Mapping a drive means that you want permanent access to a shared folder created on another computer. Windows OS will assign a drive letter to the network drive and it can be accessed just like any other local drive connected to your computer.

Mapping network drives with group policy preference is very easy and it does not require any scripting knowledge. Also, We can use item-level targeting to map drives based on specific conditions like group membership, OU, operating system, etc.

In this example,  We will use item-level targeting so it only maps the network drive for users who are a member of the specific security group.

For this guide already I have created.
Two users with the name HR User1 and HR User2
One security group name HRUsers. (HR User 1 is a member of this security group)

One shared folder on a domain controller (\\WD19DC1\HR Data)

Step:1 Create a group policy object to map a network drive:
Open the Group Policy Management Console.

In the Group Policy Management Console, right-click on group policy objects and select new.

Specify a proper name (Map Network Drive using Group Policy Preference GPO) to the new group policy object.

On the group policy object right-click and select the edit option.

Navigate to User Configuration → Preferences → Windows Settings → Drive Maps.

Right Click Drive Maps, Select New –> Mapped Drive.

On “General” tab specify the details as below:
Action: Create.
Location: \\WD19DC1\HR Data.
Label as: HR Data.
Use: H. (This is going to be the drive letter)

On “Common” tab. Select “Run in logged-on user’s security context and item-level targeting check boxes. Click on targeting button.

Click on New Item. Select “Security Group” and then select the security group you want to target.

Click on ok button. (In our case it will be HRUsers security group).

Click on Apply and ok button to close the new drive properties.

This completes the GPO settings. Close group policy management editor console.

Step:2 Link group policy object:
In the Group Policy Management Console, right-click on the Domain/OU where you want to link the group policy object.

Select “Link an existing GPO”. Select the GPO (In our case it will be Map Network Drive GPO).
Click on ok button.

Step:3 Test the result:
On the client computer, Login with the user who is a member of HRUsers security group that we have added in the item-level targeting to verify that our policy of mapping drive using Item Level Targeting GPO is deployed or not.

Verify that mapped drive using item-level targeting is deployed successfully by accessing the mapped drive naming HR Data (H) .

Log off from user account HR Users1 and log in as an HR user2 (who is not a member of HRUsers security group).

Verify that mapped drive is not present under file explorer.

It works perfectly fine for us.
Now, any user we put in the HRUsers security group will get this mapped drive.

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Active Directory Recycle Bin was released back in 2012 with the releases of Windows Server 2012. And with the release of Server 2016 the technology Is more mature and easy to use.

Administrators can restore deleted Items with a few easy clicks with Active Directory Recycle Bin. However, for the feature to work the recycle bin need to be enabled first and once enabled you can’t disable it.

If you’ve deleted a user before enabling the AD Recycle Bin, you won’t be able to restore it.

Deleted object will stay in the recycle bin for 180 days.

You will need an Administrator account first.

Log In a Domain Controller or a Server that has the RSAT tools Installed and open Active Directory Administrative Center

In the ADAC right-click on the domain and click on Enable Recycle Bin…

Confirm by clicking OK

Click OK

Once done, Refresh the console and you will see a new Deleted Objects OU. Next time you delete a user and need to restore it you will see In the OU

If you click on a deleted object you will have the option to restore it its original location or a different location

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Demoting a Windows Server domain controller Is a very common task In the lifecycle of every Active Directory Infrastructure and it’s something every Systems Administrator or Systems Engineer will have to do some day.

Saying that many admins are still keeping their old Windows Server DCs online because of they afraid they will break Active Directory when removing it, This post will show you how to do the right way and optimize your Infrastructure.

It’s a known that old and unmanaged Domain Controller cause 80% of Active Directory replication and Health Issue.

First, and before demoting your Domain Controller, make sure the items below are fulfilled

• You’ve moved the FSMO roles to another Server
• You have at least two domain controllers in the forest
• Active Directory Replication Is working 100%
• The Domain Controller Is not the last DC In the forest

To complete this process, you will need to use a user account with Domain Admins permissions.

