Windows Domain Controller and their Roles

I really favour Linux/Unix working environmental but sadly commercialism has engulfed our societies as the likes of Windows platforms while the former one doesn't matter how much is rated high still lives in the shadows. And now I have to grasp the Windows lingo all along to fit in an organization. So lets learn something about Windows Domain Controller and their roles.

Before going into any details first its important to understand the differences between the following terms.

• Active Directory: is a directory service that serves as a central location for network administration and security which is responsible for authenticating and authorizing all users and computers within a network of windows domain.
• Forest: is the top-level container of Active Directory (AD) infrastructure. Can contain one or more domains. These domains are interconnected trough a transitive trust. A forest shares a single schema database.
• Domain: is one level below AD forest. Can consist of one or more Organizational Units (OU). A domain shares a single administrator group and same set of objects.
• Domain Controller: A domain can consists one or more domain controllers (DC). A DC holds a directory DB of its perspective domain. The directory DB consists of user, objects, computer objects or more.
• Organizational Unit: is a container within a domain and is used to organize set of users and computers. It is helpful in implementing set of policies to a group, user or computer within a domain.
• Windows DC: A server running the version of Windows Server OS and has AD installed on it and is responsible for allowing host access to Windows Domain resources.

Now coming to the roles; there are specialized DC roles that perform specific roles in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) environment. The specialized roles are:

• Global Catalog Servers: A DC designated as a global catalog server stores the objects from all domains in a forest. This is usually the first DC in a forest. Later on other DC can be specified as global catalog servers.
• Operations Master: This is a DC that is designated to perform specific tasks to ensure consistency and to eliminate the potential for conflicting entries in the AD DB.

AD DS defines five operation master roles called:

1. Schema Master: Responsible for propagating changes to all DCs within a forest. Changes regarding schemas required throughout forest should be made on DC serving as schema master. There can be only one schema master in a forest at any time.
2. Domain Naming Master: It is required to keep track of all the domains within an AD forest. The DC with domain naming master is accessed whenever domains are address/removed from a tree or forest. There can be only one domain naming master per forest. It ensures that no two domains have the same name existing in the same tree.
3. Relative Identifier (RID): Allocates blocks of RIDs to each DC in a domain. When a DC creates a new security principal (user, group etc.) it assigns the object a unique security identifier SID. The SID contains a domain SID which us same for all the security principals created in the domain and a RID which uniquely identifies each security principal created in the domain.
4. Primary Domain Controller (PDC) Emulator: PDC receives prefential replication of password changes that are performed by other DCs in the domain and is the source for latest password information. It's also the default time source.
5. Infrastructure Master: is responsible for updating object references in the domain that point to object in another domain. It updates object references locally and uses replication to being all other replicas of domain up to date. Object reference contains GUID global unique identifier, distinguished name and possible a SID. The distinguished name and SID on object reference are periodically updated to reflect changes made to actual object.

- Schema Master and Domain Naming Master performs operations that must occur on only one DC in the forest.

- PDC, RID, Infrastructure Master perform operations that must occur on only one DC in a domain.

HEC Dissolution to Provincial Level.

The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) in now dissolved to provincial level. Former chairman of HEC and the pioneer of lucrative educational policies Dr. Atta Ur Rehman is terming this as a "National Disaster." In an interview on a private news television channel he mentioned some the most obvious reasons for this dissolution which are:

1. To avoid degree scrutiny by our political leaders as member of the parliament needs to hold a graduate degree. The verification of these degrees was given to the HEC and as a result created a rift between the commission and the political circles.

2. To get illegal access to huge lands owned by different universities around Pakistan.

3. To further practice corruption within the education sector and to nurture respective political ideologies. As after this, it will be the provincial regulatory committees responsible for the provision of scholarships, grants and to oversee state and private universities. As a result, it would be soon that one would be able to find two-room universities in different corners of the country nurturing different political ideologies.

Now as a graduate myself in Pakistan and hoping to pursue my doctorate studies here; What do students like me fear? To start with, HEC now working as cells around Pakistan would lose its centralized transparent structure as we already have seen how incompetent our provincial structure is. Thanks to the 18th amendment of Pakistan constitution; which is dubbed to be the best thing happened to Pakistan since the 1973 constitution but only if we had a reliable strong political structure. Given the present scenario everyone is aware how dire this step is and what consequences we would be visible in few years time.

