SBS TeeKlatsch

SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 Migration question - enabling mobile access

Beatrice Mulzer — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:46:00 -0700

Today I thought I throw out a question that will be part of the 70-653 exam preparation session I will present at the Microsoft World Partner Conference (WPC) 2009. There is only one correct answer.

During the migration from Windows SBS 2003 to Windows SBS 2008 you must run several migration wizards to perform migration tasks. After you run the Internet Address Management Wizard, Outlook Web Access is no longer available to mobile users. How can mobile access be re-enabled? On the SBS 2008 server you should:

Launch the Mobile Users Group Migration Task
Launch the DNS Forwarders Migration Task
Launch the Exchange Mailboxes and Settings Task

I'll post the answer next Wednesday. (or Thursday) Until then, happy searching!

Meet the new Microsoft Online Services Partner Advisor MVP

Beatrice Mulzer — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:40:00 -0700

Coming not as a surprise, my good friend Suresh was awarded the title of Microsoft Online Services Partner Advisor MVP.

Suresh Ramani is the owner of TechGyan, an IT services firm in Mumbai, India, that supports SBS 2008 and also offers off-shore CAD services. Suresh has been very involved with the partner community, and since he is sort of on the other side of the globe, make that the Online Technical Support Community.

Hence, if you are a Small Business Specialist you get a 4 hour SLA through the Microsoft Online Technical Communities. So if you havent checked out the Online Technical Support Communities, I think it is time for you to do so!

Free SBS 2008 Exam Prep chapters - WPC 2009 - and what does a bear do in the woods?

Beatrice Mulzer — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:03:00 -0700

Free SBS 2008 Exam Prep chapers - of course there is a hook! You have to come to "Warp to the Next Generation of Small Business Server Specialists" session at WPC (Microsoft's World Partner Conference in New Orleans July 13 - 16) which is basically a 1 hour exam prep. At warp speed!

At least the book is still on track for mid-August and the editors are doing a great job homogenizing the content to ensure world wide readers won't get offended by American idiomatic expressions such as "Does a bear sh*t in the woods?". Ok, I really didn't put that in there, but you know what I mean.

The book has plenty of practice exercises, so plan on having at least two server machines or a Virtual Server with plenty of RAM. You will find that getting your hands-on practice will carry you a long way as the exam weighs heavily on that. Also if you can grab an old copy of SBS 2003 grab it now. Hold on to it as one chapter covers migration and that requires SBS2003. There is no longer a download link available that I can find and the book will not ship with software DVDs. There will be one companion CD, but you will have to download or order a copy of SBS 2008 from the TechNet Evaluation Center. If you order the Evaluation version to be shipped to you, you will receive the Premium Edition. (Just too many DVDs to be in the back of a book)

Hope to see you in New Orleans during the Small and Midsize Business Partner Segment!

MCTS for 70-653 available in August

Beatrice Mulzer — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:22:00 -0700

Thanks for all the emails and questions you guys send me in regards to the 70-653 exam book. I recently got word that the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-653): Configuring Windows Small Business Server 2008 will now be available in August of 2009. The good news is, that there will be two (2) sample chapters available for free download prior to the release of the book - I was told by Microsof Learning.

Once I find out more when and how to get the sample chapters, I'll post the instructions to the site. I do not know which 2 chapters will be chosen (that is currently being decided) but if you have a topic preference, let me know.

SBS partners caught on video at WPC

Beatrice Mulzer — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:12:00 -0700

Well, I always love it when the server gives you an error notice that says "bla bla bla...make sure the server is running". Guess I wouldnt be reading that if it woud not be. DUH. Anyhow, today I ran accross a video on MSN Videos that contained Jeff Middleton and I by shear accident.

Finally, we got our famed 3 seconds! Click here

I look forward to WPC 2009 in New Orleans this year, hope to see you there!

Installing the SBS 2008 self-issued certificate on an iPhone

Beatrice Mulzer — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:13:00 -0700

So I finally broke down and got an iPhone the other day. I couldn't help it since Rick got one last November I have been jealous ever since.

