Some Mobile Phone Related Security Reading and Videos

This from Susan Bradley as far as what our mobile phone can say about us:

Now, take that the to the next level.

MVP Doug Spindler provided links to the following very informative videos.

• TED: Malte Spitz: Your phone company is watching (YouTube)

Malte went to the extent to sue the mobile phone carrier his phone was hooked up with to acquire the "Metadata" they held on him. His talk brings to light some aspects of what that data does for the NSA and other intelligence gathering agencies.

Doug also shared the following TED Playlist called The dark side of data (11 talks).

All of the talks are worth watching . . . and not for the faint of heart!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
www.thirdtier.net/enterprise-solutions-for-small-business/

Windows Live Writer

HP Smart Array P420i Controller – Caveat: Need Flash Based Cache to Make Any Online Array Changes

We are in the process of setting up a Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V host with two server operating system guests, one DC and one RDS, and a couple of desktop operating system guests.

We were brought in to set up the environment at the hardware vendor’s request. So, this box was set up prior to our jumping in.

Since we do not work with HP servers on a regular basis we are not up on their terminology nor product features throughout their server lines.

We are in the process of looking into filling up the 2.5” hot swap drive bays as the server came configured with a RAID 10 (RAID 1+0) array and one global hot spare.

• HP Smart Array P420i Controller QuickSpecs Page

Having worked with Intel RAID Controllers most of the time as well as LSI RAID controllers we have come to expect advanced features to work out of the box. This is primarily due to the fact that we run with mainstream series or high performance series RAID controllers out of the box.

We avoid entry level if at all possible.

As we have discovered today, this is one reason why:

Note the following:

• Modular, easy-to-upgrade design lets you optimize performance by upgrading from 40-bit 512MB cache to 72-bit 1GB Flash Backed Write Cache or 72-bit 2GB Flash Backed Write Cache (FBWC).
• Addition of the flash backed cache upgrade enables array expansion, logical drive extension, RAID migration, and stripe size migration.

Obviously the emphasis is ours.

So, we are now in a position where we need to find out the cost on the 1GB and 2GB FBWC options for this particular server.

We are not sure what that cost will be but it will probably beat out our having to back up the entire server and its guests, that are already set up for production, and restoring the box using our ShadowProtect IT Edition license.

The clue that something was up came via the HP management utility that showed the following for the current RAID array configuration:

Note the distinct absence of RAID 6.

Apparently there is a license key that enables RAID 6 in this particular controller.

So, we hit two caveats with this setup:

• Flash based Cache is required for advanced RAID features.
• A license pack is required to enable RAID 6.

Ever try to purchase a base model car and add _just_ the features needed like cruise/tilt/air and a decent stereo and end up more expensive that the “LX” version of that vehicle?

It has been a disappointing trend in our industry to no longer be able to configure a Tier 1 server system, desktop system, or workstation system without having to knew the bits and pieces that these systems are made up of. We used to be able to configure systems that would just work as we expect them to and have the features we would expect for the price we paid.

Also, it has been our experience that the Tier 1 sales folks that _know_ these bits and pieces are very hard come-by with the onus being on us to make sure we have our ducks lined up _before_ we initiate contact.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Chef de partie in the SMBKitchen
Find out more at
www.thirdtier.net/enterprise-solutions-for-small-business/

Windows Live Writer

Western Digital USB Drives Use A Proprietary Drive PCB for USB

This comes via the SBS2K Yahoo Group.

• Spiceworks Community: WD 500gb my passport Help!!

Apparently, Western Digital in their great wisdom has decided to mass produce a hard drive controller with only one interface on it: USB.

And:

As a rule we have been using the StarTech 4 bay SuperSpeed drive dock with bare drives for our backup rotations that we run.

For clients that have been running their own backup rotations we have been recommending the WD non-Green USB drives as we have had pretty good success with them. The same goes for the Seagate USB drives that are not “Green” in nature.

The one thing we have noticed with the manufacturer built USB drives is that there is a tendency to use 5400 RPM drives. And now, perhaps we are limited in how we can access a drive if something goes wrong with the controller.

Our preference for bare backup drives are:

1. Seagate Enterprise Storage (ES or Constellation) series SATA
2. Western Digital Black Label (non-Advanced Format for VHD/Backup VHD)

Both drives are 7200 RPM with better firmware than the retail/consumer drives. So, they will perform better and last longer due to ongoing handling during rotations.