I also fear the the different grants and scholarships available to the Pakistani students from different governments and organizations around the would would be stopped. Its has been only few hours since the news of HEC dissolution is announced and already we had a statement from the present HEC chairman Dr. Javaid Laghari that the USAID and World Bank has stopped their aid which sums up to about $550 billion that was to be used by HEC for the coming 5 years to carry out different projects. Apart from these future promises, the present structure of the commission in question is also uncertain of its future like the HEC Digital Library and HEC e-learning.

Now the interesting thing would be to see how the nation responds to this. Dr. Atta-Ur-Rehman and Dr. Javed Leghari are already appearing on different news channels to sum up these mentioned facts to the nation. What matters now is would there be someone to carry out any action on this unfolding situation. I hope and I pray that there would be some patriotic Pakistanis among us that would stand up to this matter and do justice with it.

Mobile Communication Technologies for Dummies.

Different communication technologies and then the different standards between countries and upon it the non-stop introduction of wireless gadgets often makes me confused and eventually I mix up the concepts. Now I decided to make myself a simple/easy to understand table for a quick review of these technologies.

Generation	Name	Year	Frequency	Data Rate
1G	AMPS – Advanced Mobile Phone System (using FDMA)	1980’s	800 – 900 MHz
1G	D-AMPS – Digital AMPS (adding TDMA to AMPS)		800 – 900 MHz
2G	IS-95 (using CDMA)	1990’s	800 MHz
2G	GSM – Global System for Mobile Communication (using TDMA)	1990’s	900 – 1800 MHz
2G	GSM GPRS – General Packer Radio Services (by 3GPP*)	2000		144 Kbps
2.5G	1xRTT – One Time Radio Transmission Technology (by 3GPP2**)	2002		144 Kbps
2.5G	EDGE – Enhanced Data GSM Environment (by 3GPP)	2003		384 Kbps
3G	UMTS – Universal Mobile Telecommunication System	2002	1885 – 2025 MHz	1.92 Mbps
3G	UMTS HSDPA – High Speed Downlink Packet Access	2002		14.4 Mbps
3G	EV-DO – 1x-Evolution-Data Optimized (using CDMA) (by 3GPP2)			2.4 Mbps
3G	EV-DO Rev. A (by 3GPP2)			3.1 Mbps
3G	EV-DO Rev. B (by 3GPP2)			4.9 Mbps
4G	UMB *** – Ultra Mobile Broadband (by 3GPP2)			288 Mbps downstream
4G	LTE – Long Term Evolution (by 3GPP)	2009	1920 Mhz – 3600 Mhz	100 Mbps downstream 30 Mbps upstream

* - 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project. Body responsible of up-gradation of GSM networks in Europe, Japan, North America, South Korea.

** - 3GPP2 3rd Generation Partnership Project. Body responsible for up-gradation of CDMA networks in US (also South Korea and Japan.)

*** - Instead of adopting UMB, it has now been decided favoring LTE instead by the service providers.

4G is currently implemented in Sweden and South Korea. UK has recently declared licenses for 4G service provision. While in Pakistan 2.5G EDGE is currently implemented but not a single provider has upgraded to 3G. Huawei did implemented a couple of experimental 3G sites but its not sure where some operator would adopt it in near future.

P.S: Stuff here has been collected from various online resources and there might be some errors. So please do point them out so I can correct them.

Executable Bit: Wine error in Ubuntu 10.10

If you are bothered by the Windows .exe files execution under the Wine in Ubuntu 10.10 and getting this error:

Blocked: wine start/unix

The file '/media/My Passport/Softwares/Setup.exe' is not marked as

executable. If this was downloaded or copied from an untrusted source, it may be dangerous to run. For more details, read about the executable bit.

Then you are at the right place. Just do the following:

1. Copy the .exe file to your system (home/desktop: Just to make it sure the file is not on a removable media.)

2. Right click on the .exe file. Click Properties.

3. Click Permissions tab.

4. Check the option: Execute: Allow executing file as program.

5. Close and run it.

You would able be execute it without any errors this time with Wine.

"Mapping of User Quality-of-Experience" published.

So it is official now. My research findings are now published by Lambert Academic Publishing. So super excited to receive my first copy any day soon. If you are interested in this area of study you can get your self a copy here.

ISBN-13: 978-3-8433-8978-5
ISBN-10: 3843389780
EAN: 9783843389785