CheckYourLogs.Net

The Case of low Disk Space on Windows Server R2 File Servers – Enable Dedup – #MVPHour

Jun 14, 2019 | Veeam, Windows Server | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, Today, we have a quick post just reminding you that if you have Windows Server 2012 R2 File Servers are not able to migrate them to Server 2019 yet. You can still fix issues like lack of disk space with good old deduplication. Deduplication has worked for us like a charm on NTFS volumes, especially file servers for 7+ years now. We run it in production, and it makes a big difference. This week we faced an issue with a customer that was looking to convert virtual machines using ISCSI and Passthrough disks with Veeam. http://www.checkyourlogs.net/?p=66163...

The Case of Troubleshooting and poor VM Performance via Windows Admin Center – #MVPHour

Jun 13, 2019 | Windows Admin Center, Windows Server | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, Today, I wanted to write a very quick post showing how you can use Windows Admin Center to quickly diagnose issues with poorly performing Virtual Machines on a Storage Spaces Direct Cluster. We had a call come in from a customer today that their SQL Server in production was running a bit sluggish on our all flash (NVME) S2D Cluster. Step 1 – Open Windows Admin Center and browse the Virtual Machine Summary Tab. What I noticed right away is that my CPU looks fine only 16 % utilized and none of my VM’s appear to...

Converting Virtual Machines with Pass Through disks using Veeam Agent for Windows – #Veeam @Veeam

Jun 13, 2019 | Hyper-V, Veeam, Windows Server | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs fans, Today, I want to showcase a hidden little gem with Veeam Agent for Windows. Let us have a look at our problem. This VM is a SQL Server, and in the original design, the team decided to build out on their ISCSI SAN using Pass-Through Disks. These are known as Raw Device Mappings (RDMs) in VMware. The problem is that Veeam or Azure Site Recovery cannot replicate a VM with this configuration. Here is what the Pass-Through disk looks like inside the VM. So, how can we fix this? I like to use Veeam Agent for...

Veeam Agent for Windows Error – Failed to load backup meta from file #Veeam @Veeam

Jun 12, 2019 | Veeam, Windows Server | 3 |

Hey Checkyourlogs fans, today I encountered a very weird error when attempting to take an incremental backup of a SQL Server using the Veeam Agent for Windows. When running the job, it would immediately fail with an error message that said: “Failed to load backup meta from file: Blah veeam Backup.vbk.” This was a very interesting error message because I had just completed a full backup earlier that morning. Here was the error message from the Veeam Console. Digging in the UI told me to have a look at the logs for more details. So, I went to the...

Force Stop Veeam Backup Job When it stuck at Stopping Status #Veeam #Backup #

May 30, 2019 | Step-by-Step, Veeam | 0 |

Today, I tried to stop a running backup job session, but its status stuck at stopping for 1 hour, there are some jobs are running, I don’t want to impact them, so I decided to force stop the backup job.

Checking out Azure Security Center and Security Center (ATP) – #MVPHour #Azure #Security

Apr 28, 2019 | Azure | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, I’m coming off a wonderful day presenting at the local Azure Bootcamp in Calgary and I wanted to show you some of the cool things you need for your Servers. There hasn’t ever been a better reason to upgrade to Windows Server 2019 until now. The tight integration with Windows Defender, Advanced Threat Protection, Security Center, and Azure Security center should surely win you over. First,, let me show you https://securitycenter.windows.com The only thing you need to do to use this is to sign up for a trial to check it out. Then you just onboard...

VEEAM TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS – Error Unable to detect database action to upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication 9.5 Update 4a #VEEAM #MVPHOUR #WINDOWSSERVER

Apr 24, 2019 | Step-by-Step, Veeam | 0 |

As we know, Veeam Backup and Replication 9.5 Update 4a supports lots of new features, I showed you how to step by step to install it at my previously Blog.
Today, I tried to upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication from 9.5 update 3a to 4a, and it showed Unable to detect database action error message, it has never happened this error before, I got a solution to solve this issue after contact with Veeam support engineer, let’s follow steps to solve this issue.

Integrating Windows Azure Hybrid Services with Windows Admin Center 1904GA – #MVPHour

Apr 13, 2019 | Windows Admin Center, Windows Server | 0 |

Hey there Checkyourlogs Fans, Today we are going to look at the latest release of Windows Admin Center version 1904. This is not the insiders build, but the latest GA build that Microsoft has delivered and it has some cool new enhancements. Like the new Azure hybrid Services. Let’s go have a look at that now. Setting up Azure Hybrid Services (WAC 1904GA) Instructions Screenshot (if applicable) Logon to Windows Admin Center and select the Server you want to work with. Click on Azure Hybrid Services and click Register your Windows Admin Center Gateway to get Started On the...

How to Remove Users License from Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 V3.0 #Veeam #MVPHOUR #Office365

Apr 12, 2019 | Step-by-Step, Veeam | 0 |

You have to very carefully about users License issues before run Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 backup job, because once a license has been given over to a user/site/item, it will aspirate (fall off) 31 days after the last backup. so, you will got the warning message even you removed the user from the backup job settings.
Fortunately, you don’t need to remove backup job or backup repository now because Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 V3.0 added the feature to remove licensed users, but you must remove those unwanted licensed users from backup repository’s database and then remove the license.

