Setup password reset website Server 2012 R2

How to setup a password reset website using Server 2012 RD Web

Choose a server to install this role.  For my environment, I chose to use the print server. 

1. Install RD Web Access from the Remote Desktop Services. 
Remote desktop to your server (I’m installing this on my print server) and open Server Manager.
Add Roles and Features – Next – Remote Desktop Services installation – Next. 

2. Choose Standard deployment – Next. 
Choose Session-based desktop deployment – Next. 
On Role Services – Choose Next. 

3. On Specify RD Connection Broker server – select your server – add it and choose Next.    

4. On Specify RD Web Access server – Place a checkmark in the Install the RD Web Access role service and click Next. 

5. On Specify RD Session Host servers – select your server – add it and choose Next. 

6. Confirm your selections – place check mark in Restart the server and click Deploy.

7. When the server finishes restarting – Launch Server Manager and wait for it to complete.  Once it completes, you will see a pop up regarding licensing mode. 

In my experience, as long as you do not install the RD Licensing then the RD password reset website that we are going to configure next will continue to work after the 119 days. 

Setting up the website and related configurations for domain password reset

8. Launch Server Manager – Tools – IIS Manager
Expand Sites – Default Website – RDWeb – Pages – then in the middle pane – open Application Settings. 

9. Double click PasswordChangeEnabled and switch the value to true and click OK. 

10. Now your Password reset website is enabled and you can test it by going to this address on your server: 
https://yourservername.domain.com/RDWeb/Pages/en-US/password.aspx












When someone needs to change their password I now send them this link and they can do it remotely. 





 

Install Server 2016 Domain Controller

From Server Manager – click Manage – Add Roles and Features. 
Click Next and Next on Select installation type for Role-based installation. 
Select the server that you want to install your first domain controller – click next. 
Place a check in Active Directory Domain Services
Click Add Features on the box that pops up for ADDS.

Click Next – Next on Features page.
Click Next on AD DS.   Review the settings on the Confirmation Page and place a check mark in the Restart automatically box and then click Install.  

Wait for installation to complete and then click close. 
Return to Server Manager and click the yellow triangle with the exclamation mark. 

In Post-deployment Configuration – click Promote this server to a domain controller. 

Make your choice in deployment operation (for this post we are going to Add a new forest). 
Type in your desired root domain (example domain.com) and click Next. 

Domain Controller Options – choose your forest and domain functional level.  In this example I am going with Windows Server 2016 because I don’t need to add any older domain controllers. 
Specify domain controller capabilities – Select DNS and GC is already added. 
Choose and enter a DSRM password and click Next. 

Additional Options – Leave default or change the NetBIOS name if necessary and click next.  

Verify and click Next on the Paths page. 
Review your options and click next. 
Prerequisites Check – review the results and if acceptable click Install.
After the DC reboots, log back in and begin setting up your Active Directory environment.

CertificationCamps.com Review - detailed version

I have just arrived in Florida to attend a certificationcamps.com training class.  This review will be from my experience at the training camp start to finish.

The cost of this training class is fairly priced if not slightly better then a few others I looked at.  It includes the following:

1. Airfare to Florida (economy class) there and back.
2. Hotel at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Marriott.
3. Four days of training and exam voucher.
4. Lunch provided by the training center.
5. Training books.
6. Shuttle pickup from the airport by certificationcamps.com to hotel.

Tomorrow is the first day of class and I will report on the facilities, trainers, food, snacks and overall feel of the training and sessions.  I have been to many training and certification classes and boot camps over the past 15 years.


Day 1.  Arrived in Florida. 
A lady from certification camps picked me up at the airport and drove me to my hotel.  It was about a 50 minute drive from Airport to Hotel.  It was the Fairfield Marriot Hotel which was a 10-15 minute walk to Certification Camp Building.  I arrived at the hotel around 3 pm and first day of technical training begins tomorrow morning.  The hotel was an average mid-level hotel. 
Here is a picture: 

It had a small workout room but had enough for me to get in a daily workout.  The free breakfast each morning consisted of scrambled eggs, a few choices of cereal, yogurt and various fruit.  Some mornings they had bacon or sausage available.  I noticed later in the week that they had a waffle making station. 


1st Day of IT Training: 

The hotel provided a shuttle which took around 4-8 of us over to CertificationCamps.com each morning and picked us up each afternoon around 5 pm.  I didn't know where to go when they dropped us off at the building as there wasn't a sign or anything.  So I just followed the other people to the elevator and went up to the 2nd floor and followed them into the room.  There wasn't anyone there to greet me when I first arrived so I walked down the hall and noticed that there were several classrooms with signs on them stating what class was in each room.  I walked past one that said Exchange, another that said SQL, a 3rd room that I don't remember and finally I saw one that said Windows Server.  I went in, met the instructor and we got started.  It was just me and one other student. 

Here is the classroom: 

They had Dell machines that ran well.  I didn't have any problems with my machine throughout the training class.  We used Microsoft Hyper-V to run virtual machines for all the training sessions.  Here are some of the VM's that were pre-made: 

Lunches: 
They provided lunch for us each day from by bringing in to go food from a different local restaurant.  You received a menu from the restaurant that day and you circled what you wanted to eat.  For instance, one day it was Jimmy Johns or some sandwich place and you picked your sandwich, side and dessert if you wanted it.  Another day it was some burger place and again you choose your burger and side.  I can't remember what the other places were but you get the picture. 

