Have U Rebooted Yet–051–SMB Community Map

I like this:

• Have U Rebooted Yet–051–SMB Community Map

As usual Tim’s amazing wit brings about a smile induced day. :)

He has a PDF of the map available on the original site. Might just print it off using our tabloid printer and hang it here in the shop!

Good job man! :D

Happy Friday everyone and thanks 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

Windows Phone 7 “Mango” – Some Initial Thoughts

“Is this my phone?!?”

The first thing that has been noticed is that the HTC HD7 (Bell Mobility) runs quite a bit faster than it did before.

Apps come up a lot quicker with menu animation and flip happening in a much smoother manner along with that speed.

Big pluses seen so far:

• Tasks/To Do is now integrated into the phone!
• Swipe left or right to get to them.
• When a Reminder comes up it can be Snoozed longer than 5 minutes.
• The time options are a bit limited, but certainly better than the lack of control in the previous version.
• 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, 1 day.
• Unlock time before the phone is locked has been increased to 15 minutes for those of us that get distracted! ;)
• Now up to 15 minutes of unlock time.
• Note the extra drain on the battery though.
• Phone features
• Merge Call is now available.
• Hold and Swap are a lot easier to get to.
• Buttons on all calling features have been improved for those of us that are visually challenged.
• Customized ring tones!
• Security
• PIN can be more than 4 digits (was the previous version locked down at 4?)
• Twitter is now integrated into the phone.
• Settings –> Accounts –> New –> Twitter.
• LinkedIn and Facebook are also integrated.
• The Clipboard now behaves more like a true Windows machine’s Clipboard would.
• Copy and Paste is sticky across apps and also capable of multiple pastes.
• Battery Saver
• The phone will cut out all non-essential services to reduce battery consumption.
• Talk and Text/Message
• Tap a Bluetooth headset button and say, “Text My Wife” and go.
• Reply to text and Messenger messages too though it worked out of the box and are not sure how to get it going again!
• Improvements to cursor control
• Controlling the cursor has been a bit of a bear since day one. The last major update greatly improved things while Mango seems to have improved even more on precise placement.
• The Me tile is tied into Twitter, Messenger, and other social media.
• It actually means something now (at least for those of us that may be behind the social media curve).

The one drawback that will take a bit of getting use to is the loss of the Folders access button in Outlook to allow us to get into the Inbox’s subfolders quickly. It is now hidden behind the “…” More option at the bottom.

In the end Mango is a big win. It is as though the phone is new! :)

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

A Big Picture View of VM Density: vCPUs to Cores?

This is a repost of our comment made on the following Microsoft Forums:

• Microsoft Windows Server Forums: How CPU works in backend with Hyper-V role enabled system?

An eight core CPU without Hyper-Threading has the ability to process 8 threads simultaneously. To keep things simple we will avoid the HT conversation.

An important point to keep in mind that the number of vCPUs assigned to a VM = the number of threads that _have_ to pass through the CPU _at the same time_.

So, a VM with 4 vCPUs would have to have 4 threads processed simultaneously.

Now, this is where things get a little sticky, and the reason why the linked article discusses the VP:LP ratio as being important (link below).

• Microsoft Virtualization Team Blog: Hyper-V VM Density, VP:LP Ratio, Cores and Threads...

With 8 threads available to us on your CPU we can use your 5 VM with 2 vCPUs as an example. Note that each bullet represents a set of 8 possible threads that can processed by the CPU.

Okay, so theoretically the physical CPU could process four VM's vCPUs simultaneously (NOTE: * = thread):

• |**|    |**|    |**|    |**|
• VM1 VM2 VM3 VM4

Now, this is the "sticky" part:

• |*|   |**|    |**|    |**|
• OS VM5 VM1 VM2

In the above example we have two VM's vCPU threads being processed and one OS core service thread. Now, that leaves one core empty due to the way the CPU queues and processes threads.

Because of the way the physical CPU queues and processes threads Microsoft has come up with the VP:LP ratio. It is to help us to understand at what point the CPU's queue will become overwhelmed by all of the VM's threads waiting in the queue to be processed.

Also note that Microsoft is explicit about defining the VP:LP for the Windows 7 desktop OS as being different than any other configuration because as soon as we introduce vCPUs running with 3, 4, and now with more threads the number of cores in a system becomes all the more important for overall system/VM performance.

