Sometimes I answer in few forums about IT at the Israeli army (how to apply to IT-related jobs as a soldier, etc); today I saw a funny video at this thread.

You can see the video right here, by clicking on the Play button:

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Well, this is it folks, our lovely king die. Probably from a hardware problem (that's the answer for most of the errors on Windows ;-) ).

Anyway, the old MCSE style is no longer available in Windows Server 2008 certification track.

You'll need to achieve the TS certifications first, and then to take the PRO certification, when MCITP Sever Administrator is the equivalent for MCSA and MCITP Enterprise Administrator is equivalent for MCSE.

Note that the MCSA/MCSE Messaging/Security speciplization are no longer available if you wanna become specialist on Exchange Server 2007 for example, you'll need to pass a different track (TS and PRO also).

More information about the new track and exams you can found right here.

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If you want to install a new operating system from a CD/DVD, or to run a Live OS, or maybe want to use recovery tools from USB/Floppy disk drive you'll need to configure the BIOS boot order/sequence first.

In order to perform this action follows these steps:

1. Enter to the motherboard BIOS, in order to do that check in the screen when you start up the computer for small line in the POST (Power On Self Test) screen.

Most of the motherboards manufacturers provide a small line like this: "Press X to run Setup" or "Press X to enter BIOS setup" when X is the specific key that enable you to enter the BIOS. Most of the motherboards use Delete (Del)/F2/F10/Ctrl+Alt+Esc in order to enter to the BIOS setup.

If you still didn't find the correct key, check your motherboard user manual.

2. When you entering the BIOS go to the Boot tab, or look for Advanced BIOS Features, (most of the BIOS vendors provide one of these options).

3. Then look for the Boot Device Priority or for First, Second and Third Boot Devices. And with the +/- or Enter keys change the order of the boot.

Note: If you want to boot first from your CD/DVD drive, and then set the first boot device to your CD/DVD drive, the rest isn't matter because first you want to boot from CD/DVD. If you want to boot the system faster set the first boot device to your local hard disk drive.

There's also a well-known BIOS vendors that provides specific hardware detection by manufacturer and model name, and provide ability to identify the correct device in the boot sequence.

4. After the changes, save the settings and exit BIOS. Most of the BIOS vendors provide you a simple way to do this by using the F10 key.

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Abstract

This article will help you get familiar with the Windows Vista Remote Assistance utility from the command line view.

In order to launch the Windows Vista Remote Assistance utility from the command line follow these steps:

1. Click on "Start".

2. Type CMD at the new Windows Vista start menu, or click on Run at the classic menu and type CMD.

3. Type cd \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32.

4. Type MSRA.EXE in order to start the friendly user-interface remote assistance (see figure).

5. In order to know how to start specific action from the command line type MSRA.EXE /?, the question mark (?) will helps you learn the usage MSRA.EXE switches.

 

For example, here some MSRA lines with useful switches that I've wrote:

1. MSRA.EXE /novice – type /novice in order to ask help from expert.

 

2. MSRA.EXE /saveasfile c:\netanelremoteass P@ssw0rd – this command will save an invention file named netanelremoteass.msrcincident at the root of drive C: (C:\) that the password for this file is P@ssw0rd. beside the file creation at C:\ the command launch automatically the Remote Assistance in order to accept incoming connection to help (see figure).

 

3. MSRA.EXE /expert – type /expert in order to help someone who needs help.

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Abstract

This article will help you create and deploy Windows Vista Windows Imaging (WIM) images.

What's WIM and why should I use it?

Windows Imaging (or WIM) is the new generation from Microsoft for imaging format; the newest operating systems (from Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs) are coming in single WIM file that ready to deployment.

WIM is the new Microsoft imaging format, which have been in use since SMS OS Deployment Feature Pack (OSDFP) that may know WIM from the first version (1.0), today WIM is included in the new Windows Vista and Server 2008 installation media and also from the Windows PE 2.0 WIM file (placed in the Windows Vista/Server 2008 media as "boot.wim").

WIM images are file-based image and not a sector-based image so that the image deployment can't perform damage to your data.

What do I need in order to capture and deploy my own Windows Vista image?

