Neal's Admin.Notes.

No failover happening after you change the 2003 Cluster service account

In a test environment I came accross the following problem where the cluster node does NOT fail over after you change the Cluster service account, and I didn't recieve any errors from it.

I sooned realized this was a "I DID IT" error. I failed to update the DNS record of the cluster after changing the Cluster service account. During fail over, the Cluster service is denied access to modify the DNS record because the new account is NOT in the ACL.

To fix this problem:

01. Log on to the DNS server.

02. Start / Run / dnsmgmt.msc / OK.

03. Under the DNS server object that contains the cluster host (A) record, expand Forward Lookup Zones.

04. Select the forward lookup zone that contains the cluster host record.

05. Right-click the cluster host record in the right-hand pane and press Delete.

06. Press Yes to confirm.

07. Right-click the DNS zone and press Properties.

08. On the General tab, insure that the Secure only is selected for Dynamic updates.

09. Press OK and exit the DNS utility.

10. On the cluster node, Start / Run / services.msc / OK.

11. In the Services (Local) list, right-click Cluster Service and press Restart.

12. Log on to the DNS server and confirm that the host record for the cluster has been created

Now you're all set !

View Message Source

I've only tested this with Outlook 2003, but currently there is no easy way to view the source of an email like that of Outlook Express. Ente REGEDIT. Here's what you do

Get to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Options\Mail.
Right Click and create a new DWORD

Modify and add the following;

Parameter: SaveAllMIMENotJustHeaders
Value: 0x00000001.

Now not only can you view the header info, you've go the source.

Outlook 2003 Desktop Icon

I'm sure everyone has noticed Outlook 2003 doesn't include a desktop icon. For those who would like to add the icon ( not a shortcut ), try the following :

1. Open the Registry Editor. Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

2. Click Edit | Add Key and add the following key:
{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

3. Quit the Registry Editor. Refresh the desktop to see the restored icon. If you still don't see it, try logging off and back on again.

On occasions doing this you may receive errors, try changing the default value under {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} to 3.

Another method is grad the Outlook ( Email ) Start menu icon to the desktop -- while the icon has a shortcut arrow on it, right-click on it to reach the Properties menu.

XBCONNECT

XBox Live is great for playing games on-line, but there are some games such as Halo which only let you multiplayer games through a system-link (LAN) game.

Enter XBConnect, a tool which creates a tunnel through the Internet to other players around the world, and which tricks your XBox into thinking they are playing on the same local network as you.

I tried it and, after realizing I had to configure my router to forward UDP/TCP port 8602 to the XBox, it worked surprisingly well.

It will even support voice-chat via the headset on games which support it such as Rainbow Six 3. However, it doesn't come close to XBox Live, so expect to see me there alot more as MAXIMOOSE

LongHorn Product Key

Ahhhh ! My MSDN Product Key links are down....bummer, now I gotta wait before I install LH on my laptop.

:(

CTRL+ALT+DEL Alternative

Tired of the four keystrokes ritual of locking your computer before leaving your workstation, Instead of CTRL+ALT+DEL and then hitting ENTER, I can now do it in a single click and here is how:

Right click an empty area on your desktop. From the Context menu, point to New and click Shortcut.
In the Create Shortcut dialog as shown in the following figure, type the following:
rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation. Click Next.
Type in a name for the shortcut. Click Finish.
You'll now have a shortcut on your desktop that you can use to quickly lock your workstation

You can also change the shortcut's icon (my personal favorite is the padlock icon in shell32.dll).

To change the icon:
Right click the shortcut and then select Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab, and then click the Change Icon button.
In the Look for icons in this file text box, type:
Shell32.dll.
Click OK.
Select one of the icons from the list and then click OK

or simply by pressing the windows key + L , you can lock it .

Just some alternatives to the 4 keystroke lockdown process.

Microsoft’s Xbox 2 Architecture Unveiled

Microsoft will use IBM’s POWER 64-bit processors in the Xbox 2. The 65nm chips were reportedly taped-out recently and are now evaluated by engineers at Microsoft and IBM, though, the architecture of those microprocessors still remains to be investigated.

As everybody knows, there is a lot going on with multi-core, multi-threaded designs at IBM. Apparently, Microsoft also wants to jump on that bandwagon, or so it may seem. Microsoft wants to incorporate IBM’s POWER 976 architecture into the CPUs for Xbox 2 console to allow truly high-performance processing. POWER 976 is expected to be a dual-core processor able to handle two threads at once. What may seem a pretty hard to believe is that Microsoft wants more than 1 such chip to power its forthcoming console, according to the scheme published there are three of such chips.

The whole Xbox 2 CPU system will be capable of processing a number of threads simultaneously; because of its RISC nature, the new architecture is a big-endian system, a term that describes the order in which a sequence of bytes are stored in computer memory. Traditional x86 architectures use the little-endian approach.

