Tag: Windows

NTFS Chkdsk Best Practices and Performance

Claus Joergensen, one of the founding fathers of Windows Storage Server, had a great post today about a new white paper, available here, discussing the best practices and guidance for sizing NTFS volumes. The paper also has details on self-healing NTFS and Chkdsk execution times on Windows Server 2008 R2.

When planning Windows file server deployments, we are often asked questions such as “How large can I make my volumes?” or “How long will it take to repair a volume?”. This white paper helps answer these questions.

Table of Contents:

  • Self-Healing and Chkdsk
  • How to run Chkdsk
  • Chkdsk Exit Codes
  • Improving General Availability of the Server
  • Chkdsk performance on Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Block Caching Improvements in Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Effect of Volume Size on execution time of Chkdsk
  • Effect of Number of files and Different OS versions on execution time of Chkdsk
  • Effect of Physical Memory at different Number of files on execution time
  • Effect of short file names on Chkdsk execution time
  • Effect of Enabling/Disabling short file names
  • Conclusion
  • Call to Action
  • Resources   

If you are planning a Windows file server deployment or is looking to upgrade an existing Windows file server deployment to Windows Server 2008 R2, you should consult the white paper. It outlines how with Windows Server 2008 R2, NTFS can scale to easily support 15 TB file systems with 10 million files! Even with hundreds of millions of files the Chkdsk execution times are really fast. My favorite statistic is that a volume with 300 million files is able to Chkdsk in about 6 hours, that is so much faster than the old days.

SOURCE: http://blogs.technet.com/b/storageserver/archive/2011/02/23/guidance-for-sizing-ntfs-volumes.aspx

Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Component Architecture Poster with Service Pack 1

Just click on the picture
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Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2008 R2 en Exchange

The following versions of Exchange are supported to run on Windows 2008 R2 SP1 (the RTM version of SP1):

  • Exchange 2010 SP1
  • Exchange 2010 RTM
  • Exchange 2007 SP3

Please note that Exchange 2007 was not supported to run on Windows 2008 R2 at all before Exchange 2007 SP3 release.

Windows 2008 R2 SP1 includes the hotfixes required to install Exchange 2010 SP1 (listed in Exchange 2010 SP1 FAQ and Known Issues — 979744, 983440, 979099, 982867 and 977020). If you’re installing Exchange 2010 SP1 on a server running Windows 2008 R2 SP1, you don’t need to install these hotfixes separately Smile

Unable to connect from the View Client on Windows 7 to the View Connection Server after installing the patch kb2482017 or kb2467023

This issue occurs when you have installed one of these Microsoft patches, 2482017 or 2467023.

If you have already installed these patches, you can install VMware View Client (build 353760) or uninstall the Microsoft patches.

If you have not installed these patches, delay the installation of the Microsoft patches until you have installed VMware View Client (build 353760).

VMware View Client build 353760 has been tested on:

  • Windows 7 Enterprise 32 bit +  Internet Explorer 8
  • Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit +  Internet Explorer 8
  • Windows 7 Home 32 bit +  Internet Explorer 8 

The View Client patch can be downloaded from here. Enter your credentials, accept the EULA and download the appropriate file:

  • If you are using Windows 7 32-bit, use VMware-viewclient-4.5.0-353760.exe.
  • If you are using Windows 7 64-bit, use VMware-viewclient-x86_64-4.5.0-353760.exe.

To apply this patch

  1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.
  2. Choose the previously installed VMware View Client and click Remove.
  3. Navigate to where you downloaded VMware-viewclient-xxx-4.5.0-353760.exe and run the executable file.
  4. Follow the installation installation wizard to complete installation.
  5. Reboot the computer.

Very Important: VMware View Clients with build number 353760 or later are not affected by this issue.

SCVMM RDS Connection Broker plugin released

SCVMM RDV plug-in enables dynamic placement of VDI VMs for both personal and pooled VMs. The key benefit of using this plug-in is that it reduces the number of Hyper-V servers required since VMs are placed on demand rather than statically placed.  Dynamic placement is achieved by integrating SCVMM 2008 R2 with the RDS Connection Broker in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Dynamic Placement for Personal VM is available in Windows Server 2008 R2. Pooled VM requires Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

Figure below shows the integration:

The bits and content are available at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=195952

For those of you that don’t understand how this works Ill write a little process workflow so you understand.

