VNC Server Installation on CentOS 6

[1] Install VNC Server to operate Server with GUI remotely from Windows client.

                                                                                                                                                                        

   [2]  Install VNC viewer on client computer next. Download from the site below to install. 

     Start VNC viewer after installing. Then following scrren is shown. Input [(Server's hostname or IP address):(display number)] like following example.

 

[3]	Password is required. Input VNC password you set in the section [1].

[4]	Just connected.

            

The terminal server has exceeded the maximum number of allowed connections

Resolving the error: "The terminal server has exceeded the maximum number of allowed connections"

When a user establishes a Remote Desktop connection to the server this connection will remain active until the user selects "Log Off" from the Start Menu. As such, if a user simply closes the remote desktop window when they're finished with the server, that username will remain logged on.
The software running on the server to facilitate the Remote Desktop connection will allow for up to two simultaneous administrative sessions.
If a third attempt is made to login to the server, the error discussed here will be shown to the user, and they will be unable to complete the login process.
To get around this error and log into the server, you can log into a special session call the Console Session in order to Log Out the other connections.
To do this, simply type the following in a Start -> Run or Command Prompt.

mstsc /v:00.00.00.00 /admin
Replace 00.00.00.00 with your server's IP Address.
Alternatively you may also modify the Remote Desktop Shortcut by going to:
For Windows Vista/7: Click Start, type remote desktop. Right Click the shortcut, click properties.
In the target field paste the following command: %systemroot%\system32\mstsc.exe /admin
For Windows XP: Click Start, go to All Program > Accessories > Communications > Right click Remote Desktop Connection and click properties.
In the target field paste the following command: %systemroot%\system32\mstsc.exe /admin
Click OK to save the change.
Now type in the IP of your server and you should be able to login via the Console.

Once logged into the server, right click on your task bar and select 'Task Manager'from the list. When the 'Task Manager' comes up, select the 'Users' tab. In this window, you will see all of the users currently connected to the server. Select a disconnected user, and then click the 'Log off' button at the bottom to clear it.   
   
Once this has been completed, log the session you are using off and you should be able to connect as normal.
Please use this session only to properly terminate the other two active sessions.

Install Openfire on Linux.

This article describes how to install Openfire IM server onto a Linux platform with a step by step, screen shot assisted guide.

Firstly you need to download the packages. This example uses RedHat packages for Fedora Linux, your system maybe similar and you can still follow the guide, but substistue packaging commands like yum or rpm.

Below is an the first step of downloading the rpm , ready to install. First of all , i use the wget command to retrieve the rpm.

Installing the Openfire RPM on Fedora 11

Now you need to install the rpm, using the rpm program, with the arguments -i for install , -v for verbose , -h hashes for progress.

I also did chkconfig --list to find out if the rpm had properly enabled openfire to start on boot, and it has.

Installing opefire on Fedora using an rpm

Start the service

Start Openfire server

Now the service is started you need to open your web browser and complete the set up in the administrative console. This console is located at http://YOURSERVER:9090

Once you browse to the admin console you will get immediate access without having to use a password, its important to complete the setup and set a password quickly so that your installation of open fire becomes secure.

Here is what the first screen of the administrative console setup looks like:

Openfire admin web console - first stage setup

Choose your language as show above and press the continue button.

Now you will see the next screen which allows your to setup the domain name and ports used, by default openfire will use the servers domain name and ports 9090 and 9091 for http and https services respectivley. This means that once installed you can administer the service in your web browser with or without using SSL/https security, as you wish.

The screen capture below shows the details for my installation server called websrv, which is a node on the local network here. If your Openfire server is out on the internet, you should use a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) like websrv.mycompany.com, instead of the short websrv name I am using.

Unless you have a conflicting service or another reason to change the default port settings, leave them as Openfire suggests.

Domain and Port setup for Openfire Linux Installation

The next step is to setup a database. There are two basic choices to follow, the simplest is to choose a built in HSQL database as this requires little administration or knowledge to achieve, recommended if you already feel out of your depth. For the more experienced user you will need to setup a database either on an external server as Openfire refers to it, or you can install a database locally as your desire.

The HSQL database lacks performance and scalability, backup and restore / administrative ease of use that a full database platform gives you.

In my example I am using the MySQL database which comes included in the Fedora distribution this machine uses, so I choose the standard database connection. Out of the box openfire supports MySQL,Oracle,Microsoft SQL,IBM DB2 databases.

