Just read an article sent to me from LinkedIn.
I seem to qualify for 7 out of the 8 criteria (need to work on complaining privately instead of screaming across the room or venting on here).
Yay me :oD
(Image: Dumbledad, CC2.0)
Archive for February, 2012
I am a remarkable employee…….almost…….
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012I Hate The Bloody Cloud…….
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012Grrrrrrr, the next person to mention “The Cloud” will get my foot in their ass I swear !
It is not some magic self administrating bullet that will allow you to fire all your IT staff in order to pump up your profits so you can get that indoor pool for the home !
That is all.
Using Nagios NRPE To Monitor Windows User Accounts Via WMI…….
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012My last post on the subject of using the Nagios NRPE plugin to monitor stuff on Windows. This time I want to be monitor some Window domain user accounts for lockout status.
We run some of our windows services using ordinary domain user accounts instead of the built in local service accounts. This is normally when the service in question needs to read or write to network shares on another server, the built in service accounts don’t seem to pass and username/password along with the request and so the connection fails. When you run the process under a domain account, the name and password are passed along with the connection request and as long as you have set your share and NFS permissions correctly it should work.
We recently had an application stop working and it turned out to be that the domain user account that the service ran under had become locked out.
So I decided it would be a good idea to get a heads up about this sort of thing sooner rather than later. The script needs to run on your AD domain controllers (x1 is probably fine as they all replicate user data, but more might allow detection a little quicker).
The code for the script is below.
' account name supplied as argument
strAccount = Wscript.Arguments.Item(0)
' bind to the MERCURY domain
Set objComputer = GetObject("WinNT://MYDOMAIN")
objComputer.Filter = Array("User")
' for each service compare it’s display name to the current one we are looking for
For each objUser in objComputer
If objUser.Name = strAccount then
If ObjUser.IsAccountLocked <> 0 then
Wscript.echo "Account is locked out"
Wscript.Quit (2)
Else
Wscript.echo "Account is ok"
Wscript.Quit (0)
End if
End if
Next
The script is using WMI to check the IsAccountLocked value of a user object. The user object has quite a lot of key pair values that you can monitor, basically all the fields and check boxes you see in the AD user dialogue box.
In this instance, I am only interested in the ‘Account is locked out’ check box. If it’s checked the value will be something other than 0 (1 in this case)and I want an alert, but if the value is still 0 then it’s not checked and the account is ok.
As with the prior checks I wrote about, the .vbs script file needs to be dropped into the ‘libexec’ folder, and a line like below needs to be added to the nrpe.cfg config file on the windows server.
command[check_windows_account]=cscript.exe //T:30 //NoLogo "C:\Program Files (x86)\NRPE_NT\libexec\check_windows_account.vbs" "$ARG1$"
On the Nagios server you need to add a command definition to the commands.cfg file.
# 'check_windows_account' command definition (using nrpe)
define command{
command_name check_windows_account
command_line $USER1$/check_nrpe -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -t 60 -p 5666 -c check_windows_account -a $ARG1$
}
And finally a service check has to be created in the services.cfg file and a server to be checked needs to be added (in this example I’m checking the account ‘AppUser’ on the server Windows_Server_1.
define service{
service_description Check Windows User Account
servicegroups cust-windows
host_name windows_server_1
check_command check_windows_account!"AppUser"
use generic-service
}
Hopefully these scripts have given you an idea of what you can do with the NRPE plugin. As long as you can write a script to check a known value of something, you can get Nagios to use it as a monitor and fire an alert. And it doesn’t have to be VBScript, Powershell, Perl, Python they all can be used. You can monitor WMI objects, or Windows Perfmon Counters, the list is vast.
Enjoy ;oD
Using Nagios NRPE To Monitor Windows Processes Via WMI…….
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012Hot on the heels (well ok, Oct last year to be precise) of Using Nagios NRPE To Monitor Windows Services Via WMI comes Using Nagios NRPE To Monitor Windows Processes Via WMI.
Naturally, after providing work with a Nagios check to tell us when a named Windows service was not in a running state, the next question from their mouths was going to be
“can Nagios tell us when a program that is not a service has stopped running ?”
Well yes it can, and it’s not difficult. Instead of looking at the list of services, we need to read the list of processes running (like the list you can see in Task Manager) and look to see if our one is included in the list.
The code to do this is below.
strComputer = "."