Taking that we can see the following as being possible:

• |****|  |**|    |*|
• VM6 VM1 OS
• |**|    |****|   |**|
• VM2  VM7 VM3
• |*|    |****|   |**|
• OS  VM6  VM4

And so on. Notice that because the 4 vCPU VMs require those four threads to be processed simultaneously the queue gets a little longer due to the CPU's need to juggle which threads get processed when.

Today's CPUs are vastly better at working in these types of environments due to improved internal logic, data path efficiencies improved, Hyper-Threading (we don't put too much into this feature), and more. Thus: YMMV. :)

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

Force Updating Windows Phone 7 to Mango

Thanks Leen Kleijwegt of CORBUS for an e-mail pointing us to instructions on how to force the Mango update onto our Windows Phone 7 devices! :)

The instructions are here:

• wpcentral: Force Mango update early through Zune software and avoid frostbite

To quote from the above site that takes a long time to load due to the comments the process is as follows:

Steps to force a Mango update on phones for which Mango has started rolling out:

1. Connect your Windows Phone to a PC and launch the Zune software
2. Click on Phone > Settings > Update. Allow the software to tell you whether an update is available. If so, skip this guide. If not continue to the next step.
3. Time to force the update. Click another button (any of the options above or below the word Update). Then click the Update button again, and this time disconnect your computer from the internet after 1-2 seconds. Do this by pulling out the Ethernet cable, disabling Wi-Fi, etc. If it says your phone is already up to date, you didn't disconnect quickly enough and need to try this step again.
4. Wait 30 seconds or so and Zune should display a notification that an update is available. This is 7392, the first Mango pre-update.
5. Now reconnect to the internet and continue with the update process through the Zune software.
6. After 7392 is fully installed, you may receive a notification that another update is available. If so, install it now. If not, proceed to the next step.
7. If the second update isn't popping up on its own, repeat steps 3-5, causing the 7403 update to appear.
8. Install 7403, brave reader. Speeding right along, isn't it? ;)
9. Mango time! At this point, Zune should automatically start installing the last update, 7720, aka Mango. If it doesn't happen automatically, force it like we did in previous steps.
10. This last step is very important! Celebrate your phone’s new found Mango status by purchasing a mango smoothie at your nearest Smoothie King, Jamba Juice, Baskin Robbins, or similar establishment.

After a few tries with the Zune software and Ethernet cable process we received:

But Zune wants to be updated first:

Once that update finished we saw:

Update 7403 is Mango! Whoo Hoo! :)

Ah, but wait! All is not well in Zune update land:

Something burped in the process and the Zune software dropped out. So, off to flip between the update and Ethernet cable again to see what happens. That failed because the Zune software had seemingly disappeared.

We needed to restart the Zune software manually because it did not start when the phone was pulled and then plugged back into the shop PC again.

Once we started the Zune software, ran the Update/Ethernet step, we received the following:

We were finally able to run the Mango update on the phone!

Note that a full backup of the phone was done but we only have about 4GB of data on it so it should not take too long. The process is looking to take an hour or more. So, patience is definitely on order . . . whether it gets here in time is another story. ;)

Anticipation . . .

Hat Tip: Again thanks to Leen Kleijwegt of CORBUS

Now to get some reading in on all of the new features.

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 Race Is On – Mango on Bell Mobility? Not Yet :(

So far there has been no update flag on my HTC HD7 phone. :(

According to this grid, Bell Mobility is “Delivering update”:

• Windows Phone Update Schedule

What does this mean? Well, I suppose that it means that we just need to be patient! ;)

But, I don’t want to. :(

Mango Features

Rick Claus of Microsoft showed me a lot of Mango goodness well at the iTech Summit in Calgary last week and they sure looked great.

One of the features that would make life a lot easier will be the ability to transition text messaging with someone to Windows Live Messenger and then back again to text messaging seamlessly. We text a lot here with those conversations moving to WL Messenger and back again with IT support folks.

Another feature that looked really neat was the ability to text message someone totally hands free. Though the interpretation may or may not come across properly. I love spell check’s occasional replacement for a mistyped “things” with “thongs”. We all know where that could lead depending on the recipient if not paying attention! 8*O

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

Serving VDI with RemoteFX Enabled

Trying to find any current information on RemoteFX and what GPUs we can use to run the feature in our Windows 7 VMs has been quite the challenge.