You'll need a test machine that met the Windows Vista hardware requirements, on this computer you'll need to install the operating system that you want to capture to an image and to deploy, and also a DVD-RW/NIC/Removable large disk in order to transfer the image.

In addition to the test computer you'll need another computer (technician computer) with Windows XP Professional SP2 or later, in order to create the custom Windows PE media that you start the reference test computer from.

Beside this you'll need to create a Windows PE 2.0 custom media that will support WIM and contain the ImageX utility, in order to create this customize Windows PE 2.0 media follow these steps:

1. Download and install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) on the technician computer.

2. From the technician computer type these commands from the command line (CMD) in order to create the custom Windows PE 2.0 media:

2.1. Cd Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools

2.2. Copype.cmd x86 C:\PE_Media (when x86 is the CPU architecture, and C:\PE_Media is the destination path that store the Windows PE files, if you're not preparing to use Windows PE on 32-Bit platform or to get additional information type "Copype.cmd /?").

3. Copy ImageX utility to the Windows PE media by typing this command in the CMD:

Copy “C:\Program files\Windows AIK\Tools\x86\imagex.exe” C:\ PE_Media\iso\appz (when appz is the subfolder that will store your tools)

4. Copy these lines into a text file and save it as wimscript.ini in C:\ PE_Media\iso\appz.

[ExclusionList]

ntfs.log

hiberfil.sys

pagefile.sys

"System Volume Information"

RECYCLER

Windows\CSC

[CompressionExclusionList]

*.mp3

*.zip

*.cab

\WINDOWS\inf\*.pnf

5. Create from the Windows PE files an ISO image by typing these commands from the CMD:

Cd Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\

Oscdimg -n –bc:\PE_Media\etfsboot.com c:\PE_Media\ISO c:\PE_Media\winpe_cd.iso

6. Burn the winpe_cd.iso into a blank CD media using a CD burner and CD burning software like Ahead Nero.

 

Create your test (reference) computer

After you create your Windows PE custom media, install your test (reference) computer that is the master computer that designed for cloning on workstations.

It's recommended that you'll install your master test computer by following these steps:

1. Install a clean copy of Windows Vista on your hard disk drive.

2. Install & configure additional programs such as your corporate antivirus, Office tools, IM application, Windows updates, etc.

3. After installing and setting your computer, run Sysprep.exe from C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep.

Note: Unlike earlier versions of Windows, The Sysprep file located in a local directory in Windows\System32, and don't require any file extraction like earlier versions that provide separately the Sysprep files at Windows CD in Support\Tools\Deploy.cab.

4. Check the Generalize box, and click on OK.

 

Capture your operating system into an image

After clicking on OK at the Sysprep tool, the Sysprep Prepartion Tool will remove your local SIDs (security identifiers), logs, and also reset the activation grace period time to 30 days and reboot your system.

Follow these steps to capture your system into an image:

1. After Sysprep reboot the system set the computer BIOS to boot from CD/DVD first.

2. Insert the custom Windows PE media that you've been create to the CD/DVD drive.

3. Boot from the Windows PE media.

4. Type these commands from the Windows PE command line utility in order to capture an image:

Cd appz

Imagex /capture C: D:\BenShushan.wim “Netanel's Gold Image”

 

Note: C: means the OS drive that you want capture to an image, D:\BenShushan.wim is the image name and the place that the ImageX utility creates the image, and the "Netanel's Gold Image" is the image note that can help you identify your image.

You can compress your WIM image to maximum using this command instead:

Imagex /capture /compress max C: D:\BenShushan.wim “Netanel's Gold Image”

5. It's recommended to copy or burn your image to a different computer, if your computers connecting to a network you can run from Windows PE the NET USE command to map a network map and to copy the image to a network share/map, for example in order to map a drive and copy the image into the network drive type these commands:

5.1. Net use M: \\share\deploy (when deploy is shared folder on computer named share).

5.2. Copy D:\BenShushan.wim M:

 

The deployment process

You can deploy your customize WIM image using a few methods:

1. Using a deployment server like Windows Deployment Services (WDS), a WDS server can deploy a single WIM image up to 80 clients simultaneously.

