Steve Schofield Weblog

IIS Community Newsletter-March 2013 newsletter

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:46:29 GMT

The latest edition of IIS newsletter is available. Lots of great links and information!

http://www.iisnewsletter.com/archive/march2013.html

Thank you,

Steve Schofield
ASP.NET/IIS MVP
http://www.iislogs.com/steveschofield

Rick Barber
http://rick.barberfamilyonline.com

Evaluate IISLogs

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 01:38:34 GMT

Download IISLogs 30-day evaluation (This is a full version trial.)

Three versions to choose from (1 Stand-Alone EXE , 1 - Windows Service Versions).

Stand-Alone EXE 4.0 version

Windows Service 4.0 version

Stand-Alone EXE 2.0 version

Windows Service 2.0 version

IIS Log Help links

Are you runing UAC (User Account Control?) Check out these articles.
Part 1 - 1,2,3 go configure - Install guide - Article
Part 2 - 1,2,3 go configure - Post Install Configuration guide we use, gets you up and going in minutes - Article
Part 1 - 1,2,3 Go configure - Download / Installation - Video
Part 2 - 1,2,3 Go configure - Configuration - Video
IISLogs online help version
IISLogs compiled help file (downloadable)

Windows Service Version Guide

When the program starts, you'll be prompted for the Configuration File, This will be used for either Windows Service version or Stand-alone EXE version Select IISLogsSVC.exe.config (Windows Service Version)

http://www.iislogs.com/help/Getting_Started/WindowsService/

Stand-Alone EXE Guide

When the program starts, you'll be prompted for the Configuration File, This will be used for either Windows Service version or Stand-alone EXE version Select IISLogs.exe.config (Stand-Alone EXE version)

http://www.iislogs.com/help/Getting_Started/Standalone/

Purchase information

How do I obtain a full version license of IISLogs?

After you have performed an evaluation of IISLogs. We recommend testing IISLogs in a non-production environment. Visit our purchase page, select the appropriate license pack, walk through the purchase steps.

IISLogs support will be notified of the purchase. We'll respond to the notification with a "Welcome Aboard" message and full version license key. You'll deploy the license file to your server(s). No activation or reinstall required.

Support

How to Contact Support

IIS Logs FAQ

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 00:28:28 GMT

What is IISLogs?

IISLogs helps administrators and developers easily manage log files created by Internet Information Server 5.0,6.0 and 7.0/7.5/8.0. The component will provide configurable options compressing files using ZIP, and/or just deleting files after a configurable setting based on time. One of the benefits will help maintain and conserve precious disk space on servers. The architecture of IISLogs is based on file extension. In addition to IIS logs, our component can help manage many 3rd party application logs too.

How do I obtain a full version license of IISLogs?

After you have performed an evaluation of IISLogs. Visit our purchase page, select the appropiate license pack, walk through the purchase steps. IISLogs support will be notified of the purchase. We'll respond to the notification with a "Welcome Aboard" message and full version license key. You'll deploy the license file to your server(s). No activation or reinstall required.

How do I get a copy of the IISLogs component?

Visit evalution webpage

What platforms will IISLogs run on?

Windows XP Professional/Vista, Windows 2000/2003/2008/2008r2/2012

What version of .NET Framework needed to run?

.Net Framework 2.0, 4.0

What will this component do to the logfiles?

Based on a configurable time setting, it will zip and/or delete files Will IISLogs monitor multiple directories? Yes, it can monitor multiple directories or a single directory, the preference is yours.

Can I do this same option with VBScript, pkzip or winzip?

Yes

How old does a file need to be before IISLogs will process it?

Regardless of what feature you are using, IISLogs handles files 1 hour or older. For example, if the file last writetime was 12:00:00 AM (Midnight), you could set IISLogs to process the file at 1:01 AM. We encourage everyone testing IISLogs to install on a non-production system and learn what configuration works best. Always make a backup copy of log files before testing IISLogs or other 3rd party products.

How much will IISLogs cost?

IISLogs is priced per machine. Enterprise, educational and volume licensing also available (contact info@iislogs.com for more details). Pricing is the same for Stand-Alone EXE or Windows Service Version.
Client here to purchase

Will IISLogs component run as a Windows Service or a stand-alone EXE?

There are versions (A stand-alone EXE and a Windows Service) - both of these are full versions.

Will IISLogs component require running as an Administrator credentials?

