Windows Server 8 will be named Windows Server 2012

      Microsoft officials said during the opening keynote of the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) 2012 in Las Vegas that the final name of Windows Server 8 will be “Windows Server 2012.”

      Windows Server 2012 will include Microsoft's new Resilient File System (ReFS) to handle large volumes, resiliency to corruption, and shared storage pools across machines. ReFS will only be available inside Windows Server 2012 initially, but Microsoft has plans to test it within the server edition and make it available to Windows 8 client users at a later date. Microsoft has also previously promised that the majority of applications that currently run on Windows Server 2008 and R2 "should work" on Windows Server 2012.

      Microsoft's naming strategy for Windows Server 2012 and its indication of a release later this year all but confirms that Windows 8 will be available before the end of 2012. The company has a near identical development timeframe for both operating systems, with a beta copy of both released earlier this year at the same time. Microsoft confirmed this week that the company will ship Windows 8 in a trio of editions, including Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows 8 Enterprise. Special local language-only editions of Windows 8 will also be released in select emerging markets like China. The big naming news of the week was the company's decision to name its ARM edition of Windows 8 as Windows RT. Known previously as Windows on ARM or WOA, the single edition will only be available pre-installed on PCs and tablets with ARM processors. Microsoft has not yet announced any intentions for an ARM Windows Server edition yet, despite some OEMs exploring ARM server options recently.

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Configure IP Address and DNS using Command Prompt

In order to configure TCP/IP settings such as the IP address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS and WINS addresses and many other options you can use Netsh.exe. The requested operation requires elevation (Run as administrator).

The IP address of your computer can be set from the command prompt by running the following commands at an administrative level prompt:

netsh interface ip set address name="Local Area Connection" static 146.40.202.222 255.255.255.0 146.40.202.1 1

Local Area Connection is the name of the adapter you want to modify. In single NIC systems it is normally called Local Area Connection.
146.40.202.222 is the IP address you want to set.
255.255.255.0 is the subnet mask.
146.40.202.1 is the gateway.
1 is the gateway metric. You can leave this as 1 for almost all cases.

If you want to enable DHCP you can run:
netsh interface ip set address name="Local Area Connection" dhcp

There are two commands for DNS since administrators typically configure a primary and secondary DNS server.
For the primary DNS run:
netsh interface ip set dns name="Local Area Connection" static 146.40.202.9

For the secondary run:
netsh interface ip add dns name="Local Area Connection" 146.40.203.9 index=2

If you want to configure the computer to use DNS from DHCP run:
netsh interface ip set dnsservers name="Local Area Connection" source=dhcp

When you are finished with all of your IP and DNS changes run ipconfig -all to review the new settings.

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Enable Telnet with only one command

Enable Telnet with only one command... Starting with Windows Vista, Windows 7 and ....., Microsoft no longer includes the telnet command installed by default. It is still available but must be installed or enabled by the user. The normal way to enabled additional features is through the “Turn Windows features on or off” window found in Control Panel. This accomplishes the task but can be annoying when you are working in Command Prompt and need to use the telnet command right away.
Instead of going to Control Panel, there is a better way. At an administrative level command prompt, simply run:

dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:TelnetClient

Telnet will be available immediately after the dism command has completed running.

 

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Solving the Problem

       Many device or network problems are straightforward to resolve, but others yield misleading symptoms. If one solution does not work, continue with another.
A solution often involves:

• Upgrading software or hardware (for example, upgrading to a new version of agent software or installing Gigabit Ethernet devices)
• Balancing your network load by analyzing:
  • What users communicate with which servers
  • What the user traffic levels are in different segments

Based on these findings, you can decide how to redistribute network traffic.

• Adding segments to your LAN (for example, adding a new switch where utilization is continually high)
• Replacing faulty equipment (for example, replacing a module that has port problems or replacing a network card that has a faulty jabber protection mechanism)

To help solve problems, have available:

• Spare hardware equipment (such as modules and power supplies), especially for your critical devices
• A recent backup of your device configurations to reload if flash memory gets corrupted (which can sometimes happen due to a power outage)

Why do we investigate incidents the key purpose of an investigation should be

     - to preven a future recurrence of the incident

     - determine root cause to prevent similar losses at the same or another location

     - satisfy legal & company requirements and determine the company's liability

     - benefit from lessons learned which may result in improved safety and operation

     - inform employees by keep employees informed about the event and follow up action

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Identifying and Testing the Cause of the Problem

      After you develop a theory about the cause of the problem, test your theory. The test must conclusively prove or disprove your theory.

