Essential Business Server – Is Discontinued

Perhaps not a lot of folks have really delved into the product, or perhaps there was not a large adoption of the product out of the box. Whatever the root reason, Essential Business Server is no longer.

• Microsoft: EBS Offers (has the announcement)
• EBS Blog: New IT Trends Bring Change to Mid-Market Product Line

We realize that this was a _huge_ decision on their part and probably a very painful one within the product groups and the company overall.

Being an SBSer since way back when, it is actually quite disappointing to see that Microsoft has decided to cut their losses and stop development on EBS.

The disappointment stems from our belief that the EBS product was _good_ for businesses that fell in the required seat range of ~75-300. There are just so many “killer app” type features, found in SBS and then EBS, that the Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) will no longer have access to.

The number one killer application for SBS and EBS is the Remote Web Workplace. Bar none, having a one stop Web based portal for users to gain access to their network resources including their own workstation makes the administrator’s and the user’s life so much simpler.

A screenshot of the SBS 2003 RWW:

In SBS 2003, we had immediate access to OWA, our desktop via RDP, and our Companyweb SharePoint site. All with the click of a link in the portal.

The same is true of the SBS and EBS 2008 RWW but with critical additional features.

The SBS 2008 version:

RWW in SBS/EBS 2008 also has the ability to utilize the TS Gateway service to publish Terminal Services RemoteApps via a link posted on the RWW page among other new features.

These features, along with the integration of the various server components into the products are what make SBS and EBS great.

So, perhaps the death of the EBS product will bring about the rise of another?

Since RWW was introduced in SBS 2003, we have had many conversations with SME/ENT level support folks about the need for an RWW like solution for them.

It is our hope that somewhere in the midst of all of the shuffling about that is going to happen, that the Remote Web Workplace development team gets the opportunity to put the RWW product into a box so that it can be installed on a SME/ENT network.

It may be too complicated to be accomplished, but we can only hope!

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 IT Environment Health Scanner Released

The EBS tools have been substantially updated and restructured.

The new tool set is called the Microsoft IT Environment Health Scanner and is available for download here:

• Microsoft IT Environment Health Scanner

The EBS tools are used as part of our server and network health checks on the source SBS 2003 server that will be eventually be migrated to SBS 2008.

Our SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 migration guide post:

• MPECS Inc SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 Migration Guide

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 2003 Source Server Health is Critical

For a successful SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 migration, the health of the source server is absolutely critical to the success of the migration.

A number of things can be done to ensure we are starting off with a healthy SBS 2003 box:

• Verify that Windows Server 2003 and Exchange 2003 have the current service packs installed.
• Run the SBS 2003 Best Practices Analyzer.
• Run the EBS Preparation and Planning Wizards.

The EBS wizards will look a lot deeper into the current SBS 2003 health and let us know whether there are any issues that may cause our migration to fail.

Always make sure to have a backup of the SBS 2003 source server prior to running any of the wizards or running any updates just in case.

Once into the process, make sure to have backups of both the source SBS 2003 and the destination SBS 2008 servers made before beginning each phase of the migration.

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 - Group Policy All Settings Filtering - The cat's meow!

One of the neatest new features we inherit from Windows Server 2008 Group Policy is the ability to set up filters for the settings:

Group Policy - All Settings Filtered on "Disconnect"

While the Excel spreadsheets we had of the various policy settings were searchable, they were still very painful to synchronize with the actual ongoing Group Policy editing.

That time, while not completely gone, has definitely taken a huge step forwards.

While filtering will not work for the Windows Settings node, it will work for any setting in the Administrative Templates node.

In this case, we were looking for the Remove "Disconnect" option from Shut Down dialog GP setting to enable in our default SBS 2008 Client Policy Object. We always enable this setting on our SBS networks so that users do not inadvertently disconnect from a workstation while working on it via the Remote Web Workplace. Inevitably, we would receive a support call to have that workstation freed up.

Right click on the All Settings node and click on Filter Options. From there, we can define any type of filter we may need to drill down to the GP setting we are looking for.

Check it out:

Group Policy - Filter Options

The options are almost limitless.

Now, after having a close look at the Filter Options screenshot, go back up to the Settings Filtered screenshot and click on it to bring it up full size.

Have a look at what happens when the + was clicked to the left of Administrative Templates. The little filter symbol appears on the folder and we can only click on folders that contain the GP settings we found via the filter as they are the only ones we can see.

