Passwords are very case sensitive and most of the times it happens that users forgets important passwords. Here in this tutorial we are going to show how to reset plesk root password using shell and command prompt.

Reset Plesk Root Password with Shell : Plesk Linux

This can be done using the “ch_admin_passwd” binary.

[root@plesklinux root]# cd /usr/local/psa/admin/bin/

[root@plesklinux bin]# ./ch_admin_passwd —help

./ch_admin_passwd: Utility to set Plesk adminstrator’s password

Gets password from the environment variable PSA_PASSWORD

Password should be from 5 to 16 symbols and must not contain login name, whitespace, quotes or national characters

[root@plesklinux bin]# export PSA_PASSWORD=’newpass’

[root@plesklinux bin]# echo $PSA_PASSWORD
newpass

[root@plesklinux bin]# ./ch_admin_passwd

[root@plesklinux bin]# export PSA_PASSWORD=

[root@plesklinux bin]# cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow
newpass

[root@plesklinux bin]#

Reset Plesk Admin Password Using Command Prompt: Plesk Windows

Plesk Windows Root Password can also be retrieved and reset with the help of the plesksrvclient binary located in the %plesk_bin% directory.

Open your Windows Command Prompt and type the following command and hit the Enter button:

cd %plesk_bin%

It will enter in to the directory where the Plesk’s Bin folder is located.

In order to get the existing root password, enter:

plesksrvclient.exe -get

It will show the existing password on a popup window. To copy it on clipboard click the Ok button.

To set a new password, enter above command without “-get”:

plesksrvclient.exe <NEWPASS>

It will enable you to insert a new desired password for your Plesk Admin login.

Steps to install and configure a VPN Server on Windows 2008 R2 has changed to some extent as compared with Windows 2003. Though installing a VPN server in Windows 2008 server isn’t too difficult at all. You must install RRAS via. server manager as a ‘Role’ first.

Steps to Install the Services Essential for running a VPN Server

Step 1 – Go to the “Server Manager“

Step 2 – Look for the option termed “Action”, click it and proceed with Adding Roles

Step 3 – You would be presented with an installation wizard. It is advisable to go through the requirements first and only then proceed further by clicking Next

Step 4 – Upon clicking, you should be able to see a box titles “Select Server Roles“, here you must check-box against the option “Network Policy and Access Services” and hit the “Next” button to proceed.

Step 5 – Next, you are required to check the box against the option named “Routing and Remote Access Services”. Upon checking the box two sub-boxes namely “Remote Access Service” and “Routing” would appear, you must also check those and hit the Next button to proceed.

Step 6 – It would then ask you to “Confirm Installation Selection”, in there a summary of anything that has been chosen for installation would be presented, you can cross-check everything here.

Step 7 – If everything is as per the expectations, you may proceed with clicking the “Install” button. Upon completion of the installation process, you may close the setup wizard.

Step 8 – Now, you are expected to return to the Server Manager wherein you must right-click on “Configure and Enable Routing and Remote Access“ and hit the Next button.

Step 9 – Hit Next on the window “Routing and Remote Access Wizard“.

Step 10 – Choose “Custom Configuration” and hit “Next”

Step 11 – Check-box against “VPN access” and Hit “Next”

Step 12 – Hit the “Finish” button and click the “Start Service”

This completes the procedure, you’d then be taken to the main Server Manager screen. You can now see that the Routing and Remote access is up and running.

You can now change the settings in Firewall to allow the ports necessary to run a VPN server. The following are required ports :

Port 1723 TCP
Port 47 GRE

This concludes the process to install a VPN Server on Windows 2008 Server. If you need any assistance, please contact our support department via. our 24×7 Live Chat or send an email at support@eukhost.com from your registered email id. with all the necessary details.

NOTE : We only allow VPN Server to be run on services such as Virtual Private Server, Semi-Dedicated, Cloud Hosting and Dedicated Servers. Please contact our Sales Department to get a quote about the servers.

How to Secure a Windows VPS ?

Ans. VPS can be secured through ipsec , local security policies and Default windows firewall

How to enhance the security of a Windows VPS ?

Ans. The first thing that is strongly recommended recommended is to change the default login name and password to something of your preference and which is really tough to guess. A combination of upper/lower cases, alpha-numeric and special characters can be used for making a password hard to guess.
Secondly, turn off any anonymous FTP on the server.

