Microsoft SharePoint & Infrastructure Architect - Linda Chapman

SharePoint 2010 – How to create vanity URL for sub site

2011-07-23T22:25:00.001-06:00

How to create a short URL or vanity URL for SharePoint Site, can be done, but it is NOT done through SharePoint. You would create it through IIS.

I don’t have my SharePoint installation in front of me so am doing this from memory, thus not entering the exact step by step at the detail I normally do. Email me if you have questions.

To understand what we are doing below, we are going to create one IIS virtual empty site for each sub-site you want a vanity URL for, and simply redirect that site to the exact absolute URL of the sub-site. We will create one application pool that is separate from the existing SharePoint application pools, and all vanity URLs share that one app pool to save resources.

Go to IIS.
Go to SITES right click and ADD a Web Site.
Name = SharePointVanityURLs (This is so the App Pool can be named this, and they will all share the one app pool to save memory, you will rename this site to your first redirected hostname later)
Create New Application Pool = SharePointVanityURLs
Physical Path = c:\inetpub\wwwroot\wss\VirtualDirectories\1stVanityName
Host Name: 1stVanityName
OK
Click on your new web site.
Right click and select RENAME and change the name of the web site to 1stVanityName.
In the Actions Pane click Edit Permissions – Add Authenticated Users and click OK.
Click on your new web site.
In IIS section click Authentication – disable anonymous (unless using it) – enable Windows Authentication.
Still focused on the Windows Authentication in the right pane click Advanced Settings and deselect Enable Kernel-mode authentication.
Click on your new web site.
In IIS section, click HTTP Redirect.
Check Redirect requests to this destination.
Enter your absolute URL to your sub-site without the home page entered.
Check Redirect all requests to exact destination.
In the right pane click Apply.
Click on your new web site.
Right click and select Manage Web Site – Restart.
Enter a DNS record for this new vanity URL or short URL with an IP address that points to your Web Front End server or if using Load Balancing your VIP address.
Flush DNS server cache and client cache if needing to test right away. Client is Command Prompt type IPCONFIG /flushdns .

Repeat steps above for each vanity URL, but the remain web sites on #4 select to use the existing App Pool “SharePointVanityURLs” instead of creating new ones.

That’s it, it is that easy

SSRS Scale-out Deployment–How to remove Instance

2011-07-20T21:05:00.001-06:00

If you need to remove a SSRS SQL Server database instance from Reporting Services Configuration Manager such as due to migrating a RS database from one server to another, you can do so by running the RSKeyMgmt command.

On your Report Server, open a command prompt and enter the following to find the GUID you want to remove.

RSKeyMgmt –l

The above parameter is a lower case “L” not a one. That will return your list of machine instances. Mark and copy the GUID of the instance to remove. Then enter the following to remove that instance from that Report Server’s configuration.

RSKeyMgmt –r <GUID>

Yes or No: Y

Now your instance is removed from this RS configuration.

Reference Material: http://msdn.microsoft.com/es-py/library/ms162822(v=SQL.110).aspx

SharePoint 2010 how to clear Config Cache.ini

2011-07-14T16:21:00.003-06:00

There are many times you will need to clear your Configuration Cache ( Cache.ini ) on all your SharePoint servers, such as when a timer service is stuck in a stopping, starting or pausing state.

Personally I like to make clearly the Cache.ini on all servers apart of a monthly maintenance schedule along with applying windows updates. But in reality should not be neccessary regularly.

IMPORTANT STEP: Stop the Timer Service (OWSTIMER) service on ALL SharePoint servers in the farm.
Open windows on all SharePoint servers to the path Cache.ini is stored in, this can sometimes vary so search for it on C.
In SharePoint 2007 it is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID
In SharePoint 2010 it is C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID
Take a backup COPY of each cache.ini file and the XML folders and files.
Delete all the XML files from the directory, NOT the cache.ini.
C: Drive:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID
Open the cache.ini with Notepad and reset the number to 1 and press enter.
Save and close the file.
Perform the steps above on all SharePoint servers containing the cache.ini file.
Start the Timer Service OWSTIMER service on the SharePoint servers and wait for XML files to begin to reappear in the directory.

Important to remember that you cannot just do this on one server but all that contain the cache.ini file. Also you must delete the XML file prior to changing the cache.ini file.

After SharePoint 2010 upgrade–Excel Services does not work

2011-06-22T19:04:00.001-06:00

After upgrading from MOSS 2007 to SharePoint 2010, I experienced the Excel Web Access web parts were no longer working and were producing the following error.

The workbook cannot be opened.

I turned all logging to verbose, and still did not receive any errors in the logs related to this.

After ensuring all of my farm settings were correct, I found another article of this being an issue with the service account for Excel Services not having the proper permissions on the databases. I have done many upgrades and never had this issue before. But with this being a DBA managed environment it was sure a possibility.

To fix it run the following PowerShell command on your SharePoint server granting access to your Excel Services account. It does require an IISreset, or at least did for me.

Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell -EA 0

$webApp = Get-SPWebApplication http://WebApplicationURL

$webApp.GrantAccessToProcessIdentity("DomainName\ExcelServicAccountName")

SharePoint 2010 User Profile Import–How to filter only Enabled Accounts

2011-06-22T12:17:00.001-06:00

When you create a User Profile Synchronization Connection in SharePoint, by default it will import all accounts in the containers you specify enabled and disabled. If you only want to import enabled accounts, then after your connection is created add the following filter.

Logon to Central Administration with a Farm Administrator account.
Click on Manage Service Applications.
Scroll down to and click on User Profile Service Application.
On the Manage Profile Service page, click Configure Synchronization Connections.
On the Synchronization Connections page, click the Active Directory connection that you want to edit, and then click Edit Connection Filters.
On the Edit Connection Filters page, follow these steps:

In Exclusion Filter for Users, change the Attribute drop-down to userAccountControl.
In Exclusion Filter for Users, change the Operator drop-down to Bit on equals.
In the Exclusion Filter for Users, select Filter box typeto 2.
Click Add.

Click OK.

Meeting Workspace links do not work after upgrade to SharePoint 2010

2011-06-22T12:09:00.001-06:00

Links in a Meeting Workspace break after upgrading to SharePoint 2010. This is a known issue.

This is because Meeting Workspace sites have a different site template called MWSdefault.master in 2007. In 2010 it is MWSdefaultV4.master. When you upgrade it needs to be repointed to MWSdefaultV4.master when you change to 2010 UI mode.

You can do this with SharePoint Designer, or you can go to a sub-site Site Settings – Master Page Gallery, and download a copy of MWSdefaultV4.master locally, then upload it to the Site Collection Master Page Gallery. Then you can go back to your site and change it’s master page to MWSdefaultV4.master.

The URL for changing the site’s Master Page is /_layouts/ChangeSiteMasterPage.aspx .

How to customize the Access Denied page

2011-04-15T18:07:00.000-06:00

How to I customize the Access Denied page?

You would create a new custom page using the existing pages as templates, then copy them to that same directory. Then use the Powershell command below to repoint SharePoint to it.

Here is the Microsoft article: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff607768.aspx

SharePoint 2010 FREE training

2011-04-13T16:33:00.000-06:00

Here are some links to free training for SharePoint 2010.

Productivity Hub http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=4aaa9862-e420-4331-8bc3-469d7bae0ff1
Training Videos http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/CL100315293.aspx
Online Training Course Videos http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/CH010372432.aspx?CTT=97
SharePoint 2010 Resources For End Users http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/Pages/End-User-Training-Guide.aspx
Web Based Training http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/training-FX101782702.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA101901726
Getting Started Training http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/sharepoint-server-help-and-how-to-FX101834344.aspx
MSLibrary Videos (more for SharePoint Admins and Engineers, but some Power User) http://mslibrary/video/pilothousesp2010/content/Template/TOC.htm
SharePoint Professionals http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ff420396.aspx
SharePoint Professionals How Do I Videos http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/ee410529
Developer Downloadable Training Kit http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=bfd1603b-7550-4b8e-be85-4215a5069b90
Developer Getting Started http://msdn.microsoft.com/sharepoint/ee513147.aspx
Developer Advanced Training http://msdn.microsoft.com/sharepoint/ff420377.aspx
Developer Training http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/Pages/Developer-Training-Guide.aspx
Developer Training on Channel 9 http://channel9.msdn.com/learn/courses/SharePoint2010Developer/
Additional IT Pro Videos http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262880.aspx

Enable your SharePoint Mobile short /m/ URL

2010-12-10T09:02:00.001-07:00

By default you have Mobile pages for your SharePoint sites by using /_layouts/mobile/default.aspx at the end of your site URL. If you want to use the shorter /m/ path from a mobile device, you need to run the following STSADM command to activate it on each Site Collection.

stsadm -o activatefeature -name MobilityRedirect -URL http://URL

Referenced Material: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930147

For Lists or Libraries create a simple View, and when modifying the View scroll to the very bottom of the page is Mobile, expand that and ensure both checkboxes.

For developing mobile pages you should start at the MSDN Mobile site, then there is a tool you can use to emulate the Windows CE hardware behavior here: Emulator (it is the last link on that page).

Additional pages that help with the development are:

Mobile Development with SharePoint Foundation

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SharePoint 2010 and RBS Remote BLOB Storage

2010-10-31T09:29:00.001-06:00

Well I probably won’t be able to evaluate or use either of these products anytime soon, but I am quite impressed by what I am reading on Remote BLOB Storage products for SharePoint 2010.

MetaLogix’s StoragePoint in particular, and AvePoint’s product.

They allow you to define different levels/tiers of storage. This allows you to allocate the most actively used content to the fastest most expensive storage. While allocating the less frequently used or archived content to the slower less expensive storage.

All seamless to the users, you can now distribute your terabytes of SharePoint BLOB content across SQL, SAN, NAS, or even the Cloud. Planning this right could produce a substantial ROI for either product to show management.

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SharePoint - How to change width of rich text columns on forms?

2010-10-18T16:54:00.001-06:00

If you want to change the width of any of the columns on the data entry forms (NewForm.aspx, EditForm.aspx, DispForm.aspx) you need to know the name of their associated style in the core.css. You can do this several ways, use IE8 Developer Toolbar (F12), I prefer to use SharePoint Designer and look at the Apply Styles – Show Styles Based On Selection.

Then you again have a few ways you can change that. If you want the change global then you could create an Alternate CSS adding something similar to below in it.

When I need to change them it is usually just for the one page for one site, so I just add a style reference in the page.

The most bothersome one for me is always the rich text field. Here is the entry to widen the rich text field.

<style>

.ms-formbody span span div iframe, .ms-formbody span span table.ms-long{
width:600px; text-align:left;
}

#onetIDListForm, #onetIDListForm .ms-formbody, #onetIDListForm iframe[title="Rich Text Editor"]{
width:600px !important;
}
</style>

Of course you could use JavaScript, but I prefer to use CSS when possible.

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How to add a web part to DispForm.aspx

2010-09-29T17:08:00.001-06:00

I saw a post today of someone explaining how you have to use SharePoint Designer to edit a DispForm.aspx page just to add a web part to the page. Hmmm, no you don’t.

You can add an existing web part to a DispForm.aspx page by adding this to the edit of your page URL in your browser: &toolpaneview=2%20&PageView=Shared

http://LindaChapman.BlogSpot.com/sites/5/MySite/Lists/Projects/DispForm.aspx?ID=1&toolpaneview=2%20&PageView=Shared

Shane Young presenting at U-SPUG.com

2010-09-09T19:08:00.001-06:00

A big thank you to Shane Young, SharePoint MVP for a great presentation on SharePoint 2010 Upgrade Process! It was an excellent presentation, I would recommend it to anyone. We have a very quiet user group, need to find a way to liven things up I guess ;) But they enjoyed it.

U-SPUG meeting 9/9/10 3-5pm MT at ExecuTrain of Utah. Speaker is Shane Young, MVP

2010-09-01T13:03:00.001-06:00

Join us Thursday September 9, 2010 from 3-5pm MT for our U-SPUG meeting at ExecuTrain of Utah. Location: ExecuTrain of Utah - 1455 West 2200 South, West Valley City, UT 84119 (801)561-8511 --Directions: http://www.UtahExecuTrain.com/directions.php

Shane Young, SharePoint MVP, will be presenting remotely via Live Meeting. Shane is going to take you on a dive through the upgrade process and the key considerations along the way. This session will be mostly demo focused and topics will include:

The different upgrade methods, including a hybrid method
Downtime mitigation ideas
Demo
o Database attach test and upgrade
o Visual upgrade with the UI
o Visual upgrade with PowerShell
o Core upgrade improvements

We will also have Kristen McCormick from AvePoint in person that will present an overview of all of their products, and a give-a-way from AvePoint. There will also be give-a-ways from TechSmith and InformIT.com

Sponsors for this event are: ExecuTrain of Utah, AvePoint, C7 DataCenters, TechSmith, InformIT.com

Register Here: http://www.ClickToAttend.com/?id=150609

How to create a Gantt chart in SharePoint

2010-08-26T21:12:00.004-06:00

Misleading title, as there isn’t a way to create a Gantt chart in SharePoint out of the box. Not a true Gantt chart. Could you create one using Silverlight or Visual Studio, sure. But that is not what I needed. So below is the closest thing I have gotten to a Gantt chart only using SharePoint Designer.
User requirements for this Gantt chart made it even more challenging; have the bars be color coded by project name, have grouping, sorting and filtering by all fields, have as many fields as needed to the left of the Gantt.
Now before you say “oh there are third party products that create Gantts” …yes there are, I evaluated them and none of them met all my user requirements.

To save time, I will assume you already know how to take a List View and convert it to a Data View and that you know how to use SharePoint Designer. If you don’t know these things, just comment to this post and I will email you.
Now once you do this you will realize there are other ways to accomplish this but using the same techniques.

