As far as W32Time (the Windows time service) is concerned, at the topmost level within the domain is the domain controller on which the PDC Emulator Flexible Single Master Operation (FSMO) role resides. This can be configured to synchronize it's time with a reliable external time source. By default all other domain controllers internally synchronize their time with the PDC Emulator. Similarly all domain member client computers synchronize their time with the domain controller that authenticates them.

Configuring the domain controller where the PDC Emulator role resides should be the only computer in the domain that requires any manual intervention to have the precise time on all domain client computers.

To find out which server the PDC Emulator role resides on open the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) snap-in. Then right click on your domain and select 'Operations Masters'. Browsing the PDC tab will show you where the PDC Emulator role currently resides.

On the domain controller where the PDC Emulator resides you can configure it to synchronize its time with an external source by using the following command:

net time /setsntp:<ip/dns>

Use the following example to set multiple external time sources to sync with:

net time /setsntp:"0.pool.ntp.org 1.pool.ntp.org 2.pool.ntp.org"

You can also configure this manually by modifying the following registry key:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters

NtpServer=<ip/dns>
Type=NT5DS change this to Type=NTP

After making the above changes restart the W32Time service by issuing the following commands at a command prompt:

net stop w32time
net start w32time

NOTE: If you don't configure the PDC Emulator to synchronize its time with an external source it will simply use its own (CMOS) clock. Doing so will occasionally cause an error to appear in the event log on the server that resembles the following:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 12

Event description: Time Provider NtpClient: This machine is configured to use the domain hierarchy to determine its time source, but it is the PDC emulator for the domain at the root of the forest, so there is no machine above it in the domain hierarchy to use as a time source.

NOTE: If you experience a client with time synchronization problems ensure that it has the correct time zone set. If needed, the time service can be reset using the following commands:

net stop w32time
w32tm /unregister
w32tm /register
net start w32time
w32tm /resync

As the issue did not affect anyone else I made the assumption it was local to the computer. I had a quick look at the Internet Explorer addons that were loaded and could see that the 'SharePointOpenDocuments' was enabled (as it should have been.)

Since the addon was being loaded and in part seemed to be working I had a quick look to see if multiple versions of owssupp.dll existed. owssupp.dll is the Microsoft Office SharePoint Client Support library used by Internet Explorer as the addon called 'SharePointOpenDocuments'. When the addon is loaded and you attempt to open a document from a SharePoint site it displays a small dialog box prompting the user to choose between opening the document in 'Read Only' or 'Edit' mode.

The library owssupp.dll is installed to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office(##) and I had heard of issues where multiple versions of the file had existed on a computer (as a result of a Microsoft Office upgrade) and caused issues. I only had one instance of owssupp.dll located in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12 so I ruled this out.

The next thing I tried was re-registering the .dll on the computer. I closed all instances of Microsoft Office applications and then at a command prompt I ran the following:

regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\OWSSUPP.DLL"

I received the following error message:

I clicked OK to close the message box. I opened Internet Explorer and navigated to the Team Site. Upon clicking on a document and selecting 'Edit' from the dialog box the correct Microsoft Office application opened and I was able to edit the document normally.

SSH Hyperlink

The first .bat file allows for easy installation/uninstallation of the SSH hyperlink association. It is used for a hyperlink with an associated prefix of ssh://. The bat file will invoke a 3rd party SSH client and establish a connection to the host.

To create and use a hyperlink that is prefixed by ssh:// you will first need to download the latest copy of putty.exe - HERE

Save or move putty.exe (rename to this if different) to C:\WINDOWS\System32\

Download ssh.bat - HERE

Extract and run ssh.bat to create the scp:// hyperlink association on your computer.

SCP Hyperlink

The second .bat file allows for easy installation/uninstallation of the SCP hyperlink association. It is used for a hyperlink with an associated prefix of scp://. The bat file will invoke a 3rd party SCP client and establish a connection to the host.

To create and use a hyperlink that is prefixed by scp:// you will first need to download the latest copy of WinSCP.exe - HERE (use the link for 'Portable executables')

Save or move WinSCP.exe (rename to this if different) to C:\WINDOWS\System32\

Download scp.bat - HERE

Extract and run scp.bat to create the scp:// hyperlink association on your computer.

Notes

After completing the above, any hyperlinks prefixed with ssh:// and/or scp:// will automatically be opened and a connection attempt made.

A hyperlink of:

ssh://someserver

would run putty.exe and attempt to connect to 'someserver'.

For more info about using these hyperlinks on webpages and within Zenoss check:

RDP Hyperlink

Since some protocols are identified by a prefix (ftp:// http:// https://) I decided to use rdp:// as the prefix to launch mstsc.exe. I have combined the necessary registry keys and the required JScript file into a single .bat file that allows for easy installation/uninstallation of the rdp hyperlink association. When you run rdp.bat you are presented with 3 options:

Option 1. Adds registry key HKCR\rdp which contains the parameters needed to associate the rdp:// prefix with a file created in C:\Windows called hyperlink-rdp.js. The JScript file is responsible for some string manipulation that trims the rdp:// prefix and then passes the remaining string (server name) to mstsc.exe to try and establish the rdp session.

Option 2. Removes registry key HKCR\rdp and the C:\Windows\hyperlink-rdp.js file.

Option 3. Exits the batch file.

After you use rdp.bat to create the hyperlink association you can launch an rdp session by clicking any hyperlink in the form of:

rdp://someserver

Typing rdp://someserver into your browser or windows explorer address bar will also launch the Microsoft Terminal Services Console and attempt to establish a session.

Note: When clicking an rdp:// hyperlink for the first time from a browser it is likely that you will receive a prompt that the browser is trying to launch a local application. You will need to allow this in order for the Microsoft Terminal Services Console to be opened and a session established.

After creating the rdp association on my Windows computer I added a specific link to the device in my Zenoss web console by:

1) Navigating to the device
2) Clicking the options drop down arrow
3) Selecting More --> zProperties
4) Adding a HTML hyperlink to the zLinks property

The syntax for a standard HTML hyperlink is:

<a href="rdp://someserver">rdp://someserver</a>

Although the above hyperlink works, I later discovered that Zenoss makes use of TALES expressions, one of which can be substituted for the server name (someserver) in this instance. If you use TALES you would only need to set the hyperlink once globally for all Windows servers by:

1) Navigating to Devices --> Server --> Windows
2) Clicking the zProperties tab
3) Adding the Zenoss TALES hyperlink to the zLinks property

The syntax for the Zenoss TALES hyperlink is:

<a href="rdp://${here/id}">rdp://${here/id}</a>

You will then have a clickable hyperlink on the Status tab from within the Windows device (or any new devices you add if you use the Zenoss friendly hyperlink):

Note: If you are planning to run rdp.bat on Windows Vista or Windows 7 you will need to run it with Administrator privileges. You can do this by right clicking rdp.bat and choosing 'Run as administrator':

Download rdp.bat - HERE

Note: Since this article I have also written another post on creating SSH and SCP Hyperlinks

I recently used the following approach to create a file 5MB in size to prove that email statistics were correctly being generated. This command produces a new file called '5mb-file.txt' on the root of the c:\ drive:

fsutil file createnew C:\5mb-file.txt 5000000

The number at the end of the command is the file size in bytes. So the result is a file just under 5mb in size.