We may request that in the future clients only purchase a certain drive and USB enclosure for their backups so that we have some control over what drives are used for backups.

As usual, it is Buyer Beware.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Independent AntiVirus Vendor Product Review Resources

We need some independent voices when it comes to the plethora of AntiVirus products out there.

In our search we have come up with the following resources that provide some insight into the various AntiVirus products out there and how affective they are.

virus BULLETIN

So far the best one we have come up with is:

• Virus BULLETIN – Covering the global threat landscape

Their Magic Quadrant is an awesome at-a-glance view of current product:

• Virus BUILLETIN VB100 RAP (Reactive and Proactive)
• VB RAP test results explanation page

The above chart is a great comparison of a great many AntiVirus vendor’s products.

AV-comparatives

This site has some great charts with a number of important factors that should be a part of our A/V product analysis.

• AV-comparatives: Independent Tests of Anti-Virus Software

There are a number of different reports available on this site.

The above charts give us some inclination on how the product protects the endpoint but also how it impacts the performance of the endpoint machine.

It used to be that A/V products could greatly hinder a user’s day-to-day duties. With today’s PCs that is not so much a problem anymore but one should still be mindful of any possible impact especially for power users.

AV-Test

This site has a limited product list with a few informative charts based on the host operating system being protected.

• AV-Test – The Independent IT-Security Institute

The link above is to their corporate products list:

Note the lack of AVG listed anywhere on this chart.

Based on the Virus Bulletin results and the A-V Comparatives results we are confident that AVG can be a viable alternative to Symantec’s EndPoint Protection.

We will be looking at deploying the AVG product here and as a pilot at one of our more active accounting firms to get some real-world experience with it.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Cisco Small Business WAP321 and Power

There is something to say about the acronym RTFM.

While the meaning is NSFW (don’t we all just love acronyms?) we have all BTDT.

We ordered a number of the new Cisco WAP321 access points. They are the replacement for the WAP4410N that we have been using for the last few years.

Well, here we are on deployment day and opening the boxes to get them set up prior to deploying them at our client’s site.

Guess what?

They don’t include power adapters.

Meh ... Shoulda read that manual right at the heading “Items in the Box” instead of leaving the boxes on the shelf until today.

Fortunately the existing wireless setup is online and we are running a multi-day process. So, we can order in the adapters and get things going early next week.

We all know what assumptions do right?

Happy Friday everyone and thanks for reading. :)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Stormy Cloud: Vendor Deleted Mailboxes by Mistake and Could NOT Recover Them!

A vendor that shall remain nameless, not OWN/ExchangeDefender, that hosts a domain e-mail setup for a client that we are deploying Windows Server 2012 Essentials, Exchange 2013 Standard, RDS, and an LoB server for had an “internal miscommunication” and deleted the client’s entire e-mail setup on their own systems.

We started getting calls Saturday afternoon with our team walking up and down our steps and communications with the Cloud Vendor to make sure we were in the right.

It turns out that an update was posted to the service ticket:

Other than the spelling error for “waive” in the last sentence this particular vendor has really messed up.

How is it that they are unable to recover any mailboxes that they host? In this case they are POP3/SMTP/IMAP that is probably on some sort of Linux operation.

About 50% of the client’s users were only using the Webmail interface for their e-mail with little to no device interaction either. So, these folks are at a complete loss.

The Outlook POP3 based users are not so bad off.

Wow, what a way to start a Monday morning for many of the client’s users.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

QuickBooks Support at 1-888-414-6596 Warning

We had a client call this evening that indicated that they were having QuickBooks problems. The user must have done a search and came up with:

The “technician” asked to call back. When they did they brought up the Task Manager and tried to scare the user into allowing them to initiate a remote session to fix virus infections (they pointed to regular Windows processes as being the infections).

Fortunately the user stopped them in their tracks by stating they had an IT department and would get in touch with them instead.

As always, be very cautious about search results.

It is a better idea to go to the product’s Web site and initiate support contact there.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Coffee Reading: Storm Clouds on the Horizon

The “Cloud” is the really big push happening right now where vendors are essentially looking to wrest control of the traditional client from frontline IT support companies and/or in-house IT departments.

Okay, so the above statement is a little pessimistic but talking to so many IT providers the above is definitely a predominant theme.