Create your list. I created mine from the Project Tasks built in list so that I have that functionality.
Add your columns
Create your Gantt columns.
1. Color – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<SPAN style='width:100%;background-color:"&IF([Status]="","Black",IF([Status]="Not Started","Blue",IF([Status]="In Progress","Chartreuse",IF([Status]="Completed","Green",IF([Status]="Deferred","Darkorange",IF([Status]="Waiting on someone else","Gold",IF([Status]="","Aqua","")))))))&";'> </SPAN>"
  2. This field could also reference a Project Name field or any other choice field.
2. Jan – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
3. Feb – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
4. Mar – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
5. Apr – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
6. May – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
7. Jun – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
8. Jul – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
9. Aug – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
10. Sep – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
11. Oct – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
12. Nov – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
13. Dec – Calculated Field – Single Line of Text
  1. ="<DIV style='background-color:"&Color&"; width:100%;'> </DIV>"
14. Optional fields – you can use these fields to automatically change the Year or Month Headers – however, I suggest for your first Gantt you just manually type in the headers.
  1. StartMonth - Calculated Field – Number
    1. =IF([Start Date]="",0,MONTH([Start Date]))
  2. CompleteMonth - Calculated Field – Number
    1. =IF([Complete Date]="",0,MONTH([Complete Date]))
  3. StartYear - Calculated Field – Number
    1. =IF([Start Date]="",0,YEAR([Start Date]))
  4. EndYear - Calculated Field – Number
    1. =IF([Complete Date]="",0,YEAR([Complete Date]))
Organize your columns in your view how you want them to appear, make sure you have the Jan-Dec month fields there.
Then add a Content Editor Web Part to the end of the page. This web part must remain under the list view.
Edit the CEWP in the Source Code button to add JavaScript that will render the HTML as HTML rather than text. I use to create my own but recently I started using the one supplied by “PathToSharePoint” site because Christopher’s is better.
In SharePoint Designer convert the List View to a Data View.
Now you will notice that your month fields are displaying the HTML. Don’t worry about that as the JavaScript won’t render it as HTML in this data view mode, but it will in the resulting page.
Here I prefer to change each cell to a fixed width, especially the month fields.
Now click on the Jan column, and click on its chevron button, and change the “Format as:” to Rich Text. You should notice the text change to <DIV style=….</DIV> . Sometimes it doesn’t change for some reason. In those case I have to change the Format as: to Label, then save it, then change it back to Rich Text.
Then repeat step 9 for each month field.
Then save it.
Then you will create a Conditional Formatting statement for each month field.
1. Click on the Jan cell.
2. Click Data View – Conditional Formatting (from the menu).
3. On the right pane, click Create – Show Content
4. In the Field Name enter Start Date
5. In Comparison enter “Less Than”
6. In value = 2/1/20111
7. AND
8. Complete Date “Greater Than” 12/31/2010
9. Click OK
Then repeat step 12 for each month field.
Save your changes to your page.
View page in browser.
To remove the spaces in between the colored bars you need to click on the Jan-Dec columns in Split mode so that you can see their code, then in their code change all “padding=” or “spacing=” to equal 0. You will also have to set the entire table and each column to are set widths, otherwise as the monitor resolutions change they can space out again.

Now your Gantt should look like the one above. This is just the beginning. Now you can do the same thing for week views, quarter views, or yearly views, using the same basic concepts of creating calculated fields and showing them with conditional formatting in SPD.
I know I usually would explain things step by step, but I promised to get this posted for someone quickly tonight that needed it. Let me know if you need more instructions.
Also note that since we are using background colors you could not use the right click Print function. If you need to print this Gantt you should change your formula from using a background color to displaying a repeating graphic instead. That is what I did in my second version of it, which then also gave it more of the traditional 3 dimensional graph look.

In my next article I will explain how to add scroll bars to this. The scroll bars I did strictly through code. So I might work on a generic STP to upload here.

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Chris O'Brien: Using the SharePoint Content Deployment Wizard

2010-08-26T17:02:00.000-06:00

I was about to write a long article on how to use SharePoint Content Deployment Wizard found in Central Administration, for someone I am working with. But then I found this great article from Chris O'Brien where he provided a better overview than I probably would have. Good reading... Chris O'Brien: Using the SharePoint Content Deployment Wizard http://sharepointnutsandbolts.blogspot.com/2007/12/introducing-sharepoint-content.html http://sharepointnutsandbolts.blogspot.com/2007/12/when-to-use-sharepoint-content.html

Scrolling News Line – Just one of MANY ways to do

2010-08-13T16:37:00.002-06:00

There are many ways you can implement a scrolling news line on your site. This is just an example of one, but not the only way to do it. This is a good easy one to start with. Disclaimer: This is not my script but one I parsed together from 2 others I found.

Add a Content Editor Web Part onto your page
Modify the CEWP
Edit the code below with your labels and URLs
Copy and paste the code below into the CEWP Source Code Button.
Click OK to save.
Click OK to commit your changes to the page.

<DIV align=center>
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 90%" align=center summary="">
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><FONT color=#ff7200 size=2> </FONT>
<style type="text/css">
#memoryticker{
font: bold 12px Verdana;
color: ff7400;
background-color: white;
width: 600px;
height: 10px;
font: bold 12px Verdana;
color: ff7400;
text-align: center;
border: 0px solid orange;
padding: 1px;
/*0.9=0.9 seconds*/
filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.GradientWipe(GradientSize=1.0 Duration=0.7)
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript">
//configure tickercontents[] to set the messages you to display
var tickercontents=new Array()
tickercontents[0]=' <a href=http://LindaChapman.BlogSpot.com/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=3>SharePoint News: </a>SharePoint Pro Connections</a>'
tickercontents[1]=' <a href=http://LindaChapman.BlogSPot.com/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=1>My News: </a>Nothing New</a>'
var persistlastviewedmsg=1 //should messages' order persist after users navigate away (1=yes, 0=no)?
var persistmsgbehavior="onload" //set to "onload" or "onclick".
//delay between messages (in miliseconds):
var tickdelay=3000
////Do not edit below////
var divonclick=(persistlastviewedmsg && persistmsgbehavior=="onclick")? 'onClick="savelastmsg()" ' : ''
var currentmessage=0
function changetickercontent(){
if (crosstick.filters && crosstick.filters.length>0)
crosstick.filters[0].Apply()
crosstick.innerHTML=tickercontents[currentmessage]
if (crosstick.filters && crosstick.filters.length>0)
crosstick.filters[0].Play()
currentmessage=(currentmessage==tickercontents.length-1)? currentmessage=0 : currentmessage+1
var filterduration=(crosstick.filters&&crosstick.filters.length>0)? crosstick.filters[0].duration*1000 : 0
setTimeout("changetickercontent()",tickdelay+filterduration)
}
function beginticker(){
if (persistlastviewedmsg && get_cookie("lastmsgnum")!="")
revivelastmsg()
crosstick=document.getElementById? document.getElementById("memoryticker") : document.all.memoryticker
changetickercontent()
}
function get_cookie(Name) {
var search = Name + "="
var returnvalue = ""
if (document.cookie.length > 0) {
offset = document.cookie.indexOf(search)
if (offset != -1) {
offset += search.length
end = document.cookie.indexOf(";", offset)
if (end == -1)
end = document.cookie.length;
returnvalue=unescape(document.cookie.substring(offset, end))
}
}
return returnvalue;
}
function savelastmsg(){
document.cookie="lastmsgnum="+currentmessage
}
function revivelastmsg(){
currentmessage=parseInt(get_cookie("lastmsgnum"))
currentmessage=(currentmessage==0)? tickercontents.length-1 : currentmessage-1
}
if (persistlastviewedmsg && persistmsgbehavior=="onload")
window.onunload=savelastmsg
if (document.all||document.getElementById)
document.write('<div id="memoryticker" '+divonclick+'></div>')
if (window.addEventListener)
window.addEventListener("load", beginticker, false)
else if (window.attachEvent)
window.attachEvent("onload", beginticker)
else if (document.all || document.getElementById)
window.onload=beginticker
</script>
</TD>
</TR>
</TBODY>
</TABLE>
</DIV>

SusQtech has new virtual seminars for only $99

2010-08-11T14:18:00.001-06:00

Check out the new virtual seminars SusQtech has started for only about $99 per seminar.

http://www.susqtech.com/training/Pages/sharepoint-training.aspx

SharePoint Designer Data View with scrolling area

2010-08-11T13:27:00.001-06:00

I have a fairly complex SharePoint Designer 2007 Data View that I created and the users have added two more requirements.

1. Have the columns on the right side be able to scroll left to right as there is a large number of columns, while the first 3 columns on the left side stay locked in place. This is only one list not two, and because of some other requirements I have it must remain to be just one list.

2. Then they also need to have scrolling up and down of the entire list with the headers locked in place.

The first requirement is more important than the second, but preferrably I need to do both.

Event ID 12317 logged every hour when using FRM

2010-07-19T09:34:00.001-06:00

Problem:

When running File Resource Manager you get event ID 12317 logged every hour.

Cause:

Refer to article: http://blogs.technet.com/b/filecab/archive/2006/09/29/459430.aspx

This is due to the PDC Emulator (domain controller) not having the NT Authority\Authenticated Users group in the built in Users group, which is the default. You will get this error logged every hour, however the FRM alerts will still work.

Resolution:

Steps to resolve this problem here...

Add NT Authority\Authenticated Users back in your built in Users group on PDC Emulator.

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Chrome Type equals none , changes not saved

2010-07-14T10:41:00.001-06:00

Say you modify your web part to have the Chrome Type include the Title or Title and Border…you click OK and save. However you changes are not saved and Chrome Type still shows its previous setting.

This is either because the aspx page has the frame type hard coded in. This can happen if you have a custom web part, or you have a web part that you exported and then imported back in.

To fix this you can change the aspx page’s frame type line entry below.

<FrameType>TitleBarOnly</FrameType>

Or it can be if you are on a List View. The chrome type is off or none on these since they assume the web parts are the list you are on. In those cases you need to create a web part page to use instead.

SharePoint how to redirect one page

2010-07-09T13:04:00.001-06:00

There are many ways to redirect a page in SharePoint. If you have a Publishing Site then you have a built in feature using Create Page – Redirect Page page layouts.

If you don’t you can still add a Content Editor Web Part to your page and in the Source button add:

If you want to display a message for them to see then add that text first and change the value of content=”1 to a higher number of seconds to wait before redirecting.

I usually just change the Title of my content editor web part to have the message I want and keep it at 1 second.

Looking for a SharePoint MVP or Microsoft employee to speak at user group 6/24

2010-06-15T15:35:00.001-06:00

We are in need of a SharePoint MVP or Microsoft employee to speak at our Utah SharePoint Users Group (www.U-SPUG.com) this Thursday 6/24 from 3-4pm MT. A remote speaker would be great too. Please email me if you are interested and can speak remotely to our group. LindaChapman @ Live.com

Need a technical speaker for U-SPUG.com June meeting

2010-05-25T17:25:00.001-06:00

We need a technical SharePoint speaker for our Utah SharePoint Users Group meeting local or remote speaker on Thursday June 24 3-5pm. Please email me if you can be a speaker. LindaChapman @ Live.com

SharePoint Designer – how to redirect the OK button on NewForm.aspx

2010-05-16T15:48:00.001-06:00

If you have created your own custom Item New form or NewForm.aspx page and want to redirect the page you go to after clicking the OK button…you can accomplish this by adding ?source= then the URL you want it to redirect to.

For example if your custom New Item page is:

http://LindaLeeChapman.spaces.live.com/NewForm.aspx

Change it to:

http://LindaLeeChapman.space.live.com/NewForm.aspx?source=http://LindaLeeChapman.space.live.com/Confirmation.aspx

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SharePoint how to hide view all site content and other page elements

2010-05-16T15:44:00.001-06:00

This is one example of hiding several page elements by using the following style code in the Source Code of the CEWP.

This is good to apply when you want to create report pages where they simply right click and select Print Preview, then remove Headers and Footers, then print.

Add a Content Editor Web Part to the page you want to hide the elements on,

then Modify the CEWP as you want it (Title, Border, visibility, etc)

then click on the Source Code button and paste to the very top of the code the elements below you want to hide.

<style>
#ct100_PlaceHolderLeftNavBar_idNavLinkViewAll
{
   Visibility:hidden;
}
#ctl00_PlaceHolderLeftNavBar_idNavLinkRecycleBin
{
       Visibility:hidden;
}
.ms-searchform
{
    display: none
}
.ms-bannerContainer
{
    Display:none
}
.ms-bannerframe
{
    Display:none
}
.ms-bodyareaframe
{
    Border:0
}
.ms-bodyareapagemargin
{
    Display:none
}
.ms-globalbreadcrumb
{
    Display:none
}
.ms-globalleft
{
    Display:none
}
.ms-globallinks
{
    Display:none
}
.ms-globalright
{
    Display:none
}
.ms-globalTitleArea
{
    Display:none
}
.ms-navframe
{
    Display:none
}

.ms-pagetitle
{
    Display:none
}
</style>

SharePoint File Not Found error after creating new site

2010-05-09T15:36:00.001-06:00

Occasionally I will create a new site based off a custom site template and when it is completed I get the following error.

File Not Found

It drives me crazy because I always forget what my fix was! Anyways, at least for me, my problem is always that I am creating a new site off of a custom template that was originally created on a different site collection then the one I am creating this site in.

Thus my problem is always that it cannot find one of the following items that are unique to each Site Collection.

Master Page
Feature Activated
Web Part
List Template
Custom Column or Content Types

Now you might think, I copied or uploaded the same Master Page, or List Template etc. to this site collection before creating the site. Well, that may be so but it can still cause this error.

First you need to get to your Site Actions Site Settings by adding /_layouts/settings.aspx to your URL. Then I usually start with my Master Page and even if it already says Default.aspx is selected, I re-select the default master page again and click OK and that usually solves my problem.

Then I make sure all the same Features are selected, and Content Types, etc. The hardest is if I do all the above and it is still there, then it is usually a custom List. In that case I go to View All Site Content /_layouts/viewlsts.aspx and delete the list and create another one.

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SharePoint Server STSadm.exe error

2010-05-09T15:35:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I get the following error when trying to run different STSadm.exe commands on SharePoint Server 2007.

The server administration programs and the Windows SharePoint Services Web applications on this Web server are not compatible. Ensure that the administration program is the same version as the Web application.

Where as this error could truly mean what it says…you could be running a 32bit STSadm.exe command on a 64bit deployment, or vise versa.

More commonly, with me, the problem is that the –url path I am entering does not match up exactly with what is defined in the Central Administration – Application Management – Web Application List URL or meaning the Default Managed Path defined in the Operations tab. These must match exactly.

Example: If my Web Application is "Chapman” over port 6000 and my Operations – Managed Path – Default = http://Chapman-SSP:6000/

Then I must enter that exact Default Managed Path in all STSadm.exe -URL commands.

WRONG -url http://Chapman-SSP

RIGHT -url http://Chapman-SSP:6000

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How to add a Link to a Document external to SharePoint

2010-05-09T15:01:00.004-06:00

You can add links to external file shares or/and file server documents to your document library very easily. Why would you want to do this? Primarily so all your MetaData to all your documents are searchable in the same place.

First a Farm Administrator will need to modify a core file on the front end server. Then you must create a custom Content Type. If you use the built in content type you will not be able to link to a Folder directly.
Edit the NewLink.aspx page to allow the Document Library to accept a File:// entry.

Go to the Front End Web Server \12\template\layouts directory.
Open the file NewLink.aspx using NotePad. If I have to tell you to take a backup of this file first then you have no business editing this file (really).
Go to the end of the script section near top of page and add:

function HasValidUrlPrefix_UNC(url)
{
var urlLower=url.toLowerCase();
if (-1==urlLower.search(”^http://”) &&
-1==urlLower.search(”^https://”) && -1==urlLower.search(”^file://”))
return false;
return true;
}
Use Edit Find to search for HasValidURLPrefix and replace it with HasValidURLPrefix_UNC (you should find it two times).
File – Save.
Open command prompt and enter IISreset /noforce.

