May 2007 - Posts

• Changing the login authentication mode for SQL Server Express 2005

  Here’s another time-saving tip. If you select Windows Authentication when installing SQL Server Express 2005, and you need to change it so it allows SQL Server Authentication later on, all you need to do is change a registry key. To do this, shutdown all SQL Server-related services, run regedit32, and in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQLServer, change the value of LoginMode to 2. Restart all services, and that should do the trick. You can get more information in this KB article (talks about MSDE/SQL Server 2000, but it also applies to SQL Server Express). Posted May 24 2007, 09:10 PM by Jaguilar with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Tools

• Assigning Computer Names to Windows 2003 installations when using WDS

  Here’s a tip that should save you some time (I spent several hours trying to figure this one out). When you deploy a .WIM image with Windows Server 2003 using WDS, you can have that machine take on the name you gave to it in Active Directory (when prestaging the computer). To achieve this, do the following: Create a copy of the sysprep.inf file on the folder c:\RemoteInstall\Images\\\$OEM$\$1\Sysprep Edit this sysprep.inf file and make sure you have the following lines in place: [UserData]     ComputerName="%MACHINENAME%" … [Identification]     DoOldStyleDomainJoin=Yes Remove the file c:\Sysprep\sysprep.inf from the image (if necessary, mount it with imagex) The next time you re-image the machine, the WDS client will place this sysprep.inf file inside the image, and will grab the name you gave to the machine in Active Directory when you prestaged it. Posted May 24 2007, 03:03 AM by Jaguilar with no comments Filed under: Tools

• 100 Posts Milestone!!

  A quick note – I just noticed I recently went over the 100-post mark here in my blog... yoohoo!! I never thought I would get this far with it. I have to accept that it took me a little over a year to make it, but I finally did it. Hooray!! Posted May 17 2007, 11:26 AM by Jaguilar with no comments Filed under: Random

• All Good Things...

  Right now my colleague Stephen is delivering the last hands-on lab of the Virtualization for Developers Lab Series. This means that one of the most interesting trainings I have delivered is now over. It has been a good run, and, even though we sometimes didn’t get the attendance we wanted, a great experience. Some of the highlights of the series include: Meeting all sorts of interesting people with interesting (and crazy) projects at every location The experience of getting the setup process for the labs almost fully automated - learned a lot about Windows in the process See Windows Server Virtualization live for the first time on a presentation by Arno Mihm at a Redmond event Going to a tapas bar (“de tapeo”) in Huesca with some of the attendees at the Zaragoza event For the next few months we’re going to be working on some new trainings and in some other exciting projects. I’ll keep you all posted. In the meantime, remember about the HP Integrity labs – that’s where I’ll probably head next! Posted May 16 2007, 11:13 PM by Jaguilar with no comments Filed under: Virtualization, Random

• Changing the PXE ROM Boot Program for a Specific Machine with WDS

  You can specify the rom boot program to use with a specific machine when using WDS. This allows you to set the machines to always try a PXE boot first, and control its behavior from WDS.  WDS comes with three x86 boot roms, each with different functionality (this also applies to x64 and Itanium – since I only have x86 machines available for testing, I’ll use those roms): Boot\x86\pxeboot.com: Normal boot ROM. It presents the prompt for F12 and boots from WDS ONLY if F12 is pressed Boot\x86\pxeboot.n12: Boots directly from the network (PXE) without waiting for F12 to be pressed Boot\x86\abortpxe.com: Aborts the PXE boot process and continues booting from the next boot device In order to change the boot rom, you need to have the machine pre-staged in Active Directory, and use the wdsutil command line program. You also need to know either the name or the MAC address of the machine. With that information, you can issue the command:       wdsutil.exe /set-device /Device:SERVER01 /BootProgram:Boot\x86\pxeboot.n12 OR       wdsutil.exe /set-device /ID:AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF /BootProgram:Boot\x86\pxeboot.n12 The previous lines change the boot rom to pxeboot.n12 of the machine SERVER01. By using this, when you have to restore an image to a machine, you can just change the boot rom to pxeboot.n12, and the process will take place automatically (depending on how you have it configured). Once it is restored, you can change it back to abortpxe.com, and it will continue booting from the hard drive every time. Posted May 16 2007, 09:42 PM by Jaguilar with 7 comment(s) Filed under: Tools

• HP Integrity Developer Workshops next month in NJ

  Next month we’ll be at the last planned HP Integrity Developer Workshop, in East Rutherford, NJ, between June 12-14. We’ll be in charge of the Windows 64–bit track. This is the last workshop planned for this year, so make sure you take this opportunity to get hands-on training with HP’s Integrity Servers using Dual-core Itanium CPUs. You can choose to receive training in either Windows, Linux, HP/UX or OpenVMS, and get help with your ports to the Itanium platform. Plus you get to take back home the server you worked on! Check out the benefits from the class (from the Workshop Overview): your dual-core Itanium-based application porting efforts well underway or in many cases, completed. The HP Integrity rx2620 server that you used in the classroom sent directly to you from the workshop for your continued porting and testing efforts. free software development tools membership in HP's Developer & Solution Partner Program that allows you to take advantage of GTM and lead generation programs once your port is completed. Make sure you reserve your spot for the workshop! Posted May 14 2007, 09:31 PM by Jaguilar with 1 comment(s) Filed under: 64-bit

• SCVMM Beta 2 first impressions

  Today I finally got a chance to play with Beta 2 of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager. Here are my preliminary impressions: First of all, the product has improved significantly. It has tons of new features, and uses tons of new pre-requisites. Fortunately, you can download a pre-configured VHD with SCVMM, ready to go, from Microsoft Connect. This version of SCVMM uses the new Windows Remote Management (WinRM) package to manage remote servers. This is a step in the right direction, IMHO, since it is Microsoft’s implementation of the WS-Management Protocol. The downside is that I had to install the WinRM package on the servers, but well, its a nice trade-off for getting a SOAP-based, standard management product. One thing I really like about it is the Powershell integration. It is finally included in this version of SCVMM, and the implementation rocks – at the end of most wizard, you get a button that says “View Powershell Script”:                                             Pressing that button shows you the Powershell script equivalent to the options you selected:                        So far I’ve only been able to add hosts and manage the virtual machines on those hosts. I am looking forward to working with the new advanced features, including (and especially) the physical to virtual migration. Overall I think the new features are great, and you should give it a try. Posted May 08 2007, 11:08 AM by Jaguilar with no comments Filed under: Virtualization, Tools