During normal operation, glitches or recurring issues may occur from time to time. These can have various causes, such as operating system errors, incorrect configurations, changes resulting from updates, etc.
Microsoft has compiled some of the most common support requests for various areas and describes possible solutions. This article merely lists the areas covered. If you are interested in learning more about a specific area, please watch the video on that topic: Upgrade your Windows Server troubleshooting skills - Windows Server Summit
Area
Description
Section in the video
Windows Server activation
Guidelines for correctly configuring the available activation methods
1:02 - 4:05
Remote Desktop Services licensing
Guidelines for properly handling different versions, the licensing mode, and the grace period (120 days)
4:05 - 7:05
Active Directory replication
Procedure for resolving orphaned metadata, misconfigurations of the secure channel, replication topology, or DFSR configuration
7:05 - 10:32
Install or upgrade Windows Server
Determining hardware compatibility and sufficient capacity, as well as any missing requirements, and using the correct installation media
10:32 - 14:48
Remote Desktop Services deployment
Troubleshooting connection issues and configuration errors
14:48 - 16:41
Windows Updates
Resolving common error messages caused by misconfigurations or incorrect configuration settings
16:41 - 21:41
Accessing SMB file shares
Increased security requirements for access, incorrectly configured access permissions, errors caused by cloning
21:41 - 26:37
Active Directory Certificate Services
Handling missing or expired block lists, lack of internet access for retrieving block lists, incorrect CA configuration, loss of critical access
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
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