Two general rules of troubleshooting are:

• If you cannot reproduce a problem, then no problem exists unless it happens again on its own.
• If the problem is intermittent and you cannot replicate it, you can configure your network management software to catch the event in progress.

      For example, with"LANsentry Manager", you can set alarms and automatic packet capture filters to monitor your network and inform you when the problem occurs again. See"Configuring Transcend NCS" for more information.

      Although network management tools can provide a great deal of information about problems and their general location, you may still need to swap equipment or replace components of your network until you locate the exact trouble spot.

      After you test your theory, either fix the problem as described in"Solving the Problem" or develop another theory.

Sample Problem Analysis
       This section illustrates the analysis phase of a typical troubleshooting incident. On your network, a user cannot access the mail server. You need to establish two areas of information:

• What you know - In this case, the user's workstation cannot communicate with the mail server.
• What you donot know and need to test-
• Can the workstation communicate with the network at all, or is the problem limited to communication with the server? Test by sending a"Ping" or by connecting to other devices.
• Is the workstation the only device that is unable to communicate with the server, or do other workstations have the same problem? Test connectivity at other workstations.
• If other workstations cannot communicate with the server, can they communicate with other network devices? Again, test the connectivity.

The analysis process follows these steps:

1. Can the workstation communicate with any other device on the subnetwork?• Ifno, then go to step 2.
   • Ifyes, determine if only the server is unreachable.
   • If only the server cannot be reached, this suggests a server problem. Confirm by doing step 2.
   • If other devices cannot be reached, this suggests a connectivity problem in the network. Confirm by doing step 3.
2. Can other workstations communicate with the server?
   • Ifno, then most likely it is a server problem. Go to step 3.
   • Ifyes, then the problem is that the workstation is not communicating with the subnetwork. (This situation can be caused by workstation issues or a network issue with that specific station.)
3. Can other workstations communicate with other network devices?• Ifno, then the problem is likely a network problem.
   • Ifyes, the problem is likely a server problem.

When you determine whether the problem is with the server, subnetwork, or workstation, you can further analyze the problem, as follows:

• For a problem with the server - Examine whether the server is running, if it is properly connected to the network, and if it is configured appropriately.
• For a problem with the subnetwork - Examine any device on the path between the users and the server.
• For a problem with the workstation - Examine whether the workstation can access other network resources and if it is configured to communicate with that particular server.

Equipment for TestingTo help identify and test the cause of problems, have available:

• A laptop computer that is loaded with a terminal emulator, TCP/IP stack, TFTP server, CD-ROM drive (to read the online documentation), and some key network management applications, such as LANsentry Manager. With the laptop computer, you can plug into any subnetwork to gather and analyze data about the segment.
• A spare managed hub to swap for any hub that does not have management. Swapping in a managed hub allows you to quickly spot which port is generating the errors.
• A single port probe to insert in the network if you are having a problem where you do not have management capability.
• Console cables for each type of connector, labeled and stored in a secure place.

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Understanding the Problem

      Networks are designed to move data from a transmitting device to a receiving device. When communication becomes problematic, you must determine why data are not traveling as expected and then find a solution. The two most common causes for data not moving reliably from source to destination are:

• The physical connection breaks (that is, a cable is unplugged or broken).
• A network device is not working properly and cannot send or receive some or all data.

       Network management software can easily locate and report a physical connection break (layer 1 problem). It is more difficult to determine why a network device is not working as expected, which is often related to a layer 2 or a layer 3 problem.

To determine why a network device is not working properly, look first for:

•  Valid service - Is the device configured properly for the type of service it is supposed to provide? For example, has Quality of Service (QoS), which is the definition of the transmission parameters, been established?
• Restricted access - Is an end station supposed to be able to connect with a specific device or is that connection restricted? For example, is a firewall set up that prevents that device from accessing certain network resources?
• Correct configuration - Is there a misconfiguration of IP address, subnet mask, gateway, or broadcast address? Network problems are commonly caused by misconfiguration of newly connected or configured devices.

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Recognizing Symptoms

       The first step to resolving any problem is to identify and interpret the symptoms."Recognizing Symptoms" The first step to resolving any problem is to identify and interpret the symptoms. You may discover network problems in several ways. Users may complain that the network seems slow or that they cannot connect to a server. You may pass your network management station and notice that a node icon is red. Your beeper may go off and display the message:WAN connection down.

User Comments
       Although you can often solve networking problems before users notice a change in their environment, you invariably get feedback from your users about how the network is running, such as:

• They cannot print.
• They cannot access the application server.
• It takes them much longer to copy files across the network than it usually does.
• They cannot log on to a remote server.
• When they send e-mail to another site, they get a routing error message.
• Their system freezes whenever they try to Telnet.

