You can easily use the Get-Counter cmdlet to check the value of a performance counter. If you use the -Continuous switch, the up-to-date value will be displayed. Simply pass the name of the counter you want to view and the server the counter should be monitored on. For example, to monitor the IO Writes counter on CSV Volume 1 on the server SAVDALVS01, run the following command. PS C:\> Get-Counter '\\savdalvs01\Cluster Shared Volumes(\ClusterStorage\Volume1)\IO Writes' -Continuous Timestamp CounterSamples --------- -------------- 3/18/2009 1:23:35 PM \\savdalvs01\cluster shared volumes(\clusterstorage\volume1)\io writes : 1545503 3/18/2009 1:23:36 PM \\savdalvs01\cluster shared volumes(\clusterstorage\volume1)\io writes : 1545504 3/18/2009 1:23:37 PM \\savdalvs01\cluster shared volumes(\clusterstorage\volume1)\io writes : 1545512
Note that you can easily monitor a value on any server, not just the local server. Related Reading: PowerShell 101, Lesson 1 PowerShell Got Smart About Smart Quotes Q. How can I use Windows PowerShell to return a list of machine services in a designated state? VMware and PowerShell: Managing ESX Server from the Command Lin.
Source: http://windowsitpro.com/mobile/pda/Article.cfm?ArticleID=101749&FAQ=1
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A Security Threat - Filesystem Fragmentation
Filesystem fragmentation is a problem with which many computer users are familiar. Many, however, are not.
Filesystem fragmentation reduces performance so that we have to wait for long time to get applications to respond.
One who know these basic problems of filesystem fragmentation also know about defragmentation programs & even even use them. A lot of people don't use them nearly enough. That can be especially important considering the security implications.
The list of immediate security concerns is short, but considering the relative ease with which defragmentation can (usually) be accomplished, they're important enough to go to the trouble when you need it.
Security problems include three key issues:
- disaster recovery: If your system suffers some kind of filesystem corruption, and you need to recover the data, many recovery tools can do so using a file allocation table. If that is corrupt, though, a longer and more difficult process needs to be used--and if your filesystem was significantly fragmented, that can increase the difficulty of a successful recovery quite a lot, as recovery tools will tend to have a harder time reconstructing complete files. Obviously, you should have good, up-to-date backups, but if the filesystem is corrupted between when critical data arrived and when the next backup was scheduled, this may be a very real problem for your data security.
- I/O activity: The more fragmented the data on your drive, the more physical operations a drive has to make to read the data your system needs and write data you wish to save. This can consume more power, generate greater heat, and degrade your system more quickly because of wear on the moving parts. Standard SSDs (solid-state drives) are limited to a particular number of write operations due to integral design characteristics required to make them maintain state when power is cut, which means that greater fragmentation can reduce operational lifespan as well, though the defragmentation process itself will also reduce the life of an SSD. Such circumstances can threaten data security in the long run due to the growing likelihood of an eventual crash.
- performance: You may think that reduced performance is just an annoyance, but it isn't. It also affects the speed, efficiency, and effectiveness of security software such as application layer firewalls and virus scanners. Virus scanners in particular are affected, because they are not only directly affected when the scanner applications and their virus definitions are fragmented, but also because they have to be able to scan the entire filesystem regularly to provide complete protection. Making backups can also suffer.
Friday, March 13, 2009
H.P. Home Server Embraces Both Mac and PC
Like cats and dogs, confirmed Mac and PC believers have a few things in common. The USB port, for instance, is one. And both systems use electricity.
Now Hewlett-Packard, while not exactly playing matchmaker, has arranged a way to bring together both sides digitally, if not philosophically.
Home servers — devices that work mainly in the background — are part of a category that doesn’t resonate much with consumers, especially since the options for storing data have become so inexpensive and even fashionable . But H.P. is skewing its new home server, the MediaSmart, as one with a dual personality: it provides a centralized media storeroom — for photos, music, video, and more — for both Windows and Apple computers. And it’s priced not to break the bank, starting at about $600 for the 750-gigabyte version, and expandable to up to nine terabytes.
So what can a home server do?