Our first stop in the process of finding information was this page:

• Microsoft TechNet: Hardware Considerations for RemoteFX

RemoteFX CPU Compatibility

The first hardware consideration has to do with the server hardware and its capabilities:

1. SLAT-enabled processor   The processor in the RemoteFX server must support Second-Level Address Translation (SLAT). In virtualization scenarios, hardware-based SLAT support improves performance. On Intel processors, this is called Extended Page Tables (EPT), and on AMD processors, it is called Nested Page Tables (NPT).
2. GPU   At least one graphics processing unit (GPU) is required on the RemoteFX server. The GPU driver must support DirectX 9.0c and DirectX 10.0. If more than one GPU is installed in the RemoteFX server, the GPUs must be identical. The GPU must have sufficient dedicated video memory that is separate from system memory.

Now, there are two links to hardware related articles just below the above but they have not been updated in quite a while. So, we are left searching about for any possible leads.

One of the configurations we are looking for is to deliver the virtual desktops via Hyper-V Failover Cluster. In order to do that, we must take note of the caveat stated in the TechNet article:

Important

To use Live Migration, the source and destination RemoteFX servers must have the same GPU installed.

We have seen it also noted that a server with multiple GPUs installed into the same server must use the same card.

AMD and NVIDIA

Since we have two major video card manufacturers that have mentioned RemoteFX we did some searching on their sites for anything related to it:

1. AMD (ATI) RemoteFX Search Results
• The FirePro product line is mentioned.
• A relatively recent article (August 15, 2011) on their site: AMD FirePro™ Wears Multiple Hats in the Data Center.
2. nVidia RemoteFX Search Results
• NVIDIA® Quadro® drives Microsoft RemoteFX
• 
• NVIDIA Tesla M2070Q

As we can see, a 1U form factor is definitely out for both manufacturer’s products. Both the AMD 4GB part and the NVIDIA Tesla 6GB part take up two PCI-E slots.

Now that we have an idea of what is available in GPUs we need to look at our server configurations. For now, there are not a lot of choices in 2U form factor that have more than one or possibly 2 PCI-E 2.0 16x slots in them.

When we go above 2U we have options but from what we can see at this point we are looking at 4 CPU server systems to gain access to more than two PCI-E 2.0 16x slots truly wired for 16 lanes.

Once we get into that level of server configuration the $8K sticker price for the Tesla M2070Q starts to look a little more palatable.

RemoteFX GPU Performance

We now have a better grasp on where to find the necessary GPUs, but what about performance?

From the TechNet article linked above we find this grid:

The first thing we see is that the display resolutions are going to be a bit difficult to work with due to the fact that most folks have either 22” to 24” wide LCD monitors on their desktop. The 24: may have enough vertical resolution to handle 1280x1024 but that is about it.

Note the required amount of GPU memory for each resolution and number of monitors. In most cases users will run a single monitor with a few exceptions.

For two monitors running 1280x1024 at 175MB each session a 6GB Tesla would host about 30 sessions per card.

• $8K/30 Sessions = $267/Session

For one monitor running 1920x1200 we are looking at about 25 sessions per 6GB Tesla.

• $8K/25 Sessions = $320/Session

Given a 36 month solution life that cost is actually quite reasonable.

RemoteFX and Clusters

Now the kicker, one of the driving reasons behind our looking into RemoteFX is a client that is looking to do VDI for 130 to 150 desktops _on a Hyper-V Failover Cluster_.

This means that if we are looking to build a robust two node Hyper-V Failover Cluster that each node must be configured to run the _entire_ VDI environment.

So, we will be looking at some alternatives that will allow us to run three or even four nodes connected to the same Promise VTrak E610sD RAID Subsystem that the LSI SAS Switches will allow us to do.

Direct Attached Storage via SAS 3Gbit or 6Gbit quad port connections out performs Gigabit based iSCSI (even with multiple Gigabit ports via MPIO) in so many ways plus MPIO configuration for the SAS connections is a lot easier to work with.

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

How To: Set Up A Hyper-V Cluster Node or Standalone Server

All of our Hyper-V clusters are based on Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RTM/SP1 as of this writing.

Cluster Storage Setup

The following steps are an overview of what we do after configuring all of the hardware and the first three LUNs on our centralized storage.