Important: To link to Folders correctly you must create your own content type exactly as below and not use the built in URL or Link to Document at all.

Create custom Content Type

Go to your Site Collection logged in as a Site Collection Administrator.
Site actions – Site Settings – Modify All Site Settings.
Content Types
Create
Name = URL or UNC
Description = Use this content type to add a Link column that allows you to put a hyperlink or UNC path to external files, pages or folders. Format is File://\\ServerName\Folder , or http://
Parent Content Type,
1. Select parent content type from = Document Content Types
2. Parent Content Type = Link to a Document
Put this site content type into = Existing Group: Company Custom
OK
At the Site Content Type: URL or UNC page click on the URL hyperlink column and change it to Optional so that multiple documents being uploaded will not remain checked out.
OK

Add Custom Content Type to Document Library

Go to a Document Library
Settings – Library Settings
Advanced Settings
Allow Management Content Types = Yes
OK
Content Types – Add from existing site content types
Select site content types from: Company Custom
URL or UNC – Add – OK
Click on URL or UNC hyperlink
Click on Add from existing site
Add all your Available Columns – OK
Column Order – change the order to be consistant with the Document content type orders.
Click on your Document Library breadcrumb to test.
View – Modify your view to add the new URL or UNC column to your view next to your Name column.

Create Link to Document

Go to the Document Library
New – URL or UNC
Document Name: This must equal the exact file or folder name less the extension.

Example: My Resume
Example: Folder2
Example: Doc1

Document URL: This must be the UNC path to the folder or file.

Example: http://LindaChapman.BlogSpot.com/Folder1/Folder2/My Resume.doc
Example: http://LindaChapman.BlogSpot.com/Folder1/Folder2
Example: File://\\ServerName\FolderName\FolderName2\Doc1.doc

You might see other blogs that say you can't connect to a folder and must create a shortcut first. They are wrong. You can by the method above.

The biggest mistakes I see are:

People click on the NAME field instead of the URL field. They are not the same. You MUST click on the URL field to access the Folder properly.
People use the built in Link to Document content type thinking it is the same or will save them a step. It is not the same.
People type the document extension in the Name field. You can not type the extension in the name field. It will see it is a UNC path and ignore the .aspx extension.
People enter their slashes the wrong direction for UNC paths.

TechNet vs. MSDN

2010-05-08T21:14:00.001-06:00

Stumbled across this Microsoft link that has a nice table explaining the differences of when you can use TechNet subscriptions vs. when you should be using MSDN. I thought I knew, but I had a few of them wrong.
You should review them to ensure you are using the correct software.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/dd362338.aspx

HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable. after deploying a SharePoint solution

2010-05-08T20:53:00.001-06:00

Well this one threw me off, for a few minutes.

I deployed a custom .wsp solution.

Normal…local deployment, not a GAC deployment…

stsadm.exe –o addsolution –filename CustomSolutionFile.wsp

stsadm.exe –o deploysolutions –name CustomSolutionFile.wsp –local –url http://WebApplicationName

IISreset /noforce

Then the web application browser gave me the following error:

HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.

It seems every time I deploy this custom solution (I did not write it), I get this error because the Application Pool to the Web Application I deployed it to is not starting back up. So far all I have had to do it start the application pool and all is well.

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SharePoint in the Cloud?

2010-05-08T20:45:00.001-06:00

For a SharePoint Cloud solution, a requirement is the ability to host multiple clients and departments in an isolated way, providing isolation to their workloads and administration while still providing all the platform features required. Some clients will need their own work areas, and the ability to host applications which will not hinder other sites deployed within the same farm.

This principal of isolation is referred to as Multi-tenancy. This is referring to the isolation of data, operation services, and management. In our current version, 2007, you can obtain this type of isolation at the Site Collection Level or the Web Application Level. Each has their pros and cons and have to be planned very carefully to be scalable. Many Site Collections are much more scalable and manageable than several Web Applications. However, Site Collections currently only provide limited isolation, while several Web Applications can be an administrative nightmare.

SharePoint 2010

SharePoint 2010 is already providing great improvements to Multi-tenancy. A new feature has been introduced called Site Subscriptions. They are a way to group sets of Site Collections based on their clients (or tenants) requirements of data, features, security and administration.

It allows you to partition data based on their subscription, and also allows you to divvy out administration based on their subscription. To go even further, there is another new feature called Feature Packs, that group together site features that you then can associate to subscriptions. This allows you to take Site Collections and manage them in an even more granular isolated way as currently. You can define these Feature Packs and Subscriptions to match clients Service Levels, or security requirements, organizational structure, etc.

So picture this, you have one SharePoint web page, where your client (tenant) goes to subscribe to the SharePoint services they need to meet their needs. Based on what the client selects for their requirements through that page (service levels, security, organizational, features) it then auto subscribes them to an existing subscription and feature pack, or builds them a new subscription and feature pack and they are within minutes taken to their new area.

Thinking, ya right, that would be heaven...well close...just SharePoint 2010 in the Cloud :)

Want to read more? Here you go...these are great articles!

Embed a video in a SharePoint Blog Post

2010-05-08T20:44:00.001-06:00

So we all know we can embed Widgets, Gadgets, Videos, and other content by adding our HTML code into a Content Editor Web Part’s Source Code button on any SharePoint web page.

Well today I needed to embed a YouTube video for someone into a SharePoint Blog Post.

I usually use Microsoft Windows Live Writer to write all of my posts, so this isn’t an issue. However this user did not use WLW.

So in researching why you can’t copy the same HTML code in a blog post like you can a CEWP, I found this published work around. I will not take the time to explain how to implement it or how it works as the links below go into that detail. But I implemented it quickly to all Site Collections with no problems so far.

Thanks to the people that wrote this work around!

http://erte.codeplex.com/

http://boris.gomiunik.net/erte/

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How to create a custom Folder Content Type

2010-05-08T20:43:00.001-06:00

Why would you want to create a custom Folder Content Type? If you need to have the same data entry fields (columns) that you have for your Documents or Items attached to the Folder and available during New and Edit Forms.

Go to your Site – Site Settings – Modify Settings
Under Galleries click Site content types
Click Create
I like to keep my Names short,
1. so this example is FolderWithMetaData – you could use spaces I prefer not to, to remind users to keep names short.
Under Description this is what will appear in the NEW area under the Folder Icon so keep it short
1. Add a new Folder to this Document Library that includes a TITLE field in the data entry form."
Under Parent Content Type select Folder Content Types
At Parent Content Types select Folder if this is for a Document Library.
At “Put this site content type into:”
1. I prefer to create one custom group called “Company Name Custom Content Types” and put all custom ones I create there.
Then select OK
At the List Content Type: FolderWithMetaData page, go to the Columns and click on the columns such as Title that you want to appear in the data entry page and select Required or at least not hidden.
Select Update all content types inheriting from this type and OK
Go to your List or Library – Settings – Advanced Settings
Select Allow management of content type = Yes and OK
Under Content Type section click on the Add From Existing Content Types.
Select your new Custom Content Type Group you created
Then click your new Folder content type you created and click Add
Then OK
Then under the Content Types section again, select Change new button order and default content type
Reorder if you want, I prefer to have all new custom content types appear on top or first.
Then if you go to your List or Library under the NEW option you will now see your new Folder type and when they click New FolderWithMetaData the data entry form with have the

Now some will say, but if you put it in DataSheet Mode you can edit the Title. True, but you can not always edit all fields to a Folder in Datasheet Mode depending on the settings. Thus a custom content type can be a good easy solution.

And as you know, you can create Workflows to Content Types that may alert users when a new folder is created or some other type of workflow.

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What is the admin page for Save Site As Template

2010-05-08T20:41:00.001-06:00

If you are trying to save your site as a template but you are not seeing the option under Look and Feel, and you are sure permissions is not the issue, then you can simply append the following to the end of your site URL to access the page.

_layouts/savetmpl.aspx

Example: http://YourWebApplication.com/sites/SiteName/_layouts/savetmpl.aspx

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Cannot see saved Site Template that is in the Gallery

2010-05-08T20:40:00.001-06:00

Problem:

You save a site as a Site Template, and you see it listed in the Site Collection Gallery but you cannot see it as an option in a site under the Site Collection.

Cause:

If you create a Site off a built-in or custom template, then you create a sub-site based off a different built-in or custom template, then save that sub-site as a Site Template, you will not see this new Site Template as an option to create from under any sub-sites that are not built off the same template as the saved template site was.

Resolution:

Basically there is no workaround for this issue. You must create both sites from the same template to be able to see the Custom-CustomSiteTemplateName . You will either need to re-create a new top site based of the same original template the saved sub-site was…or re-create your sub-site to be based off the same original template the top site was, then re-customize it and re-save it back up to the Gallery again.

I did NOT find a Microsoft KB article on this exact problem, but did find a similar one on this same issue with a saved List Template, then tested this and found Site Templates have the same problem.

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Export List Data To Excel and keep it in sync with List changes

2010-05-08T20:39:00.001-06:00

There is built-in functionality in SharePoint that allows you to export your Site List data into an Excel Spreadsheet. There is also a built-in Data Connection and Refresh option in Excel that allows you to keep your offline spreadsheet in sync with the Site List changes.

Please note this is a one way synchronization only from Site List data to Excel. Any changes that are made to your Excel file are overwritten the next time you select to Refresh your data.

Many use this feature in three main ways;

To view their List data while offline.
To produce Excel Charting or PivotChart reports in Excel.
To use Excel Services to display charts and graphs that are actually created in the Excel Spreadsheet they are exporting data to. In this way you would upload your Excel Spreadsheet to your Reports Library and Convert it. So both the List data and Excel spreadsheet are stored in your SharePoint site, but users are not accessing or updating that Excel spreadsheet. It is only being used as the graphing mechanism.

Instructions how:

Go to the SharePoint Site Directory.
Select your Site.
Go to the List you want to export data from.
Go to the Actions toolbar
Select Actions - Export to Spreadsheet
Select Open
In Excel Save As Office 2003 format (required)
It will create two extra columns; Item Type and Path, this is for sorting purposes primarily.

When you want to update the Excel spreadsheet with the Site's List data again:

Open the Excel Spreadsheet.
Click in the table area of the data.
Go to the Design tab.
In the External Table Data group click Refresh.

For small lists this will update very fast and you may not even notice it. Remember, when you click Refresh it will replace all Excel table contents with your current Site List data. And this is not a two way synchronization solution. Try Microsoft Access or VBA if you need some form of two way synchronization.

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How to earn Medals on Microsoft Forums

2010-05-08T20:34:00.001-06:00

I just pointed someone at my work to the Microsoft Forums and told them they should start reading through those for their answer to their problem or post a new question if not found. They had never signed up for it before. Then after signing up they asked “ …how do I earn those medals ? ”

Well it is not quite a fair system at all in my option, and many of the moderators are too quick to mark their own answers as the answer, when they don’t allow you the contributor to mark yours as the answer…but they do. (I will get allot of heat from them for saying that, many don't, but many do)

Anyways you earn POINTS that tally up for Medals. WHY? Most are trying to build up to the MVP (Most Valued Professional) status on a subject. So unfortunately many reply with bogus non-helping non-related answers just trying to add to their points. I myself am very frustrated with many of those trying to build up their points, as they are going about it wrong.

If you REPLY to a question not started by you = 2 points

If your REPLY is marked as the answer = 10 points

If your REPLY is voted as helpful = 5 x # of votes

Points Medals

0 0
1-750 1
751-2000 2
2001-7500 3
7501 – 15000 4
15001+ 5

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/help#310

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How to remove the comma from a Number column field ?

2010-05-08T20:33:00.001-06:00

Gee, you sure think it wouldn’t be too much for Microsoft SharePoint developers to add an option in the Column settings for the Number field to select to not show a comma. This is a complaint I get from users all the time…HIDE THE COMMA!

So one of the workarounds we have to do is to create a second field…a calculated field that removes the comma:

=TEXT([NumberColumnName],”0”)

Then make sure you select the data type as Number for the calculated field.

Keep in mind that if you need to have a decimal place then the above won’t work for you. To retain a decimal place use the following:

=text([NumberColumnName],”0.00”)

Change the number of zero’s behind the decimal to equal how many you allow in your original Numeric Field. With this formula if you entered 23,546.41 the calculated field will display it as 23546.41. If you entered 23,546 the calculated field will show it as 23,546.00 .

How to add a linked List to your DispForm.aspx

2010-05-08T20:23:00.001-06:00

Today I was modifying the DispForm.aspx (view page) to one of my Lists to link a second list below the first. This is so easy to do, and I do it allot just for convenience, but I don’t think I have ever taken the time to document it, so here it is.

If you have two lists that are linked by a common field using a Data Lookup field, then adding the second list to the first’s view and edit pages is something you may want to do.

My disclaimer: The way I am showing this will customize or un-ghost the DispForm.aspx page.

My first List is called Inventory and all the fields are static fields, meaning they are not really expected to change their values, thus just one unique record for each item in inventory is expected.

My second List is called Inventory Updates and consists of all of the fields that are dynamic or that are expected to change periodically. This List will have multiple entries that link to one item in the Inventory List. The Inventory Updates List has a Data Lookup field that points to the Inventory ID built in field.

First I edited the default page (AllItems.aspx) to my Inventory List and added the Inventory Updates List Web Part on bottom and the Form Web Part on top. Then I made a Connection on the Form Web Part to Provide Values to the Inventory Updates web part. This is not required for the editing of the DispForm.aspx page we are about to do, but I do it just for consistency so both Lists are always linked in all views.

Moving on…now I open SharePoint Designer and open the individual site.

Navigate to the LISTS container and expand my Inventory List and double click on the DispForm.aspx.
Click on the Inventory Main area so the WebPartPages:ListFormWebPart is highlighted.
Then click the Right Arrow just once. This will move your cursor to the open space underneath the web part.
Now from the menu select INSERT – SHAREPOINT CONTROLS – DATA VIEW.
It will insert the area for the Data View, now click on the hyperlink to add new Data Source Library in the box.
On the right under Data Source Library click on the second List, for us it is Inventory Updates.
From the item drop down select SHOW DATA.
Then press Ctrl Click on the fields you want to display.
Then click the button above the fields called INSERT SELECTED FIELDS AS…MULTIPLE ITEM VIEW.
Click on the new WebPartPages:DataFormWebPart and you will see a right arrow appear, click on that to see your Common Data View Task options.
Click on Filter:
In the Filter Criteria box select the Data Lookup Field, mine is Field Name = InventoryID, Comparison = Equals.
On the Value field arrow to the bottom and select CREATE A NEW PARAMETER.
Click NEW PARAMETER button, in the NAME field enter the name of this parameter, mine is InventoryID.
In the PARAMETER SOURCE select Query String.
In the Query String Variable field enter ID .
In the Default Value field enter 1 .
Then select OK.
Now your VALUE field back in the Filter Criteria box should show your new parameter name, mine is [InventoryID].
Now just select OK to complete the filter.
You can then go through the other formatting tasks such as Sorting, etc. as you wish, but the actions above are all that are needed to link the two lists on this one page.
Then select to SAVE this PAGE.

