My name is Ram Malkani and I am a Support Escalation Engineer on Microsoft’s Windows Core team. I am writing to discuss how Failover Clustering is integrated with Active Directory on Windows Servers.

Windows Server Failover Clustering, has always had a very strong and cohesive attachment with the Active Directory. We made considerable changes to how Failover Clustering integrates with AD DS, as we made progression to new versions of Clusters running on Windows Servers. Let us see the story so far:

What’s new with Clustering in Windows Server 2012 R2

We have introduced, a new mode to create a Failover Cluster on Windows Server 2012 R2, known as Active Directory detached Cluster. Using this mode, you would not only no longer need to pre-stage these objects but also stop worrying about the management and maintenance of these objects. Cluster Administrators would no longer need to be wary about accidental deletions of the CNO or the Virtual Computer Objects (VCOs). The CNOs and VCOs are now instead created in Domain Name System (DNS).

This feature provides greater flexibility when creating a Failover Cluster and enables you to choose to install Clusters with or without AD integration. It also improves the overall resiliency of cluster by reducing the dependencies on CNO and VCOs, thereby reducing the points of failure on the cluster.

The intra-cluster communication would continue to use Kerberos for authentication, however, the authentication of the CNO would be done using NT LM authentication. Thus, you need to remember that for all Cluster roles that need Kerberos Authentication use of AD-detached cluster is not recommended.

Installing Active Directory detached Cluster

First, you should make sure that the nodes, running Windows Server 2012 R2 that you are intending to add to the cluster are part of the same domain, and proceed to install the Failover-Cluster feature on them. This is very similar to conventional Cluster installs running on Windows Servers. To install the feature, you can use the Server Manager to complete the installation.

Server Manager can be used to install the Failover Clustering feature:

Introducing Server Manager in Windows Server 2012
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2012/11/04/introducing-server-manager-in-windows-server-2012.aspx

We can alternatively use PowerShell (Admin) to install the Failover Clustering feature on the nodes.

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Failover-Clustering -IncludeManagementTools

An important point to note is that PowerShell Cmdlet ‘Add-WindowsFeature’ is being replaced by ‘Install-WindowsFeature’ in Windows Server 2012 R2. PowerShell does not install the management tools for the feature requested unless you specify  ‘-IncludeManagementTools’ as part of your command. 

BONUS READ:
The Cluster Command line tool (CLUSTER.EXE) has been deprecated; but, if you still want to install it, it is available under:
Remote Server Administration Tools --> Feature Administration Tools --> Failover Clustering Tools --> Failover Cluster Command Interface in the Server Manager

The PowerShell (Admin) equivalent to install it:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name RSAT-Clustering-CmdInterface

Now that we have Failover Clustering feature installed on our nodes. Ensure that all connected hardware to the nodes passes the Cluster Validation tests. Let us now go on to create our cluster. You cannot create an AD detached clustering from Cluster Administrator and the only way to create the AD-Detached Cluster is by using PowerShell.

New-Cluster MyCluster -Node My2012R2-N1,My2012R2-N2 -StaticAddress 192.168.1.15 -NoStorage -AdministrativeAccessPoint DNS

NOTE:
In my example above, I am using static IP Addresses, so one would need to be specified.  If you are using DHCP for addresses, the switch “-StaticAddress 192.168.1.15” would be excluded from the command.

Once we have executed the command, we would have a new cluster created with the name “MyCluster” with two nodes “My2012R2-N1” and “My2012R2-N2”. When you look Active Directory, there will not be a computer object created for the Cluster “MyCluster”; however, you would see the record as the Access Point in DNS.

For details on cluster roles that are not recommended or unsupported for AD detached Clusters, please read:

Deploy an Active Directory-Detached Cluster
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn265970.aspx

That’s it! Thank you for your time.

Ram Malkani
Support Escalation Engineer
Windows Core Team

Who are you, where are you, and what do you do? What are your specialty technologies?

Hi! I live in İzmir.  I believe that İzmir is one of the most beautiful cities in Turkey.

it has  many places to see which smells history. To mention about myself;

I have been working in IT section  for 3 years. I want to improve myself on Active Directory ve Exchange Server. I was graduated from European University of Lefke. I have attended System Management in BilgeAdam in İzmir. I have been system manager on Microsoft platforms for 2 years. At the same time I have  Windows Server 2012 Mcp and Mcsa certificates.

My position in the firm; To ensure the full completion of the infrastructure, networking, security and  installation of active devices as well as the servers regarding all the  systems under the body of whole groups of the company by participating within the each phases of the process. As well as to manage  more than 30 server operating systems, Active Directory, domain structures, WSUS, Exchange mail servers. Maintenance of servers, backups, failure detection and removal. Making Virtualization features (hyperV2 and vmware)  and new additions to the system. Dispersion of more than 1500 clientin IP dispersion in the university and college campuses, management of Exchange (2010 and 2007) mail servers, to intervene in failure and ensure it to work 24/7. Additionally I provide the backups and the security of the whole system.I provide automatic backup and  adjustment of process by making Windows server (2003,2008,2008 r2, 2012 & R2) installation necessary optimization at the customer side.

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time?

I spend most of my free time by reading books. My family is especial for me and I enjoy going somewhere with them. I love watching movies and my favorite films are ‘’The Series of Godfather’’  and ‘’The Lake House’’.

And;  indispensable of my life is Sports….

I like painting and there is a case study below;

What are your big projects right now? 

I took part in virtualization projects with e-Solutions company about 2 months ago. In this project,  We have completed the process of approximately 40 physical servers to virtual with VMware Converter Standalone transportation and the Active Directory Migration and Exchange Server Migration. I  actually took part in Veeam Backup & Replication 's establishment in a VM and all VMs on cluster for the backup on the NAS; raising of  Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2010 SP3; transport of all physical servers to virtual and creation of ADCs.  For the moment I do not have a specific Project.

Besides your work on TechNet Wiki, where do you contribute?

I have been writing in www.hasandimdik.com  that I set up by myself. At the same time I have been writing in www.ituzmanlari.com and www.mshowto.org  . Also I have sharings in Microsoft Curah

http://curah.microsoft.com/curator/55009

What is it about TechNet Wiki that interests you?

In general; I am interested in Active  Directory and Exchange articles.

On what Wiki articles do you spend most of your time?

I read Active Directory and Exchange articles gladly, I also  follow the other articles for general information.

Who has impressed you in the Wiki community, and why?

For me, all our friends are so precious and experts in their fields but if I should say the names; Uğur Demir in Exchange field, Yavuz Taşçı and Davut Eren in Active Directory field who impressed me by their quality articles.

Thank you

Contoso Labs Series - Table of Contents

Now that Cisco has been chosen as the vendor for our network, we need to identify the layers of our network fabric, and the devices to be used in those roles.

We'll have a 3-level network topology when done. Some devices will act as leaf node top-of-rack switches. More capable devices will be core+edge routers. Finally, we'll need an aggregator level to connect the two, and isolate storage traffic from the core. We'll detail the network configuration and the traffic shaping considerations that went into it at a later time. For now, let's just identify the devices we're using, and why they suit our needs.

Leaf Switches

For leaf top-of-rack switches, we'll be using the Cisco Nexus 3048. This device has good port density, (48x1GbE RJ-45 ports, 4x10GbE SFP+ ports) and supports all of the important functions needed, like OMI and port-channels. Given our node count, we’ll end up needing 32 of these total, so their relative affordability is another asset to us. A simple, solid choice for our purposes.

Spine Switches

The spine aggregator switches will be Cisco Nexus 3064-X devices. These are much more capable 10GbE switches, of which we’ll need 8.  Each has 48 SFP+ 10GbE ports, as well as four QSFP+ 40GbE ports.  Extremely low latency and line-speed switching combined with Layer-3 routing allows us to create a very high speed spine/aggregator layer for our racks.  This is critical in our overall architecture because we’re using a converged fabric design, where our Ethernet fabric has to carry all of our combined I/O.  Isolating storage traffic off of the core will keep performance acceptable for everyone, and we need a high speed intermediate layer to pull that off.

Edge Router

The edge of our network will be served by two Cisco Nexus 6001 devices. While from the outside these would appear almost identical to the 3064-X’s, the network capabilities provided by the 6001 are much greater.  Larger lookup and routing tables, and more sophisticated controls are available that make it better suited to sit at the center of a network that will be hosting 300+ physical nodes and thousands of virtual machines operating on NVGRE virtual networks.

That covers our purchasing of net new equipment for this project.  Combined with our existing assets, we have everything we need to design and deploy our private cloud.  Starting on Wednesday, we’ll start describing how we integrated these components, and what our deployment is going to look like.

As more and more customers move to Office 365 and leverage the power of Windows Azure there is a growing need to understand identity management and how to properly link multiple online services to a single Azure AD instance. As a bit of a background, Windows Azure AD is the primary directory that provides access to all online services including Office 365, Azure, Windows Intune and Microsoft Dynamics. By default when you sign up for an online service such as Office 365 an Azure AD "bucket" is created to service that tenant. The Azure AD can then be populated in multiple ways:

• Manual creation using Cloud Identities
• Bulk creation by uploading CSV files
• Directory Synchronization

For most enterprises the final option above is the optimal solution because it allows for organizations to manage a single on-premises Active Directory identity for each user. Those identities are then synchronized via the Directory Synchronization server to the Azure AD.

As I mentioned earlier in this post you can think of the Azure Active Directory as the primary source for all Microsoft Online services. The goal would be to have a single Azure AD instance that services all of your various online product groups. In this optimal environment the Directory Synchronization till would be installed on-premises to sync Active Directory objects to the Azure AD, then that single instance in Azure would service all of the various online services as depicted below.

However, if the various services aren't linked together properly you can end up with a scenario where multiple Azure AD instances are created resulting in multiple directories to manage that are not linked.

There are many issues with the scenario depicted above. First thing to note is that the Directory Synchronization tool can only have one instance on-premises so there is no way in the example above to install DirSync to provision the Azure AD instance supporting Office 365 and then have a second DirSync server serving a separate Azure AD supporting Azure. This is why it is critical for customers to understand how to link Microsoft Online services so a single instance of Azure AD can be used to service multiple online services. This streamlines the management process and allows you to manage all user identities from their local Active Directory and have all changes synchronize to the single Azure AD instance that services all Microsoft online services.

