Todd's Blog

EnergizeIT – Coming Soon to a City Near You

posted on February 27, 2009

Microsoft is running EnergizeIT again this year, but this time, the guys from Microsoft will be coming to you. For myself, I am not sure what or where I will be able to attend this year. There is a chance I’ll be heading to Toronto for some of the events but the Ottawa events run about the same time the MESH Conference is running (April 6,7,8), so I don’t know if I’ll be at any of the Ottawa Events but I want to attend at least the install fest in Ottawa. Even if I don’t attend MESH, it is going to be tough to get up to Ottawa three days in a row, so as it stands now, the install fest is looking like the best bet for me.

Here is the full information on the event and be sure to register for the event early so you don’t miss a great opportunity.

How to Know Whether Or Not You Are Ready To Have Kids

posted on February 25, 2009

My girlfriend’s boss sent this home with Tracey today to give to me. Many years ago, Tracey gave this to her boss and so the favour is returned. I think its a pretty accurate test actually from what I have seen from my nieces and nephews. I’ve been joking with Brad on MSN that I will need to be learning the DDT (Diaper Deployment Toolkit) Anyways, I hope you find this as good as I did.

Mess Test

Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.

Toy Test

Obtain a 55 gallon box of Lego’s (you may substitute roofing tacks if you wish). Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a blindfold and take off shoes. Try to walk to the bathroom or kitchen. Do not scream because this would wake a child at night.

Grocery Store Test

Borrow one or two small animals (goats are best) and take them with you as you shop. Always keep them in sight and pay for anything they eat or damage.

Dressing Test

Obtain one large, unhappy, live octopus. Stuff into a small net bag making sure that all the arms stay inside.

Feeding Test

Obtain a large plastic milk jug. Fill halfway with water. Suspend from the ceiling with a cord. Start the jug swinging. Try to insert spoonfuls of soggy cereal into the mouth of the jug, while pretending to be an airplane. Now dump the contents of the jug on the floor.

Night Test

Prepare by obtaining a small cloth bag and fill it with 8-12 pounds of sand. Soak it thoroughly in water. At 3:00pm, begin to waltz and hum with the bag until 9:00pm. Lay down your bag and set your alarm for 10:00pm. Get up, pick up your bag, and sing every song you have ever heard. Make up about a dozen more and sing these too until 4:00am. Set alarm for 5:00am. Get up and make breakfast. Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

Ingenuity Test

Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and pot of paint, turn it into an alligator. Now take a toilet paper tube and turn it into an attractive Christmas candle. Use only scotch tape and a piece of foil. Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty box of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower.

Automobile Test

Forget the BMW and buy a station wagon. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there. Get a dime. Stick it into the CD player. Take a family-size package of chocolate chip cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Run a rake along both side of the car. There, perfect!

Physical Test (Women)

Obtain a large bean bag chair and attach it to the front of your clothes. Leave it there for 9 months. Then remove 10 of the beans. And try not to notice your closet full of clothes. You won’t be wearing them for a while.

Physical Test (Men)

Go to the nearest drug store. Set your wallet on the counter. Ask the clerk to help himself. Now proceed to the nearest food store. Go to the head office and arrange for your paycheque to be directly deposited to the store. Purchase a newspaper. Go home and read it quietly for the last time.

Final Assignment

Find a couple who already has a small child. Proceed to lecture them on how they can improve their discipline, patience, tolerance, and toilet training and child’s table manners. Suggest many, many ways they can improve. Emphasize to them that they should never allow their children to run wild. Enjoy this experience. It will be the last time you will have all the answers.

Windows Server Administration 70-646 – Chapter 1 Lesson 2

posted on February 23, 2009

Continuing on in Chapter 1 brings us to Lesson 2.

In this lesson the book looks at:

Windows Server 2008 Answer Files
Windows Deployment Services
Multicast, Scheduled and Automatic Deployment
Windows Deployment Services Images
WDS and Product Activation
Rollback Preparation

Windows Server 2008 Answer Files

The first part of the lesson covers the answer file. If you want to create an answer file the recommendation is to download the Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM) which is included in the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). Once you are done save the autounattended.xml file to a removable media. Windows Server 2008 setup as part of its routine, will look for this file on a removable media. If you are running setup.exe from a network location the if mapping the location on the file as X:, the setup command is setup.exe /unattend:x:\autounattended.xml

Windows Deployment Services

The next part of the lesson covers WDS. WDS cannot be installed onto a computer running Server Core. WDS requires that it be installed to a computer which is a member of an Active Directory domain. A DNS server is required along with a DHCP server and a NTFS partition for storing images. If a DHCP server is running on the same machine as WDS, configure WDS not to listen on port 67. You also need to add option tag 60 on your DHCP server so PXE clients are able to detect the WDS server. In the GUI you can also change Multicast settings, add an unattended xml file and you can configure how the WDS server will respond to PXE request. The three responses are:

Do not respond to Any Client
Respond only to known Client Computers
Respond to All (Known and Unknown) Client Computers

Multicast, Scheduled and Automatic Deployment

This section covers setting up WDS to use multicast and the benefits of using it. The main benefit is it allows a reduction of network bandwidth for multiple installs. Scheduling allows an admin to limit impact on a companies network bandwidth during peak time and allows the install to be scheduled for off-peak time. Auto-cast means to install as soon as a client asks for an install image.

Windows Deployment Services Images

There are two types of images, boot images and install images. You will need separate images for x64, x32 and Itanium. Boot images are used to boot a computer prior to installing an operating system. Discover images are created for booting a computer without a PXE enabled network card from media (USB, Floppy, CD or DVD)

WDS and Product Activation

There are to types of keys, Multiple Activation Key (MAK) and Key Management System (KMS). MAK allows for a specific number of activations against a key. A MAK proxy allows for a single connection Microsoft’s activation servers. Independent Activation requires each computer connects to Microsoft.

KMS activation uses a server in your environment which computers must authenticate against every 180 days. You also need to have at least 25 computers before activation can occur.

Rollback Preparation

You can rollback an upgrade of Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 if something goes wrong during installation. Once there is a successful login to Windows Server 2008, you cannot rollback. If you need to rollback then one must follow the procedure for disaster recovery under Windows Server 2003.

The next chapter covers IPV6 and configuring the Domain Name System

*Disclaimer:

My notes in helping me prepare for the 70-646 Exam, PRO: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator are just those, notes and I am trying to help highlight what is covered in the book, not replicate it. If you want to pass the exam, you will need more than just these notes to pass. I suggest you get a good book and get familiar with the product. The expectation is that you have about one year of experience with Windows 2008 Server (your mileage may vary) when writing this exam. The book I am using for my preparation and where I am drawing the information for these notes is the Microsoft Press book, MCITP Exam Prep 70-646: Windows Server Administration; ISBN: 0735625107.