Configure TS Session Broker using Route Robin

Terminal services session broker is responsible to route incoming TS connections between two or more servers, to the right terminal server. When the TS Session Broker receives an incoming connection, it checks first to see if that user has an existing session on a terminal server in the farm. If they do, then the connection goes to that terminal server. If they don’t, then the Session Broker will redirect to the terminal server with the lowest number of sessions.

If you are going to use Route Robin for load balancing you need to create two or more A records with same host name

Example:

A record terminal 10.0.0.1
A record terminal 10.0.0.2
A record terminal 10.0.0.3
A record terminal 10.0.0.4

So now if you try to connect to “terminal” you will be randomly redirected to one of the servers in the list.

To configure TS session broker:

• Open Server Manager
• Navigate to roles.
• Press on “Add Roles”
• Select Terminal Services from the list of roles and then Next to continue.
• On the resulting information screen click Next to proceed to the Role Services screen where the TS Session Broker option needs to be selected

Add Terminal Servers to the TS Session Broker :Settings need to be applied on TS Session Broker server only

When TS broker roles is installed , you will notice new security group in “local Users and Groups” named “Session Directory Computers”

You need to add your Terminal Servers computer account to that group.



Joining Terminal Servers to a TS Session Broker: Settings need to be configured on Terminal Servers only

* Open Terminal Services Configuration tool :tsconfig.msc
* Under TS Session Broker click on Member of farm in TS Session Broker



Source

Steps For Exchange Server 2007 Support And Troubleshooting

Microsoft along with the release of the operating system ensures that it provides tools for troubleshooting purpose also. Microsoft in addition to Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins in exchange server 2007 has also provided the Exchange Management Console, the Exchange Management Shell, Active Directory Users and Computers. Exchange Server support for a small to large organizations is available through Exchange server support website or through calling in Microsoft. Some of these tools are installed with Microsoft Windows, some with Exchange and some are optional for specific usage. Information about the utilities is mentioned below for the reference.

Application Deployment Wizard (exapppacker.exe) is one such tool which is used to package and deploy Exchange store applications on the Exchange store. We can access this tool for Exchange server support by Clicking Start > All Programs > Exchange SDK > Exchange SDK Development Tools > Application Deployment Wizard. This can be downloaded from Microsoft Exchange Server Support package disc or Exchange SDK Development Tools.

Exchange Server Database Utilities (eseutil.exe) is used to perform offline database procedures, such as defragmentation and integrity checking. For the issues related to database errors in Exchange Server, we can access this utility through command prompt > :Program FilesExchsrvrbin. This utility does not require any Microsoft Exchange Server Support CD since it gets installed while the Server Setup.

Exchange Store Tree View Control (Extreeview.ocx) is used to display a hierarchical list of node objects that corresponds to folders in the Exchange store. For the issues related to directory listing in Exchange Server, we can use this tool by clicking Start> All Programs> Exchange SDK> Exchange SDK Development Tools> Exchange Explorer. We have to install this utility from Exchange server 2007 support disc provided by Microsoft.

RPC Ping utility (rpings.exe and rpingc.exe) is used to confirm the remote procedure call (RPC) connectivity between the computer that is running Exchange and any of the client workstations on the network. This can be used from Command Prompt and has to be downloaded and installed from Exchange Server 2003 Support Resource Kit Tools.

Telnet (telnet.exe), WinRoute (winroute.exe) are used to troubleshoot Exchange mail flow and extract the link state information for an organization. These can be used from Command Prompt and has to be downloaded and installed from Exchange Server 2003 Support or Exchange Server 2007 Support Resource kit.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/tools-for-exchange-server-2007-support-and-troubleshooting-790954.html

Small Business Computer Support Services

Your small business encounters numerous security threats, some more obvious than others. These events can lead to data loss, cause harm to your competitive advantage, or spoil your daily operations. With increasing technology thefts and security violations, computer security has become a critical part of your overall IT infrastructure.

Small businesses necessitate that additional steps must be taken to secure data on their desktops and workstations. To get the work done, you can look forward to any good technical support company like iYogi Business Services.

From preventing virus from your computer, averting hackers to access PC, blocking unauthorized access to key company data and helping enforce your computer security, their computer support technicians offer you a comprehensive array of PC security services to protect your small business data.

Here, you can avail services like spyware removal solutions to PC security problems, Install critical system updates, personalized solution to meet your computing needs, and remove unnecessary clutter slowing down your PC. Such tech support resources offer you the best value of your money and can advise the best computer as well as technical work-outs for your small business. Even if you are just a beginner, you don’t need to worry. Tech support technicians ensure to provide you with the best solutions for your technical queries at their own level.
Whether your small business has computer related needs pertaining to computer hardware or software, you can consider tech support resources as a one stop shop for all your computer support requirements.

Tech support resources hire professional staff that can help customers with everything without letting them down on their expectations. They usually take your computer problem through remote session and manage your systems over the Internet. This help[s you to eliminate the expense and headaches of hiring, training, and managing your own internal IT staff.

