Chris76786777's questions

A little background on my skill: I am new to running SQL on Azure and, although I've done a bit of development on SQL Server, I would still consider myself a novice with SQL Server as well.

We recently deployed a Windows VM in Azure that is running SQL Server 2017. I want to use Redgate SQL Backup to perform the backups of my systems. The problem is I'm seeing some "mystery" backups being performed that aren't going anywhere nor can I figure out what is initiating them.

They are not scheduled jobs in SQL Server Agent. The jobs I had running there have been disabled and the only jobs that are currently scheduled are the jobs created by Redgate's program.

I asked about this in the Redgate forum and they suggested I look at something from outside the VM as the cause. I've done what I can but I'm not finding any evidence of any backups being performed (especially when it comes to a schedule that corresponds to what the SQL server log indicates for these "mystery" backups). I'm doing normal Azure VM backups once per day at 11PM but the "mystery" backups are being performed at different times of the day.

I see that I have a SQL VM object in my resource group but this, again, doesn't appear to have anything to do with these backups. The option to schedule backups from this object is "unavailable". It looks like my SQL VM object is in a very basic mode and doesn't allow for many of the additional features.

So I'm at a loss. I don't want these mystery backups to interfere with what Redgate is doing and I don't want to see them in the log.

Here's a screenshot of some records from msdb that might help in diagnosing this.

I am pinging a Windows 8.1 PC that is currently shut down and I'm getting alternating results "Request timed out." and "Destination host unreachable."

What could cause this kind of behavior?

I recently setup some new computers (running Win8.1) for the staff here. These machines use folder redirection (as we always have) with Offline Files sync. I have not traditionally used Offline Files but I've turned it on to give a bit of extra resiliency and performance while working with their files.

Today it was brought to my attention by someone that they cannot rename a file if they change the letter case only. When they do this they are shown a popup that says they need to get permission from their selves to perform the action. Their choices are Try Again and Cancel.

For example, the following will fail:

filename.txt --> FILENAME.txt

But the following will succeed:

filename.txt --> xFILENAME.txt --> FILENAME.txt

My files are being redirected to the same fileshare* by the same group policy but I am not using Offline Files and I do not experience this problem.

I've checked with another user that is setup like the original and they also experience this problem.

If this is a known bug my I have not been able to find an answer.

* The fileshare is running on Windows Server 2012 with deduplication enabled on the volume.

I'm using Server Manager on Win 8.1 Update and have DHCP installed and running on a Server Core 2012 R2 domain controller. The BPA believes Option 3 (Default Gateway/Router) is not set. But it actually is set. It's set in the Server Options and appears in the Scope Options.

I've also confirmed that DHCP clients have the Default Gateway set properly so I know it's working as expected. I've even deleted and recreated the option but BPA still believes it's not set.

I could exclude this check from the BPA but I'd rather get to the bottom of it and correct whatever the issue is.

It seems that WSUS isn't smart enough to know which updates are actually appropriate for Windows Server Core installs. For example, WSUS wants to install Server 2012 R2 Update (KB2919355) but it fails (gave it a shot but didn't have confidence it would succeed.) And WSUS believes there are still 14 updates this server needs. Four of those are Silverlight.

Now, I don't truly know whether Core edition needs Silverlight (that's sarcasm) nor do I know whether the recent "Update" for 8.1/2012 R2 is needed for Core (not sarcasm) but on the surface it would appear to be inappropriate.

I'd rather not let this server live its life as continually having need for 14+ updates and 1+ failed updates.

Thoughts on how to handle this? I'm a bit surprised that MS has not made better accommodations for handling updates on Core since that's what they are pushing.

update

I've learned a few things.

1. KB2919355 installs fine on a 2012 R2 Core server. Just make sure you have plenty of disk space available! (ha)
2. The server itself knows better when it comes to which updates need to be installed. In the case of Silverlight, WSUS reported that my Core server needed them even though they were set to "Not Approved" and when it came down to it the server didn't have them on its list of needed updates. As it stands, WSUS says the server still needs 4 updates but this is inaccurate because they are all for Silverlight.

I'm not sure why this has been so hard for me to find but where, oh where, is the desktop background stored in a roaming profile on Windows Server 2008 R2?

I recently had a UPS fail to do its job during business hours because I didn't realize it had already reached the end of its useful life. Yes, the battery was old and, yes, I should have manually tested it during off hours to discover the issue before it became a problem. I've replaced the battery and have verified that the automatic self-tests are enabled and that email notification works.

