Ask the Directory Services Team
Microsoft's official enterprise support blog for AD DS and more
Throw Away Your Mouse! A List of Windows Snap-ins and Applets
Hi. This is Jim from Directory Services. I spend a great deal of time working through remote Easy...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 04/09/2008
Certificate Concepts
Hi, Brantley here. I would like to share some information with you about how digital certificates...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 04/04/2008
New KB Articles March 1-21
Sorry for the delay. I'm having to catch up on some posts after being on vacation. In the meantime,...
Author: Craig Landis Date: 04/02/2008
Directory Services Debug Logging Primer
Craig here. In Directory Services we support a whole bunch of components which each have their own...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 04/02/2008
RSAT and ADUC: Getting the Terminal Services Tabs to Appear in AD Users and Computers
Hi, Ned here again. Recently a customer posted a comment asking why the Remote Server Administration...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/31/2008
One-Stop Shop for Auditing in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista
Hi, Ned here again. I am frequently asked by customers (and Microsoft employees!) where they can get...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/27/2008
Remote Server Administration Tools Released for Windows Vista SP1 (Hurray!)
Ned here - this is a quick post that can't wait for the Microsoft.com machine to spin up. :-)The...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/25/2008
Managing Power with Group Policy: Part 3 of 3
Mike here. It’s time we wrap up our discussion on managing power using Group Policy. The...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/21/2008
Managing Power with Group Policy: Part 2 of 3
Mike here. Last time, I introduce new Power Management policy settings included in Windows Vista. In...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/19/2008
Managing Power with Group Policy: Part 1 of 3
Hi, Mike here again. This post was originally published in the Group Policy Team blog. Many of you...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/17/2008
Update Released to Disable Scalable Network Pack
Ned here. The Microsoft Enterprise Network Team blog has posted information about a new update...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/14/2008
Troubleshooting LDAP Over SSL
Hi, James here - I am a Support Escalation Engineer in Charlotte, NC, USA. Today I would like to...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/13/2008
New KB Articles February 23-29
Here are the new Directory Services-related KB articles for the week. I came across something this...
Author: Craig Landis Date: 03/10/2008
Kerberos for the Busy Admin
Hi Rob here, I am a Support Escalation Engineer in Directory Services out of Charlotte, NC, USA. We...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/06/2008
Windows Logon Options in Vista/2008: Part Two of Two
Mike here. Blog time again… Previously, I wrote about two of the policy settings under the...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 02/29/2008
New KB articles February 10-16
Now that Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP1 have released to manufacturing, you can expect to see...
Author: Craig Landis Date: 02/22/2008
Windows Logon Options in Vista/2008: Part One of Two
Mike here again. This is the first of a two part series that originally published on the Group...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 02/22/2008
Read-Only Domain Controllers and Account Lockouts
Hello again - Bob Drake here. Today I will be talking about a particular behavior with account...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 02/15/2008
Deploying Legal Notices to domain computers using Group Policy
Hi, Mike again. Every so often, I’ll talk with a customer wanting to deploy a legal notice to...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 02/08/2008
New KB articles January 20-26
New Directory Services-related KB articles for the week. Enjoy! KB Title 942845 You cannot delete or...
Author: Craig Landis Date: 02/01/2008
Security Policy Settings and User Account Control
Hi, Mike here. This post was originally published in the Group Policy Team blog in September...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/31/2008
New KB articles January 13-19
Here are the new Directory Services-related KB articles for the week. Also, although it isn't...
Author: Craig Landis Date: 01/24/2008
Customizing file compression in DFSR on Windows Server 2008 (no, not RDC)
Hi, Ned here. If you’re a regular reader of the Filing Cabinet, you’ve probably already...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/22/2008
Understanding “Read Only Domain Controller” authentication
Hello there. Bob Drake here to discuss how Windows Server 2008 “Read Only Domain...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/18/2008
We're hiring!
Are you looking for an opportunity to work on the cutting edge of Windows Server technology? Do you...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/18/2008
New KB articles January 5-11
Here are the new KB articles for this week that relate to Directory Services. There is an update to...
Author: Craig Landis Date: 01/17/2008
Migrating your DFS Namespaces in three (sorta) easy steps
Hi, Dave here. Today, I will cover the process by which domain DFS namespaces can be migrated from...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/15/2008
What’s in a Token (Part 2): Impersonation
It’s Randy again. In my last blog post, we discussed that the token is the identification for...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/11/2008
New KB articles December 22-28
Hi, Craig here. We are going to be posting the new KB articles that relate to Directory Services....
Author: Craig Landis Date: 01/09/2008
Replacing an Expired DRA Certificate
Hi, Tom here from the Directory Services team. One of the most common EFS issues we see is for an...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/07/2008
New DFSR Data Restoration Script
Hi, Ned here. Just a quick heads up - there is a new DFSR data recovery script posted below. This...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/04/2008
Which KB articles resolve the most Directory Services issues?
Hi, Craig here. It can be frustrating to call support only to have your issue resolved by an article...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/02/2008
Troubleshooting networks without NetMon
Hi, Ned here. You may already be asking yourself why I’m writing about network...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 12/18/2007
An old-new way to get Group Policy Results
Hi, Mike again. Here is the scenario: you’re sitting in front of a workstation that has been...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 12/04/2007
Introducing Group Policy Preferences
Hi, Mike here. Have you ever wanted to map a drive for specific users at logon—without using a...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 11/28/2007
Cool Auditing Tricks in Vista and 2008
Hi, Ned here again. Today I’m going to show some interesting new features of Auditing in...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 11/16/2007
How to troubleshoot Certificate Enrollment in the MMC Certificate Snap-in
Hi, Seth Scruggs here from the Directory Services team. Today I’m going to discuss how to...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 11/06/2007
What's in a Token
Hi, Randy here. This is my first blog post to help explain authentication and authorization. This...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 11/02/2007
Configuring your PDCE with Alternate Time Sources
Bob Drake from Microsoft again. Often we see situations where the forest root domain PDCE is...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 11/01/2007
High Accuracy W32time Requirements
Hello there. I’m Bob Drake from Microsoft’s Directory Services Team. Quite often we get...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 10/23/2007
Introducing Auditing Changes in Windows 2008
Hi, Dave here. Auditing is a wonderful tool and we highly recommend that everyone use it on their...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 10/19/2007
Documenting Active Directory Infrastructure the Easy Way
Hi, Ned here. From time to time customers ask us what their options are to document their Active...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 10/12/2007
Top 10 Common Causes of Slow Replication with DFSR
Hi, Ned again. Today I’d like to talk about troubleshooting DFS Replication (i.e. the DFSR...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 10/05/2007
Not enough storage is available to complete this operation
Wait, don't leave!!! We get a lot of hits thanks to Live and Google searches sending people our way...
Author: Jason Fournerat Date: 09/21/2007
Where’s my file? Root cause analysis of FRS and DFSR data deletion
Hi, Ned here. In the Directory Services support space here at Microsoft, we are often contacted by...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 09/04/2007
Dynamic Ports in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista (or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the IANA)
Hi, Dave here. I’m a Support Escalation Engineer in Directory Services out of Charlotte, NC....
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/24/2007
Troubleshooting High LSASS CPU Utilization on a Domain Controller (Part 2 of 2)-
Last time I discussed troubleshooting the most common high CPU scenario within LSASS, which is the...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/23/2007
Troubleshooting High LSASS CPU Utilization on a Domain Controller (Part 1 of 2)
Hi, Ned here. Today I’m going to talk about troubleshooting Domain Controllers that are responding...
Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/20/2007