Microsoft invites Insiders to the next Windows 10 event on January 21st

Microsoft discussed the enterprise features coming with Windows 10 at a previous event and today invited Windows Insiders to learn about the coming consumer experience at an event on January 21, 2015. Coming from Redmond, this consumer-focused event is limited to press-only invites. However there is be a live stream promised for people to watch remotely. The details on the webcast will be shared in a later post closer to the event.
The senior leaders of the Operating Systems Group including Terry Myerson, Joe Belfiore, and Phil Spencer will talk about Windows 10 along with comments from CEO Satya Nadella. This upcoming event is being called Windows 10: The next chapter.

Microsoft’s Gabe Aul sent the following email with more details of the event to Windows Insiders in-sync with the Microsoft post.

Hello, Windows Insider –
It’s Gabe again, with more information on the latest and greatest for the Windows Insider Program. But first, I want to thank you again for all the great feedback we are receiving from Insiders – we continue to improve Windows 10 with your input. Keep the feedback coming!
Just a reminder – if you haven’t already installed Windows 10 Technical Preview, you can do it here. (If you are an IT pro, Windows 10 Technical Preview for Enterprise is here.) This is pre-release software, so check out Before you install to be sure it is right for you.

Windows 10: The next chapter (January 21, 2015)
We want you as an Insider to be among the first to hear today’s announcement about our January 21 event. We’ll share more about the Windows vision and the great features and benefits of Windows 10. We’ll be livestreaming portions of the event, and Blogging Windows will be carrying blog posts that you’ll want to see. Use the Insider Hub app (more on that below) and keep reading these emails to stay current – and mark your calendar!

The Insider Hub app
Included in the latest build (9879) is the new Insider Hub app. The Insider Hub is your one-stop shop for all the latest news and announcements regarding the Insider Program.
Going forward, there may be news items that will be shared only through the Insider Hub. So be sure to check it frequently for new information, including notices about new features ready for you to test drive. In the Insider Hub we’ll also post missions, for you to try out new features and then send us feedback.
The Insider Hub isn’t pinned to your Start menu/Start screen so you’ll need to find it (and pin it!). Open it at least once so you’ll receive notifications from the app on important news and announcements.

Info for IT pros
On November 20 we hosted an almost four-hour webcast through the Microsoft Virtual Academy – Windows 10 Technical Preview Fundamentals for IT Pros. During the webcast, we talked about the enterprise vision for Windows 10, as well as new features and enhancements coming in the UI, new security and identity features, new management and Windows Store capabilities, and deployment enhancements. The webcast is now available on the Microsoft Virtual Academy website.
And be sure to also check out the blog posts on Windows 10 apps, management, deployment and security, with links to TechEd Europe sessions and more on these topics:
Windows 10: A Store That’s Ready for Business
Windows 10: Manageability Choices
Windows 10: Making Deployment Easier
Windows 10: Security and Identity Protection for the Modern World

Info for app builders
App builders who are Insiders can develop applications that use AllJoyn capability in Windows 10 – download the SDK for Windows from the AllSeen Alliance. You can learn more at the MS Open Tech blog.
You’ll be hearing from me again in January – in the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter, and don’t forget to check out Insider Hub to stay in touch.

Microsoft releases KB3024777 to uninstall KB3004394 on Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2

Following Patch Tuesday this week, Microsoft pulled two updates that were causing problems. KB3011970 which addresses Silverlight and KB3004394 which addresses Windows Root certificates were both pulled after causing a variety of issues on Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 computers.

Given the issues reported in Microsoft support forums and elsewhere following KB3004394 caused false UAC prompts, Catalyst driver installation fail, error 2147023113 for Windows Defender, the inability to install additional updates, and error 8000706f7 for Windows Diagnostic tool, Microsoft requested customers uninstall the patch. To follow up on this recommendation, Microsoft released KB3024777 which is a very small update. The reason it’s so small is because it is just a wrapper for the command to uninstall KB3004394.
Alternatively to the new uninstalling update, you may script uninstalling KB3004394 with this line:

wusa /uninstall /kb:3004394 /quiet /forcerestart

The December Patch Tuesday has not been a good one for Microsoft. Several other updates are earning their share of complaints after causing various problems. KB2986475, an Exchange Server 2010 SP3 update rollup 8, was also pulled by Microsoft. KB3002339, a patch to .NET Framework 4.5.3 is hanging on install. ActiveX controls within Excel are reportedly experiencing issues after KB2553154 and KB2726958.

Regarding Windows Updates, 2014 has not had a good track record for Microsoft. Hopefully things will turn around in 2015 for the sake of home users and sysadmins alike.

Azure Active Directory Sync tool

What is Azure Active Directory Dirsync with Password Sync?  
Formerly known as Dirsync, this tool has been updated to allow for the synchronization of local Active Directory passwords to Azure Active Directory. in addition to the syncing of users, groups and contacts.  This new feature will allow for Same Sign In with Microsoft cloud services such as Office 365 Education powered by Azure Active Directory since the username and the password from local AD will by synced up to Azure AD.
 
Where can I get the new Dirsync with Password sync bits?  
You can grab the latest version of Dirsync here or it is available in the Office 365 portal under ‘users'  and then Dirsync.

What if I am federated and using ADFS and want to switch to Dirsync with Password Sync?
You will need to convert your domain from federated to managed.  Using the
convert-msoldomaintostandard –domainname foo.edu –skipuserconversion $false –passwordfile c:\password.txt 
Azure AD cmdlet.   See here on TechNet for more details.  Note: the password file is for dumping all users temporary passwords into.


How can I tell if it is configured correctly for Dirsync with Password Sync?
You should see event ID 656 and 657 in your application event log to show that it is syncing the password hash to the cloud.

 

What are the advantages of Dirsync with Password Sync vs. ADFS?
There are a couple of advantages of using Dirsync with Password Sync over using ADFS 2.1 with Dirsync:

1) A single server is needed vs. redundant and scaled out ADFS servers.
2) No dependency with on prem hardware/data center – if Dirsync with Password Sync server dies – just replace it. There is no impact accessing cloud services with an onprem outage because the identity is a managed identity in Azure AD vs. a federated identity using ADFS 2.1.
3) No complex ADFS architectures – No ADFS Proxies, load balancers, certificate management are required. It keeps the deployment less complex with fewer moving parts.


