SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 AD and DNS Problem– _msdcs Folder Is Empty?

When we were performing the last clean up steps in our client’s SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 migration by removing all references to the source server’s IP, DNS A, and NS references in DNS Management we encountered this bit of strangeness:

Note that the folder icon is wrong and there was only an NS reference in that folder.

Searching around produced a lot of fluff with no real substance on how to fix the problem.

Our own SBS 2011 DNS Domain.local zone subfolder looks like the following:

After posing the question to some fellow MVPs, Michael B. Smith gave us the instructions we needed to fix things:

1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Navigate to: C:\Windows\System32\Config\
3. Open an elevated command prompt.
4. Net Stop NetLogon [Enter]
5. Delete the following two files in the Config folder:
• netlogon.dnb
• netlogon.dns
• 
6. Net Start NetLogon [Enter]
7. Verify in DNS that the _msdcs folder is now properly populated.
• 

Thanks Michael!

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.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 – Remote Desktop Gateway Not Available After Update Reboot?

We are in the process of running updates on our newly migrated to SBS 2011 server.

After the server came up from its post update install reboot every logon attempt came up with a “Remote Desktop Gateway service is not available” error.

We flipped over to the Intel Remote Management Module 3 KVM session to see what was going on (we always open a KVM session to watch the server’s reboot cycle) and found the SBS 2011 CTRL+ALT+DEL logon screen.

So, everything looked normal there.

After logging into the KVM session we tried to log on via RDP one more time and it worked.

A look into the Services MMC in the SBS Native Tools Console’s Computer node turned up the following:

• Remote Desktop Gateway: Started – Automatic (Delayed Start)

Ah, not to panic then. We just need to be a bit more patient as things come up after that boot cycle! :)

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.

Windows Live Writer

Hyper-V Error 41 – Hyper-V launch failed; Either VMX not present or not enabled in BIOS and BIOS Update Methodology

We have just finished setting up a lab server that has been sold to an IT Consultant we have been working with for years now.

The server was set up with the existing Intel Xeon 3070 CPU on a new Intel Server Board S3210SHLC with 8GB of Intel certified Kingston ECC RAM.

One of the first things that we do with a new server setup, or an existing server setup that we are working on, is to verify the firmware levels on all components.

• Server board BIOS, BMC, and FRU/SDR.
• Hardware RAID controller firmware.
• Hardware SAS controller firmware.
• Hot Swap backplane firmware level.

We ran through and updated the firmware on all components in the server setup as they were all out of date to some degree.

The process we run to update the BIOS and firmware on the server board is as follows:

1. Boot to EFI and run the update.nsh script.
2. Power down completely after the updates have finished.
3. After a minute power the server up and let it run all the way through to a “No OS Found” message.
4. Power the system down again.
5. Wait for a minute and power it up.
6. Enter the BIOS.
7. Make settings changes.
8. Save and reboot to a “No OS Found” message.
9. Power down.
10. Power up and boot to OS install DVD.
11. Install drivers, configure OS partition, install OS.

We followed that process or so we thought for this particular server.

Once we have Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard SP1 installed we enabled the Hyper-V Role and ran all available Windows Updates.

We configured a Windows 7 desktop OS VM and went to start it when:

Hyper-V Manager

An error occurred while attempting to start the selected virtual machine(s).

‘VirtualMachine’ could not initialize.

The virtual machine could not be started because the hypervisor is not running.

The server logs showed:

Event ID 41: Hyper-V-Hypervisor

Hyper-V launch failed; Either VMX not present or not enabled in BIOS.

When we went into the Win2K8 MMC we saw that all three Hyper-V services were indeed running. We ran a restart of all three with one failing to restart.

So, we rebooted the server to see where the BIOS settings were at:

They indicate that they are indeed enabled. But, note that the information section states that a full power off and on cycle is required before the settings change will take.

Well, we were sure that we did fully power cycle the box when we were into the BIOS settings after updating it.

Just in case, we shut the server down and pulled the plugs. We let it sit for about a minute and then plugged it in. The server fired up on its own and booted into the OS.

All three Hyper-V services were up and running and there were no more errors in the logs once it finished booting.

