The Network Guy

Installing HP System Management tools in vSphere

2010-03-06T11:20:00.006-06:00

So I had this issue where I needed to modify RAID controller settings and add more drives on a DL380 G6 running VSphere 4.0 Update 1 while in production with no downtime.
Here's how it's done:

Download the "HP Management Agents for VMware ESX 4.x" here and the "HP Array Configuration Utility for Linux" here.

Using the vSphere client utility to copy the files to the server preferably in a new folder.

Now, SSH into the server and CD into the directory where the new files are and extract the .tgz file by run the following:
tar -zxvf hpmgmt-8.3.0-vmware4x.tgz

now run the shell script using the --install switch:
./hpmgmt/830/install830vibs.sh --install

install the ACU by running:
rpm -i cpqacuxe-8.35-7.0.noarch.rpm

enable remote ACU control:
cpqacuxe -R

And that's it.
Now you should be able to access the HPSIM homepage by browsing to
https://yourserver:2301
logging in with your vSphere root credentials, and now you should have a link to ACU at the homepage.

UPDATE:

The correct URL for the HP System Management page is:

https://yourserver:2381

Easily display CDP connection info

2010-03-06T10:24:00.008-06:00

Here's a quick one-liner to efficiently display CDP (Cisco Discovery Protocol) information on your windows PC. I must give credit to this post.

First of all, download and install WinPcap and a copy of WinDump.exe here. WinDump is a runtime .exe, so no installation is necessary.

Now, WinDump is a command-line utility, so to easily access it, I recommend you put it in your windows or system32 directory so you can easily access it from the command-line in any working directory.

Use WinDump.exe -D to get your network connection's identifier string.
Sample:
C:\WinDump.exe -D
1.\Device\NPF_{FD16AF8D-2700-46D5-8C2B-759B0C54991A} (Sun)
2.\Device\NPF_{39E87FB9-DB40-4476-8B05-601AB3F4CC08} (Microsoft)
3.\Device\NPF_{6588B9CB-A7E7-4998-A780-3652193EA45B} (Intel(R) PRO/1000 PL Network Connection)

Here's the command format I use:
C:\WinDump.exe -nn -v -i \Device\NPF_{6588B9CB-A7E7-4998-A780-3652193EA45B} -s 1500 -c 1 "ether[20:2] == 0x2000"

The command breakdown is similar to what is on the original post sample.
-nn displays output in numeric only format
-v displays verbose information
-i specifies the interface to use for the captures
-s specifies packet byte size to be snagged
-c exits the program after capturing one packet matching bytes 20 and 21 from the start of the Ethernet header for a hex value of 2000

The output of the command above after successfully capturing a CDP packet looks like this:
15:50:59.355171 CDPv2, ttl: 180s, checksum: 692 (unverified), length 418
Device-ID (0x01), length: 11 bytes: 'Switch2'
Address (0x02), length: 13 bytes: IPv4 (1) 10.1.1.2
Port-ID (0x03), length: 19 bytes: 'GigabitEthernet1/2'
Capability (0x04), length: 4 bytes: (0x00000029): Router, L2 Switch, IGMP snooping
Version String (0x05), length: 289 bytes:
Cisco Internetwork Operating System Software
IOS (tm) Catalyst 4000 L3 Switch Software (cat4000-IS-M), Version 12.1(13)EW1, EARLY DEPLOYMENT RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
TAC Support: http://www.cisco.com/tac
Copyright (c) 1986-2003 by cisco Systems, Inc.
Compiled Tue 18-Mar-03 07:33 by hqluong
Platform (0x06), length: 15 bytes: 'cisco WS-C4507R'
Prefixes (0x07), length: 5 bytes: IPv4 Prefixes (1): 10.1.1.0/24
VTP Management Domain (0x09), length: 5 bytes: 'vtpdomain'
Native VLAN ID (0x0a), length: 2 bytes: 129
Duplex (0x0b), length: 1 byte: full
AVVID trust bitmap (0x12), length: 1 byte: 0x00
AVVID untrusted ports CoS (0x13), length: 1 byte: 0x00

This info is great, there is lots of useful data: switch name, ip, interface, switchport native vlan, vtp domain, etc. But is not immediately clear what's on the other end. So here's a little bit of help.