To get started, Logg into the Domain Controller with an admin user account and run the command below.

Dcpromo

This will start the Active Directory Domain Services Installation wizard

“OK” to confirm that the Server will no longer act a global catalog server

Click next

Again, click next and wait, this part can take a few minutes to complete

“Finish” and restart the Server

After restart log Into the Server and you will see that the server is now just a member server.

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Introduction

“Flexible Single Master Operation” (FSMO) is a Microsoft Active Directory feature that is a specialized domain controller task used when standard data transfer and update methods are inadequate. Tasks that do not suit multi-master replication are only viable as flexible single-master operations.

Multi-master models have a number of operators, which are held by a single master. This problem is solved by applying a number of operations to a single domain controller. A single domain controller holds the role for a particular operation and is the single master for that operation. These operation masters are called flexible single-master operations.

The FSMO roles are logical Server roles that control the management and operation of an Active Directory Domain, the roles are listed below:

• Schema master
• Domain naming master
• RID master
• PDC emulator
• Infrastructure master

In most Active Directory environments the roles are located on the first deployed Domain Controller and In most places, the roles are always kept together for simplicity reasons.

When upgrading a Domain or retiring a Server we must move the roles before decommissioning the old Domain Controller.

FSMO Transfer

The move operation is done using 3 consoles as you will see below.

To get started, Open Active Directory Users and Computer and right-click on the domain and select Change domain Controller to the new Domain Controller

How to Move FSMO Roles on Windows Server 2016

Once connected to the new DC, Right click again on the Domain and select “Operations Masters”.

From here I’ll change 3 roles as you will see below

To move the role, Click change

Next, I’ll change the Domain Naming roles, by opening Active Directory Domains and Trusts and again right click on Operations Master

Once again, Click change

How to Move FSMO Roles on Windows Server 2016

Next, I’ll move the scheme Master Role, for that I’ll need to register Schema master MMC Console for the run task bar: Regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll

Once the MMC registered, Open the MMC and the “Active Directory Schema” snap-in

Once again, right click and select “Change Domain Controller”.

Select the New DC from the menu and click OK

Right Click again select Operations Master

Click Change

Finally, To verify that FSMO roles have moved to the new Server, type the cmdlet:

netdom query fsmo

Felicitation, you have done a great job. Now you can securely remove the old Domain Controller.

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Install the Data Deduplication Feature

In Windows Server 2016, Data Deduplication is a role that can be installed. You’ll find the role under File and Storage Services, File and iSCSI Services.

1. In the Add Roles and Features wizard, select Server Roles.
2. Expand File and Storage Services.
3. Expand File and iSCSI Services.
4. Select the Data Deduplication role.

5. Click Next until the Install button is active, and then click Install.

You can also use PowerShell. If you’re logged into the server you want to install the Data Deduplication role on, use this command to install the role:

Enable Data Deduplication for a Disk

The Data Deduplication role can be enabled in Server Manager, but before we enable the role, we’ll need to select the appropriate Usage Type that most closely resembles the workload we’re enabling Data Deduplication for. As of this writing, there are only three different Usage Types included with the Data Deduplication role:

• Default – Tuned specifically for general purpose file servers
• Hyper-V – Tuned specifically for VDI servers
• Backup – Tuned specifically for virtualized backup applications such as Microsoft DPM

1. In Server Manager, select File and Storage Services.

2. Select Volumes from File and Storage Services.

3. Right-click the target volume and select Configure Data Deduplication.

4. Select the Usage Type from the drop-down box.

5. If you’d like to change the Data Deduplication schedule, you can do so now by clicking the Set Deduplication Schedule button.