Snacks: 
They had a nice kitchen area that was always stocked with plenty of various snacks ranging from breakfast bars and fruit to bags of chips and cookies. 

Here is the kitchen: 

Here are the snacks: 

Here are the drinks: 

They had a nice outdoor patio area where most of the students would take breaks and also eat their lunch. 

Outdoor patio shaded area:  

Outdoor patio area in the sun:

The Instructor: 
I've only taken one training class from CertificationCamps.com so I obviously can't comment on all of the instructors but the one I had seemed knowledgeable.  He had a good attitude and was an independent contractor which has been the case for most all the training classes I've ever been too.  I think I remember him telling me he was an MCT and MCSE.  He was also on time and professional.  He told us how long he'd been in IT, a few of the various IT companies he'd worked for and how long he'd been a trainer. 

The class and instruction:
Class each day began on time and we took about 2 ten minute breaks in the morning, had lunch around 11:45 and then about 2 ten minute breaks in the afternoon.  I felt he did a good job of mixing in the material with how he'd seen it done in real world IT at various jobs and consulting situations.  I also liked that he didn't just lecture and then send us to labs.  He would ask us questions about the material and sometimes give us scenarios to make sure we were grasping the topics. 

Actual Class time: 
This was scheduled to be a 5 day class for a Windows MCSE certification exam.  We met 4 days in a row and they encouraged us from the beginning to try the exam on the 4th day.  Their reasoning was that if you failed then the instructor could review again with you on the 5th day and go over any topics you had trouble with on the exam.  When you first enter in the office area of certification camps you see this sign at the reception desk which shows the retake policies. 

Retaking Microsoft Test:  

Taking the exam: 
So on the 4th day the 2 of us students spent the afternoon reviewing and taking various practice exams and then took the exam onsite late that afternoon.  The exam room was a typical exam area like all the others I've been in.  It had room for up to 8 students to test at one time with individual desks, monitoring cameras and a dry erase board in case you needed to calculate anything.  The other student in the class with me decided he'd had enough studying and went to take the exam first.  I decided to keep reviewing a little longer.  After about an hour he came out and said he passed the exam, thanked the instructor, told me good luck and left.  I reviewed one more topic and decided to take the exam.  I went and had the typical exam entrance where they check you in, photo ID and such.  I sat down, put the ear plugs in and started the exam.  I took almost the entire 2 hours as the exam was difficult and then pressed finished.  I was certain that I had failed the exam as I waited for the final screen to come back.  I passed! 

Ending thoughts: 
Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad I went.  However, I don't like flying on planes and waiting in lines at airports so I'd rather do something local.  But at the time, this was the best option in terms of price.  I had found some other training classes that were within driving distance but they were either more expensive or the same price and didn't include meals or have onsite testing.  The last training class I went to was at Global Knowledge and that was for my MCSA.  The instructor there didn't seem as knowledgeable and they did not have onsite testing.  I've found that having the test at the end of the class forces me to focus even more and motivated me to study at night in my hotel room.

Overall score of the class 
Grade = A-

CertificationsCamps.com review - I would return for another class as long as they still had the competitive pricing, all inclusive and onsite testing available.  Hope this helps you.  Feel free to comment if you have additional questions. 

CertificationCamps.com Review - short version

I have just arrived in Florida to attend a certificationcamps.com training class.  This review will be from my experience at the training camp start to finish.

The cost of this training class is fairly priced if not slightly better then a few others I looked at.  It includes the following:

1. Airfare to Florida (economy class) there and back.
2. Hotel at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Marriott.
3. Four days of training and exam voucher.
4. Lunch provided by the training center.
5. Training books.
6. Shuttle pickup from the airport by certificationcamps.com to hotel.

Tomorrow is the first day of class and I will report on the facilities, trainers, food, snacks and overall feel of the training and sessions.  I have been to many training and certification classes and boot camps over the past 15 years. 

Read the full CertificationCamps.com review here

Short review: 
Hotel - mid level hotel that included a basic breakfast each morning. 
Shuttle bus over to training. 
They have a suite inside a building with other tenants that includes 4 classrooms for training.
The classroom was adequate and the computers ran well. 
Instructor was knowledgeable and friendly. 
They provided lunch each day which was takeout from a different place each day. 
Nice patio area for lunch and breaks. 
Onsite testing ran well and was like all other testing centers I'd been too. 
Overall it was good for the price all inclusive (Airfare, hotel, transportation to and from airport, lunch, 5 day class and 1 exam).
Overall Score = B+  I would attend a class here again and they did better then Global Knowledge in my opinion. 
Note - a few things that kept it from getting an A. 
1. Nobody there to greet me / Welcome me at the CertificationCamps.com business entrance front desk area the first day I arrived.  I had to find my own way back to the classroom on my own. 
2. I could be wrong but the training materials we received seemed like they were just photocopies that had been quickly put into a cheap binder.  They didn't see official but maybe that's just how some of them are.  I'll post a photo if I can find the material again. 

Read the full CertificationCamps.com review here