Obscurum per Obscurius : Script

Who Is Logged In?

MuadDib — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:57:00 GMT

A few months back one of my customers was trying use RDP to connect to a large number of desktop computers to manually install some security updates. If the computer was being used the admin had to wait until the person using the computer logged out and...(read more)

Testing Domain Controller Connectivity Using PORTQRY

MuadDib — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:23:00 GMT

One common problem I see with Active Directory implementations is an Active Directory topology that is not fully routable. In a fully routable environment every domain controller (DC) can communicate with every other DC. While most customers "think" they have a fully routable environment in reality they do not. In some cases there are multiple firewalls between the DCs that are blocking ports or DCs connected across VPN links that do not have the proper ports open. For more information on how Active Directory replication works read the articles in the RESOURCES section below.

Here are the ports required by Active Directory as described in the "Service Overview" link below. The basic ports are TCP:

88 (Kerberos)
135 (RPC)
389 (LDAP)
445 (CIFS)
3268 (Global Catalog)

There are additional ports and protocols but these are enough to get started testint the basics.

The PORTQRY utility can be found in the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools and the newest version can be found in the links that follow. PORTQRY can be used to test connectivity on a port or range of ports from one server to another. For example to test TCP port 389 from the current computer to a server named VDC02 you would type the following command:

PORTQRY - n VDC02 -e 389 -p TCP

The query will return a great deal of information when you query 389 but you should see a line similar to the following if port 389 is reachable and able to respond:

TCP port 389 (ldap service): LISTENING

In order to speed up the process of testing you can use a batch file with a FOR loop in it to read server names from a text file and perform several ports test against a server. The sample script shown below will perform some basic testing but you might need to perform more detailed analysis if you are having problems (note somelines may be wrapped due to blog formatting).

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: BEGIN SCRIPT :::::::::::::::::::::::::

@ECHO OFF
:: NAME: DCPortTest.CMD v1.0
:: DATE: 03/29/2009
:: PURPOSE: Test connectivity from one DC to one or more remote DCs
:: using PORTQRY utility.
:: The SERVERS.TXT contains a list of servers (one server per line)
:: to check connectivity to.

ECHO     DATE: %DATE% > DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO     TIME: %TIME% >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO     USER: %USERNAME% >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO COMPUTER: %COMPUTERNAME% >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO. >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO. >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO. >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
FOR /F "tokens=1" %%i in (servers.txt) DO (
ECHO :::::::::::::::::::::: %%i :::::::::::::::::::::::::: >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO Testing %%i
ECHO. >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
PORTQRY -n %%i -e 88 -p TCP | findstr /i "88" >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
PORTQRY -n %%i -e 445 -p TCP | findstr /i "445" >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
PORTQRY -n %%i -e 389 -p TCP | findstr /i "389" >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
PORTQRY -n %%i -e 3268 -p TCP | findstr /i "3268" >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
PORTQRY -n %%i -e 135 -p TCP | findstr /i "135" >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO. >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
ECHO. >> DC_PORTQRY.TXT
)

:::::::::::::::::::::::: END SCRIPT :::::::::::::::::::::::::

RESOURCES

How Active Directory Replication Topology Works
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/c238f32b-4400-4a0c-b4fb-7b0febecfc731033.mspx

Service overview and network port requirements for the Windows Server system
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/832017

New features and functionality in PortQry version 2.0
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/832919

Download PortQry Command Line Port Scanner Version 2.0
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=89811747-C74B-4638-A2D5-AC828BDC6983&displaylang=en

Finding Scheduled Tasks Configured with Disabled Accounts

MuadDib — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:47:00 GMT

One of my customers has undergone a great deal of turnover in the past few weeks on the System Administration team. We discovered that a number of Scheduled Tasks configured on the servers were configured with the accounts of admnistrators (instead of service accounts!). The accounts were disabled when the admins left the organization and the Scheduled Tasks stopped working. We needed to find all the Scheduled Tasks configured with admin accounts instead of service accounts on the servers.

The simpe batch file below uses the SCHTASKS utility to dump the configuration information from each server listed in a SERVERS.TXT file and dump the output to a file named SCHED_TASKS_CONFIG.TXT.

