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These are the steps I took to create a new web server instance, which lives in AFS space and is based on uber . You should be able to follow these steps to create a new server instance. You'll need AFS administration access, kadmin access, the ability to create (or request) a DNS entry, and root access on every system you will be modifying. These instructions apply to web servers that will host core services (things like myUMBC, spaces, webadmin, etc), which live under /afs/umbc.edu/admin/www. If you're just looking to create a public web space for someone (/afs/umbc.edu/public/www), Request or create an IP address and DNS entry for the new server. Create an AFS volume to house the new server. Consult with an administrator to determine the server and partition to use. Use vos partinfo to see a list of available partitions with free space. Example: 3.   vos create -server bfs1.afs.umbc.edu -partition /vicepe -name admin.

                   The most critical, sometimes tedious, part of setting up a SAN is configuring each individual disk array. In this Storage Networking 101, we'll delve into best practices and cover the general concepts you must know before configuring SAN-attached storage. There are three general steps when configuring a disk array: First, you create a RAID set. It can be any type of RAID the array supports, and we'll just assume RAID-5 for this article so that we can talk about hot spares. You can either slice up the RAID set to present multiple LUNs to a host, or you can create "RAID Groups," as most vendors call it. This is a completely optional step, but it can make your life easier. Third, you must assign LUNs to a host. Create a RAID Set The first step can be done many ways. Say you have an array that holds 14 disks per tray, and you have four trays. One option is to create two (or more) RAID-5 volumes on each tray. You can the

Many people are looking for a low cost solution for external storage for their free ESXi server. In this article, I will describe how to use a Windows machine and Windows Services for UNIX (WSFU) version 3.5 to create an NFS share that can be mounted on an ESXi host for storage of Virtual Machines, ISOs, or backups. There are a lot of articles like this out there but none of them worked as advertised for me so I decided to write my own. Because I’m thinking about using my NFS storage for backup purposes my NFS share is called esxi-backup. Call your share what you will. There are 6 main steps in the process: Installing WSFU Enable SSH on the ESXi Server Obtaining copies of the ESXi Server passwd and group files to the WSFU server Configuring WSFU for accepting ESXi connections Sharing the Windows folder to NFS clients Creating an ESXi Datastore to mount the Window NFS Share. 1. Install WSFU To install WSFU you must first download it from Microsoft.  Install WS

An Overview of Active Directory Replication Active Directory is a distributed multimaster replicated database. All domain controllers host a full replica of the domain information for its own domain. Domain controllers in Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 environments hold a read/write copy of the Active Directory database. In these environments, changes can be made to the Active Directory database on any domain controller within the Active Directory environment. Replication is the process that ensures that changes made to a replica on one domain controller are transferred to replicas on the remainder of the domain controllers. When an object in Active Directory is created, deleted, moved, or changed; Active Directory replication is triggered. In Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 environments, the types of Active Directory replication that can be defined are: Intrasite Replication : Intrasite replication takes place between domain controllers within the same site.

First, we will install the AD LDS Instance: 1. Create and AD LDS instance by clicking Start -> Administrative Tools -> Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Setup Wizard. The Setup Wizard appears. 2. Click Next . The Setup Options dialog box appears. For the sake of this guide, a unique instance will be the primary focus. I will have a separate post regarding AD LDS replication at some point in the near future. 3. Select A unique instance . 4. Click Next and the Instance Name dialog box appears. The instance name will help you identify and differentiate it from other instances that you may have installed on the same end point. The instance name will be listed in the data directory for the instance as well as in the Add or Remove Programs snap-in. 5. Enter a unique instance name, for example IDG. 6. Click Next to display the Ports configuration dialog box. 7. Leave ports at their default values unless you have conflicts with the default values. 8. Click N