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Resolving Time Synchronization issues on Virtualized Active Directory Servers

January 5, 2022by Euclid Networks in How-To, Networking, Windows Server tagged , , ,

We’ve run into the issue of virtualized Primary Domain Controllers (PDCs) on Windows Server 2016/2019/2022 that fail to properly sync their clocks with global NTP time servers. In the following, we’ll outline the problem and show you how we’ve resolved this IT service issue for our partners.

In a normal functioning domain, properly configured time services are critical to the stability of the network – all domain-joined Windows computers by default will sync their clocks with the PDC.

Without valid time settings, all clocks on your network can be off as much as 8-15 minutes, or more – at best making your users late for meetings – or at worst, teleporting your entire office into an alternate dimension. 0_0;;

To verify Windows Time settings, log on to your domain controller as an administrator, and open an elevated CMD prompt. Once in, the following commands are useful for diagnosing.

Force synchronizing the time ASAP : w32tm /resync /nowait

Check NTP configuration : w32tm /query /configuration

Display time source : w32tm /query /source

Display list of all configured NTP servers and their status : w32tm /query /peers

Display service status (EG : Is time being synced from a CMOS clock, or external NTP server?) : w32tm /query /status

To check your current clock’s offset from a global time server, you can run : w32tm /stripchart /computer:time.windows.com /dataonly which may display something like the following, showing a 39 second offset.

Once you’ve discovered you have a problem, you can force your PDC to grab its time from an external source using :
w32tm.exe /config /manualpeerlist: “us.pool.ntp.org 1.us.pool.ntp.org 2.us.pool.ntp.org 3.us.pool.ntp.org,0x8” /syncfromflags:manual /update and run the above stripchart command once again.

However, on a virtual machine, after running the w32tm /query /source command you may see that your server is still using the VM IC Time Synchronization Provider as the source.

To resolve this and set the time service manually on a Hyper-V VM you have to change the VMICTimeProvider registry value from 1 to 0 by using the following command, allowing you to set a manual time source : reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\VMICTimeProvider /v Enabled /t reg_dword /d 0 – and restart your time service with net stop w32time then net start w32time.

After doing the above, check your strip chart again to validate your time settings. Much better!

Finally, re-verify you’ve set your PDC’s clock as authoritative for clients with : w32tm /config /reliable:yes – and you’re done! Client machines should sync in the next several minutes, or on next login.

PS – If you bork your configuration, you can always reset it to the default with net stop w32time, w32tm /unregister, w32tm /register, net start w32time – registering and unregistering may require a reboot.

If this helped you, please share, and comment below!

Windows 10 End-of-Life & Windows 11 Preview : What this means for your business

July 2, 2021by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, How-To, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP

Microsoft announced recently that Windows 10’s End-of-Life date is set for October 14th, 2025. As a business owner, the practical impacts of this announcement can be difficult to sort out – but not to worry – Euclid Networks is here to help you sort it out!

October 14th, 2025 will will mark just over 10 years since Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system was first introduced – we know, we know – we can’t believe it has been that long either. With the recent announcement of Windows 11 however, it’s important to get ahead of the game when planning your long term IT budget, and equipment upgrade paths.

Windows 11 promises to be a meaningful upgrade from 10, more tightly integrating with MS’s cloud service offerings.

The majority of our clients have moved on to Windows 10 for their OS, and are covered by our proactive patching and updating service – but for those who still haven’t, now is the time to make the switch. As Windows 10 and Windows 11 share the same “DNA”, upgrading from 10 to 11 promises to be much simpler than an upgrade from – for example, Windows 7, or Win XP.

Win 10 End-of-Life : What it means for your business

Once Windows 10 reaches its end-of-life, the operating system will no longer receive important security updates, or new features via patches. As it will have reached the end of its cycle, 3rd party software vendors will also begin phasing out their support for the operating system, meaning new versions of those programs will default to Windows 11 as their recommended platform.

As an IT support provider, we can’t stress enough how important keeping current on security updates is, for the protection of your business’ data, and overall network. The #1 avenue for malware and ransomware attacks is through outdated software. Outdated software can potentially cost your business tens, or hundreds of thousands of dollars in remediation and lost revenue.

Ransomware in 2020 : At a glance (source : Nationwide)

» The average enterprise ransom payment is $111,605.

» 205,280 organizations were affected by ransomware attacks in 2019.

» The average cost for victims of ransomware attacks to recover more than doubled in the final quarter of 2019. According to a new report from Coveware, a typical total now stands at $84,116. That’s a little over double the previous figure of $41,198.

Windows 11 : What’s New?

Start Menu : Windows 11 has a new, simplified Start menu. Live tiles are gone, replaced with a list of app icons and recent files. Documents you edit in Office apps on other devices—even devices that aren’t running Windows—will appear as recent files here, too, thanks to Microsoft 365. Don’t have Microsoft 365 yet? We can help – contact us today!

Multi-App & Multi-Monitor Support : Windows 11 also features “Snap Groups”, which helps organize your windows, as you multi-task. Selecting a single taskbar icon will now pull up a group of snapped apps. Also, when using Windows 11 on a tablet, windows that are side-by-side will automatically stack on top of each other when you change the device’s orientation.

Multiple monitors support is improving also, with a “new docking and undocking experience.” When you unplug a monitor, the windows on the monitor will minimize themselves rather than getting in the way. When you reconnect the monitor, Windows will automatically restore the windows to their original positions on that monitor.

