Maximize datacenter resources through consolidation
   A typical physical server in the datacenter operates at only 5 to 15 percent CPU capacity. VMM can assess and then consolidate suitable server workloads onto virtual machine host infrastructure thus freeing up physical resources for repurposing or hardware retirement. Through physical server consolidation, continued datacenter growth is less constrained by space, electrical and cooling requirements.
5. Machine conversions are a snap!
   Converting a physical machine to a virtual one can be a daunting undertaking – slow, problematic and typically requiring you to halt the physical server. But thanks to the enhanced P2V conversion in VMM, P2V conversions will become routine. Similarly, VMM also provides a straightforward wizard that can convert VMware virtual machines to VHDs through an easy and speedy Virtual-to-Virtual (V2V) transfer process.
6. Quick provisioning of new machines
   In response for new server requests, a truly agile IT Department delivers new servers to its business clients anywhere in the network infrastructure with a very quick turnaround. VMM enables this agility by providing IT administrators with the ability to deploy virtual machines in a fraction of the time it would take to deploy a physical server. Through one console, VMM allows administrators to manage and monitor virtual machines and hosts to ensure they are meeting the needs of the corresponding business groups.
7. Intelligent Placement minimizes virtual machine guesswork in deployment
   VMM does extensive data analysis of a number of factors before recommending which physical server should host a given virtual workload. This is especially critical when administrators are determining how to place several virtual workloads on the same host machine. With access to historical data — provided by Operations Manager 2007 – the Intelligent Placement process is able to factor in past performance characteristics to ensure the best possible match between the virtual machine and its host hardware.
8. Delegated virtual machine management for Development and Test
   Virtual infrastructures are commonly used in Test and Development environments, where there is constant provisioning and tear down of virtual machines for testing purposes. This latest version of VMM features a thoroughly reworked and improved self-service web portal, through which administrators can delegate this provisioning role to authorized users while maintaining precise control over the management of virtual machines.
9. The library helps keep virtual machine components organized
   To keep a data center’s virtual house in order, VMM provides a centralized library to store various virtual machine “building blocks”– off-line machines and other virtualization components. With the library’s easy-to-use, structured format, IT administrators can quickly find and reuse specific components thus remaining highly productive and responsive to new server requests and modifications.
10. Windows PowerShell™ provides rich management and scripting environment
    The entire VMM application is built on the command line and scripting environment, Windows PowerShell. This version of VMM adds additional PowerShell commandlets and “view script” controls which allow administrators to exploit customizing or automating operations at an unprecedented level.

Quote of the Month

“You are never a loser until you quit trying”

Restore the Address toolbar removed by Windows XP SP3

Normally docked on the Windows XP Task bar, the Address toolbar provides a convenient navigation alternative to the mouse. Enter a network or local folder path, and Explorer takes you there. Enter a URL, and your default Web browser opens the page.

Unfortunately, Microsoft removed the Address toolbar with Windows XP Service Pack 3. According to posts in the TechNet forums and a Microsoft KnowledgeBase article, the company made the change “in response to an issue that was raised by a regulatory agency.”

Continue at source

Error Message: Cannot Create Toolbar for “

When you attempt to add the Quick Launch Bar to the Task Bar, you may receive the following error message:

Cannot create toolbar for “

This behavior can occur if the Quick Launch folder has been deleted.

To resolve this issue, recreate the Quick Launch folder. To do this, perform one of the following procedures:

1. Create a folder named “Quick Launch” (without the quotes) at the following location:         c:\documents and setting\UserProfile\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\
2. Restart your computer and start to add shortcuts you want in that folder.
3. Recreate Show Desktop icon
   

   1.	Click Start , click Run, type notepad, and then click OK.
   2.	In Notepad, type the following text on individual lines: [Shell] Command=2 IconFile=explorer.exe,3 [Taskbar] Command=ToggleDesktop
   3.	On the File menu, click Save As, and then save the file to your desktop as Show Desktop.scf. Note Notepad might automatically append a .txt extension to the file name. Remove this extension if present. The file name should be Show Desktop.scf.

   The file must now be moved to the correct folder in the user profile to appear in the Quick Launch toolbar. To manually do this, move the .scf file to the folder you created.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 RTM

Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the new version of the company’s acclaimed data management and business intelligence platform. This version of SQL Server provides powerful new capabilities such as support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data, and advanced reporting and analysis services. SQL Server 2008 provides the trusted, productive and intelligent platform necessary for business-critical applications.

 

With more than 450,000 customer and partner downloads of SQL Server 2008’s community technology previews (CTPs), more than 75 large-scale applications already in production and more than 1,350 applications being developed by nearly 1,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) on SQL Server 2008, it’s clear that customers and partners are excited about the capabilities now available in SQL Server 2008.

 

For more information please check out the Press Release and Virtual Press Room.