The first order of the day was to put the Exchange mail on the iPhone, but I wondered would the SBS 2008 Self-issued certificate work? So here is what I did:

1. Go to settings>mail, contacts, calendars>Add account>Exchange, you then enter your account info such as e-mail address, username and password. The iPhone will try to verify your account information and come back asking for the Exchange server FQDN. (ie. mail.exchangeserver.com). Next you will receive a notification stating "unable to verify certificate" and I accepted that, and then selected what to sync with Active Sync (Mail, Contacts, Calendars). by default the iPhone will sync 3 days but you can change that to unlimited if you dare.

At this point the email account looked like this - Note on the bottom under description there is nothing else. So the phone is syncing my mail now, but it is not using a SSL.

2. The next step was that I extracted and copied the SBS Self-issued certificate from the Install Certificate Package.zip (downlad from the SBS server Public\downloads folder) and attached it to an e-mail to myself

ok, that is not the smartest way mailing the cert to yourself not using SSL yet, but hey, first I needed to find out if the cert will even work! The iPhone will recognize x-pkcs12, p12, pfx, x-x509-ca-cert, cert, crt and der file extensions. When you click on the certificate, it will launch a Install Profile screen

So here is the cert, not verified but that is ok since it is the SBS Self-issued cert and I trust my own server. Also you see that it recognizes that it contains the Root Certificate. Click Install.

and click Install Now, and the cert will be installed on the device. Next I went back to the Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calendars, my account info and voila, here it was , using the SBS 2008 self-issued certificate! (oh yes and I am still getting mail :) )

Having said that, there is the proper way to install the certificate on the iPhone using the iPhone configuration utility located at http://support.apple.com/downloads/iPhone_Configuration_Utility_1_1_for_Windows, take your pick.

Anyhow, I can now go back to the reason why I got the iPhone in the first place, and that is to play one of my favorite old DOS game remakes (used to be called Scorched Earth) which is now an iPhone app (iShoot) and an excellent fun time waster!

SBS 2008 - Exam 70-653 Configuring Windows Small Business Server 2008

Beatrice Mulzer — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:37:00 -0700

I am happy to announce that our new book MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-653): Configuring Windows Small Business Server 2008 ISBN: 9780735626782 (Microsoft Press) is due out by early July of this year (2009).

This training book is co-authored by yours truly and co-author Walter Glenn who has published several Microsoft titles including most recently the Exchange Server 2007 Administrator's Companion. Walter and I are currently working hard on getting the chapters together to cover the exam objectives of Microsoft Exam 70-653 TS, Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring.

All I can tell you so far is that the new exam is much different from the 70-282 (for SBS 2003), I passed the beta on the 70-653 back in September 2008 and I was pleasantly surprised as this exam really requires you to have some hands-on with SBS 2008 in terms of knowing the interface as well as technical knowledge pertaining directly to SBS 2008.

Walter and I will cover the exam objectives in depth, not just walk-throughs, but really explain what is happening under the hood. The MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit book will also include practice exercises that you will be able to complete in Hyper-V or if you have a physical set-up of an SBS 2008 server and at least one client machine.

Needless to say I am incredibly geeked about the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-653): Configuring Windows Small Business Server 2008 as Walter and I are exchanging chapters to ensure readers will get the maximum benefit (Regardless if you are brand-new to SBS and taking a Microsoft exam or a seasoned SBSer, there will be plenty of nuggets and insights for you). We also have several technical reviewers from Microsoft and by the time the book is through the review/editing/other stuff processes you will have an excellent guide for tackling the 70-653 exam, and then some!

Stay tuned

SBS 2008 Outlook Anywhere Slow or Failing

Beatrice Mulzer — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:46:00 -0700

If you are experiencing issues with Outlook Anywhere on your SBS 2008 network, check out this insightful post by the SBS support and product team. The post addresses HTTP to HTTPS redirect issues in the SBS Web Applications App Pool and offers a step-by-step of checking the Worker Processes and removing the HttptoHttpsRedir module from the /RPC virtual directory in IIS.