The graphics processor of the Xbox 2 is to be developed by ATI Technologies, the I/O controller is to be developed by Silicon Integration Systems Corporation.

Microsoft is expected to formally announce the Xbox 2 (the “Xenon”) on the 2nd of June 2004. They may adjust some parameters but will not change the overall structure of the console.

Here is a PIC of the System Block Diagram

Can't wait to get me one !!

Non Delivery Reports

Each NDR provides a 3-digit status notification code that defines the failure in detail. Each of these three digits provides information about the failure itself and can be translated as follows:

2.x.x > successful transfer
4.x.x > persistent failure
5.x.x > permanent failure

The following list describes second and third digit:

x.1.0 > other address status
x.1.1 > bad destination mailbox address
x.1.2 > bad destination system address
x.1.3 > bad destination mailbox address syntax
x.1.4 > destination mailbox address ambiguous
x.1.5 > destination mailbox address valid
x.1.6 > mailbox has moved
x.1.7 > bad sender’s address syntax
x.1.8 > bad sender’s system address
x.2.0 > other or undefined mailbox status
x.2.1 > mailbox disabled, not accepting messages
x.2.2 > mailbox full
x.2.3 > message length exceeds administrative limit
x.2.4 > mailing list expansion problem
x.3.0 > other or undefined mail system status
x.3.1 > mail system full
x.3.2 > system not accepting network messages
x.3.3 > system not capable of selected features
x.3.4 > message too big for system
x.4.0 > other or undefined network or routing status
x.4.1 > no answer from host
x.4.2 > bad connection
x.4.3 > routing server failure
x.4.4 > unable to route
x.4.5 > network congestion
x.4.6 > routing loop detected
x.4.7 > delivery time expired
x.5.0 > other or undefined protocol status
x.5.1 > invalid command
x.5.2 > syntax error
x.5.3 > too many recipients
x.5.4 > invalid command arguments
x.5.5 > wrong protocol version
x.6.0 > other or undefined media error
x.6.1 > media not supported
x.6.2 > conversion required and prohibited
x.6.3 > conversion required but not supported
x.6.4 > conversion with loss performed
x.6.5 > conversion failed
x.7.0 > other or undefined protocol status
x.7.1 > delivery not authorized, message refused
x.7.2 > mailing list expansion prohibited
x.7.3 > security conversion required but not possible
x.7.4 > security feature not supported
x.7.5 > cryptographic failure
x.7.6 > cryptographic algorithm not supported
x.7.7 > message integrity failure

Securing OWA using SSL and enabling Forms-based Authentication

First thing is to create or buy a certificate ( Verisign or Thawte ..there are others ) and assign that certificate to the server. This is performed on the Default Web Site properties, under the Directory Security Tab. Once the certificate has been added, no additional configuration is needed on the Default Web Site. The following steps detail how to enable SSL, and forms-based authentication.

1. On the properties of the Exchange Virtual Directory, go to the same Directory Security tab and under the Secure Communications area, click on Edit. Choose Require Secure Channel (SSL) and check the box next to require 128-bit encryption. Follow the same steps for the Public Virtual Directory.
2. Now that you have enabled SSL, you can enable Forms-based authentication. Go into Exchange System Manager, and go to the properties of the Default HTTP Virtual Server. Under the Settings tab, check the box Enable Forms-based authentication. Optionally, modify the compression settings. Setting this to High will have the greatest performance improvement to users. Forms-based authentication will allow Exchange to display the OWA logon screen instead of the popup window asking for username and password. .

Exchange 2003 Cluster

Here is a fast and simple way to setup a clustered Exchange 2003 Server. This is a 2 node active/passive cluster -

Run Exchange Setup on node 1.
Run Exchange Setup on node 2.
Create a cluster group for the Exchange Virtual Server (EVS).
Move disk resources that the EVS will use to the Exchange cluster group.
Create the resources that the EVS requires (e.g., Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator—MSDTC—an IP Address resource, a Network Name resource).
Create a System Attendant resource for the EVS. As part of this step, you must supply the name of the EVS, the administrative group and routing group in which the EVS will reside, and a shared-storage folder in which Exchange will create and store its databases, transaction logs, and SMTP folders at installation.
Cluster Administrator automatically creates Exchange cluster resources for the EVS (e.g., the Information Store—IS; HTTP servers for the virtual server; the required dependencies for the IP Address and Network Name resources). IMAP and POP are not created automatically.
Use Exchange System Manager (ESM) to relocate the Exchange components (i.e., databases, transaction logs, and SMTP folders) to shared-storage drives or folders, according to established best practices. Exchange needs to be able to access these resources from each node as the EVS fails over

Once all this is done, simply bring the Cluster Group online. You're in business !

Later on I will go in details on how to create a geographically dispersed cluster that is not physically connected to a shared Quorum....all using NSI's Geocluster