<<<------------------------------BEGIN BATCH FILE------------------------- >>>

:: NAME: SCHED_TASK_ACCT.CMD v1.0
:: DATE: 1/13/2009
:: PURPOSE: TO dump the configuration of scheduled tasks on a server to a text file
:: so tasks configured with disabled accounts can be located.

ECHO %DATE% > SCHED_TASKS_CONFIG.TXT
ECHO %TIME% >> SCHED_TASKS_CONFIG.TXT
ECHO %USERNAME% >> SCHED_TASKS_CONFIG.TXT
ECHO. >> SCHED_TASKS_CONFIG.TXT
FOR /F "tokens=1" %%i in (servers.txt) DO schtasks /query /s %%i /v /fo list >> SCHED_TASKS_CONFIG.TXT

<<<------------------------------END BATCH FILE------------------------- >>>

Using a Logon Script to Install the SMS Advanced Client

MuadDib — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:16:00 GMT

One of my customers has an extensive lab environment with multiple forests, domains and workgroup computers. SMS 2003 was deployed to help manage the configuration of all these different systems. Between the locked down security settings (no C$, ADMIN$ shares!) and the number separate forest/domains/workgroups involved the ability to "push" the advanced client to desktops is no longer an option. After meeting with the client last week we decided to configure a logon script to install the SMS client. The script and associated files (CCMSETUP.EXE, CLIENT.MSI, SMSCLIENT.VBS) were placed in a folder named SMS in the NETLOGON share of the Domain Controllers. We then configured the LOGON SCRIPT properties of the Domain Administrator account to run the SMSSTARTUP.VBS script shown below to install the client.

Now for a quick run through of the code.

Declare our variables and create the objects we will be working with.
Determine the path to the NETLOGON \SMS folder we are using.
Check to see if the SMS client is installed (Set oSMSClient ... If Err.Number....)
Display a timed popup message with a Cancel button
Copy install files to local computer.
Run installation script (SMSCLIENT.VBS)
Set commands in the RunOnce registry key to delete the SMSCLIENTINSTALL folder the next time someone logs in.

SMSSTARTUP.VBS

'**********************************************
' SCRIPT: SMSStartup.VBS
' AUTHOR:
' DATE:   10/16/2008
' VERSION: 2.0
' PURPOSE: Check for thr presence of the SMS client,
'                  if not installed, copy files from the
'                 network to c:\smsclientinstall and install
' USAGE:     SMSStartup.vbs
'
'REVISION: 10/17/2008 added check
'                 to make sure files and folders exist
'                before moving to next step in script
'
'**********************************************
OPTION EXPLICIT
On Error Resume Next

Dim oSMSClient, intButton,objWshShell,sFolder, objFSO, sCurrentPath
Dim oExec

Set objFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set objWshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set oSMSClient = CreateObject ("Microsoft.SMS.Client")

'Folder to copy SMS install files to
sFolder = "C:\SMSCLIENTINSTALL"

WScript.Sleep 15000

'Build path to SMS files
sCurrentPath = objWshShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%LOGONSERVER%")
sCurrentPath = sCurrentPath & "\NETLOGON\SMS"

If Err.Number <> 0 Then 'change to zero when testing complete
     'Clear error buffer
     err.clear
    objWshShell.LogEvent 2, "SMS Client is not installed, installing now."
    intButton=objWshShell.Popup("Installaing SMS Client software on this computer in the background",5,"SMS Client Software Installation",1)
    'wscript.echo intbutton
    If intButton = 2 Then
        objWshShell.LogEvent 1, "SMS Client installation was cancelled by the user"
        wscript.quit
    End If

'copy files to local computer and begin client installation
Do While objFSO.FolderExists(sFolder) <> TRUE
CreateFolder sFolder
WScript.Sleep 10000
Loop

'copy files
'Check for files before continuing to next file
Do While objFSO.FileExists(sFolder & "\SMSCLIENT.VBS") <> TRUE
  objFSO.CopyFile sCurrentPath & "\SMSCLIENT.VBS", sFolder & "\", TRUE
  wscript.sleep 2000
Loop

