.::Dav[e] Tech::.

Squid and NTLM etc..

2009-11-10T12:37:00.000+11:00

Hi all,

I've just implimented a Squid3 proxy @ work today, and used ntlm to authenticate back to the cache to provide reporting and filtering.

One thing i did notice that should be changed on a vista based network or 2008 server based network.. or hell, windows7 for that matter, is that vista does not negotiate ntlm v1 by default, which is what squid3 uses as well as linux on whole.

To get around this, create a GPO policy that modifies the client machines to negotiate to ntlm v1 if v2 isnt available.

Start -> gpedit.msc (run as administrator)
Computer configuration -> Policies->Windows Settings ->Security Settings->Local Policies ->Security Options

Find  "Network Security: LAN MANAGER Authentication Level"
Set it  to "Send LM * NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated"

Cannot deploy template: Number of virtual devices exceeds the maximum for a given controller (VMWare ESX vCenter)

2009-09-24T16:04:00.001+10:00

If you get this error when trying to deploy a virtual machine from a
template, it could be because you have changed the name of the virtual
machine network, ie. from "VM Network" to something else.

To fix it, do the following:

Convert template to virtual machine.
Edit settings of virtual machine.
Choose correct network for template (it probably shows no name)
Convert virtual machine to template
Try to deploy new virtual machine from template to see if it works
correct again.

If you ever get a temporary profile problem

2009-09-22T15:51:00.000+10:00

in windows, when the server cannot find a network path to a roaming
profile, it may start to use a temp folder which it will delete after
the user has logged out.

unfortunately, sometimes that lingeres around in server 2008, so what
you will need to do is goto the following key in regedit

hklm->software->microsoft->profilelist

and delete the sid of the user in question. that will be enough to
reset the sid and get the user back up and running

WSUS 403 forbidden issue

2009-09-08T16:56:00.000+10:00

Hey All,

if you are getting a 403 error when windows clients are attempting to access your local wsus server on 2008 server, it may be due to the fact that during install, the default website was selected as the host for your clients to connect to.

there is nothing wrong with that, unless you have a proxy server setting. if you do, this is where the 403 error comes from.

the way to get around this quite bluntly is to uninstall wsus, reinstall and select to create a new website under the port 8530 - this will work first go, no problems.

also in your wsus GPO, remember that the server name you need to enter is http://hostnameofyourserver.domain.etc:8530

without doing this, your GPO will not work correctly and your clients will also not update!

Quick one! Deploying 2007 office compatibility!

2009-09-07T09:12:00.000+10:00

Who knows why the office 2007 compatibility pack is a .exe file and not just an msi.

funnily enough, it does exist though.

download the fileformatconvertors.exe from microsoft (google it!). during the installation, goto the following path:

C:\Program Files\MSECache\O2007Cnv

inside of this you will notice the installation msi - O12Conv.msi

copy this directory and the associated files to your netlogon folder, create a Group policy object as per normal and you're done.

VCP course.. Woah!

2009-08-31T12:53:00.000+10:00

Just got back from my vsphere 4 vcp course..

wow. fantastic course, and i had to dust away the cob webs in regards to switching etc due to the component about vswitches and port groups.

all in all, vsphere 4 is a great product and now that i know how esx 4 works, i can see why hyper-v will never be able to compete in terms of performance while its unlaying system is 2008 server - its just too big of a kernel.

not trying to start a vmware vs microsoft thread here.. just saying i can see the difference and benefits of both now.

anyway, im going to go off and start studying for the exam now.. o_0

the source of the redhat error - update

2009-08-24T16:16:00.001+10:00

so it seems under further research that after a P2V of any linux machine, a rescue cd and repair install (excuse my windowish) needs to be done on the O/S to avoid that painful "kernel panic" error.

here's the catch for where i work - they dont have the media for RHEL 4 o_0

that means no rescue disk. they also have no login to the red-hat site to re d/l the file. anyone out there on the big wide net able to point me in the right direction here? should i call up redhat, or is there an alternative?

i've also tried an old fedora 2 cd - no dice. couldnt find the redhat operating system. any ideas?

edit: so, what do you do if you do get a rescue cd?