There are generally two scenarios for customers, the first is for customers who start with Office 365 and wants to add Azure. For this process a colleague of mine has posted step-by-step instructions on how to link the new Azure instance to the Existing Office 365, Adding an Azure subscription to your Office 365 account. The second is for customers who start with Azure and want to add Office 365. For this process you can follow the blog posting, Creating and managing multiple windows Azure Active Directories.

Now that we understand how to link different Microsoft cloud offerings we can dive into how to synchronize your on-premises Active Directory environment to the Azure Active Directory.

Syncing Active Directory with Windows Azure Active Directory

The Directory Synchronization tool is a free tool provided by Microsoft that allows the one-way sync from on-premises to the Azure AD. Prior to deploying the tool it is highly recommended that the local Active Directory be reviewed and prepared for Directory Synchronization, for more information see the blog post Plan for Directory Synchronization for Office 365. Most environments have old user objects or accounts with non-valid characters. An example I see in the field quite a bit is administrative accounts starting with a non-standard character such as '#'. This makes sense on-premises in certain cases where customers want to isolate out administrative accounts, however from a Cloud perspective the '#' is seen as a coding variable and therefor noted as an invalid character for Directory Synchronization. The best rule of thumb is a clean Active Directory leads to a happy cloud.

The rest of this blog assumes you have gone through the AD remediation and prep phase. Now that this has been completed we are going to deploy the Directory Sync tool provided in Office 365. Remember now that you have linked your Office 365 and Azure tenants when you synchronize your AD to Office 365 the users will also be available in Azure.

Before deploying the tool let's take a look at the Office 365 tenant. When logging into the portal you'll notice there is a significant amount of information including the service overview with information about overall service health, status of service requests, lists of inactive users and a drill down snapshot of each platforms current health with detailed information if issues exist. There is also a Quick Link section to the right with common admin shortcuts such as password resets, adding users, and assigning licenses to users and downloading software.

The first step in identity provisioning with Directory Synchronization is enabling the service in the portal. This is identical to the way it was done previously. First select Users and Groups from the left hand menu, then click Set Up next to Active Directory synchronization.

From the next page click Activate under step 3 to enable Directory Synchronization in the tenant:

If you prefer PowerShell you can enable Directory Synchronization using the following CmdLets:

Import-Module MSOnline
$cred=Get-Credential
Connect-MSOLservice -Credential $cred
Set-MsolDirSyncEnabled -EnableDirSync $True

To check and see if DirSync has been enabled run the following CmdLet:

(Get-MSOLCompanyInformation).DirectorySynchronizationEnabled

Remember it may take time for Directory Synchronization to be fully enabled so check back until the value changes to True. Once this is done we are ready to deploy Directory Synchronization.

Prior to installing the Directory Sync tool you need to install .NET 3.5 which can be installed as a Feature. To install it open Server Manager and click Add roles and Features

On the first page select Role-Based or Feature-based installation and click Next:

On the next page select the server you want to install the Feature and click Next:

On the Roles page you can simply click Next without clicking any Roles. On the Select Features page, check the box for .NET Framework 3.5 features and click Next:

Click Install on the final confirmation page to finish the installation:

Once you have your .NET Framework installed it is time to download the tool.

• First log into the portal at http://portal.microsoftonline.com
• Click Users and Groups from the menu on the left
• Select Set-Up next to the Active Directory Synchronization link at the top of the page
• Scroll down to step four and click download
• Once you have the file downloaded go to the folder, right click the file and select Run as Administrator
• During the installation select all of the defaults

On the final page check the box Start Configuration Wizard Now and click Finish:

At the first screen enter your global admin credentials and click Next. Generally speaking you want to create a service account in Office 365 for this purpose and set its password to never expire, but for the purposes of the demo I am just going to use my account.

On the next page enter the credentials of an Enterprise Admin account. Now, this account is different than the previous account. It doesn't actually get stored in the tool. The Configuration Wizard uses the Enterprise Admin credentials to create the directory synchronization service account, MSOL_AD_Sync. The Configuration Wizard creates the service account as a domain account with directory replication permissions on your local Active Directory, with a randomly generated complex password that never expires.

On the next screen check the box* to Enable Exchange Hybrid Mode and click Next. Finally, you can choose to sync the directories immediately:

*this is assuming you plan on using Exchange Hybrid as part of your Office 365 migration. Enabling this option enables the Directory Synchronization tool to write-back certain attributes from Office 365 to Active Directory. This allows additional support for features like cloud archives for on-premises mailboxes, off-board mailboxes from the cloud to on-premises Exchange servers and have on-premises filtering software take advantage of user made safe and blocked senders in the cloud.

Below is a table of the attributes that are added to write-back when hybrid mode is enabled:

The final screen will ask if you want to enable Password Synchronization, this is a relatively new feature that hashes the local AD password and puts a copy of that password into Azure AD. This provides 'same sign on' functionality which should not be confused to single-sign on which is a feature of Active Directory Federated Services (AD FS). For more information on Password Sync and ADFS check out these links:

Password Sync

AD FS

Assuming you chose to sync your directories immediately you can verify the process by doing one of two things. You can look in the event viewer for application level messages or you can open up the MIISClient. The MIISClient is located in the following path:

C:\Program Files\Windows Azure Active Directory Sync\SYNCBUS\Synchronization Service\UIShell

Once there, double click MIISClient to run the app. When you first launch it you will see the status and can drill into the details of each step of the sync:

Conclusion

The most important thing for you to take away from this post is the process of planning and deploying a properly designed identity management solution for your Microsoft investment is critical to the success of your business. Without proper design considerations around how to link your various cloud offerings and how to properly deploy and configure the Directory Synchronization tool your identity management solution may become unmanageable. The takeaways from this post are:

• Planning how to connect multiple Microsoft cloud services is key to manageability
• Proper deployment and configuration of the Directory Synchronization tool allow for single-source management across offerings

Multiple sources now have confirmed for us that "Star Wars Episode VII" is set to start shooting mid-May and will run through September of this year, and most principal casting on the film is complete, with many announcements still to come. While Abrams had mentioned May during the TCA press tour and there had been speculation about the summer date, the full production schedule was finally confirmed for us.

If they wrap in September, that gives them over a year of post to build out the world that Abrams says he wants to make as close to the feel of the Original Trilogy as he possibly can. The thing that is most exciting to me about production dates is that extra added anticipation that we'll have any time during those four months as we try to imagine what the cast and crew are doing at that particular moment. Is today the day they shoot that full-sized Millennium Falcon they've built? Is today whatever lightsaber battle you know Mark Hamill's going to have to participate in?Are they shooting a scene with the ghost of Yoda today?

This goes back to my earliest thoughts as a film fan, those years between when I was seven and when I was ten, and between then and when I turned thirteen. Knowing that somewhere, there was a new "Star Wars" film being made, it simply made me almost permanently happy. It gave me permission to spend months dreaming about all the things that might happen.
What do we really know about the new film at this point? In terms of concrete verified fact? Very little. I hear pretty much everyone who could make a return will make a return. While I haven't had it confirmed conclusively, I think that even includes Lando. Honestly, I am doing as little digging on this film as possible because I spent every single minute the prequels were in production soaked in spoilers, actively uncovering every bit of information I could, and I knew waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much about those films before they came out. That was my choice. That was my fault. I had waited 16 years for new "Star Wars" movies at that point, and I was basically insane at the thought that they were coming.
This time around, I'm sure I will hear things and see things, but I'm doing my best to wait. I want the box under the tree. I want to open it on Christmas morning. I'd like to be surprised. Right now, Lucasfilm's full attention is on "Episode VII," and while I've seen a number of outlets basically write off their coverage of this movie already, I think that's crazy. I wouldn't bet against this team. They all know what's at stake here, and how much expectation there is on this moment. The prequels were a momentous occasion for "Star Wars" fans, but they were frustrating in so many ways that it's hard to even get past the frustration to talk about what does or doesn't work. The main thing that I think the audience struggled with, and more on a subconscious level than anything, was that they really wanted to be watching sequels, and there's just nothing that can be done about that. What they really wanted was the continuation, not the backstory. And now, that's what we're getting, and if you think Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford aren't actively involved in making sure that if they do this, there's nothing "Holiday Special" about it. This is a chance to course correct in a way that few franchises ever can, and I love knowing I've got almost two years of that slow drip ahead.

The first video from the next-gen only “Assassin’s Creed Unity” has debuted. Can you guess some of the locations that make an appearance? 

For more info on the game, stay tuned to Xbox Wire, which will have more details for you in the future.

You might also be interested in:

• Major League Gaming brings its first app to the big screen on Xbox 360 
• Kill zombies, save the world in ‘Last Heroes – The Final Stand’ on Windows Phone, PCs, and tablets
• ‘Kinect Sports Rivals’ kicks off world championship with big cash and amazing cash prizes

David Chen
Microsoft News Center Staff

PRC05 | DevOps: An IT Professional’s Guide

Join David Tesar and I for a pre-conference seminar to learn about a variety of integrated solutions primarily from Microsoft, which can help you as an IT Professional enable an effective DevOps transformation within your organization's Application Lifecycle Management (Plan – Develop – Release - Operate) and establish a high-trust relationship between the Business, Development and Operations teams.

Note: If you want to skip the high-level picture and dig into the technical details scroll down to the section below the second picture.

Within the Enterprise, the IT Pro plays an important role in enabling the promise of continuous integration and continuous delivery, to ensure that changes to applications by software developers can be rapidly and efficiently deployed to end users. After the applications and infrastructure to support the apps are automatically deployed however, the job is not over!

Monitoring should be integrated to continuously improve the applications for our users based on real data gathered, along the way improving the release cycles for the Development teams. This sounds great, but the actual implementation details require that we evolve the way in which the Business, Developers and IT Professionals have historically worked together.

