Archive of posts tagged AD-DS

How to use a Domain Controller as an Exchange 2013 DAG Witness Server (Don’t)

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If you’re setting up Exchange 2013 in a lab, you may have a requirement to use a domain controller as a File Share Witness (FSW) host. Obligatory disclaimer: While this is definitely not recommended practise in a production environment, and may have undesirable results, it will probably work. I highly doubt Microsoft support this, though …

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Monitoring User Logons to Specific Workstations

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The script and group policy below will allow you to monitor a specific group of users logging on to certain workstations/computers. This is helpful if you believe users are logging onto machines in an unusual pattern or to workstations they probably shouldn’t be. Of course you can lock users down to specific machines, but in …

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The ActiveSyncDevice Cannot be Found–unable to delete Active Sync Devices in Exchange 2010

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This error occurs when inheritable permissions are not enabled on a mailbox. You will see this error when trying to remove an ActiveSync Device: To fix this, first enable ‘Advanced Features’ in ADUC: Then open the user’s properties and browse to the Security tab. Click ‘Advanced’ and then place a check in the box labeled …

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Force Replication of Active Directory with PowerShell and Repadmin.exe

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Perhaps you’re creating a user for immediate use in another site. Perhaps you’ve updated a group membership and accidentally used a DC in the wrong site. Maybe you’re just lazy? One of the most fun (read: boring) parts of Active Directory cross-site administration is replication. Opening up Active Directory Sites & Services and mindlessly clicking …

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2008 R2 Domain Controller hangs during Applying Computer Settings

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Today I was faced with a strange problem. One of our domain controllers (essentially the ‘primary’ one, all FSMO roles, DNS, etc) stopped letting me make changes to its Netlogon share. I thought “hmm that’s weird” and rebooted it, assuming it would be back up in a matter of minutes. Oh how wrong I was. After 20 minutes this server was not back up, which had me slightly concerned…