Category: Windows

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Enable Windows Server SMB 2.0 or 3.0 Alias (CNAME)

If you have an existing Windows 2008 R2 or Windows 2012 R2 file server and would like to add an alternate name or alias for file share access, an SMB alias needs to be created.

Example: Your existing server is named: server1 and has a fully qualified domain name of server1.mydomain.local. You would like to be able to access file shares on the server as: \\server1 as well as \\fileserver.

In previous version of Windows 2000 and 2003, a registry setting was all that was required in order to enable SMB aliasing, see Microsoft KB281308, but this only works with SMB 1.0 and not SMB 2.0. Computers that run Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 support both SMB 1.0 and SMB 2.0. Windows includes an SMB client component (Client for Microsoft Windows) and an SMB server component (File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Windows). By default, SMB 2.0 is the file sharing protocol that is used when both client and server support it. For more information on SMB 2.0 click here.

To add a SMB alias in Windows 2008 R2 which supports SMB 2.0, do as follows:

1. Add a CNAME record in your DNS pointing at the primary server name, e.g. fileserver.mydomain.local CNAME server1.mydomain.local.

2. Open the Registry Editor (regedit) on the server and browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

3. Add a new REG_DWORD 32bit entry using the edit menu. Continue reading “Enable Windows Server SMB 2.0 or 3.0 Alias (CNAME)”

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Windows 7 & Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 Released

Microsoft released Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 to the masses yesterday, February 22nd.

Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 is a set of updates and fixes for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 that addresses feedback from Microsoft customers (in addition to the improvements that are delivered to users through Windows Update). In addition to including previously released updates, SP1 focuses on specific reliability and performance issues, support for new types of hardware, and support for a few emerging technology standards. Note that although SP1 is not intended to be a vehicle for releasing new features, some existing features do gain enhanced functionality through SP1.

Notable new features include:

RemoteFX – Ever use Remote Desktop to connect to another machine virtually over a LAN? You’ve probably noticed that the experience you get across a network pales in comparison to what you get locally, with features like Windows Aero, full-motion video, and 3D graphics all off limits. RemoteFX will lift those barriers.

Dynamic Memory – According to Microsoft, dynamic memory “allows customers to achieve increased density when they’re consolidating physical servers into a virtual realm, providing them with predictable performance and linear scalability.” Translated: IT administrators can dice up the physical memory on a machine, like a server, and dole it out to many different virtual machines on the fly. Continue reading “Windows 7 & Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 Released”

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Subnetting Notes for Beginners

Here are some notes on IP subnetting for beginners.

1 and 1 = 1, everything else = 0.

An IP v4 IP address is 32 bit and made up of four octets, each 8 bits long. The minimum octet value is 0 and the maximum octet value is 255. 4 x 8 = 32.

The decimal notation to binary chart for IP subnetting is: 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 The sum of which is 255 (128+64+32+16+8+4+2+1). 128 is the first 1 in binary chart, 1 is the last.

To convert a IP address from decimal to binary separate each octet, e.g. 203.170.50.1

203 = 128+64+8+2+1 or 11001011
170 = 128+32+8+1 or 10101001
50 = 32+16+2 or 00110010
1 = 00000001

1 and 1 = 1
1 and 0 = 0
0 and 1 = 0
0 and 0 = 0

If your IP address is 192.168.183.91 and your subnet mask is 255.255.255.224 you can find the network address as follows: Continue reading “Subnetting Notes for Beginners”

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OpenDNS is adding a Singapore Datacenter

Good news for those of us in Asia using OpenDNS!

In their October 2010 newsletter, OpenDNS announced that later this year they will adding a new datacenter in Singapore to better serve OpenDNS customers in the Pacific Rim.

Since OpenDNS is anycasted, the new datacenter means faster DNS resolution and an overall faster Internet for OpenDNS users in Asia. If this is where you live, no changes on your end are needed to get the faster DNS resolution — your DNS requests will automatically begin routing through the new servers.

Existing and planned OpenDNS server locations are shown in the OpenDNS network map located here.

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Windows 7 32 bit – 3.x GB RAM Limit

If you are running Windows 7 32 bit and have 4 GB of RAM you may have noticed that within the device manager, Windows notes:

Installed memory (RAM): 4.00 GB (3.24 GB usable).

In the 32 bit version of Windows 7 only 3.2 to 3.5 GB of RAM is usable by the operating system. By patching the kernel the RAM limit can be increased up to 64 GB. The 4GB-RAMPatch.exe is available here and removes this lock.

Note: Once you have patched your kernel I recommend running:

bcdedit /set {current} description "Windows 7 No RAM Lock"

This will change the German menu item (Windows 7 ohne DDR-RAM Sperre) to an English translation.

You can find out more at Unwave’s website.