NAP monitors the health of specified computers when they attempt to connect to a network and includes a number of mechanisms to enforce health requirements. In this article, Geek of All Trades Greg Shields gives readers an overview of these enforcement mechanisms and, as an example, takes a closer look at setting up DHCP enforcement.

For more information on this topic, see The Cable Guy: Troubleshooting NAP Enforcement.

Use Windows PowerShell to Manage Virtual Machines
Here are a few examples of how you can use Windows PowerShell scripts to manage virtual machines running on a Server Core installation. Note that these scripts are presented as samples and may need to be customized to work in your environment.

Create a New Failover Cluster in 12 Steps
Once you’ve thoroughly researched and planned your implementation of Failover clusters, you’re ready to actually create the cluster. The mechanism to create and manage Failover clusters is the Cluster Administrator application, part of the Administrative Tools folder. Here are the 12 easy steps!

Create and Use Starter GPOs
When you create a new GPO in the GPMC, you are given the opportunity to base the new GPO on a starter GPO. Because the settings of the starter GPO are then imported into the new GPO, you can use a starter GPO to define the base configuration settings for a new GPO. Here are the steps you need to follow to create a starter GPO.

Uncover Memory-Related Bottlenecks
Memory is often the source of performance problems, and you should always rule out memory problems before examining other areas of the system. Here’s an overview of counters that you’ll want to track to uncover memory, caching, and virtual memory (paging) bottlenecks.

Monitor and Tune Network Bandwidth and Connectivity
No other factor matters more to the way a user perceives your server’s performance than the network that connects your server to the user’s computer. The delay, or latency, between when a request is made and the time it’s received can make all the difference. To determine the throughput and current activity on a server’s network cards, you can check these counters.

Disabling an Unused Part of Group Policy Objects
One way to disable a policy is to disable an unused part of the GPO. By disabling part of a policy that isn’t used, the application of GPOs and security will be faster.

Administer Windows Server 2008 Server Core from the Command Prompt
This tip offers a list of tools that will help you become an expert in administering Server Core from the command prompt.

Installing and Uninstalling Roles and Features Using Ocsetup
You can use Ocsetup.exe to install or remove roles, role services, and features on Server Core. Note that the Ocsetup.exe syntax is case sensitive so you must type package names exactly as shown in this list.

Use Built-In Tools to Monitor DNS Servers
Windows Server 2008 offers built-in functionality for monitoring a DNS server. You can configure monitoring to occur manually or automatically by following these simple steps!

Install the Windows Server Backup Feature on Server Core
Before you can back up a Server Core computer, you must install the Windows Server Backup feature. This can be done in two ways, both of which we detail here.

July 2009

Microsoft Identity Lifecycle Manager 2007 enables administrators to manage the multiple digital identities inherent in enterprises today, and to keep users, computers, and other directory objects in sync among diverse directories and databases. This article introduces the key concepts of ILM.

July 2009

User Account Control is a set of technologies that has one overall goal: to make it possible for users to run as standard users. In this article, Mark Russinovich explains how the default Windows 7 UAC mode makes a PA users experience smoother by reducing prompts, allows them to control what legitimate software can modify their system, and still enables more software to run without administrative rights and continues to shift the software ecosystem to write software that works with standard user rights.

July 2009

In most situations, database backups are critical for recovering from a disaster, but there are lots of misconceptions about how backups work and what a good backup strategy is. In this article, the fi rst in a three-part series on disaster recovery, Paul S. Randal explains how the three most common types of backups work and how you can combine them into an effective backup strategy.