Welcome to Robert J. Shimonski's Section

Robert J. Shimonski's Latest Contributions

Pre-Installation Steps for Installing Windows Server 2008

Date - Apr 08, 2008

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows Server 2008

The fundamental steps that should be taken to install Windows Server 2008 on an enterprise class server.

Active Directory Troubleshooting Part 1

Date - Dec 22, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Network Troubleshooting

In this three part series we will cover ways to monitor and troubleshoot common problems with Active Directory. Although listing ways to troubleshoot Active Directory could easily span into a 3 volume book set, we will cover the most common issues and solutions here within these articles. Whether you are already a pro, or just a beginner – these tips should serve you well. In Part 1 of this article series we will cover replication traffic and how to monitor and troubleshoot it with tips and tools.

Using Tracert

Date - Sep 29, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Network Troubleshooting

Tracert (also known as traceroute) is a Windows based tool that allows you to help test your network infrastructure. In this article we will look at how to use tracert while trying to troubleshoot real world problems. This will help to reinforce the tool's usefulness and show you ways in which to use it when working on your own networks.

File System Planning for Active Directory 101

Date - Sep 20, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003

When you are going to install Active Directory in an organization, it’s always wise to consider the base operating system install and to verify that a few important configurations are done in advance. One of the most important being the planning of the local server file system. Although commonly not overlooked, it is not commonly understood why it’s so important to plan for it. In this article we will cover how to verify your file system configuration and what to do if you need to convert the file system for the Active Directory installation.

Window Server 2003 R2, what’s new with Active Directory?

Date - Sep 06, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003

In this article we will look at a few new things that are coming out in Active Directory with Windows Server 2003 R2. Some of the new features included are Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) which allows you to securely extend Active Directory over the public Internet when trying to do business with other businesses, partners, clients and customers. This article covers some of the new features available with this new directory services addition.

Using Pathping

Date - Aug 23, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Network Troubleshooting

One of my favorite Windows tools is pathping. Pathping is a Windows based command-line tool used to provide information about the path data takes to its intended destination, network latency and network loss at intermediate hops between a source and destination. We will cover what latency is as well as what hops are and so on within this article. We will also look at how to use pathping while trying to troubleshoot real world problems. This will help to reinforce the tool's usefulness and show you ways in which to use it when working on your own production networks.

Determining the Functional Level in Windows Server 2003

Date - Aug 08, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003

In this article we will cover how to find out what your domain functional level is as well as why it’s important to understand. Whenever you deploy Windows Server 2003 in your production environment, you should always consider high level design items such as what your functional level is. This will determine what features you have available to you when you use Active Directory and Windows Server 2003. This article covers how to determine the level and how to change it if needed.

Internet Explorer is corrupted… how do I fix it?

Date - Jul 19, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / General Networking

Very rarely do we ever get our systems beat up so badly that we have to perform surgery on them... sometimes, you feel like you need to reinstall the whole system, or sometimes you wish you didn’t have to – and could just repair it, as is, where it sits. Well, before you do anything rash, try this handy step by step article and script to re-register your Internet Explorer and hopefully ‘clean’ it of problems. Let’s see what two quick tips can do to spare you from possible disaster.

Introduction to the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Part 1

Date - May 31, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Network Protocols

In this two part article we will look at how to use SNMP, the Simple Network Management Protocol, and install the service on Windows Server 2003. We will cover the essentials of the SNMP protocol, how it is used and how to install it and configure it to work within a Community.

Router Troubleshooting Primer

Date - May 19, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / General Networking

In this article we will take a look at the proper steps to troubleshooting routing problems.

How to: Disable Error Reporting on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

Date - May 17, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003

In this article we will cover the basic steps on how to remove error reporting features on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 systems. Error reporting is when your system attempts to connect to Microsoft’s website to send a report of the problem you are experiencing in hopes to help fix it by documenting it. You may have systems where you want to turn off this functionality for reasons of annoyance or functionality. This article shows you step by step how to turn off this feature.

Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts

Date - May 05, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In today’s high speed, fast paced IT environment, it’s important to be able to work quickly, and efficiently. To do this, you should learn how to use both the keyboard and the mouse simultaneously to do many tasks, such as ‘finding a computer on your network’ all the way to X with nothing but a quick and simple keystroke. This article’s learning exercises not only build up speed, and help you be efficient and more productive, but will also help you take the pressure off working with one hand, now you can work with two.

Gaining Speed: Empty Prefetch on your XP System

Date - Apr 28, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

A little known tweak that can help you gain some performance on your XP Professional (and Windows Server 2003) related systems is to periodically empty the prefetch folder. The prefetch folder is used to help speed up the loading of programs; XP will load programs it thinks you need before you ask for them yourself.

Planning your Server Farm (Part 2)

Date - Apr 26, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / General Networking

Welcome to part two of how to plan your server farm and other tips to consider when building Windows Server 2003 systems to serve your network users. Deploying a server can be a chore, especially when it comes to planning. There are many things to consider. In this article we will look at how to verify your plan, and then move on to OS software checks and updating, as well as reviewing power requirements.

Planning your Server Farm (Part 1)

Date - Apr 14, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / General Networking

In this series of articles, we will cover all that you will need to consider when planning to deploy a new server farm. A server farm is just lingo used to describe a grouping of servers that you use within you Local Area Network (LAN), usually tied to a high speed backbone if designed properly. In this article set we will look at considerations when deploying a server farm. These tips and tricks will no doubt help you if you are unfamiliar with planning a design, ordering such equipment and deploying it.