Troubleshooting client self-update issues

 Reference

WSUS uses IIS to automatically update most computers to the WSUS-compatible Automatic Updates (WSUS client). This process is called client self-update. To accomplish client self-update, WSUS Setup creates a virtual directory under the WSUS Web site named Selfupdate. This virtual directory holds the WSUS-compatible Automatic Updates. This is called the selfupdate tree.

Using Group Policy to point client computers to your WSUS server should eventually cause an Automatic Updates detection and client self-update.

 

If the client self-update does not work automatically, use the following suggestions to troubleshoot the problem.

1.       Verify that the SUS clients are pointed to the WSUS server

2.       Check for the selfupdate tree on the WSUS server

WSUS uses IIS to automatically update most client computers to the WSUS-compatible Automatic Updates. To accomplish this, WSUS Setup creates a virtual directory named Selfupdate, under the Web site running on port 80 of the computer where you install WSUS. This virtual directory, called the self-update tree, holds the latest WSUS client. For this reason, you must have a Web site running on port 80, even if you put the WSUS Web site on a custom port. The Web site on port 80 does not have to be dedicated to WSUS. In fact, WSUS only uses the site on port 80 to host the self-update tree.

To ensure that the self-update tree is working properly, first make sure there is a Web site set up on port 80 of the WSUS server. Next, type the following at the command prompt of the WSUS server:

cscript WSUSInstallationDrive:\program files\microsoft windows server update services\setup\InstallSelfupdateOnPort80.vbs

 

3.      Check IIS logs on the WSUS Server

Check the IIS logs on the WSUS server. IIS logs are typically located in %windir%\system32\LogFiles\W3SVC1 for the default Web site. If you copied the Wutrack.bin file to the \InetPub\wwwroot folder on the WSUS server when you set up client self-update, you can open the IIS logs and search for Wutrack.bin to attempt to locate error messages about why self-update is failing. Typical errors might be 404 (file not found) 401/403 (authentication/access), and 500 (Internal server error). Use IIS Help to troubleshoot any problems found in the IIS logs.

If you have installed Windows® SharePoint® Services on the default Web site in IIS, configure it to not interfere with Self-update

4.      Check network connectivity on the WSUS client computer

Check network connectivity on the WSUS client computer. Use Internet Explorer to determine if self-update files on the WSUS server are accessible to the client computer. If you perform the following procedure and are prompted to download or open the files, you have verified network connectivity. It is not necessary to save or open the files. You cannot self-update Automatic Updates this way. If you do not have access to these files, troubleshoot network connectivity between the WSUS client computer and the WSUS server.

To check network connectivity on the WSUS client computer

·        Click Start, and then click Run.

·        In the Open box, type iexplore and then press ENTER

·        In the Internet Explorer Address bar, type: http://WSUSServerName/iuident.cab

where WSUS server name is the name of your WSUS server. Ensure that you are prompted to download or open Iuident.cab. This verifies network connectivity from the WSUS client and the availability of the Iuident.cab file on the WSUS server.

·        If there are any boxes prompting you to download or save, click Cancel. In Internet Explorer Address bar, type:

http://WSUSServerName/selfupdate/AU/x86/osvariable/languagevariable/wuaucomp.cab

Where WSUSServerName is the name of your WSUS server and where osvariable is a variable indicating the operating system of the client computer. The possible variables for osvariableare NetServer, W2K or XP, and where languagevariable is a variable indicating the language of the operating system of the client computer. The possible variables for oslanguage are based on the standard 2- to 4-letter language abbreviations. For example, here is a URL for a client computer running an English version of Windows XP:

http://WSUSServerName/selfupdate/AU/x86/XP/EN/wuaucomp.cab

Ensure that you are prompted to download or save Wuaucomp.cab. This verifies network connectivity from the WSUS client and the availability of the Iuident.cab file on the WSUS server

 

5.      Check logs on the SUS client computer

Check the %windir%\windows update.log on the client computer to see if there has been any activity or any attempts to contact the server. Check the %systemdrive%\program files\windowsupdate\v4\urllog.dat file on the client computer for cached server pingbacks if the client computer has not been able to communicate with the server.

6.      Manipulate registry settings on the SUS client computer

If all else has failed, you can attempt to manually manipulate registry settings to get the client computer to self-update to the WSUS client.

To manually manipulate registry settings on the SUS client computer

·        Click Start, and then click Run.

·        In the Open box, type regedit and then click OK.

• In Registry Editor, navigate to the WindowsUpdate key by expanding the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\

If the WindowsUpdate key does not exist, do the following:

·        On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click Key.

Type WindowsUpdate as the name for the new key.

·        Double-click the WUServer setting, type the URL to your WSUS server, and then press ENTER.

If the WUServer setting does not exist, do the following:

On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click String Value.

·        Type WUServer as the setting name.

·        Double-click the WUStatusServer setting, type the URL to your WSUS server, and then press ENTER.

If the WUStatusServer setting does not exist, do the following:

On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click String Value.

·        Type WUStatusServer as the setting name.

