How to: Obtain IP configuration from a remote server with Windows Server 2012

When you have multiple servers and you want to optain the IP configuration from all that servers, you can use the following command.

winrs -r:SERVERNAME ipconfig

In my labenvironment I’ve installed multiple Windows 2012 servers. I ran the command from my domain controller, and obtain the IP configuration of my Exchange 2013 environment. First I ran the IPCONFIG command on the local server, finally I ran the WINRS command from the domain controller. The result is exactly the same as you can see….but all from one server!! What a powerfull feature to manage your environment 🙂

WINRS_01    WINRS_02

How to: Create a NIC team within Windows Server 2012

A very nice new feature in Windows Server 2012 is native NIC teaming. This means you can create a team of different NIC’s, without instelling any 3th party drivers or software! Even with different NIC families, for example Intel and Broadcom. Cool!

Within a few clicks, youre NIC team is up and running. Offcourse you can also use PowerShell to manager or create a NIC team. Let’s have a look on some examples from my labenvironment. I’ve created a virtual Windows Server 2012 machine whit a copple of NIC’s in it.

1.) To list all adapter in the machine, you can use the following command
Get-NetAdapter
2.) Rename the adapters
Rename-NetAdapter -Name OLDNAME -NewName NEWNAME
In my example I’m going to create a team of 4 network interfaces (TEAM-INT1,2,3 and 4)
3.) The next step is to create a new team interface
New-NetLbfoTeam -Name LAN-TEAM -TeamMembers TEAM-INT-1, TEAM-INT-2, TEAM-INT-3
As you can see, I’ve only added 3 NIC’s to the team. In the next step, we’re going to add another NIC to the team.
4.) Next we are going to add TEAM-INT-4 to the LAN-TEAM
Add-NetLbfoTeamMebmer -Team LAN-TEAM -InterfaceAlias TEAM-INT-4
5.) Let’s view the team properties
Get-NetLbfoTeam -Name LAN-TEAM
As you can see, all the 4 NIC’s are member of the NIC team
6.) Open the Server Manager and select “Local Server”
7.) Select “NIC Teaming” Here you can edit the properties of your NIC team and see the status of each interface (speed, status, etc.)
8.) When we disable one interface, you see the new status directly

So in this exmple, you have seen how easy it is to build a new NIC team with different NIC’s. No special drivers, no tooling, no 3th party software…just Windows Server 2012!! #cool!

NIC_Team_01    NIC_Team_02    NIC_Team_03

NIC_Team_04    NIC_Team_05    NIC_Team_06

NIC_Team_07    NIC_Team_08    NIC_Team_09

NIC_Team_10    NIC_Team_11

How to: Windows 2012 Server deploy remote domain controllers using Server Manager – part II of II

A few weeks ago I’ve posted an article about how to remotely Install a domain controller within Windows 2012 Server using the Server Manager.

How to: Windows 2012 Server Deploy remote domain controllers using Server Manager – Part I of II

Since Windows 2012 Server, creating a new domain controller is much eassier then ever before. There is another option to create a new domain controller….Yes, using Windows PowerShell!!

As you can see in part I of the post, there are two domain controllers. I have installed a clean Windows 2012 Server within my labenvironment, called Server2.

1.) Logon to Server1 with the Administrator account
2.) Open Windows PowerShell
3.) Type the following command:
Install-WindowsFeature -Name AD-Domain-Services -ComputerName Server2
4.) After the Windows feature is installed succesfully, type the following command:
Invoke-Command –ComputerName Server2 –ScriptBlock {Import-Module ADDSDeployment;Install-ADDSDomainController –NoGlobalCatalog:$False –CreateDNSDelegation:$False –Credential (Get-Credential) –CriticalReplicationOnly:$False –DatabasePath “C:\Windows\NTDS” –DomainName “Contoso.com” –InstallDNS:$True –LogPath “C:\Windows\NTDS” –NoRebootOnCompletion:$False –SiteName “Default-First-Site-Name” –SysVolPath “C:\Windows\SysVol” }
When prompted for credentials, enter the username and password of your domain administrator account!

In my labenvironment, I have used the following parameters:
-ComputerName, this is the name of the new domain controller
-NoGlobalCatalog:$False, the new domain controller becomes also an Global Catalog Server
-CreateNDSDelegation:$False, there are no ohter DNS servers available for DNS delegation
-Creadential(Get-Credential), before executing the command, there will be an popup asking your admin crerdentials
-CriticalReplicationOnly:$False, this entry specifies whether the installation operation performs only important replication before a restart and then skips the noncritical and potentially lengthy part of replication. The noncritical replication occurs after the role installation is complete, and the computer restarts
-Databasepath, the location of the ADDS database (NTDS.DIT)
-DomainName, specifies the fully qualified domain name of your domain
-InstallDNS:$True, the new domain controllers becomes also an DNS server
-LogPath, this is the path of the fully qualified, non-UNC directory on a hard disk on the local computer that will  host the AD DS log files.
-NoRebootOnCompletion:$False, there will be no reboot at the end of the installation
-SiteName, this is the name of your Active Directory site where the new domain controller becomes a member of
-SysVolPath, this folder contains all content replicated to the other domain controller (NETLOGON and SYSVOL directories)
5.) After executing the commands above, and the installation has finished, the new domain controller becomes vissible in your Active Directory environment
6.) All you have to do now is waiting for the next Active Directory replication, so all your domain controllers are synchronized

       

       

       

   

Let’s play with System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 products!