Get an emergency boot CD ISO for your flavor of Linux and boot the new virtual machine from it. Often you can just boot from the installation image and then enter a rescue mode. For example for Redhat, you can type “linux rescue” at the boot prompt and get into recovery mode.
It will search for Linux partitions and should find any you’ve restored to the machine. You’ll have the option to mount these. Do so.
Now, use the chroot command to change the root of the file system to the root partition. Mount any of the other partitions that you need (e.g. /boot).
Run kudzu to find any new devices and get rid of old ones.
Use mkinitrd to create a new init RAM disk. This command should work:
```
/sbin/mkinitrd -v -f /boot/initrd-2.2.12-20.img 2.2.12-20
```
Of course, you’ll have to substitute the right initrdname (look in /boot) and use the right version (look in/lib/modules).

Wow: Cataclysm

2009-08-24T01:09:00.001+10:00

Yes, im a dirty filthy wow player, but i love it. :)

this week i paid for the blizzcon direct stream (online) and it was quite good - you basically got all the blizzcon panels filmed and if you missed something you could go back and watch it again with no problems.

overall, a very painless experience that i would willingly pay $50 again for. it was fair priced, there was a in-game pet insentive as well.

Ozzy performed as well - new guitarist and potentially new drummer as well. they sounded pretty tight, and ozzy looked a lot better than he has since the osbournes, during which he was on medication for a brain disorder(!)

oh yeah.. and there was a minor wow expansion announced. i joke. the amount of content they are fitting the game with is essentially retooling the game and re-releasing it. quite a risky move on an already successful formula, but this is blizzard we are talking about. they havent released a bad game since the lost vikings.

personally, i look forward to /y'ing chuck norris jokes between the newly-split-by-a-giant-earthquake-and-lava barrens.

PS3: fat princess micro review

2009-08-21T00:47:00.002+10:00

in short...

it rocks. quite simply.

$25, online with little lag and a fun interesting game. its a nice change from WoW!

Vmware Fusion + RHEL = :(

2009-08-21T00:37:00.003+10:00

Hey all,

Just spent all day wednesday converting across our physical servers over to vmware vsphere - everything went really well, apart from the linux boxes, but more on that later.

Win2k8 Dc's/dns have also been rolled out across the domain - this was because as we all know, dc's do NOT make good candidates for p2v'ed servers - as a result, new virtuals were created and AD roles migrated across to these servers. a good note here is that if you are doing such a thing, to keep in mind that there arent 3 roles you need to migrate, there are 5 - the two that trick you from the regular 3 found in the ADDS mmc are:

Domain Name Master

Schema Master

DNM can be taken from Domain names and trusts

Schema needs to be taken from the schema mmc plugin, which has to be installed by running schmmgmt.dll from the server you are moving the role from. then goto into mmc & add the "schema" plugin. then right click on the server, move roll.

Please give it at least two full replications before depromoting the old servers - this isnt a service you want to lose in any form.

Anyway, back onto the linux physical servers being converted - what the frell is with the linux support on Vsphere? i attempted to convert RHEL 4 server (no updates.. just vanilla RHEL) - the cold start CD found the operating system and i received a 100% completed job.

