Errors 1030 and 1058 in my error logs....

You may experience one or many errors and events if Group Policy (errors 1030 and 1058 in error logs)  is applied to the computers on your network. To determine the cause of the issue, you must troubleshoot the configuration of the computers on your network. Follow these steps to troubleshoot the cause of the issue:

1. Examine the DNS settings and network properties on the servers and client computers.
2. Examine the Server Message Block signing settings on the client computers.
3. Make sure that the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service, the Net Logon service, and the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service are started on all computers.
4. Make sure that Distributed File System (DFS) is enabled on all computers.
5. Examine the contents and the permissions of the Sysvol folder.
6. Make sure that the Bypass traverse checking right is granted to the required groups.
7. Make sure that the domain controllers are not in a journal wrap state.
8. Run the dfsutil /purgemupcache command. The Dfsutil.exe program is included in the Windows 2000 Server Support Tools and the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools.

Link

Active Directory monitoring and health checkup.

I recommended to you to run the following test once a month and keep the log files for trend analysis as well, on all domain controllers
Dcdiag.exe /v >> c:\temp\pre_dcdiag.txt
This is a must and will always tell you if there is trouble with your DCs and/or services associated with it

Netdiag.exe /v >> c:\temp\pre_Netdiag.txt
This will let me know if there are issues with the networking components on the DC.  This along with the post test also is a quick easy way to ensure the patch I just installed is really installed (just check the top of the log)

Netsh dhcp show server >> c:\temp\pre_dhcp.txt
Some may not do this but I've felt the pain of a DHCP server somehow not being authorized after a patch.  This allows me verify the server count and names.

Repadmin /showreps >> c:\temp\pre_rep_partners.txt
This shows all my replication and if it was successful or not.  Just be aware that Global Catalogs will have more info here than a normal domain controller.

repadmin /replsum /errorsonly >> c:\temp\pre_repadmin_err.txt
This is the one that always takes forever but will let you know who you are having issues replicating with.

Windows 8 editions listed in HP driver notes

Microsoft Windows 8 32 Edition
Microsoft Windows 8 64 Edition
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 32 Edition
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 64 Edition
Microsoft Windows 8 Professional 32 Edition
Microsoft Windows 8 Professional 64 Edition


 Link

DNS in Small Networks Step-by-Step Guide

This guide helps you implement Domain Name System (DNS) on the Windows Server 2008 operating system in a small network. Windows Server 2008 uses DNS to translate computer names to network addresses. An Active Directory domain controller can act as a DNS server that registers the names and addresses of computers in the domain and then provides the network address of a member computer when the domain controller receives a query with the name of the computer. This guide explains how to set up DNS on a simple network that consists of a single domain.

Microsoft Link

Configuring Firewall Settings with Group Policy

In windows 2008 R2 Server you can use Group Policy to manage Windows Firewall settings for computers running Vista, 7, 2008, and 2008 R2 by using two nodes:

1.    Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Windows Firewall With Advanced Security\Windows Firewall With Advanced Security

This node applies settings only to computers running Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2 and provides exactly the same interface as Windows Firewall With Advanced Security Console.

2.    Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Network\Network Connections \Windows Firewall.

This node applies settings to computers running Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2. This tool is less flexible than the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security console.

Use Jetpack.exe to Compact a WINS or DHCP Database

Microsoft Windows NT Server includes a utility, Jetpack.exe, that can be used to compact a Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) database. Microsoft recommends that you compact the WINS database whenever it approaches 30 MB.

If the WINS/DHCP service is a resource within a Windows 2000 Cluster, refer to the following article:

283251  How to Use the Jetpack Utility on a Clustered WINS/DHCP Databas.

 

The correct syntax for Jetpack.exe is:

JETPACK.EXE

Example commands to compact the WINS database:

CD %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\WINS
NET STOP WINS
JETPACK WINS.MDB TMP.MDB
NET START WINS

Example commands to compact the DHCP database:

CD %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\DHCP
NET STOP DHCPSERVER
JETPACK DHCP.MDB TMP.MDB
NET START DHCPSERVER

In the examples above, Tmp.mdb is a temporary database that is used by Jetpack.exe. Wins.mdb is the WINS database. Dhcp.mdb is the DHCP database.

Jetpack.exe compacts the WINS or DHCP database by doing the following:

1. Copies database information to a temporary database file called Tmp.mdb.
2. Deletes the original database file, Wins.mdb or Dhcp.mdb.
3. Renames the temporary database files to the original filename.

NOTE: During the compact process, Jetpack.exe creates a temporary file with the name that is specified by the temp database name parameter. The temporary file is removed when the compact process is complete. Make sure you do not have a file already existing in WINS or DHCP folder with the same name as the one specified in the temp database name parameter.

Link

Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS)

Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) is a networking protocol that provides centralized Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) management for computers to connect and use a network service.

1) On Windows 2008 R2 Server Network Policy Server (NPS) can be used as a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server to perform authentication, authorization, and accounting for RADIUS clients. A RADIUS client can be an access server, such as a dial-up server or wireless access point, or a RADIUS proxy.  Different editions of Windows Server 2008 R2 offer different RADIUS server capabilities.

• Windows Web Server 2008 R2 does not include NPS.
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard supports NPS with a maximum of 50 RADIUS clients and 2 remote RADIUS server groups. Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard also does not support defining groups of RADIUS clients by specifying an IP address range.
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter support NPS without restrictions.

When NPS is used as a RADIUS server, it provides the following:

• A central authentication and authorization service for all access requests that are sent by RADIUS clients.
• A central accounting recording service for all accounting requests that are sent by RADIUS clients.
• Accounting requests are stored in a local log file or a Microsoft® SQL Server™ database for analysis.

2) RADIUS AAA Services.

• Authentication is the process of identifying an individual, usually based on a username and password. Authentication is based on the idea that each individual user will have unique information that sets him or her apart from other users.
• Authorization is the process of granting or denying a user access to network resources once the user has been authenticated through the username and password. The amount of information and the amount of services the user has access to depend on the user's authorization level.
• Accounting is the process of keeping track of a user's activity while accessing the network resources, including the amount of time spent in the network, the services accessed while there and the amount of data transferred during the session. Accounting data is used for trend analysis, capacity planning, billing, auditing and cost allocation.