1. 1.51GB for Quorum
2. 106.52GB for Hyper-V common settings (RAM/Node * #Nodes)+ 10GB
• Add more space for snapshots if they will be used.
3. 145.11GB for first VHD (SBS 2011 OS partition for example)
• NOTE: We use the .xxGB to denote _which_ LUN we are working with in the Hyper-V cluster’s Disk Management and subsequently in Clustered Shared Volumes management. Having eight 80GB LUNs spread across two storage devices would be tough to figure out which was which.
• So, for an Intel Modular Server with built-in SAN plus a Promise VTrak RAID Subsystem we would do the following:
• 1.51GB for Quorum.
• 106.52GB for Common Settings.
• We reserve xx.5xGB for system storage needs.
• 145.11GB for the first LUN/VHD located on the IMS SAN.
• xx.1xGB-xx.4xGB for each additional LUN/VHD on the IMS SAN.
• 175.61GB for the first LUN/VHD located on the Promise VTrak.
• xx.6xGB+ for each additional LUN/VHD on the VTrak.

When we open the node’s Disk Management we see each of the partitions with their size indicated correctly.

Using this storage size configuration process makes managing SAN/DAS based storage so much easier in the long run.

Intel NIC Teaming

First, a blog post on teaming using Intel's prosetcl.exe (also relevant for GUI):

• http://blog.mpecsinc.ca/2010/09/intel-proset-adapter-team-creating-vlan.html

Most of our Hyper-V deploys are Server Core based with standalone Hyper-V hosts for smaller deploys being the exception to the rule.

Host Setup Process

Our host setup process:

1. Update firmware for _all_ components on the host first.
2. Set up a bootable USB flash drive with the OS of choice.
1. http://blog.mpecsinc.ca/2010/09/create-bootable-usb-flash-drive-larger.html
2. Copy and paste the RAID driver and current Intel PROSet NIC driver (16.5 as of this writing).
3. Copy and paste the tools listed in the blog post linked at the end of this post.
3. Boot into the RAID controller’s BIOS and set up the RAID array.
4. Reboot into the BIOS and verify boot order with the RAID array on top.
5. Reboot into WinPE and load the RAID driver _prior_ to setting up a partition for the OS.
6. Once OS is installed install the necessary drivers:
1. Install: pnputil -i –a driver.inf
2. Delete: sc query type=<driver>
• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee619752(WS.10).aspx
• NIC
• chipset
• SAS
• System management tools
7. Team the NICs.
• Note that most server manufacturers have NIC MAC addresses listed in the BIOS.
• We have at least two independent Intel NICs in the server with a minimum of 4 ports.
• Teams are created between ports on separate NICs to create redundancy.
• prosetcl.exe commands are listed in the ReadMe.txt
8. Create VLANs
   • NOTE: Prosetcl.exe: In Server Core A TAGGED VLAN must be created before the UNTAGGED VLAN at the command line. This may or may not be the case in the GUI.
9. Set up the various network IP structures via SConfig console.
10. Make sure to disable "Register this connection in DNS" on _any_ NIC not on the management network.
    • CMD: netsh interface ipv4 set dnsservers name="Local Area Connection #" source=dhcp register=none
    • This eliminates any IPs being associated with the Hyper-V host or cluster nodes that are not on the management subnet.
11. Move the Swap file to a dedicated partition next to the OS but before the data/VHD partitions.
1. wmic.exe computersystem where name="ComputerName " set AutomaticManagedPagefile=False
2. wmic.exe pagefileset create name="S:\pagefile.sys"
3. wmic.exe pagefileset where name="S:\\pagefile.sys" set InitialSize=42950,MaximumSize=87550
4. wmic.exe pagefileset where name="C:\\pagefile.sys" delete
5. Reboot
12. Make sure Network Discovery is enabled on the host.
• Create and share a folder on Server Core to bring this about.
13. Install MPIO if needed.
    1. dism /online /enable-feature:MultipathIo
    • Command _is_ case sensitive.
    2. mpclaim -n -i -a (claim all MPIO disks)
    3. mpclaim -L -m 4 (sets MPIO Mode - your choice will be dependent on the type of I/O needed)
    4. mpclaim -s -d (verify MPIO mode for all disks)
    5. mpclaim -v C:\MPIOReport.txt (creates a full disk report in a text file)
14. MPIOCPL.exe opens the MPIO Control Panel for both FULL and CORE installs.
15. Run through the SConfig steps in order.
• 
• Note that any non-management (domain) subnet will not allow a PING until after the Failover Clustering Feature is enabled.
• Since the Heartbeat subnet and others would be a part of the Public Profile in the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security no PING will get through until after it is enabled.

Cluster Storage Considerations

If standing up a cluster make sure to have the Quorum LUN (will not be CSV) and common settings LUN (will be CSV) set up on the SAN/DAS. We also set up one LUN for our first clustered VM partition.