1. The VDI client tries to connect to the last VM it was using via the Connection Broker.

2. The Broker, knowing where it was in the cluster, in communication with SCVMM, tries to wake the VM from a save state

3. Problem is that the server its trying to start the VM on is already at capacity and it cant start there

4. SCVMM gets involved as part of this and moves the VM to another node in the cluster based on its dynamic placement algorithm, via a SAN move

5. The Connection Broker is then told which host the VM is now on and running

6. The user connects to the VM

Nice huh Winking smile

Microsoft Desktop Virtualization is going to be a real competitor against VMware View

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Documentation

Migrating from Communications Server 2007 to Lync Server 2010

This document provides guidance from migration from Office Communications Server 2007 to Microsoft Lync Server 2010.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Device Management and Troubleshooting Guide

The purpose of the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Device Management and Troubleshooting Guide is to provide guidance on how to manage and update devices. It is also intended to answer frequently asked questions. This document identifies supported topologies, configurations, and scenarios described in detail in the Lync Server device deployment and planning documentation.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Reference: Call Data Recording and Quality of Experience Database Schema

This document describes the call detail recording (CDR) and the Quality of Experience (QoE) databases schemas in Microsoft Lync Server 2010.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Administration Guide

This document guides you through the process of administering Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Server and the related components that are required to let organizations set up searchable, topic-based chat rooms that persist over time, allowing geographically distributed teams to better collaborate with one another while preserving organizational knowledge.

Migrating from Communications Server 2007 R2 to Lync Server 2010

This document provides guidance from migration from Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to Microsoft Lync Server 2010.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Monitoring Deployment Guide

This document guides you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 Monitoring Server.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Announcement Deployment Guide

This download guides you through the process of configuring the Announcement call management feature for Enterprise Voice.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Archiving Deployment Guide

The purpose of the Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Archiving Deployment Guide is to guide you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 Archiving Server and the related components that are required to support archiving of instant messaging and web conferencing (meeting) content.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Deployment Guide

This document guides you through the process of migrating and deploying Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Server and the related components that are required to let organizations set up searchable, topic-based chat rooms that persist over time, allowing geographically distributed teams to better collaborate with one another while preserving organizational knowledge.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Client and Device Deployment Guide

This download guides you through the process of deploying client software and devices for Lync 2010.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Call Park Deployment Guide

This download guides you through the process of configuring the Call Park call management feature for Enterprise Voice.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Voice Guide

This download contains two documents: Deploying Enterprise Voice at Central sites and Deploying Branch Sites

Enabling QoS with Microsoft Lync Server 2010

If your Windows Server network supports Quality of Service (QoS) management, you can take advantage of this functionality to optimize media traffic in your Microsoft Lync Server 2010 deployment. This guide shows you how.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Response Group Deployment Guide

This download guides you through the process of configuring the Response Group feature for Enterprise Voice.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Edge Server Deployment Guide

This document guides you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 edge servers and Directors.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Standard Edition Deployment Guide

This document guides you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 Standard Edition and configuring dial-in conferencing.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Active Directory Guide

This document guides you through the process of preparing Active Directory for Microsoft Lync Server 2010 and includes the Active Directory schema reference.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide

This document guides you through the process of deploying Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Edition and configuring dial-in conferencing for Lync Server 2010.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Supportability Guide

This guide provides a central, high-level reference for supported server topologies and configurations and supported client configurations. It is also intended to answer frequently asked questions. This document identifies supported topologies, configurations, and scenarios described in detail in the Lync Server deployment and planning documentation.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Planning Guide

This document contains information for planning a deployment of Lync Server 2010 and Lync clients.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 5.5

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP) is an agentless, automated, multi-product planning and assessment tool for quicker and easier desktop and server migrations. MAP provides detailed readiness assessment reports and executive proposals with extensive hardware and software information, and actionable recommendations to help organizations accelerate their IT infrastructure planning process, and gather more detail on assets that reside within their current environment. MAP also provides server utilization data for Hyper-V server virtualization planning; identifying server placements, and performing virtualization candidate assessments, including ROI analysis for server consolidation with Hyper-V.