This still has to be worked out for configuration, the default setting is targeted NOT to require running as an Administrator. It will require permissions to to the directories that Store Internet Information server and related log files.

Will IISLogs record logging information to central SQL Server?

This is being considered, all current logging information is stored in a configurable log directory located on the local machine. Future enhancements will consider this option. The IISLogs internal log files are delimited so you could import using a tool like Excel or Access.

What are the main *features* of IISLogs?

There are many options to configure IISLogs, each option provides their own configurable settings to provide flexibility. The first option will allow for monitoring one or more specific directories (c:\wwwLogs\w3svc1\mySite). An additional option will monitor entire directory structures. Either option will ZIP and/or Delete files based on configured settings. IISLogs can be setup to JUST ZIP files and/or delete files in the same directory structure. What we mean by directory structures? This is simple, by default, Internet Information Server puts web log files in %SystemRoot%\System32\Logfiles directory with several sub-directories below. There could be sub-directories for FTP, SMTP and WWW services; they might be named such as (MSFTPSVC1, SMTPSVC1, W3SVC1, W3SVC2 etc.). This option provides to monitor all of these sub-directories. If your running many websites on the same server, you might have configured IIS to store these log files in a different directory (IE D:\wwwlogs). IISLogs can monitor custom directory structures also.

The second feature is to monitor the directories associated with the Microsoft SMTP Service. If your web applications use this functionality, these directories fill up with un-needed files. This feature is simple; it deletes files after a certain configurable date. This SMTP feature is effective in helping keep those directories free of 1000’s of bad emails and old files.

The third feature is similar to the SMTP option; it will monitor specific directories and delete files based on its own configured setting. Why does IISLogs have this option when it can be setup in the first option? First of all, this option monitors just single directories not entire directory structures like the first option does. There are occasions where certain directories need to have different retention periods that other directory structures. This option provides for this very situation. File Naming Options allows for someone to control what the ZIP file is named. This is available in both the Stand-Alone and Windows Service version. Per Directory (Available in IISLogs 2.).

Does IISLogs read the IIS metabase to get any IIS settings?

Yes, using the IISLogsGUI, part of the IISLogs suite, has a feature called EasyConfig that will read the metabase and automatically configure the required specific Directories.

Can I turn off detail logging?

Yes, this will reduce the need to receive a daily email on what happened on that particular machine. This is only recommended if you want IISLogs to run and not be notified about what is happening on the machine.

Will IISLogs run if I *JUST* copy the directory to another server w/o first running the setup.exe?

Yes, you can just copy the directory to another server without running the setup.exe as long as a few things are done. IISLogs is designed to be very easy to distribute and setup on many computers w/o manually installing on every machine. 1 - The server getting the files copied to is setup the same or similiar. the biggest thing is where the Log files are stored. From experience, shops with a lot of web servers typically store their web logs files in a central directory (such as D:\Logfiles or D:\wwwlogs). 2 - Below the InstallDirOfIISLogs\logs\PolicyAgreements directory is copied too. This is a security mechanism built into IISLogs to insure the administrator has thought through the configuration. IISLogs won't ZIP or Delete files w/o these files being present. 3 - The IISLogs.exe.config has the appropriate log file paths on the target server. If you have further questions how to automate distribution of IISLogs w/o having to manually install on every machine, please contact info@iislogs.com

Can I edit the IISLogs.exe.config using a generic text editor

Yes except for the MailUID and and MailPWD values which ONLY can be done through IISLogsGUI. These values are stored in a encrypted format.

How do I unzip or uncompress several zip files so I can re-run my stats program like Deep Matrix or Web Trends?

Use the built-in Windows 2003/XP to highlight and compress all ZIP files residing in the log file directories. If your using Windows 2000, you can use WINRAR or WINZIP to highlight and unzip/uncompress the files.

When configuring the specific options for IISLogs, will the MonitoredSpecificDirectories directories be used when trying to use the DeleteOnlySpecificDirectories?

No, these features are complete separate configuration options, each Feature (MonitoredEntireDirectories, MonitoredSpecificDirectories) use one set duration parameters, http://iislogs.com/help/Getting_Started/configuration_file.htm#Standard_Configuration_Options

SMTP feature has its own set of configuration options DeleteOnlySpecificDirectories has its own set of config options. What is the difference between The Delete Feature and Delete ONLY Specific Directories feature?