·        Navigate to the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

If the AU key does not exist, do the following:

On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click Key.

·        Type AU as the name for the new key.

·        Verify that the UseWUServer setting has a value of 1 (0×1).If it does not, modify it by double-clicking the setting and then changing the value.

If the UseWUServer setting does not exist, do the following:

On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.

·        Type UseWUServer for the setting name.

·        Navigate to the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update

 

·        Enable and configure Automatic Updates through Control Panel:

Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Automatic Updates.

·        In the Automatic Updates dialog box, specify download and installation options, and then click OK. Make sure that Turn off Automatic Updates is not selected.

 

·        Ensure that the AUState setting has a value of 2 (0×2). If it does not, modify it by double-clicking and changing the value.

·        If the LastWaitTimeout setting exists, delete it.

·        If the DetectionStartTime setting exists, delete it.

·        At the command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER to stop the Automatic Updates service:net stop wuauserv

·        At the command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER to restart the Automatic Updates service: net start wuauserv

·        Wait approximately 6 to 10 minutes for the self-update to occur.

 

7.      To force the SUS client computer to check with the WSUS server

Wait approximately one minute, and then refresh the registry. You should now see the following settings and values:

·        DetectionStartTime (REG_SZ) YYYY.MM.DD HH.MM.SS. The DetectionStartTime value is written in local time, but the detection actually occurs 5 minutes after the time noted.

·        LastWaitTimeout (REG_SZ) YYYY.MM.DD HH.MM.SS. The LastWaitTimeout value is written in GMT or Universal Time, and represents the actual time that detection occurs.

 

Although these values refer to the time that detection is going to start, the first phase of detection is the process of checking whether a self-update is necessary. Therefore, these values actually refer to when self-update from SUS client to the WSUS client should occur.

If the client software has not self-updated after ten minutes, refresh the \Auto Update registry key. If the LastWaitTimeout value has changed and is now 24 hours later than its previous value, that indicates that Automatic Updates was not able to contact the server URL that you specified in the WUServer value.

 

 

 

 

 

Purge / Delete corrupted or Un-needed patches on WSUS Server

If you want to purge the downloaded patches on WSUS Server to cleanup / delete unneeded content, then you have to use the following:

 

Download the MS WSUS server diagnostic tool on the MSWSUS site here

 

 

Use command line

WsusDebugTool.exe /Tool:PurgeUnneededFiles

 

What this does is purges all update files where all the updates are marked as DECLINED. So to make sure the files get deleted, make sure the update is declined first.

You have to DECLINE anything you want deleted, then run this tool.

WSUS Debug Tool: Run PurgeUnneededFiles command to Purge unneeded content. This command deletes all files not needed on the WSUS server.

 

Then use WSUSutil.exe command line 

 

Stop the- World Wide Web Publishing Service

WSUSUTIL.exe Deleteunneededrevisions

WSUSUTIL.exe Reset

WSUSUTIL.exe Removeinactiveapprovals

Start the- World Wide Web Publishing Service

 

Wsusutil.exe located in C:\Program Files\Update Services\Tools>wsusutil.exe

 

IMPORTANT

The option “Download update files to this server only when updates are approved” must be checked / selected or else, it will re-download those “not needed” updates, during the next sychronization schedule.

Open WSUSAdmin Console – Click on Options – Click on Synchronization Options – Scroll down to Update Files and Languages Section – Click on Advanced – Click OK – Select ”Download update files to this server only when updates are approved” – Click OK and save settings.

Restrict Send to Certian Distribution List

In using Exchange 2007 Server, sure we have multiple DL and we may want to restrict who has access to the any of the distribution list.

By doing that you keep your mail flow in the safe side and prevent anyone from accidentally sending a private message to everyone on the server and you can prevent people from responding to an all-employees distribution creating annoying spam.

1. Open your EMC
2. Navigate to Recipients Configuration
3. Navigate to Distrubution Groups
4. Right Click the group you want to restrict access to and choose Proprieties
5. Press Mail Flow Setting Tab
6. Double Click Mail Delievery Restriction and edit your Scope

Recipient permission delegation in Exchange Server 2007

This is a good articale in MSExchange team blog

http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2007/02/12/435171.aspx

Change Kaspersky Administration Kit AIK IP Address

Some times you may have to change your  Kaspersky Administration Kit IP address for restructuring purpose in your network.

You may face problem that all your agents appears offline in the Administration Kit console..all the clients appears with thier old IP.

The reason that the Kaspersky network agent is not able to contact the Administration Kit so it will not able to update its inforamations or get updates or policies from Administration Kit.

T keep the workstations connected to the Administration Kit you may to install another copy of Network Agent to each computer so that the admin kit can communicate again with the workstations.

In my case that solution does not help me a lot..I still facing the same problem so I used that batch to the agents and it works.

cd \
cd Program Files\Kaspersky Lab\NetworkAgent
cls
klmover -address (New IP of AIK)
pause