Moving a DFS-Replicated Share to a New Drive

Here is the process I've followed successfully several times:

Add drives/VMDKs to file server VM

In the Windows OS:

•    I used 500GB VMDKs and created a Spanned Volume
•    Use GPT partition style to allow volumes greater than 2TB (future-proof the volume)
•    Use Dynamic type disk to allow for Spanned Volumes
•    I named the volume "Spanned" so I could easily recognize the drive

Copy Data to the new volume

Create Robocopy batch file on C drive:


robocopy d:\home n:\home /E /DCOPY:T /COPYALL /R:1 /W:1 /NP /LOG:c:\scripts\HomeCopy.logThe source path should include the directory on the root drive (probably drive D) because of inherited permissions
Run this once per day to minimize the amount of files required to be copied for the final sync
Perform the final sync

Stop DFS Replication service

Stop DFS Namespace service

Delete the share

Run last robocopy batch file

Make sure to close all sessions (except yours) and open files.

Delete the old pagefile

wmic computersystem set AutomaticManagedPagefile=False
wmic pagefile (lists pagefiles)
wmic pagefileset where name="D:\\pagefile.sys" delete

Switch Drive Letters

Final Robocopy job must be complete!

Review the log file to ensure all files have been copied in the final pass.

Note that Robocopy will probably error on "desktop.ini" files - these are unimortant and will re-created by the OS so you can safely ignore these errors on these files.

Delete all data on the replicated share

DFSR will notice the drive has changed and will try to do a full sync.  If you don't perform this step the replicated share destination will likely fill up and run out of space.

Start DFS Replication service
Start DFS Namespace service
OR REBOOT SERVER

Create Pagefile on new drive

Create new instance:

wmic.exe pagefileset create name="D:\pagefile.sys"

Set Size:

wmic.exe pagefileset where name="D:\\pagefile.sys" set InitialSize=8191,MaximumSize=8191

Dont' use "MB" at end of size (ulike MS KB); Set for 8191MB (Good for 8GB system)
shutdown -r -f -t 0

For memory dump files and other settings, see:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee424384(WS.10).aspx

Post Move Testing
Test namespace
Test replication
Test VSS

Troubleshooting

Check the log files at C:\Windows\Debug

If you see the message "content not set" in the log run the following command to set primary replication membership:
DFSRADMIN Membership Set /RGName:<replication group name> /RFName:<replicated folder name> /MemName:<member you want to be primary> /IsPrimary:True

See:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc725893(WS.10).aspx - What happens during the initial replication

Check the DFS Management MMC

Re-add namespace server if its missing.
Also try disabling/re-enabling target folder.

What is Wrong With This (Outlook) Picture?

I installed Office 2013 the other day and fired-up Outlook   The first thing I immediately noticed were the colors (or lack there-of).  It looks terrible (IMO)!  There are very few colors in a whitewashed screen of goo.  How's that for a description!

Then I noticed there were no real 3D/Aero type of buttons or controls.  Most everything is a flat 2D rendering.

As evidence, I submit to you 3 Outlook screenshots I "borrowed" from various Internet sources (these are not from me).  The data/email is not important, it's that they show the point I'm trying to make:  Microsoft has taken the visual life out of Outlook and all of Office for that matter.

Here's Outlook 2007:


Outlook 2010:

And finally Outlook 2013:

Here they are side-by-side:

I believe they did this for enhanced tablet usage: fewer colors/widgets = faster rendering and lower battery consumption.  Unfortunately for Microsoft, most people will want the best of both worlds = speed, longer battery life and a better visual user experience.  Even on a tablet.  Do I need a "touch"-optimized Word for my tablet?  Sorry, but if I need to enter more than a sentence or two of text, I'm using a keyboard, even on a tablet.  The one exception is note-taking, in which case I'm using a stylus (the subject of a future article).

My prediction is that consumers and business will hold off on upgrading to 2013 and wait to see what Microsoft will come out with next.  Maybe it will be a nice gray-scale text-based UI - but hey, it will be fast!

How to Activate Windows 8 Enterprise Preview

(If you want the quick answer, see the bottom of this article.)

I wanted to start using Windows 8 on my work laptop since it will be released in a matter of weeks.  We're a Microsoft EA customer, so I checked our Volume Licensing downloads and sure enough, there sat "Windows 8 Enterprise Preview" ready to download including the product key.  I compared the build number to the official Window 8 Consumer Preview and it's the same, 8400.

After replacing the drive in my laptop, I downloaded and installed.  Interestingly, it did not prompt me for a key during installation.  After installation, weird "activate this PC" text appeared on the screen that seemed to appear above windows opened on top of it, unlike the "evaluation copy" text.

Trying to activate from the "Metro" interface only gave me a message about a problem that occurred and to try again later.  Activating from control panel gave me more of an error message, but not much:  failed to activate windows, with a generic error code of 0xCxxxx.

So I thought it might be a good idea to call Microsoft Volume Licensing Activation support.  Bad idea. Here's how that went:
Called MS volume licensing activation center.
Did "over the phone" activation - read 9 groups with 7 numbers each.
After all that, person said the numbers were invalid???
Then they asked me to click on icons and options that didn't exist.
Then forwarded me to some tech support group.
Explained previous steps to new support tech.
New guy said volume licensing activation group should help me out.
I told him that they forwarded me to him.
He lies and says no, it was the retail volume license group!
Back to volume licensing group I go - exact same menu options.
Chose same option.
Yet another new guy says he is, in fact, in the volume licensing activation group. Ok.
I provide him Windows version and EA agreement number.
Silence, then on hold music.

Then ringing... what?

MS professional support person answers.

She says she can't hear me and hangs up.

Frustration sets in... install CentOS? Ubuntu?  SmartOS?  Hmmm...  Then I remember seeing the command "SLUI 4" in regards to activating Windows 7.  That brings up the "activation by phone" window.  On a whim, I tried "SLUI 3" - bang!  That brings up the "change activation key" window, exactly what I needed!  I pasted the new key and it activated automagically.

Why was this so difficult?  They'd better fix before RTM!

The Continued Evolution of Windows Management

Back in the late nineties I was hire by a company to lead a nation-wide implementation of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0. I had learned about management technologies Microsoft included in Windows NT 4.0 and thought this would be an exciting opportunity that used these technologies to the fullest. By 2001, we had successfully implemented SMS and were using many of these components in the process.

While I currently consider my expertise to be virtualization and storage, Windows management technology remains near and dear to my heart.

Windows management technology is made up of an alphabet soup of components: HAL, DCOM, WMI, CIM, CIMOM, WEBM, etc, etc. These components have evolved over time, and it looks like they're getting a (much needed) update in Windows 8 and Server 2012.

The fact that hasn't changed in 12 years is that these components are critical to successfully managing Windows systems. And now, non-Windows systems and devices. I highly recommend any IT professional keeping up with these components and where not only Microsoft, but the rest of the industry is taking them.

A good place to start - this TechNet blog article:
Open Management Infrastructure