Archive for September, 2012

Cannot login to Domain Controllers / Issue to login into Domain Controllers

Posted: September 17, 2012 in Active Directory, Domain Controller, Server, Server 2003, Server 2008
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You may get the error message as below:

Symptoms:

–          Not able to login to Domain Controllers due to low disk space in the systems drive.

–          You get the above error message and the server reboots every time.

–          Users not able to login in the particular network.

–          Users not able to access the shared resources from the Domain Controller.

 

Resolution:

–          Reboot the server and login using Windows directory restore mode.

–          Go To Start > Run and type ‘Cleanmgr’ and clean up the drive space of C

–          If you have lost the Restore Mode password then follow the below steps to reset the DSRM Password:

Go to Command Prompt from the nearest Domain Controller and type the below command:

ntdsutil

set dsrm password

reset password on server ServerName

–          Once you have cleared the Space in the Systems drive, reboot the Server.

–          After Reboot login normally to the Domain Controller and everything should be back to normal.

–         Everyone should be able to access the Shared Resources from the Server.

Metadata Cleanup of Domain Controllers

Posted: September 13, 2012 in Active Directory, Domain Controller, Server, Server 2003, Server 2008
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Metadata Cleanup of Domain Controllers

 

Note: You must try the below steps only when the Graceful demoting of the server fails from “DCPROMO”

Note: You may get a error while demoting if you have a forest with 2003 and 2008 mixed Domain Controllers.

          : Some of the errors will be like: LDAP Error 0x32<50<Insufficient rights> or: Win32 error returned is 0x5<Access is Denied>

          : There is a easy steps to demote if you have the error. (Will be posting it soon)

Scenario:

–          Server1 should be demoted from XYZ Domain.

–          ABC.XYZ.com is the primary Domain Controller in the Domain.

–          We have total of 3 sites in the whole network, Site1, Site2 & Site3

–          The plan is to Demote Server1 hosted in Site3

–          Login to any of the Domain Controllers and follow the below steps

Note: Words marked in BLUE are the entries which should be input by you.

Open the Command Prompt from the server and run the below commands:

C:\>ntdsutil

ntdsutil: metadata cleanup

metadata cleanup: connections

server connections: connect to server ABC

Binding to ABC …

Connected to ABC using credentials of locally logged on user.

server connections: quit

metadata cleanup: select operation target

select operation target: list domain

Found 1 domain(s)

0 – DC=XYZ,DC=com

select operation target: select domain 0

No current site

Domain – DC=XYZ,DC=com

No current server

No current Naming Context

select operation target: list sites

Found 3 site(s)

0 – CN=Site1,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

1 – CN=Site2,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

2 – CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

select operation target: select site 3

Site – CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

Domain – DC=XYZ,DC=com

No current server

No current Naming Context

select operation target: list servers in site

Found 2 server(s)

0 – CN=Server1,CN=Servers,CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

1 – CN=Server2,CN=Servers,CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

select operation target: select server 0

Site – CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

Domain – DC=XYZ,DC=com

Server – CN=Server1,CN=Servers,CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

DSA object – CN=NTDS Settings,CN=Server1,CN=Servers,CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com

DNS host name – Server1.XYZ.com

Computer object – CN=Server1, OU=Domain Controllers,DC=XYZ,DC=com

No current Naming Context

select operation target: quit

metadata cleanup: remove selected server

Transferring / Seizing FSMO roles off the selected server.

Removing FRS metadata for the selected server.

Searching for FRS members under “CN=Server1, OU=Domain Controllers,DC=XYZ,DC=com”.

Removing FRS member “CN=Server1,CN=Domain System Volume (SYSVOL share),CN=File Replication Service,CN=System,DC=XYZ,DC=com”.

Deleting subtree under “CN=Server1,CN=Domain System Volume (SYSVOL share),CN=File

Replication Service,CN=System,DC=XYZ,DC=com”.

Deleting subtree under “CN=Server1, OU=Domain Controllers,DC=XYZ,DC=com”.

The attempt to remove the FRS settings on CN=Server1,CN=Servers,CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com failed because “Element not found.”;

metadata cleanup is continuing.

“CN=Server1,CN=Servers,CN=Site3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=XYZ,DC=com” removed from server “ABC”

metadata cleanup: quit

ntdsutil: quit

Disconnecting from ABC…

Now you should be able to see “ntdsutil” missing from the Active Directory Sites and Services from the particular Site.