The Business, Developers & IT Professionals all need to:

• Adopt agility while delivering with quality. These practices will extend throughout the full development lifecycle - from plan, through develop (including test), to release and operate in production
• Scale to meet larger volume and variety of data, while sustaining application performance and reliability with integrated DevOps processes.

At the same time, learning’s needs to occur throughout the cycle, to continually refine and improve both the development process and the applications being delivered.

What can I expect to learn more specifically at a technical level during this PreConf day?

We walk through IT/Operations role within every Application Lifecycle Management phase and at each phase provide deeper coverage of on-premises-only solutions [Morgan] and cloud-only solutions [David]. Hybrid DevOps scenarios will be covered at a high-level via slides, but not in-depth due to the time limitation and complexity involved.

We will also cover some open-source technologies which integrate with the Microsoft solutions such as Puppet and Chef at a higher-level as they relate to each phase. Below you can read what you can expect to learn in each phase, with the bulleted items highlighting areas where you can expect a deeper understanding.

The flow of the day will start off with a shorter session on the early Planning phase, explaining how people, processes, and products all play a part (lots of P's eh? :) ) in DevOps and why the Operations team needs to be involved even at this stage of the lifecycle.

In the Develop phase we show how infrastructure as code is a crucial foundation and demonstrate intelligent ways to automatically create Dev/Test environments based on application code produced by developers:

• Build automated Dev/Test environments on-premises - using System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM), Team Foundation Server (TFS), and Microsoft Test Manager (MTM).
• Build automated Dev/Test environments in the cloud - using PowerShell to provision Windows Azure infrastructure
• Load Testing - with Windows Azure and Visual Studio Online

With a solid "operationalized" foundation created in the development phase, a team is able to move into the Release phase, deploying the software quicker with a higher quality and are able to show a better return to the Business for their investments in the applications lifecycle.

• Change request tracking options - with System Center Service Manager (SCSM) and Visual Studio Release Management
• Enabling Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment - using Windows Azure and Visual Studio Online Projects with Git Repositories
• Moving from Dev/Test to Staging to Production environments - with Windows Azure and Visual Studio Online
• Automatically de-provisioning environments - in Windows Azure using PowerShell and on-premises using System Center Orchestrator

In the Operate phase, you'll want to make sure you have a mechanism to discover all the running infrastructure, reduce the mean time to detect (MTTD) problems, as well as reduce the mean time to repair (MTTR) problems with the applications - passing valuable learning and information back into the planning and development lifecycle phases. Furthermore, if the infrastructure performance becomes a problem, you'll need to understand how to scale and last but not least, you'll need to understand a few things about security.

• Detecting and fixing problems with System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and TFS.
• Performance Monitoring using Windows Azure, Application Insights, and Global Service Monitor
• Ensuring consistent Windows Azure infrastructure configuration using PowerShell DSC
• Troubleshooting and resolving problems with Windows Azure infrastructure
• Scaling Windows Azure infrastructure using auto-scale, traffic manager, and the service gateway

What are the next steps I should take?

• Register for the TechEd North America PreCon seminar here.
• Have an active dialog with David Tesar, other attendees and myself about this PreCon on the Channel 9 forum.
• Watch David and I present the shorter version of these concepts at the MVA jumpstart live event on DevOps for IT Pros on May 7th, 2014. Registration page coming soon!
• Follow David or I on twitter for future announcements about the content we plan to present, some of which we can't even talk about yet!

Morgan
@morgan_msft

There’s something delightfully old school about the jingles and jangles of arcade video game music. And for all you connoisseurs out there, “Spectra: 8bit Racing” has something extra special: 8-bit music that recreates those retro sounds a la 1980-something.

Each course in this racing game floats in space, challenging players to stay on track if they want to stay alive, says Xbox Wire.

The courses follow both horizontal and vertical axes with pinball bumper-like hazards popping up in rhythm with the tempo of the music itself, creating a game that requires a Zen-like connection to the 8-bit sound, as well as lightning-fast reflexes!

The courses weren’t built by hand, but by an engine that constructs them using an algorithm that “reads” the music.

Keep it tuned to Xbox Wire for more updates on this addictive and beautiful game currently in development as part of the ID@Xbox program.

You might also be interested in:

· “Titanfall” launches to widespread props and praise from game reviewers
· Jamming at the corner of cloud and mobile
· “Call of Duty“ calling you

Aimee Riordan
Microsoft News Center Staff

Hello Microsoft community.

Today is Monday, the day of our Interview with a Wiki Ninja.

And our interviewee will be Eduardo Sena.



He has been a member of the community since 2010.

He holds the title of MVP Windows Expert-IT Pro.

Author of the blog: http://www.eduardosena.com.br/

Twitter: @eduardodsantos

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eduardosenasantos


Let's get to know him a little more.


Who are you?

My name is Eduardo Sena and I am from the city of Teixeira de Freitas located within the Bahia in Brazil. I work as a support analyst at Unimed extreme south where I'm responsible for infrastructure. I'm also in the elaboration of projects of local infrastructure improvements and new features to assist in employee productivity in the enterprise. In the community I'm MVP in the category of Windows Expert-IT Pro.

Which technologies are your specialties?

I specialize in solutions for deployment and desktop management where use technologies such as Windows Intune and MDT 2012/2013. I'm always in search of new knowledge, and one of them is about Windows Server 2012.

How did you become MVP?

I work in the community since 2010. I started writing a few posts on my personal blog eduardosena.com.br with the intention of helping people resolve questions related to Windows 7. Participate actively in the Technet forums Windows Client and Windows Server technologies. Then I started doing face-to-face events in my region and also Webcasts. In 2011, I joined the Group MTAC and as a result went to the MSP where I stayed for a year.

In 2014, received the award for MVP Windows Expert-IT Pro by contributions to the community. Which is an honor for me.

Do you have any suggestion or tip for other members of the community who hope to become an MVP?

The tip that I leave to the community members, who want to become an MVP or being part of any other group of influencers from Microsoft is to make their contributions just because they like to spread their knowledge and learn. The recognition will be a consequence of the work done in the community. It was with that thought that I started my contributions in the community and keep it until today.

How were you introduced to the Technet Wiki?

I met the TechNet Wiki in a Webcast presented by Yuri Diogenes and other members of the community. He presented the Wiki and made the invitation to everyone in the community that could contribute, at the time the Wiki was starting in Brazil and had not yet exclusive page for articles in Portuguese. From this moment I started writing and I always do it when I have time.

What was your first collaboration?

My first contribution was about:

Solucionando Problemas: Aplicar gpo de Wallpaper em estações com Windows 7 (pt-BR)

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/3105.aspx


In which locations do you also contribute?

In addition to the Wiki, usually contribute answers to the TechNet forums, write posts on my personal blog eduardosena.com.br and msinfra.net blog and am comunnity lead along with the MTAC Thiago Guirotto in the technical community called WSG – Windows Study Group.

What are your projects?

The main project for the community that I'm working on now is Quintas de TI. In it I have the support of friends Thiago Guirotto and Erick Albuquerque. The Farms of TI is an independent project presented every Thursday the 23:00. It is presented by leading practitioners and influencers of Microsoft technical community as MSPs, MTACs and MVPs. Furthermore, with the participation of professionals certified as: MCTs, MCSAs and MCPs. the project aims to disseminate knowledge at various levels and for anyone who wants to improve their knowledge.

 How does the TechNet Wiki fit in your work?

Usually use the Technet Wiki as a rich source of research, which helps me and sana my doubts concerning the various Microsoft technologies. I use Wiki in the same way within my work, as a knowledge base for me and the team as a whole.

What interests you the most about TechNet Wiki?

The most interesting thing on Wiki is how content is offered and the amount of documents. This gives us a rich source of content for a variety of Microsoft technologies. What interests me are the guides for survival where we can find a centralized point with several articles relating to a particular technology.

Among the items that are contributed to the TechNet Wiki community, what are your favorites?

My favorite Wiki articles are:

Corrigindo erro 0x80004005 ao capturar imagens Windows 8 com MDT 2012 Update 1

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/pt-br/contents/articles/22013.corrigindo-erro-0x80004005-ao-capturar-imagens-windows-8-com-mdt-2012-update-1.aspx


Permitindo acesso ao Administrador Local a APP modern UI no Windows 8

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/pt-br/contents/articles/16904.permitindo-acesso-ao-administrador-local-a-app-modern-ui-no-windows-8.aspx


Configurando o Gerenciamento remoto do Hyper-V com HVRemote (pt-BR)

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/3594.configurando-o-gerenciamento-remoto-do-hyper-v-com-hvremote-pt-br.aspx

Who impressed you the most in the TechNet Wiki community?

Naming names I'd end up being unfair, even because it could get over someone. More I want to say that the Brazilian Wiki is to be congratulated on the quality and dedication of the files written by everyone.

The Microsoft community you help can only say thank you. So... Thank you very much!

 Eduardo's will, dedication, and commitment to help us is of the most fundamental importance of all.

We are sure that your example motivates other employees to be part of this great team that is the TechNet community.

Continue with the great collaboration!


Until the next opportunity,



Wiki Ninja Hezequias Vasconcelos

Helping school leaders clarify their vision for 1:1 learning and building an executable framework to bring this to life.

Microsoft and CORE Education bring you the complimentary 21 Steps to 21st century learning workshop in May 2014.

This two-day seminar will explore the planning and implementation of 1:1 learning in your school. Facilitated by world education leader, Bruce Dixon, the workshop is designed to support school Principals and eLearning leaders to work together. We recommend two leaders attend from each school.

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• Phase 5 – Evaluate Continuously: Effective evaluation of your initiative is the backbone of its success. Without any genuine commitment to such a process, the impact of the previous 20 Steps can be marginal. It underpins the ongoing development of a program and ensures the best possible outcomes for students, staff and the school.

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To learn more about “Super Time Force”, head on over to Xbox Wire.