I put this command and others in a batch file to simplify things and to initiate CDP capture from an icon. Start the batch file with the WinDump command and have the output echo into a .txt file.
WinDump.exe -nn -v -i \Device\NPF_{6588B9CB-A7E7-4998-A780-3652193EA45B} -s 1500 -c 1 "ether[20:2] == 0x2000" >RESULT.txt

Now, using the Find command, have it search the RESULT.txt file and output the data you like as so:
FIND /I "Device-ID" RESULT.txt
FIND /I "Port-ID (0x03)" RESULT.txt
FIND /I "Address (0x02)" RESULT.txt
FIND /I "Native VLAN ID (0x0a)" RESULT.txt

So now, just run the batch file, and when a CDP packet is captured, the output will display only the data you need as so:
---------- RESULT.TXT
Device-ID (0x01), length: 11 bytes: 'Switch2'

---------- RESULT.TXT
Port-ID (0x03), length: 19 bytes: 'GigabitEthernet1/2'

---------- RESULT.TXT
Address (0x02), length: 13 bytes: IPv4 (1) 10.1.1.2

---------- RESULT.TXT
Native VLAN ID (0x0a), length: 2 bytes: 100

This little script saves me so much time everyday, and is a great alternative to commercial software that does the same. If anyone has any ideas to help make it better, please let me know!

Citrix License Manager service fails

2009-03-12T14:38:00.004-05:00

So in working on one of the DCs at work, I noticed errors in the app event log:

Event ID 4098 The CTXLMC service failed to start.

It was preceded by the error:

Event ID 4096 Could not load the Java Virtual Machine.

Then i remembered uninstalling JRE on this box a while back, because really, it's a DC, why would it be there? Well, I got my answer.

But no matter how much I googled, I couldnt find an easy answer to what specific version of JRE I needed to install, until, in researching Citrix support, I found:

http://support.citrix.com/article/CTX107822&parentCategoryID=617

We're running Presentation Server 4.5 on a different box, but licensing on this box. And it seems the licensing services require JRE.

And after trying different versions, JRE 1.5.0 Update 9 worked just fine. The service started right up when manually started, with no errors in event logs.

Hope this helps!

Rick Estrada

It's been a while, huh?

2009-03-12T13:57:00.004-05:00

Sorry about not posting for a while, but I've been tackling projects left and right, trying to shorten the list on my boss' desk.

So major issue broke out this morning: password changes in Active Directory were failing with error:

The password does not meet the password policy requirements. Check the minimum password length, password complexity and password history requirements

Even through command line, (net user /domain username password) the error persisted. So I tried the usual, editing default domain policy, allowing/blocking inheritance on Domain Controller's OU in GPMC, editing domain controller's policy, the usual stuff you find googling the error. (http://support.microsoft.com/?id=269236) Nothing worked... until, I noticed the same error in the application event log, over and over:

The description for Event ID ( 5 ) in Source ( WinPSAFilter ) cannot be found. The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. You may be able to use the /AUXSOURCE= flag to retrieve this description; see Help and Support for details. The following information is part of the event: .

And I didn't notice that it started at about the same time users began reporting issues changing their passwords. Well, the WinPSAFilter belongs to our SSO product, Computer Associates, CA SSO.

Long story short, this software sucks. I uninstalled the Password Sync Agent from all of our DCs, and that was it. Password changes were now allowed.

Does anyone out there use this product? Have you had problems like this with it?

We were going to use it in a test environment, but have now decided that it just isn't going to work out.

I have another Cisco tip to post, but I'll post after work.

Rick Estrada

Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 released

2009-02-15T07:58:00.004-06:00

Rumors all week indicated it would be release on Valentines day, but all day yesterday, the site hadn't changed. This morning, at 3.58 AM, I got the email, and confirmed it was available for download. I have a few errands to run today, but as soon as I'm done, I'll install in on my x60s, and post about it.