Sure enough, we were able to go on and create the VMs, make the necessary settings changes, and start them.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Windows Desktop Software Assurance – Microsoft Windows Thin PC (WinTPC) Beta

Microsoft continues to build product equity into the Windows Desktop Software Assurance platform.

Most of us have clients that utilize Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in some way.

For example, most of our accounting firms have at least two or more virtualized desktops to provide their users the ability to work at a client’s site while keeping the data secure in-house.

Most clients shuffle old PCs either into employee’s hands or into the recycling pile after wiping or drilling out the hard disk.

Enter the Microsoft Windows Thin PC (WinTPC).

Note that this program is currently in beta.

• Microsoft Connect Site
• 

However, we can see the benefits of building out our client’s VDI in some cases to where all users are working on thin clients in-house or while out on the road.

The greatest benefit that we can see is that the user then has a seamless desktop experience in that they are always using their virtualized Desktop OS VM for their work besides the ability to extend the use of older desktop PCs or laptops.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Office for Mac Standard 2011 with Service Pack 1

We are in the process of getting ready to re-install the OS on our MacBook Pro.

Prior to doing so, we were looking for the newest Microsoft Office for Mac on the Microsoft Licensing Web site since we have our Office for Mac licensed under Open Value Agreement.

The download is a healthy 1,033MB or just a hair over 1GB in size!

The reason for the reload?

The MacBook Pro has been sitting on the shelf due to our being so busy for quite a while now. Guess what? It was not AD integrated and neither the user nor the master passwords were documented. It happens. :)

Fortunately it does not contain any critical data in the encrypted user setup.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Windows XP Mode–Printing From A DOS Application

Some of our clients have Line of Business Applications that go way back. This is especially true for accounting firms where folks will come to them to fill out tax reports for years gone by.

Some of those LoBs were DOS with no other option to run them.

So, we get the app set up in XP Mode on the Windows 7 system, from there we need to run the following command in the command line shell:

• net use lpt1 \\pserver\laser1 /persistent:yes

Since 99.9% of our clients don’t even have a parallel port on their computer anymore, it is probably quite safe to use LPT1. For those rare cases use LPT2.

One can either point that command to a server share or share the locally attached USB printer making sure that the firewall allows the connection.

• Microsoft KB314499: How to print to a network printer from an MS-DOS-based program in Windows XP

Note that in our experience both HP and Lexmark printers seem to work okay for this process. The actual printout may not be what is expected, but it works. If using any other printer vendor’s products this may or may not work due to driver or PCL language issues.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Some Thoughts On Standalone, Cluster Host, and VM Recoverability

The following was our post to the Yahoo SBS2K list that we figured would be good to share here.

The question was: How to install ESXi on a Dell using DRAC on a remote server.

QUOTE

Having looked at all of the responses to virtualizing a server on VMWare or Hyper-V, the following is where we are at in this.

We use Hyper-V exclusively. Why? It is very simple to work with.

For standalone servers we run a GUI install of Windows Server 2008 R2 along with an Intel RMM, iDRAC Advanced, iLO Advanced, etc. This gives us full management of both the hardware and the software so that question is moot. As you have indicated.

For clustering, we utilize Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. Again, it is quite simple to set up (after six months of brain busting investigation since documentation stinks for both s/w and h/w) and manage.

The native tools that come with RSAT or built into Windows Server make management and monitoring fairly straight forward.

Now, as to your dilemma we do the following on both the standalone and Hyper-V Nodes:

1. Transcend 16GB TS16GJFV30 formatted NTFS and active.
• Good read speed which is important. We only write once so no worries there.
2. Copy Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 OS contents onto the flash. The flash will remain plugged into the server for the life of the box.
• CAVEAT: If Win2K8 R2 GUI then put that on the flash.
3. Place needed OS install ISO copies onto the Flash drive.
4. Place needed drivers and firmware on the flash drive.
5. If using Tier 1 have their bootable DVD in the optical drive.
6. RMM, iDRAC ADV, iLO ADV, etc gives us boot control between Optical, USB Flash, and and RAID array with host OS.

What does this do for us?

