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Record-breaking uptime is over – 1003 days

Please, a moment of silence, for one of longest uptimes for a actively used server.

When we started many years ago and moved into an office, our first server was a white-box desktop. We scrambled to build it out of components we had… some memory from here, a motherboard from over there, and hard drives (software RAID) from who knows what. It was by no means anything comparable to our current arsenal made out of stacks of PowerEdge servers running vSphere. Anyway, we have moved a few times and it has faithfully followed us. It has occupied our current location for about 3 years.

The other day, it got jealous. Well actually, I think there was a sharp voltage drop when we plugged a 4U PowerEdge server into the UPS it was sharing. The high-quality components it’s made out of apparently showed their true colors this time causing …wait for it…. a reboot!

So now we’re back to 0… it’ll be a long journey. No one has committed to upgrading the critical software it holds, so it won’t be decommissioned anytime soon.

See you again in 2.747945205479452 years.

Before and After the 4U server was plugged into the UPS. Ouch!

BEFORE 4U PowerEdge
LINEV    : 117.0 Volts
LOADPCT  :  23.9 Percent Load Capacity
BCHARGE  : 100.0 Percent
TIMELEFT :  85.0 Minutes
LASTXFER : Automatic or explicit self test

AFTER 4U PowerEdge
LINEV    : 113.7 Volts
LOADPCT  :  50.4 Percent Load Capacity
BCHARGE  : 100.0 Percent
TIMELEFT :  39.0 Minutes
LASTXFER : Unacceptable line voltage changes

Windows Server 2008 SSL VPN (SSTP)

Now-a-days, every business is mobile, which means a VPN connection is most likely needed.  The problem is when clients travel to hotels or other countries, where firewall compatiblity and configuration can cause connectivity issues.  Fortunately, there is an answer for this: SSL VPNs.  Since an SSL VPN connection is secure and allowed on almost all firewalls, remote users will have a much more reliable connection mechanism; no matter where they are.  To top it off, SSL VPN (SSTP) is a feature natively bundled with Windows Server 2008.  How cool is that?

How does SSL VPNs help?

  • A NAT device doesn’t need to support PPTP in order for it to work.
  • Specific ports aren’t required to be open on the firewall (think hotels and other countries).
  • Connectivity can be made through web proxy servers.
  • The small footprint VPN client is easily accessible.

Clients supported: Vista SP1+, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008

What are the high level steps involved to setting up Windows Server 2008 SSL VPN connections (SSTP)?

  • Obtain a certificate to be used for your connections (just as if you are installing an SSL certificate for your website)
  • Install IIS on the VPN server
  • Request a certificate for the VPN server using the IIS Certificate Request Wizard
  • Install the SSL certificate
  • Install the RRAS server role on the VPN server
  • Enable the RRAS Server and configure it to be a VPN server
  • Configure the User Account to allow dial-up connections
  • Update DNS (ie. vpn.company.com)
  • Configure the Client to use SSTP and Connect to the VPN Server using SSTP

How-To configure Windows 2008 for SSTP VPN
1.  Install IIS on VPN server with all security settings marked for installation
2.  Create a Certificate Request in IIS console
a.  Make sure common name is actual Internet Hostname clients will connect to (e.g. vpn.company.com)
3.  Cut and Paste the certificate request into your SSL provider’s website
4.  Install any Intermediary certificates and your SSL certificate per your SSL provider’s instructions (DO NOT bind the certificate to a website in IIS)
5.  Install Routing and Remote Access
6.  Load the Routing and Remote Access MMC and run the wizard to enable it (Select Custom -> VPN if you are using only 1 NIC)
8.  Enable Dial-In access for the remote user’s AD account
9.  Enabled SSL connection (port 443) from the outside
10. Update DNS for the domain with the common name of the certificate
11. Test the SSL VPN connection by choosing SSTP in the vpn network connection properties

