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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Books: Group Policy and Creating the Secure Managed Desktop by Jeremy Moskowitz

One of the first things we discover when we are searching about for answers on any Group Policy related issues is the name Jeremy Moskowitz. Jeremy is a Group Policy MVP, runs GPAnswers.com, and does a lot of in-person training on Group Policy. He knows his stuff!

Keeping up to date on the changes in Group Policy (GP) from RTM/Gold products through Service Packs can be a challenge. Structuring our OUs and GPs appropriately can also be a challenge, especially for the new GP structures introduced with Windows Vista and now Server 2008.

There are two fantastic book resources by Jeremy Moskowitz available to us:

1. Group Policy: Fundamentals, Security, and Troubleshooting
2. Creating the Secure Managed Desktop Using Group Policy, SoftGrid, Microsoft Deployment, and Other Management Tools

A nice touch for those who order from his Web site is they come autographed.

Given that we are currently in a major learning mode for Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008, picking these books up to facilitate our knowledge building on the new Group Policy structures is a good idea.

They are well written with a plethora of real world examples. Whenever a new edition of the books is available we make a point of picking them up. They are really that good.

For us, providing a secure and properly structured Group Policy setup is mandatory for our clients. Thus we make a point of learning the GP guidelines that are available to us.

From securing Terminal Servers to setting up OUs with computers or users with specific GPs defined for them, we need to understand how the various policy settings affect those OUs and any OUs nested within them. Jeremy's books provide one of the better ways to do so.

Also, the GPAnswers.com Web site is another great resource. There is a user community of very helpful folks to work with when it comes to Group Policy related questions and issues. Check it out, it will be well worth your time.

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.

Jason Miller Presents: First Technical Look at SBS 2008

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I was in Calgary all day for the First Technical Look at SBS 2008.

It turns out that our presenter was Jason Miller SBS MVP.

The presentations were excellent as were most of the demos other than a few typical VM glitches.

Jason gave us a pretty thorough walk through of the SBS Console and the various features controlled and monitored there. The event size was small enough, roughly 25 of us, that we were able to ask questions and work with Jason through the demos. Since all present were mostly focused on SBS, we spent most of our time on SBS. He did give us a good overview of EBS and its features though.

Jason's presentation skills were excellent and I appreciated the fact that he made a good effort to keep us involved and things interactive. Well done Jason! :)

The time spent watching and listening to Jason, as well as the attendees and their questions/input, was well spent. The general consensus at the end of the event was very positive ... we all enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot.

Microsoft put in a good effort into providing us with a venue that worked with the tasks at hand along with a full breakfast and lunch. The food was excellent as was the service provided by the hotel. The event, venue, and catering was consistent with previous free Microsoft sponsored Partner Training events. This is good to see.

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.

First Technical Look at SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 - Calgary

By the time this gets posted using Blogger's Scheduled Post feature, I will be registered and getting ready to start the day at the Partner Learning Event: First Technical Look at Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 (MS Partner Site authentication required).

The event is being held at the Calgary Four Points Sheraton on Bowridge Crescent.

I am looking forward to the day as I have been invited to write an SBS 2008 technical article for SMB Nation's SMB Partner Community Magazine. The Partner Training should put a good depth to the already intensive amount of time that I have personally spent with the Release Candidate version of SBS 2008.

There may be a few more of the First Technical Look events so have a look in the Partner Learning Center to see if there are any available in your area.

I personally receive a lot when I listen and watch. While reading a technical manual/book and doing is my primary learning method (especially since things get broken ;) ), spending time with knowledgeable people demonstrating a product's abilities is a very close second. Having someone knowledgeable in the room facilitates thought flow and almost always initiates a whole series of questions ... some good and some not so good. But, they get asked, and we all learn!

And, if you can, register and download the RC0 version of SBS 2008. Check it out. It only takes 30-90 minutes to install from scratch. You can use a consumer router to protect it for testing purposes and run the setup using an Answer File (previous blog post) so that there is only about 10 minutes worth of initial babysitting that needs to be done!

As has been mentioned here in the past, there is a lot to learn for this new version. The new SBS Console or the SBS Console in Advanced Mode (has links to the various server component MMC consoles) give us the ability to run virtually all of the basic server management needs at the big picture level.

But, if we need to fine tune the product, customize Group Policy (entirely new structure and policy distribution setup), user and computer settings, Exchange setup, Terminal Services configurations, and more then we need to understand how the SBS 2008 Wizards configure the installed server components.

This is not unlike the SBS 2003 Wizards and their interaction with the various server components. Knowing how they were intertwined with those components was an awesome way to establish a knowledge foundation on each server product installed on SBS. That foundation enabled us to develop a deeper understanding of Server 2003, Exchange 2003, SharePoint V2 & V3, and more. So far, it is looking like the same can be said of the SBS 2008 Wizards and their interaction with all that is installed on 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.

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.

Microsoft Event: Accelerate your Business - Calgary

We are currently on our way down to Calgary for the Microsoft Canada Event for Partners: Accelerate Your Business.

The focus of the afternoon will be on business opportunities in the new Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 product platforms.

There will also be an exclusive MSBS Small Business Specialist Community session at 17:00 (5PM) that is something to look forward to.

This event will also be held in the following cities:

• Acclelerate Your Business: Montreal May 27, 2008
• Acclelerate Your Business: Mississauga May 29, 2008
• Accelerate Your Business: Vancouver June 3, 2008

If you have the time, please come on down and 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.