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Blog

04 Jul 2013
By Yendis

Sophos – Management server connection failed

Sophos, ,
Recently I came across the following error when going into a Sophos Enterprise Console (5.2.1) after an upgrade from 5.2.0 which struck me as a little odd. Management server connection failed Could not connect to the Management Server. This may be due to one of the following: • Local network problems • Management service has stopped on the server • Your database service has stopped. Either attempt to reconnect or close the application. Attempting to reconnect may take a few minutes. Clicking 'Reconnect' fails. (more…)
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04 Jul 2013
By Yendis

Re-Installing ADFS 2

Microsoft,
During your install and testing of ADFS, you may decide to re-install ADFS (in order to start with a clean sheet after initial tests and proof-of-concepts are completed). I uninstalled ADFS and run the setup again. I added Federation Server as the server role and configured all certificates – all going smooth so far. I jumped to creating a new Federation Service. When it comes to applying my settings it came up with a warning “Existing Web site detected”. Therefore, the Web site was not reinstalled. If you are trying to redeploy the default AD FS 2.0 Web sites, see…
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17 Jun 2013
By Yendis

VDI Calculator v2 with Citrix XenDesktop support

Citrix, VMware, , ,
Andre Leibovici at myvirtualcloud.net has today released the latest version of his very useful  VDI Calculator tool.  The new calculator is built on Java framework (Java 6 or later required) instead of Flash, and will run on both Windows and Mac computers. The new calculator has all the features available in the previous flash version plus new key features that will make life easier for many users. Features: Offline Support – The new version will be able to run when disconnected from the network. When connected, it will auto-update itself with the latest release. Load/Save – Now you can save and load your configurations eliminating…
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15 Jun 2013
By Yendis

Configuring Windows Time for Active Directory

Microsoft, ,
Over recent years I have noticed that Windows time configuration is sometimes overlooked and misconfigured and at some point may cause you major hassles. For anyone not aware, all machines in an Active Directory environment automatically find a time server to sync time with. Workstations use their authenticating Domain Controller, and the DCs sync with the server holding the PDC Emulator FSMO role. In a multi-domain forest, the PDC Emulator in each child domain synchronises with a DC or the PDC Emulator in the forest root domain. To ensure the time remains reliable across the forest, only the PDC Emulator in the forest…
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14 Jun 2013
By Yendis

Taking the best out of Windows Azure Virtual Machines

Microsoft,
Now that Windows Azure IaaS offerings are out and made GA a lot of new workloads can be enabled with Windows Azure. Workloads like, SQL Server, SharePoint, System Center 2012, Server Roles like AD, ADFS DNS and so on, and even Team Foundation Server. More of the supported list of server software that is currently supported in Windows Azure Virtual Machines can be found here. But knowing what we can leverage in the Cloud isn’t enough, every features has its tricks in order to take the best out of it. In this case in order to take the best performance…
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10 Jun 2013
By Yendis

Best practices for VMware Snapshots

VMware,
I have come across a number of forums and emails were people are unsure on the proper use of snapshots and on occasions using snapshots for the wrong reason.  I found a great VMware article which I think covers everything you need to know about snapshots and the correct use:- Snapshots are not backups. A snapshot file is only a change log of the original virtual disk. Therefore, do not rely on it as a direct backup process. The virtual machine is running on the most current snapshot, not the original vmdk disk files. Snapshots are not complete copies of the original…
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29 May 2013
By Yendis

Awarded VMware vExpert 2013 Status

VMware,
I only started my blog a year ago and this week I’ve completed two goals I set out to achieve.  Firstly I wanted to help as many people with posts on my blog and I’m happy to say I have just passed the 100,000 visitor count.  Secondly I have heard a lot about a group of individuals who are selected every year and awarded the title of VMware vExpert.  It’s that time of year again when VMware vExpert awards are handed out and I’m honored to have been selected as a VMware vExpert 2013.  You can find the full VMware blog post with all…
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08 May 2013
By Yendis

Transfer/Seize FSMO Roles to Windows Server 2012 Using Powershell

Microsoft,
Following information explains the Active Directory FSMO roles transfer process using powershell cmdlets. If FSMO role holder DC goes under upgradation process or down, we think about FSMO roles as its important and we know the traditional NTDSUTIL way of transferring and seizing FSMO roles which takes few minutes. However, using the power shell this is relatively easy and completes within few seconds. Powershell command :  Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole Transfering all 5 FSMO roles syntax: Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole -Identity “Target_DC_name” –OperationMasterRole PDCEmulator,RIDMaster,InfrastructureMaster,SchemaMaster,DomainNamingMaster If target DC name is ADC, use below command to transfer all FSMO roles: Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole -Identity “ADC” –OperationMasterRole PDCEmulator,RIDMaster,InfrastructureMaster,SchemaMaster,DomainNamingMaster Role numbers can be used in command instead of role names. Transfer all 5 FSMO roles using numbers: Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole -Identity…
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27 Apr 2013
By Yendis

vSphere 5.1 GPU acceleration now supported on XenDesktop with HDX 3D Pro and XenApp with HDX 3D

VMware, , ,
VMware recently introduced GPU hardware acceleration support for its latest hypervisor release, vSphere 5.1. XenDesktop 5.6 FP1 and XenApp 6.5 FP1 have tested successfully with the new GPU acceleration capabilities on vSphere 5.1 and Citrix officially supports these configurations. vSphere 5.1 introduced two GPU acceleration methods: Direct graphics acceleration (vDGA) and Shared graphics acceleration (vSGA). vDGA is similar to XenServer’s GPU pass-through method where each graphics processor supports a single VM to enable high performance rendering for designers and engineers that require a dedicated GPU or for GPU sharing with multi-user XenApp VMs. vSGA is a light-weight implementation of GPU sharing designed for business graphics such as Microsoft Office…
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06 Apr 2013
By Yendis

Wyse Thin client Daylight Saving issue

Hardware, Microsoft, , , ,
I had an interesting problem that appeared shortly after the GMT Daylight saving time changed on Sunday evening (31st March) with Wyse Xenith/Xenith2 thin client devices which are used to access a Citrix VDI environment delivering a Windows 7 Professional desktop to around 800 users. So what was the issue? The problem was reported that even though the clock went forward 1 hour the Windows 7 clients where reporting that the time hadn’t changed (gone forward) since the change.  People were not turning up to meeting on time and it caused mayhem. Taking a look at the time zone set on the Windows 7…
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