May 2019

Guide to using and installing WSUS on Windows Server Core 2019

Microsoft, Windows Server 2019, WSUS 18 Responses »

May 152019

Windows Server Core (on Windows Server 2019) is a great way to reduce the performance and security footprint of your servers. The operating system itself is minimalist and provides no GUI except for a command prompt, and some basic windows and tools.

All administration on Server Core must be performed via the command prompt, powershell, or remote administration tools (such as Server Manager, or the new Windows Admin Center.

Server Core provides a fantastic foundation for Windows Server Roles (roles that are integrated in the operating system), and can be installed with ease, managed remotely, and managed easily. It’s also nice too because you can allocate less CPU and RAM to virtual machines running Windows Server Core.

Getting started may be a bit tricky as you might need to learn and verse yourself with some commands, powershell, and remote management kung-fu, but overtime it’s easy!

Why WSUS?

I think I can speak for most admins out there when I say that a WSUS deployment typically consists of a single VM, with the WSUS, IIS, and WID roles installed.

WSUS is usually CPU and RAM intensive (when doing synchronizations), requires disk space, and doesn’t do much else. Because of the spikes, we usually keep this VM separate and don’t mix it with other LoBs or roles, with the exception of perhaps a file server.

Whether or not your VM runs WSUS alone, or also as a file server, since both of these roles are “Windows Roles and Features”, they are perfect to deploy on a Windows Server Core install.

There should be little administrative requirement on the WSUS server, other than re-indexing scripts, and cleanup scripts which can easily be ran from the command prompt, and the occasional Windows Update that will be installed.

Because you don’t require any 3rd party software, management consoles, or GUI related elements, it’s perfect for Server Core. By skipping on the GUI and applications, you’ll be able to allocate that memory, for WSUS/IIS itself.

How to Install and Configure WSUS on Windows Server Core

Install Windows Server 2019 – Server Core
Configure Network, Join to Domain, Update, etc.
Open “powershell” (by typing powershell) and Install the WSUS Role with the following command:
```
Install-WindowsFeature UpdateServices -Restart
```
Exit powershell with “exit” and run the post installation task command in command prompt to configure WSUS:
```
"C:\Program Files\Update Services\Tools\wsusutil.exe" postinstall CONTENT_DIR=C:\WSUS
```
AT THIS POINT DO NOT CONTINUE CONFIGURING WSUS AS YOU MUST APPLY A MEMORY FIX TO IIS.
Enable Remote IIS Management to manage and modify IIS config (to apply the memory fix below), as provided here: https://www.stephenwagner.com/2019/05/14/manage-remotely-iis-on-windows-server-2019-server-core/
Apply “Private Memory Limit (KB)” fix as provided here: https://www.stephenwagner.com/2019/05/14/wsus-iis-memory-issue-error-connection-error/
Install the “Windows Server Update Services” mmc applet which is included in the Windows 10 RSAT tools. Instructions to install the RSAT are provided here: https://www.stephenwagner.com/2018/10/05/windows-10-1809-october-update-rsat/
Open the WSUS MMC on a server or workstation on the network and connect it to the WSUS instance on your Server Core install.
Run through the wizard as you would normally and perform an synchronization.
Modify your GPO to point your servers and workstations towards your WSUS server.
Enable Windows Update “Features on Demand” and “Turn Windows features on or off” via GPO as provided here:
https://www.stephenwagner.com/2018/10/08/enable-windows-update-features-on-demand-and-turn-windows-features-on-or-off-in-wsus-environments/
Install the “sqlcmd” command so you can regularly run the WSUS re-index script, as provided here: https://www.stephenwagner.com/2019/05/14/run-wsus-cleanup-index-script-windows-server-core-without-sql-management-studio/

You’re done!

Don’t forget to regularly re-index your WSUS database and perform the routine maintenance!

