A lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path: EDC Flashlights

(Maglite, Surefire 6P, S&W "tactical" LED, $2 LED, LP200, UK4AA)

Over the years I’ve tried numerous types of flashlights.  I’ve received browning LED keychain lights and I’ve tried the Sapphire keychain LED which I liked but neither survived my pocket.  I’m not complaining. I have destroyed unbreakable plastic thermoses, ruptured a steel Stanley and once dropped a linked, stainless keychain that the locksmith claimed was unbreakable only to watch keys scatter everywhere. Heck, I’ve even had a standard key split-ring break.

I’ve also run though many different AAA and AA variations on pocket torches starting with the venerable Maglite 2-AA.  Most have a life expectancy of 18 months at best. 16 years ago on my first trip to Africa I carried a SureFire 6P with the 120 lumen upgrade light. At the time it was leading the pack in tactical lights.  That trip shaped much of what I look for in a light when I needed to find batteries they were expensive and very difficult to find. I spent most of that 28 day trip relying on cheap AA backup light.

 My current requirements for an EDC light are that it must be comfortable in my pocket. Many tactical flashlights have too many sharp edges and protrusions to meet this requirement. It must put out at least 35 lumens.  It should be powered preferably by a single AAA or AA battery.  Finally it must not break the bank.  Currently I’ve settled on the Lux-Pro 150 LP200.  It was $12, runs on one AA, is round and smooth and if I remember correctly it’s rated at 120 Lumens.  We’re somewhere around that 18 month window and it now needs a smack to get going from time to time.  It has a lifetime warranty (with receipt) but for $12 I may just buy a new when needed.

My second choice in lights is the UK4AA.  I have both the twist-on and front switch models.  I keep one of these in my laptop bag. While they are only rated at 38 lumens they are both completely waterproof and certified for use in hazardous environments. Even though they are little larger than I’d like, being flat, they are very comfortable to carry.  

Note that the only light here that I would consider ‘tactical’ is the SureFire 6P.  The specifications of a tactical light don’t meet my requirements for EDC.  Yes, I’m willing to spend more for a tactical light.  So why not just carry one as EDC?  Think about standing in a semi-dark server room, a foot or so away from the back of a rack of servers looking for the serial number on a device.  Now hit that area with a 250 lumen light with your face a foot away.  Good luck reading that number now that you've flash blinded yourself.  Keep in mind that I use a layered approach to EDC and switch out my gear to meet daily (mission) requirements. I carry a tactical light when and where it may be needed. Heading out to dinner; gear is swapped.

IS the pen mighter than the sword: EDC Tactical Pens

I haven’t quite bought into the whole tactical pen concept.  I like the idea that a pen can be used for self-defense but it wouldn’t be my first weapon of choice. The corollary to this thought is that tactical pens are best deployed when they are already in your hand.  I would consider LEO’s the demographic that would be most likely to actually deploy a tactical pen. The problem I have with this is that they (mostly) are not designed for this. Think about it. If you are writing a citation you want a click pen; something that you can use without tying up your hands or taking your eyes off your task.  But in reality wouldn't you rather drop whatever is in your hands and pull your primary weapon?

The Gen-1 pens all feature removable caps.  This takes two hands and changes the dynamics of the instrument. Twisty pens like the S&M Gen-2 are more suited to the task as long as they don’t take multiple revolutions.  Push button pens such as the Gerber Impromptu or SureFire EWP-2 would be better choices. 

I personally prefer a smaller pen.  From many years my EDC pen was the small, very worn pen in the picture that looks like a fisher space pen.  It’s not. It’s a twist pen that I picked up at an IT trade show.  It’s been replaced by the S&W twister pictured next to it.  I removed the fire starter crap that only weighted it down. Being in IT I usually have a sharpie on me. Even the plastic version has its uses for self-defense.  The gold dress pen was selected specifically for the flat end cap.  It’s perfectly adequate for self-defense. The two S&W pens in the middle came with stocking stuffer knife sets that I've received over the years. I usually carry one in my laptop bag and the other in my tool bag.

EDC - AKA crap in my pockets

My thought process was started for this post several months back after reading an article (sorry, I didn't save the link, though it was probably on ITSTactical) about overloading rucks in tactical situations.  I thought the same could apply to many folks in the EDC crowd. Let's get real: How many of us really want to carry around a Maxpedition Versipack full of stuff?

I think that men have been fascinated with perfecting their personal kit since the first man tied a stick to a rock.  The current EDC craze traces its roots back to the days of dial-up bulletin boards and modem based internet connections. When the first multi-tools came to market they were stupid expensive and everyone wanted to know the pros and cons of each before parting with their cash. I see several differences between then and now.  First, I get the feeling that many of the people posting their pocket dumps are trying to one up the others by posting the classiest, most expensive, coolest gear they can find.   Who wants to spend $45 on a skull shaped titanium bottle opener and how many times a day do you really think you’d need to open a bottle? 

I carry the stuff in the picture in my laptop bag. Note the titanium "ice pick" in my picture. It was hard to pass up 3 bucks and free shipping.  Saying titanium to an EDC guy is like saying buy one - get one to a woman shopping for shoes.  The pry bar and knife in that picture are also titanium. Their only saving grace was that they were each under $6 and were impulse buys with other orders so I didn't pay for shipping.  But really? The only items I use anywhere regularly are the sharpie and the Gerber mini-tool.