Procedure to Restore the System State Backup

Posted: September 13, 2012 in Active Directory, Backup, Server, Server 2008
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Procedure to Restore the System State Backup:

  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup. The Backup or Restore Wizard starts.
  2. Click Advanced Mode.
  3. Click the Restore and Manage Media tab.
  4. In the Items to restore box, expand the media that you want to restore, and then click to select the System State check box.
  5. In the Restore file tobox, specify the location where you want to restore the files by doing one of the following:
    • If you want to restore the files or folders to the same location in which they were when you backed up the data, click Original location, and then go to step 7.
    • If you want to restore the files or folders to a new location, click Alternate location.
      This option preserves the folder structure of the backed up data.
    • If you want to restore the files and folders to a single location, click Single folder.NOTE: If you do not designate an alternate location for the restored data, the restore operation erases the current system state data and replaces it with the information that you are restoring.
  6. If you selected Alternate location or Single folder, type the location in which you want the data to be restored, or click Browse and select the location.
  7. Click Start Restore.
  8. On the Confirm Restore page that appears, click Advanced if you want to set advanced restore options, and then click OK.
  9. Click OK to start the restore operation.

Procedure to Configure System State Backup

Posted: September 13, 2012 in Active Directory, Backup, Server, Server 2008
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Procedure to Configure System State Backup:

Note: The Account must be a Domain Admin Account to perform the System State Backup.

To Back Up the System State:

To back up the system state (including the registry hives system, software, security, the Security Accounts Manager (SAM), and the default user (but not HKEY_CURRENT_USER)), follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup. The Backup or Restore Wizard starts.
  2. Click Advanced Mode.
  3. Click the Backup tab.
  4. On the Job menu, click New.
  5. Click to select the System State check box.
  6. In the Backup destination box, specify the destination for the new job.
  7. In the Backup media or file namebox, do the following:
    • If you are backing up to a file, specify a path and file name for the backup (.bkf) file. Or, click Browse, specify a file name and location where you want to save the file, and then click Save.
    • If the NAS is available save it to \\NASName\Backup location
    • If NAS is not available, save it to some Local Machine and make note of this local machine. Make sure that the destination location or drive has enough free space.
  8. Click Start Backup.
  9. If you want to set advanced backup options, such as data verification or hardware compressions, click Advanced. Specify the options that you want, and then click OK.
  10. Review the settings on the Backup Job Information page. Specify whether you want this backup to replace the information that is already present on the destination media, or add this backup to the existing information.
  11. Click Start Backup.

 

For Restore Procedure click here

Role of Global Catalog Server in a Domain

Posted: September 10, 2012 in Active Directory, DNS, Domain Controller, Server, Server 2003, Server 2008
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By Default a Global Catalog is created automatically on the initial Domain Controller in the forest. It stores a full replica of all the objects in the directory for its host domain and a partial replica of all objects contained in the directory of every other domain in the forest. The replica is partial because it stores some, but not all, of the property values for every object in the forest.

The Global Catalog performs two key directory roles:

–  It enables network logon by providing universal group membership information to a domain controller when a logon process is initiated.

–  It enables finding directory information in the entire forest regardless of which domain in the forest actually contains the data.

When a user logs in to the network, the global catalog provides universal group membership information for the account sending the logon request to the domain controller. If there is only one domain controller in the Domain, the domain controller and the global catalog are the same server. If there are multiple domain controllers in the network, the global catalog is hosted on the domain controller configured as such. If a Global Catalog is not available when a user initiates a network logon process, the user is only able to log on to the local computer.

Note: If a user is a member of the Domain Admins group, then they will be able to log on to the network even when the Global Catalog is not available.

The Global Catalog is designed to respond to queries about objects anywhere in the forest with maximum speed and minimum network traffic, because a single Global Catalog contains information about objects in all domain in the forest, a query about an object can be resolved by a global catalog in the domain in which the query is initiated. Thus finding the information in the directory does not produce unnecessary query traffic across domain boundaries.

You can optionally configure any domain controller to host a global catalog, based on your Company’s requirements for servicing logon requests and search queries.

After Additional domain controllers are installed in the domain, you can change the default location of the global catalog to another domain controller using the Active Directory Sites and Services.

 

iDRAC or DRAC 6 Login problems

Posted: September 6, 2012 in DRAC
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Have found out most of the times people have issues to login to the iDRAC or the DRAC 6 web console even if they are able to ping the IP Address.