Tips n Tricks

Need to view, modify, cut/paste, or delete files and folders? Open up notepad from the command prompt to get a simple GUI where you can do this.
CTRL + SHIFT + ESC will open a Task Manager to monitor the Server Core install
You can use “Server Manager” remotely to manage the Server Core install after you’ve enabled it inside of “sconfig”.

Run WSUS cleanup and index script on Windows Server Core without SQL Management Studio

Windows Server 2019, Windows Server Core, WSUS 8 Responses »

May 142019

You’re running WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) on Windows Server 2019 Server Core, and you want to run the WSUS Re-Index or WSUS Cleanup script, but you can’t because you cannot install the SQL Management Studio on Windows Server Core.

Well, there’s a way around this. To run SQL scripts on the WID (Windows Internal Database) on Windows Server Core, we’ll need to install “sqlcmd” (info here).

Now normally with Microsoft SQL, you’d simply connect remotely using the SQL Management Studio, and you can if you’re using fully blown Microsoft SQL Server with your WSUS implementation, however most of us aren’t. In most small deployments, WSUS is configured using WID (Windows Internal Database) which is essentially Microsoft SQL Express.

Microsoft SQL Express doesn’t support remote named pipe connections, and there’s no easy way to configure TCP connections with the registry editor, so the easiest way to accomplish executing SQL scripts is to install and use the “sqlcmd”.

Instructions

Install the SQLCMD command utility

First we need to identify the version of SQL express that’s running WID on the server running Windows Server Core 2019.
Open “notepad” and open the following file which containts the WID log.
```
C:\Windows\WID\Log\error
```

At the beginning of the log file, you’ll note the Microsoft SQL version that’s running. In my case it’s “Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (SP2-GDR)” specifically 12.0.5214.6 as shown below.

2019-05-14 10:52:47.79 Server      Microsoft SQL Server 2014 (SP2-GDR) (KB4057120) - 12.0.5214.6 (X64) 
	Jan  9 2018 15:03:12 
	Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation
	Windows Internal Database (64-bit) on Windows NT 6.3  (Build 17763: ) (Hypervisor)

The “sqlcmd” is part of the Microsoft SQL Server Feature Pack, so a quick search of “SQL Server 2014 SP2 Feature Pack” returned the following URL:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53164
When you click download, you’ll notice multiple files. Choose the ”
ENU\x64\MsSqlCmdLnUtils.msi” file to download.
Copy this file over to your server running Windows Server Core.
Execute and run the installer. Follow the prompts.
You’ll notice the installer will error and require “Microsoft ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server”. A quick search finds this download:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=36434
Download the above file, install the “Microsoft ODBC Driver 11 for SQL Server”.
Re-start the “MsSqlCmdLnUtils.msi” installer, and it should now complete.
You have now installed the SQLcmd utility.

Run the WSUS Re-Index Script

Download the WSUS Database Re-Index script from:
https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/6f8cde49-5c52-4abd-9820-f1d270ddea61
Copy the script to the server.

Run the following command from the command prompt:

sqlcmd -S np:\\.\pipe\Microsoft##WID\tsql\query –i C:\Folder\WsusDBMaintenance.sql

You’ve officially installed the sqlcmd and ran the WSUS Re-Index script on Windows Server Core. Congratulations!

Manage (Remotely) IIS on Windows Server 2019 Server Core

IIS, Microsoft 33 Responses »

May 142019

So you have a Windows Server 2019 running Server Core with no GUI installed, and you have installed and are using the IIS (Internet Information Services) role and would like to manage or modify IIS configuration.

Because Windows Server Core doesn’t have a full GUI, you cannot install or use the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager on this server.

I originally had to figure this out so I could modify the “WsusPool” Application Pool on IIS on a Windows Server Core install that was hosting a WSUS Server to increase the Private Memory Maximum setting.

To manage, modify, or edit IIS configuration, you’ll need to use the IIS Manager on a different server/computer, and remotely connect to the IIS instance on Server Core. From here you will be able to edit/modify the server as much as you require.

