SBS 2008 and SPLA

We have not been pushing too hard to get things rolling in our SPLA program with an SBS focus as of yet.

The primary reason is that SBS 2008 will actually fit a lot better into a multiple user/company hosting setup.

The reasons:

1. Remote Web Workplace has the ability to setup the resource links on a per user basis.
2. SharePoint can be configured with a subsite that is linked in RWW for a given user only. This gives exclusivity to the sub site to specific users or groups of users.
3. Terminal Services Applications (formerly SoftGrid) can be published to the RWW site via a link.
4. Users can be assigned a specific desktop for RDC only ... so no more full list of computers.

Enrolled in the SBS 2008 beta yet?

If not, we suggest heading into it soon as it will have a direct impact on your SMB/SBS SPLA business.

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.

Office for Mac 2008 Service Pack 1

We just received a disk for our Open Value Licensing Office 2008 for Mac with service pack 1 integrated.

A download on the MVLS site for the service pack 1 integrated version is not available yet.

The Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Service Pack 1 (12.1.0) download link. The download is approximately 180MB.

We have not applied this update yet, though Office 2008 for Mac is installed on our iMac with Mac OS X Tiger.

It looks as though the next step for us is to flatten the iMac and run through setting it up on SBS 2008. The new SBS 2008 WSUS management features actually allow us to exclude it from being monitored by WSUS and thus eliminates the "This computer has not registered with Update Services yet" errors we get here.

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.

Outlook - inserting HTML code snippets into an email

Sometimes there is a need to insert some HTML code or scripting into an email for a signature or to send some externally resident content to someone.

To do this in the body of an email:

1. In Notepad paste the required code and save as an HTML file.
2. Open Outlook
3. Start a new email
4. Click on Insert
5. Find the HTML file that contains the needed code.
6. Click the down arrow beside the Insert button.
7. Click on "Insert as Text".


• 

  Insert as Text

8. The finished code rendering will show up:
• 
  

Note that Outlook 2007 no longer allows code snippets inserted into the signature. There are ways to get around this, but given the nature of many spam filters out there ... the risk of losing that email may be too high.

Outlook 2003 provides a "Use HTML as Template" option that we can insert into a signature though. Keep in mind that the email may never reach its destination as a result.

Tip source: SitePoint Forums: Inserting simple HTML into Outlook.

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.

Systems are down ... our technicians like to "tinker" with the server

How many of us are running our shops solo? I am sure that there are many out there who are.

How many of us are running a solo shop with a couple of contract technicians that are on call for busy times? This is the category we fall in right now.

And, how many of us are running a shop with at least one to three dedicated part or full time technicians? This is the direction we are going to step into very soon.

Why the questions?

Here is a paraphrase of a conversation I just had with one of our high volume ultra low margin local computer stores when they were called to check stock on a QX9770 that we may need today:

Computer Store (CS), how can I help you?

ME: I need to know your price and ETA on the QX9770 please?

CS: I think it is around $1,200 and I don't think we have any right now.

ME: You don't know?

CS: Our systems are down right now, so I am not able to get that information.

ME: What happened?

CS: Our technicians like to tinker with the server, so we end up without our systems.

"Tinkering" with the in-house server or servers or a client's server should be anathema (#3 in the definition) for us. In other words: An absolute NO-NO.

If we don't have a couple of systems setup for the techs to get their creative juices flowing, then we are in a vary precarious position indeed.

We all know what happens when a technician gets curious, right? ;) We gotta try it out or it drives us bonkers.

By having some decent hardware, not some client throwaways, that the technicians can use for direct OS installs, configuration testing, and "Project Blowup" we are facilitating our technician's abilities to augment their skill set without killing our in-house or client systems.

By having some decent hardware, think at least Quad Core with 6-8GB RAM and RAID, to host virtual machines on that are not sitting there waiting for CPU cycles ... thus causing extreme boredom to set in ... we can have our techs setup some pretty complicated network infrastructure based on client setups. Or, we can base the setup on client's restored to VM or hardware ShadowProtect images (with permission) to facilitate the technician's ability to test that GP or patch or update change based on actual production servers and workstations.

Given the size of the above mentioned computer store, having their systems down for the hour or two during business hours could probably pay for a very decent lab setup.