Apon starting the new virtual, kernel panics all over the shop. A simple google reveals that you need to run a linux rescue cd and tweek a few things. unfortunately, i couldnt do this as the rescue cd i tried to use (fedora 7, Fedora 2) were unable to find a red hat installation as a result unable to mount /mnt/sysimage.

so i'm still stuck on that server. im thinking that maybe i need the RHEL 4 rescue cd specifically, or disk 1 of the install - any insight into this would be appreciated.

it should also be noted that vsphere does support RHEL 4, and it also warns to use LSI as a SCSI controller rather than the Buslogic coontroller, as the Buslogic requires further drivers with a base O/S of RHEL 4 update 4 installed.

what a week!

it should be noted that next week im also doing the version 4 (vsphere) VCP course - hopefully i can pass on some good tips

Thank the spagetti monster for System Restore

2009-07-28T13:33:00.002+10:00

In a nutshell, windows 7 version of backup and restore just saved me hours of rebuilding a machine. i have to say its come a long way even from vista, and is easily comparable to osx's time machine, which i also use.

i essentially lost my windows partition in my macbook pro today, and in just under an hour, my system was back up and running, including AD authentication back to the corporate domain. im guessing it either uses a ad resync command to resync the computer account password or something similiar. Not sure how much of a security risk that could be if non-domain admin were to attempt that though.

anyway, very cool program and i feel a little safer on windows 7.

Thinking About doing my VCP

2009-07-20T15:36:00.002+10:00

Hi All,

The primary land of my certifications is microsoft based. well more specifically, windows server 2008 based. i have my 640 (networking) and 6425 (AD Design) Certs and am currently working on my SA (645) overall exam to get the MCITP:SA cert.

And then the other day, something dawned on me. My first big project of the year is a ESX 3.5 rollout and virtualization of existing infrastructure. Right now, im designing the network based on general knowledge gained from white papers and an existing knowledge of how virtualization works.

But i think its time for some more official, so i went out and learnt there is a cert called a VCP - im guessing which stands for virtualization certified professional - which teaches how to install configure and diagnose ESX infrastructure 3.5

Has anybody here on this great big web actually done the VCP?

Application of the week: Evernote

2009-07-20T15:33:00.002+10:00

Hey All,

So this is my first official tech post back on blogger, but i thought would let everybody know about an application called Evernote.it's a simple note taking program that can be installed on any x86,x64 O/S and is used for note taking, and includes the usual meta tags etc.

Where this application gets interesting is actually in its mobile apps. For iPhone and Blackberry (!); You can access your notes taken from your pc and actually create new notes, and then view them from the computer.

So in other words, if you take notes inside of this program, you can basically carry it around anywhere, which makes it fantastic for client notes or server notes etc. it is a great proggy

http://www.evernote.com

So go check it out!

Ok So I'm Back on Blogger

2009-07-20T14:46:00.000+10:00

Its been about 2 years as i have been blogging on my iweb blog using my mac, but its time to go back to a non o/s based blog - there have been too many times while at work when i think of something technically good to jot down but im never on my mac partition at work!

and once im home, who wants to write about work?

//So here i am//

quick post: windows vista + vlk editions

2007-12-05T00:59:00.000+11:00

for all you system admins out there wondering why your copy of vista didnt ask for a key:

you need to add the key via my computer->properties -> license and add your vlk key.

as to why this was done, i dont know, but its nicely hidden.

Extending a VMware Disk part II

2007-10-24T12:44:00.000+10:00

so you've extended your virtual "Physical" disk and now what? you have all this empty space.

you need to extend the existing volume to the new one.

there are serveral partitioning programs out there such as Gparted that work (ensure you have version 3.1.1 as newer versions dont load vmware images. who broke this?), but mirosoft (if using a windows server) also have a solution already prebuild.

its called diskpart.exe, and it may be your new best friend.

basically, open up a command prompt and do the following

At a command prompt, type diskpart.exe.
2.	Type list volume to display the existing volumes on the computer.
3.	Type Select volume `volume number` where `volume number` is number of the volume that you want to extend.
4.	Type extend [size=n] [disk=n] [noerr] . The following describes the parameters: size=n The space, in megabytes (MB), to add to the current partition. If you do not specify a size, the disk is extended to take up all of the next contiguous unallocated space. disk=n The dynamic disk on which to extend the volume. Space equal to size=n is allocated on the disk. If no disk is specified, the volume is extended on the current disk. noerr For scripting only. When an error is thrown, this parameter specifies that Diskpart continue to process commands as if the error did not occur. Without the noerr parameter, an error causes Diskpart to quit with an error code.
5.	Type exit to quit Diskpart.exe.

this is from the kb article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/325590 , but i have used it and it DOES work.

the only time this will not work is if the volume you are trying to extend contains the pagefile.sys file. if it contains this file, it wont allow you to extend the volume.

