Powershell

Oct 21 2009   1:20PM GMT

Microsoft IT professional resource - RunAs Radio

Posted by: Troy Tate
Microsoft, podcast, webcast, Powershell, sql, dba, Development, IIS, AD, Active Directory, education, IT education, virtual machines, Virtualization, SharePoint

I just came across an excellent resource for IT professionals working with Microsoft products. It is called RunAs Radio. There are weekly podcasts about topics of interest to those of us who support Microsoft products. The podcasts are in multiple formats such as mp3, wma & AAC (iPod). I was particularly interested in the presentations on performance management. There are several presentations on this one topic. Some sample topics include:

Clint Huffman Analyzes PerfMon Logs! Mr. Huffman is the creator of the Performance Analysis of Logs tool found at Codeplex. I have found this tool very useful in tracking down server issues to show folks “it’s not the network!”

Shane Creamer Goes Deep on Performance Monitor! This is a very interesting presentation. There is a link to the video presentation portion and another link to the various audio formats. The video presentation has a very long gap in audio at the beginning (almost 12 minutes). This is because the video portion is only capturing the presenter’s audio portion and not the commentators’. You really should download both audio and video to get the full impact of the presentation.

Steven Choy Measures Server Performance!

Other topics that might be of interest includes SQL, Active Directory, IIS, cloud (Azure), Powershell, virtualization, SharePoint, information security, and many other Microsoft-centric technologies. I have subscribed to the RSS feed so I can keep up with new presentations as they are released. If you run any Microsoft technologies, or you just want to learn about some recommended best practices, then check out this resource. There might be something here that will help you “save the day”.

Thanks for reading and let’s continue to be good network citizens!

Mar 26 2009   7:38PM GMT

Do You Manage Sharepoint and want training? - Free Microsoft How-to Videos

Posted by: Troy Tate
SharePoint, technet, training, videos, how-to, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Powershell, Powershell, scripting, podcast, free training, training resources

It’s always nice to come across free training, especially in the economic times most companies are experiencing today. It is also good to be able to do some self-education to better prepare yourself for whatever may lie ahead in your career.

Microsoft offers lots of training materials. I previously wrote about a couple of them

Did you see this? - FREE TRAINING: Technet Virtual Lab: Managing Bandwidth Using Windows QOS

Did you see this? - 10 Cool Powershell scripts virtual lab

I just came across another Microsoft training resource that covers Microsoft SharePoint. Take a look at the SharePoint Products and Technologies “How Do I?” Videos. Maybe you can find the solution to that problem that has been nagging you or your users or do something nifty and cool and impress the users! You can download the videos in lots of different formats including WMV, iPod, and MP4.

Thanks for reading & let’s continue to be good network citizens.

Feb 3 2009   7:41PM GMT

Will Microsoft ever get search right?

Posted by: Troy Tate
Microsoft, Google, search, Live search, Microsoft Live, documentation, Powershell

I am looking for some documentation on Powershell to better understand how to use it. Per Wikipedia: Windows PowerShell is an extensible command-line shell and associated scripting language from Microsoft. So, I went to the Microsoft.com home page at www.microsoft.com. I typed powershell into the Search field at the very top of the page. I clicked the magnifying glass… waited a few seconds… and NOTHING was returned! So, I clicked on the Live Search option and 39,500 results were returned. So, now when I go to the main Microsoft page and then enter powershell into the same search term field as before and press Enter, the Live search results get returned - filtered for Microsoft.com only. It seems like my Live search excursion “woke up” the main Microsoft website search into knowing some powershell content does exist at Microsoft.com

I have often been frustrated in the past when searching Microsoft support using the exact error or event code from a Microsoft system or application log and nothing gets returned. It just seems like Microsoft is still missing the boat when it comes to search.

So, I guess I will continue to Google for Microsoft support information until I can see that Microsoft is better able to search their own website from their homepage.

Thanks for reading & let’s be good network citizens out there!

