What is Metafile in Windows

Metafile is consists of NTFS metadata, which is part of part of the system cache . NTFS metadata includes the MFT as well as the other various NTFS metadata files .In the MFT each file attribute record takes 1k and each file has at least one attribute record. Add to this the other NTFS metadata files and you can see why the Metafile category can grow quite large on servers with lots of files.

More about different types of files which consume the physical memory on Windows Server:http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/archive/2010/08/13/introduction-to-the-new-sysinternals-tool-rammap.aspx

High Memory Uses by Metafile on Server 2008 R2

My server was eating up lot of physical memory and was crashing due to shortage of RAM . I was not able to resolve the issue for 2 days but file I came to know about a utility called RamMap from Microsoft , which I ran on my server. It revealed that metafile consuming the highest amount of RAM.

High memory uses by metafile on Server 2008 R2 can be reduced using an another Microsoft called CacheSet which can be downloaded from here :http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897561.aspx 

More info about metafile : What is metafile? and different types of files which consume the physical memory on Windows Server.

forgot server 2008 administrator password? How to recover?

Have you forgot server 2008 administrator password and don’t know how to recover it?

Here are few free tools to recover server 2008 administrator password:

Trinity Rescue Kit: Download

Documentation: http://trinityhome.org/manpages/man8/winpass.8.html 

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ophcrack/
http://www.pogostick.net/~pnh/ntpasswd/

Will post more details about them, in the mean time you can go through those links and read the documentation on how to use them to recover lost server 2008 administrator password.

Enable PowerShell ISE on Server 2008

PowerShell ISE is GUI utility which allows us to create, test, debug powershell scripts is graphical mode. Powershell ISE is installed on Windows 7 by default. But we need to enable Powershell ISE on Server 2008 by following these steps:

1. Launch PoserShell and run thse command: 
    Import-Module ServerManager 
     Add-WindowsFeature PowerShell-ISE

PowerShell ISE has been installed on Server 2008.

Microsoft Virtualization Video Tutorials

Some time back I came across Microsoft Virtualization Video Tutorials on their site where they conducted a web seminar series on Microsoft Virtualization Fundamentals. This seminar series will take you through the fundamentals and architecture of each of Microsoft's core Virtualization products. These inlcude Windows Server Virtualization (Hyper-V), Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid), Presentation Virtualization, and more...

Here is the link for videos: http://www.msdev.com/directory/SeriesDescription.aspx?CourseId=82

how to enable webclient service on server 2008

To enable webclient service on server 2008 we need to install desktop experience feature. In earlier version of windows webclient service could be installed by enabling WebDAV component if IIS.

1. Start the Windows Server Manager.
2. In the tree view, highlight the Features node.
3. In the details pane, click Add Features.
4. In the Add Features Wizard, check the Desktop Experience box, and then click Next.
5. Click Install.
6. When the Add Features Wizard has finished, click Close.
7. Click Yes when promoted to restart the computer.

Windows Activation error: Code 0x8007232b

I was trying to activate Windows Server 2008 and got this error:
“Activation Error: Code 0x8007232b .DNS Name does not exist”

Actually Windows was looking for KMS server for the activation . and when it did not find that , it threw error 0x8007232b.

Microsoft has a KB article for resolving the issue: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929826

I used following method to resolve the issueThe solution worked for me was:

1. Cick All Programs, click Accessories, and then right-click Command Prompt.
2. Click Run as administrator.
3. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
            slmgr -ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

Note: In this command, the xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx placeholder represents your MAK product key.

4. Now try to activate the Windows online, you will succeed.

Hardware requirements for Hosted BranchCache

Hosted BranchCache  consumes very less CPU and memory resources and it can co-exist with other server roles like file server etc. The only thing we need to consider is to have enough disk space to store the cached content. It is advisable to have a separate dedicated disk for BranchCache to avoid conflicts with other disk work loads.