This can be confusing at first but it was done with the intention to provide flexibility. The Delete Feature is part of the entire ZIP Process. This process allows someone the flexibility to ZIP files X number of days old and then after Y number of days delete files that are zipped. Imagine log files that are older than 7 days would be zipped, after 180 days old delete these zipped files. This is what the Delete feature does, its just part of the entire ZIP file process. You don't have to delete files but the option is available. The Delete ONLY Directories feature is separate and intended for those who JUST want to have the option of deleting files w/o worrying about ZIP process.

On the “Per Directory” what is the difference between the "Recursive" and "Include subdirectories".

Recursive means it will start at a particular folder, such as c:\wwwlogs and handle all sub-folders below the directory specified. It 'recursively' goes through all sub-directories and processes files based on rules specified. When recursive is selected, the 'root' folder isn't processed. The '“Include subdirectories”' options will process files in the 'root' folder specified, such as c:\wwwlogs.

Can you clarify how I should use 'unknown extensions'.

We have an internal function that checks to ensure the file type isn't a known Operating system type file. We have tried to document most known file types and not allow IISLogs to process these files. For example, if you have a file with a datetime extension or no file extension, the 'unknown extensions' would help process these types of files. We recommend you carefully evaluate in a test environment before you enable this feature. Also, ensure you have backups to ensure if a file is processed, you can restore it.

Best regards,

Steve Schofield
Windows Server MVP - IIS
http://weblogs.asp.net/steveschofield

http://www.IISLogs.com
Log archival solution.
Install, Configure, Forget

Configuring IISLogs 2.0 to work with UAC (User Account Control)

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:40:43 GMT

Looking for IISLogs 4.0 UAC article?

Configuring IISLogs 2.0 to work with UAC (User Account Control)

Download Registry Files

This article covers how to use IISLogs 2.0 while UAC (UAC Account Control) is enabled. UAC was introduced with Vista and Windows Server 2008. From questions we've seen from our clients, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 appears to be implementing UAC more often. For more information about UAC, click here.

IISLogsEXE Stand-Alone EXE and Service uses two configuration files, IISLogsEXE.exe.config, IISLogsSVC.exe.config. A third file called SampleZipPerDirectory.xml stores Per Directory information. IISLogsGUI is used strictly to manage these files. When you first install IISLogs, then launch IISLogsGUI, a feature called "QuickConfig" checks for a registry entry in HKLM\Software\IISLogs. If the registry key is not present, our intention is to present a Quick Config" when first configuring IISLogs. Quick Config reads the local IIS Metabase (The IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility role service is required to be installed), which retrieves a list of sites that can be managed. The "Quick Config" wizard walks through common configuration items. After "Quick Config" is complete, IISLogsGUI writes to the registry IISLogs is installed. QuickConfig can be used in future instances within IISLogsGUI, but won't be presented when IISLogsGUI is used. UAC (user account control) prevents access reading or writing to the registry unless using elevated permissions. If you are trying to configure IISLogs using the default UAC, you'll get some unexpected behavior including errors. I've tried to highlight the reason why along with screenshots. These symptoms and errors occur right after installing either IISLogsEXE or IISLogsSVC and running IISLogsGUI,

Assuming you have websites configured on your server, the QuickConfig wizard will not display any sites, here is a screen shot. This is because IISLogsGUI can't read the metabase. To get by this issue, click cancel twice to get IISLogsGUI to display.

After you have clicked cancel twice, IISLogsGUI will come up. When you try to configure any settings, an error will be displayed. There is a few things happening, 1) Access to Write to configuration files mentioned above is denied 2) IISLogsGUI can't write to the "Logs" folder under InstallFolder\IISLogsSVC2 or InstallFolder\IISLogsEXE2.

At this point, IISLogs is not in a very usable state. Many features such as "Auto-Add" will not function because access to metabase is denied. Other functionality will be restricted as well.

Here are a few options. Before proceeding with any of the options listed, we strongly recommend you perform this in a non-production to determine the best settings. This includes performing a backup of your registry. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

1) Manually add the IISLogs registry entry to let IISLogsGUI know it's installed. This will prevent the QuickConfig from coming up.

