IT Technology: SwiftCache

SwiftCache is a proven high performance media-caching appliance designed specifically to handle the challenges of the modern Internet. The intelligent caching engine is optimised for video caching (including live-streaming), as well as more traditional content such as websites or images.

For you as a network service provider, this means you can provide a better service to your subscribers, while realising big savings.

Features:

• Appliance models with specifications to suit the size of your network and the complexity of your caching needs
• Optimised for video delivery and the modern Internet
• Easy management via a web-based GUI, or with scriptable CLI or SNMP
• Highly flexible policy configurations to handle dynamic URLs, video-seek requests, and other such content that has traditionally been very difficult to cache effectively
• Cloud-based service for rule updates to ensure optimal cache performance
• No disruption to non-HTTP content
• Overload or bypass mode to ensure that, should the cache become overloading, it will not disrupt user experience
• Comprehensive reporting, including cache hit-rates and traffic levels on a per-site basis for most popular sites
• Clustering and inter-cache communication, for greater scalability and resilience, with the ability to manage and configure the cluster as a single machine
• Content Filtering, including using white and black-lists or selection by category e.g. social media

Compelling Benefits:

• By deploying SwiftCache within your network, you can: -
• Reduce the amount of international transic bandwidth consumed and the volume of traffic in the regional backhaul by between 30% and 80% (depending on the type of traffic cached and how well the platform can be optimised) - this means OPEX cost savings for you.
• Reduce the need to invest in infrastructure to cope with the rise in traffic, which translates into CAPEX savings
• Improve the response times for your customers (end-users), enhancing their experience and their satisfaction
• Gain a better understanding of what is happening on your network, and what your customers are doing
• Create new revenue streams by offering a content filtering service to your customers or by using your cache to become a delivery partner for the SwiftServe CDN service

These significant benefits ensure you of a faster, safer and better ROI, making the investment in SwiftCache a very low risk option with a significant upside.

Reference:

1. SwiftCache

http://www.swiftserve.com/swiftcache.html

Microsoft: Bulk Active Directory ( AD ) Account Creation

Follow the steps below for the bulk AD account creation:

1. Create a CSV file in Excel with the following columns: -
    a. FirstName
    b. LastName
    c. SamAccountName
    d. Description
    e. Password
    f. Department

2. Save the CSV file as test.csv

3. Run the following powershell command after changing the bold statement in your AD server: -

Import-Csv C:\test.csv | foreach-object {

$userprinicpalname = $_.SamAccountName + "@domain"

$name = $_.FirstName + " " + $_.LastName

New-ADUser -SamAccountName $_.SamAccountName -UserPrincipalName $userprinicpalname -DisplayName $name -Name $name -GivenName $_.FirstName -SurName $_.LastName -Path "OU=Users,OU=UK,DC=domain" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString $_.Password -AsPlainText -force) -Enabled $True -Department $_.Department -Description $_.Description -Manager $_.Manager -PasswordNeverExpires $True -ChangePasswordAtLogon $False -PassThru

Add-ADPrincipalGroupMembership -identity $_.SamAccountName -memberof "member1","member2","member3"}

Microsoft: Bulk Folder / File / NTFS Permission Configuration

In order for bulk folder / file / ntfs permission configuration, you may use the ICACLS command.

Syntax: -

icacls <FileName> [/grant[:r] <Sid>:<Perm>[...]] [/deny <Sid>:<Perm>[...]] [/remove[:g|:d]] <Sid>[...]] [/t] [/c] [/l] [/q] [/setintegritylevel <Level>:<Policy>[...]]

icacls <Directory> [/substitute <SidOld> <SidNew> [...]] [/restore <ACLfile> [/c] [/l] [/q]]

Parameter: -

Go to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753525.aspx

Example: - 

1. Full Control

icacls C:\test\subtest /grant Domain\user1:(OI)(CI)F

2. Special permission

icacls C:\test\subtest /grant Domain\user1:(OI)(CI)(M,DC)

NetApp: Bulk Quota Setting

Follow the steps below for bulk quota setting:

1. Go to //<filer>/c$/etc/quotas
2. Open the quotas file in WordPad
3. Add the following command: -

    /vol/<volume1>/<username1> tree <quota1> - - - -
    /vol/<volume2>/<username2> tree <quota2> - - - -
    /vol/<volume3>/<username3> tree <quota3> - - - -
    .
    .
    .
< continue until the last quota that you would like to set >

Example: -
     /vol/vol_nfs_test_01/user1 tree 2097152K - - - -
     /vol/vol_nfs_test_02/user2 tree 5126152K - - - -
     /vol/vol_nfs_test_03/user3 tree 2567152K - - - -
    .
    .
    .
     /vol/vol_nfs_test_50/user50 tree 2097152K - - - -

4. Leave a blank paragraph at the end of your last command line
5. Save the quotas file

NetApp: Bulk QTree Creation

Follow the steps below for bulk QTree creation:

1.  Log on to your NetApp CLI ( Command Line Interface )
2. Type in the following command for bulk QTree creation: -

    qtree create /vol/<volume1>/<username1>
    qtree create /vol/<volume2>/<username2>
    qtree create /vol/<volume3>/<username3>
    .
    .
    .
    < continue this command until the last QTree that you would like to create >

Microsoft: WiseSoft Bulk AD Users

WiseSoft Bulk AD Users is a tool that makes it easy to perform bulk updates to Active Directory User account attributes. Previously you might have wrote scripts to perform these types of updates or gone through a very tedious process of performing these updates one at a time via the ADU&C interface. Bulk AD Users makes this process much simpler and also provides an XML log file that allows you to undo any unwanted updates. The application includes powerful query capabilities and has a number of different ways to allow you to update user account data. e.g. Update From CSV, Edit In Excel, Edit In Grid, Bulk Modify (Similar to the User dialog in ADU&C, but it works on any number of user accounts).

Reference:

Bulk AD Users

http://www.wisesoft.co.uk/software/bulkadusers/default.aspx

Microsoft: Fine Grain Password Policy Tool

With Windows Server 2008, administrators can now apply password policies at layers lower than “the domain”. These “fine-grained password policies” allow for applying different restrictions for password and account lockout policies for different users in a domain.

Christoffer Andersson developed the Fine-Grained Password Policy Tool which extends the capabilities of the GPMC and adds PowerShell scripting capabilities for easy administration of these new policies.

I helped make the Active Directory Domain Services API wrapper as well as deployment project compliant with the 64-bit Windows Server platform. Björn Österman also contributed to the development of the application.

Reference:

1. Fine Grain Password Policy Tool

http://blogs.chrisse.se/downloads/fine-grain-password-policy/