Incorrect Function When Bringing Disk Online in Disk Manager

I was configuring new storage for a Veeam Proxy server, and was surprised to find that I couldn’t bring the volume online. This was a freshly provisioned Fibre Channel LUN on a Nimble AF5000 array. The particular Veeam Proxy in question is a Cisco UCS B200 M3 blade. I created the LUN on the AF5000 and created the initiators. I then configured Fibre Channel zoning on the Nexus switches, went back to Windows and rescanned the storage. The new LUNs appeared in Disk Management, but when attempting to bring them online I received this message:



After some quick troubleshooting, I found that the SAN policy for the Virtual Disk Manager is set to “Offline Shared” by default. The SAN policy controls how SAN LUNs are mounted on a Windows Server. This can be confirmed using DiskPart.

Open a cmd prompt as admin and type in “diskpart”. Then type in “san”. This will show you the current SAN policy.



To resolve this, you need to change the SAN Policy to “Online All”. This can be done with a simple command. Back in the diskpart window, type in “san policy=onlineall” :



Now, go back to disk management (or you can just use diskpart) and bring the volume online, then initialize it.

 

File History

File History 

File history in Windows 8 allows users to automatically “backup” files that are in their libraries, contacts, favorites, Skydrive, and on the desktop. If the files are lost, they can be quickly restored. You can also restore a file from a specific point in time, being that File History creates a complete history of your files over time. You will need a separate drive other than the one you have Windows 8 installed on to use File History. To begin using it, connect an external drive and search for File History on the Start Screen:

After opening File History, you will see this screen:

To enable File History, click the ‘Turn On’ button. You can select the drive you want to use by clicking ‘Select Drive’ on the left hand side from this same screen. The first time you enable File History, it will create a full backup of all files on your computer, except for files that you do not access (system files), and files you have chosen to exclude. From then on, it will create a versioned copy of every file that has changed since the last backup.

You can use a locally attached drive or a network share for File History. To choose how often File History backs up files; choose ‘Advanced Settings’. From here you can also choose how much space on the drive is used, and how long saved versions of files should be kept.

When the total space allocated to File History has been used, the feature will delete the oldest versions of files to make room for newer versions.

User Account Control

User Account Control

Many people rarely pay close attention to those pesky User Account Control prompts that pop up when attempting to run a program as an administrator. When a user logs into her account, she is assigned a security token based on the level of access that she has (basic user or admin). This token is what defines what programs are allowed to do. Using this concept, the users session is incapable of making changes that would affect the entire system.

For a standard user, a token with the most basic privileges is assigned. Administrators have two tokens assigned, the first token contains all privileges usually awarded to an administrator (unrestricted), and the second is similar to that awarded to a basic user. This way, all programs that the administrator runs, including the Windows Shell, are run in basic user mode (this is why administrators still receive UAC prompts, but do not get asked for credentials). When an application requests higher privileges, the higher integrity token is used. 

User Account Control prompts each have their own meaning based on the color (blue, grey, yellow, or red. The blue prompt (Figure 1) means that a built in Windows component that is signed by Microsoft is requesting administrative privileges to continue. This prompt has a multicolored shield in the upper left corner. The grey prompt (Figure 2) means a software application that is signed by a third party developer is requesting admin privileges. This prompt has a yellow shield with a black exclamation mark in the upper left corner. The yellow prompt (Figure 3) signifies that a unsigned executable is requesting administrator privileges.  This prompt also had a yellow shield with black exclamation mark in the upper left corner, and looks somewhat generic. Finally, the red prompt (Figure 4) means a program that was specifically blocked by an administrator has attempted to run. 

                                                                          Figure 1

                                                                         Figure 2

                                                          Figure 3

                                                         Figure 4