1. On NODE 1:
1. Open Disk Management.
2. Refresh Disks.
3. Note Disk # and initialize the LUNs.
4. Format NTFS.
1. We name our partitions:
1. Quorum
2. Common_Files
3. SBS_OS
4. SBS_Data
5. etc . . .
5. Set all LUNs to Offline.
2. On NODE 2+:
1. Open Disk Management
2. Refresh Disks _after_ cancelling the request to Initialize.
3. Verify Disk # and partition names.
1. If the Disk # does not match up with NODE 1 then reboot.
4. Set all LUNs to Offline

We use fixed VHDs by default on dedicated LUNs for each VHD required. We use VHDTool to create the fixed VHDs on the LUNs. We _always_ initialize the LUNs with a full zero set.

Once we have our nodes, networking, and storage set up we run the Cluster Validation Wizard. If completed successfully we stand the cluster up using the link found in the Wizard.

From there enable Cluster Shared Volumes and add the required storage.

Depending on the configuration all of the LUNs that would be required could now be configured on the shared SAN/DAS. Use the above method to initialize, format, name, and then set them to Offline on NODE 1. Then follow the steps required on each additional node.

Some helpful tools:

• MPECS Inc. Blog: Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP USB Flash Drive Must Have Drivers & Utilities

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

APC Switched Rack PDU AP7900

We are in the process of moving some of our single plug systems over to a new APC PDU.

• APC Switched Rack PDU AP7900 (product page)

Note that in our case the AP7900 came with the PDU unit and a cable distribution bracket that mounts to the front of the unit. The piece shown in the first picture above must be a part of a different product SKU.

On the top of the unit is a sticker with the MAC address which we set up with a DHCP and BOOTP reservation on our SBS 2011 VM.

Note that out of the box the PDU uses BOOTP to obtain an IP address so it is important to make sure that the reservation includes BOOTP:

The default username and password for the unit is apc/apc.

Once we have connected to the device and renamed the admin user as well as reset the password we then moved on to naming each outlet after the device connected to it:

Once complete we will have each outlet identified with a quick link to the product’s support page (in this case):

Instead of the product support page we could link to the device’s own management IP address if it had one.

We would then go on to create power cycle schedules to automatically power cycle any device connected to the outlets:

Power cycling a device on a semi-regular basis can be quite helpful as we have all experienced flaky behaviours from all manner of devices that have been up and running in some cases for years.

In the end we have the ability to power cycle any device or group of devices that we need to. This is especially important for devices and older servers that do not have a Remote Management Module with remote power cycling capabilities.

A port redirection can be set up in the Internet gateway device to the PDU’s management console to allow for remote power cycling … so long as the gateway is up and running. In some cases the PDU could be plugged directly into the Internet to allow for direct management.

Conclusion

The APC PDU was quite simple to set up and get going. With the IP reservation set prior to plugging in an Ethernet cable and powering it up we were able to have it set up in a matter of minutes.

We then went on to install it into our NetShelter enclosure and move device power cords over to it.

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 Partner Program: Intel Technology Conference Coming Soon!

The Intel Technology Conference registration is now open. The conference was previously called the Intel Channel Conference (ICC).

• Intel Technology Conference Site

Looks like those of us in Calgary and Edmonton will have the event though only the half day version.

We have always found our ICC attendance to be beneficial for both our product knowledge as well as contact with our peers.

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 8: Remote Desktop Connection Inbound Not Working - Fix

We had a bit of a puzzle with setting Windows 8 up on a couple of SBS 2011 networks. It was a puzzle because on the SBS 2008 network where we configured a Windows 8 VM we had no RDP issues once we force enabled RDP inbound via GPO.

But, on SBS 2011 networks we have had no success at it.

There is a new predefined Inbound rule on the Win8 VM:

• Remote Desktop – User Mode (TCP-In)
• Programs and Services: %SystemRoot%\system32\svchost.exe
• Protocols and Ports: TCP #6 at port 3389

In our SBS 2011 GPO for managing our clients and servers we have:

No such thing.

So, we go on to create it:

1. Add the program path:
• 
2. Answer Yes:
• 
3. Set the port structure:
• 
4. Allow all IPs:
• 
5. Set the connection to Allow:
• 
6. We permit the rule for all connection types:
• 
7. Name the rule: Remote Desktop – User Mode (TCP-In)
• Description: Inbound rule for the Remote Desktop service to allow RDP traffic. (TCP 3389).
8. GPUpdate /force on the DC/SBS.
9. GPUpdate /force on the Windows 8 machine/VM.

