|
A. The
sp_reset_connection procedure runs when the OLE
DB (or ODBC) connection pool grabs a connection
that's been released to the pool but is still
active on SQL Server. The SQL Server connection,
or server process ID (SPID), might still have
connection information from a previous user.
Thus, the sp_reset_connection procedure resets
the connection so that it's clean for the next
user. For example, temporary tables have scope
as long as the SPID that created them is active.
When the connection pool reuses that SPID, you
don't want the new user to see an old temporary
table that should be out of scope. This
procedure is lightweight and doesn't cause
performance problems. You'll see the procedure
whenever a middle-tier box that's using
connection pooling accesses SQL Server.
A. By
default, Exchange 2003 keeps deleted items for 7
days after they're deleted. You can change the
number of days that Exchange retains deleted
items by performing the following steps. (You
must perform this procedure for each mail
database whose keep-deleted-items value you want
to change.)
1. Start Exchange System Manager (ESM) by
clicking Start, Programs, Microsoft Exchange,
System Manager.
2. Access the database you want to modify by navigating to
Administrative Groups, <Administrative Group
name>, Servers, <Server name>, <Storage Group>,
<Database>.
3. Right-click the
email database and select Properties from the
context menu.
4. Click the Limits
tab. You'll see the Mailbox Store Properties
window.
5. Under "Deletion
settings," change the "Keep deleted items for
(days):" value to the value you want and click
OK.
A.
Authentication traffic should be distributed
between the PDC and BDCs in your NT domain.
However, a problem in Win2K causes all
Win2K-based computers to always authenticate
with the PDC. The problem occurs because when a
Win2K machine joins the NT domain, the system
initially creates a secure channel to the PDC,
which is cached in the registry as the domain
controller (DC). Because NT 4.0-based domains
don't use Kerberos, the Netlogon process, which
looks for the registry value
KerbIsDoneWithJoinDomainEntry written by the
Kerberos authentication subsystem, never clears
the cached DC value. Thus, the Win2K machines
will always communicate with the PDC and ignore
all available BDCs, which causes overloads on
the PDC. Microsoft fixed this problem in Win2K
Service Pack 2 (SP2). As a workaround, you can
stop the Netlogon service on the PDC. Then, when
|
the clients fail to connect, they'll search for
an alternative DC, which will remove the PDC
from its cache.
A. After
you've changed an AD domain to native mode, it
remains in native mode. You can't perform an
authoritative restore to change the AD domain
from native mode to what it was before the
switch (i.e., mixed mode).
If you
haven't yet changed from mixed to native mode
and believe you might want to switch back at
some point, you should take one of the domain
controllers (DCs) offline (thereby ensuring that
it doesn't hold any of the Flexible
Single-Master Operation--FSMO--roles), then
perform the switch to native mode. Should you
need to switch the AD domain back to mixed mode,
perform the following tasks:
1. Turn off all the DCs.
2. Turn on the offline mixed-mode DC you set
aside.
3. Use Ntdsutil to give that DC all the FSMO
roles.
4. Rebuild all the other DCs from scratch; don't
bring them online as DCs.
Be aware
that some applications might have switched to
native-mode compatibility and thus won't work
when the domain is returned to mixed mode.
A.
Sysinternals offers a free utility called
BgInfo (short for "background information") that
displays configurable system information on your
desktop wallpaper. I find BgInfo very useful. I
use Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 and VMWare
Workstation sessions extensively and use BgInfo
to display the machine information on the
desktop, which helps me to remember exactly
which environment I'm working on.
Because BgInfo runs as an application and not as
a service, the utility can't automatically
update configurable system information on the
desktop. However, you can automate the update
process by scheduling the application to run
periodically, or you can run BgInfo at startup
to update system information every time you log
on.
You
can also add information to the BgInfo desktop
image as output from a script, a registry subkey,
file content, an environment variable, or a
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) query.
Be aware that if you use wallpaper that isn't
the full size of your desktop and you typically
use the desktop settings to stretch the
wallpaper, BgInfo stretches the image, making it
appear more jagged than usual. For best results,
use a full-size background (e.g., use a paint
package to resize the wallpaper if necessary).
Tips adapted from those published for the
Windows & .NET Magazine Network and SQL Server
Magazine Network. Used with permission of Penton
Media, Inc. Copyright 2004. |