We suggest to try and avoid browsing any unknown website from your VPS to avoid injections and intrusions on the server.

What are the additional security softwares that are available which would work on my VPS? Antivirus etc?

Ans. AVG can be used with HyperV VPS. You may alternately choose to use any other licensed versions of an Antivirus for securing your Virtual Private Server.

Are the VPS’s protected by a hardware firewall?

Ans. No, a default vps is not protected with hardware firewall. But, you can opt for a Software Firewall + AntiVirus at an additional cost of £5 GBP.

Can I change the default FTP port on my Windows VPS ?

Ans. Yes, it is possible to change the FTP port for your windows vps.

The disk space offered with a VPS is inclusive or exclusive of the space taken up by the OS ?

Ans. The space required by the OS files is inclusive of the VPS space. For example, if you order an entry level Cheap VPS hosting package that offers 20 GB of diskspace, the OS would ideally occupy 9.5 Gb (OS updates would need more space) approximately leaving 11.5 Gb free for your usage and installations of add-on services.

Can I host an IRC server on a Windows VPS?

Ans. No! We do not allow IRC to be hosted on our servers may it be any package.

Can I run A Game Server On a Windows VPS?

Ans. Yes, a VPS can be used for hosting Game Server. But, we would not recommend it, instead you can opt for a Dedicated Server for that purpose. Before placing an order you must first check the Games requirements, further you need to be sure about the total number of concurrent users you expect to use the server at a given point of time. Based on these factors an appropriate server should be considered.

Most of the times, when Installing Hyper-V Role on Windows Server 2008 if the BIOS setting are not done properly it might give you the following errors when you restart the server.

Error One:

Hyper-V launch failed; Either VMX not present or not enabled in BIOS.

Error Two:

Hyper-V launch failed; at least one of the processors in the system does not appear to provide a virtualization platform supported by Hyper-V.

In order to avoid such errors or fix the Hyper-V launch failed error, go through the following steps:

Step 1: Restart the Windows Dedicated Server 2008 and Login into the BIOS.

Step 2: Go to Advanced >> Advanced Processor Options. You will see something like the below image on your computer screen.

Step 3: Make sure the “Intel(R) Virtualization Technology” or “Intel VT” is Enabled in the BIOS settings.

Step 4: Once the Virtualization Technology is Enabled, simply reboot the server.

Once you reboot the server the Hyper-V will start successfully.

Hyper-V is one of the best hardware virtualization technology in the industry. This technology is based on hypervisor which is one of the core and important features of Windows Server 2008. The hyper-v technology offers a scalable, flexible, reliable and highly powerful virtualization platform for webmasters to make strong use of it. Its key features such as guest multi-processing support and 64-bit guest and host support, the high reliability and greater security via its hypervisor architecture tends to offer greater scalability and high performance to its users.

It also offers more flexibility and ability to manage various things by using the features like quick migration of the physical servers to the hyper-v virtual machines and another physical hosts, along with the integration with SCVMM (ie. System Center Virtual Machine Manager).

When you run the full installation of Hyper-V role on the Windows Server 2008, it usually installs all the essential elements of the Hyper-V technology along with the remote management tools which consists of various tools. These management tools includes Hyper-V Manager, which is a management console from Microsoft and the Virtual Machine Connection, that allows you to access the virtual machines directly via a network connection.

Lets, begin with the installation process of hyper-v on windows server 2008. Before starting with the installation procedure make sure you have the following required things.

Requirements for Installing Hyper-V:

Hyper-V is a bit different virtualization technology, hence requires particular hardware for successful installation. Please make sure you have the following things.

1) x64-based Processor: The hyper-v can only be installed on the x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008, which are Windows Server 2008 Standard, Enterprise and DataCenter Edition.

2) Must have a processor that consists of virtualization options enabled or the HAV should be enabled in the BIOS. The Intel VT and AMD Virtualization includes such options. Along with the HAV, the Data Execution Protection should also be enabled in the BIOS. Make sure you enable the Intex XD bit or AMD NX bit.

If you have Itanium processors, it will not work as the hyper-v doesn’t support these processors.

BIOS Settings:

Enter the BIOS setup of your server and enable both the “VT” and “XD”. If these two components are not enabled in the BIOS, you might get the following errors messages in the event logs, even after the installation is completed.

• Hyper-V launch failed, Either VMX not present or not enabled in BIOS

• Hyper-V launch failed; at least one of the processors in the system does not appear to provide a virtualization platform supported by Hyper-V.

