Great Admin Book

I have been reading a book the past couple of days called The Practice of System and Network Administration by Thomas A. Limoncelli, Christina J. Hogan and Strata R. Chalup that I really want to recommend to any new system or network administrator. I have really felt like I am all alone out there a lot over the past year and a half that I have been a new admin, and I wish I had this book a year ago. It looks to be a top level, yet very practical step-by-step guide on how to get your IT Department (no matter how big or small) into to shape. It also focuses on those areas which are important no matter what your industry. I really can't recommend this book highly enough. I got it for the move I am planning, but I already see that it will help in many other areas as well.

Desktop Support - Linking Contacts in Office 2007

When working for a small company, I am finding that it is often necessary for me to be the desktop support technician as well as the backup gal, server dudette, and network wirer. I guess this is perfect for me, since I have always been more of a jack of all trades, master of none type of person anyway. I can also usually track down the answer to any question, if given enough time and resources (usually 2 minutes and Google).

That is what it took to find the answer to the question for today. I had a user ask me today how to link contacts in Office 2007. He said he had done it in the older version, but could not find any information on how to do in 2007. I personally have never linked contacts, so I had no idea what he was talking about, but as he seemed quite distressed, I jumped on Google to see what I could find. Thankfully, this article by Jennifer Kershaw was just what I needed to be the hero today.

Here is the quick rundown; Open Outlook 2007, go to Tools --> Options --> Contact Options --> check the box next to "Show Contact Linkin gon all Forms" and wallah! Now each contact has a box at the bottom right allowing you to link contacts to other contacts in your list.

Exchange Trouble Leads to Learning

Why is it that I always learn best by fire? Why can't I sit down with a tech book and read about issues, problems and tools BEFORE I have a fire to put out? Oh well, I don't. I usually only learn tech tricks by having to put out fires on the job. This was the case last week when our main Exchange server stopped sending mail and started to hold all the messages in the queues.
I had not had to track anything in the queues before this, so looking at and using the Message Tracking Center Tool was new to me. I found some useful information on how to do this at two sites; Computer Performance and Amset.info.
But for quick information on how to get to your queues, what you should see, and some quick troubleshooting tips I recommend these sites to get you started. And by all means, check out you queues, see how messages normally flow so that when you do have a problem you will know how things should work and may just be able to quickly resolve your trouble.

Backup Exec 9 and Exchange 2003

So I had a bit of a panic attack over the weekend after our VP of IT called Friday to ask me to send him over a copy of our backup procedure. I had the procedure ready (in my head at least, just needed to put it to keyboard and paper) but I also realized that in our backup of our Exchange server, we were not doing mailbox backups.

We use Backup Exec version 9, and we are backing up the drives and the Information Store and the Shadow copy Components, but not the mailboxes and public folders. So, I started worrying and reading as frantically as I could. What I found after reading quite a bit and trying (and failing) some test backups was that I didn't need to backup the mailboxes.

According to the Help, "mailboxes and public folders are already included in the Exchange server database backups, but if you want to make the restore of a mailbox or folder easier, you can also select one or more mailboxes or public folders for backup seperately from the database." Now, ideally, I do want to backup the mailboxes seperate. However, until I get that figured out, I am still backing up the data and can restore it in the event of a failure.

Now, back to getting the account setup correctly so I can backup the mailboxes individually. . .more on that later.

Earth Day - Use Your Computer to Help Others

It is earth day, and I am sure there will be plenty of blogs and companies out there who will focus on how to reduce our carbon footprint, save energy and the like. So I thought I would be a little different today.

I am suggesting that all you geeks out there put your computer and your large brain to work and actually help our fellow man. You can do this by actually having some fun yourself and improving your vocabulary. Yes, in addition to feeling good about yourself for helping someone else, you are also helping yourself.

Go on over to FreeRice and fill up as many bowls as you can by guessing. . .I mean choosing the correct word. If you find that you have been extra blessed this year, or just have some spare money sitting around, give sponsorship a try.

There are many people throughout the world who exist on a bowl of rice a day. Take this even further and try this for a week yourself.

Symantec System Center Console

Pushing NAV to client PCs

I don't have to go into SSCC too often, and I tend to forget from time to time exactly how to push the client software to new computes, so I thought I would document it here and then if it helps someone else, well great.

After opening SSCC and unlocking my server group, I need to choose my server from the left hand pane. Once I have done that, I go up to Tools -> ClientRemote Install and accept the default option for the Location, then in the next box, I need to choose the PC names from the left box and move them to the right box. Once I have picked all the new PCs, I can click on the Finish button and NAV will install on the PCs that I chose.

