August 2006 - Posts

Free to the masses -- and pretty cool to boot...
31 August 06 06:15 PM | rodtrent | with no comments
http://www.getpaint.net/
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'Star Trek IX' may beam up Nimoy, Shatner
31 August 06 04:48 PM | rodtrent | with no comments

The newest offering in the Hollywood film franchise of "Star Trek" could again see William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy on board the starship Enterprise.

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Mark Russinovich's first post as a Microsoft employee
31 August 06 01:44 PM | rodtrent | 1 comment(s)
The Case of the Process Startup Delays
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Interesting news from the trenches
31 August 06 10:19 AM | rodtrent | 1 comment(s)

ITMU and 100% CPU Utilitzation Status???

Here is a response from our TAM after we finished testing the new cab file and reported back the findings:

 

It sounds to me that with the new catalog, the machine's responsiveness is acceptable.

Microsoft is looking at addressing the scan duration in an upcoming SMS fix, but that will likely take several weeks and there is no ETA yet due to major port decisions.

In the meantime, please make sure AV on the machines do not scan CAB files.

Microsoft is working on a MSI fix that is expected to shorten the time it takes to perform a Windows Update scan and potentially also lower the CPU usage. There is no ETA yet but the hope is that it could be within the next few weeks.

Our XP SP2 machines run with svchost at 50% during the scan...our Win2K SP4 machines still ramp up to 100%. The difference on both is that they remain responsive to the end user where as before they appeared locked up while running the scan and patching.

The TAM also informed us that they felt the culprit in the old cab was the multiple versions of Malicious Software Removal tool and the algorithm they were using to determine which one superceded the other was causing the lock ups...but who knows.

BC Sighting: Indie Watch in the Tucson Weekly
31 August 06 09:54 AM | rodtrent | with no comments

Source:  Tucson Weekly

Bruce Campbell: B-movie filmmaker Bruce Campbell visits for a screening of his film Bubba Ho-Tep and to sign copies of his book Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. There will be an early book-signing and Q&A at 6 p.m.; he will the introduce the film at 9 p.m., followed by another Q&A, on Tuesday, Sept. 26. $8 general admissions, $6 TFS members.

The Loft Cinema is at 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Call 795-7777 or check www.loftcinema.com for a full schedule of films and events, and further information.

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Free Preview Chapter Available: Start to Finish Guide to Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
31 August 06 09:28 AM | rodtrent | with no comments
Free Preview Chapter

To read a sample chapter from this book in PDF format, click the image.

MOM 2005: Understanding MOM Reporting DTS and Interdepencies
31 August 06 09:23 AM | rodtrent | with no comments

This is from 2005, but very relevant today, so I thought I would give it a special blog post…

http://www.myitforum.com/articles/2/view.asp?id=8639

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Start to Finish Guide to Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Book Index
31 August 06 08:48 AM | rodtrent | 2 comment(s)

As promised, here’s the contents of the new MOM 2005 book by John Roller:

Foreword

by Kirill Tatarinov

Corporate Vice President

Microsoft Corporation

Contents

Part I – Overview

Chapter 1 – Introducing Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 SP1

• The Ability to Monitor

• The Value of MOM 2005

• MOM 2005 Terminology

• MOM 2005 Editions

• MOM 2005 Licensing

• MOM 2005 Sizing Scenarios

• Summary

Chapter 2 – Installation

• Prerequisites

• Installing MOM 2005 on a Single Server

• Installing MOM Reporting/Data Warehouse

• Finishing Touches

• Installing Agents

• Importing Management Packs

• Configuring Management Packs

• Installing the Database on a Separate Server

• Installing Additional Management Servers

• Installing Operator and Administrator Consoles

• Summary

Chapter 3 – Functional Overview

• Business Logic

• Data Sources

• Process Flow

• Agent Installation Process

• Agent Operations

• Management Packs

• How to Obtain Management Packs

• MOM Reporting/Data Warehouse

• Summary

 

Part II – User Interfaces

Chapter 4 – Administrator Console

• Home Screen

• Information Center

• Operations

• Management Packs

• Rule Group Structure

• Override Criteria

• Tasks

• Notification

• Scripts

• Computer Attributes

• Providers

• Administration

• Console Scopes

• Global Settings

• Summary

Chapter 5 – Operator Console

• Views

• Console Settings

• Summary

Chapter 6 – Reporting Console

• Running Reports

• Exporting Reports

• E-mailing Reports

• Customizing Reports

• Summary

Chapter 7 – Web Console

• Filtering

• Making the Web Console Read Only

• Summary

 

Part III – Administration

Chapter 8 – Configuring E-mail Notifications

• Configuring SMTP

• Creating Operators

• Configuring Notification Groups

• Troubleshooting E-mail Notifications

• Changing Default E-mail Parameters

• Summary

Chapter 9 – Configuring Management Packs

• Configuration Requirements

• Keeping Management Packs Current

• Searching for Rules

• Finding All the Rules in a Rule Group

• Summary

Chapter 10 – Creating Rules

• Event Rules

• Alert Rules

• Performance Rules

• Summary

Chapter 11 – Interesting Administration Topics

• Maintenance Mode

• Why Maintenance Mode Doesn’t Always Work

• Working with Tasks

• MOM Log Files

• MOM Error Messages

• Summary

 