6. Click OK.

Once done, you will be able to see Deduplication Savings from the same screen

This is the recommended workloads. If you’re running other workloads, or are curious, check out this Other considerations article from Microsoft. And if you’d like to dive a bit deeper into what can be changed, take a look at this Advanced Data Deduplication settings article.

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It also supports other operating systems because unlike its predecessor RIS, which was a method of automating the installation process, WDS uses disk imaging, in particular, the Windows Imaging Format (WIM).

WDS is included as a Server Role on Windows Server 2016, Installation time takes 5 minutes the most and there are no prerequisites except the Windows Server hardware requirements.

Install WDS Role

To complete this article successfully, you will need the following:

• Windows 10 ISO Image
• DHCP Server on the same network as the WDS Server
• Domain Admin account for the Installation and booting machines to WDS

To Install WDS on Windows Server 2016, Start Server Manager and Select Windows Deployment Service

You could also use Microsoft PowerShell to Install WDS using the one liner

add-WindowsFeature wds,wds-deployment, wds-transport, wds-adminpack

Add Windows 10 image

Open the WDS and click on “Install Images” ⇾ Add Install Image

Windows Deployment Services.

Browse to the Windows 10 ISO Image and select the “boot.wim” file from the D:\sources folder

Add Image Wizard.

Next, We will add the Windows 10 Installation image from the Window 10 ISO image

Right click on “Install Images” and click on add install image

Select “Install.wim” from the D:\Sources folder on the ISO Image

Click on Next

You will see it under “Install Images”

Install Windows 10 from the network

To Install the image on a Virtual machine or physical computer boot the computer from the network (F12) follow the prompt

In the Select, Operating System page select Windows 10 and click Next

WDS will Install Windows 10 without any prompt and will join it to the domain

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Prerequisites

There are a few prerequisites for this method of deployment to work, but the requirements are ridiculously easy to meet. First off, this method of deployment is for network printers or shared printers.

Any printers installed locally on a client PC and not shared are not an option for deployment via Group Policy Objects (GPOs). Also, your clients need to be running Windows 7 or above, and last but not least, you need an Active Directory (AD) installation that can run Group Policy Preferences (GPPs), introduced with Server 2008. Also, for this article, I’ll assume you are already comfortable setting up a network printer and creating a printer share and have already done so.

We’ll be using GPPs to configure and control the printer deployment options. If you’ve never used GPPs, you’re in for a treat. It’s one of the best features Microsoft has given admins for really getting creative with Group Policy deployment criteria.

Computer vs. User Deployment

The image below shows that GPPs live inside a GPO. There are separate preferences sections for the Computer Configuration and the User Configuration. Both sections have many of the same options, but there are differences. I highlighted the Printers section in each GPP. So why two sections? How do I know which one to use?

Group Policy can deploy settings to computers or users. The same is true for GPPs. For printing, you can choose to deploy a printer to a computer or by individuals and groups; the difference comes down to how you want to manage your printers.

Deploying a printer via GPPs to a computer will install it for all users that log in to a client computer and only on that computer. Conversely, a deploying a printer via GPPs to a user will only install it into the profile of the user you specify. However, installing printers per user will install them everywhere that user logs in.

You should install a printer reserved for the executives via the User Configuration; manage a printer needed for all users of a computer via the Computer Configuration. Here’s the interesting part though—you could deploy the same printer using both methods if you needed to, but it may get a little challenging trying to troubleshoot issues. So I don’t recommend you do this.

Printer configuration

Getting started deploying printers with GPPs is a very straightforward task. The first thing we need is a Group Policy to work with. I expect you understand how to link a GPO to an organizational unit (OU) and target the GPO correctly. From there, you need to decide if you want to deploy printers to users or computers. Most of the printers in my network are deployed to groups of users rather than to computers regardless of who is logged in. For this scenario, I would use the User Configuration section of the GPO.