Once the policy takes the rule will show up:

When we bring up the properties of the GPO delivered rule:

We are now able to RDP into the Windows 8 desktop OS. We have yet to stand up a Windows 8 Server however it is likely that RDP on the server OS will require the same rule.

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: Configure SBS Connect Wizard for Windows 8

Our post on tweaking the SBS 2008 Connect Wizard is here:

• MPECS Inc. Blog: SBS 2008: Configure SBS Connect Wizard for Windows 8

The Official SBS Blog Post:

• Official SBS Blog: Using Windows 7 BETA With SBS 2008

There are a few differences in the settings for SBS 2011. Make sure to make a backup of the GP.XML file and the supportedOS.XML files before modifying them in any way.

After installing  the Windows 8 desktop OS:

1. On SBS 2011 Open SBS Native Tools Console.
2. Open the Group Policy Management Console.
1. If it is not there add it and save the MMC so that it is there later.
3. Navigate to the Windows SBS Client Policy GPO and copy the GUID (Unique ID).
4. Paste the GUID into the following path:
1. \Windows\sysvol\domain\Policies\{YOUR-GUID-HERE}\machine\SBS
5. Click Start –> NotePad –> Right click and Run As Admin.
6. File –> Open –> Paste the above path in and open GP.XML.
• Make sure File Type is set to All Files (*.*).
7. Append the following to (Version&gt;= . . . ) found in the GP.XML
• and ‘6.2.8102’
• 
• 
8. Save and close NotePad.
9. Click Start –> NotePad –> Right click and Run As Admin.
1. File –> Open –> Paste the following path and open supportedOS.XML.
• C:\Program Files\Windows Small Business Server\Bin\WebApp\ClientDeployment\packageFiles\
• Make sure File Type is set to All Files (*.*).
10. Replace the supportedOS.XML file contents with the following:
• <SupportedConfigurations>
    <SupportedOS>
      <!-- Name is not used by the code but might be helpful in identifying the OS that is described by these parameters -->
      <!-- ExcludedSuite, RequiredSuite, and RequiredProductType are the numbers as specified in the OSVERSIONINFOEX structure -->
      <!-- Architecture is the number as specified in the SYSTEM_INFO structure –>
•     <OS id="1" Name="Windows XP SP2, x86" Major="5" Minor="1" Build="2600" SPMajor="2" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="0"/>
      <OS id="2" Name="Windows XP SP2, AMD64" Major="5" Minor="2" Build="3790" SPMajor="2" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="9"/>
      <OS id="3" Name="Windows Vista, x86" Major="6" Minor="0" Build="6000" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="0"/>
      <OS id="4" Name="Windows Vista, AMD64" Major="6" Minor="0" Build="6000" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="9"/>
      <OS id="5" Name="Windows 7, AMD64" Major="6" Minor="1" Build="7000" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="9"/>
      <OS id="6" Name="Windows 7, x86" Major="6" Minor="1" Build="7000" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="0"/>
      <OS id="7" Name="Windows 8, AMD64" Major="6" Minor="2" Build="8102" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="9"/>
      <OS id="8" Name="Windows 8, x86" Major="6" Minor="2" Build="8102" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="0"/>
    </SupportedOS>
  </SupportedConfigurations>
• 
11. On the Windows 8 system: Open IE and open the http://connect wizard.
12. At the _bottom_ of the IE window click the Turn on Intranet settings button.
• 
13. Click the Yes button to the “Are you sure . . . ?” prompt.
14. Click the Start Connect Computer Program link.
• 
15. Step through the Connect Wizard.

The Windows 8 machine/VM will step through and complete its configuration.

• MPECS Inc Blog Downloads: SBS and Windows 8.ZIP (ZIP File Download)

Please use the supportedOS.XML file and the paths TXT file found in the above ZIP archive. The GP.XML file found in the archive is from an SBS 2008 setup so please ignore it for SBS 2011.

RDP and Windows 8

NOTE: We are experiencing a problem connecting to the VM via RDP on Windows SBS 2011 networks even with the firewall exceptions in place. At this point we are not sure if there is a problem using the RDP client in Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2 or if there is a bug in the Windows 8 OS RDP 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

SBS 2008: Configure SBS Connect Wizard for Windows 8

We stood up a desktop OS version of the Windows Developer Review (Win8) yesterday. When we went to run the SBS 2008 Connect Wizard where the VM was located we ran into the following error:

It’s asking for .NET 2 or later yet .NET 4 is installed in the Windows 8 desktop OS by default.