What are the disadvantages of Dirsync with Password Sync vs. ADFS?
ADFS 2.1 with federated login provides true Single Sign On (SSO) with Office 365 where as Dirsync with Password Sync allows for Same Sign On which implies users will be prompted for credentials when accessing Office 365 even in domain joined scenarios.  ADFS 2.1 also allows for better access control based on IPs, etc.

How to create a Windows 7 / 8 Bootable USB flash drive

The fastest way for me to do this considering the machine does not have a DVD drive is to create a bootable USB flash drive with the Windows 8 installation files on. The process is pretty straight forward, but does require a little command line work.

a, First of all, you will need to download the ISO image of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

b, You will need to extract the files from the ISO image, so my preferred tool is SlySoft’s Virtual CloneDrive. This is free and easy to use. What it allows you to do is mount the ISO file as a drive. This will be needed later.

c, Now to format your USB flash drive. Keep in mind that this will erase all of the files on your USB flash drive, so you might want to double check it for important data before proceeding. Your flash drive should be at least 8Gb (especially if you are installing the 64bit version of Windows 8)

Plug in your USB Flash drive if you have not already done so.
Start a Command Prompt as an administrator (click the Start button and type CMD, right-click on cmd.exe and select “Run as administrator" and accept the UAC prompt, assuming you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7)

Type diskpart and then press ENTER For each line, type the parts on BOLD and press ENTER after each entry, the notes are for reference only
DISKPART> list disk (note: this will list the disks on your system. Typically look for the one that matches the capacity of your USB flash drive)
DISKPART> select disk x (note: x is the number for your USB flash drive you obtained from the list command above)
DISKPART> clean (note: this will erase your USB flash drive)
DISKPART> create partition primary (note: this will create a new primary partition on the USB Flash drive)
DISKPART> select partition 1 (note: this will select the partition you just created)
DISKPART> active (note: this will set the new partition as active, which identifies it as a valid system partition)
DISKPART> format FS=NTFS QUICK (note: this will perform a quick format on the USB Flash drive)
DISKPART> assign (note: this will assign a drive letter to the partition)
DISKPART> exit

d, Now we need to put the boot files from the ISO image you downloaded earlier on to the USB Flash drive. You will need to mount the ISO image using SlySoft’s Virtual CloneDrive. To do this, right-click on the ISO image you downloaded (i.e. Windows8-ConsumerPreview-64bit-English.iso) and select “Mount”. If you do not see the “Mount” option, it may mean that the Virtual Clone Drive (or similar) tool is not installed. Once you have selcted “Mount”, a drive letter will be assigned to the ISO image. Make a note as to what drive letter has been assigned to the ISO, in my case drive “F:”.
Next, you will need to start a Command Prompt as an administrator (click the Start button and type CMD, right-click on cmd.exe and select “Run as administrator" and accept the UAC prompt, assuming you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7).
Navigate to your ISO drive, in my case “F:” and type the following:
cd \boot (thanks Ron T for pointing this out)
bootsect /nt60 y: (note: where y: is the drive letter assigned to your USB Flash drive – this will copy across the boot files)

e, Lastly we will need to copy the installation files across from the ISO image to the USB Flash drive. To do this, type the following:
XCOPY X:\*.* Y:\ /E /J /H (note: where x: is the drive letter assigned to your ISO image and y: is the drive letter assigned to your USB Flash Drive)
You should note have a Windows 8 Bootable USB flash drive.

Data Center Co-location

Data Center Co-location

Complete control over your web hosting provision!

Each data center has full power backup in case of an outage. Generators, in combination with UPS systems, guarantee maximum availability. Industry-leading Service Level Agreements (SLA) define the level of guaranteed availability, ranging from 99.9% to 99.999%. The configuration of the electrical connection for a client’s equipment depends on his specific requirements.

Data centre collocation industry offers comprehensive approach to information technology, enables businesses to focus on increasing revenue and profit, not managing technology. One can benefit from this experience and gain direct access to the most reliable, widely deployed networks in the world.

A client’s server will be in good hands with collocation services. Take benefit of such services from our years of experience and quality non stop support. Gain direct access to the most reliable, widely deployed networks in the world. Such data centre eliminates the need for expensive equipment such as generators and UPS's as these are all included in the standard service charge. For the highest availability colocation services you can compare online and choose the right place. Data centre team of professionals offers you fully managed support services including OS installation and configuration to something as simple as a server reboot. With a round the clock on site staff of highly trained engineers and support staff, client’s servers will be backed by the best in server collocation professional services.

Colocation services are available via some web hosts through the use of their private cages, or you can pay a data centre directly to have your server located in a cage which is run by the data centre itself. Other equipment such as networking equipment and storage equipment can also be colocated within server racks. Colocation hosting has many advantages above ordinary dedicated server hosting, such as the fact that most data centres provide a ‘remote hands’ service if your server needs a task doing such as an OS reinstall which can only be done from the console; also, the connectivity that your equipment receives will probably be better than that you would receive on a dedicated server, the reason being that your equipment is surrounded by your own equipment meaning that you don’t have any other customers around you that could be a burden on your connection speed.

Data Colocation network is wired in a redundant, meshed configuration for maximum uptime. In the event of a failure in any one device the redundant hot-spare takes over automatically within seconds. Not that our equipment is liable to failure in the first place, with redundant PSU's, processing engines and blades.

In practice, this means your own server is installed in a rack in one of the data collocation centre, taking advantage of our bandwidth and network resilience to connect to the Internet.

Data Backup and Recovery Solution

Data Backup and Recovery Solution

Secure your imperative information. Always have a data back up and recovery to your system. Reach out to Data Back up and Recovery Solution online. Trust the right source and make your start.

How vital is the data on your system?
How important is your data. This importance determines whether or not it needs to be backed up. As well as when and how it should be backed up. Have redundant backup sets that extend back for several backup periods, if your data is critical. For other less important data, you don’t need elaborate back up plan. By having your data backed up regularly, you can retrive it back at later point of time.

What’s the frequency of your change in data?
How often does your data need a back up. This determines the frequency of the back up. For instance, data that changes daily should be backed up daily.

What kind of information does the data comprise of?
Data that doesn't seem important to you may be very important to someone else. Thus, the type of information the data contains can help you determine if you need to back up the data—as well as when and how the data should be backed up.

