Windows Server

27 posts

Custom Build S2D: The Elusive SlimSAS 8x (SFF-8654) Cable

Server and workstation boards have had SlimSAS 8x connectors for dual NVMe drive setups for quite a long time now. ASRock Rack EPC621D6U-2T16R (BTO Board) The SlimSAS SFF-8654 connector is to the right of the PCIe x16 slot. When they started appearing on server and workstation boards, we began trying […]

Replication Errors: 1127: Hard Disk Operation Failed, 8524 (0x214c): DSA Operation … DNS Lookup Failure – FIX

We ended up with a situation where a workstation lost trust with the domain. When looking into what was happening on the two Domain Controllers (DCs) on the domain it took a while to figure out just where the problem was. The first error was 1127, failing to write to […]

PowerShell Guides Update: Added New-VM SecureBoot Linux & Updated Others

We took some time today to add the following PowerShell Guide to our repository: New-VM Template: Gen2 SecureBoot Linux We ran into a snag installing the latest Ubuntu Server software with the .ISO refusing to boot unless we turned SecureBoot off. As it turns out, thanks to a pointer from […]

S2D ASHCI: Extend the Cluster Performance History Cluster Disk

This process may be needed as the cluster grows due to the Health Service creating a somewhat small disk to start with. The following PowerShell will expand the Cluster Performance History Cluster Disk as the initial configured size may not be enough down the road. Variables to change: $VDNewSize = […]

Azure Cloud Witness: Azure Advisor Security Warning for HTTP Storage Connections?

We’ve taken to deploying a Cloud Witness for almost all of our Windows Server based clusters whether Hyper-V, Storage Spaces Direct (S2D), or Scale-Out File Server. When logging on to the Azure Portal this morning we were prompted to check out a number of different areas by the Azure Advisor. […]

SSDs and Endurance

We have been using Intel SATA SSDs in server settings for a very long time now. We have yet to hit one server, all virtualization platforms, exhaust any of the SSDs we’ve deployed. We’ve also been deploying HGST SAS SSDs in production for a very long time now. Same story, […]

Server Core Based Exchange 2019 CU4 Install Error: The organization name, First,Organization, can’t be used because it contains invalid characters. Plus Install Tips

We are installing Exchange 2019 CU4 into Server Core 2019 for the first time in a greenfield setting. We a strange snag that turned up very little in the way of search results on the error. The organization name, First,Organization, can’t be used because it contains invalid characters. The setup […]

2020-01-14 Remote Desktop Gateway Vulnerability: PATCH. NOW!

As the subject says, there is basically an open door in the way RD Gateway handles incoming packets. Whether it is being exploited in the wild as of this writing is questionable. That being said, this is a bad one folks. Get those RD Gateway servers patched up. Oh, and […]

SMB & SME IT Pro Ransomware Protection Guidance

The following is a list of things we can do to help protect our client’s networks from a Ransomware Attack or recover from one if someone does end up doing something they should not have. Train users to not click ENABLE MACROs. Image Credit: https://www.malware-traffic-analysis.net Remember, those little EXTERNAL flags […]