MfaSettings.xml updates not taking effect

6th of May, 2017 / / No Comments

First published at https://nivleshc.wordpress.com
Last week, I was at a client site, extending their Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) 2016 Self Service Password Reset Solution so that it could use Azure MultiFactor Authentication (MFA). This is an elegant solution since instead of using Questions and Answers to authenticate yourself when trying to reset your password, you can use One Time Passwords (OTP), sent as a security code via a text message to your registered mobile device.
I followed the steps as outlined in https://github.com/Microsoft/MIMDocs/blob/master/MIMDocs/DeployUse/working-with-self-service-password-reset.md… [Keep reading] “MfaSettings.xml updates not taking effect”

Re-execute the UserData script in an AWS Windows Instance

23rd of April, 2017 / / 11 Comments

First published at https://nivleshc.wordpress.com
Bootstrapping is an awesome way of customising your instances in AWS (similar capability exists in Azure).
To enable bootstrapping, while configuring the launch instance, in Step 3: Configure Instance Details scroll down to the bottom and then expand Advanced Details.
You will notice a User data text box. This is where you can provide your bootstrap script. The script will be run when your instance is first launched.
AWS_BootstrapScript
I went ahead and entered my script in the text box and proceeded to complete my instance configuration.… [Keep reading] “Re-execute the UserData script in an AWS Windows Instance”

Error rebuilding MIMWAL – File MicrosoftServices.IdentityManagement.WorkflowActivityLibrary.dll not found

2nd of April, 2017 / / No Comments

First published on Nivlesh’s blog at https://nivleshc.wordpress.com
A few days ago, I was going through the steps for compiling MIMWAL, as listed at http://ithinkthereforeidam.com/installing-the-mimwal/ and came across an interesting problem.
After I had rebuilt my Visual Studio package, I went to run Sign.cmd and kept getting the following error message
Signcmd_Error
Error: File “MicrosoftServices.IdentityManagement.WorkflowActivityLibrary.dll” Not Found. You need to compile WAL solution first! Make sure you use REBUILD Solution menu. Aborting script execution…
This was quite bizarre as I had not deviated from the steps listed in the above mentioned article.… [Keep reading] “Error rebuilding MIMWAL – File MicrosoftServices.IdentityManagement.WorkflowActivityLibrary.dll not found”

Automate Secondary ADFS Node Installation and Configuration

1st of November, 2016 / / No Comments

Originally posted on Nivlesh’s blog @ nivleshc.wordpress.com

Introduction

Additional nodes in an ADFS farm are required to provide redundancy incase your primary ADFS node goes offline. This ensures your ADFS service is still up and servicing all incoming requests. Additional nodes also help in load balancing the incoming traffic, which provides a better user experience in cases of high authentication traffic.

Overview

Once an ADFS farm has been created, adding additional nodes is quite simple and mostly relies on the same concepts for creating the ADFS farm.… [Keep reading] “Automate Secondary ADFS Node Installation and Configuration”

Automate ADFS Farm Installation and Configuration

27th of September, 2016 / / No Comments

Originally posted on Nivlesh’s blog @ nivleshc.wordpress.com

Introduction

In this multi-part blog, I will be showing how to automatically install and configure a new ADFS Farm. We will accomplish this using Azure Resource Manager templates, Desired State Configuration scripts and Custom Script Extensions.

Overview

We will use Azure Resource Manager to create a virtual machine that will become our first ADFS Server. We will then use a desired state configuration script to join the virtual machine to our Active Directory domain and to install the ADFS role.… [Keep reading] “Automate ADFS Farm Installation and Configuration”

Create a Replica Domain Controller using Desired State Configuration

20th of September, 2016 / / No Comments

Originally posted on Nivlesh’s blog @ nivleshc.wordpress.com
Welcome back. In this blog we will continue with our new Active Directory Domain and use Desired State Configuration (DSC) to add a replica domain controller to it, for redundancy.
If you have not read the first part of this blog series, I would recommend doing that before continuing (even if you need a refresher). The first blog can be found at Create a new Active Directory Forest using Desired State Configuration
Whenever you create an Active Directory Domain, you should have, at a minimum, two domain controllers.… [Keep reading] “Create a Replica Domain Controller using Desired State Configuration”

Create a new Active Directory Forest using Desired State Configuration

8th of September, 2016 / / 9 Comments

Originally posted on Nivlesh’s blog @ nivleshc.wordpress.com

Desired State Configuration (DSC) is a declarative language in which you state “what” you want done instead of going into the nitty gritty level to describe exactly how to get it done. Jeffrey Snover (the inventor of PowerShell) quotes Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation to describe DSC – it tells the servers to “Make it so”.

In this blog, I will show you how to use DSC to create a brand new Active Directory Forest.… [Keep reading] “Create a new Active Directory Forest using Desired State Configuration”