Microsoft Action Pack Training & Assessment Deadline Extended

It seems that there are some system glitches with the new technical assessment feature for Action Pack (MAPS) subscriptions and renewals.

MAPS Test Deadline Extended

The original start date for the need to take the test was the beginning of this month.

The tests will now start on June 19, 2008.

In a way this is too bad. We believe that there is definitely a need to have some sort of testing regime in place to weed out those who would take advantage of MAPS for purposes it was not intended for.

For us, the Action Pack was a big bonus when we were starting out on the road to building an I.T. company. It gave us access to a good portion of the software we would otherwise need to license for our internal use at pennies on the dollar.

MAPS is a good idea. Take advantage of it. Use it as it was intended ... for internal and training purposes in an I.T. company that provides Microsoft products and services based on those products.

Then work towards certifying your company as a Microsoft Small Business Specialist! It has paid huge dividends for our company.

Oh, and take Vlad's advice: Ouch, the death of SBSC to contribute to the Small Business Specialist Community and take advantage of the Microsoft SBSC contacts or we may just loose the whole Small Business Specialist program!

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.

Test Post - Please ignore

We are figuring out a new aggregator system ... please ignore these posts.

Thanks,

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.

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 on Intel X38BT Install Issue

There are just some things we never got warned about in school! ;)

When it comes to the more exotic system builds, it is always good to be prepared for the unexpected.

As our previous post on the conflict between the Zalman CPU Cooler bottom bracket and the back of the Intel X38BT makes clear, there were going to be more challenges putting this system together.

Even with the Cooler Master Cosmos' open design, there were some space and cable path issues between components.

One such conflict is between the ATI HD 3870 X2 and the on board SATA ports.

The Intel X38BT board layout is as follows:

19: On Board SATA Ports

We have the on board SATA ports directly in line with the PCI-E 16x lanes for the video cards.

So, when we go to install the ATI HD 3870 X2 video cards, which are full length and double wide video cards, we end up with a space limitation right above the on board SATA ports.

The out of the box SATA cables that came with the X38BT motherboard have the standard straight in plug style with the metal clip:

Intel X38BT Supplied SATA Cable

In this situation, they will not work. The cable ends plugging into the motherboard port would stand too tall for the ATI video card to seat itself properly in the PCI-E slot.

In order to make things work, we needed a SATA cable with a plug that had a profile that was as low as possible.

We were fortunate that we had a pile of SATA cables to sort through.

We ended up finding four of the following (we were installing four hard drives):

Intel Server Board SATA Cable with 90 Degree Plugs

Both ends of the cable had a 90 degree plug on it. Because of the tight space limitations behind the drive connectors, having these cable types on hand to connect the drives to the motherboard served up a double bonus:

• Enough room to properly seat the full length ATI video cards
• Better clearance on the plug side of the hard drives

One never knows when those spare parts may come in handy. In this case, they saved us a trip to one of our local suppliers to pick up some of the required SATA cables.

We will however, make sure to pick some up on our next trip through there or on our next order from Synnex or Tech Data.

As a system builder, one can never be too prepared! The above parts run would have cost us enough to cut right into the margins on the system itself.

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.

Zalman CNPS9700 CPU cooler on Intel X38BT install issue

In a previous blog post, we had mentioned a configuration having the Intel X38BT motherboard with the Zalman CNPS9700 CPU cooler: Intel QX9650 Quad Core Extreme has a new cooling solution.

When it comes to installing the Zalman CNPS9700 onto the CPU that is integrated on an Intel X38BT Extreme Board we run into a problem:

Intel X38BT Bottom with Components

There are two electronic components that are stuck to the board right in the path of the Zalman's bottom bracket. When the bracket is placed on the spot it needed to be in on the back of the motherboard, the bracket would not sit flat.

The component on the left does not pose too much of a problem since there is enough wiggle room to get it to sit inside the bracket.

The one on the right however, is sitting right where the outside edge of the bracket runs. There is not enough wiggle room to have the component either fully inside the bracket or outside of the bracket altogether.

So, we needed to make a slight modification to the Zalman's bottom bracket:

Zalman Bottom Bracket with cut out

We shaved a bit of the plastic off of the outside edge of the bracket.

Once in place on the bottom of the motherboard with the cut out lined up with the electronic component, the bracket sat completely flat.

We were able to proceed with mounting the actual heat pipe cooler from there.

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.