Adding a printer to deploy is a wizard-driven process. You’ll add one entry for each printer you wish to deploy. Since I want to deploy to users, I open my printer deployment GPO and drill down to the preferences section of the User Configuration. Then I right-click on the Printers option in the left-hand side of the window. There are three choices for deployment: Shared Printer, TCP/IP Printer, and Local Printer. I’ve set up my printers to use shared names, so I will select the Shared Printer option.

In the dialog box that opens, you’ll configure all the options for the printer. There are two tabs of configuration options. First, we’ll work on the General tab, which has three fields to configure.

There are three pieces of information needed to add a printer to the GPO: printer path, printer update action, and who will receive the printer installation. Let’s walk through each one.

• Printer path: This is the shared path of the printer, and you’ll add the info to the Share path entry of the dialog box.
• Action: This field controls what will happen when the GPO runs on the client PC. There are four options here: Create, Replace, Update, and Delete.
  • Create and Delete do exactly as you would expect. Selecting one of these options tells the GPO to create the printer if it isn’t already installed or delete the printer if installed previously.
  • Update causes the GPO to update any printer info since the last time the GPO ran on this machine.
  • Replace will cause the printer to “replace” the installed shared printer every time the GPO runs. Let me explain further.

For printer installs, Create, Update, and Replace are the logical options, but what’s the difference between those choices? The Create option will install a printer once and then ignore any updates on subsequent GPO refreshes. Update will install a printer if it is missing (the same as Create) but also update any changed information since the last refresh. Lastly, Replace will delete a printer and reinstall it on every GPO refresh.

When would you use the Replace option? Printer migrations!

I use Update for all of my printers. However, if I change the path of the printer from an old server to a new server, Update creates a second printer with the same name but a different path. Replace fixes this by effectively deleting the print queue and reinstalling each time the GPO runs.

This is not a great option for everyday work, but for migrations, Replace is the best option for deleting old printer queues and replacing them with the newer versions. There is an option to set a printer as a default printer, but I usually do not set that value. Instead, I let the end users decide which printer they want to be their default.

Item-level targeting

Once you have configured the printer path and the Action, you need to configure who will receive this printer. Item-level targeting describes the selection criteria, and you can find it on the Common tab.

The common tab has some often-overlooked options I want to bring to your attention. I mentioned item-level targeting, which has its own checkbox and button. We’ll need to check the box to enable the option to select who gets the printer. But before we explore this option, I want to point out the checkbox for Run in logged-on user’s security context (user policy option). This checkbox is critical for deployment.

GPPs run under the local system account. This box tells the GPO to install the printer as the logged-on user rather than as the system. If you do not check this box, the printer install will fail because the local system account doesn’t have privileges to the shared location of the printer path.

This checkbox has burned me many times, so I want to make sure you always remember to think about this option when deploying printers, mapped drives, or shortcuts that point to network locations.

Finally, let’s review how you can “target” the printer for a subset of users. I’ll start off by saying that last sentence is actually not 100% correct. If you refer to the picture below, you’ll notice two choices: Security Group and User. These will probably be how most admins deploy their printers, but they’re certainly not the only choices you have.

There are many options for selection criteria, such as by OU or IP address range. You can get very creative with how you deploy your printers. I’ll walk you through deploying to a group of users.

Selecting the Security Group option  presents me with a second dialog box that lets me enter a group name. This is standard AD lookup stuff and probably looks familiar.

Once you have selected a valid security group, click OK twice, and the dialog box disappears. At this point, you have configured the printer for the deployment. I will mention that there are other options in the Targeting Editor window for making really complex selections, but I’ll leave that for you to explore on your own.

You can configure hundreds of printers to deploy from one single GPO if you prefer. This is all because of the granular control you can apply to each printer via GPPs. When you configure a few more printers, your GPP panel will look like the image below.

Conclusion

I have walked you through the most important options you need to configure to deploy a printer successfully to a group using GPPs. These options are super powerful, and I encourage you to explore the options to see how they can help you configure client PCs and servers in ways you may have never considered. If you have any follow-up questions about how to deploy printers, please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading, and I hope this becomes a useful guide you can refer back to any time you need a refresher on printer deployment options.