The next step is to figure out how to add computers that aren't on the list. . .

Treo 680 with Exchange E-mail

I had to setup my first Treo 680's today for a couple of our new sales guys. It wasn't too difficult, but the instructions I was given by our AD Admin were a bit off so I wanted to document the steps here for the next time I need to setup these up.

1. Install the SIM and batter and charge the battery.

2. Call the support number to initiate the phone number.

3. Install the Palm Software (via a disk in the box) on the user's desktop.

5. Connect the device to the desktop.

6. Setup e-mail by going to Mail, Menu, choose Microsoft Activsync from the provider drop down and continue filling in the information as you get it from your e-mail administrator.

Hard Drive Fun & Vista Service Pack 1

Hard Drive Fun

I read an article today over at TechRepublic about how to build and configure an external hard drive enclosure that was really well done.

Greg Shultz not only goes through how to set one up, but he also explains how to properly set the jumpers on the drive, and what the different settings mean. I enjoyed this article quite a bit, and thought that the information was pesented in a way that was very easy to understand. I will be purchasing one of these for myself.

Vista Service Pack 1

I am installing it right this minute for the first time, so I will post updates here as I go today. Hopefully this SP will fix all my issues with Vista (yeah right, and monkeys may fly out of my butt today).

Ok, here is the update, it took me about an hour to update my PC early in the morning. It went smoothly and I had no download or update problems.

I have not seen any improvements or changes, other than now everytime I remotely connect to my servers at work I get a security message. Nothing seems faster, it still takes MINUTES to open my network connections, and basically all annoyances are still present.

I will be installing spk 1 on my laptop today, that may be a better indicator, as I use it much more often than I do my desktop.

iPhones and Exchange

It only took a few days to find what I needed to know about Exchange and the iPhone. I guess in all fairness, I was not looking super hard, but still it seems like it was hard to find information about this.

Anyway, it seems that ActiveSync will not be available until June for the iPhone. That is not a big deal to me, I have a Blackberry. But, for our graphics guy here who just got his cool new iPhone, it is a bit disappointing to have to wait so long just to check his work email account.

According to a blog by Peter Cohen over at Macworld ActiveSync, which is software that is used by Exchange to push email to mobile devices, will be released in June during a major software update. We are already using ActiveSync here to push e-mail content to our Treo users, so I know this will work, but JUNE? Wow. I wish I would have known this when my user first came to me asking about whether or not he should get an iPhone. Again, sure they are cool and all, but come on, if I am paying that much for a "smartphone" it darn well better be smart enough to deliver my mail.

Ah well, June it is.

Nice 70-290 Study Tool - FREE

I was looking at some recommended Windows links over at Networkworld and happend upon these very nice flash cards.

Powered By ProProfs - Create Quizzes or Flashcards

Enjoy!

It Begins - I am supporting an Iphone

What a week. I have my first Iphone inhouse, and it has been a pain trying to setup the little buggar to access our Exchange E-Mail.

According to an article I found on Apple's site, you need to do the following:

Open port 993
Installl a digital certificate
Open port 587, 465, or 25

No problem, sounds easy, right? WRONG. Our network guys refuse to do the first one, assuring me that I should be able to use ActiveSync. Of course, ActiveSync isn't available yet for the Iphone really, but when it is, this should all work quite nicely.

What a pain!! I am still searching to make sure I haven't missed something. . .but for now. . .I have told my user he is out of luck, but I just hate that answer.

Quick Recommendation - Video Cast

I stumbled upon a video cast that is pretty good, and certainly helpful for anyone studying for the 70-290 test.

I personally am starting with the older versions of the ITIdiots show, but the newer ones may be more applicable to those who are on the cuttting edge of Microsoft Server technology. These guys have some well done videos, their content is free and easily subscribed to, and the cute accents don't hurt the entertainment value either.

The videocast won't be able to replace your training videos, but it is a nice supplement to them. If you have found some really great free resources, or you have some of your own, let me know.

Exchange Note to Self - Contacts

I came across a new thing today in our OU and I wanted to document both what I found and how I changed our settings. I came across a few contacts, where all other listings are Users or Groups.

We had three "contacts" setup in our list of users who have email accounts outside of our mail system. As far as I could tell, they had no account or email with us, but they were members of two internal distribution groups. The only options I have with these contacts is to add to a group, move, delete email addresses, open home page or send mail.

My boss asked me to delete these accounts today and forward the mail to him. I couldn't forward their mail, as it existed off our server, and I couldn't disable the contacts as far as I could tell either, not did I really want to do this. Instead, I simply removed the two group memeberships from these accounts. Which actually achieved his goal, they will no longer get mail from us.