If the connection doesn’t work, make sure the proper certificate is bound following:
1.  Make sure the right certificate hash is bound (netsh http show  ssl)
a. If necessary, delete and readd the correct certificate binding…
1. Remove binding from IPv4 (netsh http delete ssl 0.0.0.0:443)
2. Remove binding from IPv6 (netsh http delete ssl [::]:443)
3. Delete registry entry for the hash (reg delete hklmsystemcurrentcontrolsetservicessstpsvcparameters /v sha256certificatehash /f)
4. Add binding from IPv4 (netsh http add sslcert ipport=0.0.0.0:443 certhash=<replace with your cert hash> appid={ba195980-cd49-458b-9e23-c84ee0adcd75} certstorename=MY)
5. Add binding from IPv6 (netsh http add sslcert ipport=[::]:443 certhash=<replace with your cert hash> appid={ba195980-cd49-458b-9e23-c84ee0adcd75} certstorename=MY)

Helpful links to configuring SSTP VPN:

  • A step-by-step guide to setting up your own SSTP server is to be found here.
  • Troubleshooting help can be found here, here, and here.

What does Server 2008 SP2 and Vista SP2 have to offer?

Below is a quick rundown of all the goodies in the new Service Pack for Windows 2008 and Windows Vista.  Of course, SP2 includes all hotfixes and other updates post SP1, but unlike traditional methods, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista SP2 uses the same Service Pack executable, which makes it easier to deploy.

Although this update provides minimal changes, it’s always recommended to do a test rollout before deploying in full.

Warning:

This was taken from Information about Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and for Windows Server 2008

After you install SP2, a sound device or some other hardware device may no longer work. If this behavior occurs, just install an updated driver for the device. To do this for a sound device, follow the steps in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

948481 How to troubleshoot sound problems that you experience after you install a Windows Vista Service Pack

What it has to offer:

  • Bluetooth 2.1 Support
  • Wi-fi – Uses Windows Connect Now technologies for wireless connectivity and improves on resuming wireless connectivity from a sleep state
  • Power Management – Microsoft touts a 10% increase in power management efficiencies
  • exFat file system extension – Now includes UTC timestamps which helps with file synchronization across time zones
  • Blu-ray data burning capability – Not for making movies, but for backing up files
  • Windows Search 4.0 – faster, better support for Group Policy, able to index encrypted files
  • VIA 64-bit processor support

Windows Server 2008 offerings:

  • Hyper-V 1.0 versus a prelease version
  • Addresses Terminal Server license key issues

Most useful part about SP2:

Service Pack Clean-up Tool (compcln.exe) – Deletes older versions of the RTM and SP1 based files

Requirements:

SP1 has to be installed prior to updating.

Where to get it:

Windows Server 2008 SP2/Vista SP2 (x86, 32bit)

Windows Server 2008 SP2/Vista SP2 (x86, 64bit)

What can Windows Server 2008 do for you?

I know there are many websites that lists a bunch of features of Microsoft’s latest Windows Server 2008.  I also know that these lists sometimes forget the fact that technology in the workplace is only as good as the business value benefited from it. I understand that during these tough economic times, migrating and upgrading your systems to Windows Server 2008 will be an option that is heavily scrutinized.  Hopefully, this blog entry will help you create an informed decision for your business.

Below are the features that stand out to me when deploying Windows Server 2008. I will try to explain how these features can translate to a more secure, efficient, and stable network.

Active Directory

  • Restartable Active Directory Domain Services (RADDS)
    Essentially, this increases uptime for a domain controller and it’s installed services. Currently, when security patches must be applied, offline defragmentation or authoritive restores must be performed, the entire server has to be rebooted.  This equates to significant downtime for ALL the services provided by the server. If this was a heavily used server, such as a file server, a lot of users would end up calling the IT department.Scenario:

      Lets say an Active Directory object needs to be restored from backup. Previous to Windows Server 2008, a server would have to be restarted in Directory Services Restore Mode.  During this time, ALL services provided by that server would be offline. Then, once the restore is complete, we must restart the server again. Now, with RADDS, you only need to stop the service, perform the restore, and restart the service.  Meanwhile, your other services are still working.

Translated Value:

    Increased uptime, Simplified restoration of Active Directory objects.

