Tuesday, February 26, 2008

CTX: Extending your Citrix and Terminal Server

Extending your Citrix and Terminal Server environment using .NET and other technologies.

http://www.jasonconger.com

MS: How to Install Exchange 2007 SP1 Prerequisites on Windows Server 2008

If you are deploying a new Exchange organization, and you are preparing your Active Directory schema and domain(s) by using a computer running Windows Server 2008, you must first install the Active Directory remote management tools on Windows Server 2008 prior to preparing the schema or a domain by using the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i RSAT-ADDS

For more information about preparing the Active Directory schema and domains, see How to Prepare Active Directory and Domains

To install the Windows Server 2008 operating system prerequisites for Client Access servers

Open a Command Prompt window.
Install Windows PowerShell, which is included in Windows Server 2008 (but not installed by default) by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i PowerShell

Install the necessary IIS prerequisites by running the following commands in the order in which they are listed:

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Server
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-ISAPI-Ext
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Metabase
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Basic-Auth
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Digest-Auth
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Windows-Auth
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Dyn-Compression

If the server will support Outlook Anywhere clients, install the RPC over HTTP proxy feature by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i RPC-over-HTTP-proxy

To install the Windows Server 2008 operating system prerequisites for Edge Transport servers

Open a Command Prompt window.
Install Windows PowerShell, which is included in Windows Server 2008 (but not installed by default) by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i PowerShell

Install Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS), which was previously known as Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM), by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i ADLDS

To install the Windows Server 2008 operating system prerequisites for Hub Transport servers

Open a Command Prompt window.
Install Windows PowerShell, which is included in Windows Server 2008 (but not installed by default) by running the following command:


ServerManagerCmd -i PowerShell

To install the Windows Server 2008 operating system prerequisites for Mailbox servers

Open a Command Prompt window.
Install Windows PowerShell, which is included in Windows Server 2008 (but not installed by default) by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i PowerShell

Install the necessary IIS prerequisites by running the following commands in the order in which they are listed:

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Server
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-ISAPI-Ext
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Metabase
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Basic-Auth
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Windows-Auth

If the Mailbox server will be clustered, you must also install the Failover Clustering feature by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i Failover-Clustering

To install the Windows Server 2008 operating system prerequisites for Unified Messaging servers

Open a Command Prompt window.
Install Windows PowerShell, which is included in Windows Server 2008 (but not installed by default) by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i PowerShell

Install the Microsoft Windows Media Player audio/video codecs required by the Unified Messaging server by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i Desktop-Experience

To install the Windows Server 2008 operating system prerequisites for a computer that will host the Hub Transport, Client Access, and Mailbox server roles

Open a Command Prompt window.
Install Windows PowerShell, which is included in Windows Server 2008 (but not installed by default) by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i PowerShell

Install the necessary IIS prerequisites by running the following commands in the order in which they are listed:

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Server
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-ISAPI-Ext
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Metabase
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Basic-Auth
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Digest-Auth
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Windows-Auth
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Dyn-Compression


If the server will support Outlook Anywhere clients, install the RPC over HTTP proxy feature by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i RPC-over-HTTP-proxy

To install the Windows Server 2008 operating system prerequisites for the Exchange management tools

Open a Command Prompt window.
Install Windows PowerShell, which is included in Windows Server 2008 (but not installed by default) by running the following command:

ServerManagerCmd -i PowerShell

Install the necessary IIS prerequisites by running the following commands in the order in which they are listed:

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Metabase
ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Off-topic: Resumania

"Resumania" is a term coined by Robert Half, founder of the specialized staffing firm Robert Half International Inc. (RHI), to describe errors made by job seekers on resumes, applications and cover letters. He first published Resumania in his company newsletter back in 1966 and encouraged readers to submit items that they came across. Soon, he began receiving a steady flow from colleagues throughout the United States. Its popularity grew, and the never-ending supply of Resumania continues today! These examples have come our way from clients and businesses worldwide over the years.

http://www.resumania.com

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

10 Speed Tweaks that can make a huge difference in Vista performance

1. Turn off Windows Search Indexing
Windows Vista search indexing is constantly reviewing files on your system to make their contents available for quick searching. This is handy, but can severely impact system performance. To disable constant indexing:

