Marko Carter's questions

I have a SQL 2005 database that is currently 15GB in size. We do a lot of web / intranet based reporting from thsi system and we're seeing a performance hit as a result.

I'd like to create a copy of the live database on another server and have it continuously updated from the live db.

What is the most efficient way to do this, bearing in mind the copy database will never be changed so I only need the synchronisation/replication to be 'one-way' but we can't deal with a lag of more than 15 minutes.

Both servers are running Windows 2003 and SQL 2005 standard (not enterprise)

I was paged early this morning for a dead mail server, the upshot is that the Windows Server install is dead. I've booted the box with the Windows UBCD and have been able to get the database and logs copied onto the network.

What I need is a start to finish guide (or just helpful tips) for building an Exchange 2003 server using the existing database that I have.

I know that Microsoft have a couple of white papers on the subject but for some reason my Google skillz appear to be failing me today.

All help greatly appreciated!

Running GPEDIT.msc: Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Account Policies > Password Policy

I am unable to change any of these policies as they appear to be locked (the icons have a little padlock against them and when I open properties all the options are greyed out)

For what it's worth I'm trying to reduce the password history value.

I'm logged in as admin on the domain controller for the network.

I've googled but can't find anything that fits, anyone got any ideas?

I'm setting up an offsite DR facility on a budget. The office has 2 ADSL lines coming in to identical router/modem devices.

I'm looking for a cost effective (cheap) way of joining the two connections so that the network only sees one link to the outside world.

Primarily I'm looking for ADSL failover as opposed to load balancing and bonding but if the solution does all theree then that's fine.

Is anyone aware of a device that does this, or alternatively software that could be installed on a PC with multiple NIC's to manage this sort of thing?

Thanks in advance.

I have an install of Exchange 2010 without an Edge Transport Server. The only way I can get it to receive e mail from the internet is by allowing anonymous access to the receive connector but this in turn means the server can be used as a relay. Testing has proved that this is indeed the case.

I've Googled this extensively but can't seem to find any solution, other than installing the Edge Transport role somewhere which unfortunately isn't an option.

I'm hopeful that I'm just missing something obvious - previously I've always used Exchange 2003.

I have a network of around 60 users who have access to the internet through ISA Server 2004 and a hardware firewall. As a matter of course I've always blocked anonymous requests to the outside world.

We are installing a new piece of software that needs to lookup data from a particular website and the only way it will work is if I allow anonymous requests out through the firewall.

Am I taking a huge risk, or have I just been overly cautious in the past?

I have a network of around 70 machines, currently with two DCs both running Windows Server 2003 (DC0 & DC1). DC0 is a five year old Poweredge 1850 and has recently become increasingly flakey, and in the past fortnight has fallen over twice.

I want to replace this machine, but I'm cautious as there is huge scope for this sort of thing to go wrong. The way I imagine doing this is building a new machine then doing a DCPROMO and running three domain controllers for a month or so until I'm happy that everything is working as it should be before retiring the old machine.

Particular areas of concern are the replication of roles from the current controllers (GP settings for instance) and the ramifications of switching off the machine that has, up until now, been the 'primary'.

If there are compelling reasons to use Server 2008 I'm willing to do so, however I don't know if this would cause problems with my exisiting 2003 machines.

Any advice on best practice or previous experiences would be most welcome.

I need to see the view definition for the system views sys.syslogins and sys.sysusers. I am a domain admin and logged on to the server as such. Any ideas?

I'm trying to recover space in my Mailbox Store and we have the 'Recover Deleted Items' option active in Outlook. Are these items still in the database and if so how can I permanently delete them?

I'm building a new exchange server to migrate our existing system to as the old hardware is now out of warranty.

The new server is a Dell 2950 with a PERC6. The machine has 6 physical disks, each a 146Gb (15k) SAS drive.

What would be the recommended setup for the disks? I'd nomally have two disks in a RAID1 split into two volumes for OS & Logs and the other four in a RAID10 for the database. Suggestions / pros & cons appreciated.

I got a page last night that the mailbox store has dismounted. I've sorted that but now I have 85000 emails in my in box and 800 more arriving every minute - Delivery Status Notification (Delayed).

Haven't a clue on this - help!

Background: I have a director who for reasons unknown will be working 'from home' at least two days a week for the forseeable future. He is equipped with a 3G data stick which in the past has been fine for the access he occasionally required.

Going forward though he will need access to documents and spreadsheets on shared resources some of which are huge, and downloading or working with them over the data stick using VPN isn't really feasible. I've looked at DSL in the past, but the reason he has the data stick is that his home DSL is with a cable provider, and we've really struggled to get VPN working properly with it.

I'm now looking at Terminal Services as a potential solution but I've not ever really done anything with it in the past so I need some resources to get me started.

Any help much appreciated, or alternatively if anyone has any better ideas I'd be happy to listen.

I have a number of Dell 2950 servers with two power supplies. In normal usage how are the PSU's utilised?

Do they both draw '50%', only switching to 100% if one of them dies? Does one supply provide most of the power whilst the second is more or less redundant until the first fails?

The reason for the question is thus: I have a couple of APC UPS units in the bottom of the rack and currently both power supplies for each server are plugged into a UPS unit. Am I better off plugging one of the power supplies into the UPS and the other onto filtered mains power? My thinking is that if the power goes down and the UPS picks up, will I get a longer grace period if only one of the PSU's is drawing power?

If both PSU's draw '50%' then it would make no difference obviously, but if there is a power overhead for having two PSU's then it becomes relevant.

As all of my internet traffic goes through an ISA server, is it possible to extract the content of IM messages from the logs?

It's ISA 2004 running on 2K3 Server.

Thanks in advance.

Possible Duplicate:
Can you help me with my software licensing question?

SQL Server isn't really my strongpoint but at the moment I've got to spec a new server on the Dell website and I was confronted with the following options:

Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Workgroup Edition with 5 Client Licenses - English [add £510.00]
Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Workgroup Edition, Single Processor License - English [add £2,730.00 or £149/month-1]
Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Workgroup Edition, Dual Processor License - English [add £5,500.00 or £251/month-1]

I understand why the dual processor licence is more expensive than the single processor, but what is the difference between the 'Workgroup Edition with 5 CALs' and the 'Workgroup Edition, Single Processor Licence', ie why is the latter more than 5 times the cost?

What scheduled maintenance, tasks or jobs should be performed on Exchange Server and how often?

Are there any distinct benefits to going with Xserve hardware and OS X over standard Dell / IBM servers running Windows Server (2003 or 2008), are there any tasks they are reputed to be better at?

The IT Manager may be leaving, and it's possible that the parting of ways may not be completely civil. I wouldn't really expect any malice but just in case, what do I check, change or lock down?

Examples:

• Admin passwords
• Wireless passwords
• VPN access rules
• Router / Firewall settings

I've been asked to create some custom forms in Outlook - does anybody know of a plugin or add on for either Blackberry devices or the BES that will enable the forms to be viewed on Blackberry devices?