Crash Course in Active Directory Organizational Unit Design

Introduction

Active Directory has not changed too much over the years. Since it was first introduced in 2000, the concepts around the organizational structure of Active Directory have not changed. There are still organizational units (OUs) within the Active Directory structure that are used to help administrators…. administer. It has come to my attention that many organizations are deciding to make rash decisions for their OU design in order to attempt efficiency, ease of use, ease of administration, and application of lessons learned. I am the first to admit that some suggestions by Microsoft and Microsoft evangelists don’t hit the mark every time, but in some cases I find that they are perfect and will remain that way until the technology changes to prove it wrong. This is the case with using OUs within Active Directory to the extent for what they are designed for and how they are best utilized.

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How to Fix Error Protocol HTTP Does Not Have a Registered Program When Opening Internet Shortcuts

When you double-click a internet shortcut (.URL) file or click on a hyperlink in your mail client, you may encounter the error Unable to open this Internet Shortcut. The protocol "http" does not have a registered program. This is akin to saying "hey! you haven’t configured a web browser as the default". Now you know where to look for the solution… the "Default Programs" applet.

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How to Remove Film Strip (Video Sprockets) From Video Thumbnails in Windows 7

Thumbnails for video files in Windows 7 contain a film strip overlay on the sides which consumes part of the thumbnail image. If you need to remove the video sprockets / film strip effect, there is a registry setting you need to change.
 

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QoS in Windows Server 2012 (Part 1)

Introduction

As organizations begin to depend more heavily on cloud services, network bandwidth management becomes even more critical. Thankfully, bandwidth can be managed through a Windows component known as Quality of Service (QoS). In this article, I will explain what QoS is, how it works, and what you need to know about using QoS in Windows Server 2012.

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Planning deployment for Windows Server 2012 (Part 2) - Features on Demand

Introduction

Windows Server 2012 includes a lot of new features and enhancements that will make migrating to this platform appealing to many organizations. Successful deployment starts with good planning, and it's never too early to begin planning changes in your IT environment. And that's what this series of articles is about.
Note:
This article was written using the Beta release of Windows Server 2012 and will be updated later if any changes are needed when the product reaches RTM.

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Cisco ASA 5500 Series SSL/IPsec VPN Edition - Voted WindowsNetworking.com Readers' Choice Award Winner - Firewalls & VPN Hardware

Winner in the Firewalls & VPN Hardware Category of Readers' Choice Awards: Cisco ASA 5500 Series SSL/IPsec VPN Edition

August 22, 2012 - Cisco ASA 5500 Series SSL/IPsec VPN Edition was selected the winner in the Firewalls & VPN Hardware Software category of the WindowsNetworking.com Readers' Choice Awards. Juniper Networks NetScreen and Avaya Secure Router 2000 Series were runner-up and second runner-up respectively.

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Introduction to Configuration Manager 2012 (Part 3)

Introduction

In part 1 of this series, we went through a complete installation of System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and, by the end of the article, had a fully operational system. In part 2, we began investigating the new features and the console. In this part of the series, we’ll begin to explore the discovery process and client settings.

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A Crash Course in Storage Area Networking (Part 3)

Introduction

In the second part of this article series, I talked all about hosts and host hardware. In this article, I want to turn my attention to the storage fabric.
As previously explained, SANs consist of three main layers – the host layer (which I talked about in the previous article), the fabric layer, and the storage layer. The fabric layer consists of networking hardware that establishes connectivity between the host and the storage target. The fabric layer can consist of things like SAN hubs, SAN switches, fiber optic cable, and more.

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Web Protocols NG

How We Got Here

The last official update to the protocol that underlies the Web, HTTP/1.1, was made back in 1999. Needless to say, 13 years later the web is a radically different place. HTTP has served well but its age has become apparent with the rise in complexity of modern web pages. HTTP’s document-centric fetch model, for example, is under strain in a world where a typical web page is assembled from dozens of images, scripts, and social widgets. Each resource retrieved typically requires a separate HTTP GET request, with all of its associated protocol overhead.

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TrenchTales (Part 5) - Logon Banners

Introduction

This series of articles leverages the expertise of IT pros from around the world who have shared their stories me through my role as editor of WServerNews, the world's largest newsletter focused on system admin and security issues for Microsoft Windows Servers, and also through several other channels such as my connections with IT pros through my activities as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). These stories have been edited for length and clarity where needed.
Tip:
If you haven't subscribed yet to WServerNews you should do so today!

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Windows Server 2012 Network Virtualization and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in an On-Premises and Hosted Private Cloud Infrastructure (Part 2)

Introduction

In the first part of this two part series, we began the discussion around cloud computing and the increasing challenges that cloud computing puts on the networking components of the cloud infrastructure. We also went over some key concepts in cloud computing, such as the ability to abstract as much of the infrastructure from the applications as possible. It is this abstraction of the hardware from the software that depends on it, which drives the abilities, capabilities and power that you can obtain from the effort that you put into creating and managing a cloud infrastructure.

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Fix AutorunsDisabled Folder Launches Automatically at Startup

The AutorunsDisabled folder, as the name implies, contains the startup folder items that are disabled using Autoruns, the startup manager from Windows SysInternals. This folder is located under the Startup folder (separate folders for per-user startup and per-machine startup locations) contains hidden attribute set by default so that these folders are not treated as startup items themselves by Windows. If the hidden attribute for the AutorunsDisabled folder gets removed somehow, then it’s considered as a startup entry and Windows shows the folder window at every logon.

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