The following CloudBeat article is an excellent synopsis of a few of the downsides to dropping IT services into the Cloud and something that _all_ business owners need to be aware of:

• CloudBeat: The downside of cloud computing: 4 reasons to think twice

The 4 reasons are items that we may have had nagging at the back of our minds but were unable to express quite as clear as this article does.

1. Business owner is no longer in control.
2. Business owner and their business is not the most important part of anything.
3. The business owner and their business can have any colour they want as long as it’s black.
4. The business still needs in-house hardware and an in-house IT staff.

The shocking realization when it comes to point 4 when it comes to Office 365 is that there are _huge_ requirements for in-house infrastructure for larger organizations that want to maintain user account synchronization between the organization and Microsoft’s service.

For us small guys keeping track of things manually may not be too painful, but once an organization gets beyond the 75-100 user mark some serious decisions need to be made.

As with any service that one is looking at it is important to know the Terms & Conditions for that server and if there are any Prerequisites so one does not get surprised by anything when it comes to project implementation time.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Less for More?

We are going to pick on Tim Hortons a little here.

If it were not for the fact that those two cans were sitting side-by-side on the same shelf and that something was being put on them we would have remained oblivious to the fact that there was a distinct size difference between them.

In fact, we would have gone on happily paying more (increase was ~$2.00 per tin for that coffee) without even paying close attention to the size reduction _during_ that increase.

So, we have a smaller tin that we are paying more for.

Now, given the fact that Tim Hortons coffee is a staple in our day-to-day diet we will not be jumping ship anytime soon.

However, it will give us cause for pause in that we may look at alternatives a little more closely such as some of the so-called Fair Trade coffees. We have a bag of Columbian and a bag of Zambian (iirc the African country’s name and spelling right) coffee that is very rich in flavour.

Technology

When it comes to technology we pay particular attention to all of the various product manufacturers and their products.

We are always particularly mindful of the following:

• Is there a good compatibility list for the manufacturer’s products?
• No one can beat Intel’s Server Configurator for server building.
• Does the manufacturer have good post-sales support?
• Is there an 800 number, or even direct dial, to talk to real people that _know_ the product?
• Some manufacturers obfuscate the whole process with their voice prompts after calling in.
• Is the RMA process simple or a rat’s nest to get through?
• Ever try to RMA an Asus product? We gave up.
• Kingston and Crucial both are fantastic to deal with.
• Intel has an Advanced Warranty Replacement program that is second to none.
• Does the product have good documentation?
• Most manufacturers fall short in this category as hard as some of them try.

In all of the products we work with we also need to keep in mind that the more time we waste on shoddy post-sales support with manufacturers that it costs us big-time. That in turn costs our clients in lost production time if things go down.

Some of you from Canada may remember IPC and Bondwell PCs back when. Their systems were hundreds of dollars less than the competing Tier 1 or our own quality component built systems.

The IT business owner I was working with decided to dive right into them. In the end it cost us a huge amount in lost time replacing cheap flaky components that it became readily apparent that IPC and Bondwell PCs were not the way to go.

Because of this experience we here at MPECS Inc. have not delved into any entry-level or consumer grade components and systems. It is our preference to stick with the higher end Chevy/VW and Cadillac/BMW series of systems, servers, and software products.

Though, the following video aught to make clear where our preference lies for both the solutions we deliver and the automobile product we prefer. :)

Cadillac CTS-V Supercharged

And, just in case there is _any_ ambiguity:

My favourite Cadillac Commercial of all time!

BTW, just like the Linux versus Windows, Hyper-V versus VMWare, AMD versus Intel, and so on one can get quite “religious” about one’s preference in finer automobiles. ;)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

XP Pro Mode – Hardware Virtualization is Required

The Intel ProcessorFinder site is the place to go when looking up the features that a particular CPU supports.

Each CPU series shares a common feature set with some exceptions where there may be a couple of versions at the low end of the model set that have features "disabled" to augment the value at the high end.

Intel did this with the 5200 series Xeons as well as others, and still does it with the Core 2 Quad series with the amount of L2 cache being 50% smaller on the "value" versions of the CPU line. Most of the CPU lines have subtle feature differences between the entry and top end products.

Virtualization (Intel calls it VT) is a base feature. The desktop Media G series boards support VT (C2D, C2Q), while the Executive Q series (vPro) supports higher end VT-d and VT-Appliance settings for more advanced virtualization scenarios such as embedded VMs or the XP Pro Mode in Win7.

