In Windows Server 2012, disk management is arguably defeated by server manager, powershell, and storage spaces. However, not every business (small, medium, or large) is going to make a quick move to Server 2012. What that means is that the IT pro needs to know the basics.
I found this great post at TechNet on implementing disk management. In it the reader will learn disk terms and how to use disk management for creating and managing basic and dynamic disks, software RAID, enabling quotas, and enabling encryption.
Enjoy!
Implementing Disk Management
Showing posts with label Hardware. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hardware. Show all posts
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
xPrintServer Office Edition Review
xPrintServer Office edition is an excellent product! A product that is definitely worth the money. It's easy to setup and easy to configure if needed. This is nearly plug-and-play. I say nearly because I did have to go into the admin panel of the device and run the "discover" feature two times. I'll get to the that. For right now, know this is an excellent product.
The product comes in very nice packaging that has a clean style design. When I unboxed it I was amazed at the size of the device. It's about the size of an iPhone! I had read that on the product specs sheet but being the skeptical guy I am and didn't think it would actually be that size. Also in the box is an ethernet cable, power supply with adapters, wall mount kit (bracket and 2 screws), and rubber feet for those who don't want to wall mount their xPrintServer. As you can see in the picture you can connect a usb printer to it. I must admit, this reviewer hasn't tried that option. I've read positive things about that option, but I haven't tried that myself. Yet. If I do I will update this review.
I connected the device to our network via an ethernet calbe to our main switch. After it was connected and powered on, the LED network lights flickered and the device light at first flickered very fast then flickered slowly; this is the discover phase. I grabbed an iPad that was connected to our network via wifi. I browsed to a page then went to the printer options for safari. Only one printer was available. There should have been 3 printers available. I went ahead and printed the page just for testing and it worked just as it should have worked. After that, I went into the admin panel of the xPrintServer device. After running the discover tool
two times all 3 printers were discovered. I checked with my iPad to find that all 3 printers were ready for printing.
Aside from the device not auto-disovering all the printers at once, this device has been great. Setup is a breeze. Even the "extra" stuff I had to do was super easy and fast. All of this happened in less than 10 minutes. How great is that? You can't ask for more than that right?
In addition to enabling your iOS and Mac OS devices to print without any software or app installation, xPrintServer Office admin panel also has cool stuff for admins like: job status and viewer, log viewer, network configuration for the device, manually add a printer, and driver installation.
I highly recommend xPrintServer Office edition to those offices in need of printing from iOS devices and don't want to have to purchase iPad and iPhone printing enabled printers.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Hardware Firewall Is a Must
From TechRepublic's recent "10 Things" blog:
6: Deploy a hardware-based firewall Let’s face it: The built-in Windows firewall is simply not sufficient. If you want real security, you need a dedicated firewall on your network. This firewall will be a single point of entry that will stop many more attempted breaches than the standard software-based firewall will. Besides, the hardware-based fire will be far more flexible and customizable. Look at a Cisco, Sonicwall, or Fortinet hardware firewall as your primary protection.
This is an excellent, excellent, (did I say excellent?) recommendation. If you or your business is connected straight to your modem without any border protection from the external world then you're in jeopardy and by jeopardy I don't mean the game show, I mean trouble. Why? Because your PC or group of PCs have an external IP. Your device doesn't have a bouncer to keep the bad guys and crap out of your house. You don't have that extra layer of protection that a connected device needs to operate more securely. Now, don't think a hardware firewall will make you invincible. I don't want to paint the wrong picture. I do mean to say that a hardware based firewall along with other security measures can make you more secure.
What are the benefits of a hardware based firewall?
1. NAT
*cue hissing* Some techs don't think NAT is a security feature, but I do. There is some mystery regarding NAT. Was it meant for security? Was it not meant for security? I think it's up in the air. Even so, I think it's fair to say that NAT gives *some* security in that it gives your device a local IP instead of your public, external IP. Intruders, the green ones conservatively speaking, won't know your device's IP which does help. No, it's not a super excellent security feature, but it's just another layer of protection that is nice to have while we're still mostly in a IPv4 world.
2. Rules
With a hardware based firewall, you can make firewall rules which are rules that you create to allow the traffic you want coming in and leaving your network. You can make as many or as little rules as you like. Don't want RDP sessions coming in to your network? Block it. Don't like WMI packets coming in? Block those too. It's customizable. Some techs start by blocking everything then slowly unblocking ports as the days progress. For example, a tech had most ports blocked. He downloaded WoW was able to run some of it, then realized he needed to open certain ports for the game, so he did. That's what I mean by some techs block everything, then slowly open ports when the situation occurs. You don't need everything open right out of the gate. Only open ports that you need open.