Create a file named IISLogsInstalled.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\IISLOGS]
"Installed"="True"

2) Grant the Users local group 'modify' NTFS permissions on the InstallFolder\IISLogsSVC2 or InstallFolder\IISLogsEXE2 folder and all subfolders. You will also need to grant Users 'modify' access on all folders you want IISLogs to process, including log folders. By Default, IISLogs only grants Administrators and SYSTEM full control. This would require adding USERS group to log files can be processed. The reason is because IISLogs would run as a "normal" user needing permissions.

3) Our recommended approach is to add IISLogs processes to the AppCompatFlags registry key. This allows programs to run under Administrator Privileges. The only thing added to the system is multiple registry keys. This can be either done manually or using Group Policy.

For IISLogs 2.0 IISLogs StandAlone Exe

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers]
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\IISLogsEXE2\\IISLogsGUI.exe"="RUNASADMIN"
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\IISLogsEXE2\\IISLogsEXE.exe"="RUNASADMIN"

For IISLogs 2.0 Service edition

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers]
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\IISLogsSVC2\\IISLogsSVC.exe"="RUNASADMIN"
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\IISLogsSVC2\\IISLogsGUI.exe"="RUNASADMIN"

4) You can disable UAC on the system all together. Depending on your company policies, if UAC is disable IISLogs 2.0 will act as normal.

If you have any further questions, errors that are occurring regarding UAC. Please contact us at info@iislogs.com

Thank you,

Steve Schofield
Windows Server MVP - IIS
http://www.iislogs.com/steveschofield

http://www.IISLogs.com
Log Archival Solution.
Install, Configure, Forget

Configuring IISLogs 4.0 to work with UAC (User Account Control)

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:18:37 GMT

Configuring IISLogs 4.0 to work with UAC (User Account Control)

Download IISLogs 4.0 Registry files

This article covers how to use IISLogs 4.0 while UAC (UAC Account Control) is enabled. UAC provides additional security. IISlogs 4.0 will work when one of the following options is implemented. For more information about UAC, click here.

IISLogsEXE Stand-Alone EXE uses a configuration file called IISLogsEXE.exe.config, IISLogsSVC Windows Service uses IISLogsSVC.exe.config. Both programs use a file called IISLogspPerDirectory.xml, which stores Per Directory information. IISLogsGUI is used to strictly manage these files. When you first install IISLogs, then launch IISLogsGUI, a feature called "QuickConfig" checks for a file called QuickWizardComplete.txt located InstallDir\Logs\QS\. Our intention is to present a Quick Config when first configuring IISLogs. Quick Config reads the local IIS Metabase (Requires the IIS 6 Metabase Compatiblity Role Service), which retrieves a list of sites that can be managed. The "Quick Config" wizard walks through common configuration items. After "Quick Config" is complete, IISLogsGUI writes to the QuickWizardComplete.txt file. QuickConfig can be used in future instances within IISLogsGUI, but won't be presented when IISLogsGUI is used.

UAC (user account control) prevents access reading or writing to the registry unless using elevated permissions. If you are trying to configure IISLogs using the default UAC, you'll get some unexpected behavior including errors. I've tried to highlight the reason why along with screenshots. These symptoms and errors occur right after installing either IISLogsEXE or IISLogsSVC and running IISLogsGUI.

At this point, IISLogs is not in a very usable state. Many features such as "Auto-Add" will not function because access to Metabase is denied. Other functionality will be restricted as well.

Here are a few options. Before proceeding with any of the options listed, we strongly recommend you perform this in a non-production to determine the best settings.

Add to Registry

1) Our recommended approach is add IISLogs processes to the AppCompatFlags registry key. This allows programs to run under Administrator Privileges. The only thing added to the system is multiple registry keys. This can be either done manually or using Group Policy. We’ve included the registry entries that need to be added. We’ve provide sample registry files within the setup files when IISLogs is downloaded. Please view the install location before adding to your machine.

For IISLogs 4.0 IISLogs StandAlone Exe

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers]
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\IISLogsEXE4\\IISLogsGUI.exe"="RUNASADMIN"
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\IISLogsEXE4\\IISLogsEXE.exe"="RUNASADMIN"

For IISLogs 4.0 Service edition

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers]
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\IISLogsSVC4\\IISLogsSVC.exe"="RUNASADMIN"
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\IISLogsSVC4\\IISLogsGUI.exe"="RUNASADMIN"

2) You can disable UAC on the system all together. Depending on your company policies, if UAC is disable IISLogs 4.0 will act as normal.

