A Reboot From a Previous Installation is Pending
Jul09

A Reboot From a Previous Installation is Pending

KB ID 0001755 Problem You may see the “A Reboot From a Previous Installation is Pending” error when either attempting to install Microsoft Exchange or apply a cumulative update, (which is basically a reinstall anyway!) You may also see this if you are only installing the management tools. At command line; A reboot from a previous installation is pending. Please restart the system and then rerun Setup. Or if you are running...

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macOS: Microsoft Outlook Search Broken
Jul05

macOS: Microsoft Outlook Search Broken

KB ID 0001754 Problem I’ve had to contend with Outlook Search Broken on Windows clients many times, but not being able to search my ‘sent’ and ‘deleted’ items has a detrimental effect on my productivity.  Outlook Search Broken Fix This can happen if the folder/drive that your Outlook profile is in is Blocked/Prevented access by ‘Spotlight’ but in my case that wasn’t the problem. Close...

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Remote Desktop Services: RDS Sizing Calculations
Jul01

Remote Desktop Services: RDS Sizing Calculations

KB ID 0001753 Problem This is a horrible subject to find any decent information on. Microsoft are typically ‘vague’ and most people are stuck with using trial and error, or massively overestimating hardware to be on the safe side. I get asked this occasionally and, just like Microsoft, it’s a question I don’t like to answer! People are reticent to tell you that you need ‘x’ amount of CPU and...

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What is SD-WAN?
Jun02

What is SD-WAN?

KB ID 0001752 SD-WAN? What is SD-WAN? A (Software Defined Wide Area Network) is a solution that unlike previous WAN architectures, (the type you typically see on a Visio diagram with maybe some MPLS, leased lines, and maybe some Optical DWDM etc. in them). SD-WAN gives you a more ‘Layered’ approach, that directs USERS to APPLICATIONS based on POLICIES.  For example, let’s say your main business CRM is a SaaS solution...

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Cisco ASA DHCP Reservation (Solved)
May20

Cisco ASA DHCP Reservation (Solved)

KB ID 0001751 Problem We have been asking for this for years! Even on my home network I’ve not been able to allocate an ASA DHCP reservation for my laptop and my MyCloud drive. I’ve been in discussions in forums with people who are convinced that putting a static ARP entry into the ASA would solve the problem (it doesn’t – I tested it extensively!) But finally in version 9.13(1) we can now add a static DHCP...

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AnyConnect 4 – Plus and Apex Licensing Explained
May11

AnyConnect 4 – Plus and Apex Licensing Explained

KB ID 0001013  Problem (Updated 11/05/21) Before version 4 we simply had AnyConnect Essentials and Premium licensing, now we have Plus and Apex licensing. AnyConnect Plus and Apex There are in fact three licensing options; Cisco AnyConnect Plus Subscription Licenses Cisco AnyConnect Plus Perpetual Licenses Cisco AnyConnect Apex Subscription Licenses NEW VPN Only perpetual Licences Plus and Apex Contain; AnyConnect PLUS (Cisco pitch...

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Cisco Catalyst 9200 / 9300 DNA Licensing
May06

Cisco Catalyst 9200 / 9300 DNA Licensing

KB ID 0001750 Problem I get asked this at least once a month, “What’s the score with this DNA Licensing?” It took long enough for everyone to get used to Lan Base, IP Base, and IP Services! The cynic in me would say, Cisco have learned from Meraki that selling subscription licences is much better than selling products that you don’t get any recurring revenue from. But I’ll try an give you the short answer...

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Exchange Stopped Working?
Apr26

Exchange Stopped Working?

KB ID 0001749 Problem I see various posts in online forums, and the process is held up because a lot of techs can’t do basic troubleshooting on their Exchange deployments. So I thought I’d put together some basic ‘first steps’ for you to do when your  ‘Exchange Stopped Working’ This way you can at least get an error code to search for or a better idea of what’s going on. Exchange Stopped...

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How Many Users in AD? (User Count)
Apr16

How Many Users in AD? (User Count)

KB ID 0001748 Problem I had to get some stats from a number of customers earlier today, one of the stats I needed was the  user count from within their respective Active Directories. If you have a tedious job to do, there’s usually a PowerShell command to help! Getting Object Numbers From Active Directory User Count (Get-ADUser -Filter *).Count Computer Count (Get-ADComputer -Filter *).Count Group Count (Get-ADGroup -Filter...

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Enable Remote Desktop (Remotely)
Apr13

Enable Remote Desktop (Remotely)

KB ID 0001747 Problem Let’s say you want to RDP to a remote server (imagine such a thing!) But some doofus didn’t enable RDP? Well you can enable Remote Desktop via group policy and wait a while. I used to connect to the registry remotely and change the key that enabled RDP, but now you can do it with a simple PowerShell command. Not only will it enable Remote Desktop, it will also allow RDP on the Windows firewall (if...

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