Now you can go to your Inventory List DispForm.aspx page and see that when you select an item from the first list, all linked records from the second list will appear underneath.

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How to add a copyright notice to bottom of pages

2010-05-08T20:21:00.001-06:00

You can add a copyright notice or other text to the bottom of all pages by modifying the Default.Master, MWSdefault.master, and any other custom master pages or publishing masters you have.

To modify the default.master and MWSdefault.master go to your front end web server c:\Program Files\Common files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\Template\Global\ and open default.master using NOTEPAD. Then scroll down to the very bottom and right above the closing </BODY> modify your statement below and paste it above that line.

Paste

<table style="width: 100%" align="center">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" class="style1">Company, Inc.  | 
<a href="Company, Inc.";</a> |  <a href="CompanyExtranet;</a> | <a target="_blank" href="Other URLs">Other URLs;</a> |   ©2006-2010 Company, Inc.. All rights reserved. </td>

</tr>
</table>

Then the </BODY> and </HTML> closing tags would be the last two lines.

To add your own style as referenced above then edit and paste the style information below to the top of the master page right before (above) the opening <HTML> tag. Otherwise you can reference an existing style class from one of the default css files instead.

<style type="text/css">
.style1 {
font-family: Verdana;
color: #000000;
text-align: center;
font-size: 8pt;

</style>

Making this change the exact way listed above does not un-ghost or customize those pages. Typically by default opening them in SPD or similar tools such as Visual Studio will.

Now remember if you modify the default.master and MWSdefault.master then you will need to copy these files over before any upgrades like Services Packs or Infrastructure Update patches just incase Microsoft overwrites them. Or you can copy them and create your own custom master file which is what I do...however, for simple modifications like this I do choose to modify the built in ones and just make the modifications to the defaults again if they get overwritten.

Appended column stores by Version Control settings

2010-05-08T19:41:00.001-06:00

OK, I feel really stupid with this one. I use the Appended Column setting as a Log Column all over the place.

A user was wondering why they were only seeing the last 6 appended entries and not all of them. The appended column setting only stores as many Versions as you have set in your List Version Control settings. DUH, I knew that of course but had completely forgotten about it.

Can not delete a master page " This item cannot be deleted because it is still referenced by other pages "

2010-05-08T19:40:00.001-06:00

I came across this bug the other day. When creating a custom master page, I then wanted to delete it. When trying to delete the page I got the following error

"This item cannot be deleted because it is still referenced by other pages. This item cannot be deleted because it is still referenced by other pages "

but I knew my page was not attached to any other pages. I finally found this KB from Microsoft http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=926812 stating this is a known bug.

Rather than "hiding" the page as they suggest, I chose to create a Folder called "DeleteMe" in the MasterPage Gallery, then I had to turn my Version Control off completely and Content Approval off too. Then I opened the gallery using SPD and was able to drag the master pages into the DeleteMe Folder, then I went back to the Master Gallery web page and deleted the Folder.

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Site Owner can not Create a Page (Publishing Page)

2010-05-08T19:39:00.001-06:00

This occurs more on architectures where the majority of sites are NOT a Site Collection but merely a Site under a Site Collection. While the Site Owners group has Full Control of their site they still are not able to Create a Page from the publishing pages library in their site.

This is because they must also have Read access to the Master Page Gallery at the Site Collection level.

Site Actions - Site Settings - Modify All Site Settings - Master Pages and Page Layouts - Settings - Permissions - New - add all users with Read only permissions.

SharePoint BlueGlassBand.master template

2010-05-08T19:35:00.001-06:00

If you are working with the BlueGlassBand.master file, there are many items different than the default.master since this is a publishing template. Here are some of my notes from working with it.

MaximumDynamicDisplayLevels="1"
- will add a right arrow in the right side of the banner area that when you hover over it will show your 1st level of items in your Global Navigation (top menu bar)
- Why would I want this? If you want to remove your Global Navigation (top menu bar) from the area below to save space.
StaticDisplayLevels="2"
- will add the 1st level Global Navigation plus the banner directly underneath resulting in a column
- Why would I want this? Only if you want it to display in a column format...not likely.
No Global Breadcrumb because the datasource is different
Different Local Breadcrumb because the datasource is different (here I just edited it and replaced with one from default.master)
Site Title next to logo/banner will be the Site Collection if in Global Navigation you choose to inherit the menu from above rather than the local Site Title (I hate this one!)

Although the layout is nice and clean and you may be tempted to want to use it for sites, just remember it was intended for Internet facing sites, so many items are different and will be confusing for the users if they are use to the default.master.

I would recommend copying the default.master and changing that copy to look how you want.

Change the NEW! item display

2010-05-08T19:34:00.001-06:00

I have posted this before, but I just needed to do it the other day again. If you want to change the number of days SharePoint displays that NEW! icon here is the command.

Enter 0 to hide it all together, or enter 2-6 for the days. If you enter 0...say to upload some bulk items that you don't want it to show the NEW! on...but you want to turn it back on say to 3 days later...you can, but make sure you wait until the 4th day from your upload to issue the new command otherwise your documents will show the NEW! for how ever many days are left. It goes by the Created On date field.

cd /d %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\BIN

stsadm.exe -o setproperty -pn days-to-show-new-icon -pv 0 -url http://WebApplicationDefaultManagedPath

cd /d %programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\BIN

stsadm.exe -o setproperty -pn days-to-show-new-icon -pv 5 -url http://WebApplicationDefaultManagedPath

Reference Material: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825510

Performance Monitor - Base Objects to Monitor

2010-05-08T19:30:00.001-06:00

Again this is an old article that did not get migrated over to this new site.

I am always surprised at how many senior engineers do not understand how to use the Windows Server built-in Performance Monitor to determine hardware, software, network bottlenecks...or that have never even used it.

First thing to remember, is that while you are running Performance Monitor that will cause a performance hit to your server too. Now, obviously you do need to run it to create a good baseline to compare against, and to troubleshoot...but you should just perform short captures of less than 30 minutes if possible, during times not used, then average use, then peak times or with forced hits.

Below is the baseline object counters that I always start with, then I eliminate different Performance Objects one by one, by their results, until I have just 2 or three that I have narrowed it down to. I suggest you create a baseline like this and save it locally so the next time you need to capture you can do so very quickly by just opening and starting it. I have had this baseline for literally years, I am sure I probably got it from a Microsoft white paper, but can't remember where.

Start - Run - type Perfmon or

Start - Administrative Tools - Performance - System Monitor. You have 3 display formats; graph, histogram and text report.

Adding Performance Counters

Right click the counter pane and select Add Counter
Select whether you are monitoring the local computer counters by selecting Use local computer counter option or another remote computer by selecting Select counter from computer option by providing the UNC path
Select from the Performance object drop down list
Select the counter, these are different according to the selected performance object
Click Add to add it in the System monitor
Click Explain button if you need more details about the counter

Performance Object

Count

Threshold

Description

Processor

Percent processor time_total

80 to 85 percent averaged over three intervals

The total percentage of processor usage for a server.

Network Interface

Bytes total per second_network interface

50 percent of the available network interface bandwidth -- for example, a 100-MB network interface running at 50,000 KB per second

The rate at which bytes are sent and received over each network adapter.

Logical Disk

Percent idle time_ (drives C:,D:, and so on)

20 percent over idle time_.

Reports the percentage of time during the sample interval that the disk was idle. If this value is very low, the logical disk is very busy.

Paging File

Percent usage

Above 70 percent

Review this value in conjunction with memory -- available megabytes and page faults per second -- to understand paging activity on the server.

Memory

Available MBs

128 MB -- assuming 2 GB of RAM as prescribed on servers

The amount of physical memory, in MBs, immediately available for allocation to a process or for system use on the server.

Memory

Page faults per second

A high rate of page faults indicates a lack of physical memory.

System

Processor queue length

The number of CPUs + 1

Exceeding the threshold indicates that the processors are not fast.

ASP.NET Applications

Requests per second_total

Through ongoing monitoring, trends begin to emerge that equate requests per second with CPU consumption

The number of requests executed per second; this roughly equates to the number of HTTP pages per second.

Disk

Physical Disk\% Free Space

15%

Disk

Logical Disk\% Free Space

15%

Disk

Physical Disk\% Disk Time

90%

Disk

Logical Disk\% Disk Time

90%

Disk

Physical Disk\Disk Reads/sec, Physical Disk\Disk Writes/sec

Depends on manufacturer's specifications;15,000 RPM vs 10,000 RPM, etc.

Check the specified transfer rate for your disks to verify that this rate does not exceed the specifications. In general, Ultra Wide SCSI disks can handle 50 to 70 I/O operations per second. Note that whether or not the I/O is sequential or random can have a strong impact on values for disk reads/sec and disk writes/sec.

Disk

Physical Disk\Current Disk Queue Length

Number of spindles plus 2

This is an instantaneous counter; observe its value over several intervals. For an average over time, use Physical Disk\Avg. Disk Queue Length.

Memory

Memory\Available Bytes

For larger memory computers, greater than 4 MB

Research memory usage and add memory if needed.

Memory

Memory\Pages/sec

n pages/sec per pagefile

Research paging activity. Note the amount of I/O going to the disks with pagefiles.

Paging File

Paging File\% Usage

Above 70%

Review this value in conjunction with Available Bytes and Pages/sec to understand paging activity on your computer.

Processor

Processor\% Processor Time

85%

Find the process that is using a high percentage of processor time. Upgrade to a faster processor or install an additional processor.

Processor

Processor\Interrupts/sec

Depends on processor; 1,000 interrupts per second is a good starting point

A dramatic increase in this counter value without a corresponding increase in system activity indicates a hardware problem. Identify the network adapter, disk, or other hardware causing the interrupts.

Server

Server\Bytes Total/sec

If the sum of Bytes Total/sec for all servers is roughly equal to the maximum transfer rates of your network, you may need to segment the network.

Server

Server\Work Item Shortages

3
If the value reaches this threshold, consider
adding the DWORD entries InitWorkItems
(the number of work items allocated to a
processor during startup) or MaxWorkItems
(the maximum number of receive buffers that
a server can allocate) to the registry (under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\LanmanServer\Parameters). The entry
InitWorkItems can range from 1 to 512 while
MaxWorkItems can range from 1 to 65,535.
Start with any value for InitWorkItems and a
value of 4,096 for MaxWorkItems and keep
doubling these values until the Server\Work
Item Shortages threshold stays below 3.

Server

Server\Pool Paged Peak

Amount of physical RAM

This value is an indicator of the maximum paging file size and the amount of physical memory.

Server

Server Work Queues\Queue Length

If the value reaches this threshold, there may be a processor bottleneck. This is an instantaneous counter; observe its value over several intervals.

Multiple Processors

System\Processor Queue Length

SharePoint Performance Limits

2010-05-08T19:28:00.001-06:00

I wrote this article over a year ago, but many of my old posts are missing from this new blog location.

Below are all of the SharePoint 2007 performance guidelines post SP1 summarized. Note not all of these are "limits" but many are just suggested thresholds by Microsoft. Referenced Material: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262787.aspx

SSP Shared Service Providers · 3 per Farm sugg, 20 max
Zone · 5 per Farm
Web Application · 99 per SSP
IIS Application Pool · 8 per Web Server
Site Collection · 50,000 per Web Application
Site Collection · 50,000 per Content Database
Site Collection · 150,000 per Web Application * if spread across multiple Content DB
Content Database · 100 CDB per Web Application
Index Servers · 1 per SSP
Excel Calculation Services/Apps · No Limit
Query Servers · No Limit
Web Server/Database Server Ratio · 8 Web Servers per Database server
Web Server/Domain Controller ratio · 3 Web Servers per Domain Controller
- however Microsoft is ASSUMING that your current DC are following their Guidelines for DC Capacity Planning recommendations according to those best practices of aproximately 1 DC per 10,000+ users. Most customers have MANY more DCs than they should have, because they don't do proper DC capacity planning.
Web Site · 250,000 per site collection
Subsite · 2,000 per Web Site
Documents · 5 million per library (sugg < 2,000 per Folder, Folders not nested too deep)
Document file size · 2 GB * the limit is NOT 50MB that is simply the "default" setting, most customers change this to 2GB
Item · 2,000 per View
List · 2,000 per Web Site
Field Type · 256 per list
Column · 2,000 per Document Library
Column · 4,096 per list
Web Part · 50 per page
Content Query,Cross List Web Parts
limit of 1,000 cross lists to query however, this IS over-ridable at the command level
Managed Paths · 20 per Web Application
User in groups · 2 million per Web Site
User Profile · 5 million per farm
Security Principals · 2,000 per ACL on any object
Search Indexes · 1 per SSP
Search Indexes · 20 per Farm
SSPs · 20 SSPs per Farm
Indexed Documents · 50,000,000 per Content Index
Content Sources · 500 per SSP
Start Addresses · 500 per content source
Alerts · 1,000,000 per SSP
Scopes · 200 per site
Display groups · 25 per site
Crawl rules · 10,000 per SSP
Keywords · 15,000 per Site
Crawled Properties · 500,000 per SSP
Managed Properties · 100,000 per SSP
Authoritative Pages · 200 per relevance level
Results removal · 100 during one operation
Crawl Logs · 50,000,000 individual log entries

Microsoft Best Practices:

Separate NICS to handle inbound and outbound traffic.
Use Gigabit NICs with sefl-switching cards set to over-ride to use 1 Gigabit.
If using a Gigabit switch ensure the same number of inbound/outbound channels.
All front end servers should have LAN bandwidth and latency to the SQL back end server up to 1 millisecond latency.
Custom Coding: No more than 2-3 SQL round trips.
Consider moving the SSP databases onto a different physical database server.
Always use 15,000 RPM disks where possible.
Segregate the configuration database and content databases into different SCSI disks in a RAID 5.
Segregate search databases, temporary databases, and temporary database logs onto different high-speed SCSI disks in a RAID 10. Add additional drives to the disk array to increase total I/O.
Defrag databases and drives on a regular basis.
Build a temp data file for each processor core on the server.
WSS & MOSS are CPU intensive. Use 64bit 4 multi-core processors
· Implement a caching strategy, or distribute databases across multiple physical servers.
· TTL issues: Keep Page download size small.
· Use 64bit OS and 8-16 GB RAM
· Exclude SQL databases files from antivirus software scans.

