Group Managed Service Accounts, Scheduled Tasks, Monthly Schedules

Not sure if this is a weird bug, or intended feature in windows….

 

You can automate the creation of non PowerShell defined scheduled task triggers (i.e. the first day or every month) with an XML file and register the task with that...however this scheduled task cannot run as a group managed service account.

You can only run scheduled tasks, as a group managed service account, with trigger parameters that are defined in PowerShell only..as a work around, run the task daily, and modify the PowerShell to check to see if it is the 1^st of the month, and if not, to abort.

Lync 2010 Response Groups not working after adding Lync 2013 Front End server

I was migrating Lync at my office from 2010 to 2013, and after the first Front End server was added to the new 2013 Lync pool I ran into a precarious issue. The issue was that users could call into the IVR but never made it to a help desk technician. After troubleshooting, I narrowed the issue down specifically to response groups were behaving like the agents were not actually a member. An entire weekend of troubleshooting later and I found that the response groups were trying to contact older SIP addresses for the agents. Several months ago, I added an additional SIP domain <externaldomain.com> to the list, and changed over the SIP address of the users. The Response Groups seem to be referencing the old SIP address of the agents. I created distribution groups to represent the membership, and then changes the response groups to use the distribution instead of the custom list. This seemed to fix the issue, and the response groups were working again.

Cannot connect Clustered SQL Server 2012 SP1 Analysis Services

While deploying a System Center 2012 R2 Service Manager data warehouse server I noticed that I could no longer connection to the clustered 2012 SP1 SQL Analysis Services. Twenty four hours of troubleshooting later, it was because the SQL browser service on each cluster node was returning an IPv6 TCP port for the Analysis Service Instance. I am not actively using IPv6 in this scenario. The configuration file is stored here:

\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Shared\ASConfig\msmdredir.ini

I stopped the SQL Server Analysis Service from the Failover Cluster Manager, and removed this line from the ini file: 

<PortIPv6>xxxxx</PortIPv6>. 

I repeated this step on the other cluster nodes, and then started the service from the FCM I could then connect with SSMS, and the SCSM DW installation wizard continued.

Quickbooks Enterprise 14 Silent Install with MDT

This is setup for MDT targeting Windows 8.1 deployment. Note that inside the installation sequence for the workstations I am turning on the Windows Features for all versions of .NET. This version of QB requires .NET 4.0, and since it is part of the operating system I did not have to add a package to the application bundle. If you are deploying to Windows 7 then obviously you will have to handle .NET yourself.

Create an application bundle, with these items, in this sequence
1. MSXML6 x64
2. MSXML6 x86
3. Visual C++ 2008 x86 9.0.30729.17
4. QB Runtime Redistributable
5. QB VC10 Debug
6. Amyuni PDF Printer 412
7. Quickbooks Enterprise 14

Open up the .exe installer with 7zip or some other archive tool.
Item 1. MSXML6 x64
Executable String: msiexec /qn /i "msxml6_x64.msi" REBOOT=REALLYSUPPRESS
Location: found inside Thirdparty\MSXML6

Item 2. MSXML6 x86
Executable String: msiexec /qn /i "msxml6_x86.msi" REBOOT=REALLYSUPPRESS
Location: found inside Thirdparty\MSXML6

Item 3. Visual C++ 2008 x86 9.0.30729.17

Executable String: msiexec /qn /i "vc_red.msi" REBOOT=REALLYSUPPRESS
Location: found inside Thirdparty\CRT9
Note: I also included the vc_red.cab file in the folder during the application import.

Item 4: QB Runtime Redistributable
Location: found inside thirdparty\CRT10
Note: I had to capture the MSI file called "Quickbooks Runtime Redistributable.msi" from the executable. It extracts to c:\users\current*user\appdata\local\temp\random*folder.
Executable String: msiexec /qn /i "Quickbooks Runtime Redistributable.msi" REBOOT=REALLYSUPPRESS

Item 5. QB VC10 Debug
Location: found inside thirdparty\CRT10
Note: I got the MSI file called "QuickBooks_VC10_Debug.msi" the same way as Item 4.
Executable String: msiexec /qn /i "QuickBooks_VC10_Debug.msi" REBOOT=REALLYSUPPRESS

Item 6. The Amyuni PDF Printer:
Location: Executable under thirdparty\ABS
Executable String: ABSPDF4123Setup.exe /s

Item 7, this msiexec command has quite a few properties.
Note: Included the entire \Qbooks folder during the application import. Substitute your license and product number into the string listed below.

