Consistent Device Naming (CDN) or Consistent Network Port Naming

This is going to be a nice feature for server administrators, specially while operating remotely. They can instruct hey Port Gbe 3 is disconnected , go ahead connect that 😉

Thank you Dell for bringing this change to PCISIG. Here is the blog from Dell. This has been already implemented in Fedora & Windows 2012 Server.

Dell supporting this feature in 12th Generation Servers . My bad luck, we have R710 servers, a generation old!! Let see if they releasing a BIOS patch for my servers 😉

Hyper-v Error: A device attached to the system is not functioning (0x8007001F)

It happened after we installed backup software & tape autoloader in the parent partition of Windows 2008 r2 hyper-v server. In our case we were using Dell equipment i.e. PowerEdge 510 & PowerValut Autoloader & Symantec 2010 R3 as backup software.

After a little bit digging I found this KB2013544 article.

Cause mentioned in this article as follows;

“There is a timing issue with FSDepends.sys and with VHDMP.sys. This timing issue occurs when certain backup programs are installed on computers that are running Windows Server 2008. By default, the FSDepends.sys start value in the registry is set to Manual. When any third-party backup software loads its tape device driver, the software can sometimes result in FSDepends.sys and VHDMP.sys not initializing correctly.”

Here is little more about FSDepend.sys & VHDMP.sys files.

I changed the registry key as stated in KB article and resolved the issue on next reboot.

Open “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\FsDepends”; Under the “FsDepends” key, change REG_DWORD value “Start” from “3” to “0”

Cheers!!

 

Add Domain User to Local Administrators Group

Here is a nice article which states about this process;

I was aware how to add a domain user to local administrators group using “net” command, like below;

NET LOCALGROUP “Administrators” domain\useraccount /ADD

But for a specific requirement I was wondering how I can execute this in remote servers without getting into scripting like mess! And that article pointed me to right direction… PSEXEC came to rescue me!!

If we want to execute in a single remote computer use “psexec \\computername <CommandTobeExecuted>’

If we want to execute in multiple computers use a text file with all computer names written in each row then use “psexec @FileName <CommandTobeExecuted>’

So here is the command how to add a specific domain account in Local Administrators group of multiple computers;

PSEXEC.EXE @computers.txt NET LOCALGROUP “Administrators” domain\useraccount /ADD

PsExec executes a program on a remote system, where remotely executed console applications execute interactively.

Usage: psexec [\\computer[,computer2[,…] | @file][-u user [-p psswd]][-n s][-l][-s|-e][-x][-i [session]][-c [-f|-v]][-w directory][-d][-<priority>][-a n,n,…] cmd [arguments]

-a Separate processors on which the application can run with commas where 1 is the lowest numbered CPU. For example, to run the application on CPU 2 and CPU 4, enter: “-a 2,4”

-c Copy the specified program to the remote system for execution. If you omit this option the application must be in the system path on the remote system.

-d Don’t wait for process to terminate (non-interactive).

-e Does not load the specified account’s profile.

-f Copy the specified program even if the file already exists on the remote system.

-i Run the program so that it interacts with the desktop of the specified session on the remote system. If no session is specified the process runs in the console session.

-l Run process as limited user (strips the Administrators group and allows only privileges assigned to the Users group). On Windows Vista the process runs with Low Integrity.

-n Specifies timeout in seconds connecting to remote computers.

-p Specifies optional password for user name. If you omit this you will be prompted to enter a hidden password.

-s Run the remote process in the System account.

-u Specifies optional user name for login to remote computer.

-v Copy the specified file only if it has a higher version number or is newer on than the one on the remote system.

-w Set the working directory of the process (relative to remote computer).

-x Display the UI on the Winlogon secure desktop (local system only).

-priority Specifies -low, -belownormal, -abovenormal, -high or -realtime to run the process at a different priority. Use

-background to run at low memory and I/O priority on Vista.

computer Direct PsExec to run the application on the remote computer or computers specified. If you omit the computer name PsExec runs the application on the local system, and if you specify a wildcard (\\*), PsExec runs the

command on all computers in the current domain.

@file PsExec will execute the command on each of the computers listed in the file.

program Name of application to execute.

arguments Arguments to pass (note that file paths must be absolute paths on the target system).

You can enclose applications that have spaces in their name with quotation marks e.g. psexec \\marklap “c:\long name app.exe”. Input is only passed to the remote system when you press the enter key,

and typing Ctrl-C terminates the remote process. If you omit a user name the process will run in the context of your account on the remote system, but will not have access to network resources

(because it is impersonating). Specify a valid user name in the Domain\User syntax if the remote process requires access to network resources or to run in a different account. Note that the password is

transmitted in clear text to the remote system. Error codes returned by PsExec are specific to the applications you execute, not PsExec.

My Kindle Fire

Wow, I just won a Kindle Fire at @SeattleVMUG conference, #VMUG. Thanks to F5 folks. Cool NFS tips from @scott_lowe. Cheers Jason.

 

1st DOS PC Virus – BRAIN

Was reading some articles & found this video about 1st DOS PC virus BRAIN. Interesting!!

ManOnWire

Daredevil Nik Wallenda reminded me 1974’s Philippe Petit, who danced on a wire between NY, WTC towers. ManOnWire! http://youtu.be/TzUWHrZDa0Y

Hmm – Take it easy boys!

Neither am I a MVP nor vExpert. I am just a technologist who loves technology & the best deal in town…

This picture is from a TechEd 2012 Slide!! Neither I am scouting for Hyper-v nor diminishing my hopes on VMware. VMware is great & I just love it. In same time Hyper-v is trying to catch up. You know, I think this competition will bring a real boost to the Virtualization era. Expecting VMware will also come back with some cool announcement during VMWorld 2012. Till then finger crossed!!

Just to note; MS Hypver-V Server 2012 is FREE, it is just the hyper-v hypervisor, not the full OS based Windows Server.

Other video & presentations;  http://northamerica.msteched.com/#fbid=7uJXApk3uF5