How quickly should your data be recovered?
Get back your critical online data swiftly. Alter your back up plan based on the importance of your data. Time is an important factor in creating a backup plan. Strengthen your data recovery with the help of data back up and recovery solutions.

Do you need to store backups off-site?
In case of a natural calamity, storing copies of backup tapes off-site is imperative in order to recover your systems. Also, do not forget to include copies of the software, in your off-site storage location, as you may need to install to re-establish operational systems.

Do you have any equipment to perform backups?
You need to have back up hardware to perform all back ups. You may need several backup devices and several sets of backup media in order to perform timely back up. Backup hardware includes tape drives, optical drives, and removable disk drives. Generally, tape drives are less expensive but slower than other types of drives. Seek help from data back up and recovery solutions.

Which is your best time to schedule backups?
If you want to speed up your back up process, fix up your back up schedules when your system use is as low as possible. At times it becomes inevitable, and you would want to store your data during peak hours too. So have to plan your back up carefully in case of a key system data.

Data Backup and Recovery Solution can perform all your back up and timely recovery of your data in times of crisis. Bank on the best and reliable source.

Data protection

Data protection

S2s Ltd is a UK provider of network consulting and implementation services
that needed data protection to ensure business continuity, even in the event of a server breakdown.
s2s was previously using disk-to-tape to back up all the various systems the business was running on.
Backing up and recovering data was not only a very complicated and time-consuming process, it was also very unreliable. When retrieving data
from the tapes, once they had been delivered back to s2s, a lot of the data from the tapes was irretrievable.
SecurStore’s online solution automatically transfers data offsite in real-time, eliminating the risk of having backups located onsite in case of a disaster or loss of data during transportation to an offsite location. Data is transmitted and stored offsite in a state of the art data centre on a reliable disk subsystem, which is in turn duplicated and backed up onto a second disk sub-system located apart from the primary disk sub-system.
Due to the nature of the business, s2s runs on a variety of operating systems. Most of its servers are Linux-based and some of them are Mac-based,
because many s2s employees use Apple Macintosh machines. It also has the obligatory Windows applications and operates with a SAN architecture. SecurStore also needed to take into account the fact that most of the s2s servers are virtualised and that s2s already had a NAS (network-attached storage) system in place.
The backup service uses many defense mechanisms, such as strong
authentication, data encryption, password protection and client and
system side log legitimate users at s2s to perform a data recovery
when needed.
SecurStore backs up the critical data of s2s (120GB) online on a continual basis, so that from the moment a server goes down, all the data can
be quickly retrieved online. The remaining less critical 80GB of data is either backed up to SecurStore’s Backup Lifecycle Management (BLM) offline service, or backed up by the outsourced provider.

SecurStore is suitable for businesses that need to protect data from a few gigabytes to terabytes. The service ensures that any data held on PCs, Macintosh computers, file servers and application/database servers is securely backed up. SecurStore supports many platforms including Windows
NT/2000/2003/XP along with AS-400 iSeries, Unix and Linux. SecurStore can also protect a wide range of databases including Oracle, SQL, Exchange, Lotus Notes and DB2.

Data Disaster Recovery

Data Disaster Recovery

Data can be restored immediately to either the original server or an alternate server. Restores can also be redirected to an alternate physical location if the original office is no longer available. The server disaster recovery solution lies in having devices and technologies available which allow us to restart the vital information systems in a shorter time period than the estimated critical. These mechanisms, and all the associated plans of actions, are known as data disaster recovery.

Why should I have a data back up and recovery system!
By not having a data center disaster recovery plan, you are quite simply, putting your business at risk; don’t take chance with your vital data. Would you leave any other aspect of your business to chance? Not really. Always be prepared for a natural calamity or any disaster, don’t leave any if’s and but’s, leave no stone unturned when it comes to backing up your important data.

Care should be taken while selecting a data disaster recovery services. The reason being your computer backup systems are the core piece of every data center disaster recovery plan. That is why your computer backup system must posses the ability to accommodate online computer backups for the most efficient protection.

Have a back up of your important programs, files, and applications as your priority. For the best protection it is imperative that your computer is backed up. Back up your data to an online server. What will your software systems do to automatically and quickly get your users back online? Data disaster recovery plays its vital role here.

How do I find the best data recovery services?
You can begin the work of finding the best data recovery expert by asking people around. Check with your colleagues to find who their data recovery services provider is. If you have already short-listed some experts, the next step is to check their experience in the field. Prefer to choose a service provider who has a minimum five years experience in the line. Also, find out his record of accomplishment for performance.

Always identify the risks to critical business information that may not be addressed by current disaster recovery plans; Optimize the value of the current backup and recovery infrastructure. New or improved processes to enhance overall disaster recovery capability are advisable. Resort to a reliable online Data Disaster Recovery. Bank on cost-effective remote backup and data disaster recovery solutions.

Data Disaster Recovery

Data Disaster Recovery

Data can be restored immediately to either the original server or an alternate server. Restores can also be redirected to an alternate physical location if the original office is no longer available. The server disaster recovery solution lies in having devices and technologies available which allow us to restart the vital information systems in a shorter time period than the estimated critical. These mechanisms, and all the associated plans of actions, are known as data disaster recovery.

Why should I have a data back up and recovery system!
By not having a data center disaster recovery plan, you are quite simply, putting your business at risk; don’t take chance with your vital data. Would you leave any other aspect of your business to chance? Not really. Always be prepared for a natural calamity or any disaster, don’t leave any if’s and but’s, leave no stone unturned when it comes to backing up your important data.

Care should be taken while selecting a data disaster recovery services. The reason being your computer backup systems are the core piece of every data center disaster recovery plan. That is why your computer backup system must posses the ability to accommodate online computer backups for the most efficient protection.

Have a back up of your important programs, files, and applications as your priority. For the best protection it is imperative that your computer is backed up. Back up your data to an online server. What will your software systems do to automatically and quickly get your users back online? Data disaster recovery plays its vital role here.

How do I find the best data recovery services?
You can begin the work of finding the best data recovery expert by asking people around. Check with your colleagues to find who their data recovery services provider is. If you have already short-listed some experts, the next step is to check their experience in the field. Prefer to choose a service provider who has a minimum five years experience in the line. Also, find out his record of accomplishment for performance.

