Following the sudden and simultaneous death of two of the three hard drives connected in RAID 5 on my server SQLServer 2000 (like how this is possible), I had to urgently rebuild a new server. As a reminder you can lose a hard drive in a RAID 5 without losing data, you lose everything beyond ... I detail here the steps I followed to fully restore the data.

continue reading "Restoring SQL Server"

In a field it is important that the clocks of all machines are synchronized. Indeed the Kerberos authentication protocol default requires a maximum difference of 5 minutes ENTERED clocks to prevent attacks.

If authentication was based solely on a username and a password it would be theoretically possible for an attacker to record network traffic, extract data and replay them to the server. The Kerberos session keys are unique and based on the client's time, which avoids these attacks if the maximum permissible difference is relatively small.

To be certain that all clocks are synchronized with each other it is necessary to define an authoritative time source. It is possible to configure the domain controller PDC operation master so that it becomes a source of stratum 2 time source synchronizing to a Stratum 1 time (usually a time server based on an atomic clock) .

continue reading "Setting up an authoritative time server in Windows 2003"

I recently installed two new domain controllers in Windows 2003 R2 to replace an old Domain Controller in Windows 2000 which showed some signs of weakness. Problem after dcpromo normal phase the SYSVOL and NETLOGON shares have not created automatically on two new CDs. FSMO role transfers them have gone smoothly and Active Directory (users, computers) and the DNS replicate perfectly.

This problem is really critical because if the domain controller in Windows 2000 should die it would not be possible to authenticate to the field or on the SQL Server using Windows authentication. A very regular backup system state with ntbackup of DC is critical as the situation is not stabilized. Second group policies are not replicated and servers are not fully considered as domain controllers SYSVOL and NETLOGON shares have not been created.

continue reading "Problem replication of SYSVOL and NETLOGON shares"

pfsense is an open source firewall with many exciting features. In particular it provides the ability to pool multiple WANs which will load balance the connections and get away with a line break. The pfsense I installed pools and two ADSL lines and public Oléane an SDSL line.

Besides its potential for router / firewall and sharing of lines, pfsense can establish a VPN (IPsec or OpenVPN), a DHCP server and is extensible via packages (Snort, Squid, FreeRADIUS, ntop, NMAP, etc. ).

It is possible to continuously monitor the flows upstream and downstream of each line using a small program called monomon, very useful to identify immediately cut a line or uploads / downloads abnormal.

Two limitations to keep in mind, access to external FTP servers is only possible on the first line WAN and it is not possible to connect to FTP servers over SSL.

pfsense is downloadable as an ISO and can be run from the CD-ROM or a flash card but can also be installed on the hard disk of the machine.

Pfsense >>
Monomon >>

Microsoft has just offered two packs of up-to-day for Windows Vista, one focused on performance and the other on compatibility .

Until the release of SP1 these packs can perhaps correct some problems. I hope for my part that the patch on hibernation can solve problems that I encounter quite random: sometimes it takes me several minutes between when I wake up my computer by moving the mouse and when the login screen actually appears. It also happens after that initial moment where I move the mouse it is no longer recognized or even the keyboard, which forces me to reboot the PC ... A savagely see so.

Edit: it seems to work well, the login screen now appears after a few seconds and I have access to Windows after a few seconds.