You earn advantages by having more highly trained support available to you to keep your systems operating at peak efficiency and effectiveness at all times as tech support resources run their services 24x7. This saves you time and money because you are not experiencing downtime waiting for any tech support personnel to get them back into operation.

Server Migration Solution for Windows 7 Server

Microsoft is already providing customers running its Windows Server operating system with the necessary resources to streamline the process of migrating not only server roles, but also operating system settings, and even data to Windows 7 Server. The Server Migration solution for Windows Server 2008 R2 is, according to the Redmond company, the one-stop-shop for all the resources necessary to migrate from Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2008 R2.

“Server role migration guides - we currently have migration guides for the top 5 server roles and for BranchCache, a new feature in Windows Server 2008 R2. Our guides provide you with step-by-step instructions to migrate server roles or features end to end,” revealed a member of the Windows Server Division. “Windows Server Migration Tools - we also provide you a set of Windows PowerShell cmdlets to help you automate migration steps. Migration cmdlets currently support two server roles and one feature (DHCP, FSRM and BranchCache), operating system settings and data.”

Windows Server 2008 R2 is indeed still far from finalization, but the software giant has already made the jump to the successor of Windows Server 2008. According to the Redmond company a single box out of the servers powering Microsoft.com is still running Windows Server 2008, with the rest having been upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta.

“The Windows Server Migration Tools, and most migration guides, support cross-architecture migrations (x86-based to x64-based computing platforms), migrations between physical and virtual environments, and migrations between both the full and Server Core installation options of the Windows Server operating system, where available,” the Windows Server Division representative added.

Source: Softpedia

Install iSCSI Software Initiator on pre-Windows Server 2008

For many environments, iSCSI storage is a great solution. One of the foremost benefits is its lower cost on the server side. Unlike expensive fibre channel interfaces, iSCSI storage can be provisioned on standard Ethernet interfaces, which are readily available and affordable. Windows Server 2008 has an iSCSI Software Initiator to connect to iSCSI storage that is built into the operating system. This functionality is not native to prior versions of Windows Server.

Microsoft recently released the 2.08 version of the iSCSI Software Initiator to download for both Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server. (Windows XP is also supported for this installation.) This is very helpful, as iSCSI has become quite popular. And while many admins are implementing Windows Server 2008, plenty of IT pros may want to assign this storage type to their Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server systems.

Installing this add-on is straightforward, but there is one relevant option about multi-pathing that depends on your storage system. If your storage system has a software driver, you may not want to select that option. These systems would be any software virtualization or management layer for the storage to make the actual disk access “obscure” from the target. You should check with your storage administrator or product support if you are not sure about this question.

After a quick reboot, the system is ready to connect to storage over the newly installed iSCSI Software Initiator. The beauty is that the configuration at this point is the same for Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, and Windows 2000 Server (and Windows Vista and Windows XP if used); they all have the same configuration engine with this update. Configuration is accessible via the iSCSI Software Initiator applet in the Windows Control panel.

Get More Info here: http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/E/9/AE91DEA1-66D9-417C-ADE4-92D824B871AF/uGuide.doc

Configuring explicit Run As on Windows Server 2008

Default installations of Windows Server 2008 provide the User Account Control (UAC) security component to manage contexts in which applications run. The default configuration is to Run As the logged in user or simply to Run As Administrator. The issues with the latter option are that it does not specify any user name in particular, and it only refers to local administrative permission. Don’t bother pressing [Shift] and needlessly exploring various right-click menus. To get the explicit Run As functionality that you need for best practice permission assignment, you need to go to the SysInternals bag of tricks.

ShellRunas version 1.01 from Sysinternals (which is now part of TechNet) will get the job done. Downloading ShellRunas is straightforward and performing the following one-liner enables the tool:

shellrunas /reg

This command will install the Run As option on the Start Menu for use in the Windows Shell. Figure A shows a Windows Server 2008 server with the Sysinternals tool installed.



The ShellRunas command can also work without being installed completely for special one-time iterations of the command. Further, it can be uninstalled with the unreg parameter if you want to remove it from certain configurations. Ironically, adding this tool does not modify the existence of the Windows Secondary Logon service, which provides the functionality to use alternate credentials.

Source: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/datacenter/?p=557

Easy way to Configure Router through Windows server 2000

Routing, which is included in Windows 2000 Server, is a process that forwards packets from one network to another. I usually use hardware routers that are highly optimized, but sometimes these routers are too expensive for smaller networks.

Windows 2000 Server provides an easy way to configure the router. All you need are two network interfaces that are connected to separate networks. To configure the whole thing, you’ll use a wizard that’s part of the Routing And Remote Access service.

1. On the Start menu, select Programs | Administrative Tools and then click Routing And Remote Access.
2. Right-click the server listed in the left part of the MMC console and select Configure And Enable Routing And Remote Access. When the wizard appears, click Next.
3. Select the Network Router and click Next.
4. Verify that the TCP\IP is listed and click Next.
5. Select No and click Next.
6. Click Finish.

You’ve just configured your Windows 2000 computer as an IP router. If you want to undo this routing, simply right-click the server from the list in the MMC console and click Properties; on the General tab, disable the Router check box.

Source: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/window-on-windows/?p=482&tag=rbxccnbtr1