Business Circumstance:

    This is useful for all businesses.
  • Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC)
    Back in the good ‘ol NT4 days, Microsoft had primary and backup domain controllers (PDCs and BDCs).  The backup domain controllers would be Read-Only.  Then, they touted the multi-master capabilities of Active Directory for Windows 2000/2003. What they didn’t tell you was the best solution was “C. All of the Above“. In Windows Server 2008, we can have multi-master domain controllers AND read-only domain controllers. When would you use either of these scenarios?  Well, you would want multi-master replication for Fault Tolerance and Management Simplicity.   Now, an RODC would allow for increased security since the LDAP database can not be tampered with. Unfortunately, there are limitations that might negate the benefits of this.  Essentially, the RODC needs to have access to a writable Domain Controller in order to perform basic functions, such as DNS updates, password changes, and user authentication (if not cached on RODC). There could also be software compatibility issues.Translated Value:

      This is a feature that’s great to have, but wouldn’t benefit an existing organization tremendously.

Business Circumstance:

    This is most useful for medium/large businesses with multiple locations.

OS Enhancements

  • NTFS Self-Healing
    As with previous operating systems, when a file on the NTFS filesystem becomes corrupt, there’s no way to know unless you a) run chkdisk b) try to open the file.  Of course, if you periodically run chkdsk to detect corruptions or try to open a corrupt file, you would have to reboot your server to fix it. This is not the case with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.  In 95% of the cases, it will automatically detect a corruption in your filesystem and attempt to fix it at the same time.  This eliminate the need to reboot.  I’m sure everyone knows the disadvantages of having to reboot a computer by now (read previous sections).Translated Value:

      Higher uptime, important data is recovered

Business Circumstance:

    This is useful for all businesses.
  • Server-core
    Everyone can agree that Microsoft has it’s GUI advantages over Linux, while Linux has it’s high stability and security aspects due to it’s lack of “fluff”.  Well, as Linux tries to enter the Desktop market, Microsoft is trying to imitate Linux with Server-core. IT provides a minimal (non-GUI) OS environment for running specific server roles, which reduces the attack surface for those server roles.  Similar to Linux, in which you would manage your server from an SSH connection, Server Core could be managed from the local command console, Terminal Server connection, or using the MMC console. Once again, Server-core can only provide a subset of the full roles available to a full installation.  Server-core can provide the following roles: Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS), DHCP Server, DNS Server, File Services, Print Services, Streaming Media Services, Internet Information Services (IIS), Windows Virtualization.Translated Value:

      Increased security and performance gains, and ease of deployment due to low footprint.

Business Circumstance:

    This is most useful for medium/large businesses with multiple locations.
  • Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway)
    Lets say you had to remotely connect to multiple servers at the Office, yet you are prevented from using a VPN connection. What do you do?  Well, there are many ways around this, including the use of 3rd party applications, but Microsoft has blessed us with their solution. A TS Gateway securely proxies applications running the RDP protocol (Remote Desktop, Remote Applications, etc..) through SSL encryption.  This negates the typical firewall configurations necessary to allow VPN tunnels to be created.Translated Value:

      Mobile Office is even more robust. You can truly access your servers and workstations from anywhere.

Business Circumstance:

    This is most useful for businesses running Terminal Services or those with lots of servers.
  • Terminal Services Remote Application (TS Remote Application)
    Aligned with their virtual application technology, TS Remote Application uses the RDP protocol to allow users access to specific applications stored on a server. Instead of using more computing resources than necessary and  providing access to an entire Desktop, users can now be limited only to the capabilities of the application. Advance connection policies can be set in place to maintain compliance with security policies set within the company.Scenario:

      Accounting staff requires access to the Quickbooks server when they are offsite.  Using a VPN connection alone is not an acceptable solution since the data transfer size is too large. The use of Remote Desktop through a VPN connection would work, but that can cause unecessary confusion for users. With TS Remote Application, the Quickbooks application RDP file can be exported on a users’s desktop.  When they run the file, either locally or remotely, they will see the Quickbooks applications open on their computer. This application is actually running on the remote computer, but the interface is exactly the same as if they opened it locally on their computer.