Vmware Server - How to grow a existing disk (solution!)

2007-10-19T13:51:00.000+10:00

hey all,

i came across a solution for a problem that is becoming more and more common. virtual disks in vmware.. how the hell do you expand a existing disk?

the solution, is quite easy.

open up command prompt and navigate to your vmware workstation or server directory. from there run the command

vmware-vdiskmanager -x 20Gb

where -x specifies a resize, and 20gb is an example size, followed by
d:\VM Folder\vmdiskfile.vmdk

so a full path will look like

"
C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmware-vdiskmanager -x 20Gb "d:\VM Folder\vmdiskfile.vmdk"


it doesnt take long either!

also note a vmware defrag might be a good idea before you do this for the obvious reasons.

Mobile Carrier change.. time for a new mobile.

2007-09-29T18:16:00.000+10:00

hey all,

not quite sure how many people read this blog let alone gain anything from it, but regardless i will continue!

my mobile contract is up next month and its time to move on from the sony ericsson k750i and its disaster of a control scheme, and also a time to move away from optus and one of their first cap plans (it was a $79 cap, for $450 worth of calls, ex gst. no sms included, no 1300 1800 numbers included.. internet was extra.. great hey)

so i gave optus a call to find out how much it would be to change carrier etc.. it's $8 for a cancellation, but they credit you back for the next month. given the service i was provided from the accounts department, i thought i would see if i could stick to optus.

my goal was simple. a good techy phone, on a cap that will give me a realistic amount of $300 of calls... and data. now data in australia is pretty bad rate wise from what i hear, compared to the asian countries or even europe.

first of all, i knew to dodge telstra like a hot coal. i have worked for a IT company under the telstra organization and the only time their plans even came close to a smaller provider like vodaphone or 3 was when it was on a staff discount plan, and even then it was still more expensive.

i've been happy with optus and their service for the entire duration of my old plan, so i thought i would give them a go. and this is where it got interesting.

i want a pda. i've seen the nokia n95 and yes while it has some nice features, it is not a smart phone and imo the symbian O/S still has a long way to go. i'm avoid Sony Ericcson like the plague, as their joystick scheme has f**ked up my navigation on my mobile for about a year and there is no way i am becoming dependant on a bad scheme again. so i decided to go down the dopod/htc path, and two phones have struck me. optus have the HTC touch, the "competitor" to the iphone, aparently. great!

...

and then i looked harder. only available for their business plans.

strike.one.

not to worry.. lets go with it anyway and see how much it is a month.. $50 extra ontop of whatever plan, even though i could go on ebay and buy one for $550 outright unlocked. fuck that.

ok lets look at the optus plans i said to myself. same deal as before, except sms etc is all included now (thank god). their flagfall seems the same as it was, i think it was like 35c per call and then 30c after. not too bad, so i took it into concideration.

now if you've been reading this from the start you know i wanted data. 3G data from optus is $12 base for 5 meg... $2 a meg.

ok.. time to look elsewhere.

so i've tried 3. ok.. $49 cap, $300 worth of everything excluding data. sounds good. cheaper flagfall of 25c and 20c after that. so its already cheaper..

i had a gander at the phones, and it is a smaller more exclusive list. the htc p3600i is the best htc they have, no touch, which is a shame, but the p3600i still gets some good reviews from cnet asia etc, so i'll go with it.

now this is where it gets interesting. for $12 on top of those things, i get 100mb (!) of data.