You might also be interested in:

· First official footage from “Assassin’s Creed Unity” debuts
· Microsoft highlighted for carbon neutrality efforts by U.S. Chamber of Commerce
· Major League Gaming brings its first app to the big screen on Xbox 360

Jeff Meisner
Microsoft News Center Staff

The TechNet documentation for System Configuration Manager contains instructions for creating Prestaged Media at the below links:

System Center Configuration Manager 2007
How to Create Task Sequence Prestaged Media
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg294170.aspx

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
How to Deploy Operating Systems by Using Media in Configuration Manager
How to Create Prestaged Media
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/79465d90-4831-4872-96c2-2062d80f5583#BKMK_CreatePrestagedMedia

However there are no instructions on TechNet regarding how to apply the Prestaged Media to a hard drive for delivery to an OEM. The following article covered single partition scenarios for BIOS PCs:

How to stage Task Sequence Prestaged Media on a hard drive in Configuration Manager 2007
http://blogs.technet.com/b/configurationmgr/archive/2011/01/11/how-to-stage-task-sequence-prestaged-media-on-a-hard-drive-in-configuration-manager-2007.aspx

However, the article does not cover multi-partitioned scenarios such as:

1. BIOS PCs where the boot partition is separate from the OS partition. This is the default configuration for Windows 7 and newer and common in BitLocker scenarios.
   
   
2. UEFI PCs where separate EFI, MSR, and OS partitions are required (Recovery partition could also optionally exist).

This article will cover how to properly apply Task Sequence Prestaged Media on multi-partitioned volumes. Since Prestaged Media was introduced in R2 of ConfigMgr 2007, this article is only applicable when either R2 or R3 is installed as part of ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 or when using ConfigMgr 2012.

How To Apply Task Sequence Prestaged Media on Multi-partitioned Disks

There are two ways to properly apply a Task Sequence Prestaged Media on a hard drive:

• Manually
• Automated Via A Task Sequence

Click on the section below to take you to the area of your interest:

• Manually Apply A Task Sequence Prestaged Media On A Hard Drive

• • BIOS PCs
  • UEFI PCs

• Automate Applying A Task Sequence Prestaged Media On A Hard Drive Via A Task Sequence

• • Apply The Prestaged Media Via The Apply Data Image Task
  • Apply The Prestaged Media Via The Run Command Line Task

• Considerations For The Task Sequence That Utilizes The Prestaged Media

Manually Apply A Task Sequence Prestaged Media On A Hard Drive

The steps for applying Prestaged Media are different for BIOS PCs vs. UEFI PCs, therefore two different sections are provided - one for BIOS PCs and another for UEFI PCS. Please select the method that is applicable:

• BIOS PCs
• UEFI PCs 

BIOS PCs:

The following instructions apply to BIOS PCs for both ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 R2/R3 and ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and newer.

1. On the PC where the Prestaged Media needs to be applied onto the hard drive, boot into WinPE via a ConfigMgr boot image that has command prompt support enabled. The method by which booting into WinPE (PXE, USB Flash Media, CD/DVD Media) does not matter.
   
   As an alternative a custom non-ConfigMgr WinPE boot image can be used. If using a custom WinPE boot image, please make sure it is a WinPE 4 or newer boot image, even if using ConfigMgr 2007. If a custom non-ConfigMgr WinPE boot image is being used, boot into the custom WinPE boot image and then skip to Step 3.
   
   Please note the following:
   
   
   • If using ConfigMgr PXE to boot into WinPE, you may need to optionally deploy a Task Sequence to the PC to get the PC to boot into WinPE. Any Task Sequence should work.
   • If using USB Flash Media, it may be beneficial to copy the Prestaged Media to the USB Flash Media for easier access later in the process
     
     
2. Once in WinPE, when the Task Sequence Wizard is displayed, hit F8 to open a command prompt window. DO NOT click on the Next > button in the Task Sequence Wizard window or proceed with picking a Task Sequence to run. Once you have hit F8 and a command prompt window is open, you can click on the Cancel button in the Task Sequence Wizard to dismiss it. As long as the command prompt window is open, the computer will not reboot automatically.
   
   When the command prompt window opens it will do so with an X:\ command prompt. Please note that the path of the command prompt may be X:\sms\bin\x64 or X:\sms\bin\i386. This is normal and the path does not need to be changed. For any additional references to the X:\ command prompt in the below steps, please assume X:\sms\bin\x64 or X:\sms\bin\i386 to be the same as X:\.
   
   
3. In the command prompt window, at the X:\ command prompt type in:
   
   DiskPart
   
   This should give the DISKPART> prompt.
   
   
4. At the DISKPART> prompt, type in the following commands in the order specified below. Make sure to hit Enter after each command:
   
   Select Disk 0
   Clean
   Create Partition Primary Size=350
   Active
   Format FS=NTFS Label="System Reserved" Quick Override
   Assign Letter=S
   Create Partition Primary
   Format FS=NTFS Label=OS Quick Override
   Assign Letter=S
   
   The above commands will set up two partitions:
   
   
   • A boot partition of size 350MB formatted NTFS with the name "System Reserved" and assigned a drive letter of S:.
   • An OS partition that utilizes the remaining hard drive space formatted NTFS with the name "OS" and assigned a drive letter of C:
     
     
5. To confirm the partitioning from Step 4, at the DISKPART> prompt, type in:
   
   List Volume
   
   This will list all of the volumes on all of the drives attached to the PC and should allow confirmation that the partitioning was set up correctly. If the Prestaged Media is located on a local drive connected to the PC such as a USB Flash Drive, also note the drive letter of that drive for use later in the process.
   
   
6. Once the partitioning has been determined to be correct, at the DISKPART> prompt, type in:
   
   Exit
   
   This will exit DiskPart and go back to the X:\ command prompt.
   
   
7. If the Prestaged Media is not located on a local drive connected to the PC such as a USB Flash Drive, use the Net Use command to connect to a network share that contains the Prestaged Media.
   
   
8. At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
   
   
   • WinPE 4 or newer boot image (default in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and newer)
     DISM.exe /Apply-Image /ImageFile:<Path_To_Prestaged_Media_File> /Index:1 /ApplyDir:C:\
     
     where Path_To_Prestaged_Media_File is the path to the Prestaged Media from Steps 5 or 7. Do not include the brackets (<>) in the path.
     
     
   • WinPE 3.x boot image (default in ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 R2/R3)
     imagex.exe /apply <Path_To_Prestaged_Media_File> 1 C:
     
     where Path_To_Prestaged_Media_File is the path to the Prestaged Media from Steps 5 or 7. Do not include the brackets (<>) in the path.
     
     Note: Imagex.exe is not included in the WinPE 3.x boot image. It will need to be obtained from the Windows AIK\Tools\<architecture> folder from the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) 2.0 installation on the ConfigMgr 2007 site server. Once imagex.exe has been obtained, in will need to be copied to a location that can be accessed during the process, such as a network drive or local USB Flash Drive
     
     

This step will apply the Prestaged Media to the OS partition and will take a few minutes to complete.

1. After the Prestaged Media has finished applying, at the X:\ command prompt, type in:
   
   WinPE 4 or newer boot image (default in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and newer)
   bcdboot.exe C:\Windows /s S: /f BIOS
   
   WinPE 3.x boot image (default in ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 R2/R3)
   bcdboot.exe C:\Windows /s S:
   
   This step will copy critical boot files to the boot partition (S:) and create a new BCD store.
   
   
2. At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
   
   DEL S:\boot\bcd /f /q
   
   This will delete the default BCD store created in Step 9 by the bcdboot.exe command in preparation for creating a custom BCD store.
   
   
3. At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
   
   COPY C:\boot\bcd S:\boot /y
   
   This will copy the BCD store created by the Prestaged Media to the boot partition (S:).
   
   
4. At the X:\ command prompt, type in the following BCDEdit commands in the order specified below. Make sure to hit Enter after each command:
   
   BCDEdit.exe /Store S:\Boot\BCD /Set {ramdiskoptions} ramdisksdidevice partition=C:
   BCDEdit.exe /Store S:\Boot\BCD /Set {Default} device ramdisk=[C:]\sources\boot.wim,{ramdiskoptions}
   BCDEdit.exe /Store S:\Boot\BCD /Set {Default} osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\sources\boot.wim,{ramdiskoptions}
   BCDEdit.exe /Store S:\Boot\BCD -set {bootmgr} device partition=S:
   
   These BCDEdit commands set up the BCD store to boot WinPE from the hard drive into a RAM disk. The WinPE on the hard drive is the one that was created by the Prestaged Media.

In ConfigMgr 2012 SP1, the variable OSDPreserveDriveLetter was added that allowed an administrator to specify what they wanted the drive letter to be in the new Windows OS. If OSDPreserveDriveLetter is set to TRUE (default), it will use the drive letter assigned in the captured OS WIM. If OSDPreserveDriveLetter is set to FALSE, it will use the drive letter assigned to the OS partition in WinPE. In most cases administrators want the new Windows OS to be assigned a drive letter of C:. However under certain scenarios, this may not be possible using the OSDPreserveDriveLetter variable. Consider the following scenario:

• Captured OS WIM has a drive letter other than C:. For example Install.WIM from the installation source files of some Windows versions are captured with drive letter D:.
  
  
• The OS partition is assigned a drive letter other than C: in WinPE. For example, in the above Prestaged Media configuration, when the PC boots into WinPE from the Prestaged Media, the boot partition would receive a drive letter of C: (since it is the first partition) and the OS partition would receive a drive letter of D: (since it is the second partition).

In the above scenario since both the captured OS WIM and the OS partition in WinPE are assigned a drive letter of D:, regardless of what the variable OSDPreserveDriveLetter is set to, the new Windows OS will end up on drive letter D:. This is undesirable for most administrators.

To resolve the problem, commands can be added to the winpeshl.ini file that reassigns drive letters in WinPE so that the OS partition is given a drive letter of C:. This is can be done via a DiskPart script that is launched by winpeshl.ini before it launches the Task Sequence. Winpeshl.ini is the file that controls what is launched after WinPE finishes loading.

To implement the solution follow the below steps. If you are using ConfigMgr 2007 or you do not want to implement the solution, skip to Step 24 to complete applying the Prestaged Media to the hard drive.