We have full control over full host recovery, full guest recovery, and more depending on how the backups are structured. As a rule we do _not_ back up the host. It is faster to rebuild the host and either restore the guests from backup or connect existing VHDs depending on the failure.

RMM/iDRAC: We have tried USB redirection to boot the host OS and install via IP KVM and the process is just too painful. BTDT. Send them a fully configured USB Flash drive.

END QUOTE

What the above requires is at least 2 IP addresses from the ISP. One for the Internet connection used by the internal network and the other for the RMM/DRAC/iLO device that will be used to manage the server or cluster node.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Intel S3420GPRX I/O Shield Arrived Today

We finally managed to order and receive some I/O Shields for the Intel Server Board S3420GPRX today:

We can now move on to building our entry level virtualization servers that are based on this server board installed in an Intel Server Chassis SC5650 pedestal.

One thing to note when it comes to installing the Intel Server Board S3420GPRX into a pedestal chassis is that we lose the ability to use any external facing I/O modules such as the AXXSASIOMOD which would give us external Quad-port SAS connectors.

The one PCI-E slot on the server board will be used for a high performance RAID controller with battery or SSD Cache backup so that leaves iSCSI as the only real way of reaching a central storage unit for a Hyper-V cluster.

An alternative may be to use one of the add-in I/O Modules for entry level SAS RAID that connects directly to the server board and use that PCI-E slot for a SAS or RAID controller with an external Quad-port SAS connection. We lose storage path redundancy in this configuration though.

On another note, we are just getting ready to configure a couple of Intel Server Systems SR1695GPRX2AC 1U 1P servers with dual Quad-port external SAS ports connected to a Promise VTrak E610sD RAID Subsystem to see if we can stand up a full two node Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 cluster in this configuration. More to come on this hopefully later!

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.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 Setup Guide v1.9.0 Release and SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 Migration Guide v1.0.0 Released

We published our SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 Migration Guide and also updated our SBS 2011 Setup Guide extensively.

SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 Migration Guide

Well, we finally got around to updating our SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 Migration Guide with specifics for migrating to SBS 2011 instead of SBS 2008! :)

• Guide - SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 Migration

One of the significant changes between the previous guide and this one was the inclusion of screenshot snips of the various menu items and screens that are unique to this particular process. We also broke out the various migration steps with the how-to steps to make things easier in the long run.

As always, it is _very_ important to read the migration documentation thoroughly before actually running through migrating a production environment.

From there, with permission virtualize a client’s production SBS 2003 or the IT shop’s SBS 2003 and _run the migration virtually_ at least _three_ times before doing so on a production system.

Please take our guides and make them your own. Update them, tweak them, do whatever it takes to make a process manual that allows your technicians to run through an SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 Migration _consistently_ and without error!

SBS 2011 Setup Guide

While running through this last weekend’s SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 migration we reworked a number of things in our Setup Guide to streamline things between setting SBS 2011 up fresh or for using the Guide while running a migration.

• SBS 2011 Setup Guide v1.9.0

One of the significant updates that was added was something that Michael B. Smith mentioned should be a part of any Exchange related setup which was to enable Single Item Recovery in Exchange Server 2010 which is currently found at step 43 in the Guide.

We also reworked a number of steps and added a number of informational bullets to some of the steps such as the first one explaining how we configure the Windows Time service for standalone or clustered SBS VMs.

Conclusion

As always, make sure to test everything found in our guides. They are not meant to replace a good foundation of knowledge that comes by reading the “WHY” we do things the way we do. We do indeed follow our guides for the various SBS related processes we run through, however we know why we are doing what we do.

And, while we try and fill in those “Why” blanks it is ultimately working with the products, blowing them up in a lab, making Group Policy customizations that blow up in a lab, and so much more when working with production boxes that bring us to where we are at now.

Here are two good places to start on filling in the “Why”:

• Book: Charlie Russel et. al. Working with Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials
• Book: Charlie Russel et. al. Windows Small Business Server 2011 Administrator's Companion

Another good place is to purchase Jeff Middleton’s Swing Migration Kit for SBS 2003 to SBS 2011:

• SBS Migration by Jeff Middleton

The knowledge and skills we gleaned from learning the methodologies found in Jeff’s kit have literally saved client networks from total loss do to tandem hardware and backup failures.