Do While objFSO.FileExists(sFolder & "\Client.msi") <> TRUE
  objFSO.CopyFile sCurrentPath & "\client.msi", sFolder & "\", TRUE
  wscript.sleep 2000
Loop

Do While objFSO.FileExists(sFolder & "\ccmsetup.exe") <> TRUE
  objFSO.CopyFile sCurrentPath & "\ccmsetup.exe", sFolder & "\", TRUE
  wscript.sleep 2000
Loop

    'now run sms client install
    Set oExec = objWshShell.Exec("wscript.exe " & sFolder & "\SMSCLIENT.VBS")

    Do While oExec.Status = 0
      WScript.Sleep 1000
    Loop

'delete the folder by adding command to the Runonce key
'CMD.exe /c "RD /s /q c:\SMSCLIENTINSTALL"
objWshShell.RegWrite "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce\SMS", "CMD.EXE /c " & CHR(34) & "RD /s /q C:\SMSCLIENTINSTALL" & CHR(34), "REG_SZ"

Else
'Computer has client, quit
wscript.quit
End If

Function CreateFolder(folder)
   Dim ofso, f
   Set ofso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
   Set f = ofso.CreateFolder(folder)
   CreateFolder = f.Path
End Function

Sub DeleteAFolder(filespec)
   Dim ofso
   Set ofso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
   ofso.DeleteFolder filespec,TRUE
End Sub

Configuring SMS to Work on Workgroup Computers and Computers in Other Domains (LMHOSTS)

MuadDib — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:09:00 GMT

As described in the previous post the lab environment includes multiple forests, domains and workgroup computers. One of the nice things about SMS 2003 is the fact that once the SMS Client has been installed on a system, you "own" that system and can manage it from that day forward. In the previous post, we discussed how to use a logon script to install the SMS Advanced Client. In this post we will discuss how to configure computers that are not located within the same domain as the SMS server to be able to find the SMS Management Point (MP) and Server Locator Point (SLP).

All Windows operating systems since Windows 2000 rely on DNS for name resolution. A clients still have WINS installed to support some legacy applications but most do not. An LMHOSTS file is similar to a HOSTS file. A HOST files is used to map DNS hosts names to IP addresses. An LMHOSTS file is used to map NetBIOS names to IP addresses. NetBIOS names differ from DNS names because you can have different types of NetBIOS names (e,g, domain, workstation service etc.). The LMHOSTS files is placed in the same folder as the HOSTS file (%WINDIR%\System32\Drivers\Etc).

An example of the LMHOSTS file is shown below. Copy the code below into Notepad and save the file as LMHOSTS (no extension) to the "%WINDIR%\System32\Drivers\Etc" folder. Customize the entries to match your environment. When you see the pound (#) sign in an LMHOSTS file it is usually followed by a comment unless it is followed by one of the special directives such as PRE< DOM, INCLUDE etc. The PRE directive loads the entires into the NetBIOS name cache on startup. The DOM directive is used to indicated a domain name. The INCLUDE directive is used to include another LMHOSTS file.

In the sample file below the first three lines are comments. The fourth line pre-loads the domain name where the SMS servers is located and provides the IP address of a DC in that domain. The next line provides the name and IP address of the SMS server (SMSSERVER1). The next line provides the name of the SMS Server Locator Point (SMS_SLP) and the line that follows defines the Management Point (MP_C01). Notice the entries for the SLP/MP look very different from the others. The "\01xa" is a NetBIOS suffix and there must be exactly 15 characters between the the first quote and the backslash. For the SMS_SLP line on change the IP address to the IP of the computer hosting the SMS SLP role. For the MP, change the IP and change the SMS site code in the file from C01 to the site code of your SMS site.

<------------------------------ BEGIN LMHOSTS ----------------------------------->

# LAB LMHOSTS File
#REVISION: 2
#DATE: 10/17/2008
192.168.101.143     DC01         #PRE #DOM:LABDOMAIN1 # Lab Domain DC
192.168.101.141    SMSSVR1 #PRE
192.168.101.141   "SMS_SLP        \0x1A" #PRE
192.168.101.141   "MP_C01         \0x1A" #PRE

<------------------------------ END LMHOSTS ----------------------------------->

When you start using LMHOST files you quickly realize that trying to manage the content of these files on multiple computers because a big pain real fast. If you need to make a change, you need to update every file with the change. Fortunately the #INCLUDE directive discussed earlier enables you to use a centralized LMHOSTS file. In our lab environment we created a share on the SMS server named "SMSLMHOST" and placed the first LMHOSTS file shown above there. The LMHOSTS file shown below was placed on the computers that needed a LMHOSTS. There are two entries shown. The first one provides the name/IP of the SMS server and the second directs the client to read the master LMHOSTS file stored on the server.