1. At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
   
   md c:\windows\temp\mount
   
   This will create a temporary directory to mount the boot image from the Prestaged Media to.
   
   
2. At the X:\ command prompt, type in the following command to mount the boot image from the Prestaged Media:
   
   DISM.exe /Mount-Image /ImageFile:C:\sources\boot.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\Windows\Temp\Mount
   
3. At the X:\ command prompt, type in the following command to open NotePad:
   
   NotePad.exe
   
   
4. Copy the below lines and then paste in NotePad:
   
   Select Disk 0
   Select Partition 1
   Assign Letter=S
   Select Partition 2
   Assign Letter=C
   Exit
   
   This will create a DiskPart script that assigns a drive letter of S: to the boot partition and a drive letter of C: to the OS partition. This DiskPart script will be used later in the process.
   
   
5. In NotePad, go to File --> Save:
   
   
   • Navigate to the following path
     
     C:\Windows\Temp\Mount\Windows\temp
     
     
   • Next to Save as type: switch from Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files (*.*).
     
     
   • Next to File name:, type in
     
     diskpart-bios.txt
     
     
   • Click on the Save button.
     
     
6. In NotePad, go to File --> Open:
   
   
   • Navigate to the following path
     
     C:\Windows\Temp\Mount\Windows\System32
     
     
   • Next to File name: switch from Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files (*.*).
     
     
   • Locate and then double click on:
     
     winpeshl.ini
     
     to open it.
     
     
7. Depending on the architecture, the winpeshl.ini file will have one of the following two configurations:
   
   x64
   [LaunchApps]
   %SYSTEMDRIVE%\sms\bin\x64\TsBootShell.ex
   
   x86
   [LaunchApps]
   %SYSTEMDRIVE%\sms\bin\i386\TsBootShell.ex
   
   Replace and overwrite the contents of the existing winpeshl.ini file by copying and pasting the lines below into the file. Make sure to choose the appropriate architecture:
   
   x64
   [LaunchApps]
   %windir%\system32\diskpart.exe, /s x:\windows\temp\diskpart-bios.txt
   %SYSTEMDRIVE%\sms\bin\x64\TsBootShell.exe
   
   x86
   [LaunchApps]
   %windir%\system32\diskpart.exe, /s x:\windows\temp\diskpart-bios.txt
   %SYSTEMDRIVE%\sms\bin\i386\TsBootShell.exe
   
   The above steps will create an updated winpeshl.ini file. Any commands in the winpeshl.ini file will run automatically when WinPE starts up. In this case the following actions take place:
   
   
   • Runs a DiskPart script that assigns the boot partition a drive letter of S: and the OS partition a drive letter of C:
   • Runs the Task Sequence Wizard (which is used to launch the Task Sequence)
     
     
8. In NotePad save the changes to the winpeshl.ini file by going to File --> Save.
   
   
9. Close out of NotePad by going to File --> Exit.
   
   
10. At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
    
    DISM.exe /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\Windows\Temp\Mount /Commit
    
    This will save the boot image with the DiskPart script and updated winpeshl.ini.
    
    
11. At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
    
    rmdir c:\windows\temp\mount /s /q
    
    This will clean up the mount directory by deleting it.
    
    
12. At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
    
    wpeutil shutdown
    
    This will shut down the PC.

Unless testing to make sure the Prestaged Media works, DO NOT turn the PC back on after Step 24 or else the whole process will need to be repeated from Step 1. A this point the Task Sequence Prestaged Media file has been successfully applied to the hard drive of the PC and the boot partition has been properly prepared to be booted from the Prestaged Media. The hard drive should be ready for delivery to the OEM.

UEFI PCs:

The following instructions apply to UEFI PCs for ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and newer. Since UEFI support was introduced in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1, the below steps are not intended for ConfigMgr 2007 SP2 R2/R3.

1. On the PC where the Prestaged Media needs to be applied onto the hard drive, boot into WinPE via a ConfigMgr boot image that has command prompt support enabled. The method by which booting into WinPE (PXE, USB Flash Media, CD/DVD Media) does not matter.
   
   As an alternative a custom non-ConfigMgr WinPE boot image can be used. If a custom non-ConfigMgr WinPE boot image is being used, skip to Step 3.
   
   Please note the following:
   
   

• If using ConfigMgr PXE, you may need to optionally deploy a Task Sequence to the PC to get the PC to boot into WinPE. Any Task Sequence should work.
  
  
• If using USB Flash Media, it may be beneficial to copy the Prestaged Media to the USB Flash Media for easier access later in the process.
  
  

• Once in WinPE, when the Task Sequence Wizard is displayed, hit F8 to open a command prompt window. DO NOT click on the Next > button in the Task Sequence Wizard window or proceed with picking a Task Sequence to run. Once you have hit F8 and a command prompt window is open, you can click on the Cancel button in the Task Sequence Wizard to dismiss it. As long as the command prompt window is open, the computer will not reboot automatically.
  
  When the command prompt window opens it will do so with an X:\ command prompt. Please note that the path of the command prompt may be X:\sms\bin\x64 or X:\sms\bin\i386. This is normal and the path does not need to be changed. For any additional references to the X:\ command prompt in the below steps, please assume X:\sms\bin\x64 or X:\sms\bin\i386 to be the same as X:\.
  
  
• In the command prompt window, at the X:\ command prompt type in:
  
  DiskPart
  
  This should give the DISKPART> prompt.
  
  
• At the DISKPART> prompt, type in the following commands in the order specified below. Make sure to hit Enter after each command:
  
  Select Disk 0
  Clean
  Convert GPT
  Create Partition EFI Size=500
  Format FS=fat32 Label=EFI Quick Override
  Assign Letter=S
  Create Partition MSR Size=128
  Create Partition Primary
  Format FS=NTFS Label=OS Quick Override
  Assign Letter=C
  
  If a Recovery partition is desired, add the following commands in between the Convert GPT and Create Partition EFI Size=500 commands. Please note that the Recovery partition is optional and not required for UEFI PCs:
  
  Create Partition Primary Size=300
  Format FS=NTFS Label=Recovery Quick Override
  Set ID="de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac"
  GPT Attributes=0x8000000000000001
  Attributes Volume Set NoDefaultDriveLetter
  
  The above commands will convert the disk to a GPT disk (required for UEFI PCs) and set up the following partitions:
  
  

• If creating the optional Recovery partition, a partition of size 300MB formatted NTFS with the name "Recovery". The partition is not assigned a drive letter and is marked as required to prevent users from deleting it.
• An EFI (boot) partition of size 500MB formatted FAT32 with the name "EFI" and assigned a drive letter of S:. The EFI partition must be formatted FAT32 and cannot be NTFS.
• An MSR partition of size 128MB. An MSR partition is required for UEFI PCs. MSR partitions are not formatted.
• An OS partition formatted NTFS that utilizes the remaining hard drive space with the name "OS" and assigned a drive letter of C:.
  
  

• To confirm the partitioning from Step 4, at the DISKPART> prompt, type in:
  
  List Volume
  
  This will list all of the volumes on all of the drives attached to the PC and should allow confirmation that the partitioning was set up correctly. If the Prestaged Media is located on a local drive connected to the PC such as a USB Flash Drive, also note the drive letter of that drive for use later in the process.
  
  The MSR partition will not be displayed when using the List Volume command. To list all partitions on the disk including the MSR partition use the List Partition command instead.
  
  
• Once the partitioning has been determined to be correct, at the DISKPART> prompt, type in:
  
  Exit
  
  This will exit DiskPart and go back to the X:\ command prompt.
  
  
• If the Prestaged Media is not located on a local drive connected to the PC such as a USB Flash Drive, use the Net Use command to connect to a network share that contains the Prestaged Media.
  
  
• At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
  
  DISM.exe /Apply-Image /ImageFile:<Path_To_Prestaged_Media_File> /Index:1 /ApplyDir:C:\
  
  where Path_To_Prestaged_Media_File is the path to the Prestaged Media from Step 5 or 7. Do not include the brackets (<>) in the path.
  
  This step will apply the Prestaged Media to the OS partition and will take a few minutes to complete.
  
  
• After the Prestaged Media has finished applying, at the X:\ command prompt, type in:
  
  bcdboot.exe C:\Windows /s S: /f UEFI
  
  This step will copy critical boot files to the EFI partition (S:) and create a new BCD store.
  
  
• At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
  
  DEL S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD /f /q
  
  This will delete the default BCD store created in Step 9 by the bcdboot.exe command in preparation for creating a custom BCD store.
  
  
• At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
  
  COPY C:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot /y
  
  This will copy the BCD store created by the Prestaged Media to the EFI partition (S:).
  
  
• At the X:\ command prompt, type in the following BCDEdit commands in the order specified below. Make sure to hit Enter after each command:
  
  BCDEdit.exe /Store S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD /Set {ramdiskoptions} ramdisksdidevice partition=C:
  BCDEdit.exe /Store S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD /Set {Default} device ramdisk=[C:]\sources\boot.wim,{ramdiskoptions}
  BCDEdit.exe /Store S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD /Set {Default} osdevice ramdisk=[C:]\sources\boot.wim,{ramdiskoptions}
  BCDEdit.exe /Store S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD -set {bootmgr} device partition=S:
  
  
  These BCDEdit commands set up the BCD store to boot WinPE from the hard drive into a RAM disk. The WinPE on the hard drive is the one that was created by the Prestaged Media.

There is a know issue in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and ConfigMgr 2012 R2 where when booting from Prestaged Media on a UEFI PC, after applying the Prestaged Media, it will boot successfully to the Task Sequence Wizard the first time the PC is booted. However if a Task Sequence is not selected from the Task Sequence Wizard and instead the Task Sequence Wizard is canceled, the PC will restart and any subsequent boots will not succeed. The reason that this happens is that the Task Sequence Wizard deletes the boot files from the EFI partition.

This issue can be worked around by adding commands to the winpeshl.ini file that backs up the boot files from the EFI partition and later restores the boot files after the Task Sequence has deleted them. Winpeshl.ini is the file that controls what is launched after WinPE finishes loading.