And that is the mindset we need to have: Having $5-10K worth of hardware sitting on a dedicated lab bench is not an unnecessary expense. It is absolutely imperative to have that lab setup today.

We have so many new products coming down the pipe all the time. We need to invest the money and the time in getting to know these new products.

We also have client systems we can swing into the virtual environment to test patches on. It is not difficult to obtain permission to use their images on our lab systems as they realize that we are testing for their own good. We need only keep in mind the security of the data in their images which are encrypted, and the VMs or hardware those images will be installed on.

Think Windows XP Service Pack 3: We were able to swing a client's XP Pro setup into a VM and test their Line of Business applications with the service pack. Things seemed to run as they should, so after a week of using the VM as a regular desktop, the service pack was released to that client.

As an example for a small I.T. business lab setup:

• Intel Xeon X3220 server:
• Intel S3210SHLX
• Intel Xeon X3220 2.4GHz Quad Core
• 8GB ECC Kingston
• 320GB RAID 1
• SC5299DP
• $1,500
• Add a RAID controller such as the SRCSASRB and a couple more drives to enable RAID 10 to reduce the storage bottleneck: $700

There you have it. $4,000 and we have two decent rigs to run 4-6 VMs on that will not cause the techs to loose interest due to VM performance issues. Remember, we can probably count on our techs having a system, or systems, at home worth the cost of a small car. Developing and keeping a technician's interest in being trained or learning to properly utilize the technology our clients use is critical for our I.T. businesses! We need to have that small car technology sitting in our labs!

TechNet Plus ($349 for download only and $599 for DVD - we are on the DVD subscription) can provide an unlimited access to the software needed to run the lab setup.

Having the lab setup in place, the software licensing, and any other elements needed to keep the lab properly equipped, such as a ShadowProtect I.T. Edition subscription, should be considered a part of the Cost of Doing Business today.

If not, "The writing is on the wall folks".

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.

Time is at a premium...

We have had a rather large influx of business this week due to a local supplier of ours inviting us into their SBS accounts!

It seems that finding technicians that work with SBS, or be trained on it is a pretty difficult thing in our neck of the woods right now.

So, time pressures may not allow for much in the way of posts for a bit.

Thanks for reading!

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.

Neat News: Co-Authoring an SBS 2008 Book with Harry Brelsford!

Just a quick note ...

This blog was started as a small effort on my part to share a little of the knowledge gained over the years working with SBS and within the SBS community.

I must admit, that I have not had any thoughts of receiving any compensation for writing it. Note the absence of any ads or plugs for products.

So, the invitation from Harry Brelsford to attend SMB Nation Toronto (previous blog post) was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed myself at the conference (previous blog post).

While at the conference, Harry invited me to write an article on Small Business Server 2008 for the upcoming SMB Partner Community Magazine.

The writing experience, the collaboration with both Harry Brelsford and Sean Daniel who is on the SBS team was an awesome experience! :D

It was also a very humbling one because the rough edges of my SBS 2008 knowledge base were honed by the very constructive criticisms of Sean. What an great learning experience that was.

So, where is this all leading to?

A co-authorship with Harry to write a new edition of the existing SBS 2003 Best Practices volume (about half way down the page)!

The invitation from Harry to work with him on the new book was received in late June and we are just now beginning to work on the project.

Wow! What a neat turn of events. :)

To you our readers, thank you for all of your support, comments, and encouragement. Without you I surely would have given it up a long time ago. Keep up the great work! ;)

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 - Installing an ACCPAC Database on SQL2005

This process will work for both new and existing MS SQL database setups on ACCPAC.

Note that the methodology is pretty straight foward for a new setup: The process finishes after one has run the ACCPAC Setup Wizard to configure the company.

Our primary focus in this post is a very long struggle to get an existing ACCPAC client migrated to a new SBS installation that upgraded a peer to peer setup.

