DHCP Admin Group in Server 2012

DHCP Admin Group in Server 2012

The DHCP admin group is a Windows security group used to provide DHCP admin access to users who need to perform DHCP admin function in their work role(s). The sister group, DHCP Users provides read only membership to see DHCP information.

In Server 2012, Microsoft disabled the DHCP users group and hid it from view. This can be a bit frustrating if you need to use this group! The reason I believe was that Microsoft considered this to be a more secure arrangement.

Re establishing the DHCP Admin and DHCP user groups is rather simple. On the Server, open an administrative command prompt and enter: netsh dhcp add securitygroups then press enter. This will add both groups to your group management console (you may need to refresh to see them)

This article can also be found on our sister site Dizzyit.com at: http://dizzyit.com/2015/03/26/dhcp-admin-group-in-server-2012/

Adding DHCP Admin and User Groups

Windows Error 651

Windows Error 651

Windows Error 651

Windows Error 651 occurs across most modern versions of Windows, relating primarily to WAN connections. there are a few ways to resolve this as follows:

1. The first thing to check is go to Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections and right click on broadband connections [WAN Miniport(PPPOE)] and un-check set as default. If necessary reboot to check.

If the above fails, then here is a list of things to check and run through to get this issue resolved:

• Reset your TCP/IP Settings in Windows.
• If you are using a Laptop, make sure the wireless switch or button is turned on (this is such a common issue!).
• Replace the RAS PPPoE driver in Windows:
  1. Open a Command Prompt as Administrator (right click -> run as administrator). 
  2. Select all the code below, then right click it and click Copy:
  3. TAKEOWN /F "C:\Windows\system32\drivers\raspppoe.sys"
  4. ICACLS "C:\Windows\system32\drivers\raspppoe.sys" /grant administrators:F
  5. Right click in the Command Prompt window and click Paste.
  6. Press Enter.
  7. Once it has finished, close the Command Prompt.
  8. Go to the following folder:
     C:\Windows\system32\drivers
  9. Rename the raspppoe.sys file to raspppoe2.sys
  10. Right click on the following file and click Save Target As / Save link as:
      Vista RAS PPPoE Driver.
  11. Save it in the C:\Windows\system32\drivers folder.
  12. Restart the computer.
• If using a Modem, obtain the latest driver.
• Reset your router.
• Re-install your network card drivers.

This article can also be found on our sister site http://Dizzyit.com at http://dizzyit.com/2015/03/10/windows-error-651/

Source: Microsoft Technet

Installing and Upgrading to Microsoft Server 2012 - Considerations

Installing and Upgrading to Microsoft Server - Considerations

There are several considerations to take into account when upgrading to Server 2012. This article is not so much a how to on how to perform an upgrade, but more a guide on some tips and strategies that can be used to make the move easier for you and your organisation.

Upgrade or Fresh Install?

Server 2012 is the first Microsoft Windows Server that allows you to perform an upgrade instead of needing to perform a fresh install. To be eligible for this feature, the existing operating system needs to be Server 2008 or 2008 R2, both 64 bit.

Also for consideration is if the hosted services and applications on that server are capable of handling an upgrade. For this its best to contact the provider or manufacturer directly. In some cases, it may be possible to test this, especially if you have a relevant test environment. Serious consideration needs to be given to Active Directory and also Microsoft SQL server implementations.Other services that need intense considerations include Federated Services and MS Clustering. Microsoft produces several guidelines that can be obtained on their website and are updated regularly.

These reports an be exported as a Word doc and then provided to relevant managers or seniors for approval.

Planning an Implementation

There are several considerations when planning a Server 2012 deployment as follows:

Practice Makes Perfect

Be sure to test the installation in a VM and be familiar with the processes and what you need. There are several free / cheap hypervisors availiable today including VMWare  Workstation as well as Microsoft Hyper V Server. a trial copy of Windows Server 2012 can be downloaded from the Microsoft Website

Preparing for installation

Microsoft Produces the MAP toolkit as a means to verify (in some detail) whether existing systems are a good candidate for upgrade, and if not why not. This is a free downloaded from Microsoft and can be accessed from here : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb977556.aspx

Beyond the MAP toolkit you will want to be sure that the hardware proposed at least meets the minimum requirements for handling Server 2012. Ideally you will have hardware that exceeds these requirements and also satisfies the requirements for the applications that are to be hosted on the server. A the time of writing the min requirements are:

• CPU - 1.4 GHz 64 Bit
• RAM - 512 MB
• Disk Space - 32 GB

Timing is everything - if you are performing an upgrade make sure that you are doing so in a time that is acceptable to business (perhaps a dedicated maintenance window). taking a system off line in production is not going to make a lot of people happy. Also make sure that you have an up to date and verified backup of any systems that you are tinkering with.

Mass Storage (and other) Drivers

Server 2012 requires digitally signed drivers, and non signed drivers can cause issues in setup. To aleviate this, you can disable this requirement by: Pressing F8 at Startup -> Advanced Boot Options -> Disable Driver Signature Enforcement -> load windows and install driver

F6 is pressed during installation to enable installation of mass storage drivers during install. these may be needed for RAID and other associated disk devices.

  

Extending a Share Quota in server 2008

In server 2008, you use the Share and Storage Management tool to provision shares and storage. In this tool you can create a quota for a share. this is a good idea to stop data sprawl which can occur, especially on shared drives. But what if you want to manage, extend or decrease this quota?

for some reason in their infinite wisdom, Microsoft doesn’t allow you to do so from the Share and Storage Management Tools Window. To increase the quota size:

1. open File Server Resource Manger
2. expand Quota Management and choose Quotas
3. This will present all the available Quotas (known as Source Templates) that you have configured.
4. Find the source template you want to extend, right click and choose edit quota properties
5. From here you are shown the Quota template from which your folder pulls its settings, the specific space limitations of this share and any warnings that you have configured for out of space notifications
6. As you an see above, I have set the Quota to be 350GB in this instance (from a 100GB template) and configured email and event log notifications (note that for email notifications to work you will need to configure SMTP in IIS)
7. click ok and your quota has been set!

please note that this article can also be viewed at our sister site dizzyit.com at : http://dizzyit.com/2011/12/01/extending-share-quota-server-2008/