In this case the UPS failed not because of a power outage but because of a low-voltage drop in the data room during lunch time that it could not compensate for it. So just like we use UPSs to protect us during outages I thought it may be wise to also protect the room from low-voltages in the line before my UPSs (as a redundancy to the UPSs' built-in voltage regulation system). (I have various model APC Smart-UPS units [not the on-line type].)

I've included two graphs of last month's reported Line Input Voltages from two different UPSs on different breakers. The peaks and valleys in these graphs are very normal for me but I don't know if they are normal in general or if they indicate an issue with the building (I heard it may be indicative of a bad ground somewhere) or not.

I have setup a few Windows Server 2012 VMs and am experimenting with my first Core install. I intend to manage these servers with Server Manager and PowerShell. As I understand it, I either need to add my user to the local admin group of the remote system or "Manage As" the servers with the domain admin's account. A 3rd option I can see is creating a new account that only has local admin privileges for servers that I will be managing in this way.

Which of the three practices is the most appropriate? (Or is there a better 4th option?)

1. Add my user to remote server's local admin group.
2. Use Server Manager's "Manage As" option to connect to the remote servers with the domain admin's credentials.
3. Create a new user that is only added as the local admin where appropriate and then use "Manage As" to connect.
4. Something else?

About a month ago I added Exchange 2013 to my org and migrated my box to it (from Exchange 2010). At that point my rules completely stopped working automatically. If I ran them manually they worked fine.

Another user's mailbox I migrated works fine. However, this box didn't have any rules until after the migration and me discovering that my own rules no longer worked.

I have tried:

• deleting and recreating the rules from Outlook 2013;
• deleting and recreating the rules from OWA;
• starting Outlook with /cleanrules and recreating them;
• deleting/disabling and creating/enabling rules from Exchange Management Shell;
• turning off and on Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook.

Nothing has worked and I'm not even sure what to try next.

edit: By the way, these are basic rules like moving emails upon arrival to different folders based on keywords in the subject and/or the sender.

edit2: Why is this being voted for closure?

I have tried this from three different virtual machines running on vSphere 5.0 with the same results. All disks are Virtual Disks as provided by ESXi (not iSCSI; not NFS). All disks (C:, E:) are formatted as NTFS.

If I create a folder on the C: and share it to Everyone:FC I can access it from a client PC as expected. It's a totally normal operation. I'm not doing anything interesting with permissions or anything. If I do the same exact thing on the E: I will get an Access Denied error when trying to access the folder.

If I browse to the server itself I can see both shares but I am blocked from accessing the share that resides on the E:. I've even tried adding a 3rd disk (F:) but I get the same result. The only place shares work is from C:.

The Effective Access tool even states that my user should have access. But no. I do not (neither does any other user because the permissions are Everyone:FC).

Server has all the latest patches available. No antivirus is installed. I've ever tried turning off the firewall just in case.

UPDATE: As requested. Here are some example events from the security log.

Success event on C:\OTHER share (this one works) A handle to an object was requested.

Subject:
    Security ID:     SYSTEM
    Account Name:    FILES-01$
    Account Domain:  domain
    Logon ID:        0x3E7

Object:
    Object Server:   Security
    Object Type:     File
    Object Name:     C:\OTHER
    Handle ID:       0x1248
    Resource Attributes:    -

Process Information:
    Process ID:        0x3d0
    Process Name:        C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe

Access Request Information:
    Transaction ID:        {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
    Accesses:        SYNCHRONIZE
                ReadAttributes

    Access Reasons:        SYNCHRONIZE:    Granted by    D:(A;OICIID;FA;;;SY)
                ReadAttributes:    Granted by    D:(A;OICIID;FA;;;SY)

    Access Mask:        0x100080
    Privileges Used for Access Check:    -
    Restricted SID Count:    0

Failure event on E:\TEST (opposite of working)

A handle to an object was requested.

Subject:
    Security ID:        domain\myusername
    Account Name:        myusername
    Account Domain:        DOMAIN
    Logon ID:        0x1D8C46

Object:
    Object Server:        WS-Management Listener
    Object Type:        Unknown
    Object Name:        Unknown
    Handle ID:        0x0
    Resource Attributes:    -

Process Information:
    Process ID:        0x2c8
    Process Name:        C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe

Access Request Information:
    Transaction ID:        {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
    Accesses:        MAX_ALLOWED

    Access Reasons:        -
    Access Mask:        0x2000000
    Privileges Used for Access Check:    -
    Restricted SID Count:    0

I am having a problem with a recently reinstalled laptop with Win 7 Enterprise. The computer is complaining about a broken trust relationship when I try to grant domain users local access on the machine.