Many guys seem to be loading down with enough junk that we now have pocket clips to hang the gear so it doesn’t tangle up in the bottom of your pocket. Finally, many guys seem to be tied to specific carry items, never swapping for a more appropriate tool. I have a list of items I always have with me.  I then swap the item as needed to meet specific requirements for the day.  For example: I typically carry a light that uses a single AA battery.  If I’m heading into the woods I swap that light for an Underwater Kinetics 4AA. I have yet to find a single EDC item that will fit the need for every situation. When in the office I will carry a multi-tool.  When out and about I prefer to carry a single hand folder.

I also like to take a layered approach to my EDC. The items in my pocket are meant to save me the trip back to my desk.  The items in the kit at my desk will get me to my vehicle. My vehicle kit is designed to get me home.  This means I’m not weighted down. The items on my person are used every day.  The layered approach also helps counteract the one-is-none factor as each location has an improved/ more robust version of anything in the previous kit.

My Pocket Dump:

Wallet

Handkerchief/ Bandanna

Watch

Keys

Knife

Flashlight

Pen

Reading Glasses in case

Cell Phone

Moving Exchange 2013 Databases Hangs at Validating Path

The consultant that set up my hybrid environment did a very basic install and loaded the mailbox database on the application drive and put the log files in the same folder with the database. We've not bothered backing up the Exchange system as we were not really using the local database.  Now I'm ready to use these on premise databases.  The backup app won't even load with the system configured with the logs and database on the same drive.  When I attempted to move the database the command hung while validating the path.

The problem is that the move database command checks to make sure that you have ~33% free disk space after the move has been completed for both the database and the log files.  Even though they would not be needed and would not be moved by the command there was a huge number of log files because we have not been completing an Exchange aware backup of these servers. 

I had to move the database manually:

1. Dismount the database

Dismount-Database "Mailbox Database

2. Verify clean shut down
Get-MailboxDatabase -Status | % { eseutil /mh $_.edbfilepath } | Select-String -Pattern "State:"

3. Manually copy the database to the new location

4. Verify the command with “what if”
Move-Databasepath “Mailbox Database” –EdbFilepath “F:\MailboxDatabase\Mailbox Database.edb” –LogFolderpath “E:\MailboxLogs” –ConfigurationOnly –whatif

 This checks the path so you’ll get an error if you don’t move the database ahead of time or there is a typo like this - WARNING: The Exchange database file path that you specified, "F:\MailboxDatabase\Mailbox Database.edb", doesn't exist.

5. Move the database using the configuration only command
Move-Databasepath “Mailbox Database” –EdbFilepath “F:\MailboxDatabase\Mailbox Database.edb” –LogFolderpath “E:\MailboxLogs” -ConfigurationOnly

6. Rename the old database to prevent confusion

7. Mount the database
mount-Database "Mailbox Database"

8. Verify logs are being created in E:\MailboxLogs

9. Verify the database is healthy
Get-MailboxDatabase -status |FL AutoDatabaseMountDial, EdbFilePath, LogFolderPath, Mounted

Can you hear me now? - There was no endpoint listening errors during migration

I recently attempted to migrate an admin account mailbox from the cloud back to our on premise Exchange environment.  It failed with the error below. 

There was no endpoint listening at <my target domain> that could accept the message.
 This is often caused by an incorrect address or SOAP action. See InnerException, if present, for more details.

The process is very straight forward and was fully documented as part of my roll back plan and was tested this successfully during the initial migration to Office 365. I tried several times using both available databases with no success. 

We recently rebranded the company and ended up replacing all of our SSL certificates with new wildcard certificates supporting both the old domain and our new domain. The new Exchange certificates were configured for IIS,SMTP and TLS.  However, due to the limited time frame for the change I neglected to remove the old certificate and simply let it expire in place.  

Once I removed the invalid certificate I was able to complete the migration to an on premise database.

Office 365 Fast track deployment process

I spent some time preparing for the MS 70-346 exam by reviewing "Managing Office 365 Identities and Services" on the Microsoft Virtual Academy site. A few of their comments explain all of the frustration I experienced with my consultant when it came to implementing the expanded pilot:

They explain the the fast track deployment process is designed to "Get the customer on to office 365 in a matter of hours."

They also stated, "You don’t need to go through all of that risk assessment that you would normally typically do if you were deploying servers on premise.…..simply because there is no risk. You’re not changing things like the mail delivery architecture. You’re not changing MX records. You’re not doing any of that sort of stuff."

We ran into quite a few issues with the deployment all of which were played down by the consultants:

• Mobile Devices had to be reconfigured
• Initially unable to connect to on premise public folders
• Public folders were dropped from distribution lists that were sync’ed from AD
• Migrated users were no longer able to manage sync’ed distribution lists
• No allowances were made for on premise anti-spam and anti-virus solutions.

There were just the highlights.  All of these issues should have been addressed before the first mailbox was moved.  I never understood the rush to production exhibited by the consultant and our Microsoft reps until I sat though this video.