Requirements

To do this, you’ll need the following:

Target: Windows Server with IIS role installed
Remote System with IIS Manager installed to connect to target

In my case the target is running Windows Server 2019 Server Core, however you can also use the instructions to enable access on the fully blown Windows Server installs as well.

Instructions

Follow these instructions to enable remote IIS management.

Log on to the target server.
Open PowerShell (by typing “powershell” at the command prompt) and install the Web Management Service with the following command.
```
Install-WindowsFeature Web-Mgmt-Service
```

Create a firewall exception (if needed) by running the following command in PowerShell.

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name=”IIS Remote Management” dir=in action=allow service=WMSVC

Open the Registry Editor by running “regedit”.

Do either of the following:
Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WebManagement\Server

Then set “EnableRemoteManagement” to “1” as shown:
Registry Modifcation of EnableRemoteManagement

Or save the below as a file.reg:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WebManagement\Server]
"EnableRemoteManagement"=dword:00000001

And then import it using command prompt with the command:

reg import file.reg

Configure the Web Management Service to run on boot by running the following command in command prompt.
```
sc config WMSVC start= auto
```
Start the Web Management Service by running the following command in command prompt.
```
net start WMSVC
```
Open the “Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager” on the remote machine.
On the left pane, right click on “Start Page”, and select “Connect to a Server”.
Enter the server name or IP and click “Next”.
Enter the credentials and click “Next”.
Give the Connection a friendly name (I usually just leave it), and click “Finish”.
You may be prompted with a “Server Certificate Alert”. Click “Connect” to bypass it.
You now have the remote target IIS instance listed in the “Connections” pane. You can now manage the server.

Congratulations, you can now remotely manage your IIS instance running on Windows Server Core.

Rebuild Search Index Catalog on Microsoft Exchange 2016

Exchange Server, Microsoft 11 Responses »

May 142019

There may be a point in time where you may wish to clear and rebuild the search index catalog on your Microsoft Exchange 2016 Server. This will cause the server to rebuild the search index from scratch.

In my case, for the past month or so Outlook 2019 (Office 365) clients connecting to an on-premise Microsoft Exchange 2016 Server, have been seeing the message “We’re having trouble fetching results from the server…”. The user can click on “Let’s look on your computer instead.” and the search will complete.

When troubleshooting this issue, I tried all of the following:

Clearing and rebuilding the Search index on the client computers
Deleted the OST files to re-create the local cached copy on the client computers
Restarting the Exchange Server
Restarting the Client Computers
Analyzing the Event Log for any errors (none)

None of the above helped in troubleshooting.

We're having trouble fetching results from the server... — Outlook: “We’re having trouble fetching results from the server…”

Because of this, I decided to clear and rebuild the Search Index catalog for the mailbox database on the Exchange Server.

To check the status and to see if your index is corrupt, run the following command:

Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus |  ft ContentIndexState

“ContentIndexState” will report as “Corrupt” if it is corrupt, or “Healthy” if it is healthy.

[PS] C:\Windows\system32>Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus |  ft ContentIndexState

ContentIndexState
-----------------
          Healthy

My server reported as healthy, but I still chose to run the instructions below to rebuild the index.

Instructions

To do delete and re-create your Exchange Server Mailbox Database Search Index Catalog, please perform the following instructions.

Please Note: This is only for Exchange servers that are not part of a DAG. Do not perform these steps if your server is part of an Exchange cluster. Always make sure you have a complete backup of your server.

Log on to your Exchange server.
From the Start Menu, expand “Microsoft Exchange Server 2016”, and right-click on “Exchange Management Shell”, and select “Run as Administrator”.

Type the following commands to stop required search services.