Thanks SBS team!

http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2009/01/28/slow-connectivity-for-outlook-anywhere-and-sites-that-use-the-sbs-web-applications-app-pool.aspx

Small Business Server 2008 Hotfix

Beatrice Mulzer — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:44:00 -0700

A rollup addressing two issues in SBS 2008 is now available through Windows update. KB958715-x64-ENU.msp can be retrieved through Windows SBS Update Services.

Issue 1

The Security tab in the Windows Small Business Server 2008 Console incorrectly reports the spyware and malware status of Windows Vista Service Pack 1-based clients that are joined to a domain. Specifically, some security applications are reported as incompatible in the antivirus and malware status that is reported.

Issue 2

The Internet Address Management Wizard exits unexpectedly when you register a domain name. This issue occurs when you select GoDaddy.com as the provider, and then you click Register Now.

For more details go to http://support.microsoft.com/KB/958715

SBS 2008 remote.domain prefix

Beatrice — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:32:00 -0700

It appears that many folks think that they are stuck with the "remote" prefix applied to the URL for Remote Web Workplace (RWW) when setting up SBS 2008.

You can change this and name the prefix anything you want it to be - make sure when you run the Internet Address Management wizard, a couple screens in, (regardless if you have an existing domain name or purchase a new domain name), you will get to the screen that asks you to Store your domain name information. Note the picture below, here is where you click the Advanced settings link, and voila, you can now change the prefix to whatever your preference is.

Just remember that you do this as one of the first steps when setting up SBS 2008, especially if you are going to use the self-issued certificate, to ensure that the name matches the certificate!

How to figure out if you are buying Genetically Modified (GMO) Fruits and Veggies

Beatrice Mulzer — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:27:00 -0700

Something that has been bothering me in the past is that you can no longer determine if a fruit or vegetable is genetically modified when shopping in the grocery store. Remember when the tomatoes still had a GMO sticker on it? Well obviously that stuff wasn't selling because now GMO food doesn't need to be labeled anymore. Nice! And you thought you are buying wholesome produce whose genetic code hasn't been messed with.

Well here is a way to identify conventional, organic and GMO food by just looking at the PLU code: (Please note that just because a product is labeled organic, doesn't mean it wasn't genetically engineered!)

· A conventionally grown product carries a 4-digit PLU code (Ex: conventionally grown banana: 4011)
· An organic product carries a 5-digit code, starting with the number 9: (Ex: organic banana: 94011)
· A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) product has a 5-digit code, starting with the number 8: (Ex: GE banana: 84011)

All you have to remember: If it starts with an "8" it's man-made! (and not nature-made) So start reading those PLU labels!

SBS 2008 RWW - cool improvement for end users

Beatrice Mulzer — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:51:00 -0700

Well look at that, another improvement that was built into working with RWW in SBS 2008. As I was going through finalizing some lab work today I ran into a nice surprise when connecting to a domain client through Remote Web Workplace (RWW). All y'all are probably familiar with the purpose and function of RWW (I'll be talking about RWW mods in other posts soon) so I can get right to the beef!

Say you want to access a computer on the domain and just connected over the Internet to your place e.g. https://remote.sbstraining.net and logged into RWW to be presented with this screen above. Naturally you will click the Connect to a Computer link to connect to a workstation. In the previous version of the SBS RWW (SBS2003), it would just connect you through, and in case someone else was working on the machine that you connect to, they would just be logged off without any warning, and you connecting in from the outside had no clue that you just kicked someone else of the workstation.

In the new and improved version of SBS, you get a warning on the sreen advising you that someone else is currently using the computer!

The logon message states: Another user is currently logged on to this computer, this user has to disconnect from this computer. Do you want to continue? Naturally you click yes to proceed, as your work is always more important than other peoples. You then get the screen below:

On the computer that you are trying to access, the current user gets this dialog box:

And that current user has the option to accept or deny your access request. Well in this case the current user decides that their work is more imporatant than yours, and clicks CANCEL! The end result is that you lose because the current user has the long end of the stick and you get this:

WAAAAH! Well, just kidding, this is a big improvement for the end-user side of using RWW and remotely using a workstation as unsuspecting users will no longer be kicked of their workstation without a warning.