Moving a Storage Spaces Direct Cluster to a new Location – #StorageSpacesDirect

Apr 11, 2019 | S2D | 0 |

Good Morning Checkyourlogs Fans, Today, I had a customer call me and let me know that they would like to move a Storage Spaces Direct Cluster into a new rack in the Data Center. They have a full maintenance outage window so we are just going to move the whole thing all at once. The process to do this is similar to taking a full outage for servicing. Ensure that the Network Ports in the new location have the same VLANs configured. To be sure you could ask your network team for a running configuration. If you don’t get...

How to Configure Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 V3 #Veeam #MVPHOUR #Office365

Apr 11, 2019 | Office365, Step-by-Step, Veeam | 0 |

Veeam released Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 V3 on April 2, there are lots of function be increased and improved, including increased backup speeds, improved security with multi-factor authentication support, simplified management for larger environments, flexible retention options… etc.
The most import is Veeam release Community Edition version, what is Community Edition? It provides FREE backup and recovery of Office 365 Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business, eliminating the risk of losing access and control over your Office 365 data – limited to 10 users and 1 TB of SharePoint data. What are you waiting for? Let’s follow steps to configure it for protecting your Microsoft office 365 data.

How to Install Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 V3 #Veeam #MVPHOUR #Office365

Apr 10, 2019 | Office365, Step-by-Step, Veeam | 0 |

Veeam released Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 V3 on April 2, there are lots of function be increased and improved, including increased backup speeds, improved security with multi-factor authentication support, simplified management for larger environments, flexible retention options… etc.
The most import is Veeam release Community Edition version, what is Community Edition? It provides FREE backup and recovery of Office 365 Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business, eliminating the risk of losing access and control over your Office 365 data – limited to 10 users and 1 TB of SharePoint data. What are you waiting for? Let’s follow steps to install it for protecting your Microsoft office 365 data.

Critical Firmware Update Required for Intel Solid Sate DC S4510 and S4610 Drives – #StorageSpacesDirect

Apr 9, 2019 | S2D | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, I just wanted to make you aware of a critical Firmware Update that is require for your Intel DC S4510 and S4610 Drives. In the fine print of the release notes you will see a critical note: Resolved 1.92TB and 3.84TB SKUs may become unresponsive at 1700 hrs of cumulative Idle Power On Hours. To me this is a pretty critical fix and just reminds everyone that when dealing with Storage that your Drive Firmware requires updating just like your other components. You can find more information here: https://downloadmirror.intel.com/28639/eng/Intel_SSD_Data_Center_Tool_3_0_19_Release_Notes.pdf You can download the Firmware Tool Here:...

Fixed unreadable symbols in Notification email of Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 #Veeam #MVPHOUR #Office365

Apr 8, 2019 | Office365, Step-by-Step, Veeam | 0 |

I was trying to configure and test Notification email of Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 V3 function, I received a test notification email consist of unreadable symbols.

How to Activate Windows Server 2019 Evaluation Edition with VLSC MAK key or Retail key #WINDOWSSERVER #MVPHOUR

Apr 3, 2019 | Step-by-Step, Windows Server | 0 |

When you try to activate Windows server 2019 from evaluation version, do you always get an error message “the product key you entered didn’t work. Check the product key and try again, or enter a different one. (0x80070490)”? Today, I am going to show you how to install license key to activate Windows Server 2019 from Evaluation version. Let’s follow steps to activate your windows server 2019 (it also can be use for activating Windows Server 2016).
Note: you cannot use slmgr /ipk command with VLSC MAK key or Retail to activate evaluation edition server directly.

Configuring Windows Analytics: Part 2 Creating the Azure Log Analytics Workspace

Mar 31, 2019 | Windows 10 | 0 |

Introduction When configuring the workspace, it is usually a best practice to create a unique workspace using a free subscription to house the Windows Analytics solutions and data. Using an existing workspace is possible but it may muddy the waters between functional teams. What I recommend is only one workspace for Windows Analytics per tenant. You may want to keep all your workspaces in the same resource group depending on what Azure Log Analytics is being used for but for this example, I’ll be deploying to a new resource group with a new workspace. Creating the Workspace Creating the...

Configuring Windows Analytics: Part 1 Prerequisites

Mar 29, 2019 | Windows 10 | 0 |

Introduction Welcome, since I’ve been working with a number of clients using Windows Analytics I thought I would share some tips on getting up and running plus make sense of all the ways it can be configured. This blog series reviews the strategy and steps I have used to configure device telemetry for Windows Analytics with various organizations. And to add a twist I’ve decided to break with my tradition of making mega blog articles and break this one up into the following posts. Part 1: Prerequisites Part 2: Configuring Azure Log Analytics Part 3: Configuring Windows Analytics with...

The Case of the Failed Storage (East/West) Switch fabric with #StorageSpacesDirect

Mar 27, 2019 | S2D | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs fans, I wanted to write to you today chatting about what happens if you lose your East/West (Storage) Switch Fabric with Storage Spaces Direct. In my design for this customer, they had a Dedicated pair of Mellanox switches for their Storage Network and then different core switches for their North/South (VM & MGMT Networks). We had to do some emergency maintenance on our pair of Mellanox Switches that would require a reboot of both. I let the customer know that when this happens, the RDMA (RoCE) traffic would just fail over to non-RDMA (RoCE) during the outage....

The Case of Troubleshooting a failed Windows 10 Pro In-Place-Upgrade like the Pro’s – #MVPHour

Mar 27, 2019 | OSD | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, With the looming deadline of January 2020 coming up very very fast I know many of you are racing to get your Windows 10 upgrade projects done. With that said I wanted to share an extremely handly little tool that Microsoft has built to help troubleshoot failed upgrades. It is called setupdiag.exe and is a real life saver. You can grab a copy from here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/upgrade/setupdiag Our situation today was a failed upgrade and this prompt on the end users machine: The Installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT Phase with an error during MIGRATE_DATA operation. This error...

Checking out Windows Admin Center 1903 – DHCP, DNS, and Active Directory Previews #MVPHour

Mar 27, 2019 | Windows Admin Center | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, Tonight, I wanted to checkout some of the brand new previews that are now available inside of Windows Admin Center Insiders Build 1903. I have been waiting for a long time for the ability to manage DHCP, DNS, and Active Directory so let’s see how this goes. Step 1 – You need to Install the new Preview Extensions after you upgrade or install Windows Admin Center 1903. Here is the install in progress. After I installed the extensions, Windows Admin Center reloaded the main page. First up is the Active Directory Extension. It is really responsive....

INSTALL VEEAM BACKUP & REPLICATION 9.5 UPDATE 4a #Azure #VEEAM #WINDOWSSERVER #MVPHOUR

Mar 26, 2019 | Step-by-Step, Veeam | 0 |

Veeam released the Backup & Replication 9.5 service pack 4a today, Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 Update 4a is a cumulative hotfix rollup that addresses issues reported by customers on the original build of Update 4, as well as minor platform support enhancements –
VMware vSphere 6.7 U2 readiness, Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2019, Dell EMC Data Domain DD OS 6.2. In addition, Update 4a addresses over 300 minor bugs reported by customers and found during the internal testing.
The details information you can check from Veeam website https://www.veeam.com/kb2926
The Installation steps are straightforward, but you need to confirm that you are running version 9.5.4.2615 prior to installing this update. You can check this under Help | About in Veeam Backup & Replication console. After upgrade, your build number will be 9.5.4.2753.

The Case of the Partitioned Network in Failover Cluster Manager when Updating Windows Server 2016 #StorageSpacesDirect

Mar 26, 2019 | S2D, Windows Server | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, Tonight @SifuSun (Cary Sun) and I were doing some routine maintenance of a 2-node Storage Spaces Direct Cluster that was having issues with checkpoints locking up during Veeam Backups. We went through the normal process putting the nodes into maintenance mode, patching, and waiting for storage jobs to complete before moving on to the next node. We found an interesting scenario where after the first node was complete and we patched our second node look at what happened to our cluster. The above screenshot was what we first noticed with the Cluster IP going offline. Even...

HOW to FIX Access Denied Error in Demote DC server #Active Directory #WINDOWSSERVER # #MVPHOUR

Mar 26, 2019 | Windows Server | 0 |

Today, I was trying to remove an old windows 2003 R2 DC server in our domain, when I run DCPROMO command to demote it, I received the following error message:
The operation failed because: The attempt at remote domain controller DC2016 to remove domain controller CN=DC1,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Name,CN=Sites….from the forest was unsuccessful. “Access is Denied”

Performance Tuning Deduplication on Windows Server 2019 ReFS and #StorageSpacesDirect

Mar 24, 2019 | S2D, Scripts, Windows Server | 2 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, In the previous post, we talked about the essential operator’s report for Storage Spaces Direct in Windows Server 2019. Today, I want to talk to you about the performance penalty that is required to run Deduplication on Windows Server 2019. Nothing in life is free, and this is certainly the case for Deduplication. Don’t get me wrong I love this feature and think that it is one of the best in Windows Server 2019; however, you must have an understanding of what it is that you are configuring. The first thing that you need to understand...

Essential Operators Report for #StorageSpacesDirect

Mar 23, 2019 | S2D, Windows Server | 0 |

Hey Checkyourlogs Fans, I know we love Windows Admin Center for pretty much all things Storage Spaces Direct. However, at this time there are a few things that are missing for our wonderful HTML5 UI. The most important thing for Storage Spaces Direct admins is visibility into the ReFS, Deduplication, and Data Integrity logs. There has been much discussion around the Storage Spaces Direct Community surrounding volumes that go offline due to the DRT (Dirty Region Tracking) tables filling up. This normally happens when there is a catastrophic event to the cluster such as a hard power failure. Now,...