This is the archive for older Windows 7, 8, Server 2012, 2008, 2003, R2 information that was previously on TechNet.
Category Archives: Useful Links
Meltdown and Spectre
Happy New Year … Not!
With the New Year comes a new class of malicious attack that can impact IT systems. This time, the attack is hardware based, affecting mostly Intel based systems, and to some extent, AMD systems as well.
Here is a list of resources that highlight what it is all about and how to mitigate against this new threat. In the words of Microsoft, “Don’t panic.”
- What is Meltdown and Spectre? https://meltdownattack.com/
- Summary paper and Mitigation Steps for Organisations
https://www.docdroid.net/3Dw8WFD/meltdown-and-spectre-mitigation-for-organisations.pdf - Updated AntiVirus vendor compatibility chart
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/184wcDt9I9TUNFFbsAVLpzAtckQxYiuirADzf3cL42FQ/htmlview?usp=sharing&sle=true - Summary of Microsoft information in one place
http://www.essential.exchange/2018/01/04/windows-speculative-execution-client-server-patches-mitigations-detection-summary/ - GRC InSpectre. Test and enable protection against Spectre and Meltdown. https://www.grc.com/inspectre.htm
Office 365 Service Comparison
Here is a great resource for evaluating and comparing the myriad of options available in Office 365. This site also provides you with a downloadable Excel workbook so that you can work on this offline.
The technet resource is available here – https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dn788955.aspx
Australian Government Stay Smart Online Service
Here is a good resource with a focus on Australia for Internet security alerts – https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/internet/stay-smart-online/alert-service
Office 365 migrations
I just spent the weekend working performing some SBS to Office 365 migrations.
Here are some useful links that make the process a whole lot easier.
Export mailboxes to PST for Exchange 2010 (SBS 2011 Standard)
Export mailboxes to PST for Exchange 2007 (SBS 2008)
Import PST files to Office 365
- https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms.o365.cc.ingestionhelp.aspx
- The above link neglected to mention that the Mailbox Import Export Role must be assigned to the account that is performing the migrations – http://www.alexandreviot.net/2016/01/12/office-365-import-export-role/
Enabling Autodiscover for Outlook in SBS Exchange Environments
- For SBS 2008 – http://www.mcbsys.com/blog/2011/08/using-office-365-in-an-sbs-2008-environment-take-2/
- For SBS 2011 – http://kirb.it/enable-office-365-auto-discover-for-outlook-in-sbs-2011-exchange-environments/
Getting Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010 to work with Office 365
- The following link lists the minimum requirements needed to quickly get your Outlook desktop client running with Office 365.
- http://www.netdummy.net/office365-client-updates.html
- With SBS 2011, it is necessary to remove the Service Connection Point (SCP)
- Show SCP information: Get-ClientAccessServer | Select Name, AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri
- Remove SCP information: Set-ClientAccessServer -Identity “[Servername]” -AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri $NULL
Importing LegacyDN information
Problems connecting Outlook to Office 365
- Microsoft’s Outlook Support Center Wizard – https://diagnostics.office.com/#/?env=Maven (
AND if you happen to still be using SBS 2003 (I certainly hope not!), you can use Exmerge or Outlook to output individual mailboxes to PST. Do it soon!
Powershell for Office 365
Here’s a great resource – powershell.office.com
Are you an Office 365 IT administrator who is new to PowerShell? Are you looking for an Office 365 admin tool to automate repetitive administrative tasks? Or perhaps you are looking to access additional capabilities that aren’t available in the Office 365 Admin Center? Then PowerShell for Office 365 is for you.
Windows 10 and Windows Server Previews
If you want to have a play with the various new preview releases of Windows, here are the links to resources and information on where to download these previews.
If you have a MSDN or Microsoft Azure subscription, you can get them directly via the respective site portals.
Otherwise, here are the public links.