Widgets and MS Teams on the Taskbar

Tighter integration with Microsoft 365 and Redmond’s cloud offerings, means integrations with its services like Microsoft Teams and Onedrive will be built directly into the Windows 11 task-bar. We’ve seen iterations of this pop up in the latest Windows 10 updates, but as MS moves forward, expect the benefits of using Microsoft’s cloud offerings for your business to increase!

& More!

Details are forthcoming, but stay tuned – Microsoft has planned to begin rolling out Windows 11 as soon as this fall – expect to begin seeing it on new devices soon.

About Euclid Networks

Euclid Networks is an IT support provider that brings a fresh, proactive approach to your business computing needs. We serve a wide variety of Atlanta area businesses, including Legal Firms, Healthcare Providers, Non-Profits, and Professional Services Providers.

Our experience in the technology industry and dedication to personalized service sets us apart. We’re real people, who care about tech support.

World Backup Day – Protecting Valuable Data with the 3-2-1 Rule

March 31, 2021by Euclid Networks in Atlanta, How-To, News / Blog, Online Backup tagged , , , , , ,

Atlanta – did you know, World Backup Day is March 31st?

Nerdy, we know – but according to a leading backup company, only 15% of organizations back up data multiple times a day. Depending on your organization’s data security requirements, this could be a problem. How much is losing 4 hours of company-wide productivity worth to your business?  4 days? 4 weeks? What is more, most businesses don’t have a documented disaster recovery process in place, which can lead to catastrophic results in the event of a system crash or failure.

Why back up?

For companies that rely on their digital work product – such as attorneys, marketing professionals, and other service providers – keeping your organization’s data safeguarded is essential. If you have a storage issue, backing up information can be the difference between staying in business and closing for many, such as those in regulated industries, or where information is essential to business operations.

Cyberthreats are another big reason to keep your data backed up – with malware and ransomware threats on the rise in 2021 and beyond. If your organization is hit with an attack, it can relieve some of the burden if an additional copy is available of your stolen information.

Backup 101 – What is “good” backup practice?

It is important to discuss the pros and cons of different backup frequencies and retention policies – including the total cost, how often you will need access to the backup of your data (restores), and how frequent your backups should be. For some data-reliant companies, backing up multiple times a day makes sense, as you are harboring highly sensitive information that would cause major problems for your business and clients if you lost access. Other organizations with less sensitive information may only need to backup once a day or week, especially if they do not have compliance regulations they need to follow like those in legal, healthcare, and financial markets.

Euclid’s recommendation? Follow the 3-2-1 rule.

For our IT and Tech Support partners, we always recommend following the 3-2-1 rule for essential data protection, a best practices or guideline for safeguarding data.

  • 3 copies of data maintained (one copy “in production” – or active use, one local backup, and one “cold” backup stored elsewhere, ie the cloud)
  • 2 store data on 2 types of media (if you have an issue with one kind of media, you have another kind available to access your data)
  • 1 offsite copy (of your data, so that if a fire or on-site issue occurs a backup is available).

The idea of the 3-2-1 rule of data protection is to eliminate single points of failure – it is not a failproof policy or complete guarantee – but helps mitigate a large swath of potential data pitfalls.

How Euclid can help!

Contact us today for a cost-effective review of your current backup practices, and for our expertise with cloud and offsite backup. The “1” of the 3-2-1 rule can be difficult to implement, especially for small and medium sized businesses, but we’re here to help. And for larger organizations, our solutions cover both workstations and servers – including more complex SQL database and state-aware backups!

Microsoft Office 365 + On-premise Exchange Server Connectivity : Autodiscover not working

January 21, 2021by Euclid Networks in Uncategorized

After migrating an e-mail account to Microsoft 365, or setting up a new account in Outlook 2010/2013/2016/2019/ Office 365, often times we find users unable to connect or – or Outlook’s web services don’t work as expected.

For example, when adding a new account, autodiscover will time out, saying it can’t contact the server giving the following message :

Outlook cannot log on. Verify you are connected to the network and are using the proper server and mailbox name. The Microsoft Exchange information service in your profile is missing required information. Modify your profile to ensure that you are using the correct Microsoft Exchange information service.

This, despite Microsoft’s (very useful) Remote Connectivity Analyzer reporting no configuration issues with Autodiscover, and being able to connect successfully using MS Activesync.

The issue we see here, is that Outlook is pre-configured by Microsoft 365’s profile configuration to prefer only M365 sources for autodiscover – ignoring DNS settings and local XML files.

This behavior is regulated by the registry, specifically keys under the Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\XX.0\Outlook\AutoDiscover location. XX.0 will vary, depending on the version of Office you have installed. Examples of these keys are :

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\AutoDiscover]
"ExcludeLastKnownGoodUrl"=dword:00000001
"ExcludeHttpRedirect"=dword:00000001
"ExcludeScpLookup"=dword:00000001
"ExcludeHttpsRootDomain"=dword:00000001
"ExcludeSrvRecord"=dword:00000001

By toggling these switches to “0” – or “do not exclude” these autodiscover sources, Outlook connectivity to on-premise or 3rd party Exchange providers will be restored.

More detail available via Microsoft at the following KB’s :

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/after-migration-to-office-365-outlook-doesn-t-connect-or-web-services-don-t-work-3d9df009-597b-5d75-460c-4b7c64c833a1

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/outlook-2016-implementation-of-autodiscover-0d7b2709-958a-7249-1c87-434d257b9087

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