Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Adding Domains to Exchange Hosting

This article explains how to add multiple domain to exchange hosting. Exchange server can be used for hosting the email account for different domains irrespective of the current domain.

For example, suppose i have implemented exchange server for domain called domain.com and user account will be xyz@domain.com. After multiple domains for exchange hosting enables to have the virtual domain email accounts such as xyz@domain1.com, xyz@domain2.com, etc.

1. Create a OU called domain1.com.

2. Create a group with the scope as Universal and type as Distribution, name it as domain1-all. Also, create an exchange email address with the same name as that of the group name(By default will have the same name).

3. Edit the domain1-all group property - edit the default smtp address from domain1-all@domain.com to domain1-all@domain1.com.

4. Create new recipient policy - name the policy as domain1.com, create new SMTP address as @domain1.com and make it as primary , leave @domain1.com as secondary.

5. Create the filter rules for domain1.com policy as below in the advanced LDAP query
(&(&(&(&(objectCategory=*)(memberOf=CN=domain1-all,OU=domain1.com,DC=domain,DC=com)))))

The analogy behind the above LDAP query is to query the object stored inside the domain1.com OU.

6. Create the GAL(Global address list) for this domain. Name the new GAL as domain1.com and in the filter rule option use advanded menu to find the Email address ends with @domain1.com option.

7. Open the ADSIEdit.msc, Choose Domain-->DC=domain,DC=com-->OU=domain1.com-->right click property-->In attribute editor section, edit uPNSuffixes to domain1.com.

8. Try to create new user, check the drop down box near the logon name button will have @domain.com and @domain1.com in the drop down list.

So we conclued that in the domain.com email server, domain1.com email domain is hosted successfully.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

PIX Firewall - Basic configuration

Hi friends,

This article gives the basic configuration steps of Cisco PIX firewall series.The pix firewall is the hardware device known for delivering robust user and application policy enforcement, multivector attack protection, and secure connectivity services in cost-effective, easy-to-deploy solutions.

Setting hostname:
hostname pixfirewall

Setting Domainname:
domain-name domain.com

setting the interface speed:
interface ethernet0 100full
interface ethernet1 100full

Naming the interface:
nameif ethernet0 outside security0
nameif ethernet1 inside security100

Setting the logging:
logging on

configuring interface:
ip address outside 200.200.200.200 255.255.255.240
ip address inside 192.168.2.254 255.255.255.0

configuring NAT:
nat (inside) 1 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 0 0
global (outside) 1 200.200.200.201-200.200.200.200.215 netmask 255.255.255.240
global (outside) 1 200.200.200.216 netmask 255.255.255.240


enabling telnet :
telnet 192.168.2.0 255.255.255.0 inside
telnet 200.200.200.200 255.255.255.240 outside
telnet timeout 15

Setting the Telnet password:
passwd

Configuring access-list:
access-list 100 permit icmp any any
access-list 100 permit tcp any any eq www
access-list 100 permit tcp any any eq ftp
access-list 100 permit tcp any any eq ftp-data
access-list 100 permit tcp any any eq smtp
access-list 100 permit tcp any
access-list 100 permit tcp host any
access-group 100 in interface outside

Setting the Route for packet transfer:
route outside 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 200.200.200.200 1

saving the changes to the flash memory:
write memory

configuring the PDM:
setup - enter the related details.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
991-98414-99143

Hardening Exchange server

This articles list of steps that needs to be followed in the exchange server environment for hardening.

1. Basic security best practise like antivirus,secure password,correct privillage for the users,latest service packs and patches,stopping unnessary services,event logging,monitoring,basic firewall policies,good backup and restore plan,etc.

2. Full Knowledge of your infrastructure and network layouts.

3. Status of the ports that are open in the front end.

4. Aware of different types of attacks like data theft,tampering,forgery,Denial of services,Trojon horse,Virus,Spoofing,Mail-relaying,etc,.

5. Assigning proper administrative roles and delagation policy.

6. Enabling all possible logging like audit logs,security logs,SMTP, logs,http logs,etc.

7. Use of Security configuration wizard availbale server 2003 SP1.

8. Effective usage of exchnage security template based on server roles.

9. Updating the Exchange server with related updates,patches,hotfixes,service packs.

10. Maintaining strong firewall in the front end.

11. Strong SMTP settings.

12. Intelligent spam filter or other third party spam solution products.

13. Restricting the distribution list properties.

14. Securing the client.

15. ExBPA(Exchange Best Practice Analysis tool).

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

POP3 Vs IMAP

POP3 (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) are two different email protocols. Both allow you to access your emails offline from your preferred email client.Both POP3 and IMAP4 has some functional difference.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Technology

* POP3 always downloads all new emails locally to your computer(by default, also can store the copy of emails in the server).
* IMAP downloads message summaries and doesn't download the entire message until you explicitly select it.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Email Inbox Display

* POP3 downloads all emails into 1 mail folder called "Inbox".
* IMAP preserves your folder structure in a main folder called "imap.domain.com".Using the IMAP protocol, all your mail stays on the server in multiple folders, some of which you have created. This enables you to connect to any computer and see all your mail and mail folders.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Multi-Computer Access

* POP3 is useful if you only access your email from one computer, since the email is typically downloaded locally (this is the default and can be changed).When you open your mailbox, new mail is moved from the host server and saved on your computer. If you want to be able to see your old mail messages, you have to go back to the computer where you last opened your mail.
* IMAP allows email to be manipulated from a desktop computer at home, a workstation at the office, and a notebook computer while traveling, without the need to transfer messages or files back and forth between these computers.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Email Storage

* With POP3, your emails can be automatically erased from the server after they are downloaded freeing up space in your account.
* IMAP keeps all emails on the server until you erase them.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Internet Connectivity

* In general, IMAP is great if you have a dedicated connection to the Internet or you like to check your mail from various locations.

* With this type of account you do not have to stay logged on to the Internet. You can log on when you want to receive and send new messages. Once your new messages have been downloaded to your computer you can log off to read them. This option is good when you connect with your modem to DAS and are charged for your connection or you have an older computer.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Exchange Backup - Online vs Offline

Hi friends,

This article explains the two different strtegy available in the exchange 2000 and 2003 server. The Netbackup is the backup tool used for backup and restore in the windows environment with excellent features.

Backup exchange 2000/2003 in 2 ways: Online backup and Offline backup.

Online Backup:

An Online backup is performed while the Information Store is still mounted and the Exchange server is operational. The Exchange is Online and available for transactions, therefore it still allows users to work without interruption. Online backups also automatically clear the database logs upon completion.

Another major advantage of the Online backup method is the fact that the Exchange store is checked for corruption at the file-system level. This check is done by verifying the checksums on each 4 KB (Kilobyte) block or page in the database. If there is a checksum failure, backup will terminate. Exchange will not allow you to back up an Exchange store with a wrong checksum in it.

Therefore, after an online backup is complete, you should check the Event Viewer to find out whether your Exchange store is corrupted. If you see a failed backup with a page read error event in Event Viewer, this may be an early indication of a problem in the database.

