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Articles
Q. What is Microsoft Exchange Server
2007 database portability?
by John
Savill
4.21.08
A. Exchange 2007 removes Exchange 2003’s
database-mounting restrictions.
Exchange 2003 restricts the mounting of an Exchange mailbox database on
another server unless you set the restore function to the
server-recovery storage group, or unless you restore to a server with
the same name and mount the database on another server in the same
administrative group. Even considering these limitations, mounting a
database in Exchange 2003 is still complicated.
With Exchange 2007, you can mount any Exchange 2007 server on any other
Exchange 2007 server within the same Exchange organization. This
functionality permits fast end-to-end recovery times and avoids the
restore-operation manual steps that often introduced problems.
Once you mount the Exchange 2007 database on another server, you need to
update Active Directory (AD) with the change. You need to only update
those objects affected by the mailbox move. You don't need to move
mailbox data because you already moved the entire database. To update AD
with the new server, use the Move-mailbox command with the
configurationonly flag, as in the following example:
get-mailbox –database | move-mailbox
–targetdatabase -configurationonly:$true
Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 clients will automatically discover the
new Exchange server, as will Outlook Web Access (OWA) clients, because
they access Outlook through the Client Access server role. You’ll need
to manually update pre-Outlook-2007 clients with the new Exchange server
that hosts the mailbox.
There are a few limitations in Exchange 2007. Database portability
relates only to mailbox databases—public-folder databases don't have
the same level of portability. You also can't take a database from an
Exchange 2007 server and mount it on an older platform. This table shows your options.
Q. What is the problem with Windows
Server 2008 cluster network names?
by John
Savill
4.22.08
A. Server 2008 lets a network name resource using
OR logic have multiple IP addresses. Therefore, the network name is
available as long as one of the IP addresses is available, which is
vital if you have cluster nodes on different IP subnets.
The concern is the amount of time it might take cluster clients to
obtain a network name IP address. The problem occurs when cluster
clients access the resource through the network name, which DNS
resolves. DNS is cached on the client for as long as 20 minutes, which
means it could take up to 20 minutes for cluster clients to get the
correct IP address to connect to a network name. To resolve this
problem, reduce the network name cluster service names Time-to-Live
(TTL) to five minutes.
Use the cluster.exe command-line utility to make the TTL change, as in
the following example:
cluster res /priv HostRecordTTL=300
After making the change, the client will wait only five minutes before
contacting DNS for an updated IP address.
But that’s not the end of the story. With the TTL change, five minutes
is the maximum time a client will wait before asking DNS for a new IP
address—but only if DNS is up to date.
One possible solution is using Active Directory (AD)-integrated DNS, in
which AD stores DNS content and replicates the content according to the
AD schedule. One problem with this approach, however, is that if you
have multiple AD sites with domain controllers (DCs) at each site,
replication could take 15 minutes or longer. When the remote-site client
queries DNS, the DC might not have received the updated network-name
record. There’s no simple solution. It's a consideration when planning
clusters that span different subnets using multiple IP addresses.
Q. How do I force SoftGrid to cache an
entire application?
by John
Savill
4.23.08
A. By default, the first time a SoftGrid client
starts an application, it pulls down all of Feature Block 1, then pulls
down parts of Feature Block 2 when it needs them. Feature Block 1 is the
portion of the application stream necessary to launch the application
during the sequencing phase.
If you aren’t connected to the network and you want to ensure that all
of an application's features will be available to the user, pre-cache
the entire application stream using the command:
sfttray.exe /load "
To cache all applications known to the client, use the command
sfttray.exe /loadall
Be aware that you can't exceed the SoftGrid-client cache, which is set
during client installation.
Q. What is Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure (VDI)?
by John
Savill
4.24.08
A. VDI is a combination of remote desktop
connections and virtualization. Virtual servers run multiple virtual
machines (VMs), which operate the client OSs, such as Windows Vista or
Windows XP.
Users then remotely connect to VMs for their desktop environments. The
users' local PCs can run thin clients, older hardware with Microsoft
Windows Fundamentals, or a Linux distribution as the remote desktop
client.
VDI completely isolates users' virtual environments from other virtual
environments because every user is connected to a separate VM. Some
environments use static VDI in which a user always connects to the same
VM. Other environments use dynamic VDI, in which users dynamically
connect to different VMs, and VMs are created as needed. No matter what
model you use, it’s vital that users' data be stored away from the VMs
and that applications be provisioned quickly.
In addition to providing centralized management and easy computer
provisioning, VDI offers users anywhere-access to their desktop
environments as long as they can remotely connect to the server.
Imagine a problem on a client computer today. You might have to
troubleshoot the computer and possibly reinstall it. With VDI, if
there's a problem environment, you just delete the VM and use a template
virtual hard disk to create a new environment in seconds. VDI also
offers increased security because the data isn’t sitting locally on a
desktop computer or laptop.
Q. What is Windows Vista Enterprise
Centralized Desktop (VECD)?
by John
Savill
4.25.08
A. VECD is a Windows Vista Enterprise Edition
licensing model for a virtualized desktop infrastructure in which a
virtual server runs many virtual machines (VMs) that each run a client
OS instance.
VECD is a nonperpetual, subscription-based model that is instance based,
as opposed to installation based.
There are two options to license VECD. Both options require that clients
have volume-licensing in either an enterprise agreement or select
agreement:
- If you already have a full PC license, you purchase an annual PC
VECD license, which allows an unlimited number of guest OSs. Each
licensed client device can access as many as four virtual guests, which
can be on separate virtual servers
- If you use a thin client and don't have a separate PC license, you
purchase an annual subscription that allows an unlimited number of Vista
Enterprise OSs or earlier OSs. Once again, as many as four virtual
guests can be concurrently accessed.
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