EventTracker PULSE

EventTracker PULSE is a smart search engine for log data. Available as a free software download, it automates the real-time collection and long term archival of all log data from Windows (servers and workstations), Unix/Linux, Cisco devices, applications and any syslog source. A Google-like interface provides searching across hundreds of gigiabytes of data, allowing users to pinpoint critical data in a matter of seconds. Hundreds of preconfigured knowledge categories help users find common events such as Cisco authentication failures or Windows logon failures. In addition, an optional Windows agent provides monitoring of CPU usage, network connections, disk space utilization, capacity utilization, user activity etc.

The benefits of Log Search limitless for system administration and security. For instance, users can quickly identify root cause of service degradations or IT failures for remediation, or in the event of an internal breach, pinpoint who did what and when and plug security holes.

EventTracker PULSE installs on any Windows server or workstation. Key features include:

• No limit on collection and archival of log data
  
• Real-time collection from Windows (servers and workstations), Unix/Linux, Cisco devices, applications and any syslog source
  
• Compressed, secure (SHA1) storage of data
  
• Easy to use Google-like interface with options for free-form searching using keywords, exact phrases, operators, wildcard characters or a combination of all for complex queries
  
• Endless refine to extract precise matches from large volumes
  
• Hundreds of preconfigured knowledge categories
  
• One-click access to the Prism KnowledgeBase for helpful descriptions on over 20,000 events
  
• Agent-optional architecture; centralized agent configuration

More details and download availabile here: http://pulse.prismmicrosys.com/

Dealing with Windows 64bit "I want SIGNED drivers!"

Solving 64-Bit Windows' "I Only Want Signed Drivers!" Tantrums

I love 64-bit Windows.  I love the ability to stick 8 gigs of RAM on a laptop, allowing me to run several virtual servers, each of which I can equip with 1.5 GB of RAM.  (Life's too short to wait for Server 2008 to get things done in 512 MB of RAM, y'know?)  I love how much snappier Adobe Lightroom is when it's no longer shackled to the 2 GB limits that 32-bit Windows requires.  And I especially love that the main problem with 64-bit Windows -- the lack of 64-bit drivers -- is largely a thing of the past, save for those cases where vendors use the new architecture as a way to force you to upgrade (and yes, I am talking to you, HP printer division and Cisco VPN folks).

Once in a while, though, I run up against the the thing that I most don't like about 64-bit Windows:  the iron rule of driver signing.  Ever since XP and 2003, the 64-bit versions of Windows have refused to load kernel executables or device drivers unless those executables and drivers are digitally signed.  Load a driver that's not signed, and 64-bit Windows pops up some scary-looking message essentially saying, "take a walk, buddy, and take your unsigned driver with you... I mean you don't really know where this thing's been, do you?"  You can get around it by pressing F8 every time you boot and disabling driver signing, but that's a pain.  There was once, briefly, a setting in bcdedit that would let you tell Windows to always skip driver signing, but Vista SP1 put an end to that -- and besides, I don't want Windows to ignore checking the signatures on all drivers, I just want it to allow me to run the occasional unsigned driver.

Look, I understand the whole thought process behind this totalitarian approach, which I understand runs something like this:

• Unsigned drivers cause the vast majority of Windows bluescreens.
  
• Unknowing users don't know that, and so blame Microsoft for blue screens
  
• This really irritates people at Microsoft and in particular Dave Cutler, Windows' Architectus Maximus
  
• Dave wants to make it easy to finger the culprit of any given blue screen
  
• Signing a driver carries with it something of a statement of personal confidence in that driver (and here, I feel, is where the whole thing falls down a bit:  signing a driver says you wrote it, not that it lacks bugs), so...
  
• 64-bit Windows requires that all drivers and kernel executables be signed.
  

It all just seems a bit heavy-handed for my taste -- sort of like, oh, say, scaring a large room full of people into thinking that you've just released a bunch of malaria-infected mosquitoes into the air to make a point about poverty.  Anyway, this month I wanted to offer a workaround for those who run 64-bit systems and really need to run an unsigned driver now and then.  The workaround?  Create your own driver signing certificate and sign the driver or application yourself!  Here are the steps.

