SBS 2003 Exchange Error: The mail proxy for this folder cannot be found. ID no: c1038a21

We have an error that we have not seen before on the source server for the migration we are running this weekend:

Exchange System Manager

The mail proxy for this folder can not be found. This may be due to replication delays. The mail enabled pages will not be shown.

ID no: c1038a21
Exchange System Manager

A Bing search turned up the following Microsoft KB:

• Microsoft KB 328740: You may receive a c1038a21 error message when you try to use Exchange System Manager to look at the properties of a public folder

There are two methods for correcting this particular problem. Now, since the error is happening on the default Archive and Contacts Public Folders we looked to see if we could run with Method 2 which is a lot _less_ complicated.

Method 2:

In some Exchange organizations, you can resolve this problem by using Exchange System Manager to mail-enable the folders again. You can use method 2 if the following conditions are true:

• The Exchange organization contains only computers that run Exchange 2000 Server or later versions.
• There is no longer an ADC in the Exchange organization.

A new directory object is created, and the new GUID is stamped in the PR_PF_PROXY property. If the old directory object still exists, you must delete it manually. If Exchange 5.5 Server computers still exist anywhere in the Exchange organization, do not mail-enable public folders by use Exchange System Manager.

The catch was that these Public Folders were already mail enabled though with no addresses assigned. So, we went through and ran the Mail Disable command on both:

It took a few minutes for the change to take. Once complete we ran through and ran the Mail Enable command on both. We were then able to open the Public Folder’s properties with no error.

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 2003 Error: DNS Event ID 4521: The DNS server encountered error 9002 attempting to load zone . from Active Directory

This has been mentioned before but bears being mentioned again since the SBS 2003 we are just getting ready to migrated to SBS 2011 on a 2 node Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 failover cluster is throwing these errors:

Event Type:    Warning
Event Source:    DNS
Event Category:    None
Event ID:    4521
Date:        9/9/2011
Time:        2:30:39 PM
User:        N/A
Computer:    -SBS01
Description:
The DNS server encountered error 9002 attempting to load zone . from Active Directory. The DNS server will attempt to load this zone again on the next timeout cycle. This can be caused by high Active Directory load and may be a transient condition.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

The fix is quite simple:

1. Open a command prompt.
2. dnscmd /config /BootMethod [Enter]
3. net stop dns && net start dns [Enter]
4. Close the command prompt.

Now that we have run the above commands we are no longer seeing the errors in the DNS Event Log:

Since this particular domain is one of our own creations we are pretty confident that everything is okay health wise. We will still walk through all of the source server health steps found in our Migration Guide here:

• MPECS Inc. Blog: SBS 2003 to SBS 2011 Migration Guide – v1.2.0

Our original blog post is here:

• MPECS Inc. Blog: SBS 2003 – DNS Event IDs 4521 - Error 9002 attempting to load zone

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

Lacerte 2010 Error: Error initializing config. Datapath cannot be blank

We ran into one of the most challenging problems with Intuit’s Lacerte that we have dealt with in a while.

After a few hours of trying to get things working Intuit’s support concluded that our client’s data must have been corrupted. Yet there were 9 other Lacerte 2010 clients installed and connected without issue.

Lacerte 2010

Error

Error initializing config. Datapath cannot be blank.

When we opened Lacerte 2009 and brought up the data path properties everything looked as it should. Trying to open Lacerte 2010 brought the above error with no recourse but to close the program.

We ran the gamut of troubleshooting this problem from .NET through to a complete registry and drive wipe of Lacerte 2010 content to no avail. Note that the drivepath value was nowhere to be found in the registry.

Lacerte 2010 did not have any .INI files with the relevant settings in them either.

So, the only thing we had left was to check the install folder for a non-standard file with the most recent Modified Date to see if there were any clues contained therein.

In the Lacerte install folder for 2009 was a file called NetDir.w9. In the Lacerte install folder for 2010 there was a file called NetDir.w0. Both files were the most recently modified and both had the path setting in them:

Now, what did not make sense was the fact that the Lacerte 2010 settings _were correct_ as shown in the above screenshot!

Note that by this time we had run through a number of clean installs of Lacerte 2010, .NET, and other related software.

On a gamble we changed the NetDir.w0 paths by appending an additional iData subfolder:

• SharedPath: J:\Data\Lacerte\10tax\iData\iData
• SharedUNC=\\SBS\Company\Data\Lacerte\10tax\iData\iData

We went to start Lacerte 2010 and sure enough the program started!