There is the Official SBS blog that we frequent a lot:

• The Official SBS Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

There are some official Microsoft training resources also available:

• SBS 2011 Online Training HOL’s Released
• Small Business Server 2011 Standard Training HOL series
• Small Business Server 2011 Essentials Training HOL series
• Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard Installation Guide
• Official SBS Blog: Content, Content, and More Content – Part 1
• Official SBS Blog: Content, Content and More Content – Part 2
• Small Business Server 2011 Standard Learning Bites
• Official SBS Blog: How to Perform an Authoritative System State Restore in SBS 2008/2011 Standard

And, one final note. I will not be publishing a book on SBS 2011. There is just not enough time in the day to spend with my family, run our business, and keep up with the ongoing technology changes around us. So, this blog will be the writing release I need.

If you are so inclined, you can buy Monique and me a coffee: paypal@mpecsinc.ca :)

Otherwise, this blog has always been and hopefully will always be our gift to you as a way of sharing what little we know. ;0)

Thank you for reading!

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.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 – Time To Install Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 On Intel X3450 Based Server

The server we configured for the migration we are running this weekend has the following setup:

• Intel Server Board S3420GPLX
• Intel Xeon Processor X3450
• 8GB Crucial ECC UDIMM (4x 2GB running at 1333MHz)
• Intel RS2BL040 RAID + Battery Backup
• 900GB RAID 5 (4x 300GB 15K Seagate SAS)
• Intel Server Chassis SC5650DP with hot swap option

Once we had our SBS 2011 OS successfully installed in Migration Mode, the source SBS 2003 R2 Premium is definitely beyond its EOL, we ran through the first 20 or so steps of our SBS 2011 Setup Guide.

We had downloaded Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932) prior to starting the whole migration process.

We started the SP 1 Installer:

In the server logs we saw the following two Events:

Note the start time of 22:54 Hours.

We left the server on its own for a while.

Once the server had finished its final reboot we were greeted with the following after logging in:

A look into the Event Logs showed the following:

Finish time: 23:26 Hours.

So, for this particular SBS 2011 OS running on physical hardware we saw an install time of about 35 to 40 minutes.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Making a change? Back up! Touching that server? Back up!

We are in the process of migrating one of our long time non-profit clients from SBS 2003 R2 Premium to SBS 2011 Standard.

Their old server is _very_ tired and needs to be replaced.

We ran the needed updates and configuration tests before going forward with the changes for the migration itself. Prior to doing this we backed the server up.

We used NTBackup to create our System State backup shown at the bottom of the above screenshot. We then ran an incremental backup in ShadowProtect 3.x for SBS.

We were then confident to install and run the Source Prep Tool from the SBS 2011 TOOLS folder and move on to installing SBS 2011 in Migration Mode.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Configuring An Intel RAID Controller Via RMM JViewer

We are in the process of setting up a new server remotely.

We are logged in via the Intel Remote Management Module 3 that is installed on the Intel Server Board S3420GPLX.

In order to get the mouse to a liveable control level we had to close the KVM session and set the mouse configuration to RELATIVE:

Out of the box the mouse is set to ABSOLUTE mode which does not work very well at all.

Neither the Soft Keyboard nor the system’s keyboard that we are using allow for ALT+Key presses. The Keyboard menu at the top has some control over the ALT and CTRL key presses and holds but still it was not too reliable. It just worked to allow us to choose the drives for the disk group.

As long as we remained patient and moved the mouse about in a slow and fluid manner, controlling the RAID BIOS worked . . . just barely.

And finally we had our array:

So, it just takes a bit of patience to work through the process of setting up an array or arrays via the Intel Remote Management Console.

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.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011 Setup Guide v1.8.0 Released

As we are preparing for an SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 migration we noticed that the first step in the guide was pointing to an out-dated post on the time skew issues that VMs seem to have.

• SBS 2011 Setup Guide v1.8.0

We updated the first step with the correct link on how to set up the host/standalone DC to be the time source for the virtualized SBS setup as well as the settings for the VMs themselves.