Translated Value:

    Granular access to applications, secure access to network resources, improved capacity and performance for Terminal Services applications

Business Circumstance:

    This is most useful for businesses running Terminal Services or those with lots of servers.
  • Windows Deployment Services (WDS)
    This service allows is the needed replacement for Remote Installation Services (RIS). Windows Deployment Services enables you to deploy Windows operating systems, particularly Windows Vista, using images and PXE booting. I know there are 3rd party applications that provide this capability in a more simplified manner, but they are often too costly. Once setup, WDS is a pretty cool application.  It works well and have few heart-stopping limitations.Translated Value:

      You can setup new Microsoft workstations quickly and in an automated way.

Business Circumstance:

    This is most useful for new businesses or ones that are growing in the near future.
  • Hyper-V
    Here’s the deal.  The IT industry is realizing that on average, the load on a server is pretty low due to minimal resource usage and advancing. This results in wasted Energy Costs and lower Return on Investment (ROI) in the hardware. Hyper-V is a hypervisor-based virtualization technology that allows servers to run multiple instances of Microsoft and certain Linux distributions. What is sometimes overlooked when it comes to virtualization is the ease and consistency in obtaining a solid backup and recovery of files using snapshoting technologies.  Also, the management of these virtual servers are simplified since there is only one platform to work off of.Translated Value:

      Increased efficiency of resources, increased stability, reduction in cost for new server deployments, High availability, increased security.

Business Circumstance:

    This applies to all businesses.  From consolidation to saving on energy costs, virtualization is beneficial for all businesses.

Windows 2008 Server – Easily Secure your FTP server

Today, it’s all about security. If you aren’t practicing good security, you are probably going to be held accountable for the information that sneaks into your network, and especially the information that can find its way out of your network.

Script kids and hackers alike all begin their first “hacking” by targeting what’s easy – The poor, unsuspecting FTP server. All day long, doing its job of blindly sharing and accepting files. Here are the four key parts of FTP (and its cousin Telnet) that make it insecure.

  • Clear-text transmission: all communications are done in clear text, including usernames and passwords
  • Weak client authentication: both FTP and Telnet authenticate users through usernames and passwords, which, time and time again, have proven to be unreliable authentication methods. There is no support for more advanced authentication methods such as public/private key, Kerberos or digital certificates
  • No server authentication: this means that users have no way to be sure that the host they are communicating with really is the FTP server and not an attacker impersonating the server
  • No data integrity: problem here is that, assuming the same scenario as above, anyone could alter and corrupt the data being transmitted between the server and the client without being noticed

So you have your brand new shiny server with tons of disk capacity, and a clean install of Windows 2008 Server. You’re tasked with setting up the new company FTP site. If you have experience with setting up IIS and FTP services on Windows 2000/2003 server, then you know exactly how easy it is to setup FTP service. With Windows 2008 server, securing your FTP server became just as easy. And the benefits, immense!

Windows 2008 Server utilizes the method FTPES aka FTP Explicit mode. In explicit mode, an FTPS (FTP Secure) client must “explicitly request” security from an FTPS server and then step-up to a mutually agreed encryption method (usually the minimums are defined on the server). It currently isn’t packaged onto the Windows 2008 server install media, but information and the download can be found here http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=1619
Without this extra handshaking and communication, your server-to-FTP client communication is susceptible to snooping and hijacking. With these simple steps, your server avoids the pitfalls listed above, that plague many FTP servers out on the web.

Securing your new Windows 2008 based FTP server comes down to these steps:

  • Make sure your users and clients have a current FTP client that supports the few FTPSecure methods.
  • Install IIS7 on your Windows 2008 Server
  • Install the required Microsoft extras (all available on the “roles” menu) for Microsoft FTP Publishing Service for IIS 7.0.
  • Install the Microsoft FTP Publishing Service for IIS 7.0 update. Now you’re nearly 80% complete
  • Create and apply security ACL’s to your FTP repository. The top 10 rules that very much still apply today are published at http://www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Secure_FTP_Server.html
  • Create a self signed server certificate, or purchase a server Certificate and import.

Tada, you’re done! Now your Windows 2008 FTP server is protected. From beginning to end, Connection, Authentication, Authorization, Data Request, Data transfer. It’s all encrypted.