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When Docker first released a containerization product, they started with Linux as a base platform. In 2014, Docker and Microsoft announced partnership to provide a consistent platform to build, ship, and run any application. On Windows Server 2016, Docker and Microsoft came out with container technology that provided a consistent experience across both Linux and Windows Server environments.

In 2017, they released Docker Swarm with the ability to create mixed Windows Server and Linux clusters. In 2018, this release followed with added support for the Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) Windows Server 1709 and 1803 versions. With Windows Server 2019 (the 1809 build), Microsoft managed to bring the containers to Windows on par with containers on Linux systems.

At present, thousands of enterprise customers are widely using Docker on Windows in production environments. However, there’s always been a subtle functionality difference between Windows containers and Linux containers. Microsoft Windows Server is closing that gap rapidly with new releases.

Install the Hyper-V feature

On Windows platforms, you can run containers in two modes: process isolation and Hyper-V isolation. In process isolation mode, containers share the OS kernel with the host and hence are lightweight and similar to how containers work on Linux systems.

Conversely, in Hyper-V isolation mode, each container runs inside a special minimal virtual machine. Thus, it provides secure kernel-level isolation and enhanced compatibility. You need to enable Hyper-V in the host OS to run containers in Hyper-V isolation mode.

When we install Docker on a Windows server, the default mode of operation is process isolation. And enabling Hyper-V is optional. However, if we need to run Linux containers, enabling Hyper-V is required.

The second factor that determines whether to go for the Hyper-V feature is the OS build. Windows containers need to have the same build version as the version of the container host OS they run on. Container images tagged as 1809 would work on the latest 1809 Windows version builds. However, if we have built container images on a lower version of Windows than the container host OS, we can run these containers with Hyper-V isolation, which requires enabling Hyper-V.

You can install Hyper-V on Windows Server using the PowerShell command below:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V -IncludeManagementTools -Restart

Also, we need to note here that we can switch between process isolation and Hyper-V isolation during runtime using the parameter isolation while spinning up Docker containers

Container host prerequisites

Though this article’s scope is for Windows Server 2019 (1809), the steps demonstrated here could also very well apply to other Windows Server builds, including Windows Server version 1803, Windows Server version 1709, and Windows Server 2016.

If you want to use Hyper-V isolation in your container, you need to enable virtualization in the hosting platform. If the container host is running on hardware, you need to enable the hardware virtualization feature, such as Intel VT-x, in BIOS. And if the container host is running from Hyper-V or from a cloud environment, you need to enable nested virtualization in the base platform.

Install the containers feature

For containerization to work, you need to install the Windows container feature on the Windows container host. Use the command below to install the containers feature and reboot the computer.

Install-WindowsFeature containers -Restart

Install Docker

Docker consists of two major components: the Docker engine and the Docker client. The Docker engine is available in two editions: Docker Engine CE and Docker Engine EE. The Docker Engine CE is a free product. Conversely, the Docker Engine EE requires a license. The diagram below illustrates the architectural difference between the two.

From a user-experience perspective, Docker provides two sets of products or packaged bundles: namely, Docker Desktop and Docker Enterprise.

As for Docker Desktop Community/Enterprise, they designed this product set considering developers and a development environment in mind. Docker Desktop provides an installation wizard, a management UI, and several other utilities for improving deployment. Docker Desktop is supported on Windows 10 and Mac. It comes with the Docker Engine CE or EE depending on the product tier we choose.

Docker targets its enterprise product suite toward production environments. This includes the Docker enterprise engine along with its certified plug-ins, well-integrated product line, and trusted repositories. Overall, it aligns with the enterprise requirements for use in a production environment.

In this article, we are going to install Docker Engine EE on Windows Server 2019. To get the full functionality of the EE edition, we need to purchase the EE license from Docker.

The process for installing Docker EE on Windows Server is quite simple with the introduction of the OneGet provider PowerShell Module. As a first step, install the Docker-Microsoft PackageManagement Provider module from the PowerShell Gallery.

Install-Module -Name DockerMsftProvider -Repository PSGallery -Force

We can use the commands below to view the installed package provider and the Docker package made available through it.

Get-PackageProvider -ListAvailableget-packagesource -ProviderName DockerMsftProvider

Next, we will use the PackageManagement PowerShell module command Install-Package to install the latest version of Docker.

Install-Package -Name docker -ProviderName DockerMsftProvider

Docker verification

After installing the Docker package and we have our command prompt back, we need to start the Docker service using the command below.

Start-Service Docker

When we run the Docker service for the first time, it creates a virtual switch/interface viewable through our Control Panel pane.

Also, we can verify the Docker virtual network creation using the Docker command below. The default name of the bridge or switch in a Windows environment is NAT.

docker network ls

This virtual switch lays the foundation of networking for containers to communicate with each other as well as talk with the container host.

Next, we can run the Docker version command to check the details of our deployment setup. We can verify the Docker engine and client version from the command output.

docker version

And lastly, to confirm the Docker client-engine communication is working fine and installation is complete, run the command docker info. This provides us with system metadata along with the current container stats.

Launch a Windows container on Windows Server 2019

Now that we have completed the installation and verified everything is working smoothly, it’s time to run our first Windows container on Docker.

Here we need to consider two factors. First, we can create Windows container images with four container base images: Windows Server Core, Nano Server, Windows, and IoT Core.

When we spin a container from these images, we need to verify the compatibility between the container host OS and the container base image. In other words, containers based on Windows Server Core, Nano Server, or Windows as the base image can run on a Windows 2019 container host. However, a container based on an IoT Core image cannot run on Windows Server 2019. An IoT Core container requires Windows IoT Core as a container host.

Second, to repeat, Windows containers need to match the version of the container host OS. Container images with the 1809 tag work with the latest Windows versions. However, if we have container images built on a lower version of Windows than the container host OS, we can run these containers with Hyper-V isolation

Considering these two factors, let’s verify the build version of our container host with this command: winver

As the container host build version is 1809, let’s try to download a Nano Server image from the Microsoft image/container registry to the local machine:

docker image pull mcr.microsoft.com/windows/nanoserver:1809

We can verify the locally available image along with its metadata information, such as size, image ID, and creation date:

docker image ls

We can use the downloaded image for baking our application into it and creating a new container. But for simplicity, let’s launch a basic container that will run just a simple command inside the OS and exit:

docker container run mcr.microsoft.com/windows/nanoserver:1809 hostname

This command created a new container from the Windows Nano Server image, and the container outputted the machine name of the container, a random ID set by Docker. To see more information about the container we created just now, run the command below.

docker container ls -a

Thus, we have launched a Windows container on Windows Server 2019, considering some factors for Docker on Windows. In the next article, we’ll discuss Linux containers on Windows (LCOW), LinuxKit, Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 and how to run your first Linux container on Windows Server 2019.

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Edge integration with cloud services at an early stage

The latter aims to replace Google services with their Microsoft equivalents. This includes setting up Bing as the standard search engine, synchronizing user profiles via Azure instead of Google Cloud, or using SmartScreen instead of Google Safe Browsing.

In a further step, Microsoft wants to integrate services that are particularly appealing to companies. Examples include logging on to Azure Active Directory with support for conditional access and integrating the Information Protection DRM service to prevent users from printing or copying specific pages.

An enterprise tab is also planned, which automatically displays content from an intranet, frequently used web applications, or documents from Office 365 when opened.

The integration of most of these services is underway and will be available in upcoming releases. At some point, the Windows 10 security feature “Application Guard” will run the browser in an isolated VM to prevent malware from infecting the system.

Due to its management features, Microsoft has already declared the current preview to be Ready for Business. The focus is on the administrative templates that are now available, so that companies can manage the browser using group policies. In the future, the settings available for GPOs will also be offered as CSPs for Mobile Device Management.

ADMX from the Chromium project

One might be surprised that Microsoft was able to provide more than 180 GPO settings for the Chromium-based browser right away, since the predecessor only had about 50 after several updates.

However, a comparison with Chrome’s group policies shows that Microsoft did not develop the GPO support for Edge itself. The ADMX template is essentially from Chromium, and Microsoft has only added or changed a few settings.

Microsoft did not or was not allowed to completely remove those settings that were tailored for Google services. Hence, the template still contains settings for Google SafeSearch, YouTube, and Cast.

The settings follow Chrome’s logic, which is atypical for group policies, because some of them only define default values that can be changed by the user. The configuration by GPOs is normally mandatory, whereas the Group Policy Preferences are meant to set modifiable default values.

This design by Google is obviously a tribute to a multi-platform browser that should be managed with similar settings across all operating systems.

In order not to lose track of the many settings admins might have configured through group policies, Edge provides a detailed list, which can be found using the URL edge://policy

Again, this is not an invention of Microsoft. Rather, all Chromium-based browsers have this feature (in Chrome you enter chrome://policy). In addition, the ZIP archive with the ADMX templates contains documentation in HTML format like Chrome, and the file is called microsoftedge_policy_list.html.

Deployment via offline installer

Microsoft advertises the availability of an offline installer as another business feature. Private users receive a setup program by default that downloads the required binaries from the Internet. The MSI package contains all the files required for the browser. It also allows silent installation via group policies, SCCM, or similar tools.

As you can easily see, the new Edge is a Win32 application and no longer a UWP app. The implementation as an app turned out to be a major mistake. As such, it has not been available on older versions of Windows or on Windows 10 LTSC. Because of its dependence on Windows 10, Edge’s market share has remained low so far.

It can be safely assumed that the Chromium-based browser will be shipped with the operating system in the future. But if you are still working with older versions of the OS, you can install Edge yourself. Previews for Windows 7 and 8.x are already available. Microsoft also offers the browser for macOS; Edge already runs on Chromium under Android.

Installation into the user profile

From Chromium, Edge also inherits a peculiarity that admins don’t like much. If users lack administrative rights, the setup will install the browser in their profile. This allows them to bypass the company’s standard browser.

However, if you install Edge as an administrator under the directory %ProgramFiles%, the setup removes the private installations on this computer.

No more updates using WSUS

Due to Edge’s multi-platform orientation, Microsoft uses a unified mechanism for updates like the one already used in Chrome.

If admins do not want to have another auto-updater in their network that receives the bits for each individual computer separately, they can disable it via a GPO. Microsoft provides its own ADMX template for the management of updates.

However, it is then up to the companies to keep the browser up to date by distributing the latest MSIs. This is especially important when security issues have been fixed. Compared to Internet Explorer, this means a step backwards because the legacy browser can be automatically updated via WSUS in a corporate environment.

Switching between languages

The decoupling of Edge from Windows is also evident in another feature. Chromium-based Edge allows the user to switch between different languages. Normally, a Windows application should automatically adopt the regional settings of the operating system.

In a browser, switching between display languages can lead to unwanted problems because the value for ACCEPT_LANGUAGE in the HTTP header also changes. Many websites then automatically present their content in the language specified there.

Internet Explorer mode

As an additional feature for companies in the current preview, Microsoft names the Internet Explorer mode, previously known as IE Enterprise mode. Its purpose is to redirect web pages to the IE if they cannot be displayed properly in a modern browser.

To do this, you create a site list in XML format and load it via a GPO. The URLs stored there will be opened automatically by Internet Explorer in the future. This process is transparent for the user, the page will simply open in a new tab.

The post How to Install Microsoft Edge (Chromium) Using Group Policy appeared first on Linux Windows and android Tutorials.

Cases in which you run an evaluation and then need to convert it to retail are numerous. Yes, this is really useful for environments created for a proof-of-concept (POC) purpose that then decide to go to production. In such cases, it’s a great time-saver because you don’t have to start from scratch.

Some features of Windows Server 2019 need the Datacenter edition instead of the Standard edition installed. You should know you can also convert the Standard to the Datacenter edition without reinstalling, and this post will show you how.

The possibility of converting a Microsoft OS isn’t new, but previously, back in the day, this was not really possible.

Although in this post we’ll focus only on converting licenses or editions, you might be looking also for upgrade options. There’s support for some use cases but not others.

Supported and unsupported cases

There are situations when an upgrade won’t work. Let’s have a look.

If you think that upgrading between server versions is easy, it might be in some situations. You should not underestimate it. But you need to be aware of some considerations first.

Here are a couple of known facts about upgrading from a previous release of Windows Server (WS 2012 or WS 2016):

• There’s no support for upgrading from one language to another. You’ll have to upgrade to the same language. You can then change the language UI only.
• If you have a domain controller (DC), you’ll need to run a Forestprep and Domainprep prior to the upgrade. You should follow the usual Microsoft checklist concerning DCs before the upgrade.
• There’s no support for converting the Core edition to Server with the UI, even though some sources have been saying Microsoft will finally implement this in WS 2019. They have not.
• You can’t downgrade from Standard back to Eval. There’s no support for upgrading from a previous Windows Server installation to an evaluation copy. You can and should install evaluation versions as clean installs.
• You can convert the evaluation version of Windows Server 2019 Standard to either Windows Server 2019 Standard (retail) or Datacenter (retail).

Upgrade Windows Server 2019 Evaluation to Full

If you have installed Windows Server 2019 StandardEvaluation or DatacenterEvaluation, you have essentially only 180 days to test any features of the new server platform version. This might be enough for some but not for others.

During this period, all features of Windows Server 2019 are fully working and available. However, after the trial period is over, the system starts to ask for activation and powers down every hour. This is quite annoying.

The Windows License expiration notice displays on regular basis.

First, check the version that’s running with this command:
DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

You’ll see a message about the edition you currently have.

Now we can get the list of editions you can convert your current Eval edition to: DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions

And you should get this output:

To upgrade to the edition you want, you can run a PowerShell command to perform the actual edition upgrade. You’ll need, however, a valid serial number to do this.

Run this command: DISM /online /Set-Edition: /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX /AcceptEula

So to upgrade from Eval to Standard, use this command: DISM /Online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx /AcceptEula

From Eval to Datacenter, use this command: DISM /Online /Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /ProductKey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx /AcceptEula

You’ll get a prompt to reboot the server during which the server will change its edition.

The server will run through the image-conversion process and then restart twice. After the server reboots, you’ll need to reactivate it and enter the key again.

How to convert the Standard edition to Datacenter

This is basically the same process as above. The main difference is the system we’re on is on Standard already, not Eval.

We’ll be using PowerShell, even if apparently other ways exist. From an elevated command prompt, use this command: DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

You’ll see a message about the edition you currently have.

Then simply run this command, which is the same as the one to go from Eval Standard to Datacenter: DISM /Online /Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter /ProductKey:xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx /AcceptEula

You must enter a valid product key to continue with the upgrade process. It’ll ask you to reboot.

It’s worth noting that if you’ve used an evaluation edition to build a DC for your POC, you can’t change the edition. You’ll either need to build a new DC, demote the evaluation edition DC, or convert Eval to Standard (or Datacenter) and then promote it again for a DC.

You can also use this command to change your edition between other types, such as Datacenter or Essentials.

By simply running a few PowerShell commands, you can check the currently installed edition, see which version you can upgrade to, and also run the actual upgrade PowerShell command.

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