The base G series with VT enabled will also do XP Pro Mode since the hardware virtualization has been embedded in Virtual PC 2007 which is what XP Pro Mode is based on.

In the end, we always try to make sure we have the right product for the job.

Laptops have been very iffy when it comes to BIOS enabled hardware features implemented.

To get hardware virtualization on laptops, the laptop needs to have at least the Centrino Pro series chipset in our experience.

Information on the Centrino Pro chipset:

• Intel® Centrino® with vPro™ Technology (product site)
• Intel Centrino Pro Product Brief (PDF document link)

If XP Pro Mode is required by a client, we need to be particularly aware of the hardware setup Windows 7 will be running on as XP Pro Mode does require hardware level virtualization to be enabled in the system’s BIOS.

• Windows 7 XP Pro Mode posts (blog label search)

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*All Mac on SBS posts will not be written on a Mac until we replace our now missing iMac! (previous blog post)

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2008 - The built-in DDNS service Canadian considerations

Susan draws attention to the new Dynamic DNS setup in SBS 2008: Dynamic DNS service on SBS 2008 under the hood.

Essentially, for those who have worked with tzo.com or our favourite no-ip.org, the Dynamic DNS (DDNS) service will "automatically" redirect a DNS A record to a dynamic IP no matter what the ISP assigned IP is. Thus the name "Dynamic DNS".

A number of years back these services were very common and used a lot as ISPs back then only offered static IPs with their very expensive business class services.

Around the same time in Canada, ISPs began to flush businesses out of consumer grade service plans into business grade service plans. At the business plan entry level, things were essentially the same as the consumer grade plan, but the ISP could charge more for the service. Static IP plans were still not the norm and quite a bit more expensive.

In the last couple of years, Canadian ISPs have been offering "Server" class plans with one or more static IPs assigned to the customer at a very reasonable rate.

So, in our case, we migrated our clients over to our favourite ISP Nucleus to get a true static IP setup, some pretty good upload/download speeds, and great service.

With the advent of high volumes of spam being spewed from compromised consumer systems, people running servers on dynamic IPs, and other reasons our Canadian ISPs have moved to block all inbound traffic to those customers with dynamic IPs.

What does that mean? It means that all of the standard ports for inbound traffic are unavailable:

• SMTP port 25
• HTTP port 80
• HTTPS port 443
• POP3 port 110
• TELNET port 23
• FTP port 21
• SSH port 22

Gone are the days where people would run FTP and HTTP servers on their consumer grade Internet connection.

ISPs have even gone as far as limiting business "server" grade services to residences without proof of business operations.

So, what does this mean for us? It means that part of setting up a client's SBS 2003/2008 office is to do due diligence with the ISP they may already have, or potential ISP if it is a new office or business.

Verify if the ISP does indeed block critical services inbound traffic on the ISP's service plan the client may be on or want to sign up to.

The ISP may also restrict outbound traffic for the various server services, especially e-mail SMTP. Make sure to investigate the ISP's policy on outbound traffic too.

At least in Canada we know that if we sign our clients up with ISPs that have a "server" class service no restrictions are in place.

Also, keep in mind that services like PPPoE may cause headaches with inbound traffic.

Also, one of our national ISPs here, there may be others, use a MAC address registration system to "secure" their networks. If there is a need to bind more than 1 static IP to the same NIC on your gateway server or appliance make sure to verify that your client's ISP uses true static IPs and not DHCP reservations with no ability to bind more than 1 IP to a NIC.

The MAC address situation has been a plan buster many a time due to an inability to move to another ISP.

As always, "Buyer Beware" ... due diligence is necessary to guarantee things will work as they should.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

EVGA 790i Ultra MB and Kingston RAM

We put together a system for a client:

• Vista x64 RTM - Stop 0x0000007e on EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI Mainboard
• Vista x64 RTM - Stop 0x0000000A on EVGA nForce 790i Ultra SLI Mainboard + EVGA Support A++

The whole process was a learning experience for us since nVidia is not the first stop on the high performance bus for us (pun intended).

Well, when we sourced product for the motherboard, we were pretty careful to get all of the components recommended by each component manufacturer for compatibility.

One of the big losses when putting together a system like this over an Intel Xeon series server is the intensive validation that the components get on the server side.

So, guess what? At the time we built the workstation, Kingston was recommending KVR1333D3N8K2/2G for a system that would be configured with a total of 2 kits for 4GB.