2. Using Systems Management Server with OS Deployment Feature Pack and the latest Service Pack or System Center Configuration Manager.

3. Using Business Desktop Deployment (or BDD) Solution Accelerator.

4. Using a custom Windows PE CD/DVD.

 

In this article I'll explain how to deploy the image using your custom Windows PE media:

1. Start the computer, and set the BIOS to boot from CD first.

2. Boot from your custom Windows PE CD.

3. If the computer is contain a new hard disk drive it's recommended to run these commands from the Windows PE command line utility:

 

Diskpart

Select disk 0

Create partition primary

Active

Exit

Format c:/fs:ntfs /q

Note: you can also create a custom batch file that will contain these commands and configure Windows PE to perform these tasks automatically.

4. Type these commands in order to connect your computer to the network drive that contains the OS WIM file:

Cd Apps

Net use M: \\share\deploy

Copy M:\BenShushan.wim C:

ImageX /apply C:\BenShushan.wim 1 C:

 

The last command will deploy your first WIM image in the BenShushan.wim file on the C: drive.

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Abstract

This article will help you to learn everything that you need to know as a system administrator (or SysAdmin) about this protocol and what can you do with him.

What's DHCP? And why it's recommended to use it?

Imagine that you're working as a SysAdmin for a large company with 500 desktop computers; you need to set to each desktop computer IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, DNS servers, and other network settings. How could you do that?

If you'll try to perform this task manually you're probably going to waste a lot of time on sitting on each computer 5-10 minutes, beside time, you can for example accidently enter wrong IP address to few clients, or to type the same IP address to few clients too.

In order to solve these "problems" you can use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (or DHCP) in your network.

DHCP allows you manage the networks' IP addresses scopes and other TCP/IP settings like DNS, Default Gateway, etc. from central place, this central place called DHCP server. Beside the management, if there's any problem you don't need to run between your clients, you just need to connect to your server and to check the DHCP settings, as I mentioned – the DHCP works from central place, so if there's a problem, it's probably from the server, so you know where to go in case of problem and your saving time.

The DHCP server can provide easily IP addresses to clients automatically so you don't even need to configure and set options in the client side, all you need is to setup DHCP server, configure scope options and some other TCP/IP settings in the server side and that's it. You can provide to your clients IP addresses from the selected range that you've configured and some other TCP/IP options.

Note: DHCP in my opinion can called "The next generation of BOOTP", because the BOOTP came first before the DHCP, and today we're using BOOTP in order to deploy operating systems by booting from the network. Beside this, DHCP was developed in order to support in large networks – something that BOOTP can't provide.

How DHCP works?

Without entering to the related technical information (DORA process) the DHCP client request from the DHCP server IP address for a while, the length of time that the DHCP client can use the dynamic IP address that the DHCP server provided can be called lease, just like the name: lease means that the client "rent" an IP address for a specific time from the DHCP server, if the client want to continue using the specific IP address the client needs to re-assign the address by renew the lease, this will happen before the expiration time of the lease if the client is still in the network.

More in depth, the DHCP service works by using the DORA (Discover, Offer, Request and Acknowledgment) process (you can trace on the whole process using a network monitor utility):

1. DHCPDISCOVER – The client broadcast a DHCPDISCOVER packet in order to locate a DHCP server in the network, in some cases that the DHCP server isn't in the same subnet of the client, you'll need to configure in your network devices (usually routers) a DHCP Relay Agent, in order to transfer the DHCPDISCOVER packet to the DHCP server.

2. DHCPOFFER – The DHCP server broadcast a DHCPOFFER packet to the client which includes an offer to use a unique IP address for the client.

3. DHCPREQUEST – The client broadcast a DHCPREQUEST packet to the DHCP server with an answer, and "asks" from the server to "rent" the unique address that the server offer to her.

4. DHCPACK – The DHCP server broadcast a DHCPACK packet to the client, in this packet the server acknowledge the request from the client to use the IP address, and provide to the client the IP address lease and other details such as DNS servers, default gateway, etc. if the server cannot provide the requested IP address or from some reasons the address is not valid the server sends DHCPNACK packet in stand of DHCPACK, more information about DHCPNACK is under the specific subject – DHCPNACK.