1/17/2009 8:03 PM

Failure decompressing data from a cabinet file error

2010-05-08T19:26:00.001-06:00

Recently I got the following error when trying to save a site as a template with Content. This site's size was well under the supported 25-50MB. So I really should not have gotten the error. However, this site did have much custom work and third party content types, etc. So I think we sometimes get this error for other reasons than the KB article says.

Error: Failure decompressing data from a cabinet file.

Resolution: none really, you can try increasing your template size by running on the front end servers: Stsadm.exe -o setproperty -pn max-template-document-size -pv 524288000 However, in my case it didn't fix my error. I ended up having to backup the site using SPD and restore it to a new location and work on my Lists from there.

Microsoft KB Article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960969

Published: 6/1/2009 11:05 PM

How to add columns to Folders

2010-05-08T19:24:00.001-06:00

Well as you probably know, you can add fields/columns to your document library lists, and populate those same field on the Folders themselves by going into Datasheet Mode. The problem with this is that not all fields can be edited in Datasheet Mode. For example using this method you cannot edit a Data Lookup column to a Folder, or People Picker field, or Multi-line Text field while in Datasheet Mode.

Another way is to create your own Folder Content Type.

On your site with the document library
Site Actions - Site Settings -Galleries - Site content types
Create
Name = whatever you want, mine is "FolderPlus"
Parent Content Type = Folder Content Types
Parent Content Type = Folder
Then either add it to an existing group or create a new group.
Click OK
Then in Columns select to Add from existing site columns or create new depending on your needs.
Click OK
At your document library select Settings - Library Settings
Select Advanced and select Yes to Allow management of content types - OK
In the Content Types section click Add from existing site content types - select the new FolderPlus
Now at your Document Library if you select NEW you will see the content type.
Upon creating a new FolderPlus folder it should show you your columns you added to enter data in.

Whether you create this new Content Type at the Site Collection or Site level will depend on whether your additional columns are standard ones or unique.

Published 2/1/2007 9:01 PM

Know a little CSS do ya?

2010-05-08T19:22:00.001-06:00

WELL, then have fun with this! As you know with SharePoint to get corporate branding looks you can create Custom Themes, Master Pages, etc. Well what about those users that are not server admins, just a site owner? If you know CSS (Styles) even just a little you can change the colors and fonts on your home page or any other pages you are the Site Owner to.

All you have to do is add a Content Editor Web Part to the bottom of your page. Then hide the Title and Border, then select Source Code and enter <style> then your CSS custom styles </style> that's it.

What's the catch? Well you do need to know what the SharePoint Controls Styles are called, that part is hard. But you can right click on a page select View Source, and you can see most of the controls there. Also Heather Solomon has a chart of course. Also this will only apply this style on this one page. Also it will be slower this way because it will actually apply this CSS control last, meaning after it loads the styles from Site Definition, Themes, etc.

But this is excellent to show regular Site Owners. Have fun with it.

Published: 11/1/2007 8:29 PM

Good SharePoint Services 3.0 Power User Level Book

2010-05-08T19:21:00.001-06:00

Too many books try to combine MOSS 2007 (Portal Server) in the same book as WSS 3.0 and therefore much ends up not being relevant to a pure WSS configuration.

So I just looked over mine, and I think that the following one is best for users, power users and Site Owners. I have a copy in my document library. Careful if you choose to open it or download it, it is 44MB in size, a PDF file. But for those preferring to order the book the information is below.

Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Step by Step
ISBN-13: 978-0-7356-2363-7
ISBN-10: 0-7356-2363-5
$24.99

Published: 3/3/2008 10:51 PM

Free SQL 2008 eLearning!

2010-05-08T19:19:00.001-06:00

Check out these free SQL 2008 eLearning courses from Microsoft Learning site. I went through them this weekend and they are okay beginner courses to get you up to speed with what is new in 2008...and did I mention its free? Clinic 6188, 6189, and 6190 Here is a link to all their current FREE online courses: http://learning.microsoft.com/Manager/Catalog.aspx?view=free

Published: 11/5/2007 10:19 AM

System Center Operations Manager 2007 presentation

2010-05-08T19:18:00.001-06:00

This week I presented System Center Operations Manager 2007 and its differences from its predecessor MOM 2005 and the migration path, for Microsoft at the Utah IT Pro Users Group. It was a 2 hour presentation. I am posting the presentation for any of you interested in Operations Manager. There is allot of content in my Speaker Notes so look there.

It is in my document library here. Beware it is 3MB and in PowerPoint 2007 SCOM 2007 Presentation

Org Published: 10/9/2007 10:06 PM

Book of Choice - sorry but its...Microsoft Press

2010-05-08T19:16:00.001-06:00

People always ask me what books I recommend for SQL, AD, SharePoint, etc. It always seems to be a disappointment to them when I say the Microsoft Press books are by far my favorite. I don't deny that I am partial, I used to sit on their review/editing board for the MOC training classes and the MS Press publishing. I liked their process for how they decided what content they left in did away with, by polling experts from different lines of business.

This newest set, the blue books, I find are very logical and easy to follow. I think I have everyone they've published so far! I especially like the Administrator's Pocket Consultant series; SQL 2005, Exchange 2007, IIS 6.0.

But it is easier for me to say what books I have bought and read that were not worth the money or time spent; Syngress "How to cheat at Managing Microsoft Operations Manager 2005", horrible, they somehow just took the Installation ReadMe Text file that comes with MOM and reworded it to fill up 467 pages! Don't waste your money!

Published: 1/5/2008 8:19 PM

Troubleshooting Forest Trusts Batch Output

2010-05-08T19:15:00.001-06:00

This is one of the batch files I put together to troubleshoot forest trust relationship problems. It was based off a Microsoft Port Query template batch file.

@echo off
Goto START

************************************************************************
* Created By: Linda Chapman
* CMD File to facilitate PortQry test for Domain Controllers
* INPUT SYNTAX: OpenPorts.cmd <DC NetBIOS name>
* OUTPUT: This will generate a <DC NetBIOS name>TrustedDomainResults.txt file.
* DEPENDENCY: PortQry.exe
*
************************************************************************

:START
echo.
echo Testing with PortQry against %%s
echo AD/DC specific ports
echo.
echo.

:ERRORCHECK

echo Press any key to continue the test...
pause

:PINGTEST
echo Pinging %%s
Echo    ************* > TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * Ping Test * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt

for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do ping %%s >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
pause
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

:PORTWORK
echo Testing DNS
Echo    ************************ >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * DNS (53) UDP and TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ************************ >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    Performing    Portqry -n %%s -p both -e 53
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p both -e 53 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.
pause
echo Testing Kerberos
Echo    ***************************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * Kerberos (88) UDP and TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ***************************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo     Performing portqry -n %%s -p both -e 88 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do portqry -n %%s -p both -e 88 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing RPC End Point Mapper Service
Echo    ********************************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * RPC End Point Mapper (135) TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ********************************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo    performing portqry -n %%s -p TCP -e 135 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p TCP -e 135 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo.   >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo.   >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing NetBIOS Name Service
Echo    ********************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * NetBIOS (137) UDP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ********************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo   performing portqry -n %%s -p UDP -e 137 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p udp -e 137 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing NetBIOS Datagram Service
Echo    ********************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * NetBIOS (138) UDP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ********************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo    performing portqry -n %%s -p udp -e 138 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p udp -e 138 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing NetBIOS Session Service
echo    ********************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * NetBIOS (139) TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ********************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo    performingportqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 139 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 139 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing LDAP
Echo    ************************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * LDAP (389) UDP and TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ************************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo    performing portqry -n %%s -p both -e 389 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p both -e 389 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing SMB Direct Hosting
Echo    ***************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * SMB (445) TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ***************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo    performing portqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 445 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 445 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing Secure LDAP
Echo    ******************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * LDAPS (636) TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ******************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo    portqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 636 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 636 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing GC LDAP
Echo    ******************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * LDAP (3268) TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ******************* >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo    performing portqry -n %%s -p TCP -e 3268 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 3268 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.

echo Testing GC Secure LDAP
Echo    ******************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    * LDAPS (3269) TCP * >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    ******************** >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo    Test GC SSL (3269) TCP >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo    performing portqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 3269 >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
for /f "eol=; tokens=1 delims=," %%s in (TrustedDomainServerList.txt) do Portqry -n %%s -p tcp -e 3269 >>TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
Echo. >> TrustedDomainResults.txt
echo.
echo.
echo End of Script
echo pause
Goto END

:END

Published: 4/30/2008 11:39 PM

Charting for SharePoint

2010-05-08T19:12:00.001-06:00

I like Dundas Charts and Gauges for SharePoint. Aproximately $1999 or $2999 for both Charts and Gauges. http://dundas.com/Technologies/Sharepoint/DashBundle.aspx

I would have liked AnyChart.com's product better, but they need to integrate into SharePoint more. They need to figure out to how point to a Sharepoint List and have their tool automatically generate the XML file and modify it so that the user doesn't have to try to figure this out. They also had TERRIBLE SUPPORT! No one would ever answer the emails. They tried to say they were caught up in their spam filter. I am sorry, but when your site says your primary means of support is over EMAIL, then you better make sure you can get all the emails.

Published: 1/1/2009 1:38 PM

Blog vs Discussion Threads

2010-05-08T19:10:00.001-06:00

Okay I have been blogging for over 3 years now, before it was even well know of, and I have to say, I happen to like Discussion Threads better than Blogs.

I really like how Discussion Threads make it so easy to see the "tree" of the discussion. With Blogs, regardless of what tool you are using, they are all the same in that you do not easily see the entire threaded discussion back and forth.

So there it is my vote is for Discussion Threads...I rarely express my opinion about stuff like this, but I am really just not getting the Blog over a Discussion Thread. If Microsoft would modify Windows Live Writer to post to Discussion Forums then I would switch to a Discussion Forum in a heart beat. But I do like the convenience that Windows Live Writer provides when documenting, so I use it for almost everything, which in turn means I have to use Blogs for almost everything! Just do me a favor and modify Live Writer to post to Microsoft Discussion Forums so I can use those.

Published: 12/26/2008 1:36 PM

SQL 2005 Express Edition Backups

2010-05-08T18:44:00.001-06:00

If you are using or have an application that is using the free version of SQL 2005 (Express), then you should install the free utility to manage it, Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express. It provides a simple interface to manage instances of SSDE. You can download this from Microsoft here.

It is very light weight, not taking up much space. You can still use SQLcmd to script and schedule it through Scheduled Tasks if you prefer. It can be found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\binn or C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools .

First create a TSQL file. You can create this using SQL Server 2005 Express Studio to get the proper syntax. First create a backup, then while in the backup, go to the top bar and select Script - Script Action to File, and it will create the .sql file for you :

You will notice that Express defaults to a Simple Recovery. If you need to perform a Full Recovery you will need to right click on your database, select New Query, paste the code below changing [Linda] for your database name, then select Execute. Then you will notice you will now have the Transaction Log as an option under Backup Method.

USE [master]
GO
/****** Object: Database [Linda] Script Date: 09/04/2008 12:57:52 ******/
ALTER DATABASE [Linda] SET RECOVERY FULL
GO

Example of Backup of a Database:

BACKUP DATABASE [Linda] TO DISK = N'c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup\Linda.bak' WITH NOFORMAT, NOINIT, NAME = N'Linda-Full Database Backup', SKIP, NOREWIND, NOUNLOAD, STATS = 10
GO

Example of Backup of a Database with FULL, Append to Existing and Verify:

BACKUP DATABASE [Linda] TO DISK = N'c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup\Linda.bak' WITH NOFORMAT, NOINIT, NAME = N'Linda-Full Database Backup', SKIP, NOREWIND, NOUNLOAD, STATS = 10
GO
declare @backupSetId as int
select @backupSetId = position from msdb..backupset where database_name=N'Linda' and backup_set_id=(select max(backup_set_id) from msdb..backupset where database_name=N'Linda' )
if @backupSetId is null begin raiserror(N'Verify failed. Backup information for database ''Linda'' not found.', 16, 1) end
RESTORE VERIFYONLY FROM DISK = N'c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup\Linda.bak' WITH FILE = @backupSetId, NOUNLOAD, NOREWIND
GO

Example of Shrink of a Transaction Log:

USE [Linda]
GO
DBCC SHRINKFILE (N'Linda_log' , 1)
GO

You should always backup the Transaction Log before Shrinking it. Example:

BACKUP LOG [Linda] TO DISK = N'c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup\Linda.bak' WITH NOFORMAT, NOINIT, NAME = N'Linda-Transaction Log Backup', SKIP, NOREWIND, NOUNLOAD, STATS = 10
GO
declare @backupSetId as int
select @backupSetId = position from msdb..backupset where database_name=N'Linda' and backup_set_id=(select max(backup_set_id) from msdb..backupset where database_name=N'Linda' )
if @backupSetId is null begin raiserror(N'Verify failed. Backup information for database ''Linda'' not found.', 16, 1) end
RESTORE VERIFYONLY FROM DISK = N'c:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup\Linda.bak' WITH FILE = @backupSetId, NOUNLOAD, NOREWIND
GO

Then create your command for the Scheduled Task:

Example: SQLcmd -S ComputerName\Instance -E -i "LocationOfINPUTfile\Backup.sql"

4/6/2009 11:13 PM

SharePoint Services 3.0 - SQL Database Moves

2010-05-08T18:42:00.001-06:00

This is a list of good MS articles to reference in respect to your WSS SQL server and databases.

Published: 12/1/2008 9:24 PM

On Vista or Windows 7 you get "This file is read-only" when editing a SharePoint Services 3.0 document

2010-05-08T18:40:00.002-06:00

Problem:

Using Vista, Office 2007 and Internet Explorer 7, or Windows 7 Office 2007 and IE8, you get any of the following errors when trying to edit and save a document from a SharePoint Document Library, or any other WebDAV based service.

This file is read-only.

Unknown error trying to lock file.

This document was checked out to your local drafts folder but the local copy could not be checked in to the site. Close any application that is editing the document and try to check in again, or discard the checkout.

Cause:

This problem is caused from a Vista and Windows 7 WebDAV problem when you do not have a Proxy Server defined.
Refer to Microsoft KB Article 943280. Please note if Service Pack 1 for Vista is already applied then you only have to perform the Registry change shown below.

Resolution:

Please follow the steps in the KB article above.
Step Summary

Start - Run - RegEdit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters

From top menu select Edit

New - Multi-String Value

Enter: AuthForwardServerList

Press ENTER

From top menu select Modify

In the Value Data box type:

http://YourSharePointApplicationURLs
Then reboot.

Published: 2/15/2008 9:21 PM

Issue tracking list data is not saved when you save a site as a template

2010-05-08T18:38:00.001-06:00

Problem:

Issue tracking list data is not saved when you save a site as a template.

Cause:

This is due to using the built-in Issue Tracking List as the original template.

Resolution:

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem, and there is currently no fix.

