stuart test blog

Now that I have a new Server Core installation ready for setup, I read through the Step by Step guide a bit more and continued on to the initial setup.

1. Change the admin password
   As I mentioned in a previous post, when you create a new Server Core installation you are greeted with a logon box asking for a username and password. To log in you must use Administrator with a blank password and you’re presented with a command prompt window. Type the following to get a prompt to change the admin password:
   net user administrator *
2. Set a static IP address
   This step wouldn’t be necessary if we were already running a DHCP server and wanted to use that to hand out IP addresses, but seeing as we’re setting up the first server in our domain, we need this one to have a static IP address. First step to perform is to run the following command to get the list of network adapters connected to the server:
   netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces
   Make a note of the “Idx” number of the connection as you’ll need this for the next command:
   netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Idx number" source=static address="ip address" mask="subnet mask" gateway="gateway address"
   You then need to add DNS servers to the IP configuration, but because this server will be my first DNS server, I’ll set the address to the localhost address like this:
   netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name="Idx number" address="127.0.0.1" index=1
   You can add further DNS servers if you wish by running the same command above while incrementing the index value at the end.
   You can check that the command has worked by running a standard “ipconfig” command.
3. Rename the server
   I’m going to give this server the very creative name of: vmscdc1 (VMware, Server Core, Domain Controller 1) using the following command:
   Netdom renamecomputer CurrentComputerName /NewName:vmscdc1
   I forgot to mention that you need to get the current computer name first, using the hostname command. Once the command has run, it’s time to reboot the computer.

The next step will be to create the domain, which I’ll cover in the next post.

Well this is interesting – my first, first-hand experience with Server Core. There’s only one command prompt window rather than the two that was present in previous betas. There is still a GUI, and you can run several apps such as Notepad, Task Manager, Regedit, which are probably the three most useful GUI apps I can think of off the top of my head, so that’s all good.

When you first log in to the server after install, you’re presented with a Vista-like logon window. I correctly assumed I would need to log in with “Administrator” and a blank password although this isn’t obvious. (No, I haven’t read the docs yet!) Once you’re logged in, you just get the command prompt window, but I think it would be better to get you into some sort of utility to force you change your password to something more secure.

Next issue I ran in to was how to install VMware Tools, or – did I need to install VMware Tools? I decided to give it a crack and found this article on the VMware support site which explains how to install the Tools silently from the command prompt. I used the following command as I didn’t want to install the Shared Folders feature, which I never want on a server: “msiexec -i “D:\VMware Tools.msi” ADDLOCAL=ALL REMOVE=Hgfs /qn” This didn’t go 100% well, as there were a couple of error messages that popped up about missing DLLs but I guess that would be expected with a Server Core system. The VM then rebooted and when it came back up, VMware Tools were installed.

At this point I thought I’d take a break and read through the Server Core Step by Step Guide. First I read this:

A server running a Server Core installation supports the following server roles:

• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
• DHCP Server
• DNS Server
• File Services
• Print Server
• Streaming Media Services

So no web server role – which actually makes sense because I remember that the Dot Net Framework isn’t supported on Server Core, which is also the reason why PowerShell isn’t supported on Server Core either. But a Server Core Web Server seems ideal though because it is most vulnerable to attack (internet facing) so you would want it as stripped down as possible. So as my initial idea of the web server wasn’t going to work, I decided to forge ahead and create a domain controller for a new domain. (To be continued)

Longhorn 1 – Stuart 0

First round of Longhorn didn’t go well, but I’ve only got myself to blame. I installed a Standard edition of Longhorn into VMware Server which all went fine. Then I jumped straight into the new Server Manger, and went a bit crazy and selected a whole bunch of roles at once.

Needless to say, the installation of the roles failed and I couldn’t be bothered trouble-shooting it so I just deleted the vm and decided to think of a better way to test. So I’ve decided to set up a bunch of servers for specific roles instead. The first one that I’ll be doing is a dedicated web server running the new IIS 7. I’ll also try it with just the Server Core version installed as there’s no need for a GUI shell on a web server.

We’ll see how this one goes, but other roles I’ll set up later will be a dedicated terminal server, and perhaps a trusty old file server too.

Most people are expecting Longhorn to eventually become officially known as Windows Server 2008, but it looks like Microsoft have inadvertently let the cat out of the bag by posting a link to the “Windows Server 2008 Reviewers Guide” on the WinHEC press site. Eagle-eyed Mary Jo Foley picked up on it and grabbed a screenshot before Microsoft sneakily changed the link back to it’s current name, Longhorn.

Of course, perhaps Microsoft did this on purpose to throw us eager bloggers off their scent, and there’s still a chance that it will be called Longhorn Server… (but I doubt it.)