<------------------------------ BEGIN LMHOSTS ----------------------------------->

192.168.101.141 SMS1 #PRE
#INCLUDE \\SMSSVR1\SMSLMHOSTS\lmhosts

<------------------------------ END LMHOSTS ----------------------------------->

REFERENCE

NetBIOS Suffixes (16th Character of the NetBIOS Name)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/163409/

HOWTO: Assign SMS Advanced Client to the Isolated Secondary Site
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555853

LMHOSTS File Information and Predefined Keywords
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/102725

Domain Browsing with TCP/IP and LMHOSTS Files
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/150800

Chapter 10 - Using LMHOSTS Files
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windowsnt/4/server/reskit/en-us/net/sur_lmh.mspx?mfr=true

Who's in the Local Administrators Group?

MuadDib — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:40:00 GMT

I was organizing files this weekend and ran across a script I created for a customer recently. They we trying to determine the membership of the local Administrators group on each computer on their network. The had determined that non-admin users were being added to the local Administrator group and needed to know how widespread the problem was. Once they determine that I recommended they use Group Policy, Restricted Groups to fix the problem.

The VBScript below follows my standard script format that starts with an input file (INPUT.TXT) with a list of computers and automatically creates a tab-separated (for analysis in Excel) output file based on the name of the input file and appends RESULTS.TXT to the name. Once we open the input for to read, and the output file for writing we start the loop. The real work happens in the DO WHILE loop. First thing we do is run a Function named Get ComputerStatus. Since we are connecting to a remote computer, I use this function to determine if a computer is online by pinging it. If it is online we continue, if not we write "Computer Could Not Be Contacted" to the log and get the next computer in the list. The EnumGroup function is used to get the membership of the local Administrators group and write it to the log file. Once we finish the files are closed and the log file is opened in notepad.

To use this script, copy the contents to notepad and save the file with a VBS extension. Create an input file with computer nameon each line. You can run the script by double clicking it but I prefer to run it from a command prompt using cscript so that I only have a single command prompt instead of a command prompt for every "ping". If anyone uses this script and finds it useful leave me a comment and/or a rating.

LocalAdminGroupMembership.vbs

'**********************************************
' SCRIPT: LocalAdminGroupMembership.vbs
' AUTHOR: Muaddib :-)
'  DATE: 08/21/08
' VERSION: 1.0
' PURPOSE: Used to Query remote computers and enumerate memebers of
'          local admin group
'   USAGE: 1. List computers to be queried in input.txt (other text file)
'          2. LocalAdminGroupMembership.vbs
'          3. Output file, results.txt will show status
'Revision:
'
'
'**********************************************

Option Explicit

'ON ERROR RESUME NEXT 'Do Not Uncomment until script is ready for production

Dim oWshShell, oFSO, oFileName1, oFilename2, objWMIService, colItems, sProtocol, sSearch, sNWStatus, sDate, iErrNumber
Dim objItem, strComputer, oExec, strPingStdOut, sStatus, bComputerOnline, aComputers, Computer, sOutPutFile, sInPutFile, sComputerStatus
Dim arrFileNAme, sOutPutFileName,objGroup, strOffset

CONST ForReading = 1
CONST ForWriting = 2
CONST ForAppending = 8

'Prompt for name of input file
sInPutFile = INPUTBOX("Enter name of input file. Input file must exist in the script folder.", "Enter Input File Name","input.txt" )
IF sInputFile = "" THEN
   wscript.echo "Operation was cancelled"
   wscript.quit
END IF

