Michael has been an 'IT Pro' since 1998. He has worked predominantly in the Windows world including client and server operating systems, on-prem systems engineering (AD, DNS, etc.), and over the last ten years or so has embraced and immersed himself in all things Microsoft 365 - including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Teams, OneDrive, and Azure Active Directory (AAD). He has written articles here on Petri based on these technologies and also published a larger series about 'Upgrading to Windows Server 2022' this past summer. Michael strives to help other IT Pros with getting more efficient (especially with PowerShell) in their day-to-day tasks and offering solid assistance on larger projects.
Last Update: Mar 13, 2024
The “trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain failed” error means that the computer cannot access a network because it is offline, or that it has lost its membership to the Active Directory (AD) domain. This guide will help you understand what’s happening behind the scenes when this error occurs, and we’ll go…
Last Update: Mar 13, 2024
Learn all there is to know about how Active Directory (AD) replication works. This guide covers the basics of how domain controllers (DCs) replicate all of your user accounts, passwords, computers, and other objects in your environment. Learn about how sites define the logical layout of your network and how the tools and features in…
Last Update: Mar 13, 2024
Active Directory is Microsoft’s on-premises identity and access management (IAM) service. In this article, learn how Active Directory (AD) makes it easier for IT to manage an organization’s IT resources. Active Directory is especially useful for companies that have to manage lots of endpoints and servers. What is Active Directory and why is it used?…
Backup and replication are common data protection concepts, but they serve different purposes. Learn more about their differences and how they can benefit your data management strategy, especially how the backup vs replication argument relates to Active Directory (AD) and protecting it. What are backup and replication? Although backup and replication are both methods of…
Last Update: Feb 22, 2024
Windows allows users to assign permissions to files and folders, for added security and to control which users can perform specific actions on files and folders. Learn all you need to know about basic permissions, folder permissions, user permissions, explicit permissions, and much more. What are NTFS permissions? NTFS permissions, first introduced with Microsoft Windows…
You’ve probably heard about Windows Server – Microsoft’s enterprise server counterpart to its end-user client Windows 10 and 11 operating systems. But what is Windows Server exactly and how much do you know about it? Why would you want to install it and use it in your environment? What are the current supported versions and…
Last Update: Feb 20, 2024
Ransomware protection is one the most important topics for IT Pros and C-Level technology executives. Learn how immutable backups and immutable storage help to protect your organization against data corruption and loss, malware, viruses, and ransomware – and how to implement them. This post is sponsored by Object First Veeam 2023 Ransomware trends report – most ransomware targets backups In May…
Last Update: Feb 19, 2024
Icacls is a Windows command-line utility that IT admins can use to change access control lists on files and folders. One of the most common tasks that an IT Pro or system administrator performs is modifying permission on a file server. Using the icacls command is a very efficient way to do that, and we’ll…
Last Update: Feb 16, 2024
When newly installed, Active Directory’s (AD) default configuration is designed to be easy to use. As a result, attackers can exploit AD to take over your entire network with relative ease. Here’s what you can do to further protect your organization by reducing your Active Directory attack surface. Securing beyond the default settings to reduce…
Last Update: Feb 15, 2024
Audit your Active Directory environment to ensure the security of your company’s most valuable assets. Here are the top 10 events to audit in Active Directory to identify risks. Why audit Active Directory? Active Directory provides authentication, account management, and authorization services that are critical for strong access governance. To quickly detect insider threats, organizations should audit the creation of new accounts and security groups, and…