To implement the workaround follow the below steps. If you do not want to implement the workaround, skip to Step 24 to complete applying the Prestaged Media to the hard drive.

1. At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
   
   md c:\windows\temp\mount
   
   This will create a temporary directory to mount the boot image from the Prestaged Media to.
   
   
2. At the X:\ command prompt, type in the following command to mount the boot image from the Prestaged Media:
   
   DISM.exe /Mount-Image /ImageFile:C:\sources\boot.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\Windows\Temp\Mount
   
3. At the X:\ command prompt, type in the following command to open NotePad:
   
   NotePad.exe
   
4. Copy the below lines and then paste in NotePad:
   
   Select Disk 0
   Select Partition 1
   Assign Letter=S
   Exit
   
   If a Recovery partition was created in Step 4, change the line Select Partition 1 to Select Partition 2.
   
   This will create a DiskPart script that assigns a drive letter of S: to the EFI partition. This DiskPart script will be used later in the process.
   
   
5. In NotePad, go to File --> Save:
   
   

• Navigate to the following path
  
  C:\Windows\Temp\Mount\Windows\temp
  
• Next to Save as type: switch from Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files (*.*).
  
  
• Next to File name:, type in
  
  diskpart-efi.txt
  
• Click on the Save button.
  
  

• In NotePad, go to File --> Open:
  
  

• Navigate to the following path
  
  C:\Windows\Temp\Mount\Windows\System32
  
  
• Next to File name: switch from Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files (*.*).
  
  
• Locate and then double click on:
  
  winpeshl.ini
  
  to open it.
  
  

• Depending on the architecture, the winpeshl.ini file will have one of the following two configurations:
  
  x64
  [LaunchApps]
  %SYSTEMDRIVE%\sms\bin\x64\TsBootShell.ex
  
  x86
  [LaunchApps]
  %SYSTEMDRIVE%\sms\bin\i386\TsBootShell.ex
  
  Replace and overwrite the contents of the existing winpeshl.ini file by copying and pasting the lines below into the file. Make sure to choose the appropriate architecture:
  
  x64
  [LaunchApps]
  %windir%\system32\diskpart.exe, /s x:\windows\temp\diskpart-efi.txt
  %windir%\system32\xcopy.exe, /e S:\EFI\*.* C:\Windows\temp\EFIOrg\*.* /H /Y
  %SYSTEMDRIVE%\sms\bin\x64\TsBootShell.exe
  %windir%\system32\diskpart.exe, /s x:\windows\temp\diskpart-efi.txt
  %windir%\system32\xcopy.exe, /e S:\EFI\*.* C:\Windows\temp\EFINew\*.* /H /Y
  %windir%\system32\xcopy.exe, /e C:\Windows\temp\EFIOrg\*.* S:\EFI\*.* /H /Y
  %windir%\system32\xcopy.exe, /e C:\Windows\temp\EFINew\*.* S:\EFI\*.* /H /Y
  %windir%\system32\cmd.exe, /c rmdir C:\Windows\temp\EFIOrg /s /q
  %windir%\system32\cmd.exe, /c rmdir C:\Windows\temp\EFINew /s /q
  
  
  x86
  [LaunchApps]
  %windir%\system32\diskpart.exe, /s x:\windows\temp\diskpart-efi.txt
  %windir%\system32\xcopy.exe, /e S:\EFI\*.* C:\Windows\temp\EFIOrg\*.* /H /Y
  %SYSTEMDRIVE%\sms\bin\i386\TsBootShell.exe
  %windir%\system32\diskpart.exe, /s x:\windows\temp\diskpart-efi.txt
  %windir%\system32\xcopy.exe, /e S:\EFI\*.* C:\Windows\temp\EFINew\*.* /H /Y
  %windir%\system32\xcopy.exe, /e C:\Windows\temp\EFIOrg\*.* S:\EFI\*.* /H /Y
  %windir%\system32\xcopy.exe, /e C:\Windows\temp\EFINew\*.* S:\EFI\*.* /H /Y
  %windir%\system32\cmd.exe, /c rmdir C:\Windows\temp\EFIOrg /s /q
  %windir%\system32\cmd.exe, /c rmdir C:\Windows\temp\EFINew /s /q
  
  The above steps will create an updated winpeshl.ini file. Any commands in the winpeshl.ini file will run automatically when WinPE starts up. In this case the following actions take place:
  
  

• Runs a DiskPart script that assigns the EFI partitions a drive letter of S:
• Backs up the contents of the original EFI partition
• Runs the Task Sequence Wizard (which is used to launch the Task Sequence)
• Runs a DiskPart script that assigns the EFI partitions a drive letter of S: (in case the drive letter was lost if a Task Sequence ran)
• Backs up the contents of the current EFI partition (in case it changed if a Task Sequence ran - if no Task Sequence ran, this step will not do anything)
• Restores the original EFI partition
• Restores the current EFI partition (if no Task Sequence ran, this step will not do anything)
• Cleans up the backed up EFI partitions
  
  

• In NotePad save the changes to the winpeshl.ini file by going to File --> Save.
  
  
• Close out of NotePad by going to File --> Exit.
  
  
• At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
  
  DISM.exe /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\Windows\Temp\Mount /Commit
  
  This will save the boot image with the DiskPart script and updated winpeshl.ini.
  
  
• At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
  
  rmdir c:\windows\temp\mount /s /q
  
  This will clean up the mount directory by deleting it.
  
  
• At the X:\ command prompt, type in:
  
  wpeutil shutdown
  
  This will shut down the PC.

Unless testing to make sure the Prestaged Media works, DO NOT turn the PC back on after Step 24 or else the whole process may need to be repeated from Step 1. A this point the Task Sequence Prestaged Media file has been successfully applied to the hard drive of the PC and the boot partition has been properly prepared to be booted from the Prestaged Media. The hard drive should be ready for delivery to the OEM.

Please note that the problem where the OS does not end up on drive letter C: as described under the BIOS section usually only occurs on BIOS PCs. It does not occur on UEFI PCs because the partitions that precede the OS partition (the EFI, MSR, and if created, the Recovery partitions) normally are not assigned a drive letter in WinPE. The end result is that for UEFI PCs the OS partition in WinPE receives a drive letter of C: because it is the first partition to receive a drive letter. However to ensure that the OS ends up on the C: drive, in the Task Sequence that utilizes the Prestaged Media, the variable OSDPreserveDriveLetter may need to be set to FALSE.

Automate Applying A Task Sequence Prestaged Media On A Hard Drive Via A Task Sequence

The process of applying the Task Sequence Prestaged Media can be automated via a Task Sequence. For ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and newer, via the variable _SMSTSBootUEFI, one Task Sequence can be used to apply the Prestaged Media on either BIOS or UEFI PCs. The Task Sequence can be a bit difficult to create via a manual step by step process due to the logic involved, so instead of a step by step process describing the creation of the Task Sequence, an exported version of the Task Sequence with all of the steps and logic is provided as a download link below.

It is important to note that when applying the Task Sequence Prestaged Media on a hard drive, it is not a requirement to import the Prestaged Media into the ConfigMgr console. However th Task Sequence in this article uses the Apply Data Image task to apply the Prestaged Media. When using the Apply Data Image task it is required that the Prestaged Media be imported as an Operating System Image in the ConfigMgr console and then distributed to a Distribution Point(s).

If you do not wish to import the Prestaged Media into the ConfigMgr console, instead of an Apply Data Image task, the Task Sequence can be modified to use a Run Command Line task to manually run DISM to apply the Prestaged Media from a predetermined location. Due to the WinPE 3.x boot images of ConfigMgr 2007 missing tools that can manually apply WIM image files (imagex.exe or a version of DISM that supports the /apply-image option), this option is only possible when using ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 or newer. The tools could be added to the WinPE 3.x boot images, but this is beyond the scope of this article.

Please select the method that you would prefer to use:

• Apply The Prestaged Media Via The Apply Data Image Task
• Apply The Prestaged Media Via The Run Command Line Task (ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 or newer only)

Apply The Prestaged Media Via The Apply Data Image Task

To use a Task Sequence to automate applying the Prestaged Media on a hard drive via the Apply Data Image task:

1. Import the Prestaged Media as an Operating System Image. For information on how to do import an Operating System Image see the below links:
   
   System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
   How to Manage Operating System Images and Installers in Configuration Manager
   How to Add an Operating System Image or Operating System Installer
   To add an operating system image
   http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh397283.aspx#mainBody
   
   System Center Configuration Manager 2007
   How to Add Operating System Images
   http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb633411.aspx
   
   
2. Deploy the Prestaged Media from Step 1 to a Distribution Point (DP) that the PC where the Prestaged Media will be applied to has access to.
   
   
3. Download the appropriate exported Task Sequence from the below links:
   
   

• ConfigMgr 2007 Task Sequence to apply Prestaged Media to multi-partitioned BIOS PCs
  
  Since ConfigMgr 2007 saves exported Task Sequence as XML files, and since web browsers display XML files natively, clicking on the above link will only display the XML file in a new windows. To download the above XML file in the above link, right click on the link and choose to download the file. Depending on the web browser being used, this option could be labeled something like Save target as... or Save Link As....
  
  
• ConfigMgr 2012 Task Sequence to apply Prestaged Media to multi-partitioned BIOS & UEFI PCs
  
  ConfigMgr 2012 saves exported Task Sequence as ZIP files. Clicking on the above link should download the file automatically.
  
  

• Import the Task Sequence downloaded in Step 3 into ConfigMgr:
  
  

• System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
  
  

1. To import the task sequence into ConfigMgr 2012, follow the below TechNet documentation:
   
   How to Manage Task Sequences in Configuration Manager
   How to Export and Import Task Sequences
   To import task sequences
   http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh273490.aspx#BKMK_ExportImport
   
   
2. When running the Import Task Sequence Wizard in ConfigMgr 2012 as described in the link in the previous step, at the File Content screen, under the Action column, change Import Failure to Overwrite Ignore Dependency. This will allow you to proceed through the Import Task Sequence Wizard and complete the import of the Task Sequence.
   