'Trim extension from sInputFile1
arrFileNAme = Split(sInPutFile, ".")
sOutPutFileName = UCASE(arrFIleNAme(0))
'Prompt for name of output file
sOutPutFile = INPUTBOX("Enter name of output file. Output file will be placed in script folder.", "Enter Output File Name",sOutPutFileName & "_RESULTS.TXT" )
IF sOutPutFile = "" THEN
   wscript.echo "Operation was cancelled"
   wscript.quit
END IF

Set oWshShell = Wscript.CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
Set oFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

'Open input file and read
Set oFilename1 = oFSO.OpenTextFile(".\" & sInPutFile, ForReading, False)
iErrNumber = err.number
'Check for missing file
IF iErrNumber = 53 THEN
Wscript.echo "Error - " & sInPutFile & " file was not found."
wscript.quit
END IF

Set oFilename2 = oFSO.OpenTextFile(".\" & sOutPutFile, ForWriting, True)

' OPTIONAL LOG HEADER
'Get date and write it to log
'sDate = Now()
'oFilename2.writeline "Log Started " & sDate
'oFilename2.writeblanklines 1

'Read external list of computers and check their status
DO While oFilename1.AtEndOfStream <> True
    strComputer = oFileName1.ReadLine

    IF GetComputerStatus(strComputer) = 1 Then
        'sComputerStatus = "Online"
        Set objGroup = GetObject("WinNT://" & strComputer & "/Administrators,group")
        sComputerStatus = EnumGroup(objGroup, "")
      Else
        sComputerStatus = "Computer Could Not Be Contacted"
    End IF

    oFilename2.writeline strCOmputer & vbTab & sComputerStatus
Loop

'OPTIONAL LOG FOOTER
'sDate = Now()
'oFilename2.writeblanklines 2
'oFilename2.writeline "Log Completed " & sDate

'Close input file
oFilename1.close
'Close Log file
oFilename2.close

'Wscript.echo "Finished Scanning Computers" 'open log file
oWshShell.run "notepad.exe .\" & sOutPutFile, 5, FALSE

Set oWshShell = Nothing
Set oFSO = Nothing
Set oExec = Nothing
Set oFilename1 = Nothing
Set oFilename2 = Nothing

Function GetComputerStatus (strComputer)
'Function Returns a 1 if computer is available
'Used to determine if a computer is online before
'attempting WMI connection
'IP Address or computer name can be used
Dim sStatus
sStatus = 0
'   wscript.echo "Echo strCOmputer - " & strcomputer
Set oWshShell = Wscript.CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
Set oExec = oWshShell.Exec("ping -n 2 -w 1000 " & strComputer)
strPingStdOut = oExec.StdOut.ReadAll
    If InStr(1,strPingStdOut, "reply from ",1) <> 0 Then
      sStatus = 1
    Else
      sStatus = 0
    End IF
    GetComputerStatus = sStatus
END FUNCTION

Function EnumGroup(objGroup, strOffset)
   Dim objMember, strMembers
   For Each objMember In objGroup.Members
      strMembers = strmembers & strOffset & objMember.Name & ", "
   Next
EnumGroup = strMembers
End Function

Sample INPUT.TXT

Computer1
Computer2
Computer3
Computer4

Sample Input_RESULTS.TX

Computer1 Computer Could Not Be Contacted
Computer2 Administrator, Administrator, Domain Admins, SMS_ADMIN,
Computer3 Administrator, Domain Admins, Administrator, SMS_ADMIN,
Computer4 Administrator, Domain Admins, Administrator, SMS_ADMIN,

Modifying Security on Active Directory Objects using a script

MuadDib — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:17:00 GMT

I was working with a customer this week and we found some user objects in Active Directory had incorrect security settings. I put together a list of commands for the customer to use. I thought a few of the FOR command examples below were useful so here you go...

These command can also be used in a script. Keep in mind the FOR command syntax changes slightly (FOR /?) when used within a batch file.