So, we went into the Turn Windows Features On or Off and enabled .NET 3.5.1:

The install process jumped onto the Internet and pulled down whatever it needed so there was a good 5 to 10 minute delay while that process went on.

Once the .NET install routine was finished we cleared out the IE cache and started again:

We now had our Connect Wizard start screen. So, we started the wizard and got hit with:

Connect Computer: Verifying computer requirements – Unsuccessful

This computer does not meet the requirements necessary to connect to the network.

Since we were messing around with the beta of Windows 7 back when it was not too hard to figure out that we needed to tweak things on SBS 2008 for Windows 8 to be recognized.

• Official SBS Blog: Using Windows 7 BETA With SBS 2008

The paths needed:

• \Windows\sysvol\domain\Policies\{YOUR-GUID-HERE}\machine\SBS
• %programfiles%\Windows Small Business Server\Bin\webapp\ClientDeployment\packageFiles\

Copy and paste the above paths into NotePad on the SBS server.

The supportedOS.xml code is:

<SupportedConfigurations>
  <SupportedOS>
    <!-- Name is not used by the code but might be helpful in identifying the OS that is described by these parameters -->
    <!-- ExcludedSuite, RequiredSuite, and RequiredProductType are the numbers as specified in the OSVERSIONINFOEX structure -->
    <!-- Architecture is the number as specified in the SYSTEM_INFO structure -->

    <OS id="1" Name="Windows XP SP2, x86" Major="5" Minor="1" Build="2600" SPMajor="2" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="0"/>
    <OS id="2" Name="Windows XP SP2, AMD64" Major="5" Minor="2" Build="3790" SPMajor="2" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="9"/>
    <OS id="3" Name="Windows Vista, x86" Major="6" Minor="0" Build="6000" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="0"/>
    <OS id="4" Name="Windows Vista, AMD64" Major="6" Minor="0" Build="6000" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="9"/>
    <OS id="5" Name="Windows 7, AMD64" Major="6" Minor="1" Build="7000" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="9"/>
    <OS id="6" Name="Windows 7, x86" Major="6" Minor="1" Build="7000" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="0"/>
    <OS id="7" Name="Windows 8, AMD64" Major="6" Minor="2" Build="8102" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="9"/>
    <OS id="8" Name="Windows 8, x86" Major="6" Minor="2" Build="8102" SPMajor="" SPMinor="" ExcludedSuite="512" RequiredSuite="" RequiredProductType="1" Architecture="0"/>
  </SupportedOS>
</SupportedConfigurations>

Please note that the above code contains both 32bit and 64bit entries for Windows 8.

The code looks like this in the file:

The code for the GP.XML file is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<GPSetting>
  <MSI xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" Name="WMIProvider" Location="\\DOMAIN.LOCAL\SysVol\DOMAIN.LOCAL\ClientAgent\machine\WMIProvider.msi" PlatForm="0" WMIFilter="select * from Win32_OperatingSystem Where (Version&gt;='5.1.2600' and '6.0.6000'&gt;Version and ServicePackMajorVersion&gt;=2 and ProductType=1) or (Version&gt;='6.0.6000' and '6.2.0000'&gt;Version and ProductType=1)" />
  <MSI xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" Name="IWorkerGadget32" Location="\\DOMAIN.LOCAL\SysVol\DOMAIN.LOCAL\ClientAgent\machine\IWorkerGadget.msi" PlatForm="1" WMIFilter="select * from Win32_OperatingSystem Where Version&gt;='6.0.6000' and '6.2.0000' and '6.2.8102'&gt;Version and ProductType=1" />
  <MSI xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" Name="IWorkerGadget64" Location="\\DOMAIN.LOCAL\SysVol\DOMAIN.LOCAL\ClientAgent\machine\IWorkerGadget64.msi" PlatForm="2" WMIFilter="select * from Win32_OperatingSystem Where Version&gt;='6.0.6000' and '6.2.0000' and '6.2.8102'&gt;Version and ProductType=1" />
</GPSetting>

Instead of making the changes indicated in the SBS Blog we appended the Windows 8 version in the second two entries: and ‘6.2.8102’

Change DOMAIN.LOCAL (bold emphasis ours) to your own SBS domain in each of the entries as indicated above.