* Centralize files from all your PCs at home, and provide access to those files over the Web from just about anywhere you can get to broadband via a wired connection;
* Provide a method for backing up data. In the case of the H.P. model, it automatically saves content on machines running Windows or Mac OS X Leopard’s integrated Time Machine system;
* Become a super-jukebox, distributing iTunes content all around the house;
* Push images, from H.P.’s Photo Publisher location, to sharing sites like Facebook or to your family and friends;
The MediaSmart is about 10 inches high, 5.5 inches wide and just over 9 inches deep. It will sit neatly in place of that old beige box on a desktop.
Source: gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com
Now Hewlett-Packard, while not exactly playing matchmaker, has arranged a way to bring together both sides digitally, if not philosophically.
Home servers — devices that work mainly in the background — are part of a category that doesn’t resonate much with consumers, especially since the options for storing data have become so inexpensive and even fashionable . But H.P. is skewing its new home server, the MediaSmart, as one with a dual personality: it provides a centralized media storeroom — for photos, music, video, and more — for both Windows and Apple computers. And it’s priced not to break the bank, starting at about $600 for the 750-gigabyte version, and expandable to up to nine terabytes.
So what can a home server do?
* Centralize files from all your PCs at home, and provide access to those files over the Web from just about anywhere you can get to broadband via a wired connection;
* Provide a method for backing up data. In the case of the H.P. model, it automatically saves content on machines running Windows or Mac OS X Leopard’s integrated Time Machine system;
* Become a super-jukebox, distributing iTunes content all around the house;
* Push images, from H.P.’s Photo Publisher location, to sharing sites like Facebook or to your family and friends;
The MediaSmart is about 10 inches high, 5.5 inches wide and just over 9 inches deep. It will sit neatly in place of that old beige box on a desktop.
Source: gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
10 reasons why Linux isn't triumphing over Windows
1: Cost comparisons are often misleading
Let’s get what may be the most controversial point out of the way early. First, in the server space especially, we should try to compare apples to apples. This means comparing Windows Server to paid Linux. By far the most dominant flavor is Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), with about a two-thirds share of the paid enterprise Linux market, so this seems the most logical comparison. While there are plenty of free options out there, such as CentOS, for a business running mission-critical workloads, an unsupported operating system is a hard pill to swallow.
There are a couple of ways we can look at cost, neither of which is nearly as flattering to Linux as one might expect. First, we can look at the costs directly related to the acquisition of the platform. RHEL is a subscription-based license, meaning that rather than pay for the software itself, you pay for server support. This doesn’t mean just phone tech support or troubleshooting (although that is included too, whether you want it or not) but also includes standard patches and bug fixes. Standard support for RHEL 5 Advanced Platform is $1,499 per year per server, or $4,047 for three years. Compare this with $3,999 for Windows Server 2008 Enterprise edition with free patching and bug fixes, and you can basically call it a wash unless you use a ton of phone support. And there are also features that aren’t included and must be purchased separately, such as Red Hat Directory Server — thousands more per year.
The other way of looking at cost is total cost of ownership (TCO) of the platform, and this leads into our next issue.
2: Expert talent is more readily available
When looking at TCO, we’re not just looking at the software costs but also at staffing and administration costs, costs due to downtime, hardware costs, etc. Of these, staffing is the largest, accounting for more than half of the TCO. Here, Windows wins out because IT pros experienced with Windows are much more plentiful and generally cheaper to hire than Linux experts and because they can often be more productive.
With Linux, efficient management over many machines usually means going to the command line and pounding out a script to automate a process — which is cool. However, with Windows Server 2008, PowerShell is now built in, which means the Windows guys can do that too, arguably better. Add that to the System Center family of tools, where virtually all management tasks are available at the click of a button (and which really have no peer on the Linux side), and Windows is simply easier to manage.
3: Linux isn’t actually trying to compete head-to-head
The last reason Linux isn’t triumphing over Windows in the server space is that it’s not really the primary focus. Right now, both Linux and Windows are gaining in server market share. How is that possible? Old granddaddy UNIX is being thrown under the bus to make it happen. Today, companies are dumping their old mainframe or proprietary UNIX servers for cheaper x86-based commodity hardware. It’s easy for a Linux sales guy to come in and make the value proposition: “It’s essentially the UNIX you know and love, but it runs on hardware a fraction of the cost.”