Offline Backup:

Offline backup is performed by shutting down the Exchange Information Store service and performing COPY procedures on the Exchange databases (Public Folder or Mailbox stores). Using an Offline Backup provides a method to restore the Exchange system to its last known state or specific "point in time", and is usually considered to be less attractive than the Online backup.

However, you may need to perform an Offline backup in the following situations:

* Your Online backup failed. You can complete an Offline backup in situations where an Online backup might fail (for example, due to an error such as a checksum1018 JET_errReadVerifyFailure).
* Your backup software does not support Exchange Online backup APIs, requiring you to dismount the Exchange 2000/2003 mailbox and public folder stores before you backup the server.

Some disadvantages to performing an Offline backup include:

* You must stop IS services (You do not need to stop the IS if you only want to backup the store, for that you can simply just dismount it. However if you want to backup the log files you do need to stop the IS service).
* Users will not be able to access their mailboxes during the offline backup.
* Log files that contain transactions already written to the database files will not be purged after the completion of the backup.
* The database is not checked for corruption during an Offline backup. You might have a corrupt database and backup sets that cannot be used to restore your server to full functionality.
* An increased chance of data loss due to files being copied to and from a backup location.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Configuring SNMP in routers

Hi Friends,

This articles explains the role of SNMP in the networks and also how to configure SNMP in the router to get the monitoring updates from the client using the tools like PRTG traffic analyser, etc.

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an application layer protocol that facilitates the exchange of management information between network devices. It is part of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite. SNMP enables network administrators to manage network performance, find and solve network problems, and plan for network growth.


SNMP Versions:

SNMPv1:
Version 1 has been criticized for its poor security. The passwords are sent in cleartext.

SNMPv2:

It revises version 1 and includes improvements in the areas of performance, security, confidentiality, and manager-to-manager communications.

SNMPv3:

SNMPv3 provides three important services: authentication, privacy and access control.

Configuring SNMP Access in Routers:

Router(config)#snmp-server community public RO

Router(config)#snmp-server community private RW

Configuring SNMP Traps in Routers:

Router(config)#snmp-server host 10.1.1.1 public

Router(config)#snmp-server enable traps

In case accessing this snmp from the windows client machine, should enable snmp service from the add or remove components. Having the firewall in between the client and router device will disturb the connection. Configure the firewall so that the respective port numbers are open.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Sendmail

Hi friends

This article explains the basic configuration of sendmail. In this example, i use the sendmail package from the RHEL 5 and use mailserver.example.com(192.168.10.2) and dns1.example.com(192.168.10.1) as fqdn for this mail server and dns server. Lemme give you the step by step procedure for building the sendmail server.

1. Install the sendmail package:

# yum install sendmail

2. Check the Existence of package:

# rpm -qa | grep sendmail
sendmail-cf-8.13.8-2.el5
sendmail-.13.8-2.el5

3. Services:

# chkconfig --level 345 sendmail on
# service sendmail start|stop|restart|status or
# /etc/init.d/sendmail start|stop|restart|status

4. Sendmail configuration file :

# /etc/mail/sendmail.cf //main sendmail config file
# /etc/mail/sendmail.mc //file used to edit and push the updates to the main file

All configuration changes can be done only at /etc/mail/sendmail.mc and with the help of macro push it to the file /etc/mail/sendmail.cf

5. Macro m4 :

To find the macro path
# locate cf.m4
/usr/share/sendmail-cf/m4/cf.m4
#m4 /usr/share/sendmail-cf/m4/cf.m4 /etc/mail/sendmail.mc > /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
and then restart to make the changes to take effect.

6. Disabling line in /etc/mail/sendmail.mc file:

These statements are disabled by dnl commenting.
dnl DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')
dnl # DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')

This statement is incorrectly disabled:
# DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')

This statement is active:
DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')

7. DNS Server

The proper implementation of DNS server is important before configuring the sendmail. Please test the dns name resoultion with the tools like nslookup, host and dig tool.In this eg, consider the dns1.example.com (192.168.10.1) as primary dns server.

# host dns1.example.com
dns1.example.com has address 192.168.10.1
#host mailserver.example.com
mailserver.example.com address 192.168.10.2

8. Check /etc/resolv.conf file:
make sure /etc/resolv.conf file contains the correct dns server details
# vi /etc/resolv.conf
localdomain example.com
nameserver 192.168.10.1

9. Check /etc/hosts file:
# vi /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 mailserver.example.com localhost.localdomain localhost mailserver

10. Edit /etc/mail/sendmail.mc file:

First, using dnl disable the line like
dnl "DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')"

Second, disable the smarthost option
dnl define(`SMART_HOST',`mail.my-site.com')

Use macro and restart the sendmail daemon

Check the local NIC card is enabled for receive all packets by
# netstat -an | grep :25 | grep tcp
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:25 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN

11. Edit /etc/mail/access file:

# vi /etc/mail/access
localhost.localdomain RELAY
localhost RELAY
127.0.0.1 RELAY
192.168.30 REJECT // rejects the mails from 192.168.30.0 n/w
192.168.20.5 RELAY // relay the mails from the host 192.168.20.5
192.168.10 RELAY // relay the mails from 192.168.10.0 n/w
example.com RELAY // relay the mails from the suffix example.com

12. Edit /etc/mail/local-host-names file:

add hostnames or domain names for which the sendmail accept mail for local delivery.


# vi /etc/mali/local-host-names
example.com
otherdomain.com

13. Edit /etc/mail/virtusertable file:

# vi /etc/mail/virtusertable
// first column is the target email address
// second column may be created user mailbox in the mailserver, aliase name or groupname created in the /etc/aliase or even remote email address.

logu@example.com logu // logu - local user
sonia@example.com sonia
test@example.com test
testaliase@example.com testaliase // testaliase entry created in /etc/aliase
@example.com error:nouser User Unknown // answer for other than the above user

14. Edit /etc/aliases file:

add the below lines at the bottom of the file

# vi /etc/aliases
..........
..........

#setting new aliase
testaliase: logu,test

As per virtusertable above, the mail to testaliase@example.com will go to logu@example.com and sonia@example.com.

15. Configuring POP3/IMAP :
By configuring the sendmail for pop3/imap, we will be able to acces mail from thunderbird, evolution, Outlook, etc.

First, check the existence of dovecot and services using

# chkconfig --level 345 dovecot on
# service dovecot start|stop|restart|status or
# /etc/init.d/dovecot start|stop|restart|status

Second, edit the /etc/dovecot.conf file

# vi /etc/dovecot.conf
........
//search for protocols
//protocols = imap imaps pop3 pop3s
protocols = pop3 // configure pop3 or imap as per your need
........
........

Third, test the NIC listening for pop3 using,

# netstat -a | egrep -i 'pop|imap'
tcp 0 0 *:pop3 *:* LISTEN

Fourth, use Outlook or any client tool to test the mail flow.

16. Troubleshooting via telnet:

Please refer this article in my blog.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Bugzilla

Bugzilla is server software designed to help you manage software development. It is a bug tracking tool.

1. Download
Download the bugzilla tar ball from the link http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/webtools/bugzilla-3.0.2.tar.gz.

2. Install Perl and some dependent modules.

Install Perl v5.6.0 and above. The perl comprises large number of modules and deploying the bugzilla need some modules to be configured prior.

Required Perl modules:
1. CGI 2.93 or CGI 3.11 if using mod_perl
2. Date::Format (2.21)
3. DBI (1.41)
4. DBD::mysql (2.9003) if using MySQL
5. DBD::Pg (1.45) if using PostgreSQL
6. File::Spec (0.84)
7. Template (2.12)
8. Email::Send (2.00)
9. Email::MIME::Modifier (any)

Optional Perl modules:
1. GD (1.20) for bug charting
2. Template::Plugin::GD::Image (1.20) for Graphical Reports
3. Chart::Base (1.0) for bug charting
4. GD::Graph (any) for bug charting
5. GD::Text (any) for bug charting
6. XML::Twig (any) for bug import/export
7. MIME::Parser (5.406) for bug import/export
8. LWP::UserAgent (any) for Automatic Update Notifications
9. PatchReader (0.9.4) for pretty HTML view of patches
10. Image::Magick (any) for converting BMP image attachments to PNG
11. Net::LDAP (any) for LDAP Authentication
12. SOAP::Lite (any) for the web service interface
13. HTML::Parser (3.40) for More HTML in Product/Group Descriptions
14. HTML::Scrubber (any) for More HTML in Product/Group Descriptions
15. Email::MIME::Attachment::Stripper (any) for Inbound Email
16. Email::Reply (any) for Inbound Email
17. mod_perl2 (1.999022) for mod_perl
18. CGI (2.93) for mod_perl
19. Apache::DBI (0.96) for mod_perl2

CPAN is the best tool for installing the perl modules.

# perl -MCPAN -e shell

Once the Perl interpreter has loaded (and been configured), you can install modules by issuing the command install MODULENAME.please use /var/spool/CPAN as the primary location for building the CPAN repository. The interpreter will ask for more options and preferably provide with the default values. After getting lot of inputs, it ends with the prompt "cpan>".

The first thing you should do is upgrade your CPAN:
cpan> install Bundle::CPAN (take's time to complete)

Once it's done, type:
cpan> reload cpan

Now, enter the following command to retrieve all of the required modules:
cpan> install MODULENAME
eg.,
cpan> install DBI
cpan> install DBD::mysql

2. Install MySQL version 3.23.41 or later.

3. Install Apache Webserver - "httpd".

4. Install Sendmail 8.7 or later.

5. Final Check for prerequisites before deploying bugzilla source

Start mysql,sendmail and apache service

#perl -v
#mysql -V

In browser : http://localhost (should have apache test page)

At this point, conclude that prerequisites for bugzilla installation is done.

6. Unpack bugzilla

# cd /var/www/html/
# tar zxvf bugzilla-2.18rc3.tgz
# mv bugzilla-2.18rc3/ bugzilla/ (for simplicity purpose)

7. Checking the perl modules by script

# cd /var/www/html/bugzilla
# ./checksetup.pl

Executing the script gives the status of the perl modules installed.Try to install the modules that failed the test and rerun the script.(Even after installing some modules, it may show failed test for some optional perl modules.There is no problem start continuing the next step)

8. Create a DB account for bugzilla user

# mysql
mysql> GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, INDEX, ALTER, CREATE, LOCK TABLES, CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES, DROP, REFERENCES ON bugs.* TO bugs@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'enterpassword';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

9. Edit the bugzilla config file:

# vi /var/www/html/bugzilla/localconfig

search for $db_pass and replace with 'enterpassword'

10. Last Compile ./checksetup.pl (it will ask for bugzilla's administrative account details at the end)

11. Edit apache configuration file:

# vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

a. uncomment the line "AddHandler cgi-script .cgi"

b. add the below two lines.
Document root
.......
Options ExecCGI FollowSymLinks <---- add this line.
AllowOverride Limit <---- add this line.
.......

/document root
c. add "index.cgi" in the below line
DirectoryIndex index.html index.html.var index.cgi

#/etc/init.d/httpd restart

12. Open browser http://localhost/bugzilla , gives you the home page of the bugzilla application successfully.

Please mail me if you have any questions.

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Basic DNS Server - BIND

Hi friends,

This article gives you the basic configuration of Dns-bind server in linux distribution. In this example i have used the chroot bind package.

1. Install the DNS Package
(either regular BIND or with BIND chroot):
Check the existence with the command

# rpm -qa | grep bind
ypbind-1.19-7.el5
bind-chroot-9.3.3-7.el5
bind-libs-9.3.3-7.el5
bind-utils-9.3.3-7.el5
bind-9.3.3-7.el5

2. Services:

# chkconfig --list | grep named
# chkconfig --level 345 named on
# /etc/init.d/named start|stop|status|restart or
# service named start|stop|status|restart

3. Firewall - open dns Port:

Open the tcp & udp port 53 from the firewall for the inbound DNS name resolution.

4. vi /etc/hosts:

Set proper name for the dns server host as shown below

127.0.0.1 dns1 localdomain.loalhost localhost dns1.example.com

5. Common location of dns configuration files:

In regular BIND server
named.conf file --> /etc/named.conf
zone files --> /var/named/
In chroot BIND server
named.conf file --> /var/named/chroot/etc/named.conf
zone files --> /var/named/chroot/var/named/

6. Getting the Test Sample File:
Find test sample file configuration using the locate command.

for eg.,

# locate named.conf
# locate .zone

7. For simpler configuration create a symbolic link as

# ln -s /var/named/chroot/etc/named.conf /etc/named.conf

8. configuring : /etc/named.conf

// options for configuring the forwarders
options {
forwarders { 200.200.200.200; };
statistics-file "/var/named/data/named_stats.txt" ;
dump-file "/var/named/data/cache_dump.db" ;
directory "/var/named" ;
};
// root hints details
zone "." {
file "/var/named/named.root";
type hint;
};
// Forward lookup zone details
zone "example.com" IN {
type master;
file "example.com.zone";
allow-update { none; };
};
// reverse lookup zone details
zone "10.168.192.in-addr.arpa" IN {
type master;
file "10.168.192.zone";
allow-update { none; };
};

9. configuring : /var/named/chroot/var/named/example.com.zone

# vi /var/named/chroot/var/named/example.com.zone

ORIGIN example.com.
$TTL 86400
@ IN SOA dns1.example.com. hostmaster.example.com. (
2002022401 ; serial
3H ; refresh
15M ; retry
1W ; expiry
1D ) ; minimum

IN NS dns1.example.com.

IN MX 10 mail.example.com.

IN A 192.168.10.1

dns1 IN A 192.168.10.1
server2 IN A 192.168.10.2
client1 IN A 192.168.10.3

server1 IN CNAME dns1
mail IN CNAME server2

10. configuring : /var/named/chroot/var/named/10.168.192.zone

# vi /var/named/chroot/var/named/10.168.192.zone

$ORIGIN 10.168.192.in-addr.arpa.
$TTL 86400
@ IN SOA dns1.example.com. hostmaster.example.com. (
2002022401 ; serial
3H ; refresh
15M ; retry
1W ; expiry
1D ) ; minimum

IN NS dns1.example.com.

1 IN PTR dns1.example.com.
2 IN PTR server2.example.com
3 IN PTR client1.example.com

11. Restart the "named" Services.

12. Client side configuration :

In Linux Client:

# vi /etc/resolv.conf

nameserver 192.168.10.1
domain example.com

In Windows Client:

Configure the preferred DNS server with DNS server ip address (192.168.10.1).

13. Check the name resolution with the following tool
nslookup
host
dig

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Linux/UNIX Basic Commands - Part 2

Hi Friends,

Here is the continuation of the topic Linux/UNIX Basic Commands Part 1.

SSH:

ssh user@host – connect to host as user
ssh -p port user@host – connect to host on port as user
ssh-copy-id user@host – add your key to host for user to enable a keyed or passwordless login

Searching:

grep pattern files – search for pattern in files
grep -r pattern dir – search recursively for pattern in dir
command | grep pattern – search for pattern in the output of command
locate file – find all instances of file

Compression:

tar cf file.tar files – create a tar named file.tar containing files
tar xf file.tar – extract the files from file.tar
tar czf file.tar.gz files – create a tar with Gzip compression
tar xzf file.tar.gz – extract a tar using Gzip
tar cjf file.tar.bz2 – create a tar with Bzip2 compression
tar xjf file.tar.bz2 – extract a tar using Bzip2
gzip file – compresses file and renames it to file.gz
gzip -d file.gz – decompresses file.gz back to file

Network:

ping host – ping host and output results
whois domain – get whois information for domain
dig domain – get DNS information for domain
dig -x host – reverse lookup host
wget file – download file
wget -c file – continue a stopped download

Installation

Install from source:
./configure
make
make install
dpkg -i pkg.deb – install a package (Debian)
rpm -ivh pkg.rpm – install a package (RPM)
yum install pkgname - using the yum tool

Shortcuts:

Ctrl+C – halts the current command
Ctrl+Z – stops the current command, resume with fg in the foreground or bg in the background
Ctrl+D – log out of current session, similar to exit
Ctrl+W – erases one word in the current line
Ctrl+U – erases the whole line
Ctrl+R – type to bring up a recent command
!! - repeats the last command
exit – log out of current session

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Linux/UNIX Basic Commands - Part 1

Hi friends

Please find the Basic linux/Unix commands below for your reference

File Commands:

ls – directory listing
ls -al – formatted listing with hidden files
cd dir - change directory to dir
cd – change to home
pwd – show current directory
mkdir dir – create a directory dir
rm file – delete file
rm -r dir – delete directory dir
rm -f file – force remove file
rm -rf dir – force remove directory dir *
cp file1 file2 – copy file1 to file2
cp -r dir1 dir2 – copy dir1 to dir2; create dir2 if it doesn't exist
mv file1 file2 – rename or move file1 to file2 if file2 is an existing directory, moves file1 into directory file2
ln -s file link – create symbolic link link to file
touch file – create or update file
cat > file – places standard input into file
more file – output the contents of file
head file – output the first 10 lines of file
tail file – output the last 10 lines of file
tail -f file – output the contents of file as it grows, starting with the last 10 lines.

System Info:

date – show the current date and time
cal – show this month's calendar
uptime – show current uptime
w – display who is online
whoami – who you are logged in as
finger user – display information about user
uname -a – show kernel information
cat /proc/cpuinfo – cpu information
cat /proc/meminfo – memory information
man command – show the manual for command
df – show disk usage
du – show directory space usage doesn't exist
free – show memory and swap usage
whereis app – show possible locations of app
which app – show which app will be run by default
locate filename - to find the location of the file
find / -name filename or namespace - to find the file with some namespace

Process Management:

ps – display your currently active processes
top – display all running processes
kill pid – kill process id pid
killall proc – kill all processes named proc *
bg – lists stopped or background jobs; resume a stopped job in the background
fg – brings the most recent job to foreground
fg n – brings job n to the foreground

File Permissions:

chmod octal file – change the permissions of file to octal, which can be found separately for user, group, and world by adding:
  • 4 – read (r)
  • 2 – write (w)
  • 1 – execute (x)
Examples:
chmod 777 – read, write, execute for all
chmod 755 – rwx for owner, rx for group and world
For more options, see man chmod.

Please read Linux/UNIX Basic Commands - Part 2 also.

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Mysql - copy table from one database to other

Hi friends

This article explains how to move the particular table from the database to other database of same machine or different machine.Obviously, the user should have sufficient access for the database.

Copy the Table

Syntax:
# mysqldump --opt databasename table1 table2 tablen > tableexport.sql

For eg.,
# mysqldump --opt projectdbname tablename > anybackupname.sql

Moving to Remote machine using SCP:

# scp anybackupname.sql root@remotename_or_ip:/tmp

Restore

# mysql resultantdbname < anybackupname.sql

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Installing Ruby on Rails

Hi friends,

This article explains the step by step procedure for installing the ruby on rails application in the Linux machines. The installation guidelines are found in the ruby on rail's home site. Please follow the below steps for deploying this developer suite.

Step1: Installing ruby-1.8.6

Download from the ruby on rail's home site or use
# wget http://ftp.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/1.8/ruby-1.8.6.tar.gz
# tar -xzf ruby-1.8.6.tar.gz
# cd ruby-1.8.6
# ./configure
# make
# make install
# ruby -v or # ruby --version (to check the installed version)

Note: make sure the availability of any c compiler, if not please use "# yum install gcc" to install the compiler.

Step2: Installing rubygems

Download from the ruby on rail's home site or use
# wget http://rubyforge.org/frs/download.php/5207/rubygems-0.8.11.tgz
# tar -zxvf rubygems-0.8.11.tgz
# cd rubygems-0.8.11
# ruby setup.rb

Step3: Install rails using gem

# gem install rails

Step4: test

Please check the installation logs for successfully completion. Can use the following command also
# rails test
# cd rails
# ruby script/server

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Moving 2003 Domain Controller to new machine

Hi friends

This article explains the steps to be followed when moving 2003 DC from to new built server machine. In small organisation, after some period moving DC to new server hardware happens in common. The following gives you the step by step procedure for moving domain controller to the new hardware.

Let us consider the servername as oldserver and newserver and domainname as test.com. The oldserver is the PDC with active directory integrated DNS.

Initail configuration of newserver:
  1. Install the server OS, latest SP and patches.
  2. Join in test.com domain.
Configure as Additional DC:

Use Dcpromo to promote the newserver as the additional domain controller.

Configuring DNS Server:

Install DNS in newserver as primary active directory integrated by giving the domain name as test.com. Add oldserver as name server and also in vice versa. Allow zone transfer between the name servers. After some time, ie, once the replication is over, change the oldserver as secondary dns server. Now the name resolution part is complete.

Test Connectivity with DCDIAG:

Use Dcdiag.exe support tool to test the connectivity between the DC's.

Role Transfer:

Now using the ntdsutil, we transfer the roles from the oldserver to the newserver.

C:\ntdsutil
Ntdsutil: roles
Fsmo maintenance: connections
Server connections: connect to server servername
Server connections: q
Fsmo maintenance: Transfer domain naming master or
Transfer infrastructure master or
Transfer PDC or
Transfer RID master or
Transfer schema master


Test the role transfer succesful completion sattus using the below command

dumpfsmos servername (here in our eg, dumpfsmos newserver)

Now, the newserver is your primary domain controller for the domain test.com

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Exchange Tool - ESEUTIL.EXE

ESEUTIL is a tool to defragment your exchange databases offline, to check their integrity and to repair a damaged/lost database.
ESEUTIL is located in the \EXCHSRVR\BIN directory. This directory is not in the system path so you must open the tool in the BIN directory or enhance the system path with the \EXCHSRVR\BIN directory
Exchange 2003 defragments the Exchange database every night. But this is only an online defrag of the database. An online defrag doesn’t reduce the size of the information store. To reduce the size of the databases, you must use an offline defrag.
Under normal conditions you don't need an offline defrag, but when you add tons of new users due to a merger or aquisition or when you delete many objects from the store it can be necessary to do an offline defrag.

Full list of Eseutil switches for Windows Exchange:
  1. Eseutil /cc Performs a hard recovery after a database restore.
  2. Eseutil /mc To determine the space.
  3. Eseutil /d Performs an offline compaction/defragmentation of a database.
  4. Eseutil /g Verifies the integrity of a database.
  5. Eseutil /k Verifies the checksums of a database.
  6. Eseutil /m Generates formatted output of various database file types. e.g. /mh
  7. Eseutil /p Repairs a corrupted or damaged database.
  8. Eseutil /r Performs soft recovery to bring a single database into a consistent or clean shutdown state.
  9. Eseutil /y Copies a database, streaming file, or log file.
Examples:

1. To determine the space availability (110% free space associated with the database to perform the defragmentation):

C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin>eseutil.exe /ms "C:\Program files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"

2. To Defragment the store for compaction of space:

C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin>eseutil.exe /d "C:\Program files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"

3. To check the integrity of database(this integrity check does not support the database recovery like ISINTEG Tool)

C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin>eseutil.exe /g "C:\Program files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"

Like wise eseutil /p - repair is used in congestion with the isinteg to repair the damaged store from the scratch.

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Quick Reboot - Exchange 2000 or 2003 / DC Server

The reboot time of exchange server machine generaly takes time and in Domian controller it takes more time. To enable the quick reboot for the exchange server follow the below steps.

1. Create a batch file called ExchShutdown.bat.

Open notepad and type the following
net stop MSExchangeES /y
net stop MSExchangeIS /y
net stop MSExchangeMTA /y
net stop MSExchangeSA /y
net stop WinHttpAutoProxySvc /y

2. Open the gpedit.msc
Computer settings --> windows settings --> Scripts(startup/shutdown) --> right pane - shutdown properties --> add --> Choose ExchShutdown.bat

3. Close all and run gpupdate to refresh the group policy.

The procedure is completed.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Subversion

Subversion is a free/open-source version control system. That is, Subversion manages files and directories, and the changes made to them, over time. This allows you to recover older versions of your data, or examine the history of how your data changed. Subversion can operate across networks, which allows it to be used by people on different computers. At some level, the ability for various people to modify and manage the same set of data from their respective locations fosters collaboration.

The goal of the Subversion project is to build a version control system that is a compelling replacement for CVS in the open source community

Install Subversion:

rpm –qa | grep subversion
yum install subversion

Plan and create the Repository Location:
Create directory for the repository
#mkdir /home/subversion
To create a repository use the below command
#svnadmin create /home/subversion


Importing Initial data into the Repository:

1. Import from local machine

svn import /home/loguinfo.com file:///home/subversion/loguinfo.com/trunk -m “Initial load for loguinfo.com by logu”

2. Import from Remote machine using Subversion client

svn import /home/loguinfo.com svn+ssh://username@server.com/loguinfo.com/trunk –m “Initial import for loguinfo.com by logu”

3. Import from Remote machine using TortoiseSVN

a. Select folder with project files
b. Right-click and select the TortoiseSVN Import option
c. Specify path of new project repository

Now, the repository has some project folders.

Getting working Copy for editing (For eg changing/editing the website code)

svn checkout svn+ssh://username@server.com/loguinfo.com/trunk /localhome/myproject/loguinfo.com

So now you have a local copy of the project code. Enter your working copy and edit a file's contents.

Run svn commit to commit the new version of your file to the repository.

Run svn update to bring your working copy “up-to-date” with the repository.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

IMF - Intelligent Message Filter

Hi friends

This articles explains the functions, working and configuration of IMF in windows exchange mail environment.

IMF:
Microsoft Exchange Intelligent Message Filter is a product developed by Microsoft to help companies reduce the amount of unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE), or spam, received by users.

Intelligent Message Filter is based on Microsoft SmartScreen Technology from Microsoft Research. By using e-mail characteristics tracked by SmartScreen technology, Intelligent Message Filter can help determine whether each incoming e-mail message is likely to be spam. Based on this likelihood, you can choose to block e-mail messages at the gateway or at the mailbox store.

Avialability:
IMF is one of the new feature available in exchange 2003 when compared with exchange 2000.

In Exchange Server 2003 with SP2:
It is an integral part of the SP2 pack. IMF is located in the path Exchange System Manager --> Global settings --> message delivery --> properties.

In Exchange Server 2003 with SP1:
It is also an integral part of the SP1 pack. But, IMF is located in the path System Manager --> Administrative groups --> First administrative group --> servers --> active servername --> Protocols --> SMTP --> Intelligent Message Filtering --> properties.

In Exchange Server 2003 without SP1/SP2:
  1. Download ExchangeIMF.msi file from the microsoft site.
  2. Accept the License Agreement, and in the screen, select to install both the Management Tools for IMF and the IMF Functionality.
  3. Click Finish.
  4. Restart the services SMTP, NNTP, Exchange POP3, Exchange IMAP, Exchange Routing engine and FTP publishing services.
Configuring IMF:

Configuring Intelligent Message Filter involves two settings:

1. Gateway Blocking Configuration - In Gateway Blocking Configuration, you establish a threshold based on a spam confidence level (SCL) rating above which the gateway server takes action on the message. You also define the type of action you want the gateway to take.

2. Store Junk E-mail Configuration - In Store Junk E-mail Configuration, you define the thresholds based on an SCL rating that Microsoft Exchange 2003 mailbox stores use to determine whether to deliver messages to a user's Inbox or Junk E-mail folder.

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Friday, October 19, 2007

Configuring SSL for IIS

Hi friends,

This article explains how to configure your IIS based website to communicate with the secure socket layer shortly called as SSL. The SSL enable us to have the secure website in turn also for the access of user's mailbox from the OWA from the Internet world. The SSL works in close with the CA called Certificate Authority. Here i am going to explain SSL website building with the basic standalone root certificate available with the server 2003 add remove components.

Install Certificate Authority:

Go to add / remove components and install the Certificate services.

Configuring Website:

1. Open IIS console
2. Right click the Website (here Default website)
3. Directory security
4. Server certificate
5. New server certificate
6. Immediate request options
7. Give the appropriate name, organization name and unit, common name
8. Leave the default port number and other values.
9. Select the appropriate certificate
10. On the Certificate Request Submission page, click Next to submit the request, and then click Finish to complete the wizard.


Enabling the SSL to the Website:

1. Open IIS console
2. Right click the Website (here Default website)
3. Directory security and click Edit.
4. click the Require secure channel (SSL) check box, click the Require 128-bit encryption check box, and then click OK.
5. Make sure Basic authentication is alone checked.

Testing:

Open your browser and then try out any possible urls.
For eg http://localhost/exchange
When you try the above option it will throw an error.
But, if you try with SSL option https://localhost/exchange , it works.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

MySQL Admin Tips

Hi friends,

This article gives you the quick start admin guide for MySQL.

# change root password

$ mysql -u root
set password for root@localhost = password('abcd');
set password for root@localhost = '';
flush privileges;
quit;

# create new database
$ mysql -p -u root
CREATE DATABASE amarok;
USE mysql;
GRANT ALL ON amarok.* TO amarok@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'PASSWORD_CHANGE_ME';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

# get the config variables
mysqladmin -u root variables
for example, to find the datadir
mysqladmin -u root variables | grep 'datadir'

# rename a DB
mysqladmin -u root create boss
mysqldump -u root --opt boss_dev >db.sql
mysql -u root boss mysql> revoke all on boss_dev.* from 'old_db_user'@'localhost';

# give access from remote host
GRANT ALL ON *.* TO 'root'@'192.168.1.%';

# user management
select host, db, user from db;
revoke all on noss2_prd.* from 'boss2'@'localhost';
select host, user, password from user;
delete from user where user like 'dep%';

# procedures
select routine_schema, specific_name from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ROUTINES;

# views
select table_schema, table_name from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.VIEWS;

# tables
SELECT table_schema, table_name, table_type, engine, data_length
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
WHERE table_schema = 'boss' AND table_name like 'audit%';

SELECT table_name, data_length FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE table_schema = 'boss' AND table_name like 'audit%';

SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE table_schema = 'boss' AND table_name = 'audit'\G

DROP TABLE audit_20060427102929;
DROP TABLE boss_2006apr27094201;

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Thursday, October 18, 2007

More SWAP space with a SWAP file

Hi Friends,

There is a possibility for adding extra swap space even after installation. The swap space is nothing but a virtual memory (Hard disk space acting as a RAM space). Any linux distribution requires the swap space for deploying the kernel. The recommended swap space is to be twice that of the RAM size. In case, you are starting from a scratch or forget to allocate the required space for the /swap partition at the time of installation, no harm it can be extended easily.

The trick is to make a file and then tell the swapon program to use it. Here's how to create, for example, a 64
megs swap file on your root partition (of course make sure you have at least 64 megs free):

dd if=/dev/zero of=/swapfile bs=1024 count=65536

This will make a 64 megs (about 67 millions bytes) file on your hard drive. You now need to initialize it:

mkswap /swapfile 65536
sync

And you can then add it to your swap pool:

swapon /swapfile

With that you have 64 megs of swap added. Don't forget to add the swapon command to your startup files (chkconfig --list) so that the command will be repeated at each reboot.

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Group policy update forcing

Hi friends

To force the client machine to get the recent group policy from the server use the below options,

For 2000 Clients :

* SECEDIT /REFRESHPOLICY MACHINE_POLICY /ENFORCE:

Immediately imposes group policy object settings located within the "machine" node of relevant group policy objects.

* SECEDIT /REFRESHPOLICY USER_POLICY /ENFORCE:

Immediate imposes group policy object settings located within the "User" node of the relevant group policy objects

For XP Clients:

gpupdate - To update the group policy in the client machine.

gpresult - To view the resultant set of applied policy to the client machine from the server.

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Server NT Vs Server 2000

Hi friends

This articles give the compare and contrast chart of features between server NT and server 2000. The following points in each category makes comparison respectively.

SERVER NT:

  1. SAM(Security account manager) database for user acc creations
  2. No AD
  3. PDC, BDC(has no write permission) env
  4. No fsmo roles
  5. Dhcp works independently
  6. No ICS,NAT,VPN,RRAS,ATM
  7. No IE 4.0 and IE 5.0
  8. No NLB and Clustering
  9. No predictable end to end ,QOS
  10. No IAS,RADIUS,Kerberos V5
  11. No EFS
  12. No development support
  13. No terminal services
  14. No IIS 5.0 ,ASP
  15. No IPP(Internet printing protocol)
  16. No disk quota,DFS,etc

SERVER 2000 :

  1. No SAM Database, inspite AD is used
  2. AD Env (adv features integrates features like ease mgmt,centralized replication,etc)
  3. PDC,ADC environment
  4. Fsmo(flexible single master operation role) for replication b/w DC
  5. Dhcp works paralelly with dns and AD
  6. ICS,NAT,VPN,RRAS,ATM are added features
  7. IE 4.0 and IE 5.0 supports Http compression
  8. Supports NLB(network load balancing) and Clustering
  9. Has predictable end to end ,QOS(quality of services)
  10. Has improved authentication strategy like IAS,RADIUS,Kerberos V5
  11. Support EFS(Encryption file system)
  12. Has development support (VB 6.0)
  13. Has terminal services
  14. IIS 5.0, ASP are present
  15. IPP(Internet printing protocol) are present
  16. Disk quota mgmt,DFS are available
Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Windows Shortcut Run Commands:

Hi friends,

I have seen many system administrator use to work fast while using their desktops and used to admire it. They never use mouse or surf through the start menu for reaching the particular application. So this article gives you the idea about the shortcuts for the run commands.

Working of Run Commands:

Each and every application will be having a executable file for its application and the respective core content will be stored in some executable path. Initially PATH variable will be set in the environmental variable settings tab.
(in my PC, it may have more values also in your PC)
$PATH = C:\Program Files\Support Tools\;%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\system32\WBEM;
C:\WINNT\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727;C:\sbin\svn\bin;C:\Program Files
\QuickTime\QTSystem\

Creating Shortcuts:

Creating shortcuts of your wish for particular application and for folders or files is also possible. Let me give a quick example suppose you want to create a shortcut for particular folder in some path.