Always identify the risks to critical business information that may not be addressed by current disaster recovery plans; Optimize the value of the current backup and recovery infrastructure. New or improved processes to enhance overall disaster recovery capability are advisable. Resort to a reliable online Data Disaster Recovery. Bank on cost-effective remote backup and data disaster recovery solutions.

Data Protection And Hard Disk Recovery Go Hand In Hand

Data Protection And Hard Disk Recovery Go Hand In Hand

When it comes to hard disk recovery, the best method is to insure that you will never need it. Besides making frequent backups, the following measures will keep your system running smoothly.

Antivirus Protection

New viruses are invented every day, and system security is a concern for every business. Malicious software can damage your system to the point where it will not even boot up. The latest versions of Windows are the favorite targets of malicious programs such as spyware and viruses, and it is helpful to use 2 or more antivirus/anti-spyware programs to prevent destruction or theft of your data.

Spyware Scanner

The clues that spyware is on a computer include a barrage of pop-up ads, a hijacked browser,a sudden or even repeated change of your computer’s Internet home page, the appearance of a new toolbar or new screen icons, malfunctioning keys, random error messages, and most of all, sluggish computer performance. Any sytem with access to the internet is prone to this problem, but there is software to block spyware installation. In addition, make sure all employees using the office network do not download from unknown sites, and set your internet browser security at "Medium" or higher. Install individual firewalls to prevent uninvited users from accessing your network. A firewall blocks unauthorized access to your computer and will alert you if spyware already on your computer is sending information out. Purchase an anti-spyware program from a vendor you know and trust. Set it to read on a regular basis, at least weekly and if possible each time you run your computer. Delete any programs the anti-spyware program detects on your computer.

Computer Maintenance

The best way to avoid having to use file recovery software is to be sure that no corrupt data is stored on your computer. Companies like Norton sell disk optimization programs keep your network running at top speed, correct problem files and maximize the available space on your hard disk. Run disk optimization and anti-virus programs at least once a week.

Hard Disk Recovery

There are disk recovery applications specifically geared to recovering files of a certain format, like graphics files as opposed to word document files, and there are general-purpose programs to hunt for any type of misplaced file regardless of the format. There is no program on the market that can guarantee recovery of every lost file, but you are able to increase your chances for recovery by selecting the appropriate program for the file you are trying to save.

Do-it-yourself programs are a lot less expensive than hiring a data retrieval company that specializes in information recovery, and to save money you should at least attempt to utilize of this type of program before calling a professional.

In addition to recovering deleted files, there exists information recovery programs that can restore files after you have formatted the drive, after a power failure, natural disaster, or even files damaged by a computer virus.

RAID

RAID is short for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks, a category of disk drives that employ 2 or even several drives in combination to improve data storage fault tolerance and performance. RAID disk drives are frequently installed on servers but can also run on individual computers. Because of the duplication of data, it is possible to recover files from one or another disk when the need arises.

As you might expect, RAID disk repair is quite a complicated process. However it is one of the most foolproof methods of data storage because the RAID architecture strategically distributes information randomly across the array. However, this sort of architecture demands the services of a recovery professional.

Data Protection And Hard Disk Recovery Go Hand In Hand

Data Protection And Hard Disk Recovery Go Hand In Hand

When it comes to hard disk recovery, the best method is to insure that you will never need it. Besides making frequent backups, the following measures will keep your system running smoothly.

Antivirus Protection

New viruses are invented every day, and system security is a concern for every business. Malicious software can damage your system to the point where it will not even boot up. The latest versions of Windows are the favorite targets of malicious programs such as spyware and viruses, and it is helpful to use 2 or more antivirus/anti-spyware programs to prevent destruction or theft of your data.

Spyware Scanner

The clues that spyware is on a computer include a barrage of pop-up ads, a hijacked browser,a sudden or even repeated change of your computer’s Internet home page, the appearance of a new toolbar or new screen icons, malfunctioning keys, random error messages, and most of all, sluggish computer performance. Any sytem with access to the internet is prone to this problem, but there is software to block spyware installation. In addition, make sure all employees using the office network do not download from unknown sites, and set your internet browser security at "Medium" or higher. Install individual firewalls to prevent uninvited users from accessing your network. A firewall blocks unauthorized access to your computer and will alert you if spyware already on your computer is sending information out. Purchase an anti-spyware program from a vendor you know and trust. Set it to read on a regular basis, at least weekly and if possible each time you run your computer. Delete any programs the anti-spyware program detects on your computer.

Computer Maintenance

The best way to avoid having to use file recovery software is to be sure that no corrupt data is stored on your computer. Companies like Norton sell disk optimization programs keep your network running at top speed, correct problem files and maximize the available space on your hard disk. Run disk optimization and anti-virus programs at least once a week.

Hard Disk Recovery

There are disk recovery applications specifically geared to recovering files of a certain format, like graphics files as opposed to word document files, and there are general-purpose programs to hunt for any type of misplaced file regardless of the format. There is no program on the market that can guarantee recovery of every lost file, but you are able to increase your chances for recovery by selecting the appropriate program for the file you are trying to save.

Do-it-yourself programs are a lot less expensive than hiring a data retrieval company that specializes in information recovery, and to save money you should at least attempt to utilize of this type of program before calling a professional.

In addition to recovering deleted files, there exists information recovery programs that can restore files after you have formatted the drive, after a power failure, natural disaster, or even files damaged by a computer virus.

RAID

RAID is short for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks, a category of disk drives that employ 2 or even several drives in combination to improve data storage fault tolerance and performance. RAID disk drives are frequently installed on servers but can also run on individual computers. Because of the duplication of data, it is possible to recover files from one or another disk when the need arises.

As you might expect, RAID disk repair is quite a complicated process. However it is one of the most foolproof methods of data storage because the RAID architecture strategically distributes information randomly across the array. However, this sort of architecture demands the services of a recovery professional.

Data Recovery Services: What To Do When Your Hard Drive Fails

Data Recovery Services: What To Do When Your Hard Drive Fails

According to most people, there are two types of hard drives: those that have failed and those that will fail. But for folks who use Data Recovery Services, there is a third type of hard drive: one that does not fail.

