Windows PowerShell is a cross-platform task automation solution with an interactive command-line shell that simplifies configurations and automates administrative tasks. Microsoft created Window PowerShell to control and automate the administration tasks run on the Windows Server Environment. The tool is gaining popularity among sysadmins and experienced Windows users. It helps automate almost any task in […]
How to Install PowerShell Modules – Step by Step
GPUpdate – How to Force Group Policy Update Remotely
Group Policy is one of Windows’s most powerful features that help you control all user accounts within the organization. It helps the system administrators manage and control configurations on all systems in the network from the central location. Group Policy has several benefits however one of the major drawbacks of Group policy is that it […]
Active Directory Setup Guide
To start configuring Active Directory from a Windows machine, you’ll need RSAT tools, which include Server Manager and other vital consoles like PowerShell. From the “Server Manager,” you’ll be able to monitor your server and add new key roles and features like AD DS and DNS— tools necessary to start with Active Directory. In this […]
ELB Health Check Guide
The last few years have seen increased pressure on the existing network infrastructure and this has exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, as millions of people work and study from home. This brings up the need for networks to use robust strategies such as load balancing, the ability to scale resources dynamically and implement superior routing […]
Find Password Expiration for Active Directory User
Finding the Password Expiration for Active Directory Users is a Crucial step in understanding security Measures in your networks! We found an Easy Way todo this Task!
Best Remote Desktop Connection Manager for Multiple RDP Sessions
Here’s our Picks for the Best Remote Desktop Connection Manager to Ensure you dont lose any Remote Desktops Connections, Passwords and More!
WSUS Client Diagnostic Tools & Software to Troubleshooting Windows Server Update Services
Windows Patch management is an important and yet monotonous task for system admins as they have to constantly stay on top of updates and patches, download, and install them. Microsoft eases this process to some extent with its Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Earlier known as Software Update Services, this is a network service that […]
Varonis Alternatives & Competitors for File & Permissions Analysis
Varonis is a Great Tool Overall – But If your Looking for a Replacement or Alternative to Varonis, we’ve Got the Top 5 Best Alternatives for You HERE !!!
NT Administration from the Command Line
In addition to using the GUI to create accounts and groups, the command line can be used. This is often useful when automating server setup or recovery. net user jsmith tempword /ADD /FULLNAME:”John Smith” /COMMENT:”Accounting Manager” net localgroup “Accounting Local Resource Group” /add /COMMENT:”Payroll and A/R Files” net group “Accounting Members” /ADD /COMMENT:”Members have access […]
Using Cygwin for Automated File Transfer
Although Windows 2000 can be set up using proprietary (Well… MSified) secure connections via IPSec, there are a variety of problems. Most notable is the difficulty to get secure connections to work across multiple platforms, even between different Windows products. It is quite easy to create keys and pull files securely over the Internet from […]
Determining System Properties with Java
In this article we displayed our system properties via Tomcat. We were curious, though, how to retrieve these directly through Java. Here is how you can do this: [usr-1@srv-1 java]$ cat FirstProperties.java public class FirstProperties { public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println(“System Information: \n”); System.out.println(“Operating System: “); System.out.println(System.getProperty(“os.name”)); System.out.println(“\nArchitecture: “); System.out.println(System.getProperty(“os.arch”)); System.out.println(“\nOperating System Version: […]
Using VB to Create an Administration Console
There are many tasks that you may want to automate using a custom console. This could be for your Jr. Systems Administrators, for users, or for yourself. One tool that we like to use for this is Visual Tcl, but sometime it is nice to use plain old Visual Basic. If you do use Visual […]
IT is, true, but define with the Microsoft Operations Framework
“It is.” is the best answer, really, my friend confided in me over a campfire when describing his and a friend’s 24 hours of trying to unravel the mysteries. I was selling CP/M computers at the time, and he was talking bigger than Information Technology. We all know that IT is as we look out […]
Using rasdial to automate RAS connections
If you have servers or workstations that use RAS to connect to your servers directly or via the Internet, you can use the rasdial command to automate the connection. This would be particularly useful for nightly file transfers. Enter: rasdial /? to get a list of the options for rasdial. For more info on rasdial […]
Installing an SSH Server on Windows 2003 – Part 1
This series of articles will show how to install SSHd (OpenSSH) by using Cygwin. One benefit of using Cygwin for this is that we get the result: [usr-1@srv-1 ~]$ ssh administrator@10.50.100.112 ‘cat /proc/meminfo’ total: used: free: Mem: 964116480 231288832 732827648 Swap: 1447034880 8290304 1438744576 MemTotal: 941520 kB MemFree: 715652 kB MemShared: 0 kB HighTotal: 0 […]
The Arusha Project
The folks at the Arusha Project are *extremely* caffeinated. The best way to describe this project is that it is a language that defines systems objects. The catch is that it can be specific and useful. You can actually do package management with it. If you are running Open Source software of any ilk for, […]
Installing an SSH Server on Windows 2003 – Part 2
Select your Internet connection type: Choose the closest, most available download site: When the packages are finished downloading, you will see a screen like this: Scroll down, expand the net section, and put an x through the binary box of openssh and rsync by clicking on the Skip cycle arrows. This will also automatically install […]
Creating PDF Network Diagrams on Windows with Free Software
If you have tons of money, buy Visio. Visio is very easy to use, has tons of symbols… well, you know. This article, though, will introduce you to a number of tools that will allow you to create PDF network diagrams with free, open source software on a Windows workstation. The first tool you will […]
Installing an SSH Server on Windows 2003 – Part 3
A progress page will show the packages as they are downloaded and installed: Choose where you want icons: Start cygwin by double clicking on the icons (wherever). Some initial configuration will take place automatically: Copying skeleton files. These files are for the user to personalise their cygwin experience. These will never be overwritten. `./.bashrc’ -> […]
Free Books
Check out the collection of free books at O’Reilly’s Open Books Project. Much of the reason for the books being free is O’Reilly’s and the author’s involvment in Open Source. Don’t miss out on the unofficial biography of Richard Stallman, “Join us now and share the software, you’ll be free…”. There are also some good […]