I'll keep you all posted. In the meantime, go download your copy:

http://debian.org/

Automate backups of SQL Express database

2009-01-15T17:17:00.005-06:00

We have a workorder tracking system that runs on SQL Express 2005 edition. One of the many limitations of SQL Express, is its lack of the SQL Agent found on full versions of SQL, which allows automated tasks to be scheduled, one being scheduled backups.

So to work around this limitation, I created a scheduled task in Windows, which runs the following commands from a batch file to automatically backup the database:

osql -E -S SERVER\SQLINSTANCE -Q "BACKUP DATABASE [DATABASENAME] TO [BACKUP_DEVICE] WITH RETAINDAYS = 7, NOFORMAT, NOINIT, NAME = N'DATABASENAME-Full Database Backup', SKIP, NOREWIND, NOUNLOAD, STATS = 10"

osql -E -S SERVER\SQLINSTANCE -Q "BACKUP LOG DATABASENAME WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY"

osql -E -S SERVER\SQLINSTANCE -Q "DBCC SHRINKDATABASE (DATABASENAME, TRUNCATEONLY)"

OK, so one thing to do before you go out and use this, is you need to create a "Backup Device", which you can do with SQL Management Studio Express. If you need a copy, just google it; it is a free download from Microsoft. The second and third commands are for basic DB maintenance, but it doesn't hurt to run them as well, at the same time.

That's about it, just edit the commands above, set your retention period (RETAINDAYS = x), put in a batch file, and create a scheduled task with your time requirements.

Email me if you have any questions or suggestions.

--Rick Estrada

Un-boxing the HP Mini 2133 Netbook

2009-01-10T21:00:00.004-06:00

Un-boxing the HP Mini 2133 Netbook and putting it up against my x60s.
Feel free to make your comments, I appreciate your input. Ignore the pics of the NetScreen.
Check it out...
http://picasaweb.google.com/rickster21/NewToys?feat=directlink

Automating a DPM Recovery

2009-01-10T20:48:00.004-06:00

OK, so we're using Microsoft Data Protection Manager 2007 (DPM) as our backup solution for several of our SQL DB and Windows file servers. It's pretty straight forward stuff, but like most new software, documentation for DPM is limited and "googling" for answers, yields limited help. Let me describe one problem we faced, then give you an overview of the solution I engineered.

The DB system runs on two clustered Live servers, and is required (by the vendor) to be replicated to a Report server for resource consuming queries. This is a SQL2005 implementation.

The vendor put a backup job in place which basically does a DB dump to a .bak file every night at 1AM, and hourly log dumps after that. We have implemented DPM with VSS to backup that .bak file nightly, as soon as the dump finishes.

Now, because the DB must be replicated to the report server nightly, we will be using that to validate our backups by restoring, nightly, as well.

So what we needed to do, looks like this:

1.SQL Dump @1am

2.DPM Backup of .bak file @2am

3.DPM Restore .bak to RPT @3am

4.SQL Restore on RPT @4am

The problem is, there is no way to automate restores in DPM's GUI, it must be done through powershell. Here's the script that did it.

$from = Get-Date –f "dd-MMMM-yyyy 00:01:00"

$to = Get-Date –f "dd-MMMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss"

-->>these two lines define the time parameters for the "searchoption"

$pg = Get-ProtectionGroup DPMGROUPNAME

$ds = Get-Datasource $pg[8]

-->>this sets the $pg variable, and $pg[8] uses ninth line from its output to set the $ds variable

-->>it gets a little complex below this line

$so = New-SearchOption -SearchString db_dump_file.BAK -FromRecoveryPoint "$from" -ToRecoveryPoint "$to" -SearchDetail filesfolders -SearchType contains -Recursive -Location "F:\"

-->>with the search option variable set, you can now choose which item to recover

$ri = Get-RecoverableItem -Datasource $ds[2] -SearchOption $so

$ro = New-RecoveryOption -TargetServer rptserver.domain.com -RecoveryLocation copytofolder -FileSystem -AlternateLocation "F:\MSSQL\DailyLiveRestore\" -OverwriteType overwrite -RecoveryType Restore

-->>now comes the actual recovery command, much simpler command, only 2 options

Recover-RecoverableItem -RecoverableItem $ri -RecoveryOption $ro

Here's all the commands without my comments:

