May 2009 - Posts

• Windows Server 2008: Planning for Active Directory Forest Recovery

  Microsoft have updated their forest recovery documentation. This guide contains best-practice recommendations for recovering an Active Directory forest, if forest-wide failure has rendered all domain controllers in the forest incapable of functioning normally. The procedure steps in this guide, which you must customize for your particular environment, describe how to recover the entire Active Directory forest to a point in time before the critical malfunction. They also ensure that none of the restored domain controllers replicates from a domain controller with potentially dangerous data. The procedures apply to Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in Windows Server 2008 and the Active Directory® directory service in Windows Server 2003. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=326c8a7a-dcad-4333-9050-a6303ff3155c Posted May 27 2009, 08:02 AM by Parris with no comments Filed under: ADUG, Windows Server 2008, Active Directory, [ADUG], DR, Disaster Recovery

• UPDATE: - [ADUG] Membership

  If you would like to join the [ADUG], could you please email me on membership@adug.co.uk I have had to disable automatic account creation due to spambot attacks. Update - Spam rules have been enabled, lets see if this makes a difference. Update II - Membership frozen again until I can work out a way of stopping the spam.   Posted May 21 2009, 11:53 AM by Parris with no comments Filed under: Active Directory, [ADUG], Membership

• Eileen Brown

  I am sure many of you reading this post know who Eileen Brown is, well in the last round of Microsoft redundancies Eileen's role was deprecated, and unless she finds another role internally she will be looking for a new challenge. I wish Eileen good luck and if you want to follow Eileen's Blog she is now on http://eileenbrown.wordpress.com/ Posted May 15 2009, 05:13 AM by Parris with no comments Filed under: Active Directory, [ADUG], Eileenb

• Nominated for an MVP in Directory Services

  I am delighted to say that I have been nominated to become an MVP in Directory Services. I will find out in July if it has been awarded. Posted May 15 2009, 05:08 AM by Parris with no comments Filed under: Active Directory, [ADUG], MVP, Consultancy

• Active Directory Consultancy

  After nearly three years my current assignment will be coming to a natural conclusion at the end of June. If you require any Active Directory consultancy, I will be available for short and long term work. I specialise in all aspects of Active Directory, including design, installation, troubleshooting, audits and training. Contact me at mark.parris@baseit.co.uk for further details. Posted May 15 2009, 04:44 AM by Parris with no comments Filed under: MCM AD:2008, Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Certified Master:Directory, Active Directory, Rename Active Directory, SP2, [ADUG], Windows Server 2008 R2

• [ADUG] May Meeting 28th May - London

  The  next [ADUG] Meeting will be on the 28th May 2009, in London at Microsoft's London Offices. The evening will be about Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Application Compatibility Application Compatibility for Microsoft has always been a primary area of focus because it has been something that our customers have valued.  Many developers and IT Pros are not familiar with new application compatibility strategies that enable Windows 2000/XP compatibility in modern Vista/Windows 7 environments.  Using a combination of virtualization and management technologies, IT Pros, developers, and end-users can have seamless access to all applications whether they require Windows XP or webapps that require IE6.  Technologies discussed include Terminal Services Gateway, Application Virtualization (App-V), Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V), Expression Web SuperPreview, and Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT).  Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Win2k8 R2 Windows Server® 2008 R2 is the newest Windows Server operating system from Microsoft. Designed to help organizations reduce operating costs and increase efficiencies, Windows Server 2008 R2 provides enhanced management control over resources across the enterprise. It is designed to provide better energy efficiency and performance by reducing power consumption and lowering overhead costs. It also helps provide improved branch office capabilities, exciting new remote access experiences, streamlined server management, and expands the Microsoft virtualization strategy for both client and server computers. Enterprise Features in Win7 and Win2k8 R2 Did you know that you can buy Windows 7 Enterprise through Volume Licensing with as few as five seats? With businesses increasingly becoming disconnected and geographically dispersed, Microsoft has introduced new enterprise-class features that let end-users work more flexibly without compromising the security and integrity of your organisation. This session will overview features like BranchCache, DirectAccess, Applocker, VHD Image Booting and search integration. The speakers for the event will be: Viral Tarpara – IT Pro technical evangelist Jamie Burgess – Partner Technology Specialist Posted May 09 2009, 06:14 AM by Mark Parris with no comments Filed under: London, Meeting, Windows 7, Free Event, [ADUG], Windows Server 2008 R2

• SYSVOL migration from FRS to DFSR - Whitepaper Released

  Ned's team have made this whitepaper available. http://blogs.technet.com/askds/archive/2009/05/01/sysvol-migration-from-frs-to-dfsr-whitepaper-released.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=df8e5e84-c6c6-4cef-9dab-304c92299804     Posted May 02 2009, 06:02 AM by Parris with no comments Filed under: Windows Server 2008, Active Directory, [ADUG], Migration, DFSR, FRS

• Active Directory Maximum Limits - Scalability

  This document has been updated this week and describes Active Directory scalability and other limitations, as well as recommendations that apply when you are designing or implementing an Active Directory infrastructure. These limitations include the following: Maximum Number of Objects Maximum Number of Security Identifiers Group Memberships for Security Principals FQDN Length Limitations File Name Length Limitations Organizational Unit Name Length Maximum Number of Group Policy Objects Applied Trust Limitations Maximum Number of Accounts per LDAP Transaction Recommended Maximum Number of Users in a Group Recommended Maximum Number of Domains in a Forest Recommended Maximum Number of Domain Controllers in a Domain Recommended Maximum Kerberos Settings http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc756101.aspx Posted May 01 2009, 09:56 AM by Mark Parris with no comments Filed under: Windows Server, Active Directory, KB Article, [ADUG]