A hard drive is the most vulnerable part of a computer; it has moving gears and is hence prone to wear and tear. So when you need hard disk data recovery, you must deeply consider the service and practice of the various repair companies in your area. A company that has been around the block more than a few times is ideal.

But more importantly, experts that ask questions and appreciate your situation are a necessity; companies that approach your needs in an impersonal way simply cannot diagnose your computer problems properly. For example, an expert who is on hand to ask specific questions about your hard disk will know whether or not to go about repair with mere software or through more professional means.

There are a variety of problems that lead to hard drive failure. If the hard drive is part of a mirror set, mirrored stripe set, or stripe set with uniformity, then all you will need to do is replace the drive – any lost data will mechanically regenerate.

A local service company can handle all your concerns though. Fixing a hard drive yourself is a tedious process, requiring lots of time and even research. Your next-door neighbor might be a computer geek, but that doesn’t mean his or her advice is remotely accurate. After all, a computer can fail for many different reasons and they are not always easy to pinpoint.

The ideal solution is usually to replace a failed drive and re-establish your backup. This does not always work though, as many people find the necessary backup is outdated or sometimes, non-existent.

If a hard drive is beyond repair, data recovery is obviously not an option. So prepare for unexpected charges; you might have to buy a whole new drive. In this case, just be careful when replacing it, as you don’t want to lose your data.

How to Configure your server to permit Server Side Includes SSI

Configuring your server to permit Server Side Includes SSI

To permit SSI on your server, you must have the following directive either in your httpd.conf file, or in a .htaccess file:

code HTML:

Options +Includes

This tells Apache that you want to permit files to be parsed for SSI directives. Note that most configurations contain multiple Options directives that can override each other. You will probably need to apply the Options to the specific directory where you want SSI enabled in order to assure that it gets evaluated last.
Not just any file is parsed for SSI directives. You have to tell Apache which files should be parsed. There are two ways to do this. You can tell Apache to parse any file with a particular file extension, such as .shtml, with the following directives:

code HTML:

AddType text/html .shtml
AddOutputFilter INCLUDES .shtml

One disadvantage to this approach is that if you wanted to add SSI directives to an existing page, you would have to change the name of that page, and all links to that page, in order to give it a .shtml extension, so that those directives would be executed.
The other method is to use the XBitHack directive:
XBitHack on
XBitHack tells Apache to parse files for SSI directives if they have the execute bit set. So, to add SSI directives to an existing page, rather than having to change the file name, you would just need to make the file executable using chmod.

code HTML:

chmod +x pagename.html

A brief comment about what not to do. You'll occasionally see people recommending that you just tell Apache to parse all .html files for SSI, so that you don't have to mess with .shtml file names. These folks have perhaps not heard about XBitHack. The thing to keep in mind is that, by doing this, you're requiring that Apache read through every single file that it sends out to clients, even if they don't contain any SSI directives. This can slow things down quite a bit, and is not a good idea.
Of course, on Windows, there is no such thing as an execute bit to set, so that limits your options a little.
In its default configuration, Apache does not send the last modified date or content length HTTP headers on SSI pages, because these values are difficult to calculate for dynamic content. This can prevent your document from being cached, and result in slower perceived client performance. There are two ways to solve this:

1. Use the XBitHack Full configuration. This tells Apache to determine the last modified date by looking only at the date of the originally requested file, ignoring the modification date of any included files.
2. Use the directives provided by mod_expires to set an explicit expiration time on your files, thereby letting browsers and proxies know that it is acceptable to cache them.

Basic SSI directives

SSI directives have the following syntax:

code HTML:

It is formatted like an HTML comment, so if you don't have SSI correctly enabled, the browser will ignore it, but it will still be visible in the HTML source. If you have SSI correctly configured, the directive will be replaced with its results.
The element can be one of a number of things, and we'll talk some more about most of these in the next installment of this series. For now, here are some examples of what you can do with SSI
Today's date

code HTML:

The echo element just spits out the value of a variable. There are a number of standard variables, which include the whole set of environment variables that are available to CGI programs. Also, you can define your own variables with the set element.
If you don't like the format in which the date gets printed, you can use the config element, with a timefmt attribute, to modify that formatting.

code HTML:

Today is 

Modification date of the file

code HTML:

This document last modified 

This element is also subject to timefmt format configurations.
Including the results of a CGI program

This is one of the more common uses of SSI - to output the results of a CGI program, such as everybody's favorite, a ``hit counter.''

code HTML:

What else can I config?

In addition to being able to config the time format, you can also config two other things.
Usually, when something goes wrong with your SSI directive, you get the message
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
If you want to change that message to something else, you can do so with the errmsg attribute to the config element:

code HTML:

Hopefully, end users will never see this message, because you will have resolved all the problems with your SSI directives before your site goes live. (Right?)
And you can config the format in which file sizes are returned with the sizefmt attribute. You can specify bytes for a full count in bytes, or abbrev for an abbreviated number in Kb or Mb, as appropriate.

Introduction to Server Side Includes

Introduction to Server Side Includes


Introduction

This article deals with Server Side Includes, usually called simply SSI. In this article, I'll talk about configuring your server to permit SSI, and introduce some basic SSI techniques for adding dynamic content to your existing HTML pages.
In the latter part of the article, we'll talk about some of the somewhat more advanced things that can be done with SSI, such as conditional statements in your SSI directives.

What are SSI?

SSI (Server Side Includes) are directives that are placed in HTML pages, and evaluated on the server while the pages are being served. They let you add dynamically generated content to an existing HTML page, without having to serve the entire page via a CGI program, or other dynamic technology.
The decision of when to use SSI, and when to have your page entirely generated by some program, is usually a matter of how much of the page is static, and how much needs to be recalculated every time the page is served. SSI is a great way to add small pieces of information, such as the current time. But if a majority of your page is being generated at the time that it is served, you need to look for some other solution.

How to configure the Apache HTTP server

How to configure the Apache HTTP server

Main Configuration Files

Apache is configured by placing directives in plain text configuration files. The main configuration file is usually called httpd.conf. The location of this file is set at compile-time, but may be overridden with the -f command line flag. In addition, other configuration files may be added using the Include directive, and wildcards can be used to include many configuration files. Any directive may be placed in any of these configuration files. Changes to the main configuration files are only recognized by Apache when it is started or restarted.
The server also reads a file containing mime document types; the filename is set by the TypesConfig directive, and is mime.types by default.