I've done the following (twice, using a different name each time) and it doesn't resolve the issue:

1. As domain administrator, leave domain and join workgroup: WORKGROUP.
2. Reboot.
3. As domain administrator, join domain using new computer name.
4. Reboot.
5. As domain administrator, add a domain user as local administrator.
6. Error: "The trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain failed."

This doesn't make any sense to me. As I understand it the above process is the appropriate way to fix this issue.

So far, other symptoms I've experienced are:

The client machine says it's unable to reach the domain. Meanwhile, on the server, I see EventID 5723 from NETLOGON:

The session setup from the computer [name_of_computer] failed because there is no trust account in the security database for this computer. The name of the account referenced in the security database is [name_of_computer]$.

An inability to to ping hosts by hostname when joined to the domain. When off the domain, I can ping hosts just fine.

nslookup [fqdn] returns the proper value for both my domain controllers, and nsloookup [DC hostname] returns the proper IP for the domain controller as well.

I've checked to see that the DNS servers are being assigned properly to the clients, and they are.

I also don't believe I have any WINS servers handing out incorrect NS information. Neither Domain Controller has that role installed (though if anyone has a definitive way to check for WINS servers, that might be helpful).

Can anyone provide some further troubleshooting steps?

My APC UPSs all have the APC SNMP card so they are able to communicate over the network. From what I've been able to find the PowerChute program alerts the guest OS that a power outage has occurred but not a VM host. I'd rather alert the host (or vCenter) so vCenter can manage the power.

I honestly don't know if vCenter can do what I want it to do (with Enterprise licenses) but what I'd like to have happen is this:

1. Shutdown non-essential VMs.
2. Migrate essential VMs to as few hosts as possible. (In my case I have only two.)
3. Power down the unused host.

I've looked at all different levels within vCenter (server, datacenter, cluster, individual VM) and there are no alarms being reported yet the alarm icon persists.

This all started when I had to shutdown my ESXi hosts and SAN for some upgrades in my dataroom. When I turned things back on I first connected to one of the ESXi hosts with the vSphere client on my desktop to power on a domain controller and then a few other VMs. I then connected to the other ESXi host and powered on a few more (but not all).

After a few minutes I logged into the VC server (yes, it's a VM at this time), connected to vCenter with the client and then powered on a few more VMs. At this point I noticed the alert icons on the previously powered on VMs.

It would seem that the "problem" is that I started the VMs from a client connected directly to a host rather than through VC.

Powering off and on the VMs does not resolve the issue.

I have a user profile with ~2.9GB of Error Reports backed up in the ReportQueue folder (C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportQueue). Running DiskCleanup as the administrator does not detect these files and therefore does not clean them up. However, running the utility as the user shows an even larger amount (12.4GB!) of error reporting files. As seen below:

The problem is that after running the cleanup utility the disk spaced used does not decrease by anywhere near 12.4GB and running the utility again detects the same 12.4GB of files.

1. What is the problem here?
2. Alternatively, can I manually delete the files in the ReportQueue folder?

I have a long-term goal of setting up a DR site in a colo somewhere and part of that plan includes replicating some volumes of my EqualLogic SAN. I'm having a bit of a difficult time doing this because I don't know if my method is sound.

This post may be a bit lengthy for the sake of completeness.

Generally relevant information:

1. I have one EqualLogic PS4000X (~4TB).
2. The SAN Acts as shared storage for 2 ESXi hosts in vSphere 5 environment.
3. I have 4 volumes of 500GB each. Volumes 1 and 2 contain my "tier 1" VMs. These will be the only volumes I plan to replicate.
4. Currently have 3Mb/s connection with actual data bandwidth at ~2.8Mb/s because of our PRI(voice).

My method of measuring change in a volume:

I was told by a Dell rep that a way (perhaps not the best?) to estimate deltas in a volume is to measure the snapshot reserve space used over a period of time of a regular snapshot schedule.

My first experiment with this was to create a schedule of 15 minutes between snapshots with a snapshot reserve of 500GB. I let this run overnight and until COB the following day. I don't recall the number of snapshots that could be held in 500GB but I ended up with an average of ~15GB per snapshot.

