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Category: OS

Fix Ubuntu Server bash for internet accessing (DNS querying)

allenLeave a comment

I have multiple devices installed with Ubuntu Server. Some of them have a strange problem:
They can access internet using some applications, such as squid, without any problem.
They can ping to internet IP address.
They can use host / dig to query IP by domain name.
They cannot ping to internet by using domain name directly.
They cannot download file through wget / curl using domain name, but can do with IP.
They cannot use apt, stuck at connecting.
All they use a local dnsmasq as their dns.

After a long time dig, I found the problem and here is the fix.
open the file /etc/nsswitch.conf, search the line with “hosts:” and change the setting to “files dns” (without quotes).

Web Deploy for Visual Studio

allenLeave a comment

While I’m trying to deploy my site from Visual Studio to a Windows Server 2012 R2 instance, I have to dig a lot for troubleshooting about Web Deploy related problems.

 

Here are some not listed in Microsoft documents:

  • Visual Studio need both Web Deploy (Web Deployment Agent Service, MsDepSvc) and Web Management Service (WMSVC).
  • You cannot install Web Management Service separately.
  • The easy way to install the both is choose “Web Deploy 3.6 for Hosting Servers” Web Platform Installer.
  • If you selected “Web Deploy 3.6” in another release, without “for Hosting Servers”, Web Management Service will not be installed.
  • If you leave Web Deploy installed without Web Management Service, you could add it by install “Web Deploy 3.6 for Hosting Servers” but IT WILL NEVER WORK! You have to UNINSTALL existed Web Deploy first and then reinstall the “Web Deploy 3.6 for Hosting Servers”.

Install ubuntu server into Soekris net6501 by using USB boot

allenLeave a comment

This will guide you to prepare a installation media from Windows and install ubuntu into Soekris net6501.

Stuffs you need:

  • a USB stick that CAN BE RECOGNIZED by net6501 device.
    Not sure? Attach it to net6501 and reboot. If you can read the SIZE of this stick while booting, it is.
  • an ISO file for ubuntu server 32-bit. Version 16.10 is tested.
  • rufus. Guide and download point at https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows.
  • a working serial connection from your workstation to your net6501, software included.

Prepare installation media:

  • Use rufus to build the USB stick. Check the guide above.

Install:

  1. Link net6501 to your computer using serial connection and start the link. In this case, I’m using the default setting (Speed=19200, Data bits=8, Stop bits=1, Parity=None, Flow control=XON/XOFF).
  2. Boot your net6501 with USB stick attached.
  3. Hit ctrl-p to go into bios.
  4. Type “boot 81” (without quotes) and press enter to boot from USB.
  5. You will see that something wrong with gfxboot.
  6. Type this text below SLOWLY and press enter. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE:
    install console=ttyS0,19200
  7. Do not press any key related to screen mode selection. It will be passed.
  8. Choose a language and continue installation steps as normal.

Finalize:

Grub configuration need to be adjusted for using serial as console.

Edit /etc/default/grub and change to these lines below:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="console=ttyS0,19200 noplymouth"

Then run update-grub.

 

Hope this help you.

When you fall in love with Spanned Volumes

allenLeave a comment

In our company, our major productive servers are hosted in vSphere as Windows-based virtual machines. Some of them need very big disks. Through the largest disk space supported in vSphere is 16TB (or maybe more, i dunno), I’m not interested to create such a big file in VMFS. It will be really a pain your *** when you have to move such a big file among datastores, even among data facilities by using portable hard drives.

Creating smaller disks instead of a big one for every Windows-based VM, IMHO.

Fortunately, Windows support to merge small disks as a big one, using dynamic disk function. There are 4 kinds of volume can be supported in such a condition: Spanned, Striped, Mirrored and RAID-5. You can consider them like JBOD, RAID-0, RAID-1 and RAID-5 functions in a simple legacy storage device.

Because data protection is existed in the SAN, Mirrored and RAID-5 volumes are not considered at all. Striped will make it a little faster when lots of virtual disks fight for limited IOPS resources within one datastore. But there is no way to extend any stripped volume (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc770938.aspx).