22" LG Flatron Wide L226WTX - BF - not so good

We were looking to try out some new product lines for our LCD monitors here in the shop.

We do that before selling any LCD products to our clients so that we are not pulling something out of the box and ending up with a product we and our client do not like.

The 22" LG wide L226WTX - BF LCDs were purchased to run on each side of an Acer AL2416W LCD monitor.

We have been very happy with both the Acer and BenQ monitors we have been using and supplying to our clients so far.

However, as soon as the LGs were hooked up and the ATI Catalyst Control Center was used to turn the monitors on, we were not really impressed.

Out of the box, the LG's tint/warmth were way out of line with the Acer's colour qualities. We played with the colour management features in the ATI software to see if we could get things close. We could not.

We went into the LG's on board menu to try and work the image's colour to come closer to the Acer with no success either.

We left them at the workstation even though they were not recreating the colours to our liking to see how they stand up over time. It has now been a couple of months, and both monitors are starting to have pixels flake out on them.

All in all, our initial venture into these particular LG products, at the 22" wide LCD level, was a disappointment. As result, none of these products will be ending up on our client's desks.

For Reference

These monitors have been on 24/7 since they were installed with sleep mode happening when the machine was idle for over 2 hours. They are peripheral monitors, so they would display Outlook, Adobe palettes, image directories, secondary Explorer Windows, the Windows Vista Sidebar, and other such content. They are being driven via a pair of ATI X1900XTX/CrossFire video cards with up to date ATI Catalyst drivers.

A fourth monitor is pedestal mounted above the Acer 24" LCD. It is a BenQ FP931 19" standard LCD monitor that has been around for a long time. It has no problems with matching the colour tones and warmth of the Acer AL2416W below it.

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.

CCH Folioviews Network Install Error -6001 Setup has experienced an error

We have one client that has a network access setup for CCH Folioviews which is a tax reference library with built in billing timers.

Lately, when we go to install the product on the local workstation for network access, we have been getting the following:

InstallShield Wizard

Setup has experienced an error.

Please do the following:

• Close any running programs
• Empty your temporary folder
• Check your Internet connection (Internet-based Setups)

Then try to run the Setup again.

Error code: -6001

When setting up a new client to run from the network, one starts Addfvusr.exe under X:\CCH\Network\Setup.

No matter what we did to try and clear things up, we ended up with the same error.

It took a support call into CCH Support to get a fix. They emailed us an updated version of the executable to copy over top of the existing file in the above mentioned directory.

Once the original file was replaced, the setup process ran trouble free.

Keep in mind that each time the network install is updated via the update CDs, which can be quite frequent, one will need to copy the replacement file back over top of the "updated" setup file. So keep a copy of the replacement executable in a handy spot that cannot be accessed by the Folioviews updates.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

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

Business is good ... blogging will continue! ;)

We have had a huge run of projects this week.

As soon as there is time ... more to come!

Thanks for reading and supporting the blog!

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 SBS 2008 Open Value versus OEM

Here is something to consider with the advent of SBS 2008 (Cougar): When considering an upgrade for an existing SBS 2003 Premium client to SBS 2008, ISA is no longer included for clients without Software Assurance on their current SBS 2003 Premium product. It may be a good idea to put existing or new clients into an Open Value Licensing Agreement or Subscription with a 3 year spread payment option for any new SBS 2003 install or upgrade.

This will give the client some flexibility when it comes time to upgrade them to SBS 2008 where we need an internal/Internet security option like ISA.

Given the upcoming release of SBS 2008, we have been promoting Open Value Agreement/Subscription to all of our existing clients as well as new clients with a great margin of success in winning them over from OEM licensing. Software Assurance is an option on OEM, but how many clients are going to say, "Sure, I'd love to spend $X on additional licensing costs" after the fact?

Depending on budget, it makes more sense to utilize the 3 Year Spread Payment option on Open Value Agreements and Subscriptions. This enables us to reduce the upfront cost to the client and establish a commitment with the client to purchase their licensing from us on the subsequent two Agreement anniversaries. The 3 Year Spread Payment option becomes a small additional source of revenue for us too.

One more selling feature for a Licensing Agreement in place over OEM: If the client needs to grow their hardware performance to match growth in their company, Swing their existing License Agreement SBS OS onto a new hardware rig and away they go. The Open Value OS license stays with the organization as opposed to OEM which stays with the respective hardware it was originally sold with.