Executable String: msiexec /qn /i "quickbooks.msi" INSTALLMANAGER=1 REBOOT=S INSTALLDIR="C:\Program Files (x86)\Intuit\QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 14.0"  QB_LICENSENUM=YOUR-LICENSE-NUM QB_PRODUCTNUM=YOUR-PRODUCT-NUM UNIQUE_NAME=bel   ISW_LICENSENUM= ISW_PRODUCTNUM=   INSTALLDESKTOPICONS=1   QB_DBR_SETHOST=0   QB_IS_SUBSCRIPTION=0  PARENTAPP=INSTALLMANAGER

Have fun and happy deployments!

Xen Server Rolling Pool Upgrade HTTP invalid url to installer files

Problem with the "invalid url to installer files" error while attempting a rolling pool upgrade. The web server was IIS 8. The problem was that a mime type for the empty extension was not defined. Solved by creating a new mime type of "." [actually type a period and nothing else into the text box] with type "application/octet-stream". You also need to have a mime type for bz2 and possibly more. I simply created a mime type of "application/octet-stream" for extensions ".*" to include all corner cases. This resolved the 404 error and Xen Center could now see the install files on the website.

Xenserver: Deleting VDIs locked by the control domain

You can run into a situation where during a canceled move, a VDI is created on a SR that is locked by the control domain, even after a reboot.

Here is the method I used to solve this situation: 

1. Find the UUID of the VDI: xe vdi-list name-label = <Name of the VDI>
2. Find the UUID of the block device that the VDI is mounted with: xe vbd-list vdi-uuid=<UUID of the VDI>
3. Unplug the block device, this will corrupt the VDI: xe vbd-unplug uuid=<UUID of the block device>
4. Make the control domain forget the vdi: xe vdi-forget uuid=<UUID of the VDI>
5. Rescan the SR: xe vdi-scan sr-uuid=<UUID of the SR>
6. Destroy the VDI file: xe vdi-destroy uuid=<UUID of the VDI>

Journey into the Microsoft Private Cloud

The HP c7000 blade server chassis arrived today. Join me as I construct our Private Cloud, leveraging Microsoft System Center over the next month.

Update: Hardware installed, but the migration project has been put on hold until I can carve out budget for HP Virtual Connect modules.

Mount USB disk on Xen Server

How to mount a USB disk on Xen Server

1. Insert the USB stick or disk
2. Check the device name with FDISK -l
3. Make a mount point directory: mkdir /mnt/usbdisk
4. Mount the disk (assuming FAT file system with mount -t vfat -o rw,users /dev/DEVNAME /mnt/usbdisk the DEVNAME is contained in the results of step 2.
5. When done, use umount /mnt/usbdisk
6. Then remove the drive.

Procedure to restore a SpamTitan appliance from a backup

Restore procedures.

1. Install the VM, give it the original IP address, DNS, and domain name.
2. Install the Original License File, or a new license, the backup does not contain the license.
3. Update the SpamTitan appliance to the same version as the last backup.
4. Restore the backup.
5. If the network address was not set to be the same you must do so, the backup does not contain the network interface information.
6. Replace the branding and report images, the backup does not contain any of the branding images.

 So the take away from this:

1. Make regular automated backups to an FTP server.
2. Keep a copy of the license key file.
3. Keep copies of corporate branding.

Could not create a VHD file in Hyper V, "A Virtual Disk Provider for the specified file was not found"

Issue:
Could not create a VHD file in Hyper V, "A Virtual Disk Provider for the specified file was not found"
Cause:
Backup Exec 2010 R3 drivers for tape library modify registry settings.
Resolution:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2013544

Hyper V role fails installation, requires multiple reboots.

Issue description:

Hyper V role installation fails, during start up and message shows up which states the role installation failed, and a rollback is occurring. 

Cause:

For me this was being caused by the system reserved partition (SRP). The SRP was in an offline state. 

Resolution:

I used DISKPART to bring the volume online, and to assign it a drive letter to hold it online. Also I turned Automount back on, it was previously disabled because it was causing the Dell DRAC firmware upgrade to fail. The role addition succeeded this time.

Use IPMI tool to change HP ILO 100 password from Xen Server

List all the users
# ipmitool user list

output:

ID  Name             Enabled Callin  Link Auth  IPMI Msg   Channel Priv Limit

1                    true    true    false      true       ADMINISTRATOR

2   Operator         true    true    false      true       ADMINISTRATOR

3   admin            true    true    false      true       ADMINISTRATOR

4   OEM              true    true    false      true       ADMINISTRATOR

5   Operator         true    true    false      true       ADMINISTRATOR

6   admin            true    true    false      true       ADMINISTRATOR

7   OEM              true    true    false      true       ADMINISTRATOR

8   Operator         true    true    false      true       ADMINISTRATOR

Change the password for user 3

# ipmitool user set password 3 <PUT THE PASSWORD FOR USER#3 HERE>

Enable user 3.

# ipmitool user enable 3

Set user 3 to administrator rights

# ipmitool user priv 3 4

Now log in from the web console.