DUMP CNs for all users in an OU
DSQUERY USER "ou=test accounts, dc=contoso,dc=local"

Show security for an object in Active Directory
DSACLS "cn=Jane doe1,ou=test accounts, dc=contoso,dc=local"

Show security for the SELF security principle on an object in Active Directory
DSACLS "cn=Jane doe1,ou=test accounts, dc=contoso,dc=local" | find /i "self"

Use DSACLS on list of users in a file
FOR /F "tokens=* usebackq" %i in (`type users.txt`) DO dsacls %i
(NOTE ` is a back quote found on same key as ~)

Use DSACLS on output of DSQUERY USERS <OU DN>
FOR /F "tokens=* usebackq" %i in (`dsquery user "ou=test accounts,dc=contoso,dc=local"`) DO dsacls %i
(NOTE ` is a back quote found on same key as ~)

FOR /F "tokens=* usebackq" %i in (`dsquery user "ou=test accounts,dc=contoso,dc=local"`) DO dsacls %i | find /i "self"
(NOTE ` is a back quote found on same key as ~)

Reset a user to the default permissions as defined by the schema
DSACLS "cn=jane doe1,ou=test accounts,dc=contoso,dc=local" /S (case sensitive)

Perfrom same task for all users in an OU
FOR /F "tokens=* usebackq" %i in (`dsquery user "ou=test accounts,dc=contoso,dc=local"`) DO dsacls %i /S (case sensitive)

Send Email from a Script

MuadDib — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:34:00 GMT

Scripts are great for automating tasks that you need to perform on a regular basis. With a few lines of code you add the ability to send an email from within your scripts to notify you of a particular event.

From a programming standpoint, there are two ways to send a script programmatically. The first involves using the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) service installed on the computer where the script runs. The second method involves using another SMTP server to forward you emails. I prefer the latter since you only need one computer running SMTP to send emails instead of installing the service on a number of computers.

Before you can use the script you must locate a server running SMTP. Check with your mail administrator and see if you can use one of the mail servers to forward emails. If you don't have a server running SMTP you can add it to one of your existing servers. In Windows Server 2003 SMTP is installed as part of the POP3 service. To install the POP3 service open Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Components then select Email Services. Click the details button and check the box next to POP3 Service.

Once the service has been installed you need to configure it so it will relay emails. Open IIS Manager, right-click "Default SMTP Server" and select properties. Click the "Access" tab and select the "Relay..." button. Select the "Only the list below" radio button and configure the servers that will be allowed to relay emails on this server.

Now that you have an SMTP server you need a script. The script below is the one I used. I created a function called "SendEmail" and I pass it the subject (sSubject) and body text (sPageText) as arguments. By creating a function, I can reuse this block of code in multiple scripts. I have hard coded the "from address" (oEmail.From), "to address" (oEmail.To), and SMTP server (app1.lab.local).

OPTION EXPLICIT
Dim sPageText, sSubject
ON ERROR RESUME NEXT

sSubject = "ALERT - UPS SHUTDOWN"
sPagetext = NOW() & "   The UPS has shutdown due to low battery. UPSDOWN.CMD script was fired."

'Send Email
SendEmail sSubject, sPageText

Function SendEmail (sSubjectText,sBodyText)
Dim oEmail
Set oEmail = CreateObject("CDO.Message")
    oEmail.From = "ADMIN@lab.local"
    oEmail.To = "RemoteAdmin@yourdomain.com"
    oEmail.Subject = sSubjectText
    oEmail.Textbody = sBodyText
    oEmail.Configuration.Fields.Item _
     ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/sendusing") = 2
    oEmail.Configuration.Fields.Item _
    ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserver") = _
    "app1.lab.local"
    oEmail.Configuration.Fields.Item _
    ("http://schemas.microsoft.com/cdo/configuration/smtpserverport") = 25
    oEmail.Configuration.Fields.Update
    oEmail.Send
END FUNCTION

Resources

Sending E-Mail Without Installing the SMTP Service
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/guide/sas_ent_wbpa.mspx?mfr=true

Controlling Virtual Machines with a Script

MuadDib — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:25:00 GMT

I discovered how easy it is to control virtual machines with a script this weekend. I have one server that I use to run virtual machines that I keep running all the time. When I patch this server, I need to shut down all VMs before it is restarted and then restart the VMs after the computer starts. After doing a quick search I discovered it only takes a few lines of code to shutdown or start a VM.