$from = Get-Date –f "dd-MMMM-yyyy 00:01:00"

$to = Get-Date –f "dd-MMMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss"

$pg = Get-ProtectionGroup DPMGROUPNAME

$ds = Get-Datasource $pg[8]

$so = New-SearchOption -SearchString db_dump_file.BAK -FromRecoveryPoint "$from" -ToRecoveryPoint "$to" -SearchDetail filesfolders -SearchType contains -Recursive -Location "F:\"

$ri = Get-RecoverableItem -Datasource $ds[2] -SearchOption $so

$ro = New-RecoveryOption -TargetServer rptserver.domain.com -RecoveryLocation copytofolder -FileSystem -AlternateLocation "F:\MSSQL\DailyLiveRestore\" -OverwriteType overwrite -RecoveryType Restore

Recover-RecoverableItem -RecoverableItem $ri -RecoveryOption $ro

Working backwards, it should become clear what parameters are required, before the next commandlet will work. Remember, that in a list of items, the first item is 0, not 1. Run the commands like "Get-ProtectionGroup DPMGROUPNAME" so you will know what to use for $pg[#] when setting a datasource. I used the command "Get-Date –f "dd-MMMM-yyyy HH:mm:ss"" because this runs at 3am, and I needed the the SearchOption to limit itself to recovery points between 1am and 3am, on the current day. As you can see, Powershell experience is a must.

OK, on to the automation side of things: PowerShell scripts should be saved with file extension .ps. Now, you can't just double click the file and it executes; you have to tell windows powershell to load the DPM commandlets, to interpret the commands in the .ps file. Only then, can you make this a scheduled task.

Here's how I did it. First, I customized the commands above for my environment, and saved them in a .ps file (C:\Scripts\AutoRecover\SQL-DB-RECOVER.ps1). I then saved a batch file with the following command:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\windowspowershell\v1.0\powershell.exe -PSConsoleFile "C:\Program Files\Microsoft DPM\DPM\bin\dpmshell.psc1" -command ".'C:\Scripts\AutoRecover\SQL-DB-RECOVER.ps1'"

THEN I created the scheduled task to kick off the batch file, which kicks off the powershell script.

Because of the "-OverwriteType overwrite" option, the recovered .bak file will replace the previous one each night on the report server, and then SQL on the report server will recover it with its own scheduled job. NOTE: a DPM agent must be installed on the target server for DPM to recover to it.

And there it is. I know my post became a little vague towards the end, but I'm getting a little sleepy here. Please, feel free to email me if you need help getting this to work in your environment, or if you just have any questions.

If you took the time to read this, I really hope this has helped you out in your implementation of DPM.

Finally, I'd like to thank my good friend, Sassan K. for getting me started with Microsoft DPM last year.

THANKS SASSAN!

-Rick Estrada

New Year... New Stuff...

2009-01-05T20:48:00.003-06:00

OK, so far so good, day 5 of 2009, day 1 back at work...
I finally made time to finish my review of the HP Mini 2133. My boss bought a few to try out, one with Vista two with XP Pro. I'm actually typing this up on the Mini. It's actually a pretty decent system. A netbook is a netbook, so I wasn't expecting too much going in. I have found the keyboard to be the biggest challenge. My hands aren't huge, yet they are big enough to make typing on the Mini a learning experience. So much, in fact, that I've become very well familiar with the backspace key. It seems to me that the keys around the pinkies and ring fingers that are a little too cramped. It'll do for casual use on the go, but not for typing a novel.
The screen also surprised me. Despite being small, the resolution is great at 1280x768. My primary laptop can only do 1024x768. However, I wouldn't stare at it all day. On the downside, it seems to get dingy with fingerprints easily, unless it's just me being careless. (I'm terrible about fingerprints on a screen)
Performance was pretty good too. I found it more than enough for web browsing and streaming video. This model has 2GB, so I was able to run multiple office apps and web browsers with it not skipping a beat.
All in all, I would definitely recommend this netbook for travel or light use. It is by no means a full fledged laptop, nor a system you'd use 8 hours a day. But it's perfect for on the go.
I'll post pictures tomorrow for side by side comparison with other laptops.
Next time, benchmark numbers...
Rick Estrada

Lookit the new toy...