Syntax of the Configuration Files
Apache configuration files contain one directive per line. The back-slash "\" may be used as the last character on a line to indicate that the directive continues onto the next line. There must be no other characters or white space between the back-slash and the end of the line.
Directives in the configuration files are case-insensitive, but arguments to directives are often case sensitive. Lines that begin with the hash character "#" are considered comments, and are ignored. Comments may not be included on a line after a configuration directive. Blank lines and white space occurring before a directive are ignored, so you may indent directives for clarity.
You can check your configuration files for syntax errors without starting the server by using apachectl configtest or the -t command line option.

Modules
Apache is a modular server. This implies that only the most basic functionality is included in the core server. Extended features are available through modules which can be loaded into Apache. By default, a base set of modules is included in the server at compile-time. If the server is compiled to use dynamically loaded modules, then modules can be compiled separately and added at any time using the LoadModule directive. Otherwise, Apache must be recompiled to add or remove modules. Configuration directives may be included conditional on a presence of a particular module by enclosing them in an block.
To see which modules are currently compiled into the server, you can use the -l command line option.

Scope of Directives
Directives placed in the main configuration files apply to the entire server. If you wish to change the configuration for only a part of the server, you can scope your directives by placing them in , , , , , and sections. These sections limit the application of the directives which they enclose to particular filesystem locations or URLs. They can also be nested, allowing for very fine grained configuration.
Apache has the capability to serve many different websites simultaneously. This is called Virtual Hosting. Directives can also be scoped by placing them inside sections, so that they will only apply to requests for a particular website.
Although most directives can be placed in any of these sections, some directives do not make sense in some contexts. For example, directives controlling process creation can only be placed in the main server context. To find which directives can be placed in which sections, check the Context of the directive. For further information, we provide details on How Directory, Location and Files sections work.

.htaccess Files
Apache allows for decentralized management of configuration via special files placed inside the web tree. The special files are usually called .htaccess, but any name can be specified in the AccessFileName directive. Directives placed in .htaccess files apply to the directory where you place the file, and all sub-directories. The .htaccess files follow the same syntax as the main configuration files. Since .htaccess files are read on every request, changes made in these files take immediate effect.
To find which directives can be placed in .htaccess files, check the Context of the directive. The server administrator further controls what directives may be placed in .htaccess files by configuring the AllowOverride directive in the main configuration files.
For more information on .htaccess files, see the .htaccess tutorial.

Installing Perl Modules on W2K3 Server x64 without Internet access

Installing Perl Modules on W2K3 Server x64 without Internet access

 
ActiveState have a 64-bit build of perl - so I would think the first thing for you to do is to download and install it (if you haven't already) - http://downloads.activestate.com/ActivePerl/Windows/5.8/ActivePerl-5.8.8.822-MSWin32-x64-280952.zip. (Just run the 'Installer.bat' that's part of that download - or there's also an MSI version you can grab, if you prefer.) Then install (from Microsoft) "Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows Server 2003 R2". That should hopefully give you the compiler and nmake to work with that 64-bit build of perl. (It all works fine for me on my AMD64 box with Vista Business 64). To set up the environment to use that compiler just run C:\your_path_to\Platform_SDK\SetEnv.cmd /XP64 /RETAIL You should then be able to build most modules from CPAN source in the usual way.

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VMware ESX Server 3 VirtualCenter Server & Update Manager

VirtualCenter Server & Update Manager
 
vpxd
This is the process name of the Windows service that is the core service running on the VirtualCenter management server.

If there are problems with the VirtualCenter service starting and then stopping almost immediately or a few seconds later, then check your ODBC database string and then the health of the the database server. We have seen this when the database runs out of disk space; check if the log space is full on the DB server, many clients forget about regular backup of this database. When troubleshooting the VirtualCenter service you can try VirtualCenter in stand-alone mode. This is done by invoking the following command at the Windows command line

vpxd -s

You will get interactive logging of the start-up activity helping you to pinpoint where the problem is.

If all else fails, you can always re-initialize the VirtualCenter database, however we would not recommend this. By re-initializing the VirtualCenter database you are wiping out all VC data!! If you do want this, then use the -b command switch to vpxd.

 
vpxd.cfg
This is the VirtualCenter management server configuration file. (Ok, so we are extending this command line guide to cover the VirtualCenter server now as well as the ESX host!)

There are a number of configuration changes to VirtualCenter we can make in this file, but as of VC 2.5, one such change you may wish to make is the disabling of "Guided Consolidation". This feature, shown just as a consolidation button in the VI client, is intended to help small customers select which physical Windows hosts are suitable for consolidation and then guide them to perform the physical to virtual migration.

If you have already been through the consolidation process, then you don't need this feature. It makes sense to disable the feature if you are not using it as this should improve VC performance. To disable Guided Consolidation, simply edit the vpxd.cfg file on the VC management server and make the following change:

config.vcp2v.dontStartConsolidation = true

 
vum-proxyAuthCfg.exe
The Update Manager component of Virtual Infrastructure is new to version 2.5. This component allows the patch management of Windows & Linux guests as well as ESX hosts. When installing the Update Manager component, the Windows installer package prompts the operator if they wish to use a proxy server to connect to the Internet, the only options are proxy IP address and port. If your proxy server requires authentication, then this tool must be run to supply the proxy server credentials.
 
vci-integrity.xml
This is the primary configuration file for the Update Manager.

One of the main reasons you may want to edit this file is if you wish to change the directory that patches are downloaded into, i.e. the patchstore.

 
vmware-umds.exe
This is the VMware Update Manager Download Service. If you don't want the server where Update Manager is installed on to actually connect to the Internet and do the patch downloading, then UMDS is for you. Maybe you don't want the load of update downloads on the UM server or maybe the UM server is on a subnet that can't reach the Internet. Anyway, the UMDS installs on a Windows server (that is not the same server as UM) and doesn't create a start menu program group.