They try to check if the cable is inserted fine or they think the iDRAC has issues.

If you are able to reach the DRAC IP but not able to login to the DRAC using the web console with “root” login then try the below steps,

  1. In the iDRAC menu go to “LAN User Configuration” as below:

  1. Then Go to “Account Access”.
  2. Select Enabled to enable the administrator account.
  3. When you have finished making changes to the iDRAC configuration, press the <Esc> key to display the Exit menu.
  4. Select Save Changes and Exit and press <Enter> to retain your changes.
  5. You should be able to login to the iDRAC using the Web Console.

How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?

Posted: September 6, 2012 in Active Directory, Replication, Server, Server 2003, Server 2008
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By using replication monitor 

Go to start > run > type repadmin

Go to start > run > type replmon

The Replmon graphical user interface (GUI) tool is included when you install Windows Server 2003 Support Tools from the product CD or from the Microsoft Download Center

Replmon.exe: Active Directory Replication Monitor

This GUI tool enables administrators to view the low-level status of Active Directory replication, force synchronization between domain controllers, view the topology in a graphical format, and monitor the status and performance of domain controller replication.

The Replmon graphical user interface tool was removed from Windows Server 2008 and later. Repadmin is still available for troubleshooting replication.

Repadmin.exe: Replication Diagnostics Tool

This command-line tool assists administrators in diagnosing replication problems between Windows domain controllers.

Administrators can use Repadmin to view the replication topology as seen from the perspective of each domain controller. In addition, Repadmin can be used to manually create the replication topology, to force replication events between domain controllers, and to view both the replication metadata and up-to-date vectors.

Repadmin.exe can also be used for monitoring the relative health of an Active Directory forest. The operations replsummary, showrepl, showrepl /csv, and showvector /latency can be used to check for replication problems.

 

Trouble connecting to the ESX Host

Posted: September 6, 2012 in ESX, VMWare
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Symptoms:

–          Not be able to connect to the ESX host through vSphere Client.

–          The vSphere client gives out error message as “Connection Timed Out”

–          You may not be able to Start or Stop the Virtual Machine.

–          The ESX may show as Disconnected from the Central Virtual Server.

Resolution:

Rather than proceeding to restart the ESX host, you can proceed to restart the Management Agents on the ESX host.

(Note: Restarting the Management Tasks may impact any tasks running on that particular ESX)

–          Log into your ESX host using the “Root” Credentials through the SSH Session, you can better use the “Putty” Software to connect to the ESX    host.

–          Feed the IP address of the ESX Host.

–          Then Click on “Open” in the end of Tab.

–          Once get the Console window, Login with Root Credentials

–          Run the below command to restart the Management Agent on the ESX Host:

–          Now you should be able to connect to the ESX host through the vSphere client.

 

Caution: Ensure Automatic Startup /Shutdown of VM is disabled before running the above command.

“System Volume Information” consuming more Disk Space

Posted: September 4, 2012 in Server 2003, Server 2008, System Information, System Modifications
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System Volume Information (SVI) is the folder holding the restore points. If you turn System Restore off, that folder will be emptied. If you turn it on again, a new restore point will be created.

If this isn’t the system drive, it really doesn’t matter at all, except for the space it takes.

The SVI folder is where System Restores holds its restore points and other information. There will be a SVI folder on every partition Windows sees. If the Indexing Service has been turned on it will store files in the SVI folders. Encrypting File System also uses the SVI folder on each partition to store the log file that is generated during the encryption and decryption process.

The data drive will contain its own SVI folder. There’s no reason to keep a backup on the data drive.

To Access the System Information Folder follow the below steps:

In Windows Explorer click [Tools] [Folder Options]
Click the [View] tab, click [Show Hidden Files and Folders]
Clear [Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)] check box.
Click [Yes] on the change confirmation box and click [OK] to exit.
Right-click the System Volume Information folder in the root folder.
Click [Properties] and select the [Security] tab. Click [Add]
Enter the name of the user you are allowing access to the folder.
Click [OK], and then click [OK].
Double-click the System Volume Information folder to open.

You may observe the SVI Folder may consume more space often, you can limit the amount of space it consumes, you can run the below command so that you can limit the space used by the Restore Points

vssadmin resize shadowstorage /on=D: /For=D: /Maxsize=3GB

  • In the above command I am limiting the D Drive to allocate 3 GB for the SVI.
  • You can change the drive name as per your requirement.
  • You can observe immediate free of space once the command is run.