IT Knowledgebase Articles

One of the more tedious tasks of a Windows install is entering the product key. This is compounded when you have to set up dozens of computers at a time. Fortunately, in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008, you no longer have to enter the product key to install the OS. Instead, Windows uses a list of valid install keys. The following article displays this list and shows you where to find it.

As high-performance networking switching equipment continues to drop in price, these systems are being implemented more frequently. This article gives a broad overview of one of these systems: Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express (CME). Like many of these systems, CME can be implemented over existing networks in several fashions.

J. Peter Bruzzese explains how to ensure High Availability in Exchange 2010 using Database Availability Groups. By properly configuring this component of Exchange 2010, you can ensure your company’s email system is always working efficiently and reliably.

A lot of the effort that goes into administering an Active Directory can be minimized by using Replmon. This tool provides a very useful GUI to accomplish several key tasks for AD administrators. Unfortunately, it does not come installed on Windows Server 2008, though it can be. This article will walk you through the process of setting up Replmon on Windows Server 2008.

Sean Wilkins discusses configuration of Link Fragmentation and Interleaving (LFI). Although LFI is rather easy to implement, the benefits can be significant by preventing delays of large high-priority packets across the network, therefore increasing VoIP quality.

The Power Management feature in vSphere 4.1 allows you to choose between five power management policies, helping you reduce energy consumption and increase savings. See how easy it is to configure hardware power management in vSphere and utilize graphing to monitor the CPU of your ESX and ESXi servers.

The “Access Denied” error message is a common issue when accessing administrative shares on one Windows 7 PC from another, especially when they are members of a workgroup. In this article we’ll show you how to troubleshoot and fix this issue by doing a quick registry edit.

Windows Server Backup is built-in to Windows Server 2008 R2 and allows you to back up a full server, a selected list of volumes, the system state, or specific files or folders. Learn how to install the Windows Server Backup feature using three different installation methods: the server manager, the command prompt and PowerShell.

In a continuation of his Traffic Policing and Shaping Overview, Sean Wilkins gets into the details of Traffic Policing and Shaping Configuration. Both features are implemented using the Modular Quality of Service (QoS) Command line interface (MQC) which is used to classify traffic, define a traffic policy, and assign it to a specific interface.

Exchange 2010 has made the process of upgrading much easier, and now includes a simple wizard to assist with moving mailboxes to your new server. SBS and Exchange expert Tom Finnis provides a guide for moving mailboxes to Exchange 2010, including step-by-step instructions for using the Exchange Management Shell (EMS) to override the BadItemLimit when moving large mailboxes.