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.

Windows Live Writer

iTunes Error: The iTunes Library.itl file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file

While we were working on transferring a client’s iTunes library from one machine to another we hit this error when we went to configure all of their iDevices in iTunes:

iTunes

The iTunes Library.itl file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file.

Okay, so we don’t seem to have the ability to open the library after the file copy finished.

We searched for some clues on what was going on with an obscure reference to file attributes being found on one forum.

Sure enough, we checked the iTunes’ folder properties and we found:

The iTunes root folder was somehow set to Read Only during the copy process between machines.

We made sure to clear the Read Only attribute”

Note that the speed of the system and the size of the iTunes library can greatly impact the amount of time the attribute change takes. In this case we waited a couple of minutes for the 3.8 GB worth of files to be touched.

Once the attribute change completed we needed to force iTunes to open that library by doing the following:

1. Hold the SHFT key.
2. Double click on the iTunes shortcut.
3. Click the Choose Library button.
4. Choose the library.lti file located in the root folder.

We ended up creating a number of playlists and setting each iDevice to only synchronize the playlist assigned to it so that our client could have a number of different devices tied to the one user account’s iTunes setup.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Warning: Intel Server System R1304BTLSHBN (1U Hot Swap) Has A Drive Height Restriction

Due to the fact that the new Intel E3-1200 series pedestal and 1U server configurations are a little restrictive, we have been reserving their use for standalone SBS 2011 OS installs (OS on physical box).

Almost all of our server deploys are configured with either 2.5” 15K SAS, 3.5” 15K SAS, or Intel X25-M or 320 Series SSDs.

There is an Intel Technical Advisory dated May 6th, 2011 that states that the new Intel Server System R1304BTLSHBN 1U with four hot swap drive bays has a drive height restriction of 25.9mm.

Well, we just checked Seagate’s Web site for the height of the 300GB 15K SAS drive and found that its specification is 26.10mm.

Here is a look at the hard drive compatibility list for this unit:

There seems to be a distinct lack of 3.5” 15K SAS drives on the above list. We have a few 300GB 15K Seagate SAS drives kicking about for lab purposes so we would have been testing this chassis with them and discovered this issue right away.

It is good to know ahead of time that there may be compatibility problems with our standard configurations on new platforms.

The above page can be found via the following link:

• Intel Server Products: Tested Hardware List

Note that the above link jumps into the base THOL page for all of the new E3-1200 series products:

It looks as though Intel is moving away from a PDF, and thus offline, version of the Tested Hardware and Operating Systems List (THOL which is our definitive compatibility guide) towards an online version only:

Hopefully this new version of the Server Configurator has its stability issues dealt with. So far, the site seems to be functioning a lot better than it did just a few short weeks ago.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Intel Desktop Board DQ67EPB3 – First Look

We just received an Executive Series Intel Desktop Board DQ67EP that we will be using to build a small form factor system with.

It will be going into an Antec ISK 300-150 with an Intel Core i5-2400s CPU.

This board packs a lot in to a very small space. Because of this, depending on the case they are mounted in the units can be installed or mounted virtually anywhere a system with good power is required.

One of the interesting new features on this board is the following:

There is a black Mini PCI-e slot just to the left of the power connector. The two screws are installed in a pair of standoffs to allow for the install of a Mini PCI-e card.

When we have a look at the Tested Components for DQ67EP list we see the following:

We have the ability to install a wireless LAN card in this slot thus saving the full size PCI-e x16 slot for video or other add-in card. This is a pretty neat little feature.

One of the things to take note of is that the board itself is actually heavy relative to its size.

• Intel Desktop Board DQ67EP Support Page

Once we have the system together, updated the BIOS, installed the OS and drivers we will run a burn-in process. We will then test to see if those USB 3.0 ports and SATA 6Gb/s really do make a difference.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Microsoft Download: Best Practices for Virtualizing Exchange Server 2010 with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V

The following document is available for download on Microsoft’s Download site.

