On Tuesday (8/31), I headed straight for Bradley. Since some time this summer, they have been having some weird problems where certain users could log in and others couldn't. Then, the users that couldn't log in suddenly could but the others couldn't. On top of that, a random assortment of users could get into Outlook and others would be prompted over and over for their password.
Over the weekend, I did some poking around remotely and ran a few tests, which showed the Active Directory to be corrupt. Additionally, there was a File Replication error between their two servers. I had never recovered/repaired Active Directory before, so this was going to be interesting.
When I arrived, I met with the Superintendent and we talked about possible causes for the corruption. We speculated that it could have been user-related (corrupted profiles, etc) or hardware-related (drives failing, etc). Turns out, it was really a combination of things. A power outage (and subsequent failure of an aging battery backup) caused the servers to become out of sync with each other. Since the servers were unceremoniously shut down, the secondary Domain Controller's AD database got dinged a little.
I will save the details of the Active Directory recovery for the tech-related blog hosted by my service center: http://techblog.k12.ar.us. That article will be posted sometime Wednesday.
I left the district around 1:30pm, having fixed Active Directory, defragged Exchange, and verified that users could log in, access their home directories and check email from the Outlook client. I also set the Exchange for a backup. When I left, everything checked okay. I plan to talk with the technology coordinator on Wednesday to make sure they are still rolling.
Back at the office, I concentrated on several issues going on there. Our TVs for digital signage and video conferencing, etc had arrived. I ordered 32-inch units because of the wall outlets (recessed) we have. Sometimes, we have to monitor and adjust. Two of the units will be replaced by 27-inch models in order to accommodate furniture that was not in place (and the placement of which was not yet determined) at the time of the order. I don't think that'll be a big deal.
Something that *is* a bit of a big deal, however, is a workshop we are having on Thursday. Originally, we had about 4 or 5 people signed up. Yesterday, I found out that 14 people were now signed up! Since the Distance Learning Lab is already booked with videoconferences that day, we would be conducting the workshop in the computer lab. No biggie, right? Er, well... The computer lab has new iMacs that have not been set up yet. That, in itself, is not bad, but I also have to install Parallels and Windows XP on them (27 computers) because this is an APSCN workshop that requires software that only runs on Windows. Even that is not bad by itself. But, THEN, Wednesday is the day that Video Reality is coming down to move our Smart Board from the old building to the new one and install our hanging projectors. Seriously, when is that whole cloning thing going to happen?
I'll let you know how the day goes. I am going in to work early on Wednesday and will be staying as late as I need in order to get everything done. Who knows, maybe 9 hours will be be just fine!
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