If you have any further questions, errors that are occurring regarding UAC. Please contact us at info@iislogs.com

Thank you,

Steve Schofield
Windows Server MVP - IIS
http://www.iislogs.com/steveschofield

http://www.IISLogs.com
Log Archival Solution.
Install, Configure, Forget

IISpeed is a port of Google's mod_PageSpeed designed to work with Microsoft''s IIS server software

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:38:22 GMT

This looks real interesting and I thought I’d pass along.

IISpeed is a port of Google’s mod_PageSpeed designed to work with Microsoft’s IIS server software. IIS is one of the most popular servers on the web, powering millions of web-sites, and we are excited to bring the full power of PageSpeed optimization to the Windows platform.

IISpeed works by minification and compression of HTML-code and resources, reducing the time spent while waiting for the transfer of a webpage to complete. At the same time IISpeed reduces the total number of requests, lowering server load and reducing waiting time even further. In practice, this translates to higher conversion rates, better end user experience and lowered server- and bandwidth needs.

For developers it does not matter which technology is used. Classic ASP, ASP.NET and PHP all work with IISpeed.

IISpeed was developed by We-Amp, a Dutch startup. The team at We-Amp works closely with Google on an NGINX port. All members have a strong background in web optimization. For example, in the past they also architected and implemented a proprietary port of mod_pagespeed to Apache Traffic Server.

IISpeed now has an open beta running. The software can be downloaded from www.iispeed.com.

http://googledevelopers.blogspot.nl/2013/03/siteground-iispeed-and-google-chrome.html

More information:

www.iispeed.com

www.we-amp.com

Contact:

info@we-amp.com

Orchestrator 2012 web service reference

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:41:02 GMT

Over the last couple of years, I’ve been involved in the SCCM 2007/2012 realm and automation in general. One of the other products within the System Center family is System Center Orchestrator 2012, which helps with automation. One of the things that interests me is System Center 2012 - Orchestrator Web Service reference

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh921667.aspx

I’m trying to learn more in-depth, my latest adventure is trying to make all my calls from PowerShell to the web service to perform actions within Runbooks. I hope future articles can go more in-depth.

For introduction, there is a PowerShell module hosted on CodePlex which provides a good starter module. This article isn’t meant to teach PowerShell, I download the module and put in %SystemRoot%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules in a folder called Orchestrator and rename the module to Orchestrator.psm1

Here is the code I currently use to connect and retrieve information.

Import-Module Orchestrator
$Cred = Get-Credential
$URL = http://Server:81/Orchestrator2012/Orchestrator.svc/

#Folder with the Runbook folders
$RunBookPath = "\Automation\0.0"
$Runbook = Get-OrchestratorRunbook -serviceurl $url -runbookpath $RunBookPath -credentials $Cred

Updated IISNewsletter.com

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 04:06:59 GMT

Thanks to Rick Barber, http://www.iisnewsletter.com has been updated. Previous newsletters can be viewed, bio's about Rick and myself.

The IIS Community Newsletter is a monthly email-based newsletter containing the latest information and happenings in the Internet Information Services (IIS) community. Sign up today in the box on the right!

Enjoy,

Steve Schofield
Microsoft MVP - IIS

IIS Community Newsletter December 2012 edition published

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 02:57:41 GMT

http://www.iisnewsletter.com/archive/december2012.html is available.

Enjoy

Steve Schofield
Microsoft MVP – IIS

November 2012 IIS Community Newsletter published

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 22:19:36 GMT

A little late , here is the link to the November 2012 IIS community newsletter.

http://www.iisnewsletter.com/archive/november2012.html

Enjoy,

Thank you,
Steve Schofield
Windows Server MVP - IIS
http://www.iislogs.com/steveschofield

http://www.IISLogs.com
Log archival solution
Install, Configure, Forget

Questions on Microsoft SMTP Service - visit http://www.smtp.ws
IIS Community Newsletter - visit http://www.iisnewsletter.com

Professional Microsoft IIS 8

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 22:17:40 GMT

I had the pleasure of being the technical editor for http://amzn.to/Vcwwum This book is a must have for an IIS 8 administrator. It’s chalked full of information not detailed as complete anywhere else I know of. I’d highly recommend you pickup a copy, either an e-book or paperback copy. I spent several months reviewing. The authors are MVP’s and IIS team members spent countless hours putting together such a complete resource. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did reviewing!