To start a download, simply enter the command

vmware-umds --download

Once the updates are downloaded, we can export them. This means we copy the patches from the download directory to another path. The intended purpose of exporting is to copy all or a subset of the downloaded patches to a location that will then be made available to the Update Manager server.

vmware-umds -E e:\exportedupdates

At this time UMDS does not support NFS/CIFS shares for the export operation. This is related to a permissions issue

 
vmware-updateDownloadCli.exe
This tool is run on the Update Manager server to import the patches made available from the UMDS export. So if you had a DVD burned which had all the updates that was inserted to the UM server and available as drive Z:

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VMware ESX Server 3 VMware HA

VMware HA
 
AAM
AAM is the Automated Availability Manager that runs in the service console when you create a VMware High Availability (VMware HA) cluster. The VMware HA feature was previously known as DAS (Distributed Availability Services) but we don't mention that anymore.

This software maintains an in-memory database on active nodes in the cluster and uses heartbeats to co-ordinate the active and passive nodes. It is suggested that you configure service console with 2 Ethernet interfaces to remove any single point of failure.

This is a piece of licensed Legato software which itself has been renamed to EMC AutoStart.

This component has a very high dependency upon fully functional host name resolution. So before you enable VMware HA, check the following files

/etc/hosts
/etc/FT_HOSTS
/etc/resolv.conf
/etc/vmware/esx.conf

to ensure accuracy. One thing you can do to check the name resolution functionality before enabling HA is run

hostname -s

to return the short name of the service console. If this fails, then the HA configuration WILL fail.

The log file for VMware HA in ESX 3.0.x can be found in the service console in the directory

/opt/LGTOaam512/

and for ESX 3.5 can be found in

/opt/VMware/

To avoid split brain scenarios, an ESX server can determine if it has become isolated from other servers and we can configure that servers' isolation response. If the AAM component loses contact with the other nodes in the HA cluster, it attempts to contact the configured default gateway for service console using ICMP echo request (PING). If this fails, then the ESX host is isolated. If your default gateway suppresses ICMP echo requests, then we can configure an alternate IP address called the das.isolationaddress. From ESX 3.5, you can configure multiple isolation addresses so that you can configure a host with more that one address to attempt contact with before declaring itself isolated.

 

/opt/LGTOaam512/bin/ftcli

This utility allows you to view the active nodes in an HA cluster and the managed IP addresses. This utility will help you determine whether the HA agent is in a running state and which IP addresses are visible between those managed hosts.

 

/etc/FT_HOSTS

This file is created when HA is enabled and is a copy of /etc/hosts. If you have problems with name resolution and configuring HA, you can safely delete this file and reconfigure that cluster node for HA again. FT_HOSTS will be re-created.

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VMware ESX Server 3 Linux Utilities

Linux Utilities
 
/etc/ssh/sshd_config

The configuration of SSH client is stored in the text file /etc/ssh/ssh_config

The configuration of the SSH server daemon is stored in the text file /etc/ssh/sshd_config. An important setting in this file is PermitRootLogin=No. This is the default setting in ESX 3.x and it is recommended that you keep the setting at "No". This way you have an audit trail and see exactly who is logging in, rather than just "root". You can quickly what the setting is by using a grep operation on the file as shown:

# grep Permit /etc/ssh/sshd_config

If you do edit the file to change this setting to Yes, then make sure you restart the daemon for the changes to take effect using the command:

# service sshd restart

 

su

This command is the switch user utility.

When it used without parameters, we are specifying to switch to the user root. However, we can use the su command to switch shell to any user account. In the first example, we are logged in as the user kevin and we are switching to user ali.

[kevin@esx1host kevin]$ su ali
Password:
[ali@esx1host kevin]

In this second example, we are switching from being logged on as a user called sara to being logged on as root. Notice to switch to root, we don't need to specify a username.

[sara@esx1host sara]$ su -
Password:
[root@esx1host root]#

If we restrict the built-in user account root from logging in over the SSH protocol, then we are forcing remote users to authenticate as themselves and then su to run privileged commands if need be, thus leaving a decent audit trail. The downside being that those users would still know the root account password.

If you would like to restrict the use of the su command, then we can limit it to the members of a specific group called wheel. This group is defined in the /etc/group file by default and it's membership can be modified by root. In order to limit su to the wheel group members we need to modify a configuration file called /etc/pam.d/su

There is a single line in this file that needs to be uncommented to limit the use of su. The line is shown below as it appears it that file, all that is required is the removal of the # symbol at the start of the line.

#auth required /lib/security/$ISA/pam_wheel.so user_uid

 

w

 

who

 

vi

We can't talk about the command line without talking about vi. This is the simple but powerful text editor in Linux and UNIX. People tend to love it or hate it. Either way, it's nearly always there in any *nix implementation and just by memorising a few commands you can be up and running with it. If you can use Windows Notepad, you can use vi!

vi filename

The first thing that throws you is that to enter text into your file, you need to press "i" for Insert mode. You can then enter your text just as any other text editor. When you are done with text entering, just press the Escape (Esc) key to come out of insert mode. If you are happy with your file, then we need to Write & Quit (wq). To enter commands in this command line editor, rather than having menus, we have a command prompt in the application. To reach the vi command prompt, simply enter ":" - the colon character which will automatically place your cursor at the bottom of the session. Here you can enter the "wq" command to write and quit the editor. That's it!

Here is a summary of the vi commands

i                  Changes to insert mode where you can edit the text
:wq               Write the file and quit the editor
:q!               Quit the editor without saving changes

SHIFT ZZ       Quit the editor and save any changes made - just a fast way of doing ":wq"
Esc key          Exits the current mode, e.g. out of insert mode back to view mode.

These commands are just extra if you have the inclination to learn!

/                     search - if you entered /failed then the cursor would move to the first instance of "failed in the text
$                     jumps to the end of the opened file
yy                   copy - it's y for yank!
dd                   delete a line (cut) if you precede this with a number e.g. 8dd, then it would delete 8 lines
p                     paste
%s/old/new/g    substitute any occurrences of the world "old" with the world "new"

 

nano

Another text editor, more friendly but you should use –w to avoid word wrap.
 

date

If we are checking the time and date of our ESX Service Console, then the date command is very useful. Just entering the "date" command returns what the service console thinks the current date is.

If the date is incorrect and you wish to reset it you would enter the command with the -s switch and specify date in mm/dd/yyyy format.

# date -s "12/29/2007 23:48"

Once you have set the date, you will want to ensure that the hardware clock matches your newly entered date. We can do this with the hwclock command described below.