Backup - AOFO: Initialization failure on: "System?State". Advanced Open File Option used: Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). V-79-10000-11226 - VSS Snapshot error

Backup - AOFO: Initialization failure on: "System?State". Advanced Open File Option used: Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

V-79-10000-11226 - VSS Snapshot error. The Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) snapshot provider selected returned: "Unexpected provider error". Ensure that all provider services are enabled and can be started. Check the Windows Event Viewer for details.


Had this error start occurring with BUE 2010 R3 on my backup execution server itself. When I ran "vssadmin list writers" several writers were in an error & timed out [7] state. Issue was caused by there not being enough free space on the system volume to include a VSS snapshot of itself because the feature set of this server has grown so large including WDS, and iSCSI target.

Solution was to move the storage location for snapshots for the system volume to the C: drive.

Trapped Outlook Clients - post Exchange Migration

When Migrating Exchange, normally the Outlook client software needs to re-target itself to the new Exchange server. Outlook will check in with the old Exchange server and will learn that it needs to connect to a different Exchange. If the old Exchange server is turned off, the service are stopped, or it has been uninstalled, you will be left with a Outlook client that will not open.

Normally just turning on the old Exchange server, then starting the Outlook client will be sufficient to remedy this, however if the old Exchange server has been uninstalled then the Outlook client will be trapped. This is especially unnerving on a terminal server, where mlcfg.cpl will probably be restricted from executing.

A work around that I have found is to start outlook.exe with the command line switch, /profiles. This will launch a dialog window where you can create a new mail profile, configure it for the new Exchange server and set it to be the default profile.

How to Migrate Outlook 2007 Categories

Recreating Outlook 2007 Categories can be a daunting task, having to recreate the label, color, and hot key codes.

I used Category Manager 3.0 located here: http://www.vboffice.net/product.html?lang=en in order to migrate the categories from one user to another user to create a consistent category scheme.

Steps for source computer.

1.  Close Outlook.
2. Install the software
3. Open Outlook.
4. Start the Category manager.
5. Export the categories to TXT.
6. Close Outlook.
7. Uninstall the software, it is a 30 day trial.

Steps for destination computer.

1. Close Outlook.
2. Install the software.
3. Open Outlook.
4. Start the Category Manager.
5. Examine the txt file, and break the categories into groups of 8. The trial version will only import 8 Categories at a time.
6. Delete existing categories.
7. Import Category TXT files.
8. Save changes.
9. Close the Category Manager, Close Outlook.
10. Uninstall the software from Add Remove Programs.  

If you have a batch of Categories that you need to replicate, just repeat the Destination step for each machine.

Have fun, -Bronson.

The MAPI spooler could not be started MAPI 1.0 [000004C7]

The MAPI spooler could not be started MAPI 1.0 [000004C7].

This was being generated from a mail enabled application, the MS word envelope dialog box, also the Email button in Adobe Acrobat pro.

The fix is to run the following executable:

c:\windows\system32\fixmapi.exe

How to download data and event logs from APC UPS management cards

Drop to a dos prompt.

Open FTP to the APC management card.

Log in as the admin user.

>Bin

>Hash

>Get config.ini

>Get data.txt

>Get event.txt

How to manually remove a windows printer driver

      1. Examine print driver properties, record file names.
2. Stop print spooler
3. Goto registry: HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\WindowsNT 4. X86\Drivers\Version-X\<printer driver name> Version-x where x is 1,2,3. (3 is for windows 2000 and higher drivers.). Printer driver name is the literal name of the printer driver
4. Delete that Key.
5. Go to %systemroot%\system32\spool\drivers\platform. Where platform is going to be “intel” and the subfolder is “w32x86” and the subfolder “3” for windows 2000 and higher drivers.
6. Delete the recorded files.
7. Start the print spooler service.

Complete list of Entourage 2004 port requirements

Ports in Bold indicate SSL setup on the exchange server and on LDAP. Otherwise use ports un-bolded.

1.       80/443 to Exchange (mailbox synch, public folder access, free/busy info, shared folder access, quota management)

2.       53/389/636/3268/3269 to Global Catalog domain controller (Setup assistant, GAL, Password expiration notice)

3.       135 to Exchange (delegate management)

Debian SNMP daemon is not listening on addresses other than the loopback.

By default, with sarge/etch at least, the SNMP daemon will only listen on the loop back.
Instructions to fix:
Under /etc/default/snmpd there is a config file, edit it.
Find the line that looks like:
SNMPDOPTS='-Lsd -Lf /var/log/snmpd.log -u snmp -I -smux –p /var/run/snmpd.pid 127.0.0.1'
And change it to read:
SNMPDOPTS='-Lsd -Lf /var/log/snmpd.log -u snmp -I -smux –p /var/run/snmpd.pid'
Then restart the SNMP daemon.