Windows BranchCache (Hosted and Distributed)
KB ID 0001212 Problem The purpose of BranchCache is, (as the name implies) to cache files in branch sites, without the need for a local file server or DFS. There are essentially two deployment models, In Hosted Mode a server in the branch caches the files locally as they are requested by clients. This works because the main file server provides a hash of the requested file, the branch server will download it, and if another client...
Windows Server – Disk Performance Missing From Task Manager?
KB ID 0001203 Problem If your machine is struggling, a good place to look first is the performance tab on ‘Task Manager’ Here you can see CPU and Memory Stats and how our network cards are performing, but wheres the disk stats? Solution Before you can see them you need to enable them, open a PowerShell, (or an administrative command window). and run the following command; diskperf -y Now re-open task manager and go to...
Windows – Suppress the ‘First Run’ Welcome to Windows Animation
KB ID 0001186 Problem I don’t like ‘first-run’ dialogs, Internet Explorer is annoying enough, Now Windows and Office insist on playing me a film clip when they start for the first time. I’m a busy guy I have things to do, stop asking me questions and making recommendations! It takes this long to create a user profile? I don’t think so. Solution You can do this by local policy on the machine, but domain...
Microsoft – NDES Site Shows ‘HTTP Error 500.0 – Internal Server Error’
KB ID 0001181 Problem I was doing some testing for a client this week, a while ago I had deployed a three tier PKI solution for them, and as part of the rollout we deployed NDES for their network devices, (they were going to use certificates to secure site to site VPNs). The client was concerned, and wanted the auto renewal process testing. This could not be done on the live system. So myself and a colleague went to the test bench, I...
Windows Server – Change a DHCP Scopes Subnet Mask
KB ID 0001177 Problem You have probably tried to do this and found he option ‘greyed out’ because in the DHCP management console you can’t change the subnet mask of a scope. I needed to change a clients DHCP scope because I was changing their subnet from /24 to /16. I could have simply deleted and recreated the scope, but they has a lot of custom settings for their phone system, and hundreds of reservations (which...
OCSP Server – Bad Signing Certificate On Array Controller
OCSP KB ID 0001145 Problem I had a client ring in the other day, they have a three tier PKI solution on Windows Certificate Services, that I put in about a year ago, it has been running fine, but now they were seeing some errors. Bad signing certificate on Array controller. The following errors were also being logged; Event ID 23 Log Name: Application Source: Microsoft-Windows-OnlineResponder Date: 12/01/2016 08:44:01 Event ID: 23...
Certificate Services – Disable CRL Checking
KB ID 0001144 Problem Sometimes the services on your CA server will stop and complain about not being able to see your CRL, and some times the service will just refuse to start with the following error; The revocation function was unable to check revocation because the revocation server was offline. 0x80092013 (-2146885613 CRYPT_E_REVOCATION_OFFLINE). Solution OK the way to fix this permanently is to fix your CRL and make sure...
Deploying Windows ‘Web Application Proxy’
KB ID 0001142 Problem This is part of a larger piece of work Im putting together on publishing Remote Desktop Services with Microsoft Web Application Proxy. This article is simply to guide you though the process of installing the Web Application Proxy role. In a later article I will run though configuring it to work with Active Directory Federation Services, and Remote Desktop Services, to present secure RemoteApps. Solution Before...
Publishing Remote Desktop Services With Web Application Gateway
KB ID 0001143 Problem Getting this article to completion has been a bit of a journey! This is the final post that will stitch together all the others I’ve posted over the last couple of weeks, that will enable you to publish your RemoteApps with ‘Remote Desktop Web Access’, and have that service presented securely from your DMZ. I’ll be using Active Directory Federation Services, (you don’t have to, but...
Remote Desktop Web Access – Connection Error
KB ID 0001141 Problem Eleven days! That’s how long it took to fix this, after seven days, I bit the bullet and logged a call to Microsoft. I spent hours on the phone to the Remote Desktop Team, The Web Application Proxy Team, and the Networking Team. I replicated the error by building a complete new domain, PKI, ADFS, Remote Desktop Deployment and Web Application Proxy Server. Then today I got a call from the...