Enjoy,

Steve Schofield
Windows Server MVP - IIS
http://www.iislogs.com/steveschofield

http://www.IISLogs.com
Log archival solution
Install, Configure, Forget

Questions on Microsoft SMTP Service - visit http://www.smtp.ws
IIS Community Newsletter - visit http://www.iisnewsletter.com

Windows Server 2012 aka my desktop

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 01:53:56 GMT

For years, my main desktop has been a server operating system. My job involves me working with server operating systems, not client. When Microsoft decided to get rid of the start button. I had to refer back to my Windows 3.11 days and Program groups, no start button there. Since then, every other version has included the start button. I’ll admit, of all of the little things, this turned me off in the beginning. For years and many versions, Microsoft gave users a gazillion different options to customize about every other option available. Not anymore. Do I thank Apple for this?!

With the invention of Windows 8/ 2012, the start button is gone. It’s been an adjustment I’ll admit having the UI on a server OS, I’d prefer not having a touch based UI on a server, it’s unnecessary and especially if you RDP into the server, RDP isn’t touch enabled. I got over this phobia, but was an adjustment. I’ve adjusted after a few days getting all my programs pinned to the task bar, so I don’t have to view the tiles much. I installed the following apps with no issues. One thing I can’t find or haven’t look to hard is the snipping tool. I’m sure it’s there, but I haven’t found it yet.

FileZilla (I used FTP/S occasionally to servers on the web)
Windows Live Writer (blog writing software Make sure to get Essentials 2012, not 2011)
SQL Server 2012
Hyper-V
IIS 8
Office 2010
Visual Studio 2010 w/sp1 (haven’t gotten the urge to switch to VS 2012 yet)
Orchestrator 2012

I ran into an interesting thing when trying to load my first VM that was also Windows Server 2012. When it was first booting up, I would get this white dialog box, and a outline of a button, no text would display and windows would get stuck stating “Setup is starting”. After a while, nothing would happen, I would click the outline of the button and would stick on this saying. The fix appears to be I didn’t allocate enough initial memory (or the minimum required). It would have been nice to know that without guessing.

Anyway, I’m still getting used to the new setup, but adjusting. I have to give Microsoft credit on one hand to going a different direction than the industry, I just hope the new path doesn’t lead them to driving off the cliff. Windows Server 2012 is definitely worth checking out, there is a lot to learn. I thought I’d pass along my initial thoughts on my OS upgrade (aka my desktop), which is a HP PC with 6 GB of RAM, i3 (4 core) and 500 GB drive.

Hope this helps, anything else I find I’ll pass along.

Cheers,

Steve Schofield
Microsoft MVP – ASP.NET/IIS
http://www.iislogs.com/steveschofield

October IIS Community Newsletter has been published

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:04:50 GMT

Hi All,

The October IIS newsletter has been published. http://www.iisnewsletter.com/archive/october2012.html

Thank you,

Steve Schofield
Windows Server MVP - IIS
http://www.iislogs.com/steveschofield

http://www.IISLogs.com
Log archival solution
Install, Configure, Forget

Questions on Microsoft SMTP Service - visit http://www.smtp.ws
IIS Community Newsletter - visit http://www.iisnewsletter.com

System Center Orchestrator 2012 sp1 beta VHD

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 02:36:13 GMT

I’m evaluating the system center orchestrator 2012 beta 1. Here is a pre-done VHD. I wish they’d just give me the bits

System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 Beta – Orchestrator – Evaluation (VHD)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34778

This download consists of files that you extract into a single pre-configured VHD file for this System Center component. The VHD enables you to create a virtual machine to evaluate the different System Center components.

Enjoy,

Steve

Status message query for retrieving from within CM 2012

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 02:17:23 GMT

Here is a status query I use to see status messages in Configuration Manager 2012 like you do normally in SCCM 2007.

select SMS_StatusMessage.*, SMS_StatMsgInsStrings.*, SMS_StatMsgAttributes.* from SMS_StatusMessage left join SMS_StatMsgInsStrings on SMS_StatMsgInsStrings.RecordID = SMS_StatusMessage.RecordID left join SMS_StatMsgAttributes on SMS_StatMsgAttributes.RecordID = SMS_StatusMessage.RecordID where SMS_StatusMessage.MachineName = "ServerX"

Steve

Orchestrator Gold

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:44:50 GMT

The internet today is a vast amount of unorganized data although Google helps some. This reminds me of watching a TV show called “Gold Rush”. For those not familiar, it’s a group of guys who started on a journey a few years ago with no knowledge how to dig for gold. They put together some equipment, went north to Alaska and started digging. For months, they stumbled, bumbled and didn’t find much gold. They moved massive amounts of earth only to find enough gold to fill a coffee cup. I give them credit for taking the risk and at least trying it, not many people would .