MAP helps make the following IT planning projects faster and easier:

  • Migration to Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft Office 2010
  • Migration to Windows 7 compatible versions of Internet Explorer
  • Migration to cloud-based services
  • Server virtualization with Hyper-V
  • SQL Server consolidation and migration to SQL Server 2008 R2
  • Assessment of current software usage and client access history for simplified software asset management
  • PC security assessment and migration to Microsoft Forefront Client Security

You can use MAP to inventory the following technologies:

  • Windows 7
  • Windows Vista
  • Windows XP Professional
  • Office 2010 and previous versions
  • Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2003 R2
  • Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server
  • VMware ESX
  • VMware ESXi
  • VMware Server
  • Linux variants
  • LAMP application stack discovery
  • SQL Server 2008
  • SQL Server 2008 R2
  • MySQL
  • Oracle
  • Sybase

Download MAP 5.5 HERE

Microsoft Lync Error: Microsoft.Rtc.Common.Data.SqlConnectionException Cannot open database xds requested by the login. The login failed. Login failed for user Domain\administrator.

Lync

Error:

An error occurred: Microsoft.Rtc.Common.Data.SqlConnectionException Cannot open database xds requested by the login. The login failed. Login failed for user CONTOSO\administrator.

When Installing Lync there is automatically added a firewall rule that opend the port for the SQL Server Service

Solution:

Create a Windows Firewall port exceptions to enable access to the SQL Server Browser service, follow these steps:

    1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
    2. Open the Windows Firewall program.
    3. Click Change Settings to open the Windows Firewall Settings dialog box.
    4. Make sure that Windows Firewall is turned on, and then click the Exceptions tab.
    5. Click Add port to open the Add a port dialog box.
    6. Enter a name for the port exception, such as SQL Server Browser Service.
    7. Make sure that UDP is selected, and then enter UDP port number 1434. This is the default port that the SQL Server Browser service listens on.
    8. Click OK two times to close the Windows Firewall Settings dialog box

Microsoft Lync Error: "Microsoft.Rtc.Management.Deployment.DeploymentException" "Cannot determine where to install database files because Windows Management Instrumentation on the database server is unavailable from your computer or user account. To continue, you can resolve this issue, or you can specify where you want to install the files."

Lync

When Installing Lync I get the following error:

Error: An error occurred: "Microsoft.Rtc.Management.Deployment.DeploymentException" "Cannot determine where to install database files because Windows Management Instrumentation on the database server is unavailable from your computer or user account. To continue, you can resolve this issue, or you can specify where you want to install the files."

Solution: Make Sure that Windows Firewall is Enabled on Windows 2008 R2

Step 1:

  1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Open the Windows Firewall program.
  3. Click Change Settings to view the Windows Firewall Settings dialog box. 
  4. Verify that Windows Firewall is turned on, and then click the Exceptions tab. 
  5. In the To enable an exception, select its check box window, scroll to locate the Remote Administration Program or Port exception.
  6. Make sure that the Remote Administration Program or Port exception is selected.
  7. Click OK to close the Windows Firewall Settings dialog box.

image

Step 2: I had named the pool different than the server name, so I needed to add an A record or CNAME Record to DNS to get past.

Clipboard Copy and Paste option is disabled in vSphere Client 4.1

I upgraded my home test server to ESXi 4.1 and I the Clipboard Functie is disabled by default and that is so annying

Solution:

Starting with vSphere 4.1, the Copy and Paste options are, by default, disabled for security reasons.

To be able to copy and paste between the guest operating system and the remote console, you must enable the Copy and Paste options using the vSphere Client. Alternatively, you can use RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) to connect to the Windows virtual machines.

To enable this option for a specific virtual machine:

  1. Log into a vCenter Server system using the vSphere Client and power off the virtual machine.
  2. Select the virtual machine and click the Summary tab.
  3. Click Edit Settings.
  4. Navigate to Options > Advanced > General and click Configuration Parameters.

  5. Click Add Row and type the following values in the Name and Value columns:

    • isolation.tools.copy.disable – false

    • isolation.tools.paste.disable – false
      Note: These options override any settings made in the VMware Tools control panel of the guest operating system.

  7. Click OK to close the Configuration Parameters dialog, and click OK again to close the Virtual Machine Properties dialog.
  8. Power on the virtual machine.

Note: If you vMotion a virtual machine to a host where the isolation.tools.*="FALSE" is already set, the copy and paste options are automatically activated for that virtual machine.

To enable this option for all the virtual machines in the ESX/ESXi host:

  1. Log in to the ESX/ESXi host as a root user and open the /etc/vmware/config file using a text editor.
  2. Add these entries to the file:
    isolation.tools.copy.disable="FALSE"
    isolation.tools.paste.disable="FALSE"
  3. Save and close the file. The Copy and Paste options are only enabled when the virtual machines restart or resume the next time.

For more information, see the Limiting Exposure of Sensitive Data Copied to the Clipboard section of the  ESX Configuration Guide.

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1026437

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