Other than one of the Western Digital Raptors outright dying, the system has been hiccuping on a random basis. There did not seem to be any indication of a source for the problem though.

After the Raptor died, we made sure to flash the board's BIOS, any available firmware updates, and drivers for the motherboard, video cards, etc.

Yesterday, while on the bench, the system refused to misbehave. At least that is, until we walked in this morning and found it uttering a single long beep one after the other in slow repetition.

The motherboard's LCD troubleshooting block (it is embedded on the board for overclock troubleshooting) indicated a C1 which was memory initialization.

We ran through the BurnInTest Pro in memory torture mode with no results. Leaving the machine idle and go into screen saver last night seemed to be the key to bringing out the gremlins.

So, after running the memory test built into Windows Vista which turned up error free, we were in a quandary ... until verifying the RAM info at Kingston's site again:

EVGA nForce 790i SLI Motherboard RAM Compatibility List

Notice a difference between what we installed and what is listed today?

We are looking at an "N9" instead of an "N8".

Now, we are heading out to pick up the N9 RAM to see if that actually does make a difference.

Just to qualify: We have run into RAM compatibility issues like this before with listing changes over time on Kingston's site on both server and workstation configurations. So, this situation does not come as a surprise to us.

Now, does the RAM change fix the problem ... we will keep you posted! :)

And if it does ... anyone need four 1GB sticks of KVR1333D3N8K2/2G memory?

One more thing ...

Part No Longer Exists

Gotta love when that happens. :(

Buyer Beware ...

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Intel S3000AH - Vantec vs. Thermaltake USB HDD

A while back we blogged about the changes Vantec made to their 3.5" USB hard drive enclosures: New Vantec NexStar 3 version does not like S3000AH Intel Boards.

Because the ability to remotely warm boot our servers is mission critical, we have been on the hunt for a replacement USB enclosure product.

We found the following Thermaltake products:

Thermaltake BlacX SE

The Thermaltake BlacX SE behaves a lot like a hot swap enclosure would in the system. Power down the unit, plug in the drive, power up the unit and we have access to the hard drive and its contents.

The second product is this 3.5" USB hard drive enclosure:

Thermaltake Silver River DUO Enclosure A2395

The feature that caught our eye on the Silver River Duo enclosure was the USB/eSATA switch:

Thermaltake Silver River DUO - Back

With the Vantec enclosures, there is no switch to disable the eSATA feature.

Occasionally, we collaborate with Kevin of Atkey Tech. On a support call into Intel about a couple of S5000PSLSATA server board issues he was experiencing, he also worked with them on the no warm boot issue with the Vantec NexStar USB enclosures connected to the same board.

Intel indicated that one needed to disable "Legacy USB Support" in the BIOS:

Legace USB Support - Enabled

In the above screen shot, it is shown enabled, because we made sure to check where the setting was at before testing the Thermaltake enclosures.

While disabling that setting did work with that particular S5000PSL server board for Kevin, disabling the setting does not seem to work with the S3000AH series boards.

The server we are testing on is a box that is about to go into production. It is a 1U SR1530AHLX series with a Xeon X3220 Quad Core processor and 4GB of RAM. Storage is provided by two 750GB Seagate ES.2 Enterprise Storage SATA drives in a RAID 1 array. SBS 2K3 R2 Premium is installed, configured, and fully up to date.

The first thing we tried to do after the server was configured and ShadowProtect was installed was to test the warm boots against the Vantec NexStar series we have on the bench.

Sure enough, the server refused to warm boot on a restart requested from the OS while the Vantec NexStar was connected. Even after a cold boot with a quick trip into the BIOS, the server would not warm boot.

We installed a 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA drive into the BlacX SE and plugged it into the server. Once the USB detection steps completed, we had a 500GB NTFS formatted drive fully accessible to the OS.

We sent the server into a reboot. The server warm booted with no issues. We cold booted into the BIOS, made a couple of on/off setting changes then saved and exited the BIOS screen into a warm boot. Again, the server booted with no issues.

We then went through the same process with the Thermaltake Silver River DUO and were pleasantly surprised that the server would warm boot from any scenario.

When we first started having trouble with the Vantec enclosures connected to the S3000AH series boards, we put a trouble ticket in with Vantec and began a dialogue with their support team. We have not heard from them since the end of January.

