Neal's Admin.Notes.

A Few Good SysAdmins

Here is a different take on a very popular scene from the movie " A Few Good Men". Please...feel free to act it out .

User: I want some answers.

Administrator: You want answers?

User: I think I'm entitled to them.

Administrator: You want answers?

User: I want the truth!

Administrator: You can't handle the truth!
We live in a world that has Computers, and those Computers have to be connected by people with a clue. Who's gonna do it? You?
You users make me sick. I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for your email and you curse the local administrator. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that this network, while screwed up, and confusing to you, probably saved time. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves time. You don't want the truth, because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want us in this office. You need us in this office.

We use words like DNS, LDAP, and SCRIPTS...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent playing with computers. You use 'em as a reason to whine.

I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a person who surfs and emails under the blanket of the very network I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pickup a mouse and design your own network. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!

User: Did you shutdown my email?

Administrator: You don't want to know.

User: Did you shutdown my file server?

Administrator: You don't want to know.

User: Did you shutdown my internet access?

Administrator: You're damn right I did!!!

Nerd Name Generator

Browsing around the web came across another name generator, this time its the Nerd Name Generator.. My name Neal Mohammed converted to Toby, the Scheme Wannabe . Totally cool :-)

So whats your Nerd name ?

Extracting Windows Server 2003 Active Directory-integrated DNS zones to a file

If the DNS zone is a Standard Primary or Secondary zone, the information is already in a .DNS file at %SystemRoot%\System32\Dns.

To extract an Active Directory-integrated zone to a file:

dnscmd /ZoneExport FQDN_ZoneName FileName

Examples
dsncmd /ZoneExport ADMINOTES.COM ADMINNOTES.DNS
exports the ADMINNOTES.COM zone to %SystemRoot%\System32\Dns\ADMINNOTES.DNS.
dnscmd ADMINNOTES /ZoneExport test.ADMINNOTES.COM Test.DNS
exports the test.ADMINNOTES.COM zone on server Adminnotes to %SystemRoot%\System32\Dns\Test.DNS on ADMINNOTES

How do I use a Windows Server 2003 internal root DNS server to provide name resolution for Internet top-level domains ?

Internal root DNS servers do not have root hints and do not forward or resolve any names beyond itself.

If you implement this tip, Down-level DNS servers in your organization are then able to resolve iterative queries to your root DNS servers for top-level domains.

ADMIN's NOTE: You must protect the root DNS server with a firewall.

To delegate all Internet top-level domains:
01. Move %SystemRoot%\System32\DNS\Cache.dns to another folder.
02. Download root.zone.gz from ftp://ftp.rs.internic.net/domain.
03. Extract the root.zone file and rename it Cache.dns. Move it to the %SystemRoot%\System32\DNS folder.
04. Open a CMD prompt on the root DNS server and type:

net stop "dns server"
net start "dns server"

05. Open the DNS snap-in.
06. Right-click Forward Lookup Zone and and press New Zone.
07. Press Next in the New Zone Wizard.
08. Check Primary zone and clear the Store the zone in Active Directory box.
09. Press Next.
10. Type . into the Name box and press Next.
11. Check Use this existing file, type cache.dns, and press Next.
12. Check Do not allow dynamic updates (default) and press Next.
13. Press Finish.

How do I prevent Windows Messenger from running on Windows XP?

Group Policy Method

On a Windows XP Professional-Based Computer;

Click Start , click Run , type gpedit.msc , and then press ENTER.
Double-click the following items to expand them:
Local Computer Policy
Computer Configuration
Administrative Templates
Windows Components
Windows Messenger
Double-click Do not allow Windows Messenger to run , and then click Enabled .
Click OK , and then quit the Group Policy snap-in.

Regedit Method

Windows Messenger 4.5 or Later on Windows XP Home Edition-Based or Windows XP Professional-Based Computers
Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).

Locate and click the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft
On the Edit menu, point to New , click Key , and then type Messenger for the name of the new registry key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger
On the On the Edit menu, point to New , click Key , and then type Client for the name of the new registry key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger\Client
On the Edit menu, point to New , click DWORD Value , and then type PreventRun for the name of the new DWORD value.

Right-click the PreventRun value that you created, click Modify , type 1 in the Value data box, and then click OK .

Quit Windows Messenger

This KB Article goes into details about this topic.

