AD / Network Troubleshooting Tool: MS IT Environment Health Scanner

“Overview:

The Microsoft IT Environment Health Scanner is a diagnostic tool that is designed for administrators of small or medium-sized networks (recommended up to 20 servers and up to 500 client computers) who want to assess the overall health of their network infrastructure. The tool identifies common problems that can prevent your network environment from functioning properly as well as problems that can interfere with infrastructure upgrades, deployments, and migration.

When run from a computer with the proper network access, the tool takes a few minutes to scan your IT environment, perform more than 100 separate checks, and collect and analyze information about the following:

• Configuration of sites and subnets in Active Directory
• Replication of Active Directory, the file system, and SYSVOL shared folders
• Name resolution by the Domain Name System (DNS)
• Configuration of the network adapters of all domain controllers, DNS servers, and e-mail servers running Microsoft Exchange Server
• Health of the domain controllers
• Configuration of the Network Time Protocol (NTP) for all domain controllers

If a problem is found, the tool describes the problem, indicates the severity, and links you to guidance at the Microsoft Web site (such as a Knowledge Base article) to help you resolve the problem. You can save or print a report for later review. The tool does not change anything on your computer or your network.”

You can download the tool here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Microsoft RichCopy

“RichCopy is a free utility that comes to us from Ken Tamaru of Microsoft. The tool was first developed in 2001 and has been updated regularly to keep pace with evolving needs. Trust me when I tell you, this is the answer to all your file copying needs. What you'll find most striking the first time you take RichCopy out for a spin is that it's a multithreaded copying tool. That means that rather than copying one file at a time in serial order, RichCopy can open multiple threads simultaneously, allowing many files to be copied in parallel and cutting the total time required to complete the operation several times over. You can also pause and resume file copy operations, so if you lose network connectivity at any point, you can just pick up where you left off.”

You can download the free tool here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Free Microsoft Press E-Book: Introducing SQL Server 2008

“Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 by Peter DeBetta, Greg Low, and Mark Whitehorn:

Learn about major new features in SQL Server 2008 including security, administration, and performance.”

You can download the Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 free e-book here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

VMware Virtual Center 2.5 Update 4: Installing the Performance Overview Plug-In

“Performance Overview is an optional plug-in available with Virtual Center 2.5 Update 4. If the Performance Overview plug-in is installed, the Performance Overview tab in the Virtual Center displays a single view of key performance metrics for CPU, memory, disk, and network without navigating through multiple charts.”

You can read the full VMware KB article here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Resource Kit

“In-depth and comprehensive, this Resource Kit delivers the information you need to set up, deploy, and manage a Terminal Services farm using Windows Server 2008.”

You can download the Windows Server 2008 TS Resource Kit free e-book here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Blade Servers: Best Practices for Server Consolidation

“Throughout 2008 many data center managers were looking to reduce costs and improve efficiency any way possible. 2009 will be continuation of that trend and much of that has to do with consolidating older less performing servers, storage and workstations to smaller more efficient systems. In order to become more efficient with power/cooling, scalability, lifecycle management, backup and over all reduction of the data center footprint IT managers will continue to adopt technologies which will enable them to do more with less. These papers will discuss a few of the top trends and solutions for consolidating servers, storage and workstations to reduce consumption and management resources while simultaneously increasing processing and performance ability.”

You can download the free pdf here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Video - Microsoft Hyper-V: Understanding Networking

“This video, with a mix of slides and demo, walks through networking in Hyper-V. We take a look at the different types of networks: Private, Internal and External, along with vLANs and Teaming.

Duration: 52m 14s:

• Demo: Private Networking & vLANs @ 17m 38s
• Demo: Internal Networking & vLANs @ 27m 03s
• Demo: External Networking & vLANs @ 33m 25s
• Demo: NIC Teaming @ 45m 19s”

You can download the video here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 / R2 - Server Core Installation Options

“This step-by-step guide provides information about installation, initial configuration, and managing a server that is running a Server Core installation.”

You can download the Microsoft Server Core Installation Option Getting Started Guide here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Microsoft Hyper-V Frequently Asked Questions

“The following are some of the most frequently asked questions about Hyper-V. These questions are based on actual calls and e-mails to Microsoft and might save you time and effort.”

You will find the Microsoft Hyper-V FAQ here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Microsoft GPOAccelerator

The GPOAccelerator creates all the Group Policy objects (GPOs) that you need to deploy recommended security settings for your environment to save you hours of work that you would otherwise need to configure these settings. This Solution Accelerator includes guidance to assist you with this tool.

You can download the tool here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel