For those looking to get familiar with SQL Server 2012 SP1, Microsoft has updated the Virtual Labs for SQL Server 2012 SP1.
This way you can easily learn and play around with it without having to set up your own lab.
Enjoy.
Category Archives: ICT
PowerShell – Extract specific info from multiple source winaudit files
I run Winaudit on each server/system and save it to a central location named <computername>.csv This way I have access to a lot of information about each system. If you need a specific subset of information for each system however, you don’t want to have to open each file manually to get this information.
This script will parse each <computername>.csv to extract specifc information and save it to one new file containing this info for all parsed separate files.
PowerShell – Use Get-ADcomputer to get a quick overview of your AD environment
One of the tasks in ICT is maintaining an up-to-date and correct CMDB. This is also a hard task and is often not performed (properly).
Luckily however, with the PowerShell Get-ADcomputer you can get a lot of information directly from Active Directory. Try using: Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Properties *
Ofcourse if you have non-domain joined computers or non-Windows based computers you have to come up with something for that as well.
Personally, I use this command to quickly get info about my Home Lab instead of having to document it manually (with the risk of human error):
Get-ADComputer -Filter * -Properties * | select name,canonicalname,dnshostname,operatingsystem,OperatingSystemServicePack,operatingsystemversion,IPv4address | out-gridview
In the image below you can see what it looks like for me:
You can of course customize it and alter the output method. You could by example add the property Modified to see when it was last changed. You can also add the property Description if this makes sense for you. I did not enter descriptions myself, but for the cluster nodes it has been added automatically and says: “Failover cluster virtual network name account”.
Windows 8 – fix for adding to Library error “This network location can’t be included because it is not indexed”
Like many other people nowadays, I have a network share containing my photos, videos and documents. I prefer to access these over the network, which is possible using explorer.
The problem however (especially on my Windows 8 tablet), is that this method in general does not work (properly) for Windows 8 apps. Instead they extensively use the Windows libraries (Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos).
So my first thought was to simply add the content on the network share to the Libraries. Apparently this is not how Microsoft wants it to be used, since I got an error stating: “This network location can’t be included because it is not indexed.”
I don’t need/want it to be indexed though, so I went to look for other solutions and found elaborate step-by-step guides. I also found the Win Library Tool, which simplifies adding an unindexed network location to the Windows libraries.
I still hope Microsoft will make it easier to add unindexed locations to the library though.
VMware – Free VMware instructional videos
Not every company or person is able to afford training. Luckily however, more and more companies are providing free learning materials.
VMware has recently updated its instructional videos that can be found at : http://vmwarelearning.com/
PowerShell – Get network adapter information for all clients in the domain
When a customer was replacing its wireless infrastructure it had to perform an inventory of the wireless network adapters in use to determine if replacements were necessary and for which systems.
To perform the inventory, this script queries active directory for clients and then queries every client for its network adapter.
Unfortunately in this case PowerShell remoting wasn’t available, but luckily remote WMI was possible.
Powershell – Rename-redirectedprinter
This script renames a redirected printer and sets it as default.
The reason this needs to be done, is because some older programs require a specific (short) printer name and will not work otherwise. With SAPlpd by example the printer name may only consist of x characters, no spaces, etc.
By default however with Remote Desktop Services in Server 2008 R2, a redirected printer will show as “<printername> (redirected <session ID>)” by example “Lexmark X1100 series (Redirected 2)”.
Note:
-Renaming a redirected printer is not supported.
-The script assumes there’s only one redirected printer that matches the comment filter.
All the hard work of determining what had to be done was performed by my colleague Peter Scheilen. I just converted it to PowerShell.
Powershell – Get WSUS clients Without Sync Or Report In X Days
One of the tasks of a WSUS administrator is to make sure that WSUS clients are up-to-date. This requires the WSUS clients to report to the WSUS server on a regular basis.
So if clients do not report to the WSUS server, you need to investigate and resolve the issue.
This script will show you which WSUS clients haven’t reported in X days:
http://bjornhouben-web.sharepoint.com/Lists/Scripts/DispForm.aspx?ID=21
Another use case would be if you manage a WSUS infrastructure with an upstream server and multiple downstream servers for each customer. If one or more 3rd parties are responsible for managing the WSUS clients, you could use this script to automatically mail them the clients they’re responsible for that haven’t reported for X days.
Microsoft – Windows Intune for IT Professionals Jump Start videos and Q&A transcript available on MVA
The videos and Q&A transcript of the “Windows Intune for IT Professionals Jump Start” are available on Microsoft Virtual Academt (MVA):
https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/tracks/windows-intune-for-it-professionals-jump-start
Windows Intune is a cloud-based solution to manage desktops and mobile devices (including tablets and phones). It’s not limited to just Windows based products. For more information, take a look at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windowsintune/pc-management.aspx
blog.bjornhouben.com 