Part IV – Advanced Concepts

Chapter 12 – Security

• MOM Security Groups

• MOM Accounts Explained

• Changing MOM Account Passwords

• Securing the DAS Account

• Console Scopes

• Mutual Authentication

• MOM Encryption

• Using the IIS Lockdown Tool

• Summary

Chapter 13 – Creating a Custom Management Pack

• Application Manageability

• Management Pack Wizard

• Computer Attribute

• Computer Group

• Rule Group

• Summary

Chapter 14 – Extending MOM to Unix/Linux and Network Devices with eXc Software

• Theory of Operations

• Obtaining the Software

• Summary

Part V – Extras

• Glossary

• References

• Index

• Downloading Bonus Materials

• Registering Your Book

 

Citrix catalog has been updated
31 August 06 08:00 AM | rodtrent | with no comments

The link (http://www.microsoft.com/smserver/partners/itcucat.mspx) on the ITCU page has been fixed and now has a valid link for the Citrix update cab.

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Want to have your blog replicated on the Tech-Ed IT Forum web site?
30 August 06 01:37 PM | rodtrent | with no comments

You’ll have to follow these simple rules:

  Microsoft Tech·Ed: IT Forum

We've established House Rules so that everyone can get the most relevant and appropriate information from the community blogging pages. We reserve the right to refuse content and change highlighted content at our discretion. Typically content will be refused if:

  • Contact details contain inappropriate or objectionable language or appear to impersonate someone else
  • Content is out of date or otherwise not relevant to Tech·Ed: IT Forum
  • Are considered likely to provoke, attack or offend others
  • Are racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit, abusive or otherwise objectionable
  • Contain swear words or other language likely to offend
  • Break the law or condone or encourage unlawful activity. This includes breach of copyright, defamation and contempt of court.
  • Advertise products or services for profit
  • Are seen to impersonate someone else
  • Repeatedly post the same or similar messages (referred to as 'spam') 
  • Preference will be given to English language as this is the language of the event
  • Contain links to other websites which break our Editorial Guidelines
  • Describe or encourage activities which could endanger the safety or well-being of others

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Digg.com's numbers dwindling?
30 August 06 01:35 PM | rodtrent | with no comments

What happens once the new smell of a web site is gone?  Well, unless you have a strong community backing the web site, you see the numbers (stats and posts) dwindle.

I’m not sure what the current stats are for Digg.com, but I can see that the news article count in the RSS feed is getting lower and lower.  That has to say something.

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Day 9: Taking the Windows Live OneCare Challenge
30 August 06 10:14 AM | rodtrent | with no comments

Frankly, I was hoping to have more to report on my 30–day challenge of replacing Norton AntiVirus/Internet with Microsoft’s Windows Live OneCare.  To date, things have been pretty quiet.  What is there really to write about if an application simply works?

Every morning I boot up my computer, OneCare does it’s checks for updates, and then gives me a reassuring balloon pop-up indicating that all is well.  My System Tray OneCare icon stays green — which is a good thing.

Because I have no complaints, I’m going to add a couple other computers to my yearly subscription (because OneCare offers licenses for up to 3 computers on it’s yearly fee).  The kids’ computer is next, followed by my Wife’s computer.

Meg (the most wonderful, most beautiful wife – Meg are you listening?) has run Norton for as long as I have, and she’s constantly complaining about speed problems.  We’ll see if this fixes it.  The kids’ computer, on the other hand, should be a more interesting upgrade.  That computer is using the free version of AVG.  I know from my experience that OneCare simply takes care of the uninstall of Norton during it’s own install routine.  It will be interesting to see how OneCare handles the AVG uninstall.

AVG is a computer processing hog — always has been.  So, it will be nice to finally be rid of that AV app.  Lots of people swear by it — me — I just swear at it.

How to check for an event storm by using MOM 2005 Reporting
30 August 06 08:10 AM | rodtrent | with no comments
When you turn on a new rule, or when you import a new management pack in Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005, the size of the MOM 2005 OnePoint database may increase. This behavior may be caused by an event storm where multiple client computers produce a large amount of the same events or alerts. Then, these events or alerts are inserted into the OnePoint database.
 

MORE INFORMATION

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The following steps can help you identify the client computers that produce the events or alerts in addition to what type of events or alerts are produced:
1. Log on to a computer that has the MOM Administrator console installed by using an account that has administrative permissions.
2. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft Operations Manager 2005, and then click Administrator Console.
3. In the MOM Administrator console, click Operations, in the results page, click Start Reporting Console.
4. On the Microsoft Operations Manager Reporting Web page, click Operational Health Analysis.
5. Click Most Common Events by Computer Group to view the most common events that are produced by a specific computer group.
6. Click Most Common Alerts by Alert Count to view the most common alerts.
 
Source:  MS KB Database
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Quest adds project management to Notes to Exchange migration tools
30 August 06 07:28 AM | rodtrent | with no comments

The improvements to Quest Notes Migrator for Exchange 4.0 are intended to give corporate users the software tools to manage e-mail migrations just like they do any other project. The new features of Notes Migrator for Exchange 4.0 also include a reporting engine based on Quest’s MessageStats Report Pack for Lotus Notes migration.

Read more…

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Google and Apple in bed together...
29 August 06 07:08 PM | rodtrent | 1 comment(s)

Could this be Schmidt’s way of trying to get back at Microsoft after they destroyed Novell under his stead?

Google CEO Dr. Eric Schmidt Joins Apple's Board of Directors

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