Shutdown a server named Server1
On Error Resume Next
Set objVS = CreateObject("VirtualServer.Application")
Set objVM = objVS.FindVirtualMachine("Server1")
Set objGuestOS = objVM.GuestOS
objGuestOS.Shutdown()

Startup a server named Server1
On Error Resume Next
Set objVS = CreateObject("VirtualServer.Application")
Set objVM = objVS.FindVirtualMachine("Server1")
objVM.Startup()

If you have multiple VMs you can put them all in the same script as shown below:

On Error Resume Next
Set objVS = CreateObject("VirtualServer.Application")
Set objVM = objVS.FindVirtualMachine("Server1")
Set objGuestOS = objVM.GuestOS
objGuestOS.Shutdown()
sleep 15000
Set objVS = CreateObject("VirtualServer.Application")
Set objVM = objVS.FindVirtualMachine("Server2")
Set objGuestOS = objVM.GuestOS
objGuestOS.Shutdown()

So to make things easier on me I wrote two simple scripts; one that starts the VMs and one that stops them. I then configured a local policy on the server to run the script that starts the VMs as a "Startup Script" so the VMs would start automatically every time the server is started.

Virtual Machine and Virtual Server Properties
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/scripts/vs/default.mspx?mfr=true

Script Code Link Added

MuadDib — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 03:18:00 GMT

I have a link in the left navigation bar to a page where I will begin posting some scripts I have written. I have written several useful scripts over the years and I'll post them here as time permits. The scripts will mostly be VBscript using WMI and ADSI scripting interfaces to retrieve information from computers and Active Directory. You might also find a couple of batch files mixed in. Down the road I will post some Pwershell Scripts and tips as I come up to speed on this new scripting/administration interface. A link to the modest beginning is shown below.

Script Code

Automate Network Adapter Configuration using NETSH

MuadDib — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:04:00 GMT

So I'm kind of lazy. Not in the "sleep late and don't go to work" slacker way, I just don't like doing dull repetitive tasks if they can be automated in some way. As a rule if I have to do the same task more than a couple of times I'm writing a script (or getting someone else to do it).

During the years I worked as a consultant it was not uncommon to connect my laptop to several different networks in the same day. In some cases they were DHCP enabled so connection was easy. For others I would have to configure the network adapter manually. Ugh!

Enter the NETSH commands. The NETSH command can be used to modify the network configuration on Windows 2000 and later computers. It's not the friendliest syntax to use but it is a real time saver once you learn to use it (I have noticed the version that ships with Vista seems almost intuitive). Listed below are sample script for using NETSH to set STATIC IP entries on an adapter and another script to set the adapter back to DHCP mode so the settings can be obtained automatically. The command syntax for Vista and XP are slight different due to the fact that Vista supports IPV6 natively so sample scripts for each OS are listed below. To use the code, paste it into a batch file and modify the "name=" to the name of the adapter in quotes and change the IP addresses.

VISTA - Static IP

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Wireless Network Connection 2" source=static addr=192.168.0.100 mask=255.255.255.0 gateway=192.168.0.250 gwmetric=0
netsh interface ipv4 set dnsserver name="Wireless Network Connection 2" source=static addr=192.168.0.2 register=NONE
REM netsh interface ipv4 set wins name="Wireless Network Connection 2" source=static addr=155.217.27.9
REM OR if no WINS server
netsh interface ipv4 set winsserver name="Wireless Network Connection 2" source=dhcp
ipconfig /all

VISTA - DHCP

netsh interface ipv4 set address name="Wireless Network Connection 2" source=dhcp
netsh interface ipv4 set dnsserver name="Wireless Network Connection 2" source=dhcp
netsh interface ipv4 set winsserver name="Wireless Network Connection 2" source=dhcp
ipconfig /renew "Wireless Network Connection 2"
ipconfig /all

XP - Static IP

netsh interface ip set address name="BROADCOM" source=static addr=192.168.27.40 mask=255.255.255.224
netsh interface ip set address name="BROADCOM" gateway=192.168.27.33 gwmetric=0
netsh interface ip set dns name="BROADCOM" source=static addr=192.168.98.12 register=NONE
netsh interface ip set wins name="BROADCOM" source=static addr=none

XP - DHCP

netsh interface ip set address name="BROADCOM" dhcp
netsh interface ip set dns name="BROADCOM source = dhcp
netsh interface ip set wins name="BROADCOM" source=dhcp