Google Tips, FSMO Roles, Vista command line, and Server Config Tips

Google Tip for Sys Admins
There was an article published 07/07/07 at the Internet Storm Center that gave a couple of “defensive googling” tips to search for compromised sites on your network.

site:myorg.org porn and
site:myorg.org cialis buy

FSMO Roles
It all started with a check of one of my favorite blogs, Daily Cup of Tech. I was checking it for the first time in a couple of weeks, as things have been busy here, and realized that the author is in the middle of a really good series. It seems he had some server trouble recently and has been kind enough to document some fo the lessons learned there. Lesson #3 is really about riding AD of a failed DC, and while beginning that reading, he mentioned FSMO roles, which believe it or not I have never heard of. So, not wanting to waste a perfectly good opportunity to learn more, I jumped to this very informative site on wikipedia. Flexible single master operation roles (there are 5, 3 Domain-wide roles and 2 Forest-wide roles) or Fiz-mo roles are basically specialized domain controller tasks.


VISTA Command Line
I wanted to flush my local dns cache today, and realized that I would need elevated status in VISTA in order to do this. As it was the first time I needed to do this via the command line, I had to do a quick search to come up with the correct command, so here it is for next time:

runas /u:Administrator “ipconfig /flushdns”
the command to display the cache, by the way, follows here: ipconfig /displaydns


Server Configuration Tips
I am still on the Daily Cup of Tech blog site reading about his server failures and have come across another tip that I very much appreciate and want to remember. He says:

“I generally build my domain controllers with five drives. Two in a mirrored configuration for the OS and three in a RAID 5 configuration for the data. The nice thing about this is that the OS and data are separated. I have experienced three systems now where the OS container on the RAID system corrupted and left all of the data completely in tact. Had I not configured these systems this way, I believe that I would have lost some or all of my data.”

AD Replication and Career Advice

AD Replication
I read a fantastic article in Windows IT Pro today and don’t want to forget where I read it and what I need to do. . so here goes. Sean Deuby wrote a really great article on troubleshooting ad replication, and what made it so great was that even a newbe admin like me understood most of what he had to say. Here are the steps I need to take to make sure AD is replicating here at our location:

1. Check the OS on the server (DC server that is)
2. Check the health of the directory service.
3. Check the communication between other DCs
4. Verify protocol of direcotry services and determine whether the DCs are authenticating correctly.

For all the details, check out “Troubleshoot AD Replication: Magic wand no required” in the June, 2007 edition of Windows IT Pro.

Career Advice Worth Noting

In that same edition of WITP, there was another really good article, this time one on getting ahead in the career game. Ben Smith breaks career advancement into 5 easy steps, some I am doing and others are goals. Really good take-aways for me are:

1. Find mentors and have them make suggestions on goals
2. Go after jobs to develop needed skill sets, like budgeting and management
3. Track and Qualify Achievements; Make list of accomplishments

List of Things to Do

Programming Language
I think that it is because I have been so unsuccessful at it so far, but for some reason, a couple of times a year, I get the bug to learn a programming language. So, here I am today, scouring the internet, looking for an easy way to learn. I think this time I will include my teenagers, as perhaps they can keep me motivated at this task which I continually put off. Couple of sites I like today are:
http://nostarch.com/frameset.php?startat=wcj_rev for books to read
http://www.mindview.net/ great reference tool

Packet Analysis
I also realize every now and again how little I know, and how much I need to learn about packet analysis. I have installed Wireshark on PCs I use, but am promply intimidated after one packet capture by the information there. I found a book (Practical Packet Analysis by Chris Sanders)today online that I would really like to buy, but I have promised myself that I will not purchase anymore books until I have finished some of the ones I already own and never have read. But in case I forget all about this book, this post.