Installing SQL Server 2008 on a Windows Server 2008 Cluster

In a previous tip on SQL Server 2008 Installation Process, we have seen how different SQL Server 2008 installation is from its previous versions. Now, we have another challenge to face: installing SQL Server 2008 on a Windows Server 2008 Cluster. Windows Server 2008 has a lot of differences from its previous versions and one of them is the clustering feature. How do I go about building a clustered SQL Server 2008 running on Windows Server 2008?

Effective PowerShell: The Free eBook

PowerShell MVP and prodigious PowerShell blogger Keith Hill has converted his very popular Effective PowerShell blog series into a FREE Ebook.  You can download it HERE.

Here is a taste of you'll you'll get:

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 

Item 1: Four Cmdlets that are the Keys to Discovery within PowerShell 1 

Key #1: Get-Command 1 

Key #2: Get-Help 2 

Key #3: Get-Member ..5 

Key #4: Get-PSDrive .6 

PowerShell 2.0 Update 7 

Item 2: Understanding Output 8 

Output is Always a .NET Object 8 

Function Output Consists of Everything That Isn't Captured 9 

Other Types of Output That Can't Be Captured .. 11 

Item 3: Know What Objects Are Flowing Down the Pipeline  12 

Item 4: Output Cardinality - Scalars, Collections and Empty Sets - Oh My! .. 15 

Working with Scalars  15 

Working with Collections .. 16 

Working with Empty Sets .. 17 

Item 5: Use the Objects, Luke. Use the Objects!  19 

Item 6: Know Your Output Formatters . 22 

Item 7: Understanding PowerShell Parsing Modes  31 

Item 8: Understanding ByPropertyName Pipeline Bound Parameters  35 

Item 9: Understanding ByValue Pipeline Bound Parameters  38 

Item 10: Regular Expressions - One of the Power Tools in PowerShell .. 42 

PowerShell 2.0 Update  43 

Item 11: Comparing Arrays  43 

Item 12: Use Set-PSDebug -Strict In Your Scripts - Religiously . 45 

PowerShell 2.0 Update  47 

Item 13: Commenting Out Lines in a Script File .. 47 

PowerShell 2.0 Update  48

Blocking Users by IP

One of the things I like about MySQL is the built-in control over what hosts/IP addresses are allowed to connect into the server. This is granular down to the user (equivalent to SQL Server's login/server principal).

Unfortunately, SQL Server doesn't have the same capabilities with respect to specifying what IPs or hosts a login can come in from, at least nothing built-in that's as clear and simple as with MySQL. I'd like to see something similar to the way MySQL handles it. But until then, there is a way to do this using logon triggers which some folks have hit upon. If you're not familiar with logon triggers, they are similar to DDL triggers, except they fire on a logon event (such as when someone connects to SQL Server). They were quietly introduced in SQL Server 2005 SP2, and they give us the ability to rollback a connection, thereby effectively terminating it. If you're still supporting SQL Server 2000 or below servers, you'll have to use another means to control connections.

SQL Server Reporting Services Fast Guide

Microsoft integrated significant business intelligence reporting enhancements into SQL Server 2005, providing DBAs and company decision makers with all the data they need at their fingertips. This collection of resources will help you on your way to mastering Reporting Services (SSRS) for SQL Server 2005, with tips on proper SSRS installation, performance best practices and more. You'll also find details on what's new with Reporting Services in Microsoft's latest database management system – SQL Server 2008.

Row Level Versioning

The first time I heard the term Row Level Versioning in SQL Server 2005, I had mixed feelings about it. I was a bit confused and I had a pre conceived notion of what it was. When I read more about it I found out I was totally wrong. But I am a type of person who does not take the word of anyone when I can actually try to find out if it is true or not. We will first look at what is Row Level versioning. How it works and what are the advantages. After that, we will try to see if Row Level Version actually works like Microsoft claims.