Finding information on the internet is like this, there is so much information (dirt) to filter through. I’ve never been a regular user of RSS feeds although when coming up to speed on technologies, I like to join as many feeds, forums, email lists as possible. I review them periodically to pick up tips and look for ideas, and answers to any issues I might run across. It’s amazing reading other people’s issues how much you learn and for me, helps understand things better.

Thankfully with a few tools, I can find Orchestrator articles, tips and links. I found FeedReader has an offline reader as well as an Online option. I created a few search terms using their smart search option. I used Orchestrator, Orchestrator 2012, Scorch, Opalis, System Center Orchestrator, Runbook and was amazed the speed it retrieved the results to a central spot. I also use a Twitter Feed as a secondary means to finding information. Here is the search “#scorch OR #orchestrator2012 OR #Orchestrator OR #SCO2012” I use. Twitter is pretty noisy although I do pickup a GEM or two of information. I review this feed about once a week. One other GEM I found is the forums on Microsoft for Orchestrator (there are 6 individual forums) discussing various topics. Each individual forum has an RSS feed. Now I can review the forums among other information searched all in one spot. This is about as much information as one can process (and make it useful).

In conclusion, this is just a start of learning a technology, although it’s a niche product right now, Microsoft appears to be positioning Orchestrator as a key tool to achieve many things across all their products. If you have a tip, a cool website or place for information regarding Orchestrator 2012, pass it along.

Until Next time,

Steve Schofield
Microsoft MVP – ASP.NET/IIS

Beginnings of System Center 2012 orchestrator

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 01:21:31 GMT

I’ve been lucky enough to start messing around with System Center 2012 Orchestrator (previously known as Opalis). One of my roles these days in IT is automation, automation, automation. Orchestrator main role is to automate those tasks identified as ‘routine’. It literally took me all of 10 minutes to download from Technet, install on my DEV system and get going. Microsoft couldn’t have made it any easier, or should I say the people from Opalis and MS tweaked for 2012.

This is a short blog, I have a few low hanging fruit tasks I’m targeting first. Here are a few links I wanted to pass along in my journey. Hopefully as I’ve done with other technologies, pass any tips along!

Orchestrator IP (integration packs) on Codeplex (The examples are really cool)

http://orchestrator.codeplex.com

Discussion forums

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/systemcenterorchestrator

I’m real new to the System Center community. I attending MMS 2012 and went to everything Orchestrator

Few of the people to keep an eye our for is

Charles Joy ( Microsoft PM who did the examples posted on CodePlex)
Ryan Andorfer (community member who has lots of Orchestrator knowledge)
http://jmattivi.blogspot.com/
http://blogs.technet.com/b/kevinholman/archive/2011/11/14/orchestrator-2012-quickstart-deployment-guide.aspx
Of course hit www.Google.com or www.Bing.com (search scorch or orchestrator)

PS – My favorite name is SCOrch. If you perform it manual, SCOrch it!

Happy Scorching!

Steve Schofield

Orchestrator and Opalis resources

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 01:20:27 GMT

One of the coolest technologies Microsoft acquired is Opalis (Now known as Orchestrator 2012). I thought I would pass this along, many of these resources are Opalis, but should be applicable to Orchestrator. I’ll be pass along more resources I’ve found or was provided.

Blog D'Joy Video Collection

General Videos

· 8-Minute-Demo - Why Opalis

· 8-Minute-Demo - Automated Hyper-V IS Upgrade with OIS and VMM

Opalis Integration Server Installation Video Tutorials

· Opalis Integration Server 6.2.2 - Installation Video Tutorial

· Opalis Integration Server 6.3 - Installation Video Tutorial

· Opalis Integration Server - Operator Console - Installation Video Tutorial

· Opalis Operator Console as a Service

Opalis Integration Server Best Practices

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Auditing

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Complex Link Logic

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Data Mapping

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Error Handling

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - External Interfaces

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Global Settings

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Junction Object

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Looping

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Making Everything Dynamic

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Multi-Value Data Handling

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Naming Conventions and Versioning Policies