Microsoft Knowledge Base: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948141/en-us

Your only options are to re-create the list and copy the data over.

Published: 12/4/2008 9:20 PM

SharePoint - Cannot see custom site template in subsite

2010-05-08T18:37:00.001-06:00

Problem:

You save a site as a Site Template, and you see it listed in the Site Collection Gallery but you cannot see it as an option in a site under the Site Collection.

Cause:

If you create a Site off a built-in or custom template, then you create a sub-site based off a different built-in or custom template, then save that sub-site as a Site Template, you will not see this new Site Template as an option to create from under any sub-sites that are not built off the same template as the saved template site was.

Resolution:

Basically there is no workaround for this issue. You must create both sites from the same template to be able to see the Custom-CustomSiteTemplateName . You will either need to re-create a new top site based of the same original template the saved sub-site was…or re-create your sub-site to be based off the same original template the top site was, then re-customize it and re-save it back up to the Gallery again.

I did NOT find a Microsoft KB article on this exact problem, but did find a similar one on this same issue with a saved List Template, then tested this and found Site Templates have the same problem.

Published: 12/20/2008 9:17 PM

SharePoint Services 3.0 scheduled tasks backup

2010-05-08T18:36:00.001-06:00

How to perform Full Farm Backups through Scheduled Tasks.

Go to Start - Control Panel - Scheduled Tasks - Open - Add Scheduled Task

At the Task tab:

Run: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN\STSADM.EXE" -o backup -directory \\SQLServerName\backupShare\FolderNameWSSbackups -backupmethod full
Start in: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\BIN"
Run as: Domain\WSSserviceAdminAccount
Enabled Checked
Then fill out the Schedule, Settings, and Security tabs as needed.

Do not forget to write or schedule another routine that goes and deletes old Farm Backups out of the backup directory listed above, otherwise you can fill up that server quite quickly.

Published: 12/21/2006 9:15 PM

How to view the current Operations Master role holders

2010-05-08T18:34:00.001-06:00

Referenced Material

"www.microsoft.com/technet/solutionaccelerators/cits/mo/

winsrvmg/adpog/adpog5.mspx#EOBBG"

To view the current operations master role holders, use Ntdsutil.exe with the roles option. This option displays a list of all current role holders.

Procedure Requirements

Credentials: User or Administrator
Tool: Ntdsutil.exe (System Tools)

Procedure Steps

To view the current operations master role holder

In the Run text box, type ntdsutil and press ENTER.
At the ntdsutil: prompt, type roles and press ENTER.
At the fsmo maintenance: prompt, type connections and press ENTER.
At the server connections: prompt, type connect to server servername (where servername is the name of the domain controller that belongs to the domain containing the operations masters).
After receiving confirmation of the connection, type quit and press ENTER to exit this menu.
At the fsmo maintenance: prompt, type select operation target and press ENTER.
At the select operations target: prompt, type list roles for connected server and press ENTER.
The system responds with a list of the current roles and the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) name of the domain controllers currently assigned to host each role.
Type quit and press ENTER to exit each prompt in Ntdsutil.exe. Type quit and press ENTER at the ntdsutil: prompt to close the window.

Published: 7/1/2008 9:14 PM

Migrations - IntraForest Domain Migration and Collapse

2010-05-08T18:26:00.001-06:00

As a consultant, I have specialized in large enterprise migrations for 13 years. Over that time I have lead the migration effort for over 10 large global enterprises all from complex mixed environments (MS, Unix, Novell, etc). Below is the methodology I have developed over the years trying to follow all best practices. This is my first article in a series of "Migration" topics.

The focus of this article is: Performing a IntraForest Domain Migration and Collapse using the free tool ADMT v3 (Active Directory Migration Tool). This article does not take into consideration Exchange, SharePoint or any other application specifically. It is a high level migration planning approach to get you started.

Important Concepts

The domain you are migrating or collapsing should be operating at Windows Server 2003 Functional Level.
Objects are migrated and no longer exist in the Source location.
SID history is required. Using ADMT it will create a new SID but it will use the SID History or SID Walker old tool method to retain the original SID as an Attribute of the object, therefore AD is aware of the old SID.
Passwords are retained.
Local Profile Migration
- Migrating user profiles is a completely separate step from migrating the user account.
- Be prepared with the manual steps to migrate user profiles manually for ones that didn't work.
- Users computer must be powered on and accessible on the network prior to the account, profile, and computer migration.
- For workstations that run the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating system and later, local profiles are migrated automatically because the user’s GUID is preserved.
- For Windows NT 4.0 and earlier you must use ADMT to migrate local profiles.
You must migrate accounts in closed sets. This means that all users in all groups you are migrating are only in your source domain, and all users that are in a group you are migrating are also being migrated, and all groups a user is in that is being migrated are being migrated. This is the only way the Global Group will be migrated to another Global Group. If it is an "open set" then ADMT will migrate the Global Group to a Universal Group. Remember, you don't want to have any more Universal Groups than necessary as they are replicated throughout the entire Trusted Forest structure from Global Catalog Server to Global Catalog Server causing un-necessary traffic over the network.
- You migrate User Accounts, Global Groups together, and Resources (computers, servers, printers) and Local Groups together. The order you migrate objects is extremely important. You will migrate Groups right before Users, not after.
- When you migrate a Global Group it creates a Universal Group in the target domain to migrate the users into until all members of that Global Group have been migrated, and then it changes the Universal Group to a Global Group. This is another reason it is important to migrate "closed sets".
Users must decrypt encrypted files before their account migration.

Active Directory Migration Tool

You must use ADMT to perform a domain migration or collapse properly. You can script it, use command prompt or use the Wizard. Many things can go wrong in a migration using ADMT, especially if you have never performed a domain migration before. Therefore, for this migration I highly suggest using the Wizard rather than scripting.

You will need to create at least one Migration Service Account that ADMT will use to perform the migration functions.

Object Migration Order

Remember you migrate 2 sets; 1) Groups and Users, and 2) Resources and Local Groups

Run the Service Account Migration Wizard to identify all Service Accounts (it does not migrate them)
Universal Groups
Global Groups (exclude built-in groups)
User Accounts that are members of the Global Groups migrated
1. If you have any NT 4.0 computers then you need to Translate Local User Profiles next.
2. This is not necessary for workstations > NT 4.0 because SID to GUID mapping will preserve in the registry the profile of the user and then re-associate it to the new SID.
Service Accounts
Resources - migrated users computers - you must reboot computer immediately afterwards
Run Security Translation Wizard on any Software Distribution Points
Resources - Printers
Resources - File Servers - you must reboot immediately afterwards
Resources - Member Servers (and Application Servers) - you must reboot immediately afterwards
Resources - Infrastructure Servers (DHCP, DNS, all DCs except FMSO roles) and Domain Local Groups (exclude built-in groups) - you must reboot immediately afterwards
Resources - Infrastructure Server FSMO roles, leave the Root DC for last - you must reboot immediately afterwards

Migration Steps - high level

A domain migration and collapse is no minor task, and if not done in the proper order can orphan objects and lose their ACLs. If you know me at all, you would know that I like to follow a phased approach for my migrations, as I was taught from my years work with Microsoft Consulting and EDS.

Phase I - Preparation
1. Clean up AD, remove all old user accounts, groups, OUs, computer accounts.
2. If you need to rename any accounts, groups or OUs you should do this prior to the migration, not during so that you do not experience naming conflicts.
3. Identify all Login Scripts in the NTTL domain, track in a List recording what actions it takes.
4. Identify all Service Accounts in the NTTL domain, track in a List recording; what permissions it requires, groups groups it is in, what GPOs are applied, and what applications and users use it.
5. Identify all Domain Local Groups and ensure that the Domain Local Groups are NOT used ANYWHERE in the ACLs.
  1. IMPORTANT: Most companies do NOT leave enough time for this. They "assume" that they don't have any or many ACLs using Domain Local Groups...and I have NEVER been to a company where they didn't under estimate this and ended up spending weeks re-ACLing at the last minute because they didn't address it properly.
6. Identify all applications, scripts and batch files on all servers and workstations to ensure they do not have the fully qualified domain name hard coded anywhere.
  1. Again, I have stressed this to every customer and every customer insists they don't have any hard coded references to the domain names. And again I have never had a customer that didn't have them. I have had migrations come to a halt because of many domain references found at the last minute, that needed to be re-worked.
  2. I suggest you purchase tool that can search the inside of batch files and other script files to search for your domain names.
7. If there is currently only a one way trust, then create a two-way trust for the migration process as it just makes the steps easier.
8. Identify all data, and printers on source domain controllers and migrate that data and objects over to other Member Servers if possible.
9. Create a Service Account for ADMT that has Domain Administrator permissions in both domains. It must also have delegated permission on the user, group, computer, OUs and the extended right to migrate SID history.
  1. In the TRI domain, delegate permissions on OUs that are targets for resource migration to the ADMT Service Account.
10. OU Preparation - If you have a different OU structure then you will need to modify TRI to account for all computer, user, and application OUs. You will need to map out which target OUs the computers and users will be migrated into.
Phase II - Closed Set 1 Migration
1. Use ADMT to migrate the following:
  1. Run the Service Account Migration Wizard to identify all Service Accounts (it does not migrate them)
  2. Universal Groups
  3. Global Groups (exclude built-in groups)
  4. User Accounts that are members of the Global Groups migrated
  5. 1. If you have any NT 4.0 computers then you need to Translate Local User Profiles next.
    2. This is not necessary for workstations > NT 4.0 because SID to GUID mapping will preserve in the registry the profile of the user and then re-associate it to the new SID.
  6. Service Accounts
  7. Resources - migrated users computers - you must reboot computer immediately afterwards
2. After each number verify migration logs for errors and verify the group types.
Phase III - Closed Set 2 Migration
1. Use ADMT to migrate the following:
  1. Run Security Translation Wizard on any Software Distribution Points
  2. Resources - Printers
  3. Resources - File Servers - you must reboot immediately afterwards
  4. Resources - Member Servers (and Application Servers) - you must reboot immediately afterwards
2. After each number verify migration logs for errors and verify the group types.
Phase IV - Collapse
1. Use ADMT to migrate the following:
  1. Resources - Infrastructure Servers (DHCP, DNS, all DCs except FMSO roles) and Domain Local Groups (exclude built-in groups) - you must reboot immediately afterwards
  2. Resources - Infrastructure Server FSMO roles, leave the Root DC for last - you must reboot immediately afterwards
  3. Perform ADMT Security Translation Wizard on Member Servers to clean up ACLs, and to remove the source domain SIDs from the ACLs..
2. Only after ALL OBJECTS are migrated out of the child domain can you perform the DCPROMO back to a member server.
3. Ensure all entries for the domain name and domain controllers are cleaned out of DNS, WINS, and Sites and Services properly.

Referenced Material: Chapter 12 Restructuring Active directory Domains Within a Forest.doc

del.icio.us Tags: Migration Specialists,Active Directory migration,Active Directory Collapse,ADMT

Category: Active Directory;Migration

Published: 6/1/2008 9:11 PM

FSMO roles and how to transfer roles

2010-05-08T17:02:00.001-06:00

In a forest, there are at least five FSMO roles that are assigned to one or more domain controllers. For best performance and recovery purposes you should not have all 5 FMSO roles on the same DC unless just to temporarily transfer to it for short-term maintenance. These are high level steps to transfer the Windows 2003 FSMO Roles to another DC for maintenance to be performed on the original DC.

For best performance and recovery purposes you should never have all 5 FMSO roles on the same DC unless just to temporarily transfer to it for short-term maintenance.

You can transfer FSMO roles by using the Ntdsutil.exe command-line utility or by using an MMC snap-in tool.

Depending on the FSMO role that you want to transfer, you can use one of the following three MMC snap-in tools:

· Active Directory Schema snap-in
· Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in
· Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in

If a computer no longer exists, the role must be seized. To seize a role, use the Ntdsutil.exe utility. Please use extreme caution when using this utility.

Transferring FSMO Roles – high level steps

Below are the high level steps required to perform any FSMO role transfers. What additional Change Management steps would be required would be determined following normal Change Management guidelines. At a minimum an RFC would always be required with a backup and restore plan.

If you have never transferred FSMO roles including the Schema Master role before you should perform this first in the lab. If you would perform a step out of sequence or when other DCs are not fully synchronized with the FSMO DCs you could have to revert to your back out plan.

Go into Sites and Sites for that domain and force replication

Check Event Viewer to see when the last reboot of both servers occurred, if over a week or prior to any other changes, then reboot both servers separately prior to proceeding to ensure stable after the reboot.

Go into the Event viewer on all DCs and verify that Directory Services Replication has occurred successfully on all DCs, and no major errors on the target DCs. You can verify replication using EV or RepAdmin

Verify all trusts are working using NLTest.exe

Perform an NTBackup including System State and all drive data to an off disk location

Verify that backup is restorable

View and record the FSMO roles for the forest and target domain

Transfer the Domain Naming Master Role

Verify in Event Viewer or using NTDSutil, or MMC snap-in that the role transferred successfully.

Go into Sites and Sites for that domain and force replication

Verify successful replication to all DCs using Event Viewer, or repadmin /showrepl command, nltest, etc.

Transfer RID Master, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure Master Roles

Verify in Event Viewer or using NTDSutil, or MMC snap-in that the role transferred successfully.

Go into Sites and Sites for that domain and force replication

Allow 30 minutes for all role changes to replicate throughout the forest, more if previously you found replication problems.

Go into the Event viewer on all DCs and verify that Directory Services Replication has occurred successfully on all DCs, and no major errors on the target DCs. You can verify replication using EV or RepAdmin

Transfer the Schema Master Role

Verify in Event Viewer or using NTDSutil, or MMC snap-in that the role transferred successfully.

Go into Sites and Sites for that domain and force replication

Allow 30 minutes for all role changes to replicate throughout the forest, more if previously you found replication problems.

Go into the Event viewer on all DCs and verify that Directory Services Replication has occurred successfully on all DCs, and no major errors on the target DCs. You can verify replication using EV or RepAdmin

Transferring FSMO Roles – Detailed Steps

The following steps to transfer FSMO Roles are from Microsoft white papers referenced below. These are not specific to any one environment, but are general steps.

Transfer the Domain Naming Master Role

Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Domains and Trusts.
Right-click Active Directory Domains and Trusts, and then click Connect to Domain Controller.
You must perform this step if you are not on the domain controller to which you want to transfer the role. You do not have to perform this step if you are already connected to the domain controller whose role you want to transfer.
Do one of the following:
- In the Enter the name of another domain controller box, type the name of the domain controller that will be the new role holder, and then click OK.
- In the Or, select an available domain controller list, click the domain controller that will be the new role holder, and then click OK.
In the console tree, right-click Active Directory Domains and Trusts, and then click Operations Master.
Click Change.
Click OK to confirm that you want to transfer the role, and then click Close.