Dec 3 2008   8:58PM GMT

Did you see this? - Windows Powershell Scriptomatic tool

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, tools, Microsoft Windows, reporting, Microsoft, Powershell, policy enforcement, toolkit

A new utility that writes Windows PowerShell scripts that harness the power of WMI (Windows Instrumentation Management) for use in system management and administration. This tool was created by Microsoft consultant and author Ed Wilson.

 

Windows PowerShell Scriptomatic

Aug 20 2008   6:19PM GMT

Did you see this? - Need some Exchange advice/support

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, tools, Microsoft Windows, web, CIO, DataCenter, DataManagement, WWW, CA, spam, certificate authority, digital signatures, email, RSS, wiki, Exchange 2007, Outlook Web Access, Policy, Exchange, design, OWA, website, anti-virus, Performance, Powershell, howto, policy enforcement, awareness, blog, toolkit

Maybe you have already read my post about implementing new Exchange 2007 mailboxes for over 2000 users. If not… look here. So, as you see from this event, ongoing support for these global users on a new messaging system is going to be a real challenge.

I found a great blog posting with links to some excellent Exchange resources. Keep this in your toolkit for those times you just can’t find the answer elsewhere to those nagging Exchange problems. I see lots of other IT people struggling with this system and looking for support here at IT KnowledgeExchange.

Some other Exchange resources I recommend are:

Microsoft Exchange Server Resource Site

E-mail archiving

Seven ways to organize your e-mail

MessagingTalk.org - Portal for Microsoft Exchange Messaging & Collaboration

Thanks for your time. Let’s be good network citizens together & practice safe networking!

Jul 25 2008   12:41PM GMT

2000 users - new mailboxes - one weekend - DONE!

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, Networking, tools, Microsoft Windows, internet, CIO, DataCenter, DataManagement, CA, antivirus, certificate authority, digital signatures, email, Exchange 2007, Outlook Web Access, Exchange, design, OWA, Microsoft, troubleshooting, Powershell

Well, we did it! We implemented new mailboxes on Microsoft Exchange 2007 for over 2000 users in one weekend. Of course it took lots of planning, testing and blood, sweat, tears during the process, but we are now on one e-mail platform where there were at least 5 before. We had more domains than we needed and now the company is on one domain. We had to plan and provide for inbound messages still to the old domains.

The implementation was not without a couple of minor glitches and learning how users use the application. One glitch was a mistyped IP address. This prevented e-mail flow for a short period of time, however that is not a huge issue since SMTP servers will continue to retry sending messages. Another issue that was encountered was administrative rights to “shared” mailboxes like customer service or supply buyers.  This has now been resolved and users are getting full use from the system.

We still have some work to be done on things like:

• proactive system monitoring to detect issues before the users do;
• alternatives to sending large attachments (our attachment limit is 15MB);
• running Outlook Anywhere so a mobile user can attach to their mailbox without having to use VPN;
• supporting mobile devices like smartphones (our focus is on Windows Mobile v6 and up);
• user certificates using private PKI to allow for digital signatures and encryption.

So, as you see, work in IT never finishes… it just continues to grow as more services and systems are implemented and change happens. Please feel free to leave a comment if you would like more information about our implementation process and decisions we made along the way.

Thanks for your time. Let’s be good network citizens together & practice safe networking!

Jun 18 2008   7:25PM GMT

Did you see this? - 10 Cool Powershell scripts virtual lab

Posted by: Troy Tate
administration, Networking, Security, tools, Microsoft Windows, Development, reporting, DataCenter, DataManagement, Exchange, Microsoft, troubleshooting, Powershell, howto, policy enforcement

Microsoft has some great virtual labs which can give an administrator some quick education over a lunch hour or a short period of time. One of these virtual labs is the 10 Cool Powershell Scripts lab. If you have not started with Powershell, then this may help you get moving in the same direction that Microsoft is moving… back to the command line!

Enjoy & keep your skills fresh.