   
3. Once the Task Sequence is imported into ConfigMgr 2012, right click on the Task Sequence and choose Edit. You will receive the following message:
   
   The objects referenced in the task sequence cannot be found. Verify that the object exists and that the task sequence references the correct object name and location.
   
   Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task
   
   Click on the OK button to continue.
   
   

• System Center Configuration Manager 2007
  
  

1. To import the task sequence into ConfigMgr 2012, follow the below TechNet documentation:
   
   How to Copy a Task Sequence from one Configuration Manager 2007 Site to Another
   http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb632642.aspx
   (Follow Steps 6 - 11)
   
   
2. When importing the Task Sequence in ConfigMgr 2007, an Error Reference dialog box will appear with the message:
   
   This task sequence object references one or more invalid packages. Do you want to edit it?
   
   Click on the Yes button.
   
   

• The Task Sequence should automatically open to the Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task. If it does not do so, make sure to click on the Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task task.
  
  
• Under the Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task, next to Image package:, click on the Browse... button and choose the Prestaged Media that was imported in Step 1.
  
  
• For ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and newer, by default the Task Sequence is configured for a partitioning scheme that does not create a Recovery partition for UEFI PCs. If a Recovery partition is desired, follow the below steps. Please note that the Recovery partition is optional and not required for UEFI PCs.
  
  If a Recovery partition is not desired for UEFI PCs or if only deploying to BIOS PCs, please skip to Step 9.
  
  

1. Click on the Without Recovery Partition group, click on the Options tab, and then click the option Disable this step. This should disable the Without Recovery Partition group.
   
   
2. Click on the With Recovery Partition group, click on the Options tab, and then uncheck the option Disable this step. This should enable the With Recovery Partition group.
   
   
   

• Click on the OK button to save the Task Sequence.
  
  
• Right click on the Task Sequence and choose Properties.
  
  
• In the Task Sequence Properties window, click on the Advanced tab. In the Advanced tab:
  
  

• Click the option Use a boot image: so that it is checked.
  
  
• Under Use a boot image:, click on the Browse... button and select a boot image from the ConfigMgr environment. Please note that for UEFI PCs the architecture of the boot image has to match the architecture of the PC.
  
  

• Click on the OK button in the Task Sequence Properties window.
  
  
• Deploy and run the Task Sequence to the PC where the Prestaged Media needs to be applied to.
  
  
• Once the Task Sequence is complete, the PC will shut down automatically.

Unless testing to make sure the Prestaged Media works, DO NOT turn the PC back on after Step 13 or else the Task Sequence will need to be rerun on the PC. A this point the Task Sequence Prestaged Media file has been successfully applied to the hard drive of the PC and the boot partition has been properly prepared to be booted from the Prestaged Media. The hard drive should be ready for delivery to the OEM.

Apply The Prestaged Media Via The Run Command Line Task (ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 or newer only)

To use a Task Sequence to automate applying the Prestaged Media on a hard drive via the Run Command Line task:

1. Download the exported ConfigMgr 2012 Task Sequence from the below link:
   
   ConfigMgr 2012 Task Sequence to apply Prestaged Media to multi-partitioned BIOS & UEFI PCs
   
   ConfigMgr 2012 saves exported Task Sequence as ZIP files. Clicking on the above link should download the file automatically.
   
   
2. Import the Task Sequence downloaded in Step 1 into ConfigMgr. For information on how to import a Task Sequence see the below links:
   
   How to Manage Task Sequences in Configuration Manager
   How to Export and Import Task Sequences
   To import task sequences
   http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh273490.aspx#BKMK_ExportImport
   
   
3. When running the Import Task Sequence Wizard in ConfigMgr 2012 as described in the link in the previous step, at the File Content screen, under the Action column, change Import Failure to Overwrite Ignore Dependency. This will allow you to proceed through the Import Task Sequence Wizard and complete the import of the Task Sequence.
   
   
4. After the Task Sequence has been imported, right click on the Task Sequence and choose Properties.
   
   
5. In the Task Sequence Properties window, click on the Advanced tab. In the Advanced tab:
   
   

• Make sure that the option Use a boot image: is checked.
  
  
• Under Use a boot image:, click on the Browse... button and select a boot image from the ConfigMgr environment. Please note that for UEFI PCs the architecture of the boot image has to match the architecture of the PC.
  
  

• Click on the OK button in the Task Sequence Properties window.
  
  
• Right click on the Task Sequence and choose Edit. You will receive the following message:
  
  The objects referenced in the task sequence cannot be found. Verify that the object exists and that the task sequence references the correct object name and location.
  
  Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task
  
  Click on the OK button to continue.
  
  
• The Task Sequence should automatically open to the Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task. If it does not do so, make sure to click on the Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task task.
  
  
• Under the Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task task, click on the Options tab, and then click on the Disable this step option. This will disable the Apply Prestaged Media via Apply Data Image task task.
  
  
• Click on the Apply Prestaged Media via Run Command Line task group, click on the Options tab, and then uncheck the Disable this step option. This will enable the Apply Prestaged Media via Run Command Line task group.
  
  
• Under the Apply Prestaged Media via Run Command Line task group, click on the Connect to Network Folder task:
  
  

• Configure the Path: field so that it points to the UNC path where the Prestaged Media is located.
  
  
• Configure the Account: field so that it has the proper credentials to connect to the UNC path in the Path: field.

Please note that if you plan to have the Prestaged Media on a local drive such as a USB Flash Drive, this task can be disabled by clicking on the Options tab, and then clicking on the Disable this step option.

1. Click on the Apply Prestaged Media task. In the DISM command under the Command line: box, next to /ImageFile:, replace prestaged_media_file.wim with the correct the path and name for the Prestaged Media WIM file. If using a network path, the path can be determined based on the settings of the Connect to Network Folder task in Step 11. When modifying the path in the DISM command, please make sure there is not a space between the /ImageFile: option and the path to the Prestaged Media file.
   
   
2. By default the Task Sequence is configured for a partitioning scheme that does not create a Recovery partition for UEFI PCs. If a Recovery partition is desired, follow the below steps. Please note that the Recovery partition is optional and not required for UEFI PCs.
   
   If a Recovery partition is not desired for UEFI PCs or if only deploying to BIOS PCs, please skip to Step 14.
   
   

1. Click on the Without Recovery Partition group, click on the Options tab, and then click the option Disable this step. This will disable the Without Recovery Partition group.
   
   
2. Click on the With Recovery Partition group, click on the Options tab, and then uncheck the option Disable this step. This will enable the With Recovery Partition group.
   
   

• Click on the OK button to save the Task Sequence.
  
  
• Deploy and run the Task Sequence to the PC where the Prestaged Media needs to be applied to.
  
  
• Once the Task Sequence is complete, the PC will shut down automatically.

Unless testing to make sure the Prestaged Media works, DO NOT turn the PC back on after Step 16 or else the Task Sequence will need to be rerun on the PC. A this point the Task Sequence Prestaged Media file has been successfully applied to the hard drive of the PC and the boot partition has been properly prepared to be booted from the Prestaged Media. The hard drive should be ready for delivery to the OEM.

Please note that in Step 12, a local drive, such as a USB Flash Drive, can be used instead of a network drive. This approach would not require the Connect to Network Folder task. However the main challenge with this approach is determining what the drive letter of the local drive will be in WinPE so that the path to the Prestaged Media can be properly modified in Step 12.

Considerations For The Task Sequence That Utilizes The Prestaged Media

1. If the Task Sequence being used to deploy the Prestaged Media is being used for other scenarios besides Prestaged Media or with PCs that have different partitioning schemes (BIOS vs. UEFI), you may need to have multiple Apply Operating System tasks with conditions that account for each different scenarios. For example:
   
   
   

   1. When deploying Prestaged Media on BIOS PCs, you may need to configure the following in the Apply Operating System task:
      
      
   • In the Options tab, create a condition where the Task Sequence variable _SMSTSMediaType equals OEMMedia
     
   • In the Options tab, create a condition where the Task Sequence variable _SMSTSBootUEFI not equals TRUE (only applicable in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 or newer)
     
     
   • In the Properties tab, under Select the location where you want to apply this operating system, set the following values:
     
     
   • Destination: Specific disk and partition
   • Disk: 0
   • Partition: 2
     
     

• In the Options tab, create a condition where theTask Sequence variable _SMSTSMediaType equals OEMMedia
  
• In the Options tab, create a condition where theTask Sequence variable _SMSTSBootUEFI equals TRUE
  

•  In the Properties tab, under Select the location where you want to apply this operating system, set the following values:
  

  • Destination: Specific disk and partition
  • Disk: 0
  • Partition: 3 (no Recovery partition present) or Partition: 4 (Recovery partition present)
    
    

• In ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 or newer, if applying the solution in Steps 13 - 23 for BIOS PCs which guarantees that the OS is applied to drive letter C:, in the Task Sequence being used to deploy the Prestaged Media, make sure to add a Set Task Sequence Variable task immediately before the Apply Operating System task that sets the variable OSDPreserveDriveLetter to FALSE. This may need to be done for both BIOS and UEFI PCs to ensure that the OS ends up on drive letter C:.
  
  
  
• If the Task Sequence being used to deploy the Prestaged Media is also used for scenarios other than Prestaged Media, there may be Format and Partition Disk tasks in the Task Sequence. Formatting the disk in Prestaged Media scenarios will cause the contents of the Prestaged Media to be lost which would cause the Task Sequence to fail. To prevent this, make sure that there is a condition on all of the Format and Partition Disk tasks in the Task Sequence where the Task Sequence variable SMSTSMediaType not equals OEMMedia. This will prevent the disk from being formatted in Prestaged Media scenarios.

Merhaba arkadaşlar,

Bu hafta Salı günü blog yazımızla szlerle birlikteyiz. Bu hafta sizlere Mehmet PARLAKYİĞİT arkadaşımızın bu ay içerisinde bizlerle paylaşmış olduğu Hyper-V Sanalaştırma platform Cluster yapısı kurulum ve konfigurasonunu anlattığı makalelerini tanıtacağım.