Screenshot of database setup in Openfire Installation on Linux

Next I will installa new database, and then continue setup the configuration for the MySQL database, before I press the continue button I will check the database settings on the command line and make sure it is working.

Because I am installing this server as a quick example, i am going to use the mysql root user. In your server you should use a standard user or restricted database user !

Enter the mysql command (with a user and password most likely , mysql -u user -p password) to get to the mysql prompt:

Screen shot of mysql database create for Openfire install on Linux

Now the database is created, i switch to the browser and complete the setup, filling in the database type and details.

Screen shot of MySQL database config

Once you have succesfully configured the database, you get to the profiles page. In profile settings you get the chance to setup integration with your LDAP or Active Directory services and delegate logins to the local directory. If your company uses Clearspace 2+ you can also use the Clear Space option.

For most users the default option will be the right choice, where users are configured locally on the same Openfire server.

Screen shot of Profiles setup on Openfire installation in Linux

Now we get to the final part of the administrative console setup process. Here you can setup the administrator password , this stepcan be skiped but it is highly recommended to password protect your Openfire server. You will need to enter a valid email address and an admistrative password for the Openfire server.

Screen shot of Admin configuration - Openfire Installation on Linux

Now we are done ! The only thing left to do is to log into the admin interface that we just configured, you will find it at http://YOURSERVER:9090/login.jsp or simply click the login button shown in the screenshot below.

Openfire Install on Linux Completed

This concludes installation of Openfire on Linux.

MySql Installation on Linux

MySQL

MySQL is a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. For more information on MySQL, you can visit their website at www.mysql.com.

Version

This documentation was written for MySQL 5.0.45 but may be usefull with other versions.

How to install MySQL

1. Install MySQL
   yum install mysql-server mysql php-mysql

How to configure MySQL

1. Set the MySQL service to start on boot
   chkconfig --levels 235 mysqld on
2. Start the MySQL service
   service mysqld start
3. Log into MySQL
   mysql -u root
4. Set the root user password for all local domains
   SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'@'localhost' = PASSWORD('new-password');
   SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'@'localhost.localdomain' = PASSWORD('new-password');
   SET PASSWORD FOR 'root'@'127.0.0.1' = PASSWORD('new-password');
5. Drop the Any user
   DROP USER ''@'localhost';
   DROP USER ''@'localhost.localdomain';
   
6. Exit MySQL
   exit

Windows server 2003 R2 standard crack activation

1. Click on Start button.
2. Click on Run.
3. Type regedit into the Run text box and press Enter.
4. Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents

5. Note: From this step onward, the cracking process must be performed as quickly as possible, as it hacks activation stuff and Windows may change back the setting if there is a delay of more than few seconds.

Locate a string value named OOBETimer.
6. Right-click on OOBETimer, and click on Modify.
7. Change the value to FF D5 71 D6 8B 6A 8D 6F D5 33 93 FD.

Activation OOBETimer
8. Click on OK.
9. Right-click on WPAEvents and select Permissions?.
10. Click on Advanced button.
11. Uncheck the check box for Inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here.
12. Click on Apply.
13. When prompted, click COPY.
14. From there, highlight the SYSTEM line, and click Edit.
15. Choose the Deny option to ban all users from accessing and editing the key.
16. Click on OK.
17. Reboot the computer.

After the hack, Windows Home Server should run completely as a free copy, with users able to access Windows Update to get latest hotfixes and patches. The crack does not require BIOS mod.

To verify that the activation crack works after restarting the system, go to Start -> All Programs -> Activate Windows. The dialog should say Windows is already activated. Alternatively, go to Start -> Run and type oobe/msoobe /a.

Note: Some users reported that the method does not actually remove the activation grace period, even though it makes the system activated.

Putty Connection Manager Configuration

Putty Connection Manager can be used as tabbed version of Putty. It works on all the editions of Windows OS i.e Windows XP, Server 2003,Vista, Server 2008 and Windows 7.This article describes how to use Putty Connection Manager to simplify the login process to different telnet or ssh servers. Please follow the below given steps.

• Download and install the latest version of Putty Connection Manager from the site http://puttycm.free.fr/ At the time of writing this article, the direct link to the latest version is http://puttycm.free.fr/download/puttycm0.7.1.136beta.exe

• Launch Putty Connection Manager. It asks for the location of Putty.exe. Specify the location and press OK.