Stop-Service MSExchangeFastSearch
Stop-Service HostControllerService

Open a file browser (you may need Administrative privilege) and navigate to your Exchange mailbox directory.
```
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Mailbox\Mailbox Database NumberNumberNumber
```
You’ll see a folder inside of the mailbox folder with a GUID type name with Single at the end. Delete or move this (preferred is move to alternate location). I’ve put an example below.
```
12854239C-1823-8c32-ODJQ-SSDFK123CSDFG.1.Single
```
This is the folder you want to move/delete.
Go back to the “Exchange Management Shell”, and run the following commands to start the services.
```
Start-Service MSExchangeFastSearch
Start-Service HostControllerService
```
As mentioned above, you can check the status of the rebuild by running the “Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus” command, and looking at the “ContentIndexState” status.

That’s it! After running the command, you may notice your server will experience heavy CPU usage due to Exchange rebuilding the search index.

After rebuilding the search index, I noticed that my Outlook clients were able to successfully search on the server without having to select “Let’s look on your computer instead.”.

WSUS IIS Memory Issue – Error: Connection Error

Microsoft, WSUS 23 Responses »

May 142019

On a fresh or existing WSUS install, you may notice that the WSUS Administrator MMC applet stops functioning and present the error “Error: Connection Error – An error occurred trying to connect to the WSUS Server.”

I originally experienced this on Windows Server Update Services running on Windows Server 2012 R2 and applied the fix. Recently, I deployed Windows Server Update Services on a new Windows Server 2019 – Server Core install, and experienced this issue during the first synchronization. Before realizing what the issue was, I attempted to re-install WSUS and IIS from scratch numerous times until I came across old notes. One would have thought they would have resolved this issue on a new server operating system.

When the issue occurs, all processes will appear to be running on the server. Looking at the server event log, you’ll notice multiple application errors:

Event ID: 13042 - Windows Server Update Services
Description: Self-update is not working.

Event ID: 12002 - Windows Server Update Services
Description: The Reporting Web Service is not working.

Event ID: 12012 - Windows Server Update Services
Description: The API Remoting Web Service is not working.

Event ID: 12032 - Windows Server Update Services
Description: The Server Synchronization Web Service is not working.

Event ID: 12022 - Windows Server Update Services
Description: The Client Web Service is not working.

Event ID: 12042 - Windows Server Update Services
Description: The SimpleAuth Web Service is not working.

Event ID: 12052 - Windows Server Update Services
Description: The DSS Authentication Web Service is not working.

Event ID: 12072 - Windows Server Update Services
Description: The WSUS content directory is not accessible.
System.Net.WebException: The remote server returned an error: (503) Server Unavailable.
   at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.GetResponse()
   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.HealthMonitoring.HmtWebServices.CheckContentDirWebAccess(EventLoggingType type, HealthEventLogger logger)

You will also see the below error message when attempting to use the WSUS MMC.

WSUS Connection Error presented when memory issue occurs — WSUS 503 Error: Connection Error

The Problem

This issue occurs because the WSUS application pool in IIS “WsusPool” has reached it’s maximum private memory limit and attempts to recycle the memory usage.

Ultimately I believe this causes the IIS worker process to crash since it has run out of memory, and the pending command (whether it’s a synchronization or something else) fails to complete.

Previously, I noticed database corruption on a WSUS SQL Express database when this issue occurred, so I recommend applying the fix on a fresh install of WSUS.

The Fix

To resolve this issue, we need to adjust the max

On the server running WSUS and IIS, open the “Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager” inside of the “Windows Administrative Tools” (found in the start menu, or Control Panel).
On the left hand side under “Connections”, expand the server, and select “Application Pools”.
On the right hand side under “Application Pools” heading, right-click on “WsusPool” and select “Advanced Settings”.
In the “Advanced Settings” window, scroll down until you see “Private Memory Limit (KB)”. Either change this to “0” (as shown below) to set no memory limit, or increase the limit to the value you prefer.
Select “Ok” to close the window.
Restart IIS by running “iisreset” from an administrative command prompt, restarting the server, or selecting “Restart” under “Manage Server” when looking at the default pane in IIS when the server is selected.

The issue should now be resolved and your WSUS server should no longer be crashing.

If you are applying this fix on a Server Core install, you’ll need to connect remotely to the IIS instance to apply the fix.

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