- Windows 10 Preview
– http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview - Announcing availability of Windows Server Technical Preview and System Center Technical Preview
– http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2014/10/01/announcing-availability-of-windows-server-technical-preview-and-system-center-technical-preview.aspx - What’s New in the Windows Server Technical Preview
– http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dn765472.aspx - What’s new for Hyper-V in the Technical Preview
– http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dn765471.aspx
Subnet Calculator and Cheat Sheet
Here are a couple of useful resources for working with Subnets.
- Online Subnet Calculator – http://www.subnet-calculator.com/
- Cheat Sheet with listings of C Class blocks – http://www.aelius.com/njh/subnet_sheet.html
- Nicely formatted Cheat Sheet – https://nsrc.org/workshops/2009/summer/presentations/day3/subnetting.pdf
Domain SPF Record builder
I came across a useful site that helps you build up an SPD record using a form that asks various questions.
http://www.spfwizard.net/
Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 Essentials Log Locations
Here is a list of where you can find important log files for Windows Server 2012 Essentials and Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials.
Server-side Logs:
In Windows Server Essentials 2012 and 2012 R2, the location of the log files is under %programdata%\Microsoft\Windows Server\Logs.
Service Integration Log Files:
O365/On-Premise Exchange/Intune | SharedServiceHost-EmailProviderServiceConfig.log | |
Windows Azure Backup | OnlineBackupGettingStartedWizard.log |
Backup Log Files:
Server Backup Configuration wizard | SBCW.log |
Server Backup restore wizard | ServerFFR.log |
Client Backup Feature server side log | Backup-<date>.log |
Client backup database cleanup | RunTask-BackupCleanup.log |
Client backup database checker | RunTask-Consistency check |
Storage and Devices Log Files:
User/Device management feature | SharedServiceHost-ManagementServiceConfig.log |
Storage features | Storageservice.<date>.log |
Storage related feature | Storageutil.<date>.log |
Azure Backup Log Files:
Location: C:\Program Files\Windows Azure Backup Agent\Temp | |
Azure Backup Logs | CBEngineCurr.errlog |
Failed Azure Backup Logs | LastBackupFailedFile#####.txt |
Other Helpful Log Files:
DC Promo | DCPromo_date.log |
Health evaluation schedule task | RunTask-AlertEvaluation.log |
Macintosh Clients Status update | RunTask-MacintoshStatusReport.log |
Server DNS status | ServerBeacon.log |
Customer Experience Improvement | RunTask-SaveCustomerExperienceImprovementProgramData.log |
Program and Service Quality Measurement Log Files:
CA Role installation | CA_ROLE_INSTALL.log |
Media pack installation (2012 R2) | MediaPackInstalltionWizard.xxxx.log |
Media Service (Specially with RWA) | MediaStreamingProvider.log |
O365 (Assign/Un-assign Accounts) | TaskStatus-OIMAddin.log |
Client-side Logs:
The client-side log files are located in the folder %programdata%\Microsoft\Windows Server\logs. They are as:
Client Deployment | ClientDeploy.log |
Client package installation Failures | ComputerConnector.log |
Client backup restore mount driver | BackupDriverInstaller.log |
Client operation for File history Sync | ClientOperator.log |
Main log for client launch pad | LaunchPad.log |
Password synchronization feature in AAD | PasswordSyncClientAlerts.log |
Add-in feature on client | RunTask-Add-in Management.log |
Health evaluation schedule task | RunTask-AlertEvaluation.log |
Client Backup scheduled task | RunTask-ClientComputeBackkup.log |
Connector uninstall cleanup task | RunTask-Connector cleanup.log |
Update health definition file from server to client task | RunTask-HealthDefinitionUpdate.log |
RDP feature for RWA | RunTask-RDP Group Configuration.log |
Client VPN connectivity issues | RunTask-VPN Routes Repair.log |
Client network status update | ServerLocator-<date>.log |
Client deployment API call (Client deployment fails) | Setupapi.dev.log |
Health alert feature | SharedServiceHost-HealthServiceConfig.log
|
Reference – http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2014/09/30/windows-server-essentials-log-files.aspx