How kewl is that!?! :D

This Group Policy feature was mentioned at Tech Days. This one learned feature alone more than paid for the two days of training and information. It will be such a huge time saver for us ... and for you! And, we also took the time to delve into the feature in Jeremy Moskowitz's book on Group Policy Fundamentals. Between the two, we are now better equiped to manage our SBS 2008, EBS 2008, and Windows Server 2008 Group Policy settings.

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.

SBS 2008 Remote Web Workplace Password Reminder

Now, how about this little message after logging onto the SBS 2008 Remote Web Workplace:

RWW Password Expiry Reminder

Is that kewl or what?!? :)

This is especially true for those of us that are hosting SBS environments for our clients via our SPLA agreements.

Once the user has logged onto the RWW, they can click the Change Password link found near the top right corner in the portal:

RWW Change Password

For many of our clients that do spend most of their time on their laptops outside the office and connected via RWW, this message saves them from trying to figure out why their Outlook Mobile Access or Outlook Anywhere has stopped working ... at least until they tried to log onto the SBS 2003 RWW and received the change password prompt.

A very nice touch on the SBS 2008 development team's part. Not only that, the user can initiate a password change from within the RWW portal. Well done folks. :)

This little password warning will save a good chunk of time, both our clients and our own, not having to answer those "things have stopped working" support calls when the user was off-site.

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.

Essential Business Server 2008 RTM is on TechNet Downloads

Just a little behind on this one:

EBS 2008 TechNet Download Available

Just another reason that a TechNet Plus subscription is pretty kewl ... access to RTM bits before access to RTM bits is in the public sphere!

Take note that the core servers for EBS are 64bit only just as it is for SBS 2008.

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.

Evaluate SBS 2008 for 240 Days starting Nov. 12!

The official release day for the trial version of SBS is November 12, 2008.

The site you will be able to download or order the trial pack from is here: SBS 2008 Trial. Note that the Essential Business Server 2008 trial will be available

Looking for other Microsoft product trial versions? Then the Microsoft TechNet Evaluation Center is for you.

If the above SBS 2008 Trial link does not work, then the Evaluation Centre one will take you to the correct page.

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.

SBS and EBS OEM Part Numbers

Essential Business Server OEM part numbers for you:

• EBS Prem CAL OEM
• 7AA-00078: Win Esntl Bus Prem CALSte 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 20 Clt Device CAL
• 7AA-00056: Win Esntl Bus Prem CALSte 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 20 Clt User CAL
• 7AA-00067: Win Esntl Bus Prem CALSte 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 5 Clt Device CAL
• 7AA-00045: Win Esntl Bus Prem CALSte 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 5 Clt User CAL
• EBS Prem OEM
• 6ZA-00032: Win Essntl Bus Svr Prem 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI CD/DVD 1-4CPU 5 Clt
• EBS Std CAL OEM
• 6YA-00078: Win Essntl Bus CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 20 Clt Device CAL
• 6YA-00056: Win Essntl Bus CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 20 Clt User CAL
• EBS Std OEM
• 6XA-00068: Win Essntl Bus Svr Std 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI CD/DVD 1-4CPU 5 Clt

SBS 2008 OEM part numbers:

• Windows Small Business Server 2008 Standard and CALs
• T72-02453: Windows Small Bus Svr Std 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI DVD 1-4CPU 5 Clt
• 6UA-00601: Windows Small Bus CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 1 Clt Device CAL
• 6UA-00582: Windows Small Bus CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 1 Clt User CAL
• 6UA-00563: Windows Small Bus CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 5 Clt Device CAL
• 6UA-00544: Windows Small Bus CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 5 Clt User CAL
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium and CALs
• T75-02475: Win Small Bus Svr Prem 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI DVD 1-4CPU 5 Clt
• 6VA-00601: Win SBS Prem CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 1 Clt Device CAL
• 6VA-00582: Win SBS Prem CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 1 Clt User CAL
• 6VA-00563: Win SBS Prem CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 5 Clt Device CAL
• 6VA-00544: Win SBS Prem CAL Ste 2008 English 1pk DSP OEI 5 Clt User CAL

For now, we are still working with the Open Value Agreement setup for our new and existing clients. Open Value Licensing still presents the best value for our clients over OEM especially for the ones that refresh their server setups every two years.

OEM does not make sense when we take the two year old SBS server that was licensed OEM and now need to license a Windows Server 2008 Standard OS which cannot be "relicensed" with an OEM license. It ends up costing our clients a lot more in the long run.

Both OEM and Open Value Licensing offer downgrade rights, but only the Open Value Licensing gives us the ability to transfer that license to another server.