Unfortunately, the market for UNIX conversions and mainframe modernization is drying up. When those deals are gone, Linux will have to compete head-to-head with Windows to continue its growth, and this is a much harder proposition to make. Why should an organization already using Windows change platforms and have to build whole new skill sets around Linux?
4: Windows offers familiarity and ease of use
Let’s face it: Whatever else you might say about Windows, it is easier to use. We love our Start menu and our Task Manager and our system tray. Some of us are even starting to love our Vista Sidebar and gadgets. Young adults today never had to use MS-DOS, even if they started using computers at an early age, so they aren’t going to be comfortable at a Linux command line.
Don’t get me wrong — Linux has come a long way. But remember how far back it has had to come from — where just managing to install the operating system for a non-expert was considered a major triumph. There are still too many things in the Linux world that are expected to be done manually, like program installation. A majority of users will say, “I might have to compile something myself? No thanks.”
5: More software is available
Here’s another one that’s a pretty clear edge for Windows. It isn’t about being able to play the newest games, even if that is one of the most often raised issues against using Linux. Simply because Windows is the dominant operating system, there is much more software available for it than for Linux. Much of it comes from evil Microsoft itself.
A good example goes straight to one of open source’s greatest recent successes: OpenOffice. OpenOffice is great software… considering it’s free. I use it when I’m in a pinch on somebody else’s computer. It’s almost certainly adequate for a light user or a student typing up a couple of essays. As a writer, however, I can’t imagine being stuck without Microsoft Office for long. When it comes to features like SmartArt, quick table generation, editing and review functions, and inserting basically any kind of object into a document, there is no comparison. When you go beyond the word processor to the presentation software or spreadsheets, the gap grows even wider.
Now of course much of our favorite Windows software can be run using an emulator such as Wine, or on a virtual machine running Windows — but if we find ourselves doing that all the time, why use Linux in the first place?
For next five reasons you can visit here: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=556
Let’s get what may be the most controversial point out of the way early. First, in the server space especially, we should try to compare apples to apples. This means comparing Windows Server to paid Linux. By far the most dominant flavor is Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), with about a two-thirds share of the paid enterprise Linux market, so this seems the most logical comparison. While there are plenty of free options out there, such as CentOS, for a business running mission-critical workloads, an unsupported operating system is a hard pill to swallow.
There are a couple of ways we can look at cost, neither of which is nearly as flattering to Linux as one might expect. First, we can look at the costs directly related to the acquisition of the platform. RHEL is a subscription-based license, meaning that rather than pay for the software itself, you pay for server support. This doesn’t mean just phone tech support or troubleshooting (although that is included too, whether you want it or not) but also includes standard patches and bug fixes. Standard support for RHEL 5 Advanced Platform is $1,499 per year per server, or $4,047 for three years. Compare this with $3,999 for Windows Server 2008 Enterprise edition with free patching and bug fixes, and you can basically call it a wash unless you use a ton of phone support. And there are also features that aren’t included and must be purchased separately, such as Red Hat Directory Server — thousands more per year.
The other way of looking at cost is total cost of ownership (TCO) of the platform, and this leads into our next issue.
2: Expert talent is more readily available
When looking at TCO, we’re not just looking at the software costs but also at staffing and administration costs, costs due to downtime, hardware costs, etc. Of these, staffing is the largest, accounting for more than half of the TCO. Here, Windows wins out because IT pros experienced with Windows are much more plentiful and generally cheaper to hire than Linux experts and because they can often be more productive.
With Linux, efficient management over many machines usually means going to the command line and pounding out a script to automate a process — which is cool. However, with Windows Server 2008, PowerShell is now built in, which means the Windows guys can do that too, arguably better. Add that to the System Center family of tools, where virtually all management tasks are available at the click of a button (and which really have no peer on the Linux side), and Windows is simply easier to manage.
3: Linux isn’t actually trying to compete head-to-head
The last reason Linux isn’t triumphing over Windows in the server space is that it’s not really the primary focus. Right now, both Linux and Windows are gaining in server market share. How is that possible? Old granddaddy UNIX is being thrown under the bus to make it happen. Today, companies are dumping their old mainframe or proprietary UNIX servers for cheaper x86-based commodity hardware. It’s easy for a Linux sales guy to come in and make the value proposition: “It’s essentially the UNIX you know and love, but it runs on hardware a fraction of the cost.”