Deploy Windows Server 2003: Considerations for Planning Network Bandwidth

Date - Feb 17, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003

Site links are a critical part of building Networked Windows Networks – How do Domain Controllers speak to each other without having synchronization problems? Network bandwidth being over utilized can play havoc with your network, at the same time affecting your Windows Server 2003 systems by creating errors in your logs seen in the Directory Services Log in the Event Viewer on our Domain Controller (DC). In this article we discuss things to consider when planning and designing site links.

Mastering the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit

Date - Feb 08, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003

The Windows 2003 Resource Kit is by far the most underutilized arsenal I have seen in my work as a Manager. I see many Administrators doing tasks or not having solutions for tasks that are totally provided with this toolkit. In the next series of articles I present, we shall cover the Windows 2003 Resource kit 'In Depth'. This article starts the series by fundamentally covering where to get the software, the basic use of the resource kit, online resources and file set.

Microsoft Speech Server and Speech Technologies … What's all the talk about?

Date - Feb 03, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003

Revolutionizing the Speech Industry this year and beyond will be Microsoft and the release of its Speech Technologies. Microsoft, already underway creating API’s, .NET functionality and so on, is working hard to take advantage of a market mired with proprietary, clunky and expensive technologies. Windowsnetworking.com will become the authority on Speech Services this year as well. This article covers Microsoft ‘Speech’ Services and Speech Technologies to be introduced this year.

How to Optimize Network Connections in Windows XP

Date - Jan 20, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will cover how to optimize network connections on your Windows XP system. The optimizing of such connections lead to enhanced performance and security and are often overlooked. This article quickly shows you how to optimize and harden your network connections efficiently and effectively.

How to ''Quickly'' Test DNS Resolution

Date - Jan 05, 2005

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will cover how you can quickly test if you have resolution via a name server or not. Many times this comes up, a DNS server is down; client loses IP connectivity and can''t resolve DNS, DNS cache poisoning, the list goes on. DNS problems are common. Using this handy guide you can quickly see how you can test to see if your system is ''ok'' and resolving names to IPs properly.

Planning for High Availability: Disaster Recovery Planning

Date - Dec 16, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / General Networking

In this article, we will discuss what every Microsoft Windows Administrator and Engineer should think about when trying to manage their environments in the scope of planning for Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity. In this article we will cover many of the details administrators and engineers need to know about planning Disaster Recovery (DRP) for Windows Systems, as well as for their networks in general.

Tweaking XP: Windows File Protection and SP2

Date - Dec 14, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will cover a quick hack to the Windows XP Registry. As changes are made to your system from installing applications and other software, the Window File Protection (WFP) system works to keep XP running and not introduce anything that may cause the system to become unstable, a curse of older Windows based operating systems. Windows File Protection is an important tool, with it; you can run an executable (sfc.exe) that will start a process to analyze your system but other times, you will want to disable it.

Using Remote Desktop with Windows XP Professional

Date - Dec 07, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will cover the use of Remote Desktop, a tool that once mastered can help you to connect over the network to remote servers to perform maintenance or to launch tests from. This article will cover the basic setup and use of it.

Windows XP Registry Backup 101

Date - Dec 02, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will cover the Windows XP Registry, its function importance and most importantly, how to apply a basic level of disaster prevention to your system in case a problem does occur. Backing up the Registry in Windows XP is simple, painless and can save you a headache when you need that backup.

Building and Using a Windows XP Boot Disk

Date - Nov 30, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will learn how to make a boot disk for a Windows XP system. A boot disk can start the operating system on a computer running Windows XP if it will not boot properly and the damage is suspected to be in the files that start Windows.

How to Disable Media Sense for TCP/IP in Windows XP

Date - Nov 04, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will cover how to disable ‘Media Sense’ for TCP/IP based connections on a Windows XP professional system. We will also cover why this may be beneficial to you in practical use.

Using Netsh (Part 1)

Date - Oct 28, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will cover the fundamental uses of Netsh, a Windows based command line tool that if you master, can be very helpful in quickly getting your network setting changed from the command line without having to navigate the GUI for all your setting changes. The Netsh tool once mastered can make life much easier for you and your administration of systems on your network or at home. In this article we will also look at how to create files to simplify changes further.

How to install the Microsoft Loopback adapter in Windows XP

Date - Oct 19, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

The Microsoft Loopback adapter is a testing tool for a virtual network environment where network access is not available; this may come in very handy when you need to verify connectivity or test. Those of you with Router and Switch skills may already be familiar with the use of loopback interfaces. In this article we will cover the fundamentals of installing a loopback adapter on your Windows XP system, cover why this would be done and how you can use it.

How to Use the SPCheck Tool in Windows XP

Date - Oct 14, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows XP

In this article we will cover the use of the Windows XP support tool called SPCheck. This is a handy tool that can be quickly used to assess the service pack level of installed components on a file by file basis. In this article we will look at how to acquire this tool, how it install it as well as how to use it and read the reports it produces.

Planning for High Availability: Attempt to Eliminate Downtime

Date - Aug 18, 2004

Section - Articles & Tutorials / General Networking

To ensure that systems are available for requests when called upon, you have to plan for the failure of those same resources that are being requested. Hard drives have MTBF (mean time between failure), viruses go undetected, name it… disaster can happen. The only way to keep systems ‘available’ to those who request them is to deploy those systems in a manner that will keep them available to those requests.