All Articles – Page 2 – Project Runspace

How to Configure Ubuntu for Public Key WinSCP Access

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As with many of my articles, this one serves as a public “note to self” for a problem that I run into often enough to need to skip a lot of searching but not often enough to remember how to fix. I have set up a new Ubuntu server system and I want to manipulate files from my desktop using WinSCP. This works almost automatically if you enter your password each time or you don’t work with files that require sudo permissions. Of course, I want both. I guess you came here for the same reason. Follow the steps in this article to configure Ubuntu for public key WinSCP access. Because WinSCP uses PuTTY-formatted key files, I added a section on configuring PuTTY for public key access as well.

Fiber Channel or iSCSI Disk Appears Two or More Times in Disk Management

Scenario: You connect your Windows or Hyper-V system to a FiberChannel or iSCSI target device that supports multi-path I/O (MPIO). When you view Disk Management, it shows up twice (or more). You can bring one online, but any others show “Offline (The disk is offline because it has a redundant path with another device)”.

The basic issue is that multipath I/O needs to be configured at the Windows level. If you have specialized software from your hardware vendor, use that first. They will often enable and configure the necessary Windows components for you.

Getting Started with Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows Server

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) brings the convenience of native Linux functionality to Windows Server. You have access to a fully functional Linux kernel in the distribution of your choice embedded right where you have instant access without needing to rely on a heavy virtualization layer or a thick emulator. This article focuses on WSL in Windows Server 2022 as the current version, but includes notes for WSL on Windows Server 2019.

Stop Using Self-Signed Certificates

The growth of digital threats has made our need for security more pervasive. Where possible, we try to use active schemes. However, private key infrastructure and certificates serve a powerful purpose and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. As threats grow, we as systems administrators need to improve the way that we protect against them. This article starts a series on PKI and related certificates with a call to action: stop using self-signed certificates.

How to Determine if an EXE is 32-bit or 64-bit

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While not terribly common, sometimes you need to know the “bitness” of an executable (32-bit or 64-bit). The sudden growth of architectures besides traditional x86 and x64 (ARM, etc.) has introduced a related need to know the processor that an executable targets. Every EXE file has this information embedded in a common, easily read location. Oddly, Windows has no built-in tools to view it easily. Reviewing the available options, it seems like someone thinks that only a software developer or security researcher would ever want to know if a particular program can run on a given CPU. I built a PowerShell script that will read the necessary information from a Windows EXE (or DLL) to determine its bitness and the target CPU.

How to Configure Visual Studio 2022 to Use C++ Standard Library Modules

The C++20 standard introduced modules. This feature enhances the language by reducing reliance on header files. Visual Studio 2022’s Visual C++ projects have built-in support for modules. However, they don’t automatically provide access to modularized versions of the standard library headers. This article shows a quick way to configure Visual Studio 2022 to use C++ standard library modules.

Should Server Administrators Learn to Code?

Most yes/no questions in server administration have the wonderfully vague answer of “it depends”. This question, however, does not. Unequivocally: yes, server administrators should learn to code. If you got into this line of work because you enjoy computing but don’t want to program, take heart. You do not need to achieve anything like the proficiency of a full-time software developer. Also, “coding” might not mean what you expect.

How to Change the Windows Server Activation Mechanism

The situation that prompted this article involved a Windows Server Standard Edition virtual machine that was migrated from a Windows Server Datacenter host to a Windows Server Standard Edition host. On the source host, the guest had used Automatic Virtual Machine Activation. That feature only exists on Datacenter Edition, so the virtual machine immediately went into an unactivated state. I switched it to Volume Licensing. However, the method that I used works to change the Windows Server activation mechanism from any mode to any other eligible mode.

Decision Making for Server Administrators and System Architects

In a perfect world, server administrators would only need to install, maintain, and troubleshoot hardware and software. We would have access to detailed manuals, walkthroughs, and capable support staff. Employers would give us the freedom we need to select and deploy the best options. Industries and verticals would have standardized on the most superior solutions, and each would accept and integrate public suggestions and solutions. We don’t live in that world. Instead, we deal with conflicting information, politically driven decisions, substandard products, incompetent vendors, and outsized egos. We have fought these problems since the beginning of our professional, and we will always struggle against them. Unfortunately, the battle has brought about poor solutions. This article discusses the challenges and provides a sustainable framework of decision making for server administrators and system architects.

How to Install Windows Server 2022

Whether setting up a lab or deploying into production, server administrators need to gain comfort with the installation process for Windows Server. This article specifically shows how to install Windows Server 2022. The process has not had much more than cosmetic changes for about a decade. These directions start at the beginning and go through fundamental post-install steps.