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Pipeline vs Legacy Mode

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Policy Engine Rules

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Policy Logging

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Policy Promotion

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Restartable / Haltable Policies

· 8-Minute-Demo - OIS 6.3 - Best Practice Video Shorts - Securing Policies

Quick Integration Kit Video Tutorials

· QIK Video Tutorial 1 of 3 - QIK CLI

· QIK Video Tutorial 2 of 3 - QIK SDK

· QIK Video Tutorial 3 of 3 - QIK Icons

Other Videos

· Webcast–Using Opalis to perform DR based on an Application State

· Customizing Service Manager and Opalis

Blogs

· Triggering Opalis Workflows Using Complex Schedules

· MS SQL Server Dump / Copy / Load

· Data Manipulation Functions

· Field Mapping

· Global Settings

· Working with XML

· Integrating Scripts into Workflows

· Workflow Control

· Working with SNMP

· Working with Multi-Value Data

· Working with SSH

· Working with Text Files

· Working with Web Services

· Opalis Web Service Example Workflows

· Workflow Design - Branching

· Working with Databases

· Working with Remedy

· Workflows running on Testing Console but not on Action Server?

· Using Opalis to automate Standard Operating Procedures

· Does Opalis have an Integration Pack for ________________?

· Using Opalis to get info from the SCX Cross Platform Agent

· Making Custom Objects & Integration Packs Using PowerShell Scripts

· Opalis 6.3: System Center Service Manager Driven Hyper-V VM Provisioning

· Opalis 6.3: Getting Started with the Service Manager Integration Pack

· Opalis 6.3: Automating Hyper-V Cluster Patching using the Configuration Manager IP (Part 1)

· Opalis 6.3: Automating Hyper-V Cluster Patching using the Configuration Manager IP (Part 2)

· Opalis 6.3: Automating Hyper-V Cluster Patching using the Configuration Manager IP (Part 3)

· Opalis 6.3: CMDB Automation with System Center Service Manager and Opalis

· Opalis 6.3: VM Provisioning with Deep Customization with Opalis and System Center Virtual Machine Manager

· Opalis 6.3: VM Checkpoint Orchestration with Opalis and System Center Virtual Machine Manager

· Opalis 6.3: Checkpoint Cleanup with Opalis and System Center Virtual Machine Manager

· Opalis 6.3 to orchestrate SharePoint 2010

· Opalis 6.3: Running PowerShell scripts on 64-Bit Operating Systems

· Opalis 6.3: What version do I have installed?

· How to monitor for Opalis Integration Server Platform Events

· Opalis 6.3: Incident Escalation using the System Center Service Manager IP

· Opalis 6.3: Opalis System Center Service Manager Integration Pack: Attachments

· Exploring VMM Live Migration as part of a patching workflow

· Test your ability to run remote PowerShell on a computer before you actually do it

· Opalis – Add a User to a Service Manager Review Activity

· MMS BB51 session demo – User Initiated Server Restart

· MMS BB53 session demo – Automated Protection of Resources

· MSIT internal Opalis adoption - Using Opalis to Move Files Across Untrusted Domains

· Handling PowerShell Switch Parameters in QIK CLI Activities

· Evaluating the "Reach" of Our Opalis Infrastructure at Microsoft

· Building Scalable Workflows in Opalis

· Sending Email with PowerShell and the Run.Net Object

· Opalis and the Internal Microsoft Adoption Story (On Demand Webcast)

MVP 2012 award renewed!

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 03:00:04 GMT

I was honored to receive the Microsoft 2012 MVP award for IIS/ASP.NET. Not sure how many years I’ve been doing this, but every year it’s really cool to be honored by the MS team.

Thanks and to another year of geeking!

Steve Schofield
Windows Server MVP - IIS
http://www.iislogs.com/steveschofield

http://www.IISLogs.com
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Install, Configure, Forget

Questions on Microsoft SMTP Service - visit http://www.smtp.ws
IIS Community Newsletter - visit http://www.iisnewsletter.com

September 2012 IIS Community Newsletter published

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:38:24 GMT

Rick Barber and I prepared a great September Newsletter. Check out at

http://www.iisnewsletter.com/archive/September2012.html

Enjoy,

Steve Schofield
Microsoft MVP – IIS/ASP.net
http://www.iislogs.com/Steveschofield