3. Logs
Yeah, Windows and other OSs have log views, they're limited to your system though. With a hardware firewall you'll have logs informing you who and what was trying to access your network. You'll see your rules working. You'll see intrusions prevented, this app allowed, another app blocked and so on. It's helpful. It's encouraging. You can see your firewall at work or not at work. You'll see what's getting in, out, and blocked. Those are three reasons I can think of right away for getting a hardware firewall. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on a hardware firewall either. Routers come equipped with firewalls. For my home I use a Netgear wireless router that is excellent for my home setup. The firewall provides good protection, customization, and it's easy to use. Buy one.
Netgear WNR3500L this link gives you the specs and has links to the stores it's sold at.
* I didn't make the image used in this blog post. I found it in a google search from this website.
6: Deploy a hardware-based firewall Let’s face it: The built-in Windows firewall is simply not sufficient. If you want real security, you need a dedicated firewall on your network. This firewall will be a single point of entry that will stop many more attempted breaches than the standard software-based firewall will. Besides, the hardware-based fire will be far more flexible and customizable. Look at a Cisco, Sonicwall, or Fortinet hardware firewall as your primary protection.
This is an excellent, excellent, (did I say excellent?) recommendation. If you or your business is connected straight to your modem without any border protection from the external world then you're in jeopardy and by jeopardy I don't mean the game show, I mean trouble. Why? Because your PC or group of PCs have an external IP. Your device doesn't have a bouncer to keep the bad guys and crap out of your house. You don't have that extra layer of protection that a connected device needs to operate more securely. Now, don't think a hardware firewall will make you invincible. I don't want to paint the wrong picture. I do mean to say that a hardware based firewall along with other security measures can make you more secure.
1. NAT
*cue hissing* Some techs don't think NAT is a security feature, but I do. There is some mystery regarding NAT. Was it meant for security? Was it not meant for security? I think it's up in the air. Even so, I think it's fair to say that NAT gives *some* security in that it gives your device a local IP instead of your public, external IP. Intruders, the green ones conservatively speaking, won't know your device's IP which does help. No, it's not a super excellent security feature, but it's just another layer of protection that is nice to have while we're still mostly in a IPv4 world.
2. Rules
With a hardware based firewall, you can make firewall rules which are rules that you create to allow the traffic you want coming in and leaving your network. You can make as many or as little rules as you like. Don't want RDP sessions coming in to your network? Block it. Don't like WMI packets coming in? Block those too. It's customizable. Some techs start by blocking everything then slowly unblocking ports as the days progress. For example, a tech had most ports blocked. He downloaded WoW was able to run some of it, then realized he needed to open certain ports for the game, so he did. That's what I mean by some techs block everything, then slowly open ports when the situation occurs. You don't need everything open right out of the gate. Only open ports that you need open.
3. Logs
Yeah, Windows and other OSs have log views, they're limited to your system though. With a hardware firewall you'll have logs informing you who and what was trying to access your network. You'll see your rules working. You'll see intrusions prevented, this app allowed, another app blocked and so on. It's helpful. It's encouraging. You can see your firewall at work or not at work. You'll see what's getting in, out, and blocked. Those are three reasons I can think of right away for getting a hardware firewall. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on a hardware firewall either. Routers come equipped with firewalls. For my home I use a Netgear wireless router that is excellent for my home setup. The firewall provides good protection, customization, and it's easy to use. Buy one.
Netgear WNR3500L this link gives you the specs and has links to the stores it's sold at.
* I didn't make the image used in this blog post. I found it in a google search from this website.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
RAID 5 Hell
One of my co-IT-workers is off for sick leave this week and probably two more weeks so all calls from his department will go to me. I get a call on Monday that a lady can't remote in to her mapping server. She said she went to the server to see if it was powered on (good idea!) and it was on, but it was stuck at "press F1 to resume." She said that when she hit F1 the next screen was something "...about RAID-5 degraded not bootable" message. My first thought: CRAP. I know that RAID-5 needs at least three hard drives to be operational. If one fails, you can swap the bad drive out with a new drive of identical brand and same size or larger to rebuild the RAID, but if two fail then there is a serious possibility of not being able to rebuild the RAID. In fact, I don't know of anyone rebuilding a RAID-5 array from a two out three hard drive failure; maybe someone out there has and if you have then please tell me the story because I would love to add it to my growing list of tech stories. Anyway, I check things out and after about a hour of doing troubleshooting I come to the conclusion that two of the three hard drives are in fact failed drives. CRAP. I let the user of the server know that I can run to the local Staples, grab two new drives and just see if I can rebuild the array. She says, "cool" and that's the plan. I write down the type of hard drive used in the array: 1 TB Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM.