With the upcoming release of Microsoft System Center 2012, Microsoft has published some pre-configured VHD files of the Microsoft System Center 2012 products, including Service Pack 1! The only thing you’ve to do is downloading the VHD’s and import them into you Hyper-V environment! This will save you a lot of time to configure it by your own. So check the Microsoft blog to download all the VHD files.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager/archive/2012/10/10/system-center-2012-sp1-beta-downloadable-evaluation-vhds-now-available.aspx?Loc=zbtfz_zYFCz&type=zDLz&prog=zEvalz&prod=zSCz

System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 Beta – Installable Bits (if you want to do that instead of VMs)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34607

App Controller – Service Pack 1 Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34781

Operations Manager – Service Pack 1 Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34780

Orchestrator – Service Pack 1 Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34778

Service Manager – Service Pack 1 Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34777

Virtual Machine Manager – Service Pack 1 Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34803

Data Protection Manager – Service Pack 1 Beta
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34779

How to: Windows 2012 Server deploy remote domain controllers using Server Manager – part I of II

A great new feature whitin Windows 2012 Server is the possibility to manage servers remote through the Windows Server Manager. In part one of this blogpost, I’m going to deploy a new domain controller to my existing domain in my lab environment through the GUI. In part two of the blogpost, I’m going to deploy again a new domain controller. But now I’m going to use Microsoft Powershell.

I already installed two clean Windows 2012 Servers with the right IP configuration. The servers are added to the Windows Server Manager within my first domain controller, so we’ve the possibility to manage this servers! As you can see, in the begin there’s only one domain controller available.

1.) Login to the existing domain controller of your domain
2.) Open the Server Manager
3.) Navigate to All Servers
4.) Select server SERVER1
5.) Select Manager – Add Roles and Features
6.) Click Next
7.) Select Role-based or feature-based installation
8.) Select server SERVER1
9.) Select server role Active Directory Domain Services and click Next
10.) Click Add Features to install the right Windows features to manage your Active Directory environment
11.) In the confirmation screen, click Install
This will install the server role and features only, not configuring!
12.) After the installation succeeded succesfully, click the red flag on top of the screen
13.) Navigate to Post-deployment Configuration and click Promote this server to a domain controller
14.) Supply the right credentials and click Next
15.) Type the Directory Service Restore Mode (DSRM) password and click Next
16.) In the review screen, you can save the Powershell script to perform this actions automatically the next time.
17.) After the configuration is finished, you’ll see the new domain controller within:
Active Directory Users and Computers
Active Directory Sites and Services

       

       

       

       

       

       

   

How to: Windows 2012 switch from GUI to Core and from Core to GUI

When you install Windows 2012 Server, you’ve two options to install. The first one is the Core version, the second one is the graphical version (GUI). In the previous version, Windows Server 2008, it was also possible! There is one mayer difference in Windows 2012 Server. You’ve the possibility to change between the Core edition and graphical interface and back without installing the whole server again!

In a few steps you can transform your fully graphical version of Windows 2012 Server to only a black command line box! 😉 Let’s have a look.

1.) Install a Windows 2012 Server with the GUI version
2.) Open Powershell
3.) Type the following command:
Get-WindowsFeature *gui*. As you can see, there’re two Windows feature.
Graphical Management Tools and Infrastructure (Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra)
Server Graphical Shell (Server-Gui-Shell)
4.) Type the following command to uninstall the GUI:
Get-WindowsFeature *gui* | Remove-WindowsFeature
5.) After restarting the server, you don’t have the GUI anymore
6.) Open Powershell
7.) Type the following command to install the GUI:
Get-WindowsFeature *gui* | Install-WindowsFeature
8.) After restarting the server, the GUI is back again.

       

       

       

       

   

Updated eBook Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition

Mitch Tulloch and the Windows Server team have released a new updated version of the FREE e-Book for IT professionals: Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition. This book is a great way to get quickly skilled up on all the new improvements in this latest Windows Server – one of the most ambitious releases of Windows Server for IT Pros since Active Directory was released in Windows Server 2000! In this 256-page eBook, you’ll find 5 chapters of detailed technical content covering the following key improvements to building a Private Cloud at your shop with Windows Server 2012:

All you have to do is tweet about this free eBook.