NealWalters's questions

I've seen many blogs talk about using a Microsoft Converter utility, but the link is gone, and apparently was retired in 2016-2017 time period. I was able to export my Oracle VBOX (Virtual Box) using "Export Appliance" to a .ova (2.0) file. I also tried a converter from StarWind, but it didn't seem to be able to take an .ova as input.

I haven't used my VBOX image (of a Windows 2019 server) for about two years, and not able to get it working on my current laptop. I'm running Hyper-V on Windows 10.

(This is an article I was trying to follow, but it seems to be out of date: https://www.groovypost.com/howto/migrate-virtual-box-vms-windows-10-hyper-v/).

I can SSH and run commands as the system administrator. I also have set up some users to do "jailed" SFTP.

How can I change the following sshd_config file to allow TestUser2 to do both jailed SFTP (limited to his directory) but also run commands from a remote terminal. For example, in WinSCP, you can press CNTL-P to get the command line window.

Subsystem sftp /usr/lib/openssh/sftp-server 

#SFTP ONLY 
    Match User TestUser1
       ChrootDirectory %h 
       X11Forwarding no 
       AllowTcpForwarding no 
       PermitTTY no 
       PasswordAuthentication no
       PubkeyAuthentication yes
       ForceCommand internal-sftp 

#SFTP Plus Command Line 
    Match User TestUser2 
       ChrootDirectory %h 
       X11Forwarding no 
       AllowTcpForwarding no 
       PermitTTY yes 
       PasswordAuthentication no
       PubkeyAuthentication yes
       ForceCommand internal-sftp 

I'm running Ubuntu 20.04, but I think the question is generic.

Update: I'm pretty sure the "ForceCommand internal-sftp" is what allows the user to only do SFTP, and not to do any other shell commands. But I know my root user can do both SFTP and shell commands, so would like to know how to do that for user=TestUser2 above.

I used to connect from home with Microsoft SSMS to a Microsoft Database. Can I do the same from SQL Workbench to an Aurora database?

I read this: https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/knowledge-center/connect-rds-mysql-workbench/, but to me it's fuzzy about what I'm asking. And this page seems to requires a Cloud9 Environment: https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/tutorials/configure-connect-serverless-mysql-database-aurora/

I found my public home IPAddress and added to a "Security Group". I added /32 on the end of my home IP address to make it a CIDR address. Then I modified my serverless Aurora database to allow that security group.

But I cannot connect even with Telnet myname.cluster-c900joynbtoe.us-west-2.rds.amazonaws.com 3306.

Later I found this, which implies it is not possible: ' https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/AuroraUserGuide/aurora-serverless.html#aurora-serverless.limitations

I do have an EC2 instance, I might try install SQL Workbench there and give it a try (using Remote Desktop/RDP) to connect to the EC2.

Browser is showing "500 - Internal server error." (I have turned off "Show Friendly Http Messages".

In IIS 8 I have gone to ASP settings and set "Send Errors to Browser = True".

I've got simple ASP pages working fine. I'm porting code from Windows 2003 over to 2012. And having to debug misc issues. The only place I see the error is in the IIS Log after a few minutes. That's way to slow to fix the errors, and it doesn't give much info.

I'm running the browser on the remote server itself. Ideally want to get errors in any browser, not just IE.

Added 02/25/2015 - it seems to work maybe 5% of the time. Most of the time I get 500 Internal Error, but here's one example today were it gave the type of error I wanted in the browser:

I'd like to take my tasks on a non-clustered server, and import them as clustered tasks on a new cluster that has been built and tested.

Here's what I have tried:

cls
$xmlFilename="i:\Scripts\ImportScheduledTasks\CleaupMessageLog.xml" 
$xmlContents = get-content $xmlFilename
Register-ClusteredScheduledTask -TaskName "TestXMLTask" -TaskType AnyNode -Xml $xmlContents

The XML imports okay into the Windows Task Scheduler, but then it is not a "Clustered" task.

Here is the error I get when I run the above code:

Register-ClusteredScheduledTask : Cannot process argument transformation on parameter 'Xml'. Cannot 
convert value to type System.String.
At C:\Users\nwalters\Documents\TestWebSampleCode4FromXML.ps1:4 char:80
+ Register-ClusteredScheduledTask -TaskName "TestXMLTask" -TaskType AnyNode -Xml $ ...
+                                                                                ~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidData: (:) [Register-ClusteredScheduledTask], ParameterBindingArgumen 
   tTransformationException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentTransformationError,Register-ClusteredScheduledTask

Thinking that it wants an XML Doc, I also tried this:

cls
$xmlFilename="i:\Scripts\ImportScheduledTasks\CleaupMessageLogUTF8.xml" 
$xmlContents = get-content $xmlFilename
$xmlDoc = [xml] (get-content $xmlFilename)
$test = $xmlDoc.OuterXml
#Write-Host $test
Register-ClusteredScheduledTask -TaskName "TestXMLTask" -TaskType AnyNode -Xml $xmlDoc

I open the file, changed UTF16 to UTF8 and resaved it, shut the different filename from the first example.