Hence, make sure that the Execute Disable and VT is set “On” or “Enabled” based upon your servers BIOS settings.

Hyper-V Installation Steps:

Step 1: Again, before proceeding to the installation steps make sure your windows server is properly configured with the above BIOS settings. Make sure the following things are configured correctly.

• The Administrative password is setup;
• Computer name for server is configured;
• A static IP is set on all the related NICs;
• Your server is activated;
• If necessary make sure you join the server to a domain;
• For remote administration configure the firewall;
• For remote administration enabling the RDP.

Step 2:  Open the “Server Manager” and simply click on the “Add Roles”.

Step 3: Select the “Hyper-V” role as shown in the image below and Click on the “Next” button. Choose Hyper-V role. Click Next.

Step 4:  You can create connections to a whole network simply by clicking one or more network adapters on the “Create Virtual Networks” window.

It is recommended to have at least two network adapters, which can be used for different purposes. One for virtual network and another for server management.

Step 5:  Click the Install button on the “Confirm Installation Selection” window.

Step 6:  In order to complete the hyper-v installation you need to restart your computer system. Simply click on the “Close” button to finish the wizard and hit the “Yes” button to restart your computer.

Step 7:  Log on using the same credentials used to install the hyper-v role. Once the Resume Configuration Wizard completes the installation process, simply click the “Close” button to finish the wizard.

That’s it! Now you have successfully installed the Hyper-V role on your Windows Dedicated Server 2008. You can use the Server Manager or the Microsoft’s Management Console (MMC) to manage the Hyper-V role.

HyperVM is a powerful and most flexible virtualization management software, which can be used to manage a server within a cluster of servers. The multi tier, multi-server and multi-virtualization software product allows uk web hosting providers to manage the vps on openVZ platform. HyperVM permits users to manage their virtual private server across the multiple servers.

The Root Password in the HperVM can be changed very easily. Simply, go through the following steps:

Step 1: Login into your HyperVM environment using the login details.

Step 2: An interface will appear, displaying VM Home, Appearance, Graphics and Advanced in the navigation area.

Step 3: In order to change the root password in HyperVM, click on the “Root Password” in “Resources”.

Step 4: A new screen will appear conveying a message for entering a new “Admin password”. Enter the new stong password.

Step 5: Hit the “Update” button to save the settings.

Step 6: The new password will take effect only after you reboot the VPS. On the “Home” screen, Click on “Reboot” from “Power options”.

That’s it ! It will come up with a Successfully updated message.

In the previous post, you have learned how to schedule a reboot for your linux dedicated server. In this article, I will explain steps to schedule a reboot for your windows dedicated server.

The reason for performing a reboot for your windows dedicated server is same as reasons for linux server. Would you like to reboot your server, when the traffic to your site is at highest level ? Definitely, the answer will be No.

Same as Linux servers, the windows dedicated servers provides a command line interface that permits the system administrator to run commands remotely. Once you log into your dedicated server, access the command prompt and type the following command string:

at 4:00am c:admutilspsshutdown.exe -r -f -c -t 10

In the above example, I have configured a reboot at 4:00AM. Make sure the reboot is scheduled in the low usage times only. Using the “at” command scheduling tasks becomes much easier for dedicated server administrators.

Performing various tasks manually on a uk windows hosting server is a kind of headache. In order to get rid of the manual tasks, windows server is equipped with the scheduler, where you can automate a program to run at specific timings.

Unlike shared hosting, the dedicated server requires more technical skills and time to manage the server tasks. In shared hosting, the web hosting service provider is the one who manage all the server tasks. Automation becomes mandatory when it comes to the dedicated servers. Perfoming tasks manually on a dedicated is not so easy as you think. A simple mistake can mess up things and may damage your data.

Task automation can be performed using two different methods:

1. Using the graphical user interface.
2. Using the command line.

Scheduling Task on Windows Server using GUI

Step 1: Go to Start >> Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools >> Scheduled Tasks.

Step 2: Click on “Add Scheduled Task” and click on “Next”.

Step 3: Select the program you wish to run

Step 4: Specify a name to the task you want to schedule.

Step 5: Set up date and time options according to your requirements.

Step 6: Insert your system password and simply hit the “Finish” button.