Vista System Tray Trick

If you were looking for an awe inspiring article or some super helpful tips on how to run your network, I am afraid I am about to disappoint. But I have said from the first day I posted here that I would be putting tips up that I wanted to remember, and so that is what I am doing today.

Greg Shultz, a regular author over at the Microsoft Windows Blog on TechRepublic, posted a Windows tip for XP yesterday, so I thought I would post the Vista version of putting personalized text (only up to 12 characters) in the time area of your system tray.

1. Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options2. From the Formats tab, chose the box at the bottom right labled "Customized this format."

3. Choose the Time tab from the box that pops up.

4. In the "AM symbol" and "PM symbol" you can add any text you want.

5. Apply your changes and ok your way out.

Group Policy Resources

I don't use Group Policy a lot here. I am only one admin in a much larger group, but I do need to know a bit about Group Policy for the MCSE tests. That is why, when I got an email from Windows IT Pro that they were hosting a web seminar on "How To Implement an Effective Change Management Strategy for Group Policy" I signed up.

The web seminar was ok, and I always enjoy hearing and seeing presentations instead of having to read yet another article or book. I think though, that the best thing I got out of the seminar was a link to one of the speakers websites, which I had not heard of before.

Jeremy Moskowitz has written a book or two on Group Policy, and comes recommended by another favorite Microsoft author of mine, Mark Minasi. He has a decent website called GPanswers.com with a newsletter which I just signed up for.

If Group Policy is something that you use and need help with, I recommend Jeremy's site as a good starting place, that is, of course, once you have finished reading all you can on Microsoft's site.

Wireless Networking Standards

I have to setup a wireless router here and wanted to do some reading while I wait for my items to arrive.

I found a decent beginners article on the TigerDirect Site that has some pretty good information, includging a nice breakdown of the differences between the four standard protocols; 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n.

802.11a - Bandwidth up to 54 Mbps
Due to a higher frequency range, this standard may not have as much distance as other options. Was created about the same time as 802.11b

802.11b - Bandwidth up to 11 Mbps
Uses the 2.4GHz radio signal, which is common for other devices such as microwaves and wireless phones, so it may have trouble with interference from other devices.

802.11g - Bandwidth up to 54 Mbps
Uses the 2.4GHz frequency, but supports more users and has a greater signal strength.

802.11n - Bandwidth up to 300 Mbps
Uses the 2.4GHz frequency, and supports more users than 802.11g and has the best signal strength of the 4 options.

It is also important to note that 802.11g and 802.11n are backward compatible with 802.11b.

How to Recycle Old Computer Parts

Each company I have worked for has had the same problem with inventory, what to do with old electronic equipment when you no longer need it. I have been allowed to take home many old computers and parts, but there is usually still a surplus even after the scavengers have picked away at the piles. So what is an overcrowded tech to do with all the leftovers?

I was recently contacted by an organization that will take just about anything, and try to refurbish it for schools. Refurbish? Recycle? That sounds great, but I was guessing that it would take a lot of work or lots of telephone calls or be a hassle somehow, right? No! This company is easy to use, easy to contact, and a pleasure to work with. We even got a note about a month after our first donation telling us where our old parts had gone and what they were doing now.

If you are in the Chicago area you too can use PCS for Schools. If not, check out their website for other locations and companies like them in other cities.

Blackberry Outage - AGAIN

It seems yesterday was another tough day for RIM, and a tough day for those of us who support these horrible little devices as well. As many of you must know by now, yesterday at roughly 3:30 pm most Blackberry customers were without service for several hours.

Now, I don't know about you, but this meant many calls from upset customers for me. And as a tech, there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to help folks who rely on you. This is the second time in about 10 months when I have been scrambling for answers to the question "why did my Blackberry stop delivering e-mail?"

I was already thinking of encouraging our users off the Blackberry, now I expect I will be a bit more animated about it. There are too many other devices out there now that do a much better job, have more features, and are just cooler technology. The iPhone comes to mind, but there are plenty of other gadgets out there that are better than the Blackberry, and seem to have less problems at this point.

For a really good review of some of the top Smartphones check this site out.

Still Studying . . .

Well, still studying for the 70-290 test and getting more and more frustrated. I am now reading my second book, it is a Syngress Book and I am absolutely amazed at how much more information is in this book than is in the Microsoft Press book.

I guess reading multiple books though is the norm, based on the feedback that I see on Amazon's site for this book and others. Since I am fairly new to Windows Server 2003 I guess it only makes sense that I will have to read multiple books.

If anyone has any books that they recommend please let me know.