1. Create SQLUser in ADUC with a static password and no Exchange attributes
2. Create SQLUser2 in ADUC with a static password and no Exchange attributes
• Make sure to follow the SBS password security guidlines for the client's setup when creating the user passwords for these accounts.
• Note that their passwords must be set to not expire.
• Depending on the client configuration, further restrictions on these users can be initiated via OU and Group Policy Objects.
3. Create SQLUser in SQL Server Management Studio --> MySBS --> Security--> Logins and tie it to MySBSDomain\SQLUser
4. Create blank MYCSYS ACCPAC system Db in SQL2K5 with SQLUser as owner
5. Double click on the above created SQLUser in SQL2K5 manager and set MYCSYS as the default Database
6. Create blank MYCDAT ACCPAC data Db ini SQL2K5 with SQLUser as owner
7. Create SQLUser2 in SQL Server Management Studio --> MySBS --> Security--> Logins
8. Right click MYCSYS database and Properties
1. Permissions
2. Click on MySBSDomain\SQLUser
3. Verify "Connect" is checked
9. Click + MYCDAT (repeated for MYCSYS too) --> Security --> Users --> Right Click in the white space under the user list on the right and "New User"
10. User name: SQLUser2
11. Login name: MySBSDomain\SQLUser2
12. Set the Default schema to "dbo"
13. Leave Schemas owned by this user blank
14. Set "db_owner" under Database role membership
15. Click OK (just to repeat: do this for both MYCSYS & MYCDAT database Users)
• We now have two blank databases to work with that are ready for the ACCPAC setup wizard.
• If a mistake is made, all we need to do to start over is delete any tables under MYCSYS and MYCDAT --> Tables (click on the first table - NOT THE SYSTEM TABLES FOLDER - then SHIFT + the last table entry, right click and Delete.
16. For new installations, run the ACCPAC setup wizard and input all of the relevant dates, data, permissions, and users with their passwords.
• Note that there will be other setup steps that will need to be accomplished such as setting up security on the ACCPAC Database Setup console that are beyond the scope of this post.
17. For existing installations, keep things relatively simple: set the date as 1/1/200x, currency type, and then Next repeatedly until the process runs through creating the database tables.
18. Click on ACCPAC Database setup and both MYCSYS & MYCDAT will show up.
19. Run the ACCPAC Database Load utility to recreate the company data from the last backup made before the last server was downed.
20. If the Database Load utility somehow does not get all of the up to date data installed, the fix is very simple: Stop the default SQL server instance and copy the following files out of the old ACCPAC data directory:
• MYCDAT.mdf
• MYCDAT_log.ldf
• MYCSYS.mdf
• MYCSYS_log.ldf
21. Restart the default SQL instance service
22. Logon to ACCPAC on the server as the data's admin.
23. All should be good to go from there to install the software on the workstations and connect to the server.
• Note that the ACCPAC Database Setup utility on any workstation will muck up the server settings if the MYCSYS and MYCDAT entries are modified/deleted!
24. ODBC System DSN settings should be taken care of by the ACCPAC install.

After we were finished the above setup steps, we had our client's ACCPAC installation fully functional on the SBS 2003 Premium server with MS SQL 2005 SP1 installed.

If need be, for larger firms, we can initiate the SQL 2K5 install routine to install a dedicated SQL2K5 instance for ACCPAC's purposes prior to performing the above steps.

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 - Dragged email to my Mailbox - Philip Elder folder ... where did it go?!?

This was probably one of the more interesting predicaments that we needed to research today.

A user accidentally drags their email onto the Mailbox - User Name root in Outlook that is Exchange integrated.

There is no real way to get to that email using any Outlook folder hierarchy.

So, what do we do?

Well, if we are running Windows Vista, we can click the start button and type a few of the email's details to bring it up in the search results. From there, it is a matter of right clicking on the email in the search results and clicking on "Move to Folder" to place it back into a regular email folder.

If we are not running Windows Vista, and the Desktop Search feature does not find it on Windows XP, then we need to build an Advanced Find in Outlook. The neat thing about the Advanced Find is that we don't need to know any keywords. We need only click the Browse button and select the Mailbox - User Name folder along and not Search Subfolders. The search will happen quite quickly and we will be able to highlight them all and right click on them to move them to another folder.

This is the search result with a keyword:

Found Email in IPM_SUBTREE Folder

Note that they are found in a folder called the IPM_SUBTREE.

Ultimately, what lead us to the solution was having all email in Outlook read, right clicking on one and marking it as Unread, then dragging it over the Mailbox - User Name and letting go.