• Microsoft Download Page: Best Practices for Virtualizing Exchange Server 2010 with Windows Server® 2008 R2 Hyper V™
• Microsoft Downloads: Best Practices for Virtualizing Exchange Server 2010 with Windows Server® 2008 R2 Hyper V™ (Word DOCX)

The document is an excellent source of great information on all aspects of virtualizing Exchange 2010.

Since SBS 2011 contains Exchange 2010, this document is for us! :)

From the document on sizing the host server:

Hyper-V Root Sizing

The largest consideration for sizing the Hyper-V root server is accommodating the guests it will support. However, there are a number of other factors to take into account:

• When calculating the RAM requirements on the Hyper-V root server, plan for an additional 1 GB or more of RAM for management of Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Plan for a dedicated network interface card (NIC) for managing the Hyper‑V root server. This card should not be connected to a local Hyper-V virtual switch.
• For a simple virtual network configuration that establishes connectivity to an external network, we recommend that you have at least two network adapters on the server running Hyper-V: one network adapter dedicated to the management operating system so you can access it remotely, and one or more network adapters dedicated to the virtual machines.
• If using live migration, plan for a dedicated NIC of 1 GB or higher due to the large amount of data moved across network.
• If Internet SCSI (iSCSI) storage is being used, choose dedicated, separate NICs for iSCSI storage.
• Plan for separate LUNs/arrays for the management operating system, guest operating system virtual hard disks (VHDs), and virtual machine storage.
• Management operating system and VHD LUNs should employ a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) to provide data protection and improve performance.
• For blade servers that have two physical disks, use the two physical disks for the host server only. Have the guests on direct-attached storage exposed as pass-through disks, or a separate storage area network (SAN),
• In a Hyper-V environment, a temporary memory storage file (BIN file) is created and maintained for each guest virtual machine. The size of each BIN file is equal to the amount of memory allocated to the guest virtual machine. The BIN file is stored alongside the Hyper‑V guest virtual hard disk and should be taken into account when determining the amount of disk space required on the Hyper‑V root server.
• The hypervisor running on the Hyper‑V root server has to manage each of the running Hyper‑V guests, resulting in extra load on the root server processors. This overhead can vary and a conservative allowance of 10 percent overhead should be allowed when sizing the host processors.

The document is definitely worth the read . . . right through.

For those of us that have been configuring hardware and/or building out hardware for server OSs hosted on Hyper-V the document provides a good guideline for us to investigate other avenues of systems design and configuration including Hyper-V Clusters.

It can also help us to tailor our standalone solutions for new SBS 2011 VM based deploys on standalone Hyper-V hosts since Exchange 2010 seems to be the number one question mark when it comes to configuring the host hardware.

Hat Tip: Susan Bradley

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.

Windows Live Writer

UPDATE: Stock on Intel Server Board S3420GPRX I/O Shield

We have found out that D&H USA has stock on the Intel Server Board S3420GPRX I/O shield (AGPRXIO).

Unfortunately D&H Canada is not allowed to sell Intel product into Canada at this time, so we were not able to get stock through their Canadian distribution point while the US distribution point will not drop-ship into Canada.

Fellow MVP Russ Grover suggested we talk to Applied Computer Online Services (Link to the I/O Shield part). They show available stock in their online ordering system.

But, because we are in Canada we ended up needing to call in to work out the product cost and the cost to ship up to Canada. In the end they were very helpful and their price was reasonable for each unit including shipping.

Our previous blog post:

• MPECS Inc. Blog: Setting Up an Intel S3420GPRX Entry Level Server Board In An Intel Pedestal Chassis

Note that we specifically requested FedEx as the courier since UPS charges an arm and a leg for their customs clearing services (we subsequently contracted the FedEx folks due to ongoing problems with UPS).

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.

Windows Live Writer

Reinstall Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) on Windows 7

Here is how to reinstall IE8 on Windows 7.

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Programs and Features.
3. Turn Windows Features on or off.
• 
4. Uncheck IE8.
• 
5. Reboot.
6. Run through again and check IE8.
7. Reboot.

From here: Windows 7 Forums: How can I reinstall IE 8 for windows 7 (sic)

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.

Windows Live Writer

Windows Live Messenger – Online Contacts Not Showing

After signing into WLM this morning none of the contacts that were online were showing up. In fact the whole Online category was gone.

