Category Archives: IT

IT, OfficeWriter

OfficeWriter for the IT Pro: Automated Dell Warranty Lookup using Powershell and ExcelTemplate

OfficeWriter for the IT Pro posts are aimed at exploring ways to extend the use of OfficeWriter to the IT work space.

This script will dynamically query Dell’s Warranty web-service via PowerShell and export the results to an Excel (xlsx) file using OfficeWriter’s ExcelTemplate object. I’ve added colored conditional formatting depending on how many days are left before the warranty expires.

In the script, we leverage two external community provided PowerShell functions, Out-DataTable and Get-DellWarranty. Get-DellWarranty accepts a computer name then returns the results as a PowerShell object. The ExcelTemplate object will not bind a PowerShell object so we use Out-DataTable to convert the object into a .NET DataTable.

You will need proper permissions and PowerShell access to run the script against remote servers. You will need to modify the $myComputerList variable to include the computers that you want to query. You will need to download the resources.zip file attached to this post. It contains the required PowerShell modules, DellWarrantyExporttoExcel script, DellWarrantyLook.xlsx excel template, and a sample excel output file (output.xlsx). The final requirement to run the script is a copy of OfficeWriter Standard. You can download a free evaluation here . Continue reading OfficeWriter for the IT Pro: Automated Dell Warranty Lookup using Powershell and ExcelTemplate →

IT

The Poor Man’s Client-Side Authentication

Recently I had to whip up a quick Web page to disseminate some information requiring a semblance of security in the form of a user name and password. Furthermore, I had HTML and Javascript but no server-side scripting at my immediate disposal. What I came up with as a solution was this.

  • Create a form for entering user name and password. This doesn’t have to be any more complicated than two input fields:
<label>User name:</label>
<input type='text" id='username" />
<label>Password:</label>
<input type='password" id='password" />
  • Add a button to submit the form:
<input id="btnSubmit" type="button" value="Submit" onclick="javascript:go()" />

Continue reading The Poor Man’s Client-Side Authentication →

IT, SharePoint

Using IE to Connect to a Keberos Enabled Non-Default Port SharePoint Site

So that title may be a bit to swallow…. Basically, Internet Explorer does not handle authenticating to a Kerberos enabled website running on a non-default port..

For example, I created the SharePoint central administration site on host computer MOSS (port 1000) to use Kerberos authentication. I add the service principle name (HTTP/MOSS:1000, HTTP/MOSS.domainname:1000), required for Kerberos authentication, to the central administration site’s application pool account in Active Directory. When I attempt to browse to the central admin site from another computer in the domain (my host running ie 8) I get an unauthorized message after several failed attempts to login to the site with the farm administrator’s credentials. If you go back to the the central admin site’s host (MOSS2007) and tweak the local security policy to audit failed logins then you should see Kerberos 529 events in the security log (if you attempt to reach the page again). Continue reading Using IE to Connect to a Keberos Enabled Non-Default Port SharePoint Site →

IT

Hyper-V, COM ports, and the StarTech NETRS2321E

As you may already know, Hyper-V does not allow you to connect physical COM ports to child virtual machines. This poses a problem for many people who want to virtualize servers with legacy devices connected via RS-232. There are different hardware and/or software solutions available, but ultimately they all require that you make your COM ports available over a network connection. Your main options are to share/redirect a COM port from a physical machine to a virtual machine, or to use a hardware adapter to connect the RS-232 device directly to the network.

For our legacy application, I chose to go with a hardware adapter. We purchased the StarTech 1 Port RS-232/422/485 Serial over IP adapter. I was very eager to get this adapter because it would allow us to virtualize an old server that was still relying on a directly connected serial device. I chose to go with an adapter so we could have flexibility and not need to rely on a single server to do some sort of sharing or redirecting of a COM port.

After we received the adapter I was a little disappointed. Continue reading Hyper-V, COM ports, and the StarTech NETRS2321E →

IT

Manually Patching Backup Exec Remote Agents

After installing a live update on a backup exec media server, you may be tasked with updating all your Backup Exec remote agents (it is usually mentioned in the release nots of the update/patch). Symantec included a remote agent update tool that can be run from a media server, but occasionally it flakes out (like it did today for me with no explanation in the logs when attempting to update to 12.5 SP3). As long as the patch applied successfully on the media server this method below should work.

How To Patch BE Remote Agents Manually

Warning: I only tested this with BE Remote Agents for Windows!
  1. Copy the RAWSx32 (or RAWSx64) folder from the BE Media Server (located @ C:\Program Files\Backup Exec\Agents) to any server that requires the agent update.
  2. Open the Updates directory (in the RAWS32 folder) and find the most recent .msp file (MS patch file).
  3. Run that .msp file
    • You’ll may have to restart after applying.
  4. You can verify that the patch applied successfully a few different ways.
    • Rerun the remote agent update tool against the server. If it was updated then it should pop up a msg indicating so. I guess it is useful for something!
    • Compare the BE remote agent version on the media server against the server you updated by right clicking About the BE remote agent utility on the each box.

IT, Windows Server

Where Did My Server’s Disk Space Go?

Every server administrator, at one time or another, has probably built a server image with a small primary partition housing the operating system/ possibly applications (raises hand)  and in hindsight wishes they hadn’t.

With the prevalence of virtual machines now in many IT environments, it is a lot easier to expand the disk either if you get into trouble, but chances are you still have a few physical servers left in your environment (domain controllers, backup servers, etc). So what do you do when you start to see that low disk warning?

Short term solutions for freeing up space
  • Run a disk cleanup
  • Compress large folders (check the contents before attempting this)
  • Remove $folders under the %systemroot&:\windows dir – typically these folders are uninstallers for updates/patches
  • Remove unneeded logs files – search for text files with a .log extension.
  • Remove everything from the download folder located @ %systemroot%\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download – this is the temp location where patches are extracted to.
  • Run Windirstat

IT

The Two Kinds of Colocation Failover

The Two Kinds of Failovers

Active/Active
  • Pros
    • Global Load Balancing (GLB) supported
    • Automated fail over
      • Less down time
    • Automated or manual roll back to primary in most cases
  • Cons
    • (Generally) More expensive then active/passive fail over
    • Setup is more complex
  • Notes

IT

Adding a Virtual Machine Host to SCVMM 2008

For the sake of saving space in the title, SCVMM stand for System Center Virtual Machine Manager. SCVMM is a Microsoft application used to centrally manage multiple Hyper-V enabled hosts and VMs.

Today was my first chance to have some hands on time with our SCVMM instance. I had a fairly simple task to accomplish, add a Windows 2008 virtual machine host to SCVMM.

To start, click add host from the action panel on the right hand side of SCVMM. I was able to easily find my virtual machine host using the integrated AD lookup tool, but the job created to add the host timed out shortly with an error 415:

Continue reading Adding a Virtual Machine Host to SCVMM 2008 →

IT

The “Big 3” Colocation Monthly Cost Factors

Below are the “Big 3” colocation cost factors that will make up the majority of your monthly bill

Space

Space is the proximity that you will occupy inside of the colocation facility. Space is billed by the amount of rack space you occupy. It can sold in multi 1U, shared, or private half/full rack(s) increments.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is billed by megabits per second (Mbps) circuit (sometimes less) and can be served to your rack’s networking equipment over a variety of mediums (i.e. copper, fiber).

Colocation vendors typically offer two different billing methods: capped and burstable billing.