so a smaller provider, is actually providing a much cheaper service. it gets me a little skeptical but reading up on their websites, 3 seem to have a pretty good range in victoria and a pretty decent speed, which was upto telstra's 3g network as of this month (but i know for a fact telstra today announced the new 6mb down/1.3 mb up 3g speed for telstra users)

so in summary, it seems i am going to be going to 3 from optus, just because of the data plan. i dont really understand how a smaller carrier can have such a cheaper rate than a multi-country company.

my plan ends next month, once i have the phone i'll do a review of it and also WM6. hopefully it is better than the abomination that names itself WM5.

i have had nothing but trouble with WM5 as a system administrator. hopefully wm6 is a lot better..

and my next question is.. should i wait for an iPhone, being a mac user at home?

well, the mac user side of my brain says i should for compatability and usability reason.

the techy side of my brain, which has exposure to windows, linux and mac.. says no. why?

3rd party apps have been blocked by apple. for me, who would love to ssh into his web server and administer it on a day off instead of having to come into the office, this is the breaking point.

if the iPhone wasnt as locked down as it has been, i would definately have waited.

maybe gen2, hey?

Windows Sharepoint WSS Log error!

2007-08-07T12:07:00.000+10:00

So aparently Hotfix "http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3BEN-US%3B841216" from microsoft tells us that a upgrade from sharepoint 2 to sharepoint 3 will lead to this error.

but there is something else you also need to concider when getting these errors:

Exception from HRESULT: 0x80040E14
Operation aborted (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80004004 (E_ABORT)

Before even getting into Command line like microsoft recommend, have you tried checking disk space and whether the allocated space to your transcation logs in mssql have been cleared? if not, i would suggest doing it, as this is much easer than the fix microsoft recommends.

to do this, open up Mssql's admin console, goto the database, right click, shrink and choose files. choose the log file, ensure you have enough space to shrink it, and click ok.

so what happens if you dont have enough space? well first, check you have up-to-date backups. from there. if you do, go into the properties of the database and change the type of logs from "Full" to "basic". Now go back and shrink the log file again. this will reduce the file greatly. if you depend on mssql log files to backup your data as opposed to 3rd party products like backup exec or livestate system recovery, you should go back to the log file options and set it back to full.

while there is a lot of text explaining what to do, essentially all you are doing is turning the logs into a format that allows for removal of data, clearing up the space and setting it back.

Hope that helps, there wasnt anywhere enough info about it on the internet that wasnt bloated!

Virtual Server 2005 R2 - Directories ?

2007-01-19T10:44:00.000+11:00

One question i have trouble finding answers to are "what directories does virtual server actually use?", and after much looking i seem to have found the answer!

Virtual server uses the default installation directory (obviously!) but also does a few other... 'interesting' things that arent exactly conventional.

For example, when you create a guest operating system, it creates a save state file which will always be the same size as your ram specified in the same directory as your configuraton file (.vmc) which can cause problems if your tight for hard disk space.

Another thing is it seems to save the actual host network files(.vnc) under rootdrive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Shared Virtual Networks

rootdrive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Virtual Server is also another directory where crash logs, options, licensing etc is all kept.

There are too many files to just go over, and to be honest i am not aware what they all do, but they essentially are all under all users\app data\microsoft\ .

there is no way to change this part, either. yes there are custom places for your virtual machines to go, but no way of keeping this all together.

in summary, this structure is fine, but if something occurs where you need to start over, its nice to know where these files are so we can delete them.

Technical Stuff

2006-08-28T16:58:00.000+10:00

Hi all and welcome to my first Blog (well.. technical blog)

i wanted to create my own hosted blog, and i will do that eventually, but for now this site will suffice

i primarily use a mac at home, but have experience with linux and also quite a bit with windows. i work as a systems administrator for a company that remotely (via RDP ) deals with client networks.

i come across some weird stuff, and thought this would be a good place to keep it all. if it helps you out, great, if it doesnt, then feel free to contact me and correct me.

anyway, enjoy the read.