Unfortunately, the market for UNIX conversions and mainframe modernization is drying up. When those deals are gone, Linux will have to compete head-to-head with Windows to continue its growth, and this is a much harder proposition to make. Why should an organization already using Windows change platforms and have to build whole new skill sets around Linux?
4: Windows offers familiarity and ease of use
Let’s face it: Whatever else you might say about Windows, it is easier to use. We love our Start menu and our Task Manager and our system tray. Some of us are even starting to love our Vista Sidebar and gadgets. Young adults today never had to use MS-DOS, even if they started using computers at an early age, so they aren’t going to be comfortable at a Linux command line.
Don’t get me wrong — Linux has come a long way. But remember how far back it has had to come from — where just managing to install the operating system for a non-expert was considered a major triumph. There are still too many things in the Linux world that are expected to be done manually, like program installation. A majority of users will say, “I might have to compile something myself? No thanks.”
5: More software is available
Here’s another one that’s a pretty clear edge for Windows. It isn’t about being able to play the newest games, even if that is one of the most often raised issues against using Linux. Simply because Windows is the dominant operating system, there is much more software available for it than for Linux. Much of it comes from evil Microsoft itself.
A good example goes straight to one of open source’s greatest recent successes: OpenOffice. OpenOffice is great software… considering it’s free. I use it when I’m in a pinch on somebody else’s computer. It’s almost certainly adequate for a light user or a student typing up a couple of essays. As a writer, however, I can’t imagine being stuck without Microsoft Office for long. When it comes to features like SmartArt, quick table generation, editing and review functions, and inserting basically any kind of object into a document, there is no comparison. When you go beyond the word processor to the presentation software or spreadsheets, the gap grows even wider.
Now of course much of our favorite Windows software can be run using an emulator such as Wine, or on a virtual machine running Windows — but if we find ourselves doing that all the time, why use Linux in the first place?
For next five reasons you can visit here: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=556
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Things you can do with Linux and not with windows
Some people install windows on their netbook (or buy one with windows). I think this is not very smart because the only things you could ever really need windows for (games and photoshop) are not likely to run very well on these things.
Following a list of some of the things you can do with Linux and not on windows (or very difficult)
1. Install a bleeding edge 3d desktop environment on affordable hardware.
I've seen compiz running on extremely low end hardware. With incredible results. I'm not saying this is something I would advice you to do, because it does eat resources. But it is possible there's a choice and if you like visual effects on the desktop, there's no match for it.
If you would like something like this on windows you 're going to need bleeding edge hardware.
2. Remote control your system (secure) completely over a minimal network connection.
Using ssh you can control your Linux computer completely over a reasonably slow network connection. This gives you a command shell over internet and if you use key based authentication it's very secure.
Because in Linux everything can be configured from the command line your in complete control.
In windows you have some of this functionality with telnet and rdp which are insecure and for full control of a windows system you 're going to need a big connection.
3. Completely change your desktop environment, replacing everything you see.
In Linux you have a choice of destop environments available many of them differing from each other as light and day. This is so great if your used to windows where you have to edit the registry to change your garbage bin icon! In Linux you can choose the looks of everything, you can replace your desktop environment and on top of that you can configure your desktop to look exactly like you like it.
4. Install several completely different Desktops
In Linux you can install as many desktop environments as you like, and choose which one to start when logging in. So if your girlfriend likes to see a desktop that's more like windows in pink or something like that, and you like a ultra lightweight xfce desktop. It can all be there.
5. Run the system without a GUI desktop
It's possible to run your Linux system without the GUI to save on electricity and system resources. This has many applications. For instance you can run a system booted in text mode as a webserver or as your bittorrent download client while you are away. You can log in to this system from your job, to see how your downloads are going. I can go on and on about the possibilities. Something like this feature is available in windows server 2008,you can start that without gui, but it gives you a very crippled system.
6. Turn your system into a complete media center.
Arguably windows media center could be called a "complete media center" but it doesn't compare in any way to the features you can have with a Linux media center. If you look at the things possible with mythTV or linuxMCE you'll be surprised. The Dreambox is build on Linux for a reason!