The other benefit to Open Value is the ability to spread the costs over 3 payments. OEM is all upfront.

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.

Tech Days 2008 - Microsoft's investment in us ... an investment we can make in us

Tech Days 2008 Canada:

Microsoft Tech Days Canada 2008

An early bird special of 50% off the price for either the one day or two day events is on until October 15, 2008.

Here are the grids for the two day that I will be attending in Calgary:

Microsoft Tech Days Day 1

The two tracks that I will be focused on are the Virtualization and the Infrastructure ones.

The decision for which session is going to be tough too, especially with the last one being a tie between SoftGrid application virtualization (MPECS Inc. and our clients are on Vista SA which includes SoftGrid) and the PowerShell and WMI session for the Infrastructure track.

For now, PowerShell and WMI will win out, with the ultimate decision being made when I can find out a bit more about the meat and potatos in each session.

Sessions registered for:

• Planning Successful Physical to Virtual Server Migrations with the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit.
• Streamlining Administration of Your Active Directory Deployments Using Group Policy Preferences, Templates, and Scripting.
• Managing Your Virtual Infrastructure Using System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008.
• Automating the Management of Windows Servers using PowerShell and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).

The second day grid:

Microsoft Tech Days Day 2

The sessions that I will be registered for:

• Successful Migration Techniques For Migrating To Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
• Windows Deployments the Way You Want Them: Unleashing the Power of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit with Customization.
• Security in a Virtual World - How to Lock Down Your Virtual Environments.
• Virtualization Chalk Talk.

Many of these sessions are directly applicable to the infrastructure solutions we have and are putting together for our clients and for our own company.

There is no replacement for taking the time to sit in the presence of experts who are demonstrating the abilities and features of the various products we work with.

Training, especially training that we pay for, is a very valuable part of our professional development. We work in an industry where things are constantly evolving and out right changing. Training is both an investment in our clients and our own businesses.

We cannot afford to sit on our laurels with what we believe to be a good knowledgebase and experience base in our heads and hands. Doing so places our client's infrastructure and thus their livelihoods at risk. We are responsible to provide our clients with the best possible solution to fit their business needs.

That infrastructure solution is not necessarily the one we think is the best, but the one that will be made up of hardware and software products that will best fit for them. If we don't know the products, then we either get to know them or get someone who does know them involved to collaborate with us in providing the solution.

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.

SBS 2008 Canuck Launch - Input needed

Constanza Zalba, our Canadian SBS/EBS product manager has requested some input from us Canucks as far as what we want to see in the SBS/EBS launch plans for Canada.

You can drop her a line at: CZalba@Microsoft.com or call her at +1-905-363-8683.

Original post: SBS 2008 Launch - Your Input Is Requested.

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.

Why we need at least one dedicated desktop for RWW

For our clients that have over 7-8 seats we tend to setup a dedicated box for a remote desktop via the Remote Web Workplace (RWW).

If our client has more laptops than desktops, we then look at the option of setting up a second box or a box with Server Core and Hyper-V to host 3 or more desktops depending on the client's size.

Why go through the extra expense of having dedicated remote desktops?

How many of our clients have a user at every PC workstation? We would be willing to bet that pretty much all of them do. Yes, we have the VPN. But, that only works well if a few connections are in use depending on the size of the ISP connection.

So, if a user needs to have access to a desktop within the organization, such as one of the managing partners of an accounting firm whose laptop was showing signs of dying ... while out of town, what do they do?

Here are a number or reasons why having at least one dedicated desktop for remote access is a good thing:

• Laptop users have a desktop to work from while working off-site.
• Laptop users whose hard drives show signs of dying can transfer data back to the office and work remotely thus eliminating the possibility of loosing their work and their data.
• Client sensitive data can be accessed via RWW instead of kept on the local laptop reducing liability due to data exposure.
• BitLocker can help to reduce this exposure on laptops. But, Vista Ultimate or Software Assurance is required for access.
• TrueCrypt is another option, but can be awkward depending on the users capabilities.
• Clients can hire workers to work remotely. Less office space required saving leasing costs.
• This involves a little psychology as far as the paradigm shift from 9-5 thinking to goal setting and goal orientation for outbound workers.
• Scheduled flexibility time for workers to work in and out of the office.
• Summer and off peak times.
• Parents.
• Maternity and Paternity leave.
• Disability leave.
• A desktop for us to use as a logon point for managing the SBS network. We do not like to log directly into the SBS box via RWW or any other method if we can help it.