'list services to monitor, comma seperated, inside quotes
strProcess = Wscript.Arguments.Item(0)
'connect using standard monkier
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" & "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
'search for our process
Set colProcesses = objWMIService.ExecQuery ("Select * from Win32_Process Where Name = '" & strProcess & "'")
If colProcesses.Count > 0 Then
'If the process is running return exit code 0 = ok
Wscript.Echo "SERVICE STATUS: OK"
Wscript.Quit(0)
Else
'otherwise return non 0 = error = fire alert hopefully
Wscript.Echo "SERVICE STATUS: Critical"
Wscript.Quit(2)
End If
Again, the walk through of this is quite simple. We call the program with x1 parameter/argument, a string containing the name of the process we are looking for (NOTE: this needs to be the full name including the ‘.exe’ or ‘.com’ and if it contains space characters the whole thing should be enclosed in quote marks).
We then bind to WMI and run a query to find our process in the list of running processes. The last part simply counts how many results were returned. If the count is larger than 0, the process must be running and we return a status code 0 for success, if not, we return a status code of 2 and Nagios fires a critical alert (if you prefer a warning rather than a critical then adjust to return a 1)
Note: The string search is not case sensitive, ‘OUTLOOK.EXE’ and ‘outlook.exe’ equate the same regardless of how the process actually looks in the list.
As with the previous check, the .vbs script file needs to be dropped into the ‘libexec’ folder, and a line like below needs to be added to the nrpe.cfg config file on the windows server.
command[check_windows_process]=cscript.exe //T:30 //NoLogo "C:\Program Files (x86)\NRPE_NT\libexec\check_windows_process.vbs" "$ARG1$"
On the Nagios server you need to add a command definition to the commands.cfg file.
# 'check_windows_process' command definition (using nrpe)
define command{
command_name check_windows_process
command_line $USER1$/check_nrpe -H $HOSTADDRESS$ -t 60 -p 5666 -c check_windows_process -a $ARG1$
}
And finally a service check has to be created in the services.cfg file and a server to be checked needs to be added (in this example I’m checking for ‘outlook.exe’ on the server Windows_Server_1.
define service{
service_description Check Windows Process
servicegroups cust-windows
host_name windows_server_1
check_command check_windows_service!"outlook.exe"
use generic-service
}
The current script simply alerts if a process is found to be missing from the task list, but it could be modified. You could have it fire a warning if the number of processes is more than 5 but less than 10, and a critical is the number drops below 5 for example.
Bon iVoyage…….
Monday, February 6th, 2012Yet another reason to hate Monday mornings (in addition to my poor tattered career). Yup, today I stood on my poor loyal iPad 1 and knacked the screen :o(
Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh
Farewell little iPad 1, you served me well for over a year. Time to buy a new one I guess…..wonder if the extended warranty covers clumsy assed owners treading on them ?……
Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word
Saturday, February 4th, 2012Someone at work wrote a .NET add-in for MS Word 2007 but when the test user tried to install it he got the following output in a dialogue window.
Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word, Version=12.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.
************** Exception Text **************
System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word, Version=12.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.
File name: 'Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word, Version=12.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=71e9bce111e9429c'
at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.Internal.IWordHostItemProviderProxy..ctor(IHostItemProviderExtendedContract hostItemProvider)
at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.Internal.IWordHostItemProviderProxy.GetProxy(IHostItemProviderExtendedContract contract)
at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.Internal.LocalWordServiceProvider.GetService(Type serviceType)
at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Internal.LocalServiceProvider.System.IServiceProvider.GetService(Type serviceType)
at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.EntryPointComponentBase.Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Runtime.IEntryPoint.Initialize(IServiceProvider hostContext)
at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.AddInAdapter.ExecutePhase(ExecutionPhases executionPhases)
at Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Internal.OfficeAddInAdapter.InitializeEntryPointsHelper()
************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.3625 (GDR.050727-3600)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/Microsoft.NET/Framework/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Runtime.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Runtime.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Runtime.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
System
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.3624 (GDR.050727-3600)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Core
Assembly Version: 3.5.0.0
Win32 Version: 3.5.30729.1 built by: SP
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Core/3.5.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Core.dll
----------------------------------------
System.AddIn
Assembly Version: 3.5.0.0
Win32 Version: 3.5.30729.1 built by: SP
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.AddIn/3.5.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.AddIn.dll
----------------------------------------
System.AddIn.Contract
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 3.5.30729.1 built by: SP
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.AddIn.Contract/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.AddIn.Contract.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Hosting.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Hosting.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Hosting.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Xml
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.3082 (QFE.050727-3000)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Xml/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Xml.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Deployment
