Name resolution and connectivity issues on a RRAS that also runs DC, DNS or WINS

To fix these problems do the following:
Configure the RRAS server to publish only the IP address of the local network adapter in DNS
If the Routing and Remote Access server is running the DNS service, you may Configure the RRAS server to publish only the IP address of the local network adapter in DNS.
To add the PublishAddresses and RegisterDnsARecords registry values for the DNS and Netlogon services, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNS\Parameters
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value to add the following registry value:
Value name: PublishAddresses
Data type: REG_SZ
Value data: IP address of the server's local network adapter.
If you have to specify more than one IP address, separate the addresses with spaces.
4. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netlogon\Parameters
5. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value to add the following registry value:
Value name: RegisterDnsARecords
Data type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 0
6. Close Registry Editor, and then restart the DNS and Netlogon services. To restart a service, click Start, point to Programs or All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services. In the Services console, right-click the service, and then click Restart.

Configure the RRAS to register only the IP address of the local network adapter in WINS
If the Routing and Remote Access server is running the WINS service, you may configure the RRAS to register only the IP address of the local network adapter in WINS.
To do that, add the DisableNetbiosOverTcpip registry value for the Routing and Remote Access service. The DisableNetbiosOverTcpip registry value disables the NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) protocol for remote access connections. Therefore, the server will not register the PPP adaptor in the WINS database.
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\RemoteAccess\Parameters\IP
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value to add the following registry value:
Value name: DisableNetbiosOverTcpip
Data type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 1
4. Close Registry Editor, and then restart the Routing and Remote Access service. To restart a service, click Start, point to Programs or All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services. In the Services console, right-click the service, and then click Restart.

Prevent the DNS Register A Records for RRAS
The DNS Server service registers A Records for all interfaces on a server running Routing and Remote Access. That may cause a master browser and connection issues if the server is domain controller.
To prevent this behavior, you may configure the DNS to prevent the DNS register A Record for the RRAS by follow these steps:
1. Start DNS Manager.
2. Right-click the computer name, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Interfaces tab, and then click Only the following IP addresses.
4. Remove any Routing and Remote Access IP addresses that are listed
For more information take a look at this link.

How to test and reset the secure channel between a computer and a domain

We can use the domain secure channel utility nltest.exe as follows:
To test the secure channel use the following command:
nltest /server:<ComputerName> /sc_query:<DomainName>
To reset the secure channel use the following command:
nltest /server:<ComputerName> /sc_reset:<DomainName>
Another option is to use the netdom command to reset the secure channel using the command:
netdom reset <ComputerName> /Domain <DomainName> /UserO <UserUPN> /PasswordO * 
For more information read the following articles from Microsoft KB:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/158148
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/216393

PXE-E55: ProxyDHCP service did not reply to request on port 4011

We you try to PXE boot a client from WDS you receive the message:
PXE-E55: ProxyDHCP service did not reply to request on port 4011
To fix this problem open a command prompt in WDS server and enter the following command:
WDSUTIL /Delete-AutoAddDevices /DeviceType:ApprovedDevices

Keyboard shortcuts for Server Manager in Windows Server 2012

Please read the following article from Microsoft technet library.

How to upgrade Windows Server 2008 R2 from Standard to Enterprise Edition without media

Open a command prompt and enter the command:
DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition
to find the current server edition.
After that enter the command:
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions
to find the editions that your system can be upgraded to.
Finally enter the command
DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerEnterprise /ProductKey:XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX
to upgrade to enterprise version. Of course you must use your real enterprise product key.
If you have a KMS to activate your windows server then you can use the known KMS client key, so the command becomes:
DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerEnterprise /ProductKey:489J6-VHDMP-X63PK-3K798-CPX3Y
For more information read the following article.
There is a possibility that after this upgrade procedure the system does not allow you to use memory above 4 GB and the allow remote desktop check box is disabled. In this case use the following procedure to fix this problem:
Open a command prompt
Type slmgr.vbs -ckms (this clears any KMS entry you have)
Type slmgr.vbs -upk (this removes any product key installed)
Type slmgr.vbs -ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx (where the x’s is the new enterprise product key you will use)
Type slmgr.vbs -ato (this activates the server)
After this you must restart the server, so that you can utilize memory above 4 GB and to enable remote desktop check box in system properties.

How to convert a Windows Server 2012 Core to a Windows Server 2012 GUI installation

From the command line we start powershell:
start powershell
Optionally we set a system proxy if we don't have a direct internet connection:
netsh winhttp set proxy proxy.company.com:3128
Then we enter this command so that the actual conversion take place:
Install-WindowsFeature server-gui-mgmt-infra,server-gui-shell
If we can't access the install files from the Internet  then we can use the installation dvd:
Insert installation dvd to the drive and enter the command
Get-WindowsImage -ImagePath D:\Sources\Install.wim
where D: is the dvd drive letter
From there we find the index number of the windows server installation image we have. Using this information we can enter the command
Install-WindowsFeature server-gui-mgmt-infra,server-gui-shell -Source wim:d:\sources\install.wim:2
where 2 is the index number of the installation image we have on our server.
Finally we must restart our server using the powershell command
Restart-Computer
After the restart our server becomes a full gui installation.
To reset the proxy server settings we must enter the command
netsh winhttp reset proxy

How to safely remove a USB disk from a windows server core installation

• On command prompt type "diskpart" and wait for the next prompt and then type "list volume". Take note of the number of your desired volume by watching its drive letter
• Type "select volume x", where x is the number of your USB storage.
• Then type "remove all dismount". 
• Type "exit" to leave diskpart.