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7 Active Directory Round Up 2/4/2010
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Here's what's been happening in the AD/Identity space over the last week.
First up the Directory Services team has a nice article on using the new Get-ADComputer cmdlet to prepare a computer inventory. When a computer boots up, it's account object in AD is updated with some useful information such as operating system and service pack. You don't have to query 100 different computers. Make a single query to AD using Get-ADComputer to get all the information you need. All you need is a domain controller running Windows Server 2008 R2 or the Active Directory Gateway service. On the client side a Windows 7 desktop with RSAT in the only need. The blog article offers some nice PowerShell examples to prepare neatly formatted reports. There's also a useful segment on exporting data to a CSV file so you can work with it further in Microsoft Excel. Check this out before your boss does!
Speaking of PowerShell, here is a short but informative article on how to add PowerShell to Server Core in Windows Server 2008 R2. The original flavor of Server Core in Server 2008 could not run PowerShell at all. But R2 has rectified that situation. Although I have to say when I installed an R2 Server Core not too long ago, I thought PowerShell was installed by default. If it is installed, all you need to do is type PowerShell at a C: prompt and you should get a PS C:\> prompt indicating PowerShell is running. If you don't have PowerShell, then follow the steps in this article. I've also posted steps on how to change the default shell in an R2 Server Core from the CMD shell to PowerShell.
The Directory Services folks also have posted a very informative article on using certificate enrollment web services in Windows Server 2008 R2. As you can imagine, things change when new server operating systems are released and R2 is now different. This article explains some of the changes in certificate enrollment. If you are using or considering certificate services as part of your Active Directory infrastructure and are making the move to R2 and Win7, then you need to read this.
If you use the Quest Active Directory cmdlets, you hopefully saw Dmitry Sotnikov's recent post about the release of version 1.3. The team is looking for feedback, bugs and feature requests so they can ship an even better product in the future.
I can only assume that if you've been managing Active Directory you've learned, perhaps the hard way, how important it is to keep clocks in synch. Michael Smith has a terrific tutorial on the time service. I have to admit I miss the days when a simple net time command was all you needed. Using W32tm can be a little intimidating and if you think so, then take a few moments to read Michael's article.
Finally, the Group Policy Center blog has a thorough step by step guide for using the Advanced Group Policy Management. This is a product that every admin with GPO duties needs to evaluate and kick around for themselves. I've put it on my to do list.
As always, if you want to suggest a site or resource I keep track of, please let me know.
First up the Directory Services team has a nice article on using the new Get-ADComputer cmdlet to prepare a computer inventory. When a computer boots up, it's account object in AD is updated with some useful information such as operating system and service pack. You don't have to query 100 different computers. Make a single query to AD using Get-ADComputer to get all the information you need. All you need is a domain controller running Windows Server 2008 R2 or the Active Directory Gateway service. On the client side a Windows 7 desktop with RSAT in the only need. The blog article offers some nice PowerShell examples to prepare neatly formatted reports. There's also a useful segment on exporting data to a CSV file so you can work with it further in Microsoft Excel. Check this out before your boss does!
Speaking of PowerShell, here is a short but informative article on how to add PowerShell to Server Core in Windows Server 2008 R2. The original flavor of Server Core in Server 2008 could not run PowerShell at all. But R2 has rectified that situation. Although I have to say when I installed an R2 Server Core not too long ago, I thought PowerShell was installed by default. If it is installed, all you need to do is type PowerShell at a C: prompt and you should get a PS C:\> prompt indicating PowerShell is running. If you don't have PowerShell, then follow the steps in this article. I've also posted steps on how to change the default shell in an R2 Server Core from the CMD shell to PowerShell.
The Directory Services folks also have posted a very informative article on using certificate enrollment web services in Windows Server 2008 R2. As you can imagine, things change when new server operating systems are released and R2 is now different. This article explains some of the changes in certificate enrollment. If you are using or considering certificate services as part of your Active Directory infrastructure and are making the move to R2 and Win7, then you need to read this.
If you use the Quest Active Directory cmdlets, you hopefully saw Dmitry Sotnikov's recent post about the release of version 1.3. The team is looking for feedback, bugs and feature requests so they can ship an even better product in the future.
I can only assume that if you've been managing Active Directory you've learned, perhaps the hard way, how important it is to keep clocks in synch. Michael Smith has a terrific tutorial on the time service. I have to admit I miss the days when a simple net time command was all you needed. Using W32tm can be a little intimidating and if you think so, then take a few moments to read Michael's article.
Finally, the Group Policy Center blog has a thorough step by step guide for using the Advanced Group Policy Management. This is a product that every admin with GPO duties needs to evaluate and kick around for themselves. I've put it on my to do list.
As always, if you want to suggest a site or resource I keep track of, please let me know.
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