Clean Up Stale Records in DNS

One of the many many tasks I was asked to lift off the shoulders of my company’s other Sr. Systems Engineer was to clean up DNS in the many domains we administer. He apparently took over an aging network that needs some serious TLC.

Since he is overloaded with many other projects, I gladly took that one off his plate. If you ever find your self having to do a similar project, it is actually pretty easy to do. You see Microsoft has built a feature into it’s DNS server that does an auto cleanup of stale records in DNS, the problem is they don’t turn it on by default. A lot of Systems Administrators overlook this feature when initially setting up DNS on their networks, and over time it can create problems, and a messy DNS structure.

The feature is called Aging and Scavenging. If this feature is never enabled you may encounter the following problems:

• If a large number of stale resource records remain in server zones, they can eventually take up server disk space and cause unnecessarily long zone transfers.
• DNS servers loading zones with stale RRs might use outdated information to answer client queries, potentially causing the clients to experience name resolution problems on the network.
• The accumulation of stale RRs at the DNS server can degrade its performance and responsiveness.
• In some cases, the presence of a stale RR in a zone could prevent a DNS domain name from being used by another computer or host device.

To enable Aging and Scavenging on all DNS zones do the following:

1. Open the DNS snap-in.

2. In the console tree, right-click the applicable Domain Name System (DNS) server, and then click Set Aging/Scavenging for All Zones.

3. Select the Scavenge stale resource records check box.

4. Modify other aging and scavenging properties as needed

[Via Technet]

You can also simply make the change on individual zones as well, to do that:

1. Open the DNS snap-in.

2. In the console tree, right-click the applicable zone, and then click Properties.

3. On the General tab, click Aging.

4. Select the Scavenge stale resource records check box.

5. Modify other aging and scavenging properties as needed.

[Via Technet]

So why isn't this enabled by default? According to Technet, there are some risks here:

By default, the aging and scavenging mechanism for the DNS Server service is disabled. It should only be enabled when all parameters are fully understood. Otherwise, the server could be accidentally configured to delete records that should not be deleted. If a record is accidentally deleted, not only will users fail to resolve queries for that record, but any user can create the record and take ownership of it, even on zones configured for secure dynamic update.

Still though, I think the good outweighs the bad with this feature. What do you think though? have you ever had problems with this feature? Do you know of some other good tools to use with DNS/AD cleanup? Let me know in the comments!

Technorati Tags: how to,dns,cleanup,clean up,microsoft,server,2003,2008,aging,scavenging

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Migrate Printers From Windows 2003 to Windows 2008 Server

At my day job we are currently in the mist of migrating our Windows 2003 environment slowly into a Windows 2008 environment. One of the first places we are moving to 2008 is on our file and print servers in the field. Lucky me, I got to configure the first Windows 2008 file and print server in one of our nearby remote offices!

One of the first things I needed to do after installing the server, and powering it on was to migrate all of the printers from the old 2003 server in that office over to the new 2008 server that was replacing it. In Windows 200 and Windows 2003 I would have used the Printmig utility, but that has gone by the wayside in 2008. Now, it is even easier to migrate printers!

So how about it? Do you want to know how to do it? Easy!

1. Click on Server Manager
2. Scroll down to Roles Summary and click on Add Roles
3. Check the box for Print Services and follow the wizard to install
4. After it is installed, Click Start > Administrative Tools > Print Management
5. Expand the tree, then right click on Print Servers and click on Add/Remove Servers
6. Enter the name of the print server you want to migrate the printers off of and select Add to List, then click Apply
   
7. Right Click on that Printer in the tree and select Export Printers to a File and save that file on your desktop
8. After the export is complete, right click on your new server in the tree
9. Select Import Printer from a File, and select the export from your desktop
10. Follow the wizard and you are done!

It couldn't be more easy! Now the old Printmig was similar to that, but this feature is built right in! No downloading, no fussing! Just a simple export, import and boom! DONE!

One thing you have to note though is that, according to Technet, you cannot migrate printers from 2000 servers or older. For that you will have to use Printmig to a Windows 2003 server first, then on over to a Windows 2008 server.

How many of you have migrations like this coming up? How many of you have already migrated? Let us know in the comments!

Technorati Tags: windows, server, 2008, printer, migration, 2003

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Can I Change The Inbox Font in Microsoft Outlook?

I have this user who just got upgraded to a new laptop. When he logged in for the first time and opened Outlook, he was in for a shock. The fonts were extremely small (Apparently he is as blind as a bat, and likes larger fonts). Anyway, he called me to fix it.

If you run into the same thing, here is what you do in both Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007:

Outlook 2003:

1) Click on View > Arrange By > Current View > Customize Current View

2) Click on the 'Other Settings' button

3) Click on the Column Font, Row Font and AutoPreview buttons to change your fonts

4) Click OK, then OK again, your fonts should now be changed in your inbox list.

Outlook 2007:

Note: Microsoft made this a little more intuitive in this version

1) Click on View > Current View > Customize Current View

2) Click on the 'Other Settings' button

3) Click on the Column Font, Row Font and AutoPreview buttons to change your fonts

4) Click OK, then OK again, your fonts should now be changed in your inbox list.

I hope this helps some of you out there. If this doesn't work for you you always have some alternatives such as glasses, contacts or even lasik surgery. Good luck!

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