7. Easily secure transfer files between computers
It's possible to transfer files between windows computers, it's done all the time. But it's clear why there are so many services for file transfer available on the internet. It's not easy doing this in windows. In Linux you can just copy files over the network and over the internet with one simple command. Almost as easy as local copy's.
8. Recover from hard disk problems
Recovering from disk problems which make your system unbootable is possible in Windows, but it's done most of the time by starting with the insertion of a Linux boot cd. I resurrected many laptops from the dead which were running Linux, just insert live cd, mount the home partition and copy your personal data to another disk. replace disk and copy the data back. Ok it's not always this easy, but my experience with windows is: forget it, if the system is unbootable you'd better have a backup.
9. Install software by choosing it from a list
In Linux there are package managers which give you the possibility to select a program from a very big list, and install it. No surfing the web, no searching for cracks or serial keys because the software is to expensive to pay for. No viruses or malware because the photo editing tool you needed came from a torrent.
Almost every program is free and just two or tree mouse clicks away.
10. Have all software on your system updated to the latest version automatically
In windows all software comes from different sources, licenses expire, things have to be paid.
Linux has tools which make it possible to automatically update your complete system to the latest version.
Every program at it's latest version, security and bug fixes all updated. One of the great benefits of free software and package management.
Source: http://www.e-linux.it/news_detail.php?id=7945
Following a list of some of the things you can do with Linux and not on windows (or very difficult)
1. Install a bleeding edge 3d desktop environment on affordable hardware.
I've seen compiz running on extremely low end hardware. With incredible results. I'm not saying this is something I would advice you to do, because it does eat resources. But it is possible there's a choice and if you like visual effects on the desktop, there's no match for it.
If you would like something like this on windows you 're going to need bleeding edge hardware.
2. Remote control your system (secure) completely over a minimal network connection.
Using ssh you can control your Linux computer completely over a reasonably slow network connection. This gives you a command shell over internet and if you use key based authentication it's very secure.
Because in Linux everything can be configured from the command line your in complete control.
In windows you have some of this functionality with telnet and rdp which are insecure and for full control of a windows system you 're going to need a big connection.
3. Completely change your desktop environment, replacing everything you see.
In Linux you have a choice of destop environments available many of them differing from each other as light and day. This is so great if your used to windows where you have to edit the registry to change your garbage bin icon! In Linux you can choose the looks of everything, you can replace your desktop environment and on top of that you can configure your desktop to look exactly like you like it.
4. Install several completely different Desktops
In Linux you can install as many desktop environments as you like, and choose which one to start when logging in. So if your girlfriend likes to see a desktop that's more like windows in pink or something like that, and you like a ultra lightweight xfce desktop. It can all be there.
5. Run the system without a GUI desktop
It's possible to run your Linux system without the GUI to save on electricity and system resources. This has many applications. For instance you can run a system booted in text mode as a webserver or as your bittorrent download client while you are away. You can log in to this system from your job, to see how your downloads are going. I can go on and on about the possibilities. Something like this feature is available in windows server 2008,you can start that without gui, but it gives you a very crippled system.
6. Turn your system into a complete media center.
Arguably windows media center could be called a "complete media center" but it doesn't compare in any way to the features you can have with a Linux media center. If you look at the things possible with mythTV or linuxMCE you'll be surprised. The Dreambox is build on Linux for a reason!
7. Easily secure transfer files between computers
It's possible to transfer files between windows computers, it's done all the time. But it's clear why there are so many services for file transfer available on the internet. It's not easy doing this in windows. In Linux you can just copy files over the network and over the internet with one simple command. Almost as easy as local copy's.
8. Recover from hard disk problems
Recovering from disk problems which make your system unbootable is possible in Windows, but it's done most of the time by starting with the insertion of a Linux boot cd. I resurrected many laptops from the dead which were running Linux, just insert live cd, mount the home partition and copy your personal data to another disk. replace disk and copy the data back. Ok it's not always this easy, but my experience with windows is: forget it, if the system is unbootable you'd better have a backup.