Since the Thermaltake Silver River DUO series don't seem to have the problem, it looks as though we have found a replacement enclosure for the Vantec NexStar USB hard drive enclosures.

The BlacX SE is a pretty good alternative with a couple of caveats:

• The hard drives are bare, thus exposing sensitive electronics to physical handling.
• The hard drives can get very hot due to a lack of air circulation.

We will keep the BlacX SE around for bench work, and start using the Thermaltake Silver River DUOs for our ShadowProtect backup needs from now on.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Intel Qualified Server Board Program - System Builder Tips

A new category has appeared on the Intel Server and Workstation Boards - All Boards called the Intel Qualified Server Board Program with a couple of dedicated products.

And what do we find in that product category?

• Tyan Workstation Board S5396
• Tyan Motherboard S5393

The above links connect with an Intel.com page dedicated to the individual product listed.

While Intel has maintained compatibility lists for all manner of peripheral system components such as memory, chassis, and storage, this is a first that we have seen where an alternative server motherboard manufacturer has their products featured on Intel's site.

From Intel's "Intel Qualified Server Board Program" site:

The Intel® Qualified Server Board program is a joint pilot program between Intel and certain original design manufacturers (ODM) designed to enhance your opportunity to offer competitive server and workstation solutions through:

• Access to board, chassis and system products with feature-sets optimized for specific segments which have been tested by the ODM to meet certain minimum requirements specified by Intel.
• Confidence that such qualified products will meet industry required system-level thermal requirements.
• Offering solutions that have been tested by the ODM to ensure compliance with market-leading operating systems (including certification of Microsoft* and RedHat* operating systems).
• Reduced development costs by being able to leverage regulatory testing and certifications.
• Reduced costs by being able to select memory, adaptors and peripherals from a list published by the ODM as being compatible components.

All products under the Intel Qualified Server Board program are third party products sold by ODMs. Sales, technical support and warranty will be provided by the ODM. Product and features are subject to change; contact the ODM for more information.

It is neat to see that Tyan is the first manufacturer to make the list. They have been around for a very long time and we have seen some very long life dedicated servers running on Tyan boards. In fact, many of those dedicated Tyan based boxes are still around.

It is good to see a program like this come online. It means that as manufacturers get their products on this list, the more standardized those products are. This in turn means we can be a lot more confident purchasing those products for our client's server needs.

One of the greatest system building griefs was getting server components to play nice with each other. In the past, they were notoriously picky about where they were located. That is why we dove right into the Intel Partner Program and stuck with Intel server products and used products on their compatibility list.

This step alone has saved us huge amounts of grief, time, and money.

Intel has already built the test mules for us. So, why do it all over again at a great cost in time and products to us? A client's SBS or other dedicated server is NOT a test mule for us to put into production. Period.

There is still a caveat to keep in mind, even with this program: When we venture onto Tyan's compatibility lists, or any other manufacturer's compatibility lists, we may find we are again at odds with another component that we may need to use in a given configuration.

As always: Buyer Beware.

We, the I.T. Professionals, are responsible for quoting a system that we know works beforehand.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Buyer Beware: Mail, Phone, Fax & more ...

As a business owner, it never ceases to amaze me the cunning ways that people who phone, send a piece of snail mail, email, or fax will try and "extract" dollars from us.

The word "extract" is used for a reason.

We provide products and services for which we get paid. Our clients see the value in those products and services. If they did not, then we wouldn't have business relationships spanning more than a decade in some cases.

As an example, we receive envelops from a company here in Canada that are setup in such a way that if our Accounts Payable people didn't realize that we didn't deal with them, we would be paying them for a service we never contracted them for in the first place.

There are, of course, the huge volume of information soliciting emails that we get as well. Some masquerade as suppliers, others as "clients".

Then, there is the phone call that we just received for a survey. The person mentioned that they were calling on behalf of our banks. When grilled for the bank we deal with they actually named it which means either they are working with the bank, or they have some sort of source for the information. Can we afford to answer any questions over the phone with someone we cannot see in person? No.

There is no longer any trust for anyone calling unless they can provide very specific details about us and our accounts. Even then, I will ask the person for a phone number and an extension number that can be used to reach them, and then call them back! If they cannot provide a line into the bank we deal with, then the next call is to the R.C.M.P.

It has gotten to the point where we are very cautious with out of Province numbers on our call display, or even in Province numbers. With Call Display spoofing being a reality, we really need to be careful.