How can I share Help files between Windows XP and Windows Server 2003?

If you administer a Windows Server 2003 domain from a Windows XP Professional computer, you might find it handy to have access to the Windows Server 2003 Help files. Alternately, if you spend most of your time logged onto the console of a Windows Server 2003, you might want access to Windows XP Professional Help files.

To configure Help files for sharing:
1. Start / Help and Support.
2. Press the Options button on the toolbar.

3. In the left-hand pane, press Install and Share Windows Help.

4. In the right-hand pane, press Share your Help content with others on your network.

5. Check the Shared radial button and press Apply.

Install shared Help files from another computer:
1. Start / Help and Support.
2. Press the Options button on the toolbar.

3. In the left-hand pane, press Install and Share Windows Help.

4. In the right-hand pane, press Install Help content from another Windows computer.

5. Type the computer name of the computer that is sharing its' Help content and press the Find button.

6. Select the Help database you wish to install and press Install.

How do I use the additional Help files that I installed?
1. Start / Help and Support.
2. Press the Options button on the toolbar.

3. In the left-hand pane, press Install and Share Windows Help.

4. In the right-hand pane, press Switch from one operating system's Help content to another.

5. Select the Help database that you wish to use and press Switch.

ADMIN's NOTE: You can install the additional help files over the network or from a compact disc.

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack (Adminpak.msi) does not run on Windows XP?

The version of Dsprop.dll that is included with Windows XP Professional has been changed in Windows Server 2003.

To install the Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Administration Tools you must be running SP1.

Download the updated Dynamic Link Library:

Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional:

Download the 329357 package now.

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition:

Download the 329357 package now.

Group Policy Management Console

The Microsoft Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is the new solution for Group Policy management that helps you manage your enterprise more cost-effectively. It consists of a new Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in and a set of scriptable interfaces for managing Group Policy.

GPMC is designed to:

Simplify the management of Group Policy by providing a single place for managing core aspects of Group Policy. You can think of GPMC as a "one-stop shopping location" for managing Group Policy.
Address top Group Policy deployment requirements, as requested by customers, by providing:
A user interface (UI) that makes Group Policy much easier to use.
Backup/restore of Group Policy objects (GPOs).
Import/export and copy/paste of GPOs and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) filters.
Simplified management of Group Policy–related security.
HTML reporting for GPO settings and Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP) data.
Scripting of GPO operations that are exposed within this tool—but not scripting of settings with a GPO.
Prior to GPMC, administrators were required to use several Microsoft tools to manage Group Policy. GPMC integrates the existing Group Policy functionality exposed in these tools into a single, unified console, along with the new capabilities listed above.

GPMC will be able to manage both Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003–based domains with the Active Directory® service. In either case, the administrative computer on which the tool itself runs must be running one of the following:

Windows Server 2003.
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 (SP1), plus an additional post-SP1 hotfix, and the Microsoft .NET Framework.
ADMINNOTES: If the required hotfix is not installed, the installation of GPMC will install it for you.

How to Change the Cluster Service Account Password

Changing Window 2003 Cluster passwords has been simplified and is relatively easy to do now. An there is no need to bring the nodes offline as in previous versions.

To change the Cluster service account password with Cluster.exe, type the following command from a command prompt to list all of the available parameters:
CLUSTER /changepass /?

Samples
Note: In the following samples:
EASTCLUSTER is a cluster name.
WESTCLUSTER is a cluster name.
NEWpassword is the new password.
OLDpassword is the old password.
To change the Cluster service account password for a single cluster, use the following syntax in which the password for EASTCLUSTER would be changed to NEWpassword from OLDpassword:
cluster /cluster:EASTCLUSTER /changepassword:NEWpassword,OLDpassword

Note: If you do not specify NEWpassword and OLDpassword, you are prompted to enter them after you press ENTER.

To change the Cluster service account password on multiple clusters, you need to reference the additional cluster. For example, to change the password for WESTCLUSTER in addition to EASTCLUSTER, you would use the following syntax:
cluster /cluster:EASTCLUSTER,WESTCLUSTER /changepassword:NEWpassword,OLDpassword

This KB Article goes into details on the whole process.

How to Back Up and Restore a Windows Server 2003 Cluster

The following KB article best describes how to backup and restore a Windows 2003 Cluster using NTBACKUP.

Q286422