The Search Folder for Unread Mail showed one! Click on the Unread Mail Search Folder and voila: We have our missing email in the above IPM_SUBTREE folder. We realized after the fact that the Windows Vista method also reveals this folder ... if we have the Folder column enabled in the search results!

With that information in hand we were able to find Gilg's Weblog post: Finding lost mail in your top level Outlook/Exchange root that pointed us to creating the Advanced Find in Outlook. We restructured the find with no keywords and having it point only to the Mailbox root to discover any items 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.

Reduce some workbench zip tie clutter with a Viewtainer

This is a kewl little storage device addition to our workbench setup:

Viewtainer holding 4" zip ties

I happened to stumble onto this product in one of our local hardware stores. The sizes they had were more oriented towards nails and small nuts and bolts.

So, a quick search turned up the product manufacturer's Web site: Viewtainer.com.

We purchased enough Viewtainers via their Web site to cover each workbench station and our technician's tech cases for 4" and 6" zip ties. A few extra small ones were put in use as common chassis screw carriers.

On top of the Viewtainers we find a closed slit that opens when one squeezes that end. They make zip tie access quick and easy without the subsequent mess. The Viewtainers have eliminated virtually all zip tie and chassis screw spills and work bench messes during system builds, system rebuilds, and system maintenance.

We have a company policy that on all of the systems that pass by our workbench, we make sure that all cables are appropriately zip tied to eliminate clutter within the chassis and improve air flow. Over time, with enough systems passing over the workbench at peak busy times, prior to having the Viewtainers, things could get quite messy. These little gems have helped to make cleanup in between jobs that much easier for our technicians.

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.

Adobe releases Acrobat Reader 9

Adobe has released a new version of Adobe Acrobat Professional and Acrobat Reader.

From the Adobe Acrobat Reader release email:

Adobe is pleased to announce the release of Adobe Reader 9 for our Tier 1 languages of English, French, German and Japanese. Other major languages will follow next month.

Highlights of Reader 9 release
This latest version adds new functionality for sharing ideas, creating PDF files, protecting information, and enhancing users’ overall experience. Take a look at just some of our new features:

• Improved launch speeds: Experience enhanced general performance and reduced launch times.
• PDF Portfolios: Easily navigate through diverse collections such as drawings, e-mails, spreadsheets, and videos—all in a single file.
• Adobe Flash® software support: View rich media content such as Shockwave®, Flash, and streaming video files.
• Acrobat.com: Create PDF files online, coauthor documents with others, upload and store files, including hosting live web meetings. (English version only)

Once a major new version such as this comes out, you have 6 months to update from your older Reader 8.

Current 9.0 file FTP download links (right click and save as):

• 35,124,856 AdbeRdr90_en_US.exe
• 26,390,112 AdbeRdr90_en_US_Std.exe
• Terms and Conditions Text File
• Acrobat FTP Directory (For all editions)

The above public links bypass the need to install the Adobe Download Manager for a Web browser and an optional toolbar.

This is one set of downloads that we will add to our Technician's Thumb Drive and also to our application install points on our managed networks.

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 - Quick Companyweb Internet Access Link

When we have published the Companyweb site to the Internet via the CEICW and the Remote Web Workplace, there is a very quick way to gain access: Create an Internet shortcut.

Here are the quick links to the Companyweb root site:

• SBS 2003
• https://rww.mysbsdomain.com:444
• SBS 2008:
• https://rww.mysbsdomain.com:987

With this knowledge in hand, we can setup a number of interesting data sharing scenarios based on the built-in SharePoint setup in both versions of SBS.

We could create a document library that only a particular set of domain and non-domain (Extranet) restricted users have access to such as ExternalCompany.

In the above example, we would have the following links:

• SBS 2003
• https://rww.mysbsdomain.com:444/ExternalCompany
• SBS 2008:
• https://rww.mysbsdomain.com:987/ExternalCompany

One could also go so far as to create a SharePoint site that uses the above URL or another set by the domain admin with the appropriate permissions set for that site.

Depending on the situation, an Active Directory OU, Group Policy, and NTFS ACL setups could be utilized to restrict a particular group to the SharePoint site only.

For those that require a distinct separation from their Active Directory domain, the External Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint would work well. The setup in this case would require us to have a second server setup with IIS6/7 and SharePoint V3 installed.