Transfer the RID Master, PDC Emulator, and Infrastructure Master Roles

Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
Right-click Active Directory Users and Computers, and then click Connect to Domain Controller.
You must perform this step if you are not on the domain controller to which you want to transfer the role. You do not have to perform this step if you are already connected to the domain controller whose role you want to transfer.
Do one of the following:
- In the Enter the name of another domain controller box, type the name of the domain controller that will be the new role holder, and then click OK.
- In the Or, select an available domain controller list, click the domain controller that will be the new role holder, and then click OK.
In the console tree, right-click Active Directory Users and Computers, point to All Tasks, and then click Operations Master.
Click the appropriate tab for the role that you want to transfer (RID, PDC, or Infrastructure), and then click Change.
Click OK to confirm that you want to transfer the role, and then click Close.

Transfer the Schema Master Role

It is very important that you ensure you have a complete backup and verified replication is successful on all DCs prior to transferring the Schema Master Role. If you have replication problems you could transfer the role and it not be accepted in the target DC or it accepts it and the remaining DCs still see the original schema master as still holding the role. This conflict would cause Forest wide problems potentially. So use with caution.

Use the Active Directory Schema Master snap-in to transfer the schema master role. Before you can use this snap-in, you must register the Schmmgmt.dll file.

Register Schmmgmt.dll

Click Start, and then click Run.

Type regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll in the Open box, and then click OK.

Click OK when you receive the message that the operation succeeded.

Transfer the Schema Master Role

Click Start, click Run, type mmc in the Open box, and then click OK.
On the File, menu click Add/Remove Snap-in.
Click Add.
Click Active Directory Schema, click Add, click Close, and then click OK.
In the console tree, right-click Active Directory Schema, and then click Change Domain Controller.
Click Specify Name, type the name of the domain controller that will be the new role holder, and then click OK.
In the console tree, right-click Active Directory Schema, and then click Operations Master.
Click Change.
Click OK to confirm that you want to transfer the role, and then click Close.

This document is based on the best practices for transferring FSMO Roles from Microsoft at:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324801

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255690/

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/ea7f8494-ee1e-4d99-b28f-8f2fd8a72df21033.mspx?mfr=true

Published: 1/4/2008 9:09 PM

Granular AD permissions and tools to accomplish it

2010-05-08T16:43:00.001-06:00

Okay I will be unpopular with this...but I really can't stand it when a product/application says in their instructions that you must give the application account or service account local Administrator permissions...and the engineers believe it!

Recently I just did a short contract for software development company. A name most of you have heard of. I was extremely surprised at their huge lack of knowledge about the Microsoft products they were developing off the shelf software for. Even when I showed them how to use a Service Account to run their app and how their app only needed read permissions in the place they were coding, they simply didn't care. They insisted that "...we always state our application requires Domain Administrator privileges..." and they wouldn't stop. Need less to say for those that know me, I gave my notice and quit that contract.

Several years ago, I was on a Microsoft contract where we were applying the tightest security on our Microsoft servers. I was tasked with taking our entire application layer and determining what the lowest level permissions were actually needed for every service account and every application. This of course took quite a bit of time in the lab, by me installing with the permissions the application owners said it needed (usually Administrator), then re-imaging and reinstalling with the individual permissions one by one until the install and application worked. End result was there was absolutely no applications that we tested for our deployment that needed Administrator permissions. Some of the products I tested were; Veritas, Norton AV, several web applications, Office, Active Directory functions, DNS functions, Account and Server functions, and many other off the shelf products, including some Microsoft ones. Now this is not saying that none do. If they don't take the time to code it right then it can. But many don't even know themselves.

Vendors typically will say it needs Administrator permissions because they don't want to bother with testing the permissions one by one to see what exact granular permissions it needs. Yes, even Microsoft has become worse about doing this. Most applications only really need 4 NT rights to operate and those 4 rights added to an application account is what is a Service Account. There are some that need some other additional privileges of course too.

If you want a tighten down environment you will always take the time to test the actual granular permissions needed, and never believe the vendor when they say it takes Administrator.

ALSO, I come across so many engineers that will test it using the built-in groups (Administrators, Backup Operators, Account Operators, etc) and say...see it only worked when I added the account into the Administrators group. Open your eyes and learn your operating system better. There are about 35+ granular permissions you can grant...but you have to use the proper tools to grant or remove them! This is probably not a complete list either, but the two tools I use the most often to get the granular permissions needed.

DSacls found in the Support Tools

Permissions

GR - Generic Read
GE - Generic Execute
GW - Generic Write
GA - Generic All
SD - Delete
DT - Delete an object and all its child objects.
RC - Read security information
WD - Change security information
WO - Change owner information
LC - List the child objects of an object
CC - Create child object. If {Object|Property} is not specified to define a specific property, this applies to all properties of an object. Otherwise, it applies to the specified property of the object.
DC - Delete child object. If {Object|Property} is not specified to define a specific property, this applies to all properties of an object. Otherwise, it applies to the specified property of the object.
WS - Write to self object. If {Object|Property} is not specified to define a specific property, this applies to all properties of an object. Otherwise, it applies to the specified property of the object.
RP - Read property. If {Object|Property} is not specified to define a specific property, this applies to all properties of an object. Otherwise, it applies to the specified property of the object.
WP - Write property. If {Object|Property} is not specified to define a specific property, this applies to all properties of an object. Otherwise, it applies to the specified property of the object.
CA - Control access right. If {Object|Property} is not specified to define a specific property, this applies to all properties of an object. Otherwise, it applies to the specified property of the object.
LO - List the object access. Can be used to grant list access to a specific object if List Children (LC) is not also granted to the parent. Can also be denied on specific objects to hide those objects if the user or group has LC on the parent. By default, Active Directory does not enforce this permission.

NTrights.exe found in the Resource Kit

SeTcbPrivilege
Act as part of the operating system
Allows a process to authenticate like a user and thus gain access to the same resources as a user. Only low-level authentication services should require this privilege.
SeMachineAccountPrivilege
Add computers to a domain
Allows the user to add a computer to a specific domain. For the privilege to be effective, it must be assigned to the user as part of local security policy for domain controllers in the domain.
SeBackupPrivilege
Back up files and directories
Allows the user to circumvent file and directory permissions to back up the system. The privilege is checked only when an application attempts access through the NTFS backup application programming interface (API). Otherwise, normal file and directory permissions apply.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators and Backup Operators. See also Restore files and directories in this table.
SeChangeNotifyPrivilege
Bypass traverse checking
Allows the user to pass through folders to which the user otherwise has no access while navigating an object path in any Windows file system or in the registry. This privilege does not allow the user to list the contents of a folder; it allows the user only to traverse its directories.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators, Backup Operators, Power Users, Users, and Everyone.
SeSystemTimePrivilege
Change the system time
Allows the user to set the time for the internal clock of the computer.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators and Power Users.
SeCreatePagefilePrivilege
Create a page file
Allows the user to create and change the size of a page file.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.
SeCreateTokenPrivilege
Create a token object
Allows a process to create an access token by calling NtCreateToken() or other token-creating APIs.
SeCreatePermanentPrivilege
Create permanent shared objects
Allows a process to create a directory object in the Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 object manager.
SeRemoteShutdownPrivilege
Force shutdown from a remote system
Allows a user to shut down a computer from a remote location on the network. See also Shut down the system in this table.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.
SeAuditPrivilege
Generate security audits
Allows a process to create, generate, and add entries in the security log. The security log is used to track unauthorized system access. See also Manage auditing and security log in this table.
SeIncreaseQuotaPrivilege
Increase quotas
Allows a process that has Write Property access to another process to increase the processor quota that is assigned to the other process. This privilege is useful for system tuning, but it can be misused, as in a denial of service attack.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.
SeIncreaseBasePriorityPrivilege
Increase scheduling priority
Allows a process that has Write property access to another process so that it can increase the execution priority of the other process. A user with this privilege can change the scheduling priority of a process in the Task Manager dialog box.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.
SeLoadDriverPrivilege
Load and unload device drivers
Allows a user to install and uninstall Plug and Play device drivers. Device drivers that are not Plug and Play are not affected by this privilege and can be installed only by Administrators. Because device drivers run as trusted (highly privileged) programs, this privilege can be misused to install hostile programs and give them destructive access to resources.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.
SeLockMemoryPrivilege
Lock pages in memory
Allows a process to keep data in physical memory, which prevents the system from paging the data to virtual memory on disk. Exercising this privilege can significantly degrade system performance. This privilege is obsolete and should therefore never be selected.
SeSecurityPrivilege
Manage auditing and security log
Allows a user to specify object access auditing options on individual resources such as files, Active Directory objects, and registry keys. Object access auditing must first be enabled in Audit Policy (under Security Settings, Local Policies). With this privilege a user can then specify individual objects for auditing in Windows Explorer. A user who has this privilege can also view and clear the security log from Event Viewer.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.
SeSystemEnvironmentPrivilege
Modify firmware environment values
Allows modification of system environment variables either by a process through an API or by a user through System Properties.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.
SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege
Profile a single process
Allows a user to run Windows 2000® and Windows Server 2003 performance-monitoring tools to monitor the performance of nonsystem processes.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators and Power Users.
SeSystemProfilePrivilege
Profile system performance
Allows a user to run Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 performance-monitoring tools to monitor the performance of system processes.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.
SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege
Replace a process-level token
Allows a parent process to replace the access token associated with a child process.
SeRestorePrivilege
Restore files and directories
Allows a user to circumvent file and directory permissions when restoring backed-up files and directories and to set any valid security principal as the owner of an object. See also Back up files and directories in this table.
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators and Backup Operators.
SeShutdownPrivilege
Shut down the system
Allows a user to shut down the local computer. See also Force shutdown from a remote system in this table. In Windows XP Professional:
- By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators, Backup Operators, Power Users, and Users. In Windows Server 2003 :
- By default, this privilege is not assigned to Users, only to Administrators, Backup Operators, and Power Users.
SeTakeOwnershipPrivilege
Take ownership of files or other objects
Allows a user to take ownership of any securable object in the system, including Active Directory objects, files and folders, printers, registry keys, processes, and threads.

By default, this privilege is assigned to Administrators.

Published: 7/25/2007 9:06 PM

Scripts - Creating Users, Home Directories, Shares

2010-05-08T16:37:00.001-06:00

This batch file is one that I created many years ago, but still use. It is a simple non-complicated way to automatically create users, apply a password, create their home directory and home share. Your list of users have to be one to a line in the referenced u:\user.txt file. There are many different ways you can script something like this. I use this on contracts where they don't have someone that can support a script but could a simple batch file.

rem    NB: user home directory is set at Z:\
rem    Use: Users.bat, LogonName, LastName, FirstName
rem
net use u: /delete
Net use u: \\ServerName\ShareName
u:
PAUSE
REM for /f %%v in (u:\user.txt) do net user %%v P@ssword /add /fullname:%%v

for /f "eol=; tokens=1,2,3,4 delims=," %%v in (u:\user.txt) do net user %%v P@ssword /add /fullname:"%%w"
PAUSE
for /f "eol=; tokens=1,2,3,4 delims=," %%v in (u:\user.txt) do net user %%v /Comment:"enter comment here" /scriptpath:LogonScript1.bat
PAUSE
REM for /f %%v in (u:\user.txt) do net user %%v /Comment:"enter comment here" /scriptpath:LoginScript1.bat
for /f %%v in (u:\user.txt) do net group "Domain Users" %%v /add
for /f %%v in (u:\user.txt) do net group GlobalGroupName %%v /add
for /f %%v in (u:\user.txt) do net group GlobalGroupName %%v /add

PAUSE

::creates directory for each user
u:
for /f %%v in (u:\user.txt) do md u:\%%v

::Gives the user ownership to his directory
for /f %%v in (u:\user.txt) do subinacl /subdirectory u:\%%v /setowner=%%v /grant=%%v=F

::Creates a remote hidden share and Gives Change permissions to the user

for /f %%v in (u:\User.txt) do net share %%v=d:\users\SubDirectory\%%v /grant:%%v,CHANGE

REM if you need to delete shares perform the following command
REM for /f %%v in (u:\user.txt) do net share \\ServerName\%%v /DELETE

PAUSE

Published: 8/10/2005 9:03 PM

Troubleshooting NetBIOS Name Resolution Problems

2010-05-08T16:32:00.001-06:00

Use NbtStat to verify that you have the right IP address for a specific NetBIOS name is to use a tool that displays protocol statistics and TCP/IP connections using NBT (NetBIOS over TCP/IP). The syntax is case sensitive. For example, nbtstat -A lists the remote computer name table when given its IP address, and nbtstat -a lists the remote computer name table when given its name.

Examples of NetBIOS name resolution problems:

You can ping another computer, however Nbtstat believes it is a computer other than the one that you specified. This means that there is a problem with name to address mapping. (An Nbtstat result overrules a Ping result.)
You cannot ping another computer, and you receive a "Bad IP Address" error. This means that the name cannot be found.
You cannot ping and you receive a "Request timed out" error. This means that either there are name resolution or connectivity problems or that the server is not functioning.

Using Nslookup for Name Resolution

You can use Nslookup to perform DNS queries and to examine the contents of zone files on local and remote servers. To use Nslookup in interactive mode and to verify name resolution, at the command prompt, type the following: NSLOOKUP

Published: 8/4/2008 9:01 PM

Troubleshooting DCdiag

2010-05-08T16:30:00.001-06:00

This is continuing my entries on troubleshooting. Use DCdiag to perform a fully automatic analysis with little intervention. It is a read-only tool that does not affect the state of the object. Although it allows specific tests to be run individually, it is not intended as a general toolbox of commands to perform specific tasks. Best use is to run all commands at once and compare the outcome of each as some my be related.

Use the Dcdiag tool to diagnose domain controller status for the following:

Connectivity
Replication
Topology Integrity
Directory Partition Head Permissions
User Permissions
Locator Functionality
Inter-site Health
Trust Verification
Diagnose Replication Latencies
Replication of Trust Objects
File Replication Service
Critical Services Check

Published: 8/1/2008 8:57 PM

Forest to Forest Trust - Ports Required

2010-05-08T16:28:00.001-06:00

For Active Directory to function correctly through a firewall, the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) protocol must be allowed through the firewall from the clients to the domain controllers so that the clients can receive Group Policy information. You will need the following ports opened to create the trust and to perform the user/group administration after the trust is established.

Resource Material: Microsoft KB http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/179442/

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/library/108124dd-31b1-4c2c-9421-6adbc1ebceca1033.mspx?mfr=true

(migrated content from old site, need to relink pictures)

* NOTE: The port for WINS is optional. It is not required for a trust but only if YOUR Active Directory configuration is dependent on WINS still for resolution.