Error:

Register-ClusteredScheduledTask : The task XML is malformed.
(1,2)::ERROR: incorrect document syntax
At C:\Users\nwalters\Documents\TestWebSampleCode4FromXML.ps1:7 char:1
+ Register-ClusteredScheduledTask -TaskName "TestXMLTask" -TaskType AnyNode -Xml $ ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (PS_ClusteredScheduledTask:Root/Microsoft/...edScheduledTask) 
    [Register-ClusteredScheduledTask], CimException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : HRESULT 0x8004131a,Register-ClusteredScheduledTask

If the XML is really malformed, then how was I able to load it and get to the .OuterXml?

I'm experimenting with Powershell to add a ClusteredScheduledTask on a clustered server (Win 2012/R2)

Technet sample code gives error:

#canned exampled from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj649815.aspx
$Action01 = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute Notepad
$Action02 = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute Calc
Set-ClusteredScheduledTask -TaskName "Task03" -Action $Action01,$Action02

Error:

Set-ClusteredScheduledTask : Incorrect function.

At I:\Scripts\TaskSchedulerSetupJobs\TestWebSampleCode.ps1:4 char:1
+ Set-ClusteredScheduledTask -TaskName "Task03" -Action $Action01,$Action02
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (PS_ClusteredScheduledTask:Root/Microsoft/...edScheduledTask) [Set-ClusteredScheduledTask], CimException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : HRESULT 0x80070001,Set-ClusteredScheduledTask

Added: As KrisFR pointed out below, I really meant to do a Register, not Set, but I still get the same basic error:

#canned exampled from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj649815.aspx
cls
$Trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -At 12:00 -Once 
$Action01 = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute Notepad
Register-ClusteredScheduledTask -TaskName "Task03" -Trigger $Trigger -Action $Action01

Error:

Register-ClusteredScheduledTask : The parameter is incorrect.

At I:\Scripts\TaskSchedulerSetupJobs\TestWebSampleCode.ps1:5 char:1
+ Register-ClusteredScheduledTask -TaskName "Task03" -Trigger $Trigger -Action $Ac ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidArgument: (PS_ClusteredScheduledTask:Root/Microsoft/...edScheduledTask) [Register-ClusteredScheduledTask], CimExce 
   ption
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : HRESULT 0x80070057,Register-ClusteredScheduledTask

Update #2: From answers and comments below we have established:

1) adding -TaskType anynode changes error from "Incorrect parameter" to "Incorrect function" when running under PowerGUI, and

2) when I open ISE 32 bit or 64 bit with "Run as Administrator" - I get "Incorrect function"

3) when I open ISE 32 bit or 64 bit without "Run as Administrator" - I get

4) At some point earlier today, I was getting "Access denied" and/or "Permission Denied", I think that is when I was opening PowerGUI without "Run as Admin".

My question is similar to this one, but I am gearing mine more toward which edition to use.

In the past places I've worked, these decisions were made by other teams, and now I'm being asked to advise.

1. Edition: Do most sites consider it satisfactory to have a Developer edition running in DEV, QA, and STAGE environments, and then only run Enterprise Edition in Production? I'm specifically referring to server products such as BizTalk (2010/2013) and SQL Server (2008/R2 and 2012).

   In other words, if some software runs on Developer Edition, does Microsoft guarantee it will run on Enterprise. I realize of course that 99.9% of the time it will, but is it a safe and best practice?

2. Licensing: The developer edition is significantly lower priced; I think Premium MSDN includes the rights to run the Enterprise edition non-Prod environments. If QA accesses a file on a QA server, which license do they need?

3. Clustering: Further, we run clustered environment in production. I've rarely been anywhere that we have clustering in QA or even STAGE.

Can you cluster SQL 2012 Enterprise Edition on Win 2012 Standard Edition? The features doesn't seem to clarify whether it allowed or not.

We are seeing warning “Cluster Nodes Failed" in the SQL installation log, and SQL does not come up.

I'm wondering how other people deal with this scenario.

What if you have a job scheduled to run at 1:30 am. In the autumn, when time changes, the hour of 1:00:00 to 1:59:59 repeats itself and so that job would run twice.

Could be Windows Task Scheduler, SQL Agent or any other scheduling tool. Most of these tools seem to be based on machine time, not UTC time. If I told it to run the job at UTC time each night, then I wouldn't have the duplicate hour issue.