Never answer the, "May I speak to the business owner/manager/I.T. person/person who manages the toners/etc/etc/etc" with a, "Sure! You can speak with John Owner, just a minute!" :D

And, if they do ask for John Owner by name, always come back with, "What is it regarding please?" If their answer is vague or circuitous, then ask questions to get a specific answer. Nine times out of ten they are trying to sell something or other.

If it smells fishy, it more than likely is fishy. If it sounds too good to be true, then it is.

Never, ever volunteer information.

Always take a polite but firm stance by taking control of the conversation immediately. Protect your business, or your employer's business.

And, when it comes the phone soliciting, take the person's first name and initial, employee or badge number, who they represent - if they will volunteer the information - and ask to be removed from the call list. They are then bound by law to remove the name and phone number they just called.

In Canada, we have PhoneBusters to call if we have received some sort of fraudulent offer via phone or email.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Buyer Beware: Credit Card Receivables?

We are getting phone nagged by a company that offers to fund us via our credit card receivables.

Having checked into their site: merchantcashdirect.com and trying to find out particulars, there doesn't seem to be any.

The representative was deliberately vague when questioned about how the system works. Other than they measure 4 months of credit card volume then front us up to 130% and don't charge an interest fee I couldn't get anything else out of the representative.

By the way, they charge a "Factoring Rate" on the amount they would give us. Using that terminology tells me that they are avoiding the Canadian Law mandated interest rate structures.

So, we would get our credit card receivables less the card provider's cut every night on close. So, I don't understand what exactly it is that they are selling?

Other than perhaps using our credit card receivables as collateral for what is really a loan.

When pressed on the Factoring Rate and repayment terms, the representative would only tell me that an associate would get back to me with that info.

Um, no thanks.

Folks, all sorts of alarm bells - as in the spidey sense - are ringing here.

Be very, very careful with any kind of offer of cash up front that seemingly looks too good to be true. In all respects, 99.999% of the time the "deal" turns out to be a really shiny but rotten to the core apple.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Business Principles: How not to handle a mistake!?!

It is very important for our clients to know where we stand if we make a mistake. We must take responsibility for it. We must make every effort to make it right. They need to know that.

In the long run, it builds trust between us and our clients.

Yes, we may loose a couple. But, if the mistake we made costs them, do you blame them for leaving? No. Hopefully we are given another chance though.

For example, Toyota's newly released Tundra full sized trucks have had a cam failure problem on what looks like early production run versions of the vehicle with a certain cam supplier's product in the engine. The number of cam failures have been relatively minor compared to the volume of trucks produced, but Toyota has implemented a replace the whole thing for free policy.

Not just fix it, replace it.

An article on the subject: autoblog: Toyota expresses regret for Tundra camshaft failures on internet forums.

Ford on the other hand, has a different stance on a cam failure issue that affects the Ford Taurus SHO V8 engine co-produced with Yamaha. Around 20,000 of these hand built in Atlanta vehicles were sold across the 1996-99 life of the car. The 1997 year was the largest run of the vehicle.

Some would say that the number of cars produced warrants a "no response" attitude. Some would say that it isn't worth Ford's time to recognize and take responsibility for the issue.

The number of known affected vehicles is approaching 5% (1,000) of the entire product run.

This is not a statistical anomaly as the Tundra's failures will be over the entire production run of the Tundra.

Wikipedia: Ford Yamaha V8 engine.

V8SHO.com: Cam Failure Links.

Ford took the same stand with the vehicle fires due to a faulty seal in the break booster, and with the ~1997-2000 F-150 door latch failures.

As a result, owners of the affected vehicles have had to initiate class action lawsuits to get any recompense or recognition for their problems.

So I ask you:

• Which company took the best approach with their clients? Ford or Toyota?
• Which company will build long standing relationships with their clients? Ford or Toyota?
• Which company took responsibility for the quality of their products? Ford or Toyota?

There are many of these types of questions that we can ask about the above similar situation between Ford and Toyota and how either company handled problems with their respective products.

Those questions in turn need to be asked towards our own companies and our own attitudes with regards to the products and services we provide our clients.

For whose best interest do we operate our business? That is a critical question, and the answer to it colours everything we say and do as representatives our company and the products and services provided by it.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

One of the greatest marketing strategies ever...

The following is somewhat satirical, but describes my thought on what is, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant marketing strategies ever.

