Can't Set Remote Desktop Licensing Mode on a Windows 2012 Server

I ran into this little problem over the weekend attempting to license a terminal server.

A Microsoft Windows 2012 Server that I installed RDC CAL licenses for showed an unlicensed status warning because I had not set the licensing mode for the server.

The procedure for assigning the licensing mode is to open Server Manager, Remote Desktop Services, and select Overview; from there, a GUI is supposed to make the licensing process relatively easy.

However, when I attempted to do this, Windows reported:

"You are current logged on as local administrator on the computer. You must be logged on as a domain user to manage servers and collections."

This message prevents you from seeing the handy UI.

Regrettably, this is Microsoft-speak for "We never intended anyone to run RDC/Terminal Services on a stand-alone server not a part of a domain, duh", which is asinine, but yes, there is a work-around.

1. Open GPEDIT.MSC.

2. Browse to the following folder: Computer Configuration\ Administrative Templates\ Windows Components\ Remote Desktop Services\ Remote Desktop Session Host\ Licensing

3. Enable the key: Use the specified Remote Desktop license servers. Declare your server. Save.

4. Enable the key: Set the Remote Desktop licensing mode. Declare your licensing mode. Save

5. Shell to DOS with Admin privileges. Do a "gpupdate /force" on the box.

When you run your licensing diagnosis again, you'll find that the errors have gone away and you've successfully assigned the licensing model to the server.

R

What Are You Good At?

Think Fast

C'mon.

You're a small business owner ... What makes you different from your competitor?

Why would a customer want to do business with you over somebody else?

What do you do better than anyone?

What are you good at?

Yeah, you know this crap should be top of your head, back of your hand kind of stuff.

If you're unable to rattle these things off the top of your tongue then you might not be fully acquainted with them. And lucky for you, that's exactly what we're going to talk about next: core competencies and intellectual property.

What Are Core Competencies?

Core competencies are those things that you must do very, very well, every day, to execute your business strategy. Unless you're really good at doing these things all the time, you're not a competitor. Example. If you're:

• A car manufacturer that's bad at designing cars
• An attorney that chronically misunderstands the law
• An accountant incapable of distinguishing a balance sheet from a P&L
• A rodeo clown afraid of his own shadow
• A dog trainer that's a cat person

... it's not going to work. If you can't do what's absolutely required of you, you're not going to get the job done. What are those things? Are they specific? Succinct? What makes you better at those things than your competitor? Careful though: you can't be competent in everything. You shouldn't have more than three core competencies.

What is Intellectual Property (IP)?

Special knowledge and training, products, techniques, approaches, trade secret, patents, copyrights, processes ... IP is the secret sauce. It's the value that only you or your company can provide. Consider:

• The Colonel's Secret Recipe
• Coke's Secret Formula
• A Non-Toxic, Biodegradable Carpet Cleaning Solution That Doesn't Harm Kids or Pets
• A Unique Software to Diagnose a Rare Vehicle
• You've been classically trained to restore Baroque Italian paintings

Nobody else can give your client what you're able to because what you provide is unique.

How do Competencies and IP Relate to Tech Strategy?

I love it when people go out and spend, say, $10,000 on technology that does absolutely nothing to leverage IP or core competencies. I say "I love it" because it creates a stark contrast between reality and crippling, short-sighted strategy. It's like:

• "Let's go out and blow $10k on an email server because email is what we do best. Email is our core competency." Email? Say what? So email is what you've got to do day after day to execute your business plan? Uh, no.
   
• You're Ford Motor Company and you lay down $10k on a web design that talks about fruit. Fruit. Fruit, and maybe how it relates to an upcoming sales promotion with a Hawaiian theme, but still ... dude, you make cars.
   
• On a whim, one of your managers runs out and subscribes to a $10k Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Meh, it worked well at the last company they were at. But your brand is known for fast, friendly, personal, face-to-face service from knowledgeable people ... and now this manager wants to put your people behind a computer screen. That seems incongruous, no? Helllooo ...
   
• Your medical services company just spent $10k on a special piece of software that allows you to diagnose rare genetic conditions. And on Facebook? You're posting pictures of cats with stethoscopes. Because you want to be known for crazy cats with stethoscopes.

I think you'll agree with me. Technology investments should leverage what you're good at. Above all, investment in technology should yield some strategic value through differentiation, lower cost/price, create a distinctive brand, lead through innovation, scale through rapid growth, shrink time, build alliances ...

And over the next two weeks, I'm going to talk about each and every one these strategic values and explain what they mean, but listen up: if your tech spend doesn't capitalize on what you're good at, how do you expect to produce a strategic outcome? Think about it. Then start aligning your spending with what you're good at to produce specific strategic outcomes.

What You Should be Thinking About Now

• What are your core competencies and intellectual property?
   
• How does your technology spending complement either? How does your technology spending distract from either?
   
• How are your processes and systems accentuating, highlighting, leveraging either? How are your processes and systems diminishing either?
   
• Consider the culture and knowledge of your team. How does what they know - your training, hiring and selection criterion, certification regime, their aptitudes - reflect your core competencies and intellectual property?
   
• Do you completely lack IP? How does not being able to offer a unique solution to a problem put you at a competitive disadvantage? Is it time to find IP/make IP?
   
• How does your website / social media engagement  complement or highlight your core competencies and intellectual property? Are you talking about these things online?

What is Data?

Datum is a single fact. A simple number, a specific date, a single amount, a zero in the right place, or a one somewhere else. Datum is the singular form of data or a collection of facts.

Data is inherently chaotic. It's disorganized, jumbled, sometimes measurable and sometimes just a feeling. It's everywhere! In and of itself, data has no meaning and is practically useless.

And no, I'm not talking about him.

Here's an example.  Let's say you're a purchasing manager and you need to know what you've paid for a commodity over the last three years. A single hand-scribbled figure is delivered to you by your lead buyer:

$3.87

Okay, you'd have no idea what this means. There's no other context than the amount itself. Is it an average? Is it the last purchase price? What was the quality, quantity, or unit of measure? When was the date surrounding this transaction? As information, this is meaningless. You need more data! You need more facts to provide context and to potentially understand its meaning. 

So by itself, data has no relevance, but in IT, we're very, very obsessed with data. It's found at the very bottom of things - a foundation that is the basis of everything we do in IT. We backup data. We recover data. We analyze data. We mine data. We walk data. Our strategy for managing an Information System begins at understanding how every datum gets recorded!

Seeing its importance yet?

Take into consideration the following four pieces of data:

$3.87  $3.56   $3.78  $3.63

Only one of these is accurate. Only one of this is the right, true piece of data. Which one is it? How can you tell? Which one is the real piece of data? Which is true? Which is false?

• And if we kept the bad data and used it as a basis of reporting, wouldn't the reports be suspect? Like, the reports would be bad? Generating erroneous information?
   
• And wouldn't the decisions our employees - relying off of the reports - make be bad? Wrong? Inaccurate?
   
• Wouldn't inaccurate information - fed to our internal decision-makers - impact the expectations of our shareholders and private investors?
   
• Then won't our bad decisions lead to internal losses, missed opportunity, or disappointed customers? Who then relate their frustrations to friends and family through word-of-mouth, damaging your brand, ruining your reputation? 

GIGO, right? Garbage In, Garbage Out?

Understanding the role Information Systems plays in your business begins with thoroughly studying the first and last datum stored. Managing the information system means stepping back, all the way back through your assumptions, to see how data is being accurately captured, recorded, preserved, and maintained. Do you know this? Where your data comes from? How it's accuracy is guaranteed?

Next: What is Information?

R