1. Create folder say c:\shortcuts
2. Open Environmental settings tab of your computer and add "c:\shortcuts" to $PATH.
3. Right Click the folder you want to make shortcuts and create shortcut.
4. Rename the shortcut if you wish.
5. Paste the shortcut into "c:\shortcuts"

To test Open --> Run --> "shortcut name" . It will open the folder for which we have created the shortcut before.

Some Windows Run Commands:

  1. Accessibility Controls - access.cpl
  2. Add Hardware Wizard - hdwwiz.cpl
  3. Add/Remove Programs - appwiz.cpl
  4. Administrative Tools - control admintools
  5. Automatic Updates - wuaucpl.cpl
  6. Bluetooth Transfer Wizard - fsquirt
  7. Calculator - calc
  8. Certificate Manager - certmgr.msc
  9. Character Map - charmap
  10. Check Disk Utility - chkdsk
  11. Clipboard Viewer - clipbrd
  12. Command Prompt - cmd
  13. Component Services - dcomcnfg
  14. Computer Management - compmgmt.msc
  15. timedate.cpl - ddeshare
  16. Device Manager - devmgmt.msc
  17. Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)* - directx.cpl
  18. Direct X Troubleshooter - dxdiag
  19. Disk Cleanup Utility - cleanmgr
  20. Disk Defragment - dfrg.msc
  21. Disk Management - diskmgmt.msc
  22. Disk Partition Manager - diskpart
  23. Display Properties - control desktop
  24. Display Properties - desk.cpl
  25. Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected) - control color
  26. Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility - drwtsn32
  27. Driver Verifier Utility - verifier
  28. Event Viewer - eventvwr.msc
  29. File Signature Verification Tool - sigverif
  30. Findfast - findfast.cpl
  31. Folders Properties - control folders
  32. Fonts - control fonts
  33. Fonts Folder - fonts
  34. Free Cell Card Game - freecell
  35. Game Controllers - joy.cpl
  36. Group Policy Editor (XP Prof) - gpedit.msc
  37. Hearts Card Game - mshearts
  38. Iexpress Wizard - iexpress
  39. Indexing Service - ciadv.msc
  40. Internet Properties - inetcpl.cpl
  41. IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) - ipconfig /all
  42. IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) - ipconfig /displaydns
  43. IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) - ipconfig /flushdns
  44. IP Configuration (Release All Connections) - ipconfig /release
  45. IP Configuration (Renew All Connections) - ipconfig /renew
  46. IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS) - ipconfig /registerdns
  47. IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /showclassid
  48. IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /setclassid
  49. Java Control Panel (If Installed) - jpicpl32.cpl
  50. Java Control Panel (If Installed) - javaws
  51. Keyboard Properties - control keyboard
  52. Local Security Settings - secpol.msc
  53. Local Users and Groups - lusrmgr.msc
  54. Logs You Out Of Windows - logoff
  55. Microsoft Chat - winchat
  56. Minesweeper Game - winmine
  57. Mouse Properties - control mouse
  58. Mouse Properties - main.cpl
  59. Network Connections - control netconnections
  60. Network Connections - ncpa.cpl
  61. Network Setup Wizard - netsetup.cpl
  62. Notepad - notepad
  63. Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed) - nvtuicpl.cpl
  64. Object Packager - packager
  65. ODBC Data Source Administrator - odbccp32.cpl
  66. On Screen Keyboard - osk
  67. Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed) - ac3filter.cpl
  68. Password Properties - password.cpl
  69. Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc
  70. Performance Monitor - perfmon
  71. Phone and Modem Options - telephon.cpl
  72. Power Configuration - powercfg.cpl
  73. Printers and Faxes - control printers
  74. Printers Folder - printers
  75. Private Character Editor - eudcedit
  76. Quicktime (If Installed) - QuickTime.cpl
  77. Regional Settings - intl.cpl
  78. Registry Editor - regedit
  79. Registry Editor - regedit32
  80. Remote Desktop - mstsc
  81. Removable Storage - ntmsmgr.msc
  82. Removable Storage Operator Requests - ntmsoprq.msc
  83. Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof) - rsop.msc
  84. Scanners and Cameras - sticpl.cpl
  85. Scheduled Tasks - control schedtasks
  86. Security Center - wscui.cpl
  87. Services - services.msc
  88. Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc
  89. Shuts Down Windows - shutdown
  90. Sounds and Audio - mmsys.cpl
  91. Spider Solitare Card Game - spider
  92. SQL Client Configuration - cliconfg
  93. System Configuration Editor - sysedit
  94. System Configuration Utility - msconfig
  95. System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately) - sfc /scannow
  96. System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot) - sfc /scanonce
  97. System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) - sfc /scanboot
  98. System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting) - sfc /revert
  99. System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache) - sfc /purgecache
  100. System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x) - sfc /cachesize=x
  101. System Properties - sysdm.cpl
  102. Task Manager - taskmgr
  103. Telnet Client - telnet
  104. User Account Management - nusrmgr.cpl
  105. Utility Manager - utilman
  106. Windows Firewall - firewall.cpl
  107. Windows Magnifier - magnify
  108. Windows Management Infrastructure - wmimgmt.msc
  109. Windows System Security Tool - syskey
  110. Windows Update Launches - wupdmgr
  111. Windows XP Tour Wizard - tourstart
  112. Wordpad - write
  113. Microsoft Outlook - Outlook
  114. Microsoft Word - Winword
  115. Acrobat Reader - Acrord32
  116. Active Dir Users and Comp - Dsa.msc
  117. Routing and remote access - Rrasmgmt.msc
  118. DNS - Dnsmgmt.msc
  119. Add/remove Programs - Appwiz.cpl
  120. Display property - Desk.cpl
Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Server 2003 Important New Features:

Hi friends

This article gives you the best and short view about new features available with the Server 2003 family when compared with the prior Server 2000.

List Of New Features:

1. Improved forest/Domain functional level mode like domain, forest and interim forest modes.
2. ADMT V2(active directory migration tool) with inter forest password migration and scripting support.
3. Domain and Domain Controller renaming.
4. Cross forest transitive kerberos trust.
5. Enhanced smart card authentication.
6. Software restriction policies(trusted binaries allowed based on path,hash and digital signature).
7. IP V6 Support.
8. Flexible wireless authentication.
9. DNS – Stub zones and conditional forwarding.
10. IPSec (features like IPSec NAT traversal, IPSec support in netsh, IPSec RSOP, IPSecMON in MMC).
11. Enhanced NLB (NLBMGR and ISA Server load balancing).
12. Storage services – Volume shadow copy support.
13. IIS 6.0 (features like kernel mode http and IGMP V3).

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Telnet - SMTP, POP3, IMAP4 and Others.

Hi friends

This article explains the importance of telnet command while troubleshooting connectivity in term some port numbers open close status and also more options in email protocols. The telnet plays fine role in finding the port status while troubleshooting email issues and also other applications.

