Ask the Directory Services Team

Microsoft's official enterprise support blog for AD DS and more

The yuck that is "PC Recycle Day" at Microsoft

Hey all, Ned here again. Still no ETA on Win8 word, and we've already discussed everything else on...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 03/09/2012

Unresponsive Servers due to DST and an unsupported registry key

Hi, David here to tell you about a thorny little problem that a few of our customers have run into...

Author: Jonathan Stephens, MSFT Date: 03/09/2012

Windows Server “8” Beta announcements, availability (updated)

Hi all, Ned here. For those who spent the day in a coma, Windows Server “8” Beta and Windows 8 CP...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 02/29/2012

Congrats Sean and Mark, the Newest Masters!

Hey all, Ned here again. You probably know our pals Sean Ivey and Mark Renoden from their AskDS blog...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 02/25/2012

Friday Mail Sack: VROOM VROOM Edition

Hi folks, Jonathan here again. Ned’s a little busy right now trying to get items off the top shelf...

Author: Jonathan Stephens, MSFT Date: 02/17/2012

Purging Old NT Security Protocols

Hi folks, Ned here again (with some friends). Everyone knows that Kerberos is Microsoft’s preeminent...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 02/02/2012

Friday Mail Sack: Carl Sandburg Edition

Hi folks, Jonathan again. Ned is taking some time off visiting his old stomping grounds – the land...

Author: Jonathan Stephens, MSFT Date: 01/28/2012

If you use Symantec Products, Read Me

Ned here again, with a public service announcement similar to the previous one we did for RSA as it...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/26/2012

Friday Mail Sack: It’s a Dog’s Life Edition

Hi folks, Ned here again with some possibly interesting, occasionally entertaining, and always...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/20/2012

How to become a PFE (worth reading if you are job hunting)

Hi all, Ned here. Greg Jaworski has posted an informative read for those looking to join the ranks...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/16/2012

Understanding the AD FS 2.0 Proxy

Hi guys, Joji Oshima here again. I have had several cases involving the AD FS 2.0 Proxy and there is...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 01/05/2012

Winter Break

Hiya folks, Ned here. It's that time of year again, where the AskDS team goes on hiatus to play Call...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 12/16/2011

Hey there, Gary here, and it has been a while since there has been a blog post relating to Offline...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 12/14/2011

Effective Troubleshooting

Hi everyone. It’s Mark Renoden here again and today I’ll talk about effective...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 12/08/2011

Friday Mail Sack: Dang, This Year Went Fast Edition

Hi folks, Ned here again with your questions and comments. This week we talk: AD Garbage Collection...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 12/02/2011

More than you ever wanted to know about Remote Desktop Licensing

Hey everyone, David here. Here in support, there are certain types of calls that we love to get...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 12/01/2011

Removing DFSR Filters

Hi folks, Ned here again. DFSR administrators usually know about its built-in filtering mechanism....

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 11/14/2011

DFS Override Referral Ordering, Messing with the Natural Order

Hi everyone. This is your friendly (debatable) PFE, Mark Renoden again. Today I’m talking about DFS...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 10/27/2011

Oh man, I seriously overslept

Hi folks, Ned here again. We haven’t posted anything in weeks here, and I apologize for that; a...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 10/27/2011

AD FS 2.0 Claims Rule Language Primer

Hi guys, Joji Oshima here again. On the Directory Services team, we get questions regarding the...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 10/07/2011

Advanced XML filtering in the Windows Event Viewer

Hi guys, Joji Oshima here again. Today I want to talk about using Custom Views in the Windows Event...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 09/26/2011

The PDCe with too much to do

Hi. Mark again. As part of my role in Premier Field Engineering, I’m sometimes called upon to...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 09/23/2011

What the heck does /genmigxml do?

Hello guys and gals, Kim Nichols here with my first AskDS post. While deciding on a title, I did a...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 09/22/2011

Windows 8 for the IT Pro: The New Plumbing

Hi folks, Ned coming to you from the secret underground redoubt, where the cable is out, the wife is...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 09/17/2011

Active Directory Site Topology, Not Just for DCs

Mark here again. Following a recent experience in the field (yes, Premier Field Engineers leave the...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 09/16/2011

Managing RID Pool Depletion

Hiya folks, Ned here again. When interviewing a potential support engineer at Microsoft, we usually...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 09/12/2011

Friday Mail Sack: Robert Wagner Edition

Hello folks, Ned here again. This week, we discuss: Computer and user name uniqueness DFSR file size...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 09/09/2011

The Security Log Haystack – Event Forwarding and You

Hi. This is your guest writer Mark Renoden. I’m a Senior Premier Field Engineer based in...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/29/2011

Cluster and Stale Computer Accounts

Hi, Mike here again. Today, I want to write about a common administrative task that can lead to...

Author: MikeStephensMSFT Date: 08/23/2011

Improved Group Policy Preference Targeting by Computer Group Membership

Hello AskDS readers, it's Mike again talking about Group Policy Preference targeting items. I posted...

Author: MikeStephensMSFT Date: 08/18/2011

Understanding what the USMT 4.0 CONFIG manifests migrate (Part 20: Vista Section K)

This part covers the following config.xml components for Windows Vista:...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/15/2011

Understanding what the USMT 4.0 CONFIG manifests migrate (Part 19: Vista Section J)

This part covers the following config.xml components for Windows Vista:...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/15/2011

Understanding what the USMT 4.0 CONFIG manifests migrate (Part 18: Vista Section I)

This part covers the following config.xml components for Windows Vista:...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/15/2011

Understanding what the USMT 4.0 CONFIG manifests migrate (Part 17: Vista Section H)

This part covers the following config.xml components for Windows Vista:...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/15/2011

Understanding what the USMT 4.0 CONFIG manifests migrate (Part 16: Vista Section G)

This part covers the following config.xml components for Windows Vista:...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/15/2011

Understanding what the USMT 4.0 CONFIG manifests migrate (Part 14: Vista Section E)

This part covers the following config.xml components for Windows Vista:...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/15/2011

Understanding what the USMT 4.0 CONFIG manifests migrate (Part 13: Vista Section D)

This part covers the following config.xml components for Windows Vista:...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/15/2011

Understanding what the USMT 4.0 CONFIG manifests migrate (Part 12: Vista Section C)

This part covers the following config.xml components for Windows Vista:...

Author: NedPyle [MSFT] Date: 08/15/2011

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