Deleting an Exchange Mailbox

I was asked today to delete the mailbox for a user who has recently left the company. Having never deleted a mailbox before, I thought it best to at least read up on it first before jumping right in and hitting the delete key.

A quick search brought me to a site I have used in the past to help with Exchange questions that I have had. Armed with instructions and pictures I was able to quickly delete the users mailbox.

We often have to change passwords around here, so I am very familiar with the ADUC (Active Directory Users and Computers) MMC, so that is how I accessed the Exchange delete tool. Please note that what follows is a very quick fly-by for my own record keeping. If you are going to delete anything from your Exchange environment, please do your homework. Read books, check out Microsoft's Exchange Support Pages, and by all means, talk to someone else who has been doing Exchange Administration for a while.

What I did after finding my user in the OU was to right click on the username, from that menu I chose "Exchange Tasks", from the pop-up menu choose Delete Mailbox and follow the prompts. It was that simple.

And, just in case you do this all by mistake, there are instructions on the post above as well as additional links for recovering deleted mailboxes.

Burn an Autorun CD

Most people probably know how to create an autostart CD, but just in case someone doesn't know, or just in case I need to do this away from my work PC, I am putting the basics down with links that I need/use.

I like to create all of my CDs using a great little tool called UltraISO. I didn't get free CD creating software with my laptop, and I know this program already, so it is what I use. You can use whatever software you want to setup your files for burning. I have used Nero in the past with some success, but I like this program a bit better.

Once you have all of your files ready to burn, you will need to add a couple of files, including WinOpen. You can get a copy of these files plus better instructions than I have included here on the Duckware site. There lots of options with this program, so check the website for all you can do with this.

Hamachi Instant VPN

Ever since hearing about this great little tool from Steve Gibson's Security Now! podcasts I have gotten a ton of use out of Hamachi.

I needed to access my desktop from outside our NAT at my last job. I needed to let an Exchange consultant into our server here for a one time fix. I needed to change a setting on my backup job here on a server, but I was at home. I wanted to check my email from an insecure wireless access point in a public location.

There are times when you need a VPN solution that is not over complex or expensive, like the instances mentioned above. I have found that in these times, Hamachi does everything that I need it to do.

If you are new to VPN entirely, I recommend this site to help you get your head around the idea. If you know what a VPN is and you know you need one, give Hamachi a try. It is easy to install, very easy to use, and best of all, it is free for personal use.

Also, I highly recommend a subscription to Steve Gibson's Security Now podcast for anyone new to computer support who needs to get up to speed on all things security related.

Mac Inventory Software - iInventory v7.4

We need to be able to tell what software programs, and specifically which versions of programs, are installed on all of our Mac desktops and laptops, but the boss didn't want to purchase anything. So, here I am searching form something that will do the trick quickly and for free.

I found a program that I like, iInventory v7.4, but I will need to do some testing before the jury is in with their final decision. I am installing the client on two Macs right now. My two test systems are a brand new MacPro and a PowerMac, and so far so good.

I was able to create an agent to install on both systems, and was able to run and then import all of the information. The agent builder is easy to use, and the software itself is pretty intuitive. The software has a network scanning feature and says it is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux which does indeed seem to be the case. The program comes with some canned reports, but they are very basic and I will need to create custom reports after I clean the data up a bit.

Overall, great tool for free, and I have the option to upgrade to a paid version if I need/want to.

Best Christmas Gift Yet

Of all the gifts I got for Christmas, I have to say that my favorite may just be the one that wasn't on my list.

We got a Tomtom One for Christmas from my DH's company, and I use it all the time now. I'll admit, when it comes to directions, I am not the best. In fact, I usually can't find my way home from a new location without a call to DH asking for help.

Imagine his joy at my getting this gift. Now, I simply put in the destination and the Tomtom One tells me exactly how to get home and even allows me to chose alternate routes if there is a street I want or need to avoid. Not only that, she will also tell me where all the Dunkin Donut shops are along the way. Now that is awesome.

As a busy mom with active kids, this is the perfect toy to have. I can put in all the locations of the football games, swim meets, mathlete competitions, band events and college visits and get there without having to google a location, printing a map and then trying to read a map while I drive, drink coffee and try not to hit anyone. Now I mount the Tomtom One on the windshield enter the address and go.

The Tomtom One comes with 4 voices by default, but more can be downloaded. We opted for a very nice British woman's voice, very James Bondish.

Free AV Tool - avast!

I needed AntiVirus (AV) for my new laptop, and since I hate Norton, I quickly uninstalled the free trial version that came pre-installed on my laptop and decided to give avast! a look.