Network Management Software Alerts
      Network management software, as described in"Your Network Troubleshooting Toolbox", can alert you to areas of your network that need attention. For example:

• The application displays red (Warning) icons.
• Your weekly Top-N utilization report (which indicates the 10 ports with the highest utilization rates) shows that one port is experiencing much higher utilization levels than normal.
• You receive an e-mail message from your network management station that the threshold for broadcast and multicast packets has been exceeded.

       These signs usually provide additional information about the problem, allowing you to focus on the right area.

Analyzing Symptoms

      When a symptom occurs, ask yourself these types of questions to narrow the location of the problem and to get more data for analysis:

• To what degree is the network not acting normally (for example, does it now take one minute to perform a task that normally takes five seconds)?
• On what subnetwork is the user located?
• Is the user trying to reach a server, end station, or printer on the same subnetwork or on a different subnetwork?
• Are many users complaining that the network is operating slowly or that a specific network application is operating slowly?
• Are many users reporting network logon failures?
• Are the problems intermittent? For example, some files may print with no problems, while other printing attempts generate error messages, make users lose their connections, and cause systems to freeze. " You may discover network problems in several ways. Users may complain that the network seems slow or that they cannot connect to a server. You may pass your network management station and notice that a node icon is red. Your beeper may go off and display the message:WAN connection down.

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Troubleshooting Strategy

How do you know when you are having a network problem? The answer to this question depends on your site's network configuration and on your network's normal behavior. See"Knowing Your Network" for more information.
If you notice changes on your network, ask the following questions:

• Is the change expected or unusual?
• Has this event ever occurred before?
• Does the change involve a device or network path for which you already have a backup solution in place?
• Does the change interfere with vital network operations?
• Does the change affect one or many devices or network paths?

       After you have an idea of how the change is affecting your network, you can categorize it as critical or noncritical. Both of these categories need resolution (except for changes that are one-time occurrences); the difference between the categories is the time that you have to fix the problem.

       By using a strategy for network troubleshooting, you can approach a problem methodically and resolve it with minimal disruption to network users. It is also important to have an accurate and detailed map of your current network environment. Beyond that, a good approach to problem resolution is:

• Understanding the Problem
• Recognizing Symptoms
• Identifying and Testing the Cause of the Problem
• Solving the Problem

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Best Practices for Change Management Process

This is to provide Best Practices for Change Management Process. Change requests for Mission Critical or Significant applications, systems that contain or access High Integrity or Very High Integrity data, systems that contain or access Classified or Confidential-Restricted Access information, and infrastructure components that support these applications and systems must be documented via a Reporting Unit approved change request form. That change request form requires approval by the Information Steward or Delegate. The change request form must, at a minimum, contain the following information: 

• Who is initiating the change 
• Who is responsible for implementing the change 
• Who is responsible for the approval 
• Business justification for the change 
• Nature of defect (if applicable) 
• Testing required and who is responsible for the testing 
• Back-out procedures 
• Systems impacted 
• User contact

Applies to

• Information Steward :  approver
• Systems Administrator : logger
• Developer : programmer
• Publisher : publish to production environment
• Users :  User Acceptance testing
• IP Coordinator :  communicates the process to regional/local IP communities

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How To Prioritization for Incidents

What is a incident?An Incident is a system bug or error, user question, or routine administration request.
Defect Categories Defined –

• High      Incident of highest relative urgency. Essential Suite may be severely impacted and end-users require immediate assistance. The situation meets one or more of the following criteria:
        1. Any issue that significantly increases the likelihood of a safety or environmental incident occurring and/or the consequence of that potential event
        2. A Mission Critical business process is impacted and no workaround exists.
        3. Impacts 100 users or more.
        4. Work is totally stopped.
        5. System is down completely.

• Medium
     Significant problem for the end-user, may result in financial or other serious impact for Essential Suite. Situation may become of high priority if not quickly addressed. The situation is not high, but meets one or more of the following criteria:
      1. A significant business process is impacted but a workaround exists.
      2. Impacts 50 to 99 users.
      3. Significant loss of work capacity, but can get some work done.

Incident Classification
We classify incidents based on the scenarios defined below:

• High – System down related issues
• Medium – User has classified it as moderate priority based on criteria, access related issue, etc.
• Low – Updating records in system, Scheduling report, Data Mining, Close action items issue, Troubleshooting issues

Times:	High	Medium	Low
Initial Response Time	<=  2 Hours	<= 24 Hours	<=  2 Business Days
Restoration Time for an incident	<= 24 Hours	<=  2 Business Days	<=  5 Business Days

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