Even if the user leaves their laptop in the office to connect to while at home, the dedicated desktop setup tends to be a lot faster for them to work on.

There are any number of really good reasons why this setup works to improve a client's efficiency. We need only be creative in discovering them as we develop an understanding of our client's business.

We always try to demonstrate the RDP via RWW tie in with the Companyweb SharePoint site facing both internally and the Internet via RWW, Outlook Anywhere, and Outlook Mobile Access to the managing partners. When we do, keeping the demonstration to about 30-45 minutes to prevent brain overload, we win the deal pretty much every time.

It pays to know the product ... it really pays to know all of the collaborative features SBS has to offer a firm ... as well as the many facets those features have:

• Firm productivity.
• Firm efficiency.
• Disaster recovery Scenarios.
• Data protection capabilities.
• Worker location flexibility.

By knowing the SBS features, all of their updates and augmentation inside and out, we can be better prepared for the oncoming changes to RWW in SBS 2008 including the ability to publish TS RemoteApps. And further to that, we can be prepared to design and implement Cloud based collaborative infrastructures for our clients when the time comes.

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.

SBS 08 - RWW + TS RemoteApp = Killer App for SBS and EBS

For us, one of the most anticipated features that we can implement for our clients is the publishing of Terminal Services Applications via the Remote Web Workplace in SBS and EBS.

To date, we have yet to find a definitive instruction set on getting that happening.

For now, it is important to begin reading some of the materials available to us on the Terminal Services TS RemoteApp technology (links to Word documents on Microsoft's site):

• Win2K8 TS Gateway Server Step-by-Step Guide
• Win2K8 TS Licensing Step-by-Step Guide
• Win2K8 TS RemoteApp Step-by-Step Guide
• Win2K8 Step-by-Step to Customizing TS Web Access by Using WSS (SharePoint)
• Charlie Russel: Windows Server 2008 RemoteApps is COOL
• Ask the Performance Team: WS2008: Terminal Services RemoteApps

From the Cougar Beta Newsgroup by Jonathan Hassell:

1. Export the apps as RDP files
2. Save the RDP files to the path where RWW is hosted on the SBS server
3. Add the RDP MIME type to IIS on the SBS server
4. Add links to the RDP files using the wizard in the SBS console

While we have followed the above steps, we must be missing something because we get errors when initiating the application.

Anyone who can flesh out the above, please do so as it would be greatly appreciated by all of us! ;)

For now, we will keep plugging along to figure it out.

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.

SBS 2003 to EBS 2008 Migration Guide

A new migration guide has been released for those who support clients that have grown close to the transition phase of the SBS lifecycle and are looking at EBS as the possible direction: Migrating from Windows Small Business Server 2003 to Windows Essential Business Server.

The document comes in three flavours:

• MMS_SBSInstallation.doc
• MMS_SBSInstallation.pdf
• MMS_SBSInstallation.xps

The methodology looks to be similar to the process we would use to insert a new SBS server into an existing Windows domain.

The document gives a good overview with the required steps to complete for the migration.

Courtesy of the MS Download Center RSS Feed.

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.

EBS 2008 to ship with the October 2008 Action Pack

From the Partner Online Community microsoft.private.directaccess.actionpack which is available for all Microsoft Partners we have learned that Essential Business Server 2008 will indeed be a part of the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription.

The tentative delivery date for EBS 2008 in MAPS will be with the October shipment.

For those of us servicing the SMB/SME market area where EBS is situated to sell this is important news.

If we rely on our MAPS for our product install base in our own office, then this heads up gives the opportunity to do some infrastructure planning. If we do not necessarily rely on MAPS, this gives us a good time frame for the EBS release and plan our infrastructure moves accordingly.

Either way, EBS will be a minimum 3 server install with the Premium Edition having a fourth server for a dedicated SQL 2008 install.

The EBS Standard 3 server setup makes the Intel Modular Server a very attractive option for those clients that are in a position to refresh their server infrastructure as the break-even point between a standard set of 1U/2U servers and the Modular Server is three servers.

Intel Modular Server

For EBS Premium with the fourth server required, the Intel Modular Server is an excellent infrastructure foundation.

Add a Terminal Services Desktop or Remote Applications publishing need and thus an additional server over and above the EBS Premium requirements and our clients will see a very quick return on their investment.

A point to ponder: Intel Associate and Premier Members receive a very steep discount on their first Intel Modular Server purchase from the Demo Advantage Program under the Sales Tools Store. Check it out.

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.