I had read reviews and noticed that it had received several awards, and a quick look at their website indicated that I could use avast! 4 Home Edition free of charge. I quickly installed it, accepted the defaults, and have been happy ever since.

It has a very easy to use interface and works pretty well in the background without being too intrusive. The Home Edition comes with the following features: simple user interface, resident protection, P2P and IM shileds, network shield, web shield, automatice updates, integrated virus cleaner, and support for 64-bit windows.

I highly recommend this product if you are looking for a free tool to use on your home PC.

Basic Networking Helps

I have not had much opportunity to do much physical networking other than connecting to them in Windows, so I am trying to catch up and figured I may as well start at the beginning. For that reason, I have been reading the Ciscopress book CCNA ICND1 (yes, I do hope to someday become CCNA certified).

In the book, they recommend a website that I have just been looking through, which seems like a great place for beginners to start. The website is LearnTCPIP.com and it has video/powerpoint presentations on TCP/IP, Subnetting and some other beginner networking tutorials. Don't get me wrong, this is very basic information, but it does explain it well. I wish I had known of this site when I first started out.

Another site that I have found to be very useful is the Petri IT Knowledgebase. There is a wealth of information here, and my favorite post, and honestly one of the most useful for gaging how I am doing on learning all I need to know is this series on Interview Questions.

I Want One

I am a pretty hard core PC user. I have dabbled with Macs in my different jobs, but really only put hands on them when I have to fix a problem. However, with the introduction of their new Mac Pro, I just may have to change all that.

A collegue pointed out this blog post over at ZDNet, so I had to check it out. It is true, Apple has released the "Fastest Mac Ever."
This new Mac Pro has 8 processor cores. Yes, that is correct, I said 8 processors. And as if that is not enough, it can also house up to 4TB of INTERNAL storage, and oh yeah, 32GB of RAM. Evan if I combined all the desktop computers in my house (and actually that is a few computers and parts) I don't have that kind of power.

Now, the price is still a bit high for me to justify buying as my personal laptop, but given the fact that this beauty is a portable server, the price doesn't suck.

Yep, I am in love.

Facebook Widget Troubles

It seems Facebook is the latest toy that hackers are using to spread adware and malicious code.

According to an article posted yesterday at NetworkWorld, there is a widget called "Secret Crush" that you can add to your Facebook account. Just like most widgets, in order to use it you have to forward it on to some of your friends and encourage them to use it as well. After forwarding it on, it is supposed to tell you your secret crush.

The article says that the widget doesn't work and never does tell you about a secret crush. Instead, you are rewarded with spyware software that sends you ads.

One more way for my kids to wreak havoc on my home network. . .wooo hooo.

There are days in this IT life that I hate. Like days where I spend 8 hours or more trying everything I can think of or read about to get a hard drive to boot, only to have it boot once and mock me the other 7 1/2 hours.

There are days like today though, when the simple task of running and terminating cat6 cable is enough busywork to keep me happy.

In truth, neither my previous Help Desk position or my Lab Manager job required that I lay cable, so I have never had the simple pleasure of runnig wire and creating wall jacks (keystone jacks). So I did actually learn something today. I found lots of very helpful information at the Lanshack site, so I highly recommend you go there to start. The information listed below will probably not be helpful on its own.

Here is how you terminate a cat6 cable with a Keystone jack:

1. Strip back some of the protective coating from your cat6 cable. (As shown to the right)

2. Untwist your paired wires so you have 8 individual wires.

3. Lay out your cables so they match the picture of either the 568-A or 568-B standard that should be somewhere on your jack or patch panel. We used the Cat6 Keystone Jacks from CablesToGo and they were great to work with (shown above). My husband swears by the cheapies they sell at Menards here in Chicago though, and I will admit they look nicer, but are harder to read.

4. Using a punchdown tool or a screwdriver, push the wire all the way down to the bottom of the jack. We bought a cheap punchdown tool that made this job a breeze ($14 from Newegg.com
).

5. Trim the ends of you wires if you didn't use a punchdown tool.

6. Place the plastic protective cover on the jack.

7. Mount your keystone jack in a wall mount of you choosing.

Fun with E-cards

So today was mostly about moving wires and jacks around for an office move that has to happen today, and other than getting to punch down a couple of jacks for the first time (phone and network), I don't have much tech info to share today.

I did however find a fun site that will let you send E-cards to your family and friends using their photos, or your own flickr photos. The site is delivr. I used a stock photo they had and emailed a Happy New Year card to my parents who quickly told me how much they enjoyed it.

Next up, making a personalized thank you card to my brothers to thank them for hosting the Christmas festivities! I could sure waste a lot of time with this fun gadget!