Sounds a bit over the top for my one-man company, but a PABX could prove to be useful for my home office. Fortunately there is a freely available open-source product called Asterix out there which I have been semi-fol owing for the last year. Recently I’ve read a bit about Trixbox which is built upon Asterix and is designed to make it reeeaaallly easy to setup your own PABX. Tony Hughes posted a tutorial on the Geekzone website to get this setup and has now moved the article to the Voip Users website. And just today I was reading Adam Jobbins’s setup using Slingshot’s iTalk service.

I happen to have an old PIII box lying around at home so (as soon as I get some time…) I might give this a go myself. Stay tuned for updates…

Big news this week was that Microsoft have had to drop postpone some key features from their new virtualisation software currently in development. Mike Neill, GM of virtualisation strategy went on the defensive with a lengthy blog post detailing all of the cool things about Microsoft’s new virtualisation platform, codenamed Viridian. But if you kept reading through the whole post, you would have noticed the small section at the bottom where he mentions the features that are being dropped:

So we are making the following changes, and postponing these features to a future release of Windows Server virtualization:

• No Live migration
• No hot-add resources (storage, networking, memory, processor)
• Support limit of 16 cores/logical processors (e.g., 2 processor, quad-core systems is 8 cores; or 4 processor, quad-core system is 16 cores)

I always enjoy watching my feeds through Google Reader when Microsoft drops some big news. I subscribe to the TechNet blogs feed so I always get to the skewed point of view from there. For example, when a new product is released you’ll see lots of “cool”, “new”, “!!!”, etc, but when some bad news is released you’ll see all the Microsofties go on the defensive with somber posts explaining that “shipping is a feature” or playing down the news. Then you compare that with the feeds from the rest of the blogosphere and you get the opposite reactions.

Personally, I don’t have much opinion on the Virtualisation news – I think VMware’s ESX server and Virtual Infrastructure will rule the enterprise space for the foreseeable future. By the time that Microsoft have released their v.1 product, VMware will probably be on v.4 with an already established userbase.

The latest derivative of Ubuntu has just been released – this one is called Ubuntu Studio and comes preloaded with audio, video and graphics editing applications. The website is worth checking – even just to see how cool it looks – but it’s just been Dugg so may be a bit sluggish for a while.

Ubuntu Studio

For the Exchange 2007 architects out there, Microsoft have released a comprehensive (over 500 pages) document detailing the architectural changes from previous versions of Exchange. I’m looking forward to reading through this in a comfy chair, in front of the fireplace…

Download link: Technical Architecture of Exchange 2007

Abstract
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 introduces several architectural changes from previous versions of Exchange Server. This document provides descriptions and overviews of server roles, topologies, and the transport architecture for Exchange 2007.

Thanks to Keith Combs for pointing this out.

Since moving into the contracting/self-employed market, I’ve splashed out a bit on my home office setup. First I bought an HP Advanced Docking Station for my nx8220 notebook which provides full connectivity for audio, gigabit networking, DVI connector, plus a bunch of extra USB ports.

Then I invested in a new monitor to upgrade my 17inch Viewsonic CRT. I wanted to get as high resolution as possible, but the WUXGA (1920×1200) monitors were still priced out of my budget. So I went for a 20inch WSXGA+ HP screen which has 1680×1050 resolution. The first night I had the screen, I spent the night flying around the world in Google Earth!

To finish off my workstation setup I bought a Microsoft wireless laser desktop set which has all the new Vista compatible shortcut buttons, though I haven’t really used them yet – apart from the volume buttons.

Today I also bought myself a new chair, which replaces the broken one that I rescued from a tip two years ago! It’s amazing what a good office setup makes to productivity, I find that I can put a lot more work in when I’m in a comfortable environment.

Now I’m just looking for a new notebook, as we may need a second one in the near future. My requirements so far are:

• Must be compatible with my docking station – i.e. it must be an HP.
• Must have high resolution.
• Must have at least an Intel T7200 processor.
• Must have at least 1GB RAM, with a free slot.
• Must have dedicated graphics card with dedicated memory.

Some “nice to haves” are:

• 802.11 n (or draft-N?) wireless connectivity
• Must be reasonably mobile, i.e. no 17 inch monster displays on this notebook.
• 100GB or bigger SATA drive.
• Fingerprint reader, or other enhanced security.

Unfortunately, the current HP models that match my requirements are over $3000 which is getting steep, but there’s a bunch of new model just released in the USA which should bring the price down a bit when they reach NZ.

I’ve mentioned before how I recommend that all infrastructure consultants subscribe the TechNet Blogs feed, and once again I’ve picked up on a gem. This one is courtesy of the “Schweiser” blog in Switzerland and they have provided PowerShell courseware and demos for download. The courseware is an introduction to PowerShell and is in pdf form. I’ve just had a brief look through it and it seems easy to follow and should get you started on your PowerShell journey.