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 Premium + ISA = You have received an e-card?!?

On the F-Secure Weblog, we have the following article: From SMTP to HTTP to FTP where Mikko talks about the e-card spam evolution.

What Mikko is indicating to us, is that the spammers now send us to a page that will have a link to the virus file via FTP. Note the file link revealing that it is an executable file on an ftp://... at the bottom left of the Hallmark card:

We all love those Greeting Cards! ;)

So, our Favourite User clicks on the link and voila ... they get?

Well, on a vanilla, out of the box SBS 2003 Premium install with ISA 2000/4 installed and configured via the Configure Email and Internet Connection Wizard (CEICW), the user gets absolutely nothing ... zippo ... nada ... and we get a support call from Favourite User wondering why they cannot get their greeting card. ;)

The FTP protocol through the ISA server is disabled by default. We do not enable FTP unless the client specifically needs it for Web site development access to their site root. In some cases, we have a scheduled time to turn FTP access on for our client's site coders when they will be working directly on their sites. We then disable the Rule when they are done.

It has been a long time since we have had a client request FTP access for something other than Web site coding. So many software sites use HTTP for data transfers now that FTP has become something of a special need in our experience.

This situation is a good example of why we have a 95% install base of SBS 2K3 Premium at our client sites.

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.

Heroes Happen {Here} was a success!

We had our Heroes even in Edmonton last Thursday.

There were two tracks, one for IT Pros and one for Developers.

In the Expert booth was Donald Belcham, a Microsoft MVP on C#, and myself, an expert on SBS, answering any questions that event attendees had.

For the presentations, there were a couple of technical problems that caused a bit of a struggle at first. But, in an event this complex, it is not too uncommon to have hiccups. They were essentially ironed out or circumvented and things moved on.

For the IT Pro presentations and demonstrations we had Damir Bersinic (Live ID may be required). As always, Damir has a great presentation style providing the IT Pros with a plethora of great Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 feature demos.

On the Developer track, we had John Bristowe. From the feedback we received, John's presentations went really well.

During the lulls while attendees were in the presentations, I got a chance to chat quite a bit with Donald, and listen to him chat with others around him about coding. It never ceases to amaze me how someone can wrap their minds around all of those lines of code and come up with a working software tool or product.

Donald took the time to explain and demonstrate the methodology behind the coding method he uses: Test Driven Development or Test-First development. After he ran through a number of different examples on the technique via his laptop, the methodology really made total sense to me ... a non-coder. That says a lot about Donald's ability to explain things in a language that can readily be understood ... a rare gift indeed!

After spending the day in the booth with Donald, it is pretty clear to me that Microsoft made a good choice in awarding him MVP status.

Some of the goodies - Swag - in the goody bag:

• Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x86 & x64 DVD with 365 Day Trial License
• Visual Studio 2008 Standard Edition NFR
• MS SQL Server 2008 Developer x86 & x64 DVDs (CTP 5.0)
• Windows Vista Ultimate x86 with SP1 DVD with 365 Day Trial License
• Windows Live OneCare 90 Day Trial
• Various vendor marketing materials.

It is literally a mixed bag! ;)

The 365 day limitation on the trial products brings in some breathing room for systems we would setup on trail based software for clients or students here in the shop.

There were also a couple of bonuses for sitting in the Experts Booth: A long sleeved Expert white shirt and a really nice red Heroes Happen Here jacket. Thanks to Microsoft for those gifts ... they are pretty neat!

And thanks too for the invite to sit in the Expert's booth and try and answer as many questions as I could.

For those who have not registered for the event yet, please do. It is well worth the time to get the creative "I can do that!?!" juices flowing around Microsoft's new products!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

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

Intel SR1530SH versus SR1530HSH Clarification

If one goes to use Intel's Server Configurator to configure a Xeon 3000 series 1U based on the new S3200 series server boards, there can be a bit of confusion over the difference between the SR1530SH series which uses two fixed hard drives and the SR1530HSH which is supposed to have three (3) hot swap bays.

The confusion comes from the fact that the image for both units is the same:

Intel SR1530HSH and SR1530SH - Server Configurator

Looking to the right of the SH series 1U servers, we see the SR1530HAHLX 1U server system that indicates the hot swap bays.

We need to go to the SR1530SH/HSH product guide (PDF document) to confirm what the correct images should look like.