2008-12-09T09:53:00.001-06:00

It just came in yesterday. I can't wait to set it up, and get the old 4000 out of the data center.

Check it out, any tips on setup are welcome.

Thanks!

What's up with the weather?

2008-12-06T00:32:00.001-06:00

I guess it's finally winter here in the RGV.

Update

2008-12-04T22:34:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone, I know, I know, I've ignored the blog too long... its been almost a month or so... I've just been SOOO BUSY! Work has been hectic, and the projects keep coming at me quicker than I can knock them out. Life at home isn't going too well either... But let me fill you in as best as I can:

I sold my ThinkPad about 3 weeks ago, and with the profit, I bought a really nice new one, at least, new to me. The x40 went for about $750, so I had enough for a slick new x60s: Centrino Duo, 2GB, 120GB. It's SWEET! I loaded Vista Ultimate, and it takes it like a champ. Then I loaded up all my apps and some VMs and I'm set.

I just finished a gig where I implemented a few remote offices to a central office location using 2810's running ATM with IMA bundles over T1's.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm going to be a daddy? Yep, by late June if all goes well.

I really need to make some extra cash for savings, so if anyone needs help with anything, email me, I can help you out with technical issues using CroosLoop.

So that's all I got for now, I'm really going to try hard this time to keep regular posts. I promise.

-Rick Estrada

Zetafax using Windows TAPI

2008-11-06T17:27:00.006-06:00

I have a scenario here at work where long distance calls require a 4 digit code to be entered after the phone number is dialed. Roughly, here's how it goes:

pick up receiver -> 9,1 2223334444 -> wait for voice prompt -> 5555 (4 digit code)

So when setting up our new Zetafax server, I couldn't find a way to configure this rule within the software. instead, I had to use Windows TAPI rules with the "calling card" options.

Just for reference, Windows TAPI only supports 255 or 256 prefix numbers per area code rule. Zetafax server, only supports 36. If you enter more than 36, the server configuration tool exits as if it had crashed. I called technical support, and the very rude lady on the phone, confirmed this limit, but lowered the number to 30 supported prefixes. She said the next release of Zetafax server would natively include rules like those in Windows TAPI, and also include an "exclude" list of prefixes, unlike TAPI's "include" only option.

I really hope this makes sense, I googled this and couldn't find an answer.

If you need explaining, feel free to send me an email.

-Rick Estrada

Live Mesh service is unavailable - Error during install

2008-11-04T15:11:00.004-06:00

So I've stated playing around with Microsoft's Live Mesh application and am loving it!

I have in the past used sync tools like SyncToy and online storage, like Google Docs, but this is on a whole other level, not to mention remote desktop-like pc control.

This morning, I decided to install in on my Thinkpad x40, which is running Vista Business, but I kept getting an error:

Live Mesh service is unavailable.

Please retry your installation later.

[80072F78] The server returned an invalid or unrecognized response

I rebooted, over and over, but had no success. Later I realized my AV software was still runing. As soon as I disabled it, Live Mesh finished installing and started up with no problem. After a reboot, the AV came up and so did Live Mesh and it has been working OK since.

Just fyi, I'm running Avast! 4.8 Home edition.

Hope this helps, because I found no help google-ing this error.

-Rick Estrada

The weekend is now over...

2008-11-03T10:26:00.006-06:00

Hey everyone, hope you all had a great weekend.

Mine was OK, we had the best weather we've had in South Texas in a long time.

So I finally mounted my plasma on the wall; I bought the mount on eBay for like $120, and it is awesome! I'll post pics later on.

I also installed Vista Ultimate on my old GX260, I'll post info on drivers and tweaks I had to implement to get it going. It runs pretty good, but I had problems with video driver and had to disable a lot of services to make it run as smooth as XP.

Stay tuned for more...

-Rick Estrada

Open File - Security Warning

2008-10-29T15:47:00.007-05:00

I pushed out an .exe this morning to all desktops, network wide, and received numerous complaints that when users tried to run the .exe, a popup would prompt for comfirmation before allowing it to run. Its title was:

"Open File - Security Warning"

Of course, there is a checkbox to keep this prompt from reapearing, but we all know how end users can be...

So the 'quick fix' is to create or edit a group policy object and under "User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Attachment Manager", enable "Inclusion list for low file types" and add .exe with the leading period.

After a gpupdate, the security prompt no longer came up.

-Rick Estrada

ASDM error: Unconnected sockets not implemented

2008-10-29T01:46:00.008-05:00

Hey everyone, I know it's been a long while since my last post, but I promise to try to make more frequent posts.
One thing I noticed today was that I couldn't launch Cisco's ASDM from my laptop running a clean install of Vista SP1. I noticed the same error on my desktop at work as well, right after login, I'd get this:

ASDM is unable to continue loading. Click OK to exit from ASDM.
Unconnected sockets not implemented.

I was trying to connect to an ASA5505 and an ASA5510, both running 8.0(2) and ASDM 6.0(2). Well after half an hour of research, and not finding a fix, I started troubleshooting on my own. I found the problem to be the Java runtime version I was using. It seems ASDM is incompatible with JRE 6u10. I uninstalled it and installed JRE 6u7 and then ASDM came right up with no errors.
So there you go, if you're running Vista SP1, ASDM will not work with JRE 6u10, try 6u7 instead.
-Rick Estrada

EDIT 2008/11/26@08.14

I had a question about where to download JRE6u7, so here it is:

http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/6u7/index.html

Go to this page, and click the "Download JRE" link, then select your platform and language, and you should be presented with the online and offline installers.

Also, remember to disable automatic updating of your Java engine by going to "Control Panel" > "Java" icon > "Update" tab > and uncheck "Check for updates automatically". The "Java" icon appears in the control panel only when it is in "classic view", both in XP and Vista.

-Rick Estrada

Weekend update...

2008-06-28T15:05:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone, I just got back from a week-long trip to Charlotte, NC, where I attended Microsoft course 2274C, on managing Windows Server 2003. So the first few days, I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know, but Thursday and Friday, I picked up on some neat things I knew Group Policies could do, but never got around to play with. So the security side of the training was great. It all took place at McKesson's "Paragon Headquarters" on the north side of Charlotte, which was great, because I spent just about every evening in Concord Mills, and spent some time at the Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Anyway, here's some pics.

Rick Estrada

HOW-TO: Backup/Export Exchange Mailbox data from Outlook

2008-06-24T17:15:00.005-05:00

When I changed jobs last year, I remember having to backup my data file from within Outlook using this freeware tool from Microsoft. However, now in my new job, we use Exchange whereas before, we used IPSwitch Imail with POP3 access enabled for mail clients.
So here's the problem:

(direct quote from the download site)
Note: Personal Folders Backup only backs up .PST files. If you have a Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox, your server mailbox folders are likely backed up regularly by your server administrator.

So to make things easy, here's a how-to for exporting all your data from your exchange mailbox to a regular .PST file which you can later import back into Outlook to access as an archive. The full-res pictures are here.

1. Within your Outlook client, click "File"->"Import and Export"

2. Select "Export to a file" and click "Next"

3. Select "Personal Folder File (.pst)" and click "Next"

4. Select the top-level of you Exchange Mailbox and check "Include subfolders" then click "Next"

5. Type the path and filename for the file to be created and click "Next"

6.Enter a name to be displayed when you add the backup .PST file to the Outlook client. Also, enter a password if you want to protect the file from unauthorized access. Click "OK"

7. Re-enter the password for the system to begin file creation and click "OK"

After this screen, the .PST creation begins. This took about 20 minutes on my mailbox, which was almost 1GB of data.
When the process finishes, you can now copy the newly created .PST file to a CD, DVD, etc. somewhere safe.

--Rick Estrada

First post - YEAH!

2008-06-24T15:59:00.005-05:00

Hey everyone, first post here on the shinny new blog... hope this one works out ok.
I plan to keep it simple, stick to tech related topics and hopefully help someone out. I may on occasion post topics related to stuff going on in my work day or just musings on life... whatever
So here I go.
Wish me luck!

--Rick Estrada