9. Install software by choosing it from a list
In Linux there are package managers which give you the possibility to select a program from a very big list, and install it. No surfing the web, no searching for cracks or serial keys because the software is to expensive to pay for. No viruses or malware because the photo editing tool you needed came from a torrent.
Almost every program is free and just two or tree mouse clicks away.
10. Have all software on your system updated to the latest version automatically
In windows all software comes from different sources, licenses expire, things have to be paid.
Linux has tools which make it possible to automatically update your complete system to the latest version.
Every program at it's latest version, security and bug fixes all updated. One of the great benefits of free software and package management.
Source: http://www.e-linux.it/news_detail.php?id=7945
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Windows 7 Includes Both Windows Installer 5.0 and Windows Installer 4.5
Concomitantly with the advent of the next iteration of Windows, the Windows Installer evolved to version 5.0. Available for both the Windows 7 client and for Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Installer 5.0 can already be test driven courtesy of the Beta builds of the Windows client and server operating systems released to the general public in early January 2009. But at the same time, Windows 7 is not limited to MSI 5.0 alone, as the platform also includes functionality specific of the previous version of MSI, namely 4.5.
“Windows Installer version 5.0 is included in Windows 7 Beta. The MSDN documentation section "What's new in Windows Installer 5.0" has been updated accordingly and available for online viewing. In addition, all functionality provided with the MSI 4.5 redistributable release is included on Windows 7,” revealed Zainab Hakim, test engineer for the Windows Installer (MSI) team.
The Windows Installer 4.5 redistributable is currently available for Windows Vista RTM and Service Pack 1, Windows XP SP3 and earlier, Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1, and Windows Server 2003 SP1 and SP2. However, Windows 7 users and developers will also be able to take advantage of features such as Multi-package Transactions, Embedded UI Handlers, Shared Components Robustness, Patch Supersedence Robustness and Uninstall Custom Actions. Still, for a more compete experience, Windows Installer 5.0 is the answer, as it brings to the table a number of features that are not present in MSI 4.5.
“The Windows Installer functions, tables, and properties listed on this page are not supported by Windows Installer 4.5 and earlier versions. The absence of a feature from this list does not guarantee that the feature is supported,” Microsoft informed. “Windows Installer 4.5 does not support some features that enable a single installation package to be installed in either the per-machine or per-user installation context; some services configuration options that can enable a package to customize the services on a computer; some features that enable the Windows Installer to secure new accounts, Windows Services, files, folders, and registry keys; [and] some features that enable the installation to enumerate all components installed on the computer and obtain the key path for the component.”
At the same time Windows Installer 4.5 does not play nice with a range of items present in Windows Installer 5.0 including a few standard actions, installer functions, column data types, properties, database tables, ControlEvents, Controls, Internal Consistency Evaluators – ICEs; and Automation Interface properties.
Microsoft Windows Installer 4.5 is available for download here.
Windows 7 Beta is available for download here.
“Windows Installer version 5.0 is included in Windows 7 Beta. The MSDN documentation section "What's new in Windows Installer 5.0" has been updated accordingly and available for online viewing. In addition, all functionality provided with the MSI 4.5 redistributable release is included on Windows 7,” revealed Zainab Hakim, test engineer for the Windows Installer (MSI) team.
The Windows Installer 4.5 redistributable is currently available for Windows Vista RTM and Service Pack 1, Windows XP SP3 and earlier, Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1, and Windows Server 2003 SP1 and SP2. However, Windows 7 users and developers will also be able to take advantage of features such as Multi-package Transactions, Embedded UI Handlers, Shared Components Robustness, Patch Supersedence Robustness and Uninstall Custom Actions. Still, for a more compete experience, Windows Installer 5.0 is the answer, as it brings to the table a number of features that are not present in MSI 4.5.
“The Windows Installer functions, tables, and properties listed on this page are not supported by Windows Installer 4.5 and earlier versions. The absence of a feature from this list does not guarantee that the feature is supported,” Microsoft informed. “Windows Installer 4.5 does not support some features that enable a single installation package to be installed in either the per-machine or per-user installation context; some services configuration options that can enable a package to customize the services on a computer; some features that enable the Windows Installer to secure new accounts, Windows Services, files, folders, and registry keys; [and] some features that enable the installation to enumerate all components installed on the computer and obtain the key path for the component.”