A certain Company has a product that is quite popular. It can be seen around the world on people.

The company has great cash flow. They want to diversify, spread into other market types.

They have had a few bumps in the road too, and want to get people's minds off of them.

The first step in their strategy is to hire some guy who hits balls for living. But what a guy! He is the best of the best, the most amazing ball hitter this side of the century.

People like this guy, thus they will like their product even more!

Then the clincher: Get him to wear their Logo on his head and elsewhere they say, and the rest will follow!

And sure enough, people ask, "Where can I get that Logo Melon Protector?" "Where can I get that Logo Trunk Warmer?"

The Company, seeing that their strategy is working, starts introducing new products with their now quite famous Logo on it.

A Logo Melon Protector in several styles and colours that costs ten times over any other melon protector! And guess what!?! The people are buying them. The same is true for the Logo Trunk Warmer and any other product the Company people decide to put the Logo on!

The grins in the Head Office are huge by now.

"We did it", the Head Office people say, "we not only branched out into other markets, but, we got the people to pay for our marketing and product expansion!"

"We see our Logo everywhere. Market saturation is huge!"

***

A company that manages to win the support of the consumer to the point of having that consumer buy their branded products at a huge premium is brilliant.

That huge premium on their branded products did and is paying off for the company.

It is also the reason why we are very careful about the clothing we wear in business and personally.

The branding and symbols we wear says a lot about our company, as well as the individual that we are.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

Hobbies: Home Theatre - LCD TVs

I have been rather fanatical about audio fidelity and the visual quality in any of my own home theatre (HT) setups.

One of the neat little aspects of working in the I.T. industry is how it has parallelled the retail side of the HT, only on a smaller scale.

Once Klipsch released their ProMedia and eventually their ProMedia Ultra THX series of speakers, one could setup a phenomenal sounding surround system for sub CA$1,500 that would compete with $10K systems easily. One only needed a DTS/Dolby Digital sound processor (not integrated into a receiver), some fancy wiring, and a couple of the ProMedia speaker setups strategically placed to have excellent sound positioning, those jet engines and explosions requiring ear plugs on me, and the neighbours pounding on the ceiling! :D

Lately, we have seen the demise of the CRT based televisions. LCD TVs have taken hold of the market, and with the successful opening of newer generation LCD production facilities, bigger and better is forthcoming.

With that in mind, watch out for current technology LCD TVs with a rated 1366 x 768 native resolution. The last number is important, as the LCD TV will not be able to Progressively refresh 1080 lines (1080P). Progressive is one line being refreshed after the other.

Right now, the lower end of the LCD TV product offerings are pretty much all at that native resolution.

True 1080P LCD TVs will have a native resolution of at least 1920 x 1080. This resolution will take advantage of the winner of the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray wars (hybrids are on their way), or even the hopefully forthcoming holographic disc players.

It is possible to notice the visual difference between the two native resolutions! Especially in the typical home theatre room that is darkened for viewing. A retail store's open area and high lighting will not bring out the unit's lower resolution deficiencies.

An excellent, well illustrated article on the importance of High Definition 1080P TV: High Definition 1080p TV: Why You Should Be Concerned.

The Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1 THX Speaker System site. Now discontinued. :(

As with anything, it is Buyer Beware.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

Buyer Beware: Cabled Based Phone Service - Is it Worth it?

We just had our land line hooked up this morning.

It seems that the previous owner had the local cable company's phone system as the technician needed to come in the house to hook up the phone company's wires again.

As I understand it, cabled based phone service relies on the cable modem functioning correctly and being constantly powered.

No power = no phone.
No power = no cell or wireless phone once their batteries die.
No Internet connection = no phone.

On behalf of clients whose cable Internet connection was down, the cable company's representative would say something along the lines of, "We are doing all that we can to get your service up and running as soon as possible sir."

That answer doesn't work when I need to call 911 and my cable Internet/Phone service is down.

That answer doesn't work when the power is out and I need to communicate with the outside world.

Our land line provider may not be the best or cheapest in town, but at least the phone system is still functional in the event of an emergency.

So, the situation begs the question: Is it worth it to save a few dollars on long distance and risk not being able to use the Cable Phone?

For me, with a young family, the answer is clear.

Safety Tip: Keep an old land line hard wired phone around for emergencies. Battery operated phones will die in the event of an extended power outage. The hard wired phone can be plugged in and it just works. This goes for both the office and the home.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists