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Talking about Three technical skills every IT admin should have

 

  IT CAREER 
 

 Three technical skills every IT admin should have :-

Kevin Beaver, CISSP
02.08.2010
Rating: -4.45- (out of 5)

Not everyone has the luxury of learning the basics of IT at the start of his or her career, and that’s OK. But at some point, you need to learn, or learn more about, a few essentials in order to get ahead. Many people I know focus on one area of IT — be it Microsoft Exchange, the AS/400 or database administration. Often these people were former accountants, English majors or blue collar workers who made a career change into IT. They took an interest in something, and they made it their specialty. Unfortunately, all too often the learning stops there. When you enter IT at this level and focus in only one area, you can get pigeonholed. The lack of broad computer, software and networking knowledge can also make it difficult to troubleshoot problems, design new systems and assess business risks. You simply won’t know or understand all the facts — it’s like a medical doctor who doesn’t understanding the basics of chemistry and biology. If you claim to be an expert in any arena, you have to know the fundamental elements of your work. Here are three areas essential to your success in any IT career: TCP/IP – Knowing the suite of protocols and basic IP addressing is crucial for anyone working with networked computers, period. OSI model – It took me about 10 years to wrap my head around the concept of the OSI model, but once I got it, it helped everything fall in place. Just knowing the reasoning and context behind the physical, network and application layers will really help you in your day to day IT work and when speaking with vendors and management about specific business problems that networked computers and software applications can help fix. Programming – That BASIC class you took in high school or that Fortran class you took in college probably aren’t enough. The basics still apply, but you most likely took them too long ago for the material to be of any value today. Understanding things like program variables, compilation and debugging are essential, and so are the fundamentals of modern-day HTML, JavaScript, Java and C#. Spending a few hours perusing some software resources on the Web and books in the bookstore will really pay off. Understanding and being conversant on topics such as the TCP/IP protocol suite and the OSI model with other IT professionals and management will do wonders for your career. It’ll provide more opportunities and just makes things easier. When you hear other people talking about bits and bytes you can be comfortable with the conversation rather than having it create anxiety. Don’t let your lack of technical knowledge be what holds you back. Your key focus moving forward should be to know a lot about a lot. It’s OK to find your niche and specialize in it, but if you want to be successful in IT over the long haul, you can’t afford to overlook the basics. Kevin Beaver, is an information security consultant, keynote speaker and expert witness with Atlanta-based Principle Logic LLC. Kevin specializes in performing independent security assessments. Kevin has authored/co-authored seven books on information security, including Hacking For Dummies and Hacking Wireless Networks For Dummies (Wiley). He’s also the creator of the Security on Wheels information security audio books and blog providing security learning for IT professionals on the go. Kevin can be reached at kbeaver@principlelogic.com.

-Rishi Sharma | MCSA (Messaging), MCSE, RHCE, Virtualisation

 

Talking about Value of Windows Platform

 

Value of Windows Platform:-

     This is my attempt to list out features and technologies available right out of the box in Windows Client and Server operating systems but often underutilized in enterprise environments.

Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 Offers Best Value

• Bit Locker drive encryption provides protection against the loss of data in lost or stolen laptops and removable storage devices
• Built-in backup tool provides file and folder level backups and restore.
• Windows 7 has advanced host based firewall, and an antispyware called Windows Defender built into it.
• For consumers, a free antivirus solution called Microsoft Security Essentials is available.
• Home group offers networking solution without requiring a server
• Free imaging tools. Images are independent of hardware platform and languages
• Multiple deployment options ranging from basic manual installation to zero touch installation
• Migration tools such as USMT and Windows Easy Transfer allows faster migration from older OS
• Supports centralized deployment of desktops using “Virtual Desktop Infrastructure”
• Windows Server has built-in hypervisor called Hyper-V and it supports Windows and Linux based virtual machines
• High availability solution is part of Hyper-V with no extra cost
• Hyper-V runs on wide range of servers based on Intel and AMD platform. Since Hyper-V is not restricted to specific server models, customers have more choice.
• A network access control technology called “Network Access Protection (NAP)” is available as part of Windows Server and Windows Client
• NAP is compatible with wide range of security products available in the market
• Next generation remote access solution using “Direct Access” technology available right out of the box
• Security hardening tools and best practices analyzers are available out of the box in Windows Server
• Free software update management tool for client & server operating systems and other Microsoft products
• File server has file classification infrastructure built into it. This allows efficient file classification and compliance management
• Branch office solutions like DFS, DFS-R, Branch Cache, RODC, Bit Locker for servers are available out of the box
• Server migration tools are available out of the box
• Power management features are available for both servers and clients in the form of group policies.

 

 

Talking about What is virtualization?

 

Quote by Eric Siebert : vExpert

           What is virtualization?

 If you work with virtualization for a living, inevitably you’ll be asked what virtualization is. Trying to explain it to someone who doesn’t work with computers can often be challenging, and after you explain it they still may not know what it’s about.

So how do you explain it to someone for the first time? I find that using analogies that anyone can relate to is a good way to explain things to people. Before I attempt a virtualization analogy I’ll try explaining it in basic computer terms.

Virtualization software, also called a hypervisor, emulates computer hardware allowing multiple operating systems to run on a single physical computer host. Each guest operating system appears to have the host’s processor, memory, and other resources all to itself. The hypervisor, however, is actually controlling the host processor and resources and allocates what is needed to each operating system, making sure that the guest operating systems (called virtual machines) cannot disrupt each other.

There are two types of x86 virtualization: bare-metal and hosted. Sometimes these types are referred to as Type-1 and Type-2 hypervisors respectively. Bare-metal means the virtualization layer (hypervisor) installs directly onto a server without the need for a traditional operating system like Windows or Linux to be installed first. “Hosted” means that an operating system must first be installed on a server, and the virtualization layer is installed afterwards, just like an application.

Bare-metal hypervisors include VMware ESX, Citrix XenServer and Microsoft Hyper-V Server. Hosted hypervisors include VMware Workstation, Fusion, VMware Player and VMware Server, Microsoft Virtual PC and Microsoft Server, and Sun’s VirtualBox. Some of the differences between hosted and bare-metal hypervisors are listed below.

Bare-metal hypervisors include VMware ESX, Citrix XenServer and Microsoft Hyper-V Server. Hosted hypervisors include VMware Workstation, Fusion, VMware Player and VMware Server, Microsoft Virtual PC and Microsoft Server, and Sun’s VirtualBox. Some of the differences between hosted and bare-metal hypervisors are listed below.

Hosted hypervisors

• Requires a host operating system (Windows/Linux/Mac), installs like an application.
• Virtual machines can use all the hardware resources that the host can see.
• Maximum hardware compatibility as the operating system supplies all the hardware device drivers.
• Overhead of a full general-purpose operating system between the virtual machines and the physical hardware results in performance 70-90% of native.

Bare-metal hypervisors

• Installs right on the bare metal and therefore offers higher performance and scalability but runs on a narrower range of hardware.
• Many advanced features for resource management, high availability and security.
• Supports more VMs per physical CPU then hosted products.
• Because there is no overhead from a full host operating system performance is 83-98% of native. There is a small bit of overhead from the virtualization layer of the hypervisor

Why is virtualization such a great thing? Because most computers do not fully utilize the resources (memory, CPU, disk, network) that they have which is very wasteful. Would you rather have 10 computers that are all using less then 20% of their total resources, or three computers that are using 70% of their resources?

You might think you could avoid this by simply installing more applications on one computer but this is often a bad idea as the applications may conflict with each other and cause problems, and a single OS crash will take down all your applications. Virtualization solves this by allowing the applications to run on the same physical computer, but separates them by allowing each one to have its own isolated guest operating system.

So those are the basics on what virtualization is. Now on to an analogy.

Imagine computers as cars on the road in motion. Each car has it own resources, such as fuel, heat/cooling, radio, etc. Most cars are never filled to capacity, and many have only one person in them which is wasteful.

Imagine virtualization as a bus, instead of many people driving in many cars you now have many people being moved around by a few buses. A person may only ride one bus at a time, but if a bus becomes inoperable due to a flat tire or an engine problem, the people may simply get off and transfer to another bus that has unused seats. In virtualization, this “transfer” happens because of features like High Availability (HA).

A person may also hop from one bus to another if it becomes too crowded while it is moving. In virtualization, this is called VMotion, if you’re using VMware, or Live Migration if you’re using Hyper-V. By utilizing buses that hold more people instead of cars, fewer resources are wasted, while all the people still get where they are going. Buying and operating one bus instead of 10 cars is a lot cheaper and more efficient.

-Rishi

 

Talking about Office comes to Windows Live – starting today

 

Quote from Brian Hall from Office 2010 Team!

Office comes to Windows Live – starting today

Today is a real milestone for people who use Microsoft Office or Windows Live. Starting today, a select group of SkyDrive customers will be invited to try out a technical preview of the online versions of Microsoft Office Excel, Word and PowerPoint, also known as the Office Web Apps, integrated right inside their Windows Live SkyDrive experience. Over time, as the final version is released, the Office Web Apps will become available to all 500 million+ users of Hotmail, Messenger and other Windows Live services.

While the tech preview doesn’t have all the cool features that will be available in the final offering, it does show off the exciting potential of having online versions of Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, and how you can easily access and work with your Office documents from anywhere with an Internet connection.

When those of you participating in the Tech Preview upload or create a new document, you’ll be able to view them much like you do today when using the full Office programs—without the loss of formatting or data and with the familiar Office 2007 ribbon. And it will be very easy to share your documents in password-protected folders and give permission to whoever you want to have access – just like with any other SkyDrive files.

Personally, I’m excited that, in the final release of the Office Web Apps, I’ll be able to access Office documents from any PC and then be able to share them, show them, edit them, and collaborate on them with people around the globe. I do a lot of presentations so it will be particularly helpful for giving presentations right from Internet Explorer (or Firefox or Safari). Because I’m kind of an Excel geek, I’ll be able to share my spreadsheets in all their glory – with conditional formatting, charts, and more. In the final release, I will also be able to share notes from OneNote in real-time with others.

Over the coming months here are some of things you can expect to be able to do in later versions of the Office Web Apps:

    

 

Why are we making Office Web Apps available as part of Windows Live?

We all use a lot of different services online – e-mail, social networks, photo sites, video sites, and so on. In many cases, we use more than one service for very similar purposes, using Facebook, MySpace , StudiVZ, Mixi or many others for social networking; Hotmail, Yahoo!, or Gmail for e-mail; Flickr, SkyDrive, FotoLog, or Photobucket for sharing photos.

That said, there are certain things we really just want one of. I really just want one place for storing contact info, one personal calendar I can share with my family, one primary mail service that also allows me to check all of my e-mail accounts, one place to get updates from all of my social networks, and one place to store, share, and manage my massive and ever-growing collection of photos, documents, music, and videos.

I can get all of that at Windows Live. And now, with the addition of Office Web Apps, I’ll soon be able to go to Windows Live to create, edit, share, and collaborate on Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, OneNote digital notebooks, and Excel spreadsheets – all in high fidelity and all online regardless of which PC I’m using and whether that PC has Office on it.

I’m super excited about today’s release and the future of Office Web Apps.

Today’s a great start on terrific things to come.

Stay tuned.

– Rishi

 

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“Free” Total Antivirus Solution from Microsoft

 

Finally, everyones waiting has ended for the right nevertheless simple and power total Antivirus, Antispyware, Antimalware etc… solution only comes from Microsoft and it’s free for their end-users/customers. Here is the weblink :- http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Microsoft has released a free version of complete malware protection software today. This software is branded as “Microsoft Security Essentials” (MSE). MSE is supported on Windows XP/Vista/7. Click here to know more about it. Download link is also available there.

Pl GoAhead with MSE free security solution and be the one to secure your PCs..

have a grt day……………

 

How to enable Remote Desktop remotely in a Network?

 

There we go;

1) Run regedit– select file– connect network registry– enter the name of the remote computer & select check names.

2) Go to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server— fDenyTSConnections=1

3) Change the fDenyTSConnections value to 0

4) Then your session will be enable.

Enjoy………………..

 

– Rishi

 

Talking about Thick vs. Virtual Clients

 

Quote

Thick vs. Virtual Clients

 

I almost laugh at companies that think they can save all kinds of money with a virtualized their desktop. Most companies have little or no business reason for virtualizing their desktops; they just think it has a less TCO than supporting physical desktops. I really try to dig down to why customers are looking or piloting a virtual desktop environment. Is it centralized management of disks? Or is it flexibility of hot-desking with applications and the desktop state still running as a service? Is it for security so that data and applications never leave the data center? Or really, is it a shiny new toy for IS to figure out? I do believe there is a scenario for virtualized desktops. For instance I worked with a large bank who wants to keep their IP local to the US but have offshore developers manage the code and need access to virtual boxes for development and test. The scenarios for a valid virtual desktop is limited and most customers will be swayed away from virtual desktops when they are briefed on better ways to address their pain points of well managed desktop or moving to terminal server architecture. I asked most companies looking at a VDI methodology what kinds of clients were used to access the VDI desktops and without hesitation they said desktop PC’s. So when looping back to their original business case of moving to a VDI approach, they start to understand that virtualization sprawl is not necessarily a good thing because now they need to support double the desktops for their solution instead of using presentation virtualization for their desktops or applications which would meet their business needs and keep their supported desktops to a minimum.

 

Most companies when looking at a virtual desktop are still looking at sustaining the virtual desktop just like they did the physical desktop. So the effect of a virtual desktop is the extraction of the dependencies of the operating system from the hardware. This will give them the ability to dramatically reduce the amount of images they have to maintain and will allow for dynamic provisioning of images. Again, this is not a great argument, with Windows Vista and Windows 7; companies can maintain one image that is hardware independent and can be deployed to virtual or physical computers and have indexes that dictate the applications that get deployed to the target pc. Yes this is physical or virtual however, it starts to lead down the path of where the true focus in this argument should take place, and it’s about the applications not the operating system that companies run on.

 

The customers might see better availability by running the desktop in the data center because in my opinion, the data centers tend to maintain better SLA’s due to tighter change and control procedures but customers can also see improved physical desktop reliability numbers with better change and control procedures applied to the desktop PC’s. Customers looking at virtualizing the desktop have been looking at virtualizing the wrong area in the OSI layer; these customers need to really be looking at virtualizing the applications. Once they see how by virtualizing the applications can provide them greater application compatibility, agility and dynamic deployment of applications on thin-trim-thick clients they understand that they are looking in the wrong area of virtualization.

 

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Desktop Virtualization. VMWare has a TCO tool that produces a very nice Excel spreadsheet that shows the TCO cost savings using VMWare for virtual desktops. This tool uses a a model of a typically managed desktop and compares it to a well managed virtual environment. It is interesting if you add the well managed desktop numbers into the spreadsheet, you get an almost identical cost for a well managed desk and depending on the workload, and a well managed thick desktop is cheaper than a VDI Light and Heavy Workload. It really comes down to how many clients can be on a single core. VMWare says that they can handle 50 users per core but customers are experiencing about 6-8 users per core where as a 64 bit terminal server documentation says it can handle about 150 user per core but in reality customers run approximately 100 users per core.

 

Talking about Thick vs. Thin Clients

 

Quote

Thick vs. Thin Clients

 

First of all, thin client computers do not have a lower TCO and are not Greener than Windows laptops.

Companies can realize some cost savings in moving from thick to thin, in analyst studies say that the cost savings is around 8%. Let’s look at what 8% savings actually costs the business that implement a thin client architecture; poor video streaming, no audio upstream, limited peripherals, limited mobility, sporadic performance of shared computing architecture. Regarding the acquisition cost, the thin clients cost around ~$300US where a bottom of the line Windows PC cost ~$500. Also, many customers don’t like to discuss soft cost savings, when you remove the soft cost from the equation; a well managed rich desktop has a lower TCO than thin client architecture. When competing in a TCO discussion, the greatest savings a customer can realize is not moving platforms or architectures, but moving across an IT maturity model of best practices. 

Some competitors talk about how thin is more green than thick. This is also a lie. It’s true that the SunRay client only uses 4W of power, but they also use middleware servers that host about 40 – 50 clients per server. In a 1,000 user environment, the middleware servers pull about 18,000W of power. Most customers redirect the SunRay servers back to Windows Terminal server architecture anyway. So if the customer just used a Wyse devise which pulls about 4.5W of power going directly to a Windows Terminal server architecture saves 18,000W of power.  Windows GPO settings will only cost a company about $12 per PC (excluding monitor.)