At the same time Windows Installer 4.5 does not play nice with a range of items present in Windows Installer 5.0 including a few standard actions, installer functions, column data types, properties, database tables, ControlEvents, Controls, Internal Consistency Evaluators – ICEs; and Automation Interface properties.
Microsoft Windows Installer 4.5 is available for download here.
Windows 7 Beta is available for download here.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
How to Resolve Installation Event Errors in SBS 2008?
SBS 2008 has been released to manufacturing (RTM), and if you haven't installed yet, you most likely will soon. As with previous versions of SBS, the complex interactions with partner products and configurations in use can lead to some noise in the event logs. We know of a few issues that you will see and we want to share information on how to resolve them or take action to prevent them. We are focusing on errors that will appear in a frequent enough ratio that they will be noticed right away, we are not going to be discussing one time events that can happen on shutdown, startup or right after the setup has been completed that will not affect any functionality and should not repeat themselves during normal operations.
- DCOM Event 10016
Problem: You install Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0. When you view the System log after Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is successfully installed, you see the event ID 10016 error message logged one or more times.
Type: Error
Source: DCOM
Category: None
Event ID: 10016
Description:
The application-specific permissions settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {CLSID} to the user DomainName\UserName SID {SID}. This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administration tool
Resolution: The solution in this article will work for Windows Small Business Server 2008: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/920783
- MSExchange Search Event 4625
Problem: Failed Security audits in the Security log- there is a problem in Microsoft.Exchange.Search.ExSearch.exe where an event id 4625 will be reported every few minutes.
Resolution: This should be fixed in the Exchange RU4 release which is currently targeted to be released in September of 2008. It can be ignored otherwise.
- DCOM Event 10009
Problem: The DCOM event id 10009 will occur when a client workstation has a miss-configured firewall or other issues affecting its network communications within the domain, for example if the workstation is not managed by an SBS GPO. In this scenario, the DCOM event 10009 will happen repeatedly, potentially hundreds per day.
Resolution: To attempt to resolve configuration issues with the firewall try the following:
· Make sure to allow remote management exception. Depending on your firewall solution this might be implemented or might require opening several ports. Unfortunately, this means opening common ports like TCP/135, TCP/139 but also a range of dynamic ports that cannot easily be defined and start at 1025, check with your firewall manufacturer for proper ways of allowing dynamic RPC traffic.
· If using OneCare on the SBS client machines, make sure you are using the Small Business version of Windows Live OneCare. The Small Business version has a default set of firewall port exceptions as required by SBS to monitor the client workstations.
· If the workstation is on a different subnet than the SBS server and it is running Windows XP SP2 or higher, the firewall exceptions provided by the SBS group policies will not properly allow the required connectivity. You should edit the Client XP GPO and change the scope of the rules to allow subnet + the internal IP of the server. Follow the extra steps below to properly monitor XP SP2 (or higher) machines running in the SBS domain on different subnets than the SBS server, and prevent the DCOM 10009 errors if that is the case.
1. Open GPMC.MSC from Start-Run
2. Accept the UAC prompt
3. Expand Forest: Domain.local, Domains, Domain.local and select Group Policy Objects. (Replace Domain.local with your domain)
4. Select the Windows SBS Client – Windows XP Policy and then use right click on your mouse and select edit
5. Expand Computer Configuration, Policies, Administrative Templates, Network, Network Connections, Windows Firewall, Domain Profile
6. Find the IP Address of the server: Open a command prompt window (cmd.exe) from the Start menu. In the command prompt window type IPConfig and press return. Make note of the IPv4 address listed.
7. Double click on: Windows Firewall: “Allow inbound file and printer sharing exception”
a. in the text box labeled “Allow unsolicited incoming messages from these IP addresses”, add the IP (IPv4) of the server, so if the IP of the server is 192.168.1.2, it would end up reading: localsubnet,192.168.1.2
b. Click Ok
8. Repeat Steps 6.a and 6.b for the following rules:
Windows Firewall: Allow inbound remote administration exception
Windows Firewall: Allow inbound remote desktop exceptions
Source & inspiration: http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2008/08/26/known-post-installation-event-errors-in-sbs-2008-and-how-to-resolve-them.aspx
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