I arrive at Staples, they have that type of drive and I immediately do my happy dance. I take the card to the cashier, she calls for a tech to go in the back and grab two drives for me, he comes back to the front with one drive and informs me that they only had one drive left. I then execute my sad face. I go ahead and purchase the one drive. When I get back to work, I inform the user of the happenings. She is somewhat sad. I tell her we can try and rebuild the array with the working drive, the new drive, and one of the failed drives just to see if we can rebuild it (I'm somewhat of a hopeful guy who likes to try almost certain failure scenarios) and to no surprise the RAID would not rebuild. We went through the immediate actions we could take:
* Reinstall Windows Server 2008 R2 on the new drive, add the second drive as a backup drive, and order a third drive and install it when it arrives and use that as a backup drive also. The server would be up and running in just a few hours.
* Wait for a new drive to arrive in at the earliest two days. Install the third drive with only a small possibility of the RAID-5 Array rebuilding. The server would not be up and running soon. Two departments use the server to access maps out on the road and at remote locations.
We went with the first option. From this experience it's plain to me that RAID-5 sucks unless you have a five or six RAID-5 array. I would rather have updated system-image backups of the computer for simple restore options in case of system failure. RAID-6 and RAID-10 I think are nice arrays, but this is the second time I've had problems with Intel's RAID-5 arrays. In the past, before this experience, I was able to shut-down the PC, disconnect then reconnect the sata cables and the array would rebuild itself. I never had an issue with RAID-5 array drives failing. The good thing in this experience is that this mapping server pulled its data from another PC so there was actually zero critical data loss. The only thing lost was availability. The mapping company will have to come down to our location and install the mapping software, but that should be by the end of this week.
RAID 5 or RAID 6?
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Black screen hell
Taken from Tips 4 PC (not my work, but I thought it would be useful).
If you see the screen that tells you your computer had an error, do not choose to start normally, choose to start in safe mode now. See what is safe mode. This is your chance to go the safe way. Many people rush and press to start Windows normally and sometimes this causes a serious problem.
Obviously you should also check to see if the monitor plugged is actually in firmly. It could have been knocked out if it was not correctly positioned in the first place. This is the simplest computer black screen you can get.
If your memory is not seated properly (not in), is damaged, or even absent altogether, this can cause a black screen.
You might just be installing a new piece of RAM but the best way to troubleshoot this is to go back to where you started from. Always start from the beginning. If your computer was working and you installed something, then take it back out. Think about what you are doing and try again.
This has nothing to with getting a black screen in Windows, as sometimes you have not even installed Windows yet. The hardware must be compatible together and also must be installed correctly.
If you are using windows XP than the files are in the Document and Settings section.
We also have a Tips4pc forum where you can chat with others that have the same problem.
If your computer has a black screen, please research your possible problem and be patient as fixing this error is usually left to the experts.
I really hope that your computer black screen has been caused by something simple and is a problem that you can fix quickly without too much stress.
Some common causes of a computer black screen in Windows:
I have to be honest, there are literally hundred’s of reasons why your computer might have a black screen. Hopefully your problem will be something relatively basic.If you see the screen that tells you your computer had an error, do not choose to start normally, choose to start in safe mode now. See what is safe mode. This is your chance to go the safe way. Many people rush and press to start Windows normally and sometimes this causes a serious problem.
Where is your Monitor plugged in? “My computer screen is black”
The first and most obvious reason for a computer appearing to run but you cannot see the video is the monitor. A common mistake is to plug the monitor into the on-board video plug when you actually have a PCI or AGP video card installed. Trust me I have done this myself. Simply move the plug to the correct position. If you see two blue monitor plugs at the back of the computer or even a blue plug and a HDMI port then try using a different plug.Obviously you should also check to see if the monitor plugged is actually in firmly. It could have been knocked out if it was not correctly positioned in the first place. This is the simplest computer black screen you can get.
Failing Display adapter or video card can cause a black screen in windows:
Most of the time you can tell if your computer video
card is deteriorating by seeing little tell tale signs. Lines appearing
or flashing can sometimes occur, however sometimes nothing happens at
all. You might turn your computer on and have the dreaded black screen.
You can try removing your video card and using onboard video, or
replacing the video card to see if that is the problem.
People often also see a computer black screen when they
have plugged their computer into a different monitor or even a TV where
the screen resolution is not compatible. If it is a simple black screen
on your computer it can also be a simple problem to fix, but
unfortunately people do not realize this problem and start
troubleshooting, which actually gives the computer are serious black
screen. When I know that my computer is showing a black screen
on my Windows computer and I know that I have just connected it to a
different monitor, I immediately restart and press F8. This will take me
to the the menu where I will choose enable VGA mode or something
similar.
The next reason the computer will not boot up is RAM…or memory:
This can be the cause when your computer has a black screen in Windows.If your memory is not seated properly (not in), is damaged, or even absent altogether, this can cause a black screen.