• Now you can see Putty connection manager window as shown below.

• Now the first thing we need to do is creating a database where we can store information of hosts and login parameters like username and user password. For this Click on File then New and then Database. Give some name to the database and create the database.

• The next thing is to create a connection. Click on File and New and then Connection.

• Specify connection name and remote sever name. Select the check box Enable Login Macro Mode

• Now select Login Macro from the left side pane. Enter username and password using which you want to connect to the remote computer.

• Click on Apply and OK
• Next it asks for destination folder. Select SSH or Telnet depending on the connection type.

That's all you need to do. After dong the above steps you can see connection manager mini window on the right side where you can see an entry for the connection we just created. If you do not see this you can make it visible by clicking on View and then clicking on Connection Manager. In the connection manager mini window double click on the connection name and it will open a putty session to the host specified in the connection settings. It will automatically supply username and password to the remote host. With in 2 to 3 seconds you can see command prompt of the remote machine.

I have started using this tool very recently and have liked it very much. One problem I have faced with this tool is that sometimes it supplies the password as username. After googling I have found that other users are also having this issue. Whenever I face this I just close the window and open a new window.

Keyboard Shortcuts:
Puttycm provides keyboard shortcuts to switch between tabs and to open new windows. These default keyboard shortcuts can also be reset. You can do this as follows.
Click on Tools in Puutycm window
Click on Options
Now click on Hotkeys.

To redefine the shortcut for any operation select the operation entry from the list and then use the New shortcut box provided in the bottom.

Some questions asked by blog readers regarding Putty Connection Manager.(PuttyCm.exe)

When I minimize Puttycm window it disappears. I can't reactivate the window using ALT-TAB too. If I try to start the application again it says 'Application already started'. How to fix this?

This can be fixed by changing Puttycm settings. Go to the menu bar, click on Tools and then Options.
Select General from the options in the left side pane. Now in the right side you can see the check button 'Hide when minimized'. In this case this would have been enabled. Unselecting this button will solve the problem.

Above tip has solved my problem. I am having one more issue now. After I minimize Puttycm windows if I try to reactivate the window by clicking on the Puttycm icon in the taskbar, it does not activate the window sometimes.

This is another known problem. You just need to use ALT-TAB to restore the window. Sometimes it does not open immediately even after pressing ALT-TAB once. Try doing it again and it will work.

I created a database and created new connections. But I do not see the connections after reopening puttycm, what happened with the old database I created?

Looks like you did not save the database. After creating a new database and new connections, you might think that all the changes are saved but they are not. You have do explicitly save the database changes by clicking on File from the menu bar and then selecting Save Database.

How to encrypt the database file? Storing passwords in plain text could be a security issue?

There is no in-built feature to encrypt database looks like. There is a check button 'Enable database encryption' in Database-> Properties but it's greyed out. May be the feature is not yet implemented.

But you can encrypt the database file using Windows EFS feature if you have a OS edition that supports the feature(XP home does not support EFS). Just right click on the file and Properties -> Advanced. Select the check button 'Enable encryption to secure data'.

Where are Puttycm's registry keys stored ?

You can find Putty connection manager's registry keys under the node HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ACS\PuTTY Connection Manager

How to disable Ctrl-R binding? Ctrl-R is a shortcut for searching command history in linux. But doing Ctrl-R in Puttycm opens up tab rename window. How to fix this?

Open Tools -> Options -> Hotkeys. Change the shortcut for rename tab to something else. You would be able to search command history now.

Downloading & Installing the vSphere Update 1 Client For Windows 7

As we pointed out earlier in the week, vSphere Update 1 now supplies a Windows 7 compatible client, one that works out of the box. However, There are some folks who have not jumped into Update 1 yet, but still need to manage vSphere hosts. Not a problem you might think, and try to hop over to the VMware site to get it. Excepting, it’s not quite there, at least not without being a few clicks deep. So how do you get it? Well…

1. Download ESXi (Register if you must)

2. On the binaries screen, select the client download (Yes it is 100MB, no it will not kill you):

Make sure to save it to your desktop. This will be important.

3. Unblock it (Right click, Properties(This is why we saved instead of ran)):

4. Run As Admin:

5. Follow the rest of the install:

Note: J# takes… a…. while…

6. Fire it up:

7. And done!