Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with David Tesar from TechNet Edge to discuss deployment options for TMG and UAG. I had the opportunity to talk about some of the potential pitfalls to deploying TMG and UAG on a virtual infrastructure, specifically relating to security and performance. You can watch the video here. Enjoy!
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Posted by Richard Hicks
In a recent post on his blog, Yuri Diogenes shared with us how to create a manual dump of the wspsrv.exe process in TMG by using the Windows Task Manager. This is tremendously helpful in many situations, but there are scenarios that require more flexibility. For this I use procdump.exe from Sysinternals. To create a dump of a user mode process, enter the following command:
procdump <process>
For example, creating a dump of the wspsrv.exe process would look like this:
procdump wspsrv
This will immediately generate a dump file called wspsrv.dmp.
Procdump provides additional flexibility by allowing you to trigger a dump based on specific thresholds. This is extremely useful when troubleshooting intermittent high CPU utilization issues with TMG. For example, if you wanted to create a dump of the wspsrv.exe process when CPU utilization reaches 90% for more than 5 seconds, enter the following command:
procdump –c 90 –s 5 c:\wspsrv.dmp
When CPU utilization stays at or above 90% for more than 5 seconds, a user mode process dump will be generated and saved in the file c:\wspsrv.dmp. This can be beneficial in situations where high CPU utilization prevents you from using the mouse or typing commands at the command prompt. Automating the task of capturing dumps based on triggers also frees the administrator from having to be at the console when the symptom occurs. Additional command line switches allow you to create multiple dumps, increasing your chances of collecting accurate data for troubleshooting.
Leave a Comment » | General, ISA 2006 General, Threat Management Gateway, Troubleshooting, Utilities | Permalink
Posted by Richard Hicks
According to an article in the Orange County Register, The NCAA Men’s College Basketball tournament (aka March Madness) will cost businesses an estimated $1.8 billion dollars in lost productivity. This is where the URL filtering capabilities of Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010 shine! With integrated URL filtering enabled, security administrators can simply configure an access rule allowing limited access to the Sports category (perhaps during the lunch hour only) or perhaps even block the category completely. The result will be improved productivity and significant network bandwidth savings during the tournament.
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Posted by Richard Hicks
A comprehensive reference dedicated to the ubiquitous Wireshark protocol analyzer, authored by the foremost expert in protocol analysis and Wireshark, Laura Chappell, is now available for pre-order. Due to be released on March 29, 2010, you can view sample pages by visiting wiresharkbook.com. Be sure to visit wiresharktraining.com and chappellseminars.com for additional training and reference material.
Leave a Comment » | General, Networking | Permalink
Posted by Richard Hicks
If you are interested in learning more about Windows operating system internals, I would strongly encourage you to register for one of David Solomon’s upcoming Windows OS Internals seminars. These classes will be available as a 5-day hands-on course or 2-day online webinar. David Solomon is one of the authors of Windows Internals Fifth Edition and is one of the foremost experts on the inner workings of the Windows kernel. This is a training class you don’t want to miss. Microsoft employees and MVPs are eligible for a discount. Register today!
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Posted by Richard Hicks
Quickstart Intelligence, a premiere IT technical training company based here in California, along with Microsoft and AvePoint is sponsoring the Windows Intelligence conference. This event features a long list of speakers that will present on topics such as Windows 7, Windows Server 2008R2, cloud computing, virtualization, Exchange 2010, and Office 2010 just to name a few. The Windows Intelligence conference will be held in two locations:
Monday, March 29, 2010
Orange County Hilton – Costa Mesa, CA
Monday, April 26, 2010
Hyatt Regency Embarcadero – San Francisco, CA
This is an event you won’t want to miss. Register now using the promotion code HICKSMVP and receive $50.00 off registration. Sign up now!
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Posted by Richard Hicks
I will be attending the annual RSA Security Conference in San Francisco on March 2-4, 2010. I’ll be splitting time between the Celestix booth (booth #556) and the Microsoft Partner Pavilion. You can register for a free expo pass by using code EC10CEL. Stop by and introduce yourself!
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Posted by Richard Hicks
Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010 runs exclusively on 64-bit Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008R2. This means you will not be able to install the TMG management console included with the installation media on any 32-bit Windows machine. What if you wish to manage your TMG firewalls from a 32-bit Windows operating system? The answer is simple. Download the 32-bit version of the TMG management console. After registering, click the download link and then download the file TMG_ENU_Management_x86.exe. Now you can manage your TMG firewalls from a 32-bit Windows desktop or server operating system!
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Posted by Richard Hicks
The Customer Experience Improvement Program was created by Microsoft to allow the collection of information about how customers use their programs. Participating in the program allows you to effectively contribute to the design and development of Microsoft products. The program is purely elective and you can choose to opt out of the program at any time.
After installing Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010, open the management console and you will see a link inviting you to learn more about the program.
Clicking the link will present a dialog box where you can select the option to participate or not.
I would strongly encourage everyone to opt in to this program. Doing so will provide Microsoft with valuable information that will ultimately lead to a better product with more features. Microsoft will not be contacting you, nor will you receive unwanted e-mail or be asked to participating in any surveys. If you are concerned with information disclosure, please read the CEIP privacy statement.
If you haven’t done so already, please join in! Come on, support the team. Everyone will benefit!
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Posted by Richard Hicks
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Posted by Richard Hicks
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