Branch Cache how to guides and learning resources

1. BranchCache Executive Overview

2. Early Adopter’s Guide to Branch Cache

3. BranchCache Hosted Cache Mode Step by Step Guide

4 .BranchCache Distributed Cache Mode Step by Step Guide

5. BranchCache Security Guide

6. BranchCache Technical Overview

7.Installing a non-domain member BranchCache-capable file server (Video)

8. Install and Configure Hosted BranchCache for Web Services

8.Branch Cache in Windows 7 (Video)

9.Netsh Commands for BranchCache in Windows Server 2008 R2

10. Branch Cache Technical case study 1

11.Branch Cache Technical case study 2

how to configure branch cache for share point server

How to configure Branch Cache in Hosted mode for SharePoint Optimization on WAN links with WIndows Server 2008R2 and Windows7?
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 introduce a new feature (BranchCache) that can reduce wide area network (WAN) utilization and enhance Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies responsiveness when users access content in a central office from branch office locations. When you enable BranchCache, a copy of the content that is retrieved from the Web server is cached within the branch office. If another client in the branch requests the same content, the client can download it directly from the local branch network without needing to retrieve the content by using the Wide Area Network (WAN).

Configuring BranchCache with Microsoft SharePoint :

Configuring Web Servers

The configuration of Web Servers in preparation for BranchCache requires only installing the BranchCache role on the server machine through the Server Manager or optionally the Command Prompt.

1. Open Server Management on each Web server by clicking Start | All Programs | Administrative Tools | Server Manager.
   
2. On the Server Manager dialog select the Roles node.
   
3. On the Server Manager dialog in the Roles window, select Add Role.
   
4. On the <> dialog select BranchCache from the list of available options and click Next.

Configuring the Hosted Cache Server

Install the BranchCache Feature

1. Open Server Manager on the Hosted Cache server by clicking Start | Administrative Tools | Server Manager.
   
2. On the Server Manager dialog select the Features node.
   
3. On the Server Manager dialog in the Features window, select Add Features.
   
4. On the Add Features Wizard select BranchCache from the list of available Features and click Next.
   
5. On the Confirm Installation Selections dialog click Install.
   
6. On the Installation Results dialog click Close.

Enable Hosted Cache Server Mode

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt on the Hosted Cache server by clicking Start | All Programs | Accessories | Command Prompt.
   
2. Enter netsh branchcache set service mode=HOSTEDSERVER in the Command Prompt and press Enter.

Configure the Cache

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt on the Hosted Cache server by clicking Start | All Programs | Accessories | Command Prompt.
   
2. Enter netsh branchcache set localcache directory=<drive>:\<share>
   
3. Enter netsh branchcache set cachesize size=<size in percent> percent=TRUE

Create a new Certificate

1. On the Hosted Cache server open Microsoft Management Console by clicking Start | Run… and entering MMC in the Open… field.
   
2. On the Microsoft Management Console click File | Add / remove snap-in.
   
3. On the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog select Certificates from the list of available snap-ins and click Add.
   
4. On the Certificate snap-in dialog select Computer account from the list of available options and click Next.
   
5. On the Select Computer dialog select Local computer (the computer this console is running on) and click Finish.
   
6. On the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog click OK.
   
7. On the Console1 – [Console Root] dialog expand the Certificates (Local Computer) | Personal | nodes and then select Certificates.
   
8. On the Console1 – [Console Root] dialog select Action | All Tasks | Import…
   
9. On the Certificate Import Wizard* dialog click Next.
   
10. On the Console1 – [Console Root] dialog double-click the certificate imported from the previous steps and select Details on the Certificate dialog.
    
11. On the Certificate dialog select Thumbprint and copy the Thumbprint.
    
12. Paste the copied Thumbprint into a text editor and remove any spaces.
    
13. Open an elevated Command Prompt on the Hosted Cache server by clicking Start | All Programs | Accessories | Command Prompt.
    
14. Enter netsh http add sslcert ipport:0.0.0.443 certhash=<paste from text editor> appid= and press Enter.
    
15. Enter netsh branchcache show status all to confirm the configuration

* The Hosted Cache server requires a certificate with the Server Authentication EKU. Follow the steps on the Certificate Import Wizard to install your certificate. Once the certificate has been imported, follow the remaining steps in this section.
Configure Client Machines
Refer to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd637820(WS.10).aspx.
BranchCache can be used with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010, and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.
Other Resources: Learn more here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd755969(WS.10).aspx.