Click Start then Computer
Right Click the C: Drive
On General Tab, Uncheck Index this drive for faster searching
On the subsequent dialog box, Select Include subfolders and files

2. Turn off Remote Differential Compression
Remote Differential Compression measures the changes in files over a network to transfer them with minimal bandwidth rather than transferring an entire file that has previously been moved. By constantly checking for file changes, this service can hinder system performance. To disable this service:

Open Control Panel
Switch to Classic View
Select Program Features
Choose Turn Windows features on and off
Scroll down and uncheck Remote Differential Compression

3. Turn off Automatic Windows Defender Operation
Windows Defender real-time protection against malware continues to run despite having Automatic operation disabled. To disable this feature:

Open Control Panel
Select Windows Defender
Choose Tools from the top menu
Select Options
Uncheck Auto Start at the bottom of the window

4. Turn off Automatic Disk Defragmentation
Windows Vista and its always-on defragment feature isn't really that necessary and can cause system slow down. Just remember to run a defrag manually every week or so. To disable this:

Click Start then Computer
Right Click the C: Drive
Select the Tools Tab
Uncheck Run on a schedule

5. Add a 2GB or higher USB Flash drive to take advantage of Windows Ready Boost(Additional Memory Cache)
Ready Boost is Microsoft's name for using a USB thumb/flash drive to provide some quick access memory the operating system can use as extra RAM. The Ready Boost system can significantly improve system performance. To set this up:

Insert a USB Flash Drive
Click Start then Computer
Right Click the USB Drive in My Computer
Select the Ready Boost Tab
Choose Use this device
Select as much space as you can free up for RAM usage vs. Storage

6. Turn off Windows Hibernation
Windows hibernation background services can use a large amount of system resources. If you don't use the Hibernate feature on a regular basis you may want to disable it to give Vista a performance boost. To disable Hibernation:

Select the Control Panel then Power Options
Click Change Plan Settings
Click on Change Advanced Power Settings
Expand the Sleep selection
Expand the Hibernate After selection
Crank the selector down to zero
Click Apply

7. Turn off System Restore
Analysis and restore point creation by Windows Vista can eat a fair amount of system resources. Disabling this service will obviously mean the system restore feature in Vista will not be available in the event of a system crash. Change this at your own risk. To disable this service:

Control Panel>System
Click System Protection on the left panel
Uncheck the main system drive
Agree to the confirmation

8. Disable User Access Control (UAC)
This much-loathed new Vista feature attempts to protect your system from malware infection by making you manually confirm a whole host of everyday user operations. While it doesn't directly impact performance, it can be annoying and might be more hassle than good. To disable User Access Control:

Click Start then Control Panel
Select User Accounts
Select Turn User Account Control on or off
Uncheck User Account Control Box
Restart as recommended

9. Disable excess Windows Services that Auto-Launch at Startup
Just like Windows XP, Vista ships with all kinds of services enabled that load at startup and may never be used by most users. To see what loads at startup and disable the ones you likely won't be needing (they can always be started manually later):
Click Start then Control Panel

Select Administrative Tools
Choose System Configuration
Click the Services Tab
You can safely deselect:
Offline Files (unless you're using Offline File Sync)
Tablet PC Input Service (unless you have a tablet PC)
Terminal Services
Windows Search (If you have already disabled indexing)
Fax (unless you're using a fax modem)

10. Disable Excess Windows Features
Windows ships with other features that are listed separately in the Vista operating system from the startup services. You can view and disable these features by:

Clicking Start then Control Panel
Select Program Features
On the left panel, select Turn Windows Features on or off
You can safely deselect:
Indexing Service
Remote Differential Compression
Tablet PC Optional Components
Windows DFS Replication Service
Windows Fax & Scan (unless you use a modem for faxing)
Windows Meeting Space (unless you use the Live Meeting Service)

Monday, February 04, 2008

MS: Windows 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 are RTM!

Microsoft released today (February 4th) both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1.
Both operating systems will be available in March.