Note: DHCP service uses port 67/UDP in the DHCP server, and 68/UDP at the DHCP clients.

It's recommended to check that your firewall doesn't block these ports in order to able the DHCP server and clients to communicate, and also check that your network devices supports DHCP Relay Agent in case that some of your clients are in different physical subnet.

In some cases you'll notice another DHCP messages like these:

1. DHCPDECLINE – If the client recognizes that the IP address that the DHCP server offer to her in use, the client will generate a new request to another IP address (in the DHCPREQUEST step).

2. DHCPRELEASE – This message is commonly in use when the client "give up" and release IP address.

3. DHCPRENEW – This is the request packet to renew and continue "renting" the IP address lease.

4. DHCPINFORM – The DHCPINFORM is packet that the client send to the DHCP server in order to get more details from the server, for example DHCPINFORM can be send in order to locate another DHCP servers in the network.

DHCPNACK

The DHCPNACK or Negative Acknowledgment is a packet that the server sends if the IP address is not available in stand of DHCPACK (in use on other client for example) or the address is no longer valid. In case of DHCPNACK the client must restart the lease process in order to get an IP address.

DHCP Scopes, Exclude and Reservation

DHCP Scope is a range of IP addresses that you configure in your DHCP server as range of addresses that designed for distribution to the clients.

For example, if you set a scope with a range from 10.0.0.100-10.0.0.200, you can easily provide only from this range IP addresses to your clients.

You can also create more than one scope, but it's recommended to check that your scopes aren't duplicating one with each others. At the scope creation process you can add some more TCP/IP parameters such as subnet mask, IP addresses lease time, router (default gateway), DNS servers, etc. so when the clients gets the IP addresses they'll get also the other parameters from the scope.

In some cases, you'll need to prevent the client using some addresses, for example if your scope is from 10.0.0.1 up to 10.0.0.100, and your servers using 10.0.0.1-10.0.0.10, you can exclude these IP addresses from the scope and exclude the DHCP to distribute them to the clients, in most of the DHCP servers this option called exclude.

Reservation is a great option if you're planning to provide specific dynamic IP address from the DHCP server to unique DHCP client. If for example in the 10.0.0.1-10.0.0.100 scope you want to provide for specific client a unique address that will be always of the client, you can easily set reservation for the client using a unique identifier – the MAC address, the MAC of Media Access Control is a unique hexadecimal physical address for network adapters.

DHCP & DNS

When you're installing DHCP server you can configure the DHCP server to set DNS updates to any DNS server that support dynamic updates. More information about the combination between DHCP and DNS you can find right here.

Active Directory & DHCP Servers

In Microsoft Windows Server with Active Directory you need to authorize your server in order to work with the DHCP service.

In the past you could install few DHCP servers – as you wish, this action occurs problems like server crashing, etc.

In the new Windows 2000 Server/Server 2003/2008 you must authorize your server in order to start the DHCP server, if there's an authorized DHCP server in the Active Directory environment and a non-authorized server trying to start the DHCP service in order to distribute IP address, the server will failed in this task and the DHCP service in the local computer will stop.

DHCP Relay Agent

DHCP Relay Agent is any kind of host (usually a router or server) that listen to DHCP/BOOTP broadcast from clients on subnets without local DHCP servers.

The DHCP Relay Agent forwards the packets from the clients and the DHCP server that sitting on different physical subnets to each other in order to supply 'connection' between the DHCP Server to the clients, and opposite (from the clients to the server).

In conclusion

Using DHCP service can easily help you as a System/Network Administrator to manage you clients by assigning, tracking and re-assigning IP addresses.

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Hi folks,

Well, after a long time of writing technical articles with my pal – Yuval, I choose to use this blog in order to publish some of them that relating to the Microsoft and some of the general IT field.

Hope to get help from my friend ASAP in order to customize the weblog design and other things here.

If you're asking why I'm moving from the holy-language (a.k.a Hebrew, and personally I love the official Hebrew that you can find at Kol Israel, but that's my little "fetish"…) to English, the answer is simple: it's easier to write technical articles in a technical "IT" English.

And hope to see you reading hereJ,

Netanel.

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