General Port Status finding:

Syntax :

telnet {IP address | FQDN} {Port number}

Suppose to find whether remote desktop is enables in remote computer, the syntax will be

telnet hostname 3389

If it shows a blank windows, the RDP is enabled and else cases it through errors.


TELNET SMTP:

telnet severname 25
Helo
Mail from : administrator@domain.com
Rcpt to : someclient@domain.com
Data
{type the message} .{enter twice}
quit

TELNET POP3:

telnet servername 110
User userid@domain.com
Pass {password}
Stat
List
Quit

TELNET IMAP4:

telnet servername 143
? login userid@domain.com {password}
? list “” “*”
? select {foldername} (foldername=inbox,outbox,sent items,etc)
? fetch {msg number} all (msg number=1,2,3,etc)
? fetch {msg number} body (msg number=1,2,3,etc)
? logout

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Exchange Information store


Hi friends,

This articles gives you the breif introduction about the exchange information store. The Exchange Information store is the core are where all the information are stored. The Information Store is made up of a number of components as follows.
1. Mailbox Store - storage space for user's mailbox.
2. Public Store - storage space for public folder contents or mails.

Please find the diagram for the detailed components of exchange information store.

No of Storage groups:

1. Exchange 2000 any SP and 2003 Std pre SP2 - 1 SG + 1 RSG.
2. Exchange 2003 Std with SP2 - 1 SG + 1 RSG.
3. Exchange 2000 and 2003 Ent with SP2 - 4 SG + 1 RSG.

No of Stores:

1. Exchange 2000 any SP and 2003 Std pre SP2 - 1 Mailbox Store and 1 Public folder per Storage group.
2. Exchange 2003 Std with SP2 - 1 Mailbox Store and 1 Public folder per Storage group.
3. Exchange 2000 and 2003 Ent with SP2 - 5 Mailbox Store and 5 Public folder per Storage group.

Mailbox Store Size Details:

1. Exchange 2000 any SP and 2003 Std pre SP2 - 16 GB per store.
2. Exchange 2003 Std with SP2 - 75 GB per store.
3. Exchange 2000 and 2003 Ent with SP2 - 16TB per store.

How store size is calculated:
The store size is the sum of both the Exchange Server database (.EDB) and the Exchange Server streaming (.STM) files.

1. Priv1.edb: A rich-text database file containing message headers, message text, and standard attachments.
2. Priv1.stm: A streaming internet content file containing audio, video and other media that are formatted as streams of Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) data.

Important Note:
The mailbox store does not mount when the mailbox store database reaches the 16 GB limit. The resolution for this can done by temporarily adding extra 1 GB additional space. This can be done by adding some changes in the registry. Please follow the link for the step by step procedure of temporarily increase the limit by 1 GB.

Please mail me if you any further questions.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Types of Windows Backup:

Hi friends,

This article explains different types of backup available in windows (ntbackup.exe). The Backup utility supports five methods of backing up data on your computer or network. The analogy behind this different types of backups is the archive attribute.

Copy backup
A copy backup copies all selected files but does not mark each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). Copying is useful if you want to back up files between normal and incremental backups because copying does not affect these other backup operations.

Daily backup
A daily backup copies all selected files that have been modified the day the daily backup is performed. The backed-up files are not marked as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared).

Differential backup
A differential backup copies files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It does not mark files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). If you are performing a combination of normal and differential backups, restoring files and folders requires that you have the last normal as well as the last differential backup.

Incremental backup
An incremental backup backs up only those files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It marks files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). If you use a combination of normal and incremental backups, you will need to have the last normal backup set as well as all incremental backup sets in order to restore your data.

Normal backup
A normal backup copies all selected files and marks each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). With normal backups, you need only the most recent copy of the backup file or tape to restore all of the files. You usually perform a normal backup the first time you create a backup set.

Strategy : Normal + Incremental
Backing up your data using a combination of normal backups and incremental backups requires the least amount of storage space and is the quickest backup method. However, recovering files can be time-consuming and difficult because the backup set can be stored on several disks or tapes.

Strategy : Normal + Differential
Backing up your data using a combination of normal backups and differential backups is more time-consuming, especially if your data changes frequently, but it is easier to restore the data because the backup set is usually stored on only a few disks or tapes.

I guess now you people know what are this different backup does.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Public Folders : Best Practise

Hi friends,

This articles gives basic idea about the public folder in the exchange server. Public folders can be called as forum, Notice board, Common use board or place where we can share our ideas.
Public folders
are an easy and effective way to collect, organize, and share information with other people. Public folder is one of the important recipient in the exchange server environment.
Types of Public folders in exchange server 2003 :
1. Public folders
Mapi Clients – visible in Mapi client i.e. Outlook
General Purposes – other public folders tree that can viewed by other browsers.
2. System folders – hidden folders in the system manager console and used for internal exchange server functions like offline address book generation, free + busy information and many more.

Public folder Creation:
1. From Exchange System manager
2. Microsoft Outlook client
This can be denied by setting security limitation under administrative group properties ? select users/group ? change “Create public folder” and “Create top level public folder”.
If the Security tab is missing, you must patch the Registry. Start – Regedit and create the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\EXAdmin – REG_DWORD – ShowSecurityPage – Value 1.

Quick Start for creating the Public folder tree with Virtual Directory:

1. Create the Public folder tree.
2. Create associated public store for the recent Public folder tree.
3. Mount the store.
4. Create the virtual directory (Exchange protocol - HTTP) for the category of public folder (in particular choose the public folder tree you have created).
5. Refresh the settings.
6. Create the public folders under public folder tree.
7. Open your browser http://servername/virtual-directory- name.
8. Result will be your newly created public folder tree.

Component of Public folders:
1. Public folder tree
2. public folder store
3. Public folder referrals (When a user connects to a public folder store that does not contain a copy of the content the user is looking for, the user is redirected to another store that has a copy of the content. This is called public folder affinity in Exchange 5.5.)
4. Public folder tree virtual directory
5. PFCA(public folder connection agreement) role in ADC
6. PFMIGRATE (PFMIGRATE.WSF) tool
7.
Inter-Organization Replication tool (Exscfg.exe and Exssrv.exe).

Migration of Public folders:

Case I: Migrating public folders from the exchange 5.5 to exchange 2000 and above

Solution: PFCA (public folder connection agreement) role in ADC

Case II: Migrating public folders from one exchange server to other exchange server.

Solution: pfmigrate tool
Available in: Exchange CD with SP1\Support\EXDEPLOY
Syntax:
To move System Folders
PFMIGRATE.WSF /S:SourceServer /T:DestinationServer /SF /A /N:100 /F:C:\LOGFILE.LOG
To move Public Folders
PFMIGRATE.WSF /S:SourceServer /T:DestinationServer /A /N:100 /F:C:\LOGFILE.LOG
To remove Public Folders after succesful Replication
PFMIGRATE.WSF /S:SourceServer /T:DestinationServer /D

I guess this article gives you the initial gear to start exploring in public folders.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143