- If you have no memory installed at all, some computers make no sounds and just show a black screen on startup. Other computers go crazy and beep their head off. I am an expert at this one, as I build so my computers.
- When your computer gets a black screen only sometimes, it usually means your ram is on the way out..For example if you boot your computer and it doesn’t work, then go back an hour later, and it does work, your memory is playing up. You can try taking the ram out, gently cleaning it with an antistatic cloth, and replacing it. This may solve your problem. If it does not, then you should try running your computer with another compatible stick of ram installed.
Black screen on startup with an amber flashing light
A flashing amber light along with your black screen on startup can be a few things.- Not enough power getting to the motherboard.
- A dead power supply.
- A bent pin or shorted out USB port causing a problem.
Computer black screen after installing new hardware
Often when computer users install hardware in order to upgrade their own computers they run into problems. If you have just performed an upgrade and then get a black screen, the answer is obvious. Some hardware components may not be compatible with the others in your system. And of course there is always the risk of static electricity damaging your components when you are not an experienced computer repair person.You might just be installing a new piece of RAM but the best way to troubleshoot this is to go back to where you started from. Always start from the beginning. If your computer was working and you installed something, then take it back out. Think about what you are doing and try again.
This has nothing to with getting a black screen in Windows, as sometimes you have not even installed Windows yet. The hardware must be compatible together and also must be installed correctly.
Leaving a bootable usb flash drive connected to your computer
Yes this can confuse your computer and it won’t know where to boot up. When your computer has a black screen on startup from doing this and you realize this is the problem and remove the USB, the computer just continues to boot normally..this sometimes happens because a computer sometimes recognizes a USB as a CD drive and tries to boot to it. This is the easiest cause of a black screen in Windows as you can simply just take it out and restart your computer.Corrupting the Boot Sector
A black screen on startup can be so many things! I have learned this lesson the hard way. Never turn off the computer when it is half way through the boot procedure. Even when it is taking forever, or having a major problem you must let it run through if possible. Interrupting it once may be ok, but twice or three times is a no no. After you have carelessly restarted and shutdown a few times the black screen may appear. But this time it may be beyond repair for the average computer user. How to repair a damaged boot sector by replacing the master boot record (MBR) in Windows XPBlack screen on startup – Your CPU is not correctly seated
If your computer has a black screen after transporting one place to another, this is the first place I look. Transporting a working computer, and then not working with a black screen = dislodging the CPU. You can fix this easily by removing the CPU fan and carefully replacing it back in its spot. You may also have to replace some thermal paste between the cpu and heat sink as it stops the cpu from overheating. Be very careful not to bend any pins when dealing with your computer CPU.Keyboard Faulty
This one surprised me because when there is a problem
with the keyboard the computer still boots and says that there is no
keyboard detected on the screen. Well this didn’t happen for me. I had a
keyboard with a bent pin on the cable, so when it was plugged into the
computer, it just plugged in normally. Then the computer black screen on
startup appeared, you could here it starting up but no posting beeps,
no display, nothing. I even swapped monitors around until finally I
tested the keyboard and found the bent pin. I never thought to look
there because of the usual default message that appears on the screen
when there is something wrong with your keyboard. This is why having a
black screen in Windows as a crazy amount of causes and solutions. I
really did not expect this one to come out of the woodwork.
Corrupted User Account – Computer Boots to Black Screen
If you have logged into Windows, so you actually saw the login screen, then logged into Windows, this can mean a few different things. One is that it can be a corrupted user account. In this case it would be handy to have another user account to login to. Then you would be able to tell straight away if that was the problem or not. If you can log into another account you will be able to access the corrupted user account through the main hard drive which is usually called C: drive. You will see a folder called “users” and then there will be another folder for the actual username.If you are using windows XP than the files are in the Document and Settings section.
Notes relating to your computer black screen in Windows:
- If your computer has black screen but you can see one small flashing cursor, I see this as a good sign! It usually means your computer is ok to be formatted. It can also mean that you should try to repair the boot sector first. How to repair a damaged boot sector by replacing the master boot record (MBR) in Windows XP
- Here is an error specific article about your computer boots to a black screen with blinking cursor.
- Lets face it.. Having a black screen on startup is a common symptom for so many problems.
- Sometimes you can repair a black screen in windows or fix boot errors using a post diagnostic card.
- See more black screen troubleshooting tips.
More options when dealing with a black screen:
Buy the Ebook “Recover Your Computer From a Black Screen” only $7..We also have a Tips4pc forum where you can chat with others that have the same problem.
If your computer has a black screen, please research your possible problem and be patient as fixing this error is usually left to the experts.
I really hope that your computer black screen has been caused by something simple and is a problem that you can fix quickly without too much stress.
Related Posts
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)