So, the useless volume format in a traditional world, spanned volume, is the best solution, maybe the only one. Next time when you need to create big virtual disks for Windows in any virtualization environment, don’t forget to consider using Spanned Volumes.

[Obsoleted] Windows 10.0.14393 cannot work with WSUS, yet

allenLeave a comment

After several weeks testing, I’m sad to tell you all that at least currently, Windows 10.0.14394 (aka 1607) still cannot work with WSUS.

Problem: If there is Windows related package push from WSUS, svchost processes on Windows clients keep crashing.

 

Check this for details: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/31718a20-64dd-43f7-87d7-c86f03f74a4d/14393-windows-update-crash-every-minute?forum=win10itprogeneral

Add Windows 10 (1607/14393) boot files to WDS on Windows Server 2012 R2

allen2 Comments

I’m testing to add the boot.wim files from Windows 10 1607 (10.0.14393) installation discs to Windows Deployment Services on Windows Server 2012 R2.

Test 1: Add x86 and x64 boot files to WDS
Passed.

Test 2: Add drivers to boot files.
Failed with WDS client on Windows Server 2012 R2.
Succeeded with WDS client on Windows Server 2016 TP5 connected to the target WDS.

Test 3: Create discover images.
Passed but failed in Test 6.

Test 4: Create x64 capture image.
Passed.

Test 5: Boot from boot files.
Passed.

Test 6: Boot from discover images embedded in ISO files.
Failed with error: WdsClient: There was a problem initializing WDS Mode.
Try to use other images created from WDS clients of Windows Server 2016 TP5: failed in the same way.

Test 7: Boot from x64 capture image.
Passed.

Test 8: Capture an instance of Windows 10.0.14393.
Instance for test: Windows 10.0.14393.10 x86 with up-to-date Office 2016.
Passed.

Test 9: Deploy an instance of Windows 10.0.14393 through WDS.
Passed.

Office 2013/2016 Activation Issue with Windows 7 deployed by captured images

allenLeave a comment

To make deployment more convenient, we use Windows Deployment Services in our company. All images related is not the originals. Usually, we install Office products into a clean Windows instance before capturing. That’s is really a good way to save lots of time in every deployment.

The problem found is: if Office 2013/2016 is installed with Windows 7, even after sysprep run, the captured image is still not working well. If this image is deployed on another hardware, not the same one which is used to create this image, Office cannot be activated by KMS located in our company and error is 0x4004F00D.

To avoid that: At the very end before capturing, sysprep audit mode for example, run OSPPREARM.exe from Office folder to remove all data related to activation. This file can be found in “Program Files\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX”. Of course, if Office 32bit is loved in 64bit OS, “Program Files (x86)” should be a good replacement.
After OSPPREARM run, you may want to run “cscript ospp.vbs /dcmid” from the same folder to check the result. “Not Found” displayed is predicted.

BTW, if Windows 10 is used instead, this step is not necessary at all.

Removing preinstalled apps in Windows 10

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In Windows 10 releases, lots of apps are pre-installed. Different than in Windows 8/8.1, most of these apps cannot be uninstalled by GUI.
If you want to remove them, you still can do that by using powershell.

Steps:
1 Start powershell with administrator privilege.

2 Enter these 2 commands to prepare the workspace.

Import-Module Appx
Import-Module Dism

3 Enter this command to show all installed package.

Get-AppxPackage -AllUser | Where PublisherId -eq 8wekyb3d8bbwe | Format-List -Property PackageFullName,PackageUserInformation

You will see some apps listed. The packages with status Installed are ready for your further removal.

4 Use this command to remove one app.

Remove-AppxPackage -Package packagefullname

The packagefullname is the text listed by step 3. Usually, it starts with Microsoft and end with 8wekyb3d8bbwe.
You need to repeat the step 4 for each app you want to remove.

Not all apps, Microsoft Edge for example, can be removed but most can.