But lets say, you do get logged into the workstation from remote, and then a local user want to log on to the workstation, then what? Well, first of all the logon screen will look like this

so first of all the local user now sees that someone else is also logged on from remote. Of course that doesnt matter, and the user decides to log in locally. In that case the local user gets this message

Look familiar? And the remote user gets this:

And on the remote machine you get this message

Since the remote person is a nice person, and the other person may be your boss or someone that signs your paycheck, you decide to click OK to accept being logged off, and get logged off and get a disconnect message

Pretty cool, eh?

Business and Technology Assessment Toolkit v3.5 - includes EBS options

Beatrice Mulzer — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:26:00 -0700

In case you missed it, the new BTAT (Business and Technology Assessment Toolkit) v 3.5 is available. You can download it at the partner site here

Note that you will have to uninstall your previous BTAT, as well as make sure you have .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installed and InfoPath. What's new and cool in this version is that it also covers Windows Essential Business Server, meaning you can do assessments for companies with up to 300 PCs. The BTAT runs on Vista, 32/64 bit processors and works with Office System 2007.

If you have not used the BTAT before when working with existing or new customers, and you do consulting in the SMB space, you are really missing out on a great consulting/guidance tool. I don't know what else to tell you other than that it will be worth your while to check it out and start using it on customer visits. Either way, download the new version and take a look at the new decision tree functionality and report generation. It rocks!

You could always build custom templates, here is a screenshot with new added options

Nice add-on is the Save As option so you can hand it to your customer in a Word doc.

System Builders - SBS 2008 - Central Florida

Beatrice Mulzer — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:55:00 -0700

Ok, so I don't want this to sound like a Microsoft commercial, but if you are a system builder in the Central Florida/Orlando area and have not signed up for this event (Orlando, Nov 18, 2008 Rosen Centre Hotel), 8:30 am - 12 pm, its about time you do!

This is the "SBS 2008" Solution Building for System Builders event covering all the stuff listed in the blah blah blah below. The most excellent part about this is that it will be presented by Ron Grattopp, a long time Microsoftee (and AF veteran) who knows your business space and will give you the straight up.

WARNING! Commerical verbiage below:

Event Overview
SB2 Event: Solution Building for System Builders

These half-day events were created just for you system builders! Because you know that you’re more than just a builder of boxes- you’re a creative computer solutions provider.

In this competitive landscape, just selling computers alone won’t cut it. It’s only when you become a trusted advisor to your customer that you can grow your business. SB2 can help you build systems solutions by putting together select Microsoft technologies that best solve your customer’s challenges.

Your customer’s bottom line is that you can provide solutions to their business problems. Your bottom line is knowing how.

Expect to:

v Understand how selling integrated systems can add to your bottom line.

v Learn how to overcome some of your customers’ most common objections to Windows Vista

v Find out about the integrated Windows Essential Server Solutions (Small Business Server 2008 and Essentials Business Server 2008) and how they can address the infrastructure needs of your small and medium business customers in a highly efficient and cost effective way.

v Learn about sales as well as technical and partner program resources for system builders

Be sure to visit the Online Partner Center for all of your system builder resources!

All attendees have an opportunity to earn a $25 credit at the OEM Sales Center, plus be entered to win fabulous prizes such as Windows Vista Ultimate, Xbox 360 games, and more!

SBS 2008 Partner Onboarding - Montreal

Beatrice Mulzer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:38:00 -0700

A good question came up during the Montreal SBS 2008 Partner Onboarding session. One partner said "hey, with all the steps I have to perform in the SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 migration, if I have a small customer on SBS 2003 that may only have 5 to 10 employees, I'd rather do a clean install instead of a migration." Personally I don't feel that there are too many step in the migration process, but I can also see the point that one would rather start out with a clean box, especially if the user number is low. - What do you think?

Also, my Montreal friends, I did go to La Magie des lanternes on Tuesday morning and got rained on in that freezing weather! I really did enjoy the lanterns and thank you so much for pointing it out. As well as I have a new found appreciation for Florida sunshine. :)