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.3053 (netfxsp.050727-3000)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Deployment/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Deployment.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Runtime.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Runtime.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Runtime.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.ServerDocument.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.ServerDocument.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.ServerDocument.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.3623 (GDR.050727-3600)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.3053 (netfxsp.050727-3000)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Contract.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Contract.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Contract.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.Office.Tools.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.Office.Tools.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.Office.Tools.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
TemplateDragDrop
Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0
CodeBase: file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/ian.rees/Local%20Settings/Apps/2.0/4VOQMJE5.Z0K/VN2BE36X.AMJ/temp..vsto_cf3a11357a4f8903_0001.0000_a8fd7b1b77cdebc4/TemplateDragDrop.DLL
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.AddInAdapter.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.AddInAdapter.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.AddInAdapter.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.Office.Tools.Common.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.Office.Tools.Common.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.Office.Tools.Common.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.AddInAdapter.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.AddInAdapter.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.AddInAdapter.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.AddInAdapter.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.AddInAdapter.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.AddInAdapter.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Contract.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Contract.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Contract.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Anonymously Hosted DynamicMethods Assembly
Assembly Version: 0.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.3625 (GDR.050727-3600)
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_32/mscorlib/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Adapter.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Adapter.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Adapter.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.HostAdapter.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.HostAdapter.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.HostAdapter.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.HostAdapter.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.HostAdapter.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.HostAdapter.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.AddInProxy.v9.0
Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0
Win32 Version: 9.0.30729.1
CodeBase: file:///C:/WINDOWS/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.AddInProxy.v9.0/9.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Office.Word.AddInProxy.v9.0.dll
----------------------------------------
A few people examined the msg and the determined (kind of correctly) that a file must be missing. They then attempted repairing MS Office, and dragging various files to various locations.
By the time it got to me, a lot of options had been exhausted. Here’s a tip for this sort of thing:
If you are going to run .NET inside MS office, you will need to have the .NET Programmability Support installed for the application in question.
The screen shot below shows the option for Word, but there are also separate options for Excel and PowerPoint etc. etc.
This sort of thing also holds true under Linux systems when compiling applications instead of using pre-prepared packages. If you are trying to compile Apache with SSL and it’s failing at the SSL step, do have have SSL and it’s libraries installed ? Using pre-prepared packages deals with any missing dependencies (normally) so you don’t have to think about this stuff.
Part P Regulation For IT ?…….
Friday, February 3rd, 2012I read an article last year by Steve Cassidy on PC Pro. The article was a light humoured piece about an argument he got into with an electrician over wi-fi. The electrician was clearly ignorant or misinformed about the subject matter, but this didn’t stop him spouting off about it.
In his article, Steve mentioned about Part P, an IET regulation that controls who can do electrical wiring. While I don’t really care too much about this, comments made later in the article struck home.
if you are a “computer person”. We are one of the last great self-taught professions, and from that many difficulties follow. Assuming that everyone is equally able to teach themselves
I confess to being pretty much self taught myself. I can’t recall the last time a company paid for me to go on a training course, and I feel awkward at interviews asking for it. I don’t want them to get the idea I’m unable to do the job, or am only in it to get some free training out of them.
But without an IT equivalent of Part P, how to we tell those who are truely smart enough to self learn and can do the job from those who cannot ?
Does the industry need some sort mandatory regulation and qualifications enforcing to make sure companies do no fail owing to hire those less competent self taught among us ? Or as Steve puts it
I’m trying to be polite and it might not work in my current mood, so I’ll settle for blunt: thick people think differently from nerds.
Certification goes some way to addressing this issue, but I have met self confessed people who simply have excellent short term memory and exam cram enough material to scrape a pass but have no actual hands on skills to back the qualification. I consider these people dangerous. They can install you into the IT equivalent of a cul-de-sac that you end up spending a lot of money for someone else to come in and undo and redo.
I sat a few exams myself, but I would have to say the questions I was asked bore little resemblance to actual real word IT (with the exception of the fundamentals covered, TCP/IP subnetting for example). Should IT exams contain real world scenarios that while there could be more than one solution to solve, have a clearly preferred one that has far better merits over the others ? This could perhaps weed out the ‘ok’ or ‘get by’ techs from the true ‘been there done that and this is the correct way to go’ types.
The whole article is well worth a read and certainly food for thought.
Read more: Why you shouldn’t let builders anywhere near your Wi-Fi | PC Pro blog
p.s. and while we’re at it I think the UK should follow the USA and require those working in real estate to be qualified and regulated. while I have never had the misfortune to have to deal with an estate agent for a house purchase, the horror stories I have heard make we want to avoid buying a house for ever.