$average_snapshot_delta = $snapshot_reserve_used / $number_of_snapshots

I then changed the snapshot interval to 60 minutes which after a full 24 hours passing means a total of 13 snapshots in 500GB. This leaves me with ~37GB per hour (or ~9GB per 15 mins).

The problem:

These numbers are astronomical to me. With my bandwidth I can do a little over 1GB/hour with 100% utilization. Is block-level replication this expensive or am I doing something completely wrong?

I was at a Dell EqualLogic training event and the speaker threw out the idea that it may not be a bad idea to create a single datastore to house a single VM rather than making a large datastore and putting several VMs on it. His reasoning was that a 1:1 ratio of VMs to datastores was a better option for managing snapshots created by Dell's Host Integration Toolkit Auto Snapshot Manager. He also threw out the qualifier that this is most beneficial for high-value VMs and not necessarily every VM you have.

The only reason I'm aware of why you wouldn't want to do this is because each datastore that vCenter has to scan adds to the total amount of time it takes to scan your SAN.

I've been reading about generally increasing the performance of an RDP session here but those posts don't seem to cover what I'm looking for which is specifically the redraw rate of windows. I'm not interested in video playback or CAD/graphical performance.

I have Wyse V10L and C10L clients connected to a Server 2008 R2 host. It's a virtual machine and it has enough horsepower to handle the client load. I don't believe the poor screen redraw rate has anything to with the host itself.

From my Win 7 machines using Remote Desktop Connection I get a fairly decent redraw rate that does not leave me feeling uncomfortable or annoyed. However, on the thin-clients the redraw rate is much lower and there's a big difference.

I've tried disabling compression, USB/serial/sound, and pretty graphics (font smoothing, backgrounds, window dragging, etc.). None of this has made even a small difference in the redraw rate.

Is it as simple as the Wyse hardware not being able to redraw any faster? I don't have a more powerful Wyse device to compare with. Any ideas?

Let me start this off by saying I've already evaluated and have planned to purchase SecureDoc Enterprise from WinMagic. However, due to billing issues (not price) I'm afraid I may not be able to make that purchase so I'm now scrambling to find a replacement product. I've got 7 news laptops coming in about 1.5 weeks and I need to deploy full-disk encryption on them.

I'm looking for something with the following features:

• Allows user to locally reset forgotten encryption password without requiring a rescue disk and without requiring network connectivity. SecureDoc uses security questions or an administrator assisted one-time key.
• Allows user to bypass Windows login by passing domain credentials to pre-boot login.
• Centrally managed and policy based.

It should go without saying that the product should have good security/encryption practices and not require a week of training for the admin or user.

Thanks!

edit: I found out that I can purchase the software through Softchoice rather than having to go direct. It's a little unfortunate that the sales person at WinMagic didn't tell me I could go through a reseller even though he knew I had a billing issue. The issue is that they do not accept American Express and we felt their credit app form asked for too much information.

All my servers are in the same domain on the same network. ServerA cannot access ServerB through UNC path. However DNS resolves correctly for ServerB from ServerA. For example "ping ServerB" works as expected.

ServerB can reach ServerA through UNC path without any problem. Likewise all other servers and clients can reach ServerB through UNC path without any problem. The software firewall on ServerB is not turned on and there are no hardware firewalls getting in the way.

This makes no sense and I don't know how to troubleshoot it. Nothing shows up in the event logs of ServerA and ServerB has one event (repeatedly): Event ID: 3019, Source: MrxSmb.

ServerA is Server 2008 R2. ServerB is Server 2003 R2. I have other 2008 R2 servers that connect without any problem.

I'm trying to setup a redirect from http://mail.example.com to https://mail.example.com/owa. I've been unsuccessful in doing this by using IIS's HTTP Redirect so I looked to other options. The one I settled on is to create a default document in the wwwroot folder to handle the redirect.

I created a file called index.aspx (and added index.aspx to the list of default documents) and put the following code in it:

<script runat="server">
 private void Page_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
 {
  Response.Status = "301 Moved Permanently";
  Response.AddHeader("Location","https://mail.example.com/owa");
 }
</script>

Instead of getting a redirect I get:

403 - Forbidden: Access is denied. You do not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials that you supplied.

I've been trying to find an answer to this but have been unsuccessful so far. One thing I did try was to add the Everyone group to wwwroot with read access. No change.

The AppPool for Default Web Site is DefaultAppPool and the Identity is ApplicationPoolIdentity. (I don't know what these things are but maybe knowing this will help you.)