They look like this:

How To

1. Install the Windows 8 OS.
2. Update Integration Services
3. Install .NET 3.5.1 into the Windows 8 OS by adding the feature.
4. At the command prompt in Windows 8: ver [Enter]
1. Note the version number.
5. Copy and Paste the paths into NotePad (paths are in a TXT file at the end of this post)
6. Find the required GUID in GPMC on SBS.
7. Copy and Paste the GUID (the GUID can be highlighted copied from GPMC) into the path above.
8. Open the GUID path and copy the GP.XML file out into a safe place.
9. Open an elevated NotePad session: Start –> NotePad –> Right Click search result and Run As Admin.
10. File –> Open –> navigate to GP.XML and open (copy and paste the path from NotePad).
11. Make the necessary edits.
12. Save.
13. Open the supportedOS.XML path and copy the supportedOS.XML file out into a safe place.
14. File –> Open –> navigate to the supportedOS.XML file (copy and paste the path from NotePad)
15. Make the necessary edits.
16. Save.
17. Re-run the Connect Wizard on the Windows 8 VM/machine.

The Windows 8 VM/Machine will now meet the requirements:

supportedOS.XML Edit

We found the Windows 8 version by running the following command at the command prompt:

• ver [Enter]

We then made sure that our copy and paste of the Windows 7 OS id settings were updated appropriately.

• The OS id always increments by 1
• AMD64 is 64bit
• x86 is 32bit
• Architecture=”9” is 64bit
• Architecture=”0” is 32bit

Full Screen Mode

If installing the Windows 8 OS into a VM it is a must to have the console session in Full Screen mode as the Windows key is needed to switch between Metro and the Desktop.

Windows 8 Search

Okay, so where did the Search field go?!?

It turns out that after clicking on the Start button and having the Metro GUI kick in we need only start typing for it to come up with some results:

Not having the VM in Full Screen mode means a lot of CTRL+ALT+Delete to get to the Task Manager. :(

There may be a better way, but things are just a tad new for all of us outside of Microsoft.

A copy of the edited GP.XML, supportedOS.XML, and a TXT file with the paths can be found here:

• MPECS Inc Blog Downloads: SBS and Windows 8.ZIP (ZIP File Download)
• File name is: SBS and Windows 8.ZIP

The XML files in IE

GP.XML:

supportedOS.XML:

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

VDI: What version of Windows 7 Desktop OS to Install?

When it comes to setting up a client’s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), we have already configured their Software Assurance plus MDOP to gain access to VDI.

So, do we install Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Enterprise into those VMs?

In many cases there will be no need for Enterprise to be installed for regular VM access.

However, there will be some cases where Enterprise does make sense. One is for a firm or company that uses multiple monitors on their remote and local desktop.

Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate give us access to the ability to RDP into the VM and utilize multiple monitors at the source.

Note that both endpoints in the RDP connection must be either Enterprise or Ultimate. No other Windows desktop OS versions support this RDP capability.

Now, depending on the Internet connection the client uses we would tailor a GPO with RDP related settings to limit bit depth to 15bpp and the number of monitors to 2 for smaller connections while we would up the number of monitors for larger connections.

Also note that users connecting to their office desktop via the SBS 2011 Remote Web Access portal that have two monitors hooked up to their home machine will get both monitors in the remote session if using Ultimate at home and Enterprise/Ultimate on their office desktop.

We find that clients that utilize multiple monitors see their user’s productivity increase exponentially.

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

WMIC pagefileset create Error: Provider does not support put extensions

Now this was a funky bit of brain busting to figure out just what this error message was saying:

C:\>wmic.exe pagefileset create name="S:\PageFile.sys"
ERROR:
Description = Provider does not support put extensions

We did a quick search for “WMIC pagefileset create” and came up with:

• Microsoft KB 973423: You cannot set page files on a partition that is larger than 2 terabytes on a Windows Server 2008 R2-based computer

We went to the Workaround section and found the correct syntax for working with page files in Server Core. Now, the _only_ difference that we could see between what we inputted above and what was in the KB was the case of the file name?

Okay, so maybe WMIC commands are case sensitive?

Sure enough:

C:\>wmic pagefileset create name="S:\pagefile.sys"
Instance creation successful.

Kewl! :)

Lesson learned and it is great to see the proper syntax for working with page files on Server Core is available on a Microsoft document with the _correct_ syntax.

Note that a search on the error itself turned up very little.

• Bing Search: Provider does not support put extensions

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