I'm an admin on the box. I've turned off all the folder options "Hide protected operating system files" and turned on "Show hidden files and folders".

I can see this folder in Windows Explorer: C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs

but I cannot see it from Event Log Viewer MMC snap-in BizTalk Admin Console. In that tool, and others such as GamutLog-Viewer, when I do "file Open", and paste in the same directory, I get: \ C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs - Path does not exist - Check the path and try again.

From Windows Notepad, I can do "File Open", paste same, and I get the directory.

Why is it different from one tool to the other?

Should I just create a C:\EventLogArchive and archive all my logs there?

Here's a couple of screen shots from NotePad and NotePad++ showing how NotePad can navigate to the directory, and NotePad++ cannot:

We have one FTP site set up (and working) basically like the instructions here: http://www.iis.net/learn/publish/using-the-ftp-service/creating-a-new-ftp-site-in-iis-7 It shows up under "Sites" and then the name of our FTP Site.

However, above "Sites" (in the left navigation tree view), we see a node called "FTP Sites". When we click on it, it says "FTP Management is provided by IIS 6.0".

Can someone give me the big picture of why this node appears, and why IIS 6 is involved? Is is some backward compatible feature? I didn't build these machines, so don't know the reasoning of what was done before I arrived on the scene.

Also, is the tree view icon for websites and FTP sites the same?

Regarding Windows 2008/R2: I've changed my desk-top color to red. I've played with the "appearance settings", but none of them are tolerable to the eye. Is there something I else I can do to make production look different? Obviously, I don't want to run something dangerous when on Prod when I think that I'm on test or QA.

Ideas: 1) Anything in the task bar? 2) What about a small pop-up program that always comes to the foreground? Any such free program exist?

Is it possible to grant access to view the EventLog on Windows 2008 without giving Admin to a person? If so how?

A couple of us in our organization have new VMs with Win 2008, and the "Pin to Start Menu" doesn't show up as an option when we right-click a program. Also, the start menu is entirely empty. Any ideas on how to get it working?

What would the filter expression be to just select the protocols where the protocol = TLSV1? Something obvious like protocol == "TLSV1" or TCP.protocol == "TLSV1" is apparently not the right way.

ip.proto == "TLSV1" says "ip.proto cannot accept strings as values"

Update - additional tips:

Another great but hidden search is on PacketLength: You can add packet length to your display by clicking "Edit Preferences" (menu or icon), and adding the PacketLength as a new column, but to filter on it you have to use the more cryptic: frame.len == ### where ### is your desired number. We were using this to determine how many packets had been sent and/or received, when you filter, the status-bar at the bottom of the screen shows the number of items matching the filter.

Is there any type of replication over a WAN (cross-country) that can guarantee no data loss in a disaster? Are we always subject to losing a few seconds or minutes up to the point?
If so, any suggested get-arounds? We are debating using cloud storage or changing or financial app to log one or two of our key transactions onto an off-site server.

I was looking for the proper version of Win 2008 R2 to download, and cannot find a 32 bit. Is it 64-bit only? I'm still on a 32-bit machine, going to run it under VMWare. Do I need to go back to the original Win 2008 (i.e. the one before R2)?

Is there a history log of each use of Remote Desktop. I'd like to view and audit IP addresses. I'm running a dedicated server hosted by a web hosting company. Had some problems recently, and trying to validate if anyone besides me actually logged on (i.e. if user/pass is compromised).

Thanks,

Neal Walters

I deleted a virtual directory using AppCmd, but AdsUtil.vbs still shows it exists.

c:\Windows\System32\inetsrv>appcmd delete vdir /vdir.name:"Default Web Site/TFBI C.RCT.BizTalk.Orchestrations_proxy/"

c:\inetpub\AdminScripts>cscript adsutil.vbs ENUM /W3SVC/1/ROOT/TFBIC.RCT.BizTalk.Orchestrations

Do these utilities not get their data from the same source?

Thanks,

Neal Walters

Seems like when I do IISRESET from command prompt, I'm getting the restart error about 90% of the time. Running IIS7 on Win 2008. But I've seen the same thing with IIS6 and Win2003. Running IISRESET a second time seems to start everything, or I could restart manually - but I'm curious if I can get it to work consistently with just ONE IISRESET.

Attempting stop...
Internet services successfully stopped
Attempting start...
Restart attempt failed.
The IIS Admin Service or the World Wide Web Publishing Service, or a service dep
endent on them failed to start.  The service, or dependent services, may had an
error during its startup or may be disabled.

C:\Users\btinstall>iisreset

Attempting stop...
Internet services successfully stopped
Attempting start...
Internet services successfully restarted