After signing into WLM on another system the Online contacts were indeed showing. So, the problem seemed to be localized to this machine.

A thread on the TechArena forum helped to figure out how to fix things:

• TechArena Forums: Contacts always appear offline on windows live messenger

What we had to do to fix the situation:

1. Exit from WLM
1. ALT –> File –> Exit
2. Open Windows Explorer
3. Navigate to %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live
4. Delete the Contacts folder
• 
5. If the above error shows up, do not close it.
1. Open Task Manager
2. Click the Processes tab
3. End Task on wlcomm.exe *32
• 
4. Close the Task Manager
6. Flip back to the error message and click the Try Again button
7. Open WLM
• Note that it may take a minute or two before it starts
• 
8. WLM should start up and show all online contacts!
• 

We were now ready to make contact with the folks we need to!

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.

Windows Live Writer

SBS Setup Guide v1.7.5 Released

We restructured the update step that is currently at Step 24.

We added some break down for each SBS component as far as what to update, when to update it, how many updates should be run simultaneously for that group, and then when to reboot.

• MPECS Inc. Blog: SBS 2011 Setup Guide v1.7.5

Thanks for reading! :0)

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.

Windows Live Writer

Apple iOS 4.1 to 4.3.3 Update is . . .

For several iDevices:

A whopping 666.2 MB large!

We are working on transferring iTunes from an old desktop to an HP TouchSmart PC that is hanging on a wall in a small desk type alcove for a client.

When we plugged their iPhone 4 into the system iTunes wanted to update right away. The connection here is fairly quick so we did not have to wait too long for 666.2 MB, though long enough, while the update on the phone took somewhere around 10 minutes.

We have a few other iDevices sitting here on the desk waiting for their turn to be plugged in so we shall see if there are any additional device firmware updates that need to happen.

The verdict is in on the iPad:

Weighing in at 593.3 MB all hopes were dashed that the previous six hundred Megabyte file would also do for the iPad.

And then the iPod Touch:

Yet another six hundred plus Megabyte download. There are a few more iPod Touches that need to be updated. Hopefully the above file will be used for the others. Otherwise this will turn into a very painful process as there are a few more to go. :(

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.

Windows Live Writer

SBS 2011, Configuring - Exam Passed!

Well, it's official! =)

I guess I know something about SBS. ;)

The exam would be fairly straightforward though there were a few curve balls with one or two wonky ones.

Anyone that has three or four SBS deploys and a migration or two should challenge the exam with some in-depth SBS reading to flesh out that experience.

Thanks for reading!

Philip

Sent from my SBS 2011 integrated Windows Phone 7

ExchangeDefender Message Security: Check Authenticity

Really Kewl Tech Stuff – The Buxton Collection

The site speaks for itself:

• The Buxton Collection at the Microsoft Research Site

If you have a moment, check it out.

There is some pretty neat stuff in there! :)

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.

Windows Live Writer

Microsoft’s Big Easy Offer v6

The Big Easy Offer is back.

• Microsoft: The Big Easy Offer v6

We have a number of client’s Open Value Agreements (OVA) and a couple of Open Value Subscriptions (OVS) due during this time period.

For those with Open Value Agreements, they will see 15% of the agreement back in subsidy dollars.

For those with Open Value Subscriptions we will not be continuing on with the program except in the case where the client does not care to own the licenses and appreciates the lower payments.

We requested a quote from our distribution contact for the license buyout pricing for a client’s expiring OVS and were deeply disappointed by the prices on the license buyout. It seemed to us that the previous three years of subscription payments had no merit at all when looking at those prices.

We then had our distribution contact price out a new Open Value Agreement with licenses plus software assurance and saw that OVA was the better route to go in the long run. When the new OVA expires in three years we can keep those licenses and renew with a new OVA and Software Assurance only on them. The SA only OVA will reduce the overall cost of the agreement going forward.

• Microsoft Big Easy 6.0 Claim Form

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.

Windows Live Writer

Via Phone: Hi, We are the National Internet Service and You are Sending Our Systems a Virus!