Published: 12/1/2008 8:54 PM

Configure RPC ports from Dynamic to Limited Range

2010-05-08T16:18:00.001-06:00

Many things require communication for RPC over ports 1024-65535/TCP. In many cases having all of these ports open is not practical. Microsoft recommends you reduce this number of ports. Material References: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/154596 .

This is nothing new, I have been doing this per Microsoft's recommendations for several years, although this referenced KB is newer, if you search you will find similar articles published since Active Directories first release.

This is a best practice for security lock down, and has been for years. I heard an engineer once say it breaks your support contract with Microsoft to make ANY edits to the registry. That is simply incorrect, contact Microsoft to verify. If it is to fix known reported problems where Microsoft publishes a KB article instructing you how like above, this is supported.

Start - Run - Regedt32 - modify the following parameters for RPC. The RPC Port key values are all located in the following key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Rpc\Internet\ Key Data Type Ports REG_MULTI_SZ
If any entries are outside the range of 0 to 65535, or if any string cannot be interpreted, the RPC runtime treats the entire configuration as invalid. Select a smaller range like 25000-25500.
PortsInternetAvailable REG_SZ Y or N (not case-sensitive)
If Y, the ports listed in the Ports key are all the Internet-available ports on that computer. If N, the ports listed in the Ports key are all those ports that are not Internet-available.
UseInternetPorts REG_SZ ) Y or N (not case-sensitive Specifies the system default policy.
If Y, the processes using the default will be assigned ports from the set of Internet-available ports, as defined previously. If N, the processes using the default will be assigned ports from the set of intranet-only ports.
Example:
1. Add the Internet key under: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Rpc
2. Under the Internet key, add the values "Ports" (MULTI_SZ), "PortsInternetAvailable" (REG_SZ), and "UseInternetPorts" (REG_SZ).
The new registry key appears as follows:
     Ports: REG_MULTI_SZ: 25000-25500
     PortsInternetAvailable: REG_SZ: Y
     UseInternetPorts: REG_SZ: Y
Then restart the server.

Published: 10/31/2008 8:53 PM

How to disable firewall in WinPE 2.0

2010-05-08T16:13:00.001-06:00

Hopefully you are using WinPE 2.0 if so you can open a command prompt and type net stop ipnat . That is temporarily disable your firewall. You cannot open and close individual ports using WinPE, just the disable and enable.

Published: 4/30/2008 12:52 AM

Performance Monitor – Base Objects to Monitor

2010-05-08T16:12:00.001-06:00

I am always surprised at how many senior engineers do not understand how to use the Windows Server built-in Performance Monitor to determine hardware, software, network bottlenecks...or that have never even used it. First thing to remember, is that while you are running Performance Monitor that will cause a performance hit to your server too. Now, obviously you do need to run it to troubleshoot...but you should just perform short captures of less than 30 minutes if possible, during times not used, then average use, then peak times or with forced hits. Below is the baseline object counters that I always start with, then I eliminate different Performance Objects one by one, by their results, until I have just 2 or three that I have narrowed it down to. I suggest you create a baseline like this and save it locally so the next time you need to capture you can do so very quickly by just opening and starting it. I have had this baseline for literally years, I am sure I probably got it from a Microsoft white paper.

Start - Run - type Perfmon or

Start - Administrative Tools - Performance - System Monitor. You have 3 display formats; graph, histogram and text report.

Adding Performance Counters

Right click the counter pane and select Add Counter
Select whether you are monitoring the local computer counters by selecting Use local computer counter option or another remote computer by selecting Select counter from computer option by providing the UNC path
Select from the Performance object drop down list
Select the counter, these are different according to the selected performance object
Click Add to add it in the System monitor
Click Explain button if you need more details about the counter

Performance Object

Counter

Threshold

Description

Processor

Percent processor time_total

80 to 85 percent averaged over three intervals

The total percentage of processor usage for a server.

Network interface

Bytes total per second_network interface

50 percent of the available network interface bandwidth -- for example, a 100-MB network interface running at 50,000 KB per second

The rate at which bytes are sent and received over each network adapter.

Logical disk

Percent idle time_ (drives C:,D:, and so on)

20 percent over idle time_.

Reports the percentage of time during the sample interval that the disk was idle. If this value is very low, the logical disk is very busy.

Paging file

Percent usage

Above 70 percent

Review this value in conjunction with memory -- available megabytes and page faults per second -- to understand paging activity on the server.

Memory

Available MBs

128 MB -- assuming 2 GB of RAM as prescribed on servers

The amount of physical memory, in MBs, immediately available for allocation to a process or for system use on the server.

Memory

Page faults per second

A high rate of page faults indicates a lack of physical memory.

System

Processor queue length

The number of CPUs + 1

Exceeding the threshold indicates that the processors are not fast.

ASP.NET applications

Requests per second_total

Through ongoing monitoring, trends begin to emerge that equate requests per second with CPU consumption

The number of requests executed per second; this roughly equates to the number of HTTP pages per second.

Disk

Physical Disk\% Free Space

15%

Logical Disk\% Free Space

Disk

Physical Disk\% Disk Time

90%

Logical Disk\% Disk Time

Disk

Physical Disk\Disk Reads/sec, Physical Disk\Disk Writes/sec

Depends on manufacturer's specifications

Disk

Physical Disk\Current Disk Queue Length

Number of spindles plus 2

This is an instantaneous counter; observe its value over several intervals. For an average over time, use Physical Disk\Avg. Disk Queue Length.

Memory

Memory\Available Bytes

For larger memory computers, greater than 4 MB

Research memory usage and add memory if needed.

Memory

Memory\Pages/sec

n pages/sec per pagefile

Research paging activity. Note the amount of I/O going to the disks with pagefiles.

Paging file

Paging File\% Usage

Above 70%

Review this value in conjunction with Available Bytes and Pages/sec to understand paging activity on your computer.

Processor

Processor\% Processor Time

85%

Find the process that is using a high percentage of processor time. Upgrade to a faster processor or install an additional processor.

Processor

Processor\Interrupts/sec

Depends on processor; 1,000 interrupts per second is a good starting point

Server

Server\Bytes Total/sec

If the sum of Bytes Total/sec for all servers is roughly equal to the maximum transfer rates of your network, you may need to segment the network.

Server

Server\Work Item Shortages

If the value reaches this threshold, consider adding the DWORD entries InitWorkItems (the number of work items allocated to a processor during startup) or MaxWorkItems (the maximum number of receive buffers that a server can allocate) to the registry (under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\

CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer

\Parameters). The entry InitWorkItems can range from 1 to 512 while MaxWorkItems can range from 1 to 65,535. Start with any value for InitWorkItems and a value of 4,096 for MaxWorkItems and keep doubling these values until the Server\Work Item Shortages threshold stays below 3. For information about modifying the registry, see Registry Editor overview .

Caution

•

Server

Server\Pool Paged Peak

Amount of physical RAM

This value is an indicator of the maximum paging file size and the amount of physical memory.

Server

Server Work Queues\Queue Length

If the value reaches this threshold, there may be a processor bottleneck. This is an instantaneous counter; observe its value over several intervals.

Multiple processors

System\Processor Queue Length

This is an instantaneous counter; observe its value over several intervals.

Domain and DNS Troubleshooting

2010-05-08T16:07:00.001-06:00

These are some of the commands I commonly run to troubleshoot Domain and DNS problems.

Repadmin /bind

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:Connectivity

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:Replications

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:Topology

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:NetLogons

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:KnowsOfRoleHolders

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:FsmoCheck

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:kccevent

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:DcPromo

/DnsDomain:DomainDNSName /ChildDomain

dcdiag /s:DomainControllerName /u:DomainName\Username /test:DNS

nltest /server:TargetDCname /sc_query:TargetTrustedDomain

nltest /server:TargetDCname /dcname:TargetTrustedDomain

nltest /server:TargetDCname /sim_sync:TargetDomain

Published: 3/13/2008 8:44 PM

Troubleshooting RPC Problems

2010-05-08T16:05:00.000-06:00

For troubleshooting RPC problems try the following;
Using RPCping to ensure it is working between both servers.

Ensure you have port 135 and ports 1024-65,535 open for the dynamic RPC range. You can do this by using the Port Query tool (PortQry and PortQueryUI). Example: portqry -n [servername] -e 135 AND portqry -n [servername] -e 1024-5000 .

If you do not want to use that large of range you must define the ports and change the following registry key. When picking RPC ports you should select a range over 60,000 to avoid NSPI proxy warning errors. I use 60,000 - 65,535.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

Data type = REG_DWORD

Port range = 5000 – 65534

Default = 5000

You can try setting your TCP packet acknowledments to 3 instead of 5. KB 170359

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

Data type = REG_DWORD

Valid range = 0 - 0xFFFFFFFF (hexadecimal)

Default = 5

Look through your Event Logs for a more specific RPC error. For a complete list of RPC error codes go to http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ms681386.aspx . Some of the most common ones are:

58 = The specified server cannot perform the requested operation.

1721 = Not enough resources are available to complete this operation.

1722 = The RPC server is unavailable.

1723 = The RPC server is too busy to complete this operation.

1727 = The remote procedure call failed and did not execute.

1753 = There are no more endpoints available from the endpoint mapper.

Try running repadmin /bind, if you are having RPC problems it might respond back with an endpoint mapper error.

Using Windows Live Writer – Love It!

2010-05-08T16:00:00.001-06:00

I have installed WLW and documenting the installation and steps now for those of you who want to use it as your Blog Editor.

So far I really like this tool as it's rich text editor is better and if you want to insert a picture it will automatically load it into your Blog site's Graphics Library. It also allows you to format the picture and text better. You can enter Tags, and even Videos. If you have an Blog this is a must have. You can install it from here http://get.live.com/writer/overview and choose SharePoint WebBlog - then enter the Absolute URL to your Blog. Then when presented with options make sure and select to Update Styles...it will go to your Blog site and download your Theme styles so WLW reflects that Themes styles. Every time you change your Theme make sure and select to Update Styles in WLW again.

Here are a few working tips to be aware of.

If you copy content and pictures from somewhere else into your Windows Live Writer blog content...remember that it is copying the HTML Source, so the picture's original link will be copied with it.

You will either need to edit the HTML Source Code directly afterwards (not preferred),
or save the picture locally then in WLW select to INSERT a picture and select the local copy. This way it will automatically upload the graphic into your blog posting as an ATTACHMENT.
Or my preferred method is to just upload the graphic into my local blog site Graphics Library and reference that local URL instead. This way I can easily reference it in many different pages.

Published: 1/1/2008 8:37 PM

SharePoint Designer CAML References

2010-05-08T15:55:00.001-06:00

I have been looking what seems like forever for a CAML (Collaborative Application Markup Language) full reference site. Finally found one!

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms462365.aspx

I also found a couple good CAML Viewers/Builders:

http://www.codeplex.com/SPCamlViewer/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=15621

http://www.u2u.info/SharePoint/U2U%20Community%20Tools/Forms/AllItems.aspx

Published: 11/29/2008 8:35 PM

WSS 3.0 Broken Breadcrumb issue

2010-05-08T15:50:00.001-06:00

Problem:

You receive a Page Not Found or 500 Internal Server error when you click on a sub-sites Local Breadcrumb.

Cause:

This is a known bug with Microsoft SharePoint. There are some HotFixes posted for different situations but they do not work for everyone. None of the existing HotFixes work for me.

Resolution:

In most cases you can resolve this by re-inheriting the permission levels on the broken site after you have broken them. Now this fix only seemed to work for me after applying WSS 3.0 Service Pack 1.

From your broken sub-site, go to the '/_layouts/role.aspx' page, then select 'Edit Permission Levels'

Next, from the same page, click the 'Inherit Permission Levels' button.

Note: Any custom permissions on a library or list are completely gone. You will have to manually reset all permissions.

Published: 11/30/2008 8:30 PM

Active Directory Authoratative Restore

2010-05-08T14:56:00.002-06:00

Active Directory is located in the directory Winnt\Ntds .

The steps below are taken from a Microsoft white paper or manual. I apologize but I have lost the link to the document, but it is not my own but a Microsoft doc. This is here more for my reference.

An Authoritative Restore occurs after nonauthoritative restore has been performed. During authoritative restore, an entire directory, a subtree, or individual objects can be designated to take precedence over any other instances of those objects on domain controllers. So, through normal replication, the restored domain controller becomes authoritative in relation to its replication partners. Authoritative restore is typically used to restore a system to a previously known state, for example before Active Directory objects were erroneously deleted. The

To restore system state data

1. Start Backup.
2. Click the Restore tab, and then select the check box for any drive, folder, or file that you want to restore.
3. Click the box next to System State to restore the system state data along with any other data you have selected for the current restore operation.
Caution: If you restore the system state data, and you do not designate an alternate location for the restored data, Backup erases the system state data that is currently on your computer and replaces it with the system state data you are restoring.

When you back up the system state data, a copy of your registry files is also saved in %SystemRoot%\Repair\Regback.

Ntdsutil command-line tool allows you to authoritatively restore the entire directory, a subtree, or individual objects provided they are leaf objects.

Performing an Authoritative Restore

When a domain contains more than one domain controller, Active Directory replicates directory objects, such as users, groups, organizational units, and computers, to all the domain controllers in that domain.

When you are restoring a domain controller by using backup and restore programs, such as Ntbackup or those from third-party providers, the default mode for the restore is nonauthoritative. This means that the restored server is brought up-to-date with its replicas through the normal replication mechanism. For example, if a domain controller is restored from a backup tape that is two weeks old, when you restart it, the normal replication mechanism brings it up-to-date with respect to its replication partners.

Authoritative restore allows the administrator to recover a domain controller, restore it to a specific point in time, and mark objects in Active Directory as being authoritative with respect to their replication partners. For example, you might need to perform an authoritative restore if an administrator inadvertently deletes an organizational unit containing a large number of users. If you restore the server from tape, the normal replication process would not restore the inadvertently deleted organizational unit. Authoritative restore allows you to mark the organizational unit as authoritative and force the replication process to restore it to all of the other domain controllers in the domain.

Authoritative Restore Commands

Restore database

Marks the entire Ntds.dit (both the domain and configuration naming contexts held by the domain controller) as authoritative. The schema cannot be authoritatively restored.

Restore database verinc %d

Marks the entire Ntds.dit (both the domain and configuration naming contexts held by the domain controller) as authoritative and increments the version number by %d. Use this option only to authoritatively restore over a previous, incorrect, authoritative restore, such as an authoritative restore from a backup that contains the problem you want to restore over.

Restore subtree %s

Marks subtree (and all children of subtree) as being authoritative. The subtree is defined by using the fully distinguished name of the object.

Restore subtree %s verinc %d

Marks subtree (and all children of subtree) as being authoritative and increments the version number by %d. The subtree is defined by using the fully distinguished name of the object. Use this option only to authoritatively restore over a previous, incorrect, authoritative restore, such as an authoritative restore from a backup that contains the problem you want to restore over.

Originally Published: 11/30/2008 8:29 PM