 

hwclock

We can use this command to synchronise the server hardware clock with the date we set in the service console. If you enter the command with no parameters then the value of the hardware clock is displayed.

# hwclock

If we want to synchronise the hardware clock with the service console date and time, we use the following:

# hwclock -systohc

cal

Display calendar for current month or set of months. The following command displays 3 months, current month and the month before and after.

# cal -3
    March 2006            April 2006             May 2006
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa  Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa  Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
          1  2  3  4                     1      1  2  3  4  5  6
 5  6  7  8  9 10 11   2  3  4  5  6  7  8   7  8  9 10 11 12 13
12 13 14 15 16 17 18   9 10 11 12 13 14 15  14 15 16 17 18 19 20
19 20 21 22 23 24 25  16 17 18 19 20 21 22  21 22 23 24 25 26 27
26 27 28 29 30 31     23 24 25 26 27 28 29  28 29 30 31
                      30

Surprisingly useful!

 

passwd

Used to change the password of the currently logged on user (use the command with no parameters) or for changing the password of a named user account (supply the user name as a parameter).

passwd <user>

Remember that passwords are not stored in the /etc/passwd file, but in the file /etc/shadow 

If you are ever needing to reset an unknown root account password, then it is this utility you would run after booting into Linux single user mode.

ethtool

This command can be used to view and configure the ethernet interfaces in your host. We didn't use this tool much until ESX 3.5, when we started to work with Distributed Power Management (DPM); an experimental feature of DRS clusters.

The output of this tool provides a load of information about the network cards, but of particular interest now is the support for Wake-on-LAN (WoL). DPM makes use of this NIC feature and so we need to check that our NICs both support the function AND have the function enabled. The ethtool allows us to view and set this functionality.

# ethtool vmnic1
Settings for vmnic1

If we noted that our NIC supported WoL but it was not currently enabled, then we could use this tool to effect the change.

# ethtool -s vmnic1 wol g

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VMware ESX Server 3 RPM Utilities

RPM Utilities
 
rpm
As ESX service console is based on modified Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, we can use the RPM package installation method to add applications to it. However, we should also point out that it's maybe not the best idea to add software to the service console. It is best to treat the service console as a dedicated console and not add applications to it.

If you are unfamiliar with RPMs in Linux, think of them like MSI packages in Windows.

The rpm command can be used to list and to install RPM-based applications. In the following example, we are using the command switch (-qa) to list the rpms installed in the service console.

# rpm -qa
libgcc-3.2.3-53
setup-2.5.27-1
basesystem-8.0-2
tzdata-2005m-1.EL3
glibc-2.3.2-95.37
bzip2-libs-1.0.2-11.EL3.4
etc!.....

If we are only interested in the VMware rpms, then we can just pipe the output of rpm -qa command into the grep search tool.

rpm -qa |grep VMware

which should yield an output something like

VMware-webCenter-esx-2.0.1-32041
VMware-esx-apps-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-iscsi-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-uwlibs-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-vmkernel-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-block-DAC960-2.4.11-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-net-bcm5700-7.3.5-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-net-e100-2.3.40-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-net-pcnet32-1.30c-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-net-tg3-3.43b.1vmw-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-adp94xx-0.0.5-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-aic7xxx-6.3.9-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-lpfcdd-v732-7.3.2.1vmw-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-megaraid_sas-0.0.2-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-qla2200-v7.07-7.7.4.1vmw-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-qla4010-3.24-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-vmkiscsi-3.4.2-32039
VMware-hostd-esx-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-lnxcfg-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-perftools-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-docs-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-tools-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-vmkctl-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-block-cciss-2.4.54-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-net-3c90x-1.0.2-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-net-bnx2-1.3.22-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-net-e1000-7.0.33.2vmw-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-net-s2io-1.7.6-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-aacraid_esx30-1.1.5.1vmw-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-aic79xx-6.3.9-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-ips-7.10.17.1vmw-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-megaraid2-2.10.7-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-mptscsi_2xx-2.6.34.1vmw-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-qla2300-v7.07-7.7.4.1vmw-32039
VMware-esx-drivers-scsi-qla4022-3.24-32039
VMware-esx-vmx-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-srvrmgmt-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-backuptools-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-scripts-3.0.1-32039
VMware-esx-3.0.1-32039
VMware-cim-esx-3.0.1-32039
VMware-vpxa-2.0.1-32042
 

If we then want to find out more information on an individual RPM package, we can use the rpm -qi option to query a package which reports the file version, vendor, license and description.

# rpm -qi VMware-hostd-esx-3.0.1-32039

Name        : VMware-hostd-esx             Relocations: (not relocatable)
Version     : 3.0.1                             Vendor: VMware, Inc.
Release     : 32039                         Build Date: Tue 26 Sep 2006 01:30:42 AM PDT
Install Date: Tue 06 Nov 2007 03:07:02 PM PST      Build Host: pa-build43.eng.vmware.com
Group       : Applications/Emulators        Source RPM: VMware-hostd-esx-3.0.1-32039.src.rpm
Size        : 269864433                        License: commercial
Signature   : (none)
Summary     : VMware Host Agent package.
Description :

If we then want to know what files are included in the rpm package, we can use query with the list option to see the files inside. For example, to see the files

# rpm -ql VMware-hostd-esx-3.0.1-32039

/etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml
/etc/vmware/hostd/env/0.xml
/etc/vmware/hostd/env/1.xml
/etc/vmware/hostd/env/vmconfigoption-esx-2.5.0.xml
/etc/vmware/hostd/env/vmconfigoption-esx-3.0.0.xml
/etc/vmware/hostd/environments.xml
/etc/vmware/hostd/esxinfo.vha
.....
 

rpm2cpio
If you are wanting to extract a single file from a RPM package but you don't want to install the RPM, then this is the tool for you. Probably best if you copy the RPM to a temp directory so when you extract the RPM you can then navigate the directory structure created in that temp directory to find the file or files you need.

Once you have copied out the file you were after, you can safely delete the contents of that temp directory. In other words, we have used rpm2cpio to extract the RPM archive.

Here is an example using the RPM we've used in the previous examples.

# rpm2cpio VMware-hostd-esx-3.0.1-32039 | cpio -idmv

i = Restore archive
d = Create landing directories
m = Create previous file modification times
v = verbose

 

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