If the extranet business relationship and data security warrants it, a second level authentication setup could be utilized in the form of AuthAnvil from Scorpion Software. This method of security would completely restrict access to any Internet facing resources to those who hold an AuthAnvil hardware token and a valid user name and password. The cost for the product is very inexpensive relative to the extra level of security it provides.

Some SharePoint related links:

• Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog
• The Sean Blog: SharePoint Extranet Collaboration Toolkit.
• Technet: External Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint site.
• Somewhat relevant Microsoft document: SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Document: Deploying on an Extranet by Using ISA Server 2000 and ISA Server 2004.
• Windows SharePoint Services search results from Microsoft Downloads 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.

Intel Channel Product Discount Info Site

Intel maintains a site that is dedicated to informing the channel on any promotions on their products.

The site: Intel Channel Promotions.

This particular link gives those in the U.S. or Canada a quick overview of any product promotions by product category such as server, mobile, storage, etc.

For those outside the U.S. or Canada, there should be a site dedicated to your geographical area. If you happen to know the site URL for your region, please feel free to post it in the comments and thanks for that in advance.

BTW, a reseller account is not needed to have a look at the current promotions. Promo pricing is available through authorized Intel distribution centres.

Promotions are added and removed weekly, so have a look on a regular basis. The information there could help improve the profit margins when it comes to configuring server and desktop 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.

750GB Seagate ES.2 failure on SR1530AH plus SRCSASRB

Our Server Core system running Hyper-V on Server Core has had a drive failure.

The culprit:

• 750GB Seagate Barracuda ES.2
• ST3750330NS
• Firmware: SN04
• Date Code: 08277
• Site Code: KRATSG

The failed drive is in the same batch as the last one: Seagate 750GB ES.2 Failure on SR1530AHLX swap experience. The replacement drive is also in this batch. This is the third 750GB ES.2 drive failure we have had in recent weeks. Given our volume of drives, this may not be indicative of a general batch problem, but, if we keep experiencing drive failures out of this batch then it may be safe to assume that we are probably dealing with a batch problem.

This particular server setup is in an Intel SR1530AH 1U with an Intel SRCSASRB add-in RAID controller installed. The drives were setup in a RAID 1 mirror in a fixed hard drive install. The 1U was installed in one of our rack enclosures in our shop data centre setup. The air is properly conditioned, so heat would not be a factor in this failure.

Due to the nature of Server Core and the fact that Intel's RAID Web Console Utility for Windows does not support being installed on Server Core installations, we were in a position where we needed to reboot the server into the RAID controller's BIOS in order to remove the now dead drive and configure its replacement.

With the inability to run the RAID Web Console on Server Core, the server will remain down until the RAID array rebuild completes. It does not look as though the array rebuild requires the server to be down during the rebuild process, but given the disk intensive nature of Hyper-V with multiple VMs running, we will let it alone for now.

The RAID Web Console does install on our full Windows Server 2008 installations, so, for those clients that require the least amount of downtime, a hot swap setup would require the full version of Server 2008 versus Server Core for their Hyper-V needs. This may involve a slight adjustment in server configurations to accommodate the additional resource requirements of the full Windows Server 2008 OS.

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 - DCDiag produces IsmServ Error

When checking the AD setup on a client's multi DC SBS setup, we had the following error in the DCDiag tests:

Starting test: Services
IsmServ Service is stopped on [My-SBS]

A quick search turned up the following on the TechArena forums: Failed DCdiag Test.

That in turn lead us to: MS KB829623: Default Services That Are Installed in Windows Small Business Server 2003.

Note that the ISMServ shows up in the "Disabled" services list.

Thus, there was no cause for concern.

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.

Hyper-V goes Gold

Hyper-V has been officially released.

• MS KB 950050: Description of the update for the release version of the Hyper-V technology for Windows Server 2008
• Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition (KB950050) (Hyper-V RTM download)
• Hyper-V RTM Release Notes

There are relatively few known issues with this update. One thing to keep in mind though: Make sure none of the VMs have the Integration Components ISO mounted when running the update or it will fail.

Our own Server Core Hyper-V machine is down for a hard drive change out due to a failed drive. IIRC, the drive setup in our Core box is using 750GB Seagate ES.2 drives. More to come on that ...

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.