haironfire

I have several users on Terminal Services (NOS Windows 2000 Server, SP4; client systems Window 2000 Professional or XP Professional) to use a database. Our vendor has this set up without the TS Licensing activated. All the clients are on Temporary Licenses, which run out after around 90 days. The solution to this is to delete the MS Licensing key in the Registry of each client machine as its license expires, and the key is then rewritten for another 90 days when you log back on to the server. Our vendor says that this is a workaround for a bug in Windows 2000 Server;apparently the Server is unable to issue the free CALs that are supposed to be provided to client systems running Windows 2000 Professional or a sucessor operating system (eg Windows XP Professional). He says that the alternative is to pay Microsoft around $125 per client machine for a permanent CAL. Is this for real?

That's what I would think. Another board has suggested that our vendor is a moron, so there's that. I guess if I turn on the licensing server and it tries to make me pay for a CAL that should be free, I can just back out of it and go back to the registry-editing trick. Sheesh.

Has anyone else out there ever encountered this problem? I'm wondering if our vendor is just full of it -- we have had other indications that this may be the case. So, I'm considering just turning on the TS Licensing feature and seeing what happens.

Has anyone else out there ever encountered this problem? I'm wondering if our vendor is just full of it -- we have had other indications that this may be the case. So, I'm considering just turning on the TS Licensing feature and seeing what happens.

I need some advice on testing a backup on a W2K system. We have 2 Dell Poweredge 2650 servers, one as a file server and one as a DNS server. We also have a Powervault NAS device where the backups are supposed to go. From what I read the only way to definitively test a backup is to restore it and check out the restore. I can't take either of our servers down for this project, so I am limited to whatever testing I can do short of that. Any suggestions? What is the usual protocol for testing backups? I can't imagine that every small shop out there has a full testing environment and time to do test restores on every backup. So where/how do you draw the line?

You don't test the backup? (Not editorializing, just want to be clear) btw, with such a diverse production environment how do you ever test anything?

No tape, the NAS device (a Powervault) is our only backup. I have been wondering about tape, I think that a nightly backup to tape with offsite storage would be a good idea. While I'm looking into that, I guess the best I can do with the existing hardware would be verifying the backups to the NAS for recoverability of any individual files that may get lost/deleted/corrupted. But the file server is at around 85% of capacity, so the first priority would be to archive some stuff to make room to load a backup file for testing -- right? -- or can I test a backup from the NAS? If we do get a tape drive, we still have no way to test capacity for disater recovery unless we add a test server, I guess. I don't know whether I can sell that to the suits. Is an untested tape backup woth having? Would there be any point in getting a tape drive if we're not going to test the backups?

Thanks for the encouragement folks. Forgot my password so I had to open a new account, hence the different handle. Ehrm IMHO this network may not be configured to accepted standards. They have two Dell Poweredge 2650 servers, one for DNS and one for a file server. The drive array on the file server is ca 85% full and, while there is a NAS device in place with a drive array of adequate capacity there is no backup more recent than a couple of weeks, no succesful scheduled backup and afaik no way to test a backup -- don't you need a test server identical to the production server to test a backup? (The DNS server and the file server are identical in hardware so if we buy one more identical box couldn't I alternately configure it to test backups for the other two? Is that practical?) I am trying to decide whether to try to do this on my own or try to muscle the contractor into it in the twilight months of their contract. I am reluctant to trust them with something as important as backups when they've substantially ignored the matter already. OTOH if we light a fire under them they could probably get it done faster than I could. OTOH if we've gone without backup this long what's another couple of weeks? And, should I start another thread with a more specific title?