On page 21 we find the following:

Intel Server System SR1530SH

And then:

Intel Server System SR1530HSH

Since the SR1530SH series server systems are new, it is understandable that Intel's site may not correctly show an image of the product.

As always, research into a product beforehand will save one from any possible surprises after the fact. Committing to implement a product and/or service on how we think a product and its features should perform versus how it actually performs can sometimes be two drastically different things.

In the end, it is our responsibility to know the difference.

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.

MySBS/ConnectComputer and Windows Vista with SP1

Just a quick note to let you know that when adding a computer with Windows Vista SP1 already integrated, one does not need to patch the Vista machine to get ConnectComputer to run properly and pull the local profile.

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.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 - Time to complete on various systems.

Since we are TechNet Plus subscribers, we have already downloaded both the 32bit, 64bit, and DVD ISO of both versions of the service pack.

This blog post will be updated as we apply the service pack to various hardware and software configurations.

We will try and keep the time to apply the service pack sorted by x86 or x64 version and by install time.

Also note that the times include multiple reboots. Plan accordingly when it comes time to deploy.

Windows Vista 32 bit version:

• Business: Acer TravelMate 5720 T8100 2GB 250GB SATA: 30 minutes (08-03-11)
• Out of the box with no extra software installed. Office & Symantec were removed before initiating the SP.
• Business: E6400 1GB 250GB Seagate: 45 minutes (08-03-12)
• Business: E6400 1GB 250GB Seagate: 49 minutes (08-03-12)
• Business: Acer TravelMate 6592G T7700 4GB 160GB SATA: 75 minutes

Windows Vista 64bit version:

• Enterprise: Q6850 3GB 320GB Seagate RAID 1: 40 minutes (08-03-11)
• Ultimate: Q6700 4GB 500GB Seagate RAID 1: 52 minutes

Any issues with the install will be posted as we encounter them. So far, our applications have been successful and time will tell if performance and stability have been positively impacted.

UPDATE 2008-03-01:

This is what we should see when the Service Pack has finished running:

Vista Service Pack 1 Successful

And, one more thing with regards to the above list, it only makes sense to know which version of Windows Vista we are updating too eh? ;)

UPDATE 2008-03-12: To make it simpler to find this post when needing to update the results, we are going to change the post date to the day of the update.

We will update the results with a few more different configurations. There should then be a reasonable amount of update times to get an idea of how long the service pack will take on a particular machine configuration.

As always, your mileage will vary! ;)

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.

Windows Server 2008 Eval ISO Downloads & WSS

Need some test bits for Server 2008? Don't have a TechNet Plus subscription?

Microsoft has pleasantly surprised us with a pair of ISO files for download, x86 and x64, with a 60 day evaluation period in Server 2008's various editions! Keep in mind that the files are quite large.

Here are the links to the download pages:

• Windows Web Server 2008 Eval Download Page
• Windows Server 2008 Standard Eval Download Page
• Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Eval Download Page
• Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Eval Download Page

Planning on deploying Windows SharePoint Services Version 3 on IIS 7? Then the WSS download is separate:

• Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 with Service Pack 1
• Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 x64 with Service Pack 1

There are some good instructions for installing WSS on Server 2008 too:

• MS KB943587: How to install Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008
• TechNet: IIS 7.0: Using Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 on IIS 7.0
• Deploy a simple farm on the Windows Server 2008 operating system (Windows SharePoint Services)
• Install a stand-alone server on Windows Server 2008 (Windows SharePoint Services)

It looks as though one will not be able to install WSS on a Core install of Server 2008 at this time due to the lack of ASP.NET support.

Best work with Server 2008 soon, as SBS 2008 is just around the corner.

UPDATE: Added the link to the Datacenter edition of Server 2008 that was missed in the initial post.

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.

Heroes Happen Here - Edmonton

The Heroes Happen Here tour will be in Edmonton on Thursday.

The event is full and there is quite the waiting list.

If you registered, but are not able to attend, please visit Microsoft's Events Site and cancel your registration so that the seat can be released for someone waiting in the wings. A quick link was also included in the registration email sent out after you registered.

Releasing your seat will also make it easier for those managing the registration table to work with fewer no-shows.

This should be a fun event, with lots of information and demos of Microsoft's new products. Maybe even some swag for the attendees to take home too.

I personally will be helping in the "Experts Booth". That aught to be a lot of fun.

And, I may even know an answer or two! ;)

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.