PC ProSchools – TechTalk

So hopefully we have all been using VPC 2007 to practice and dig into our XP and Server 2003 operating systems. Your PC’s operating system is referred to as the “Host” and any virtual machines you run are referred to as a “Guest.” This software allows you to emulate multiple user environments and scenarios without affecting the Host. And I’m sure quite a few of you have noticed some limitations in the emulation software. Well I am pleased to tell you that your concerns and problems have been fixed, you just need to update your computer to Windows 7. Windows Virtual PC will be released alongside Windows 7, and only supports 7 as its host operating system. Also unlike the 2007 version it requires “hardware virtualization” to be enabled in BIOS. Some Processors do not have this capability, especially if you computer is over three years old. If you have any questions about the capabilities of your processor or on how to enable, refer to How to confirm your PC can run Windows XP Mode.

Now for the good news, here are some of the new features most of us have been looking for. First off, it will now recognize USB devices and allow redirection. This means that flash drives, smartcards and various peripherals on the host machine will be seen and can be used by the guest operating system. Previously VPC software could not print to a host print device, but now with usb redirection we can print from guest to host OS printers. Also the software supports “multithreading” which allows for better use of processor time and session stability when opening multiple sessions. These are just a couple of the great new changes of the virtual software.

The best new feature in my mind is the “Windows XP Mode.” Windows 7 comes with a full version of XP SP3 in a virtual machine that can be accessed through the 7 desktop interface. It allows integrated access to all resources available to the host OS such as My Documents and applications that would use the XP environment right from the host desktop. It does this through the use of Remote Desktop to open a terminal session on the virtual machine and renders it as though it was part of you Windows 7 desktop. This is a real step up from the 2007 software.

With virtualization becoming more prevalent in the industry due to cost effectiveness and customization, Microsoft has made a wise move to update and compete with some of the other emulation software available.

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It occurred to me a while back that there are often many things overlooked when instructing Domain Name System (DNS) concepts and fundamentals within a six month timeframe.  One day very recently I noticed a lack of knowledge over a very basic element of DNS name resolution: the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) itself. 

Now before I get too deep into this article, I want to remind you that I’m not trying to lecture.  I do that enough (ha ha).  However, it concerns me that not enough students are grasping such a basic concept, and that is why I was sprung into action!  So here goes… 

I am aware that most of you get that DNS resolves FQDN’s into IP addresses assigned to those hosts.  It’s the FQDN that concerns me.  When you break down the FQDN, it basically consists of the host name of the computer or device, and the domain namespace to which the host name can be found.  Take www.google.com for example: www is the host name (the web server hosting the webpage), and google.com is the domain namespace.  To get technical with the DNS hierarchy business, google is the second level namespace, and com is the top level namespace.  One thing to remember is that DNS is a hierarchical design; you can have billions of www’s out there, but only one per namespace (microsoft.com, google.com, yahoo.com, etc). 

So if you think about it, could you submit a query to your preferred DNS server (the one listed in your TCP/IP configuration), with just the host name?  Well, no!  If you typed just “www” in Internet Explorer, how is your DNS server supposed to make any sense of that?  He’s thinking: “Great www, but for which namespace?  Come on, I need more information than that, chief!”  This is precisely why the entire FQDN is required when submitting a query to a DNS server. 

I like to think of it like a phone book.  You know the person’s name that you want to call, but you need the phone number (FQDN to IP address).  Think of the city the person lives in as the domain namespace and the person’s name as the hostname.  Once you find that, you now have the phone number (the IP address). 

Now what about a computer that is accessing internal resources within the company, and not Internet resources?  Well, let’s say that you type in the following in the Run line: \\computer5.  How does that work?  Well, on a system that is a member of a Windows Active Directory domain, it has a primary DNS suffix configured.  This suffix is nearly always the same as the Active Directory domain the system is a member of.  You can see this by going to System Properties, Computer Name tab, clicking on the Change button, and then clicking the More button. 

Think of the term “suffix”.  Going back to English class years ago, when you heard of prefix or suffix, it either meant “beginning of” (prefix) or “end of” (suffix).  This is exactly how it works with DNS.  Your computer is intelligent enough to realize that if it sends a query to its preferred DNS server, it better be in the form of an FQDN.  So if the user types “computer5” it will add, or append, the primary DNS suffix to the end of the name prior to submission to the DNS server.  If your domain was Contoso.com, then the full name (FQDN) would be computer5.contoso.com.  Now your DNS server has a domain namespace (called a lookup zone on a DNS server) to reference when looking for computer5. 

These primary DNS suffixes can come from different places too.  DHCP servers can issue out connection-specific DNS suffixes for DNS queries, and you can statically define a list of DNS suffixes to use when your computer tries to resolve unqualified names (such as computer5) in advanced TCP/IP properties. 

Now what about workgroup environments that do not have an Active Directory domain to join?  Well, without a DNS suffix assigned, either by joining a domain, from DHCP, or statically by a user, the workgroup computers have to resort to NetBIOS name resolution for unqualified names.  Without the aid of a WINS server or a configured LMHOSTS file (which is quite rare), this tends to become a broadcast-based name resolution process.  Your computer just shouts out (broadcasts) on the subnet for computer5, in hopes of getting a response from that computer.  However, if computer5 is on another subnet, the broadcast will not make it through the router connecting the two subnets and therefore fail.  This is another reason why workgroups are really only an option on singe-subnet networks. 

Well, I hope that this article makes it a little easier to understand how DNS works.  I am here to tell you that DNS, along side DHCP, is one of the most vital network infrastructure services out there.  So many networks, applications, and services rely on it, it’s literally ridiculous.  I hope that DNS intrigues you, as it does me.  I am a big fan on DNS and DHCP and I swear that I could devote hours a day to just studying both technologies.  Besides, there’s always room for a little more DNS…

I have two pieces of advice for anyone who is getting started in Information Technology. First and foremost: Don’t ever let anyone tell you that something can’t be done. Now I don’t mean that you should tell your boss that you can and will bring in your favorite La-z-boy chair because you need to feel comfortable at your desk. What I mean is that just because someone says that “this” or “that” won’t work doesn’t necessarily make it true. If everyone just went by what the book says the earth would be a dull place to live in. Be Curious. By all means listen to your colleagues and heed their advice and learn from their experiences, but don’t take everything you see and hear as 100% fact. Even Microsoft in their infinite wisdom makes the statement that some things can’t be done. People then prove them wrong. Perhaps this is done in an effort to discredit those people that say its impossible to do this or that, but I really think that the majority of people that come up with proof positive that the impossible can be done just like to feel satisfaction with themselves for doing a good job.

Secondly: Along the same lines as Curiosity there is Exploration. Curiosity in trying new and exiting way to solve problems is great, but without a big helping of the urge to Explore new methods and experiments there will be precious few expansions of knowledge. If you have a hunch, follow it and see where it leads. For example, Curiosity to see what is over the horizon will make person look out a window, but it is the spirit of the Explorer that makes that same person walk out the door and head down the road.

So here is my advice: Always be Curious in your IT career. Let your Curiosity lead you to Explore!

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