Hyper-V konusunda hiç bilgisi olmayan birisi bu makale serisini okuyarak Hyper-V konusunda uzman seviyesinde bilgi sahibi olabilir.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Failover Cluster Kurulum ve Yapılandırma Bölüm-1 (tr-TR)

Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Failover Cluster Kurulum ve Yapılandırma Bölüm-2 (tr-TR)

Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Failover Cluster Kurulum ve Yapılandırma Bölüm-3 (tr-TR)

Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Failover Cluster Kurulum ve Yapılandırma Bölüm-4 (tr-TR)

Mehmet PARLAKYİĞİT çok fazla emek vererek hazırlamış olduğu bu Hyper-V serisini birde E-Book olarak düzenleyip bizlerle paylaşarak bizleri bu makaleleri tek tek alıp birleştirmekten kurtardı ve başarısını taçlandırdı. 

Hyper-V Failover Cluster Kurulum ve Yapılandırma E-Book (tr-TR) 

Kendisine çok teşekkür ediyor bu güzel paylaşımlarının artarak devam etmesini canı gönülden diliyorum. Mehmet hocam çok sağol, ellerin dert görmesin. 

Metmet PARLAKYİĞİT

Herkese iyi haftalar dilerim. Mehmet hocamın makalelerini okumanızı değerli yorumlarınızı eksik etmemenizi temenni ederim. Yorumlar bizim okunduğumuzu hissettiğimiz yenilerini yazmak için bizlere güç veren tek kaynaktır bunu unutmamanız dileklerimle.

Turkish Wiki Ninja - Recep YÜKSEL

In the U.K., Mother’s Day – aka Mothering Sunday – falls March 30. When adult children and their parents are separated by many miles, Skype keeps those familial bonds strong.

A recent survey by Skype shows that 60 percent of participants who can’t be with their mums in person plan to use Skype to make a video call. More than half of the adult children surveyed say they feel closer to their mothers because of Skype.

Many of them are planning virtual surprises to celebrate these special women, including gift deliveries while they’re on Skype video calls.

Head over to the Skype Play Blog to see what other surprises people are planning, and for more survey results focused on Skype and Mothering Sunday.

You might also be interested in:

• Win prizes as fashion judge in Skype contest
• Microsoft kicks off Big Dream Movement
• Imagine a school without walls, textbooks or teachers …

Athima Chansanchai
Microsoft News Center Staff

More and more of our customers are unleashing the power of Windows Azure Active Directory. This Enterprise-level identity and access management for the cloud is so powerful that most like, I'll be creating more articles on this subject.

When you add Azure Active Directory as an Identity Provider, or Claims Provider, in Active Directory Federation Services, you get a defined set of claims from it. If you're not using the Premium version of Azure Active Directory, you won't for example get claims for group membership in Azure Active Directory. Other attributes that might be present in Azure Active Directory, like an alternate email address, are also not available as claims. There could be occasions where you need this information when a user authentications through an Azure Active Directory that you manage. (Now that is the keyword here; whatever we do in this article requires you to have proper permissions on the Azure Active Directory.)

In order to use attributes from Azure Active Directory users as claims in AD FS, we can create an Attribute Store that queries Azure Active Directory. This article explains just that. To get started, first create you Attribute Store as outlined on one of my earlier articles; How to create a Custom Attribute Store for Active Directory Federation Services 3.0. We'll focus on the code that you need to write in the class that you create.

Prerequisites

• Check How to create a Custom Attribute Store for Active Directory Federation Services 3.0
• Access to a Windows Azure Subscription with an Azure Active Directory provisioned. For a How To: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn569294.aspx
• A working federation trust relationship with Azure Active Directory and Active Directory Federation Services (where Azure Active Directory is setup as a Claims Provider in AD FS and AD FS is setup as an application in Azure Active Directory).

Active Directory Authentication Library

First, we need to add the Active Directory Authentication Library. This is a NuGet package that can be installed by using the Package Manager Console (at the bottom of you Visual Studio screen) or through the Tools, Package Manager and then either Package Manager Console or Manage NuGet Packages for Solution...

If you're using the Package Manager Console type this command:

Install-Package Microsoft.IdentityModel.Clients.ActiveDirectory -Version 1.0.3

In this case, I'm adding version 1.0.3, but newer versions might be available. Please check https://www.nuget.org/packages/Microsoft.IdentityModel.Clients.ActiveDirectory/ to see what the latest version is.

If you're using the Manage NuGet Packages option, search for "Active Directory Authentication Library" and select the version you want from there.

After adding that NuGet package, download the Windows Azure AD Graph API Helper Library. Unpack the zip file, open the Solution in Visual Studio and compile it. Next, add a reference to the resulting DLL from you Attribute Store project. Now, the references in you Attribute Store project should resemble this;

Building the code

Now switch to the class file where you will build the Attribute Store in. In the example I referenced earlier, it's called Class1.cs, but I will give it a more meaningful name, like WAADAttributeStore.cs

Inspect the using statements, at the beginning of the code, and add these lines:

using Microsoft.IdentityServer.ClaimsPolicy.Engine.AttributeStore;using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.ActiveDirectory;using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.ActiveDirectory.GraphHelper;using System.IdentityModel;

Make sure you properly paste this code as the Initialize method in the class:

publicvoid Initialize(Dictionary<string, string> config)
        {if (null == config)
            {thrownew AttributeStoreInvalidConfigurationException("No configuration parameters passed.");
            }string tenantName;string clientId;string password;if (config.ContainsKey("TenantName"))
            {
                tenantName = config["TenantName"];
            }else
            {thrownew AttributeStoreInvalidConfigurationException("TenantName configuration parameter not found.");
            }if (config.ContainsKey("ClientId"))
            {
                clientId = config["ClientId"];
            }else
            {thrownew AttributeStoreInvalidConfigurationException("ClientId configuration parameter not found.");
            }if (config.ContainsKey("Password"))
            {
                password = config["Password"];
            }else
            {thrownew AttributeStoreInvalidConfigurationException("Password configuration parameter not found.");
            }

            AADJWTToken token = DirectoryDataServiceAuthorizationHelper.GetAuthorizationToken(tenantName, clientId, password);
            this.graphService = new DirectoryDataService(tenantName, token);
        }

This Initialize method takes three parameters; TenantName, ClientId and Password. This information can be taken from the Azure management portal at https://manage.windowsazure.com after adding a custom application to your Azure Active Directory. (More information: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn151791.aspx) Now, let's just finish the coding part. In this example, we going to extract group membership information from Azure Active Directory (which is not required if you use Azure Active Directory Premium, because group membership is available as claims in there).

Replace the BeginExecuteQuery method with this code:

public IAsyncResult BeginExecuteQuery(string query, string[] parameters, AsyncCallback callback, object state)
        {if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(query))
            {thrownew AttributeStoreQueryFormatException("No query string.");
            }if (null == parameters)
            {thrownew AttributeStoreQueryFormatException("No query parameter.");
            }if (parameters.Length != 1)
            {thrownew AttributeStoreQueryFormatException("More than one query parameter.");
            }string inputString = parameters[0];if (inputString == null)
            {thrownew AttributeStoreQueryFormatException("Query parameter cannot be null.");
            }string[][] outputValues;switch (query)
            {case"GetGroupNamesByUserName":
                    {string userPrincipalName = inputString;

                        User user = graphService.users
                            .Where(u => u.accountEnabled == true&& u.userPrincipalName == userPrincipalName)
                            .AsEnumerable()
                            .SingleOrDefault();var groupReferences = graphService.LoadProperty(user, "memberOf")
                            .OfType<Group>()
                            .Select(g => g.displayName)
                            .ToArray();

                        outputValues = newstring[groupReferences.Length][];for (int i = 0; i < groupReferences.Length; i++)
                        {
                            outputValues[i] = newstring[1] { groupReferences[i] };
                        }break;
                    }default:
                    {thrownew AttributeStoreQueryFormatException("The query string is not supported.");
                    }
            }

            TypedAsyncResult<string[][]> asyncResult = new TypedAsyncResult<string[][]>(callback, state);
            asyncResult.Complete(outputValues, true);return asyncResult;
        }

Our sample Attribute Store only supports one single query; GetGroupNamesByUserName. This method gets the users group membership, based on the username (where the username is a UPN). This UPN has to be provided by AD FS (and was originally provided by Azure Active Directory). We then take this UPN to lookup the user in Azure Active Directory, get the group membership and return these groups as claims. You can have AD FS decide what the exact claim type will be that AD FS will issue.

Last, check that the EndExecuteQuery method has the code we've seen before:

publicstring[][] EndExecuteQuery(IAsyncResult result)
        {return TypedAsyncResult<string[][]>.End(result);
        }

Okay, that's it! Compile it, ship the resulting DLL to the AD FS server, add the Attribute Store and use these initialization parameters:

• TenantName
• ClientId
• Password

Then, configure a claim rule for a relying party to use the GetGroupNamesByUserName query for the attribute store, and pass a UPN as the parameter. Again, if you need more information on how to do this; consult my previous article; How to create a Custom Attribute Store for Active Directory Federation Services 3.0

Have fun!

Summary: Learn how to get only printer examples that are related to Windows PowerShell.

 How can I quickly and easily see only examples of Windows PowerShell commands that are related to printing
          in Help?

 Use the Get-Command cmdlet, then pipe the results to the Foreach-Object cmdlet and call Get-Help:

Get-Command -Noun printer* | Foreach-Object {get-help $_.name -ex} | more

Posted by Openness Team

Today Microsoft announced that Windows Azure will be renamed to Microsoft Azure, beginning April 3, 2014. This change reflects Microsoft’s strategy and focus on Azure as the public cloud platform for customers as well as for our own services Office 365, Dynamics CRM, Bing, OneDrive, Skype, and Xbox Live.

Our commitment to deliver an enterprise-grade cloud platform for the world’s applications is greater than ever. Today we support one of  the broadest set of operating systems, languages, and services of any public cloud—from Windows, SQL and .NET to Python, Ruby, Node.js, Java, Hadoop, Linux, and Oracle. In today’s mobile-first, cloud-first, data-powered world, customers want a public cloud platform that supports their needs—whatever they may be—and that public cloud is Microsoft Azure.