One of our client’s users had the presence of mind to pause for a moment when they were called at home this morning and heard the line:

Hi, we are the National Internet Service and your computer is sending our systems a virus! Please sit down at your computer and . . .

They interrupted the speaker and told them that they would be calling their IT support folks ASAP and hung up.

When things like this happen it is important to get in touch with the authorities that handle fraud cases such as this:

• In Canada: Phone Busters

Contact for the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:

It's not always easy to spot a scam, and new ones are invented every day.

If you suspect that you may be a target of fraud, or if you have already sent funds, don't be embarrassed - you're not alone.

If you want to report a fraud, or if you need more information, contact The Canadian Anti- Fraud Centre:

Toll Free: 1-888-495-8501

Toll Free Fax: 1-888-654-9426
Email: info@antifraudcentre.ca

To report economic crime on-line please click here

One can only imagine how one can be fooled into providing all sorts of information to a caller like this.

A pearl of wisdom from my Dad: Never volunteer _anything_ in the way of information. Be specific, to the point, and KISS.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Setting Up an Intel S3420GPRX Entry Level Server Board In An Intel Pedestal Chassis

We are building out a number of pedestal based servers over the next couple of months that will be standalone Hyper-V hosts for SBS 2011 Standard, at least a Remote Desktop Services server, at least one Windows Desktop OS, and in a few cases a dedicated BlackBerry (BESx) server.

The perfect platform for this setup is the Intel Server Board S3420GPRX (Intel Ark Site) as it has four Intel Virtualization Technology accelerated Gigabit NICs that can be teamed together along with a fifth Gigabit NIC that can be bound to an Intel Remote Management Module 3 (Intel Product Site) for external Web based console access.

The catch with this setup though is that the S3420GPRX is designed to be installed in a 1U form factor chassis. So, the retail box comes with _no_ I/O shield for the back of the pedestal chassis.

However, we are able to order them . . . hopefully:

• Intel S3420GPRX I/O Shield: AGPRXIO

We will see what our distribution channels say as we have put out inquiries to all of them and we have a request into our Intel sales representative.

So far, no one has indicated the what/where/when with regards to the parts. But, we remain hopeful.

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.

Windows Live Writer

Mac Rogue Security Software

It was only a matter of time before folks started writing malware for Macs as Apple’s market share grew.

It is official: Sophos: Naked Security: Mother's Day search terms lead to Mac rogue security software

The following is a good demonstration of the malware’s attack on the Mac:

Malware Mac Attack

While Sophos goes on to plug their product for the Mac at the end of the article itself, this situation really begs the question: Will mainstream A/V vendors be in the same boat as they are today where we will need to go to a third party like Malwarebytes to remove the malware?

That is, will mainstream A/V products _still_ not be able to protect the Mac from this type of attack?

As is the case on the PC, one needs to be very aware of what they are doing at all times along with how to react when something like this happens.

In our opinion, Apple has lulled many into a false sense of security over the years. With their market share growing it was pretty obvious that these types of attacks were bound to happen. Now that they are we shall see if folks keep buying Macs.

UPDATE: Hat Tip: Jeremy of SFNIS via the SBS2K Yahoo List.

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.

Windows Live Writer

The Cloud Caveat – No Service

Some Cloud based issues that we have and are dealing with this week.

Online E-mail Hosting/Sanitation

0800Hrs: Customer: “Dear sir, your money has been sent via e-mail money transfer.”

1330Hrs: Us via phone: “Mr. Client, we still have not received a payment?”

Ah, that’s when we discover that there must be something going on and of course there is the post in the RSS reader that OWN is having issues. The issues continued well past the 1150Hrs EST update time on the above post too.

• OWN NOC: Network Outage Research

Online Banking

We can’t seem to do anything with that EMT?!?

• No money honey!

When we called the 800 number the person on the other end said that they knew about the problem and that there was no ETA on a fix.

Conclusion

We really don’t realize just how much impact a service outage can have on us until it actually happens.

As much as we can have the risk evaluation conversation with a client about moving their infrastructure to the Cloud the reality is that they may not become cognizant of the true cost of an outage until it happens.

That missed deposit could create havoc on a business running on the wire! :|

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.

Windows Live Writer