Scheduling Task on Windows Server using Command Line

If you are having access to the command line on your remote server, then the task can be easily automated using the command line interface. Using a simple command string, you can automate a task through your command line:

For Hourly Schedule:

schtasks /create /tn “Task Name” /tr “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE” /sc hourly /ru <username> /rp <password>

The above command string will execute the specified program every hour.

For Daily Schedule:

schtasks /create /tn “Task Name” /tr “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE” /sc daily /st 05:00:00 /ru <username> /rp <password>

The above command string will execute the specified program daily at the specified time.

Make sure you replace “Task Name” with the name of your task and the “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE” with the program path you wish to run every hour or daily at the specified time. You can configure the timings as per your requirements and schedue any program or task to run on your dedicated server.

Most of the times, hosting accounts get suspended due to the exceeding of CPU usage limits allocated to your server. In this tutorial, we will show you how to get high cpu usage alerts of server on your email. The following script on the server will automatically send alert on your email, when the disk space, high memory and cpu usage exceeds the limit.

Let’s see how…

Step 1: Download Blat from its official site and extract it in the root of the C:\ drive:

http://www.blat.net

Blat is a small, efficient SMTP command line mailer for Windows available for free.

Step 2: Create a batch file named “send.bat” and add the following code in it:

c:\blat\blat.exe -body %1 –f “ServerName” -server smtp.yoursite.com –to email@yoursite.com -subject “ALERT: ServerName CPU Usage High”
echo %1 > alert.out

Make sure you change the server name, smtp address, email with your own settings and simply save the batch file within the blat folder into the root drive.

Step 3: Now, right-click on the “My Computer” icon on your server and click the Manage. Open the options under “Performance logs >> Alerts” and right-click “Alerts” and choose “New Alert Settings“. (See image below)

Step 4: Enter a name for the new alert. (See image below)

Step 5: Select Performance Object as “Processor” and select “%Processor Time” from the counters list and click on the “Close” button. (See image below)

Step 6: On the next window, set a limit value when you wish to receive alert. For example: if you set a value of 90, you will receive an alert on your email if the CPU usage exceeds more than 90% for the time interval mentioned below. (See image below)

You can also run the alert on a different credentials, for that you just need to enter the username in the “Run As” field and click the “Set Password” button and fill out the rest of the credentials.

Step 7: Click on the “Action” tab >> Tick the “Run this program” and click on the “Browse” button. Browse the “send.bat” file. (See image below)

Step 8: Lastly, Hit the OK button.

That’s it ! Now, simply right-click the alert and start it. From now on, whenever your server exceeds the CPU usage limit you have set, you will receive an email alert on your specified email address. This script is applicable only for Windows VPS and Windows Dedicated Server.

When installing an Active Directory on a Windows Server 2008, generally an error occurs if you have not configured the DNS for the domain.

An error occurred while the wizard was installing DNS, you will have to configure DNS for this domain manually.

Domain Name Server (DNS) is a very important and mandatory element required for proper functioning and in order to install the active directory on your windows dedicated server 2008. It is extremely vital that you must have a healthy DNS running on your network, before you put your hands into the Active Directory. The DNS Server role is always installed on a domain controller and the DNS zones are integrated with Active Directory Domain Services.

Steps to Configure Domain Name Server (DNS) on your Windows Server 2008

Step 1: Login into your Windows Server 2008.

Step 2: Click on Start >> Server Manager. This will open up the Server Manager Console, click on the “Roles” listed on the left side panel of your server manager console. (See image below)

Step 3: Click on the “Add Role” and the “Add Roles Wizard” will be displayed. Simply, hit the “Next” button (See image below)

Once you hit the “Next” button the “Server Roles” window will appear. (See image below)

Step 4: You need to select the “DNS Server” by ticking the check box in-front of it and Hit the Next button.

Here you will get a DNS Server overview page where you will find some introduction to the DNS Server. (See image below)

Step 5: Hit the “Next” button when you are finish reading it. Once you hit the next button, you will get the Confirmation page of installation.

Step 6: Hit the Install button to start the DNS Server installation process. Once you click the install button you will get the Progress window showing initializing installation. (See image below)

After some time you will get the Installation Results window conveying a message “Installation Succeeded”.(See image below)

Step 7: Lastly, hit the “Close” button to escape from the installation window.

That’s it ! The DNS should be installed on your windows 2008 server. Now you know, how to install DNS Server on your Windows 2008 Dedicated Server.