When we checked the settings the path reflected the one we set in the file:

We made the necessary path changes for Data Path and K1 and closed the program.

We then opened it and were greeted with:

Their full client database was alive and well with all of the data available to the user to work on! From there on in Lacerte 2010 started and was able to be used without a hiccup.

Note the ProcessMonitor folder on the Task Bar. We used the SysInternals process utilities to help us narrow down where the path problem was coming from. They gave us the clue we needed to start digging into where those settings were.

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

One Reason For Having a Remote Management Module In All Servers

Among the many reasons, having an Intel Remote Management Module (RMM), Dell iDRAC Enterprise, HP iLO Advanced, and other add-in remote management module is the ability to have console KVM access to that box under virtually any condition.

Caveat: Obviously, no power or Internet means no access. :)

The above screenshot is a snip taken on our back shop’s desktop.

We are in the process of setting up a 2 node cluster on behalf of a client. Because we have Intel RMM3 modules in both nodes we are able to have both consoles running side-by-side so as to run _all_ configuration steps at the same time.

Thus, besides full remote management capabilities we have the ability to work on both systems without messing around with a physical KVM (the servers are just behind the shop desktop).

Having this ability reduces the possibility that a mistake would be made configuring the nodes as we can keep an eye on both systems simultaneously.

Once the OS configuration has been complete up to the domain join point, all of the cluster components will be loaded up in their boxes and delivered to our client site for the next phase of the cluster setup . . . all done remotely once the systems are fired up and the remote connection is tested.

Static IPs

Note that we request that all of our clients have at least one static IP address with our preference being for two (Certain ISP’s DHCP reservation for the IP are _not_ static IPs IMNSHO).

One IP is configured for their remote access. The other IP would be used for the RMM.

For this particular client we just got off the phone with Nucleus (our preferred DSL provider here in Alberta and BC) to add a third static IP address that the new standalone DC’s RMM will be plugged into.

Once we have finished the migration and the original SBS 2003 server has been decommissioned we will call Nucleus and release the IP associated with the original SBS server’s RMM2.

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

2GB of RAM Just Does Not Cut It With Windows 7

Our back shop desktop machine probably gets the most work out of all of the systems in our business with the exception of my own in the front office.

For the longest while we had left 2GB of RAM in that back shop system.

Prior to Windows 7’s service pack 1 the machine performed reasonably well . . . at least until there were a few windows open, IE tabs open, and maybe Word and/or Excel.

Lately, the machine was dragging more and more with the hard drive light remaining almost constant.

So, we finally had a bit of time to pull the box apart and upgrade the RAM.

The only things open on the box after adding 4GB of RAM for a total of 6GB is this Windows Live Writer window and an RDP session into another desktop.

Notice that the OS is sitting at 2GB of RAM used!

The numbers shown above would be a lot different on just 2GB of RAM. Watching in the Resource Monitor it was possible to see when IE tabs were being swapped in and out of the page file along with almost any other application that was open on the machine.

3GB of RAM would do for most folks, but 4GB or more is a consideration for power users or users that work with Adobe and other high end apps on a regular basis.

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

Inventory Management Using the Wasp WWS500 Barcode Scanner

With the amount of inventory that runs through our business we needed a simple yet effective way of tracking all of the part numbers, serial numbers, and manufacturer’s specific product numbers.

Enter the Wasp WWS500 Bluetooth Barcode Scanner:

This little device is _so_ handy. It operates as a keyboard so we can scan volumes of product numbers into our bookkeeping system thus avoiding any typos. Because it operates as a keyboard the device is software agnostic.

We just uploaded a control sheet that we use for the barcode scanner to get it to work consistently as it can be a little finicky

• PDF Document: WSS500SetConnection.

The key barcode to scan if the scanner is having a hard time reconnecting its Bluetooth is the Disconnect Bluetooth code. Then run through the pairing process again. Note that the Terminator needs to be set to None otherwise scanning in the pairing code will fail.

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

One Slipped By – AOpen S145A Mini-ITX Chassis Fail

A while back we posted about our experience with A-Open’s S145A Mini-ITX chassis that we picked up with a bunch of Intel Mini-ITX boards.

• MPECS Inc. Blog: AOpen S145A Mini-ITX Chassis – Total Fail

Well, one slipped by as we received a call from a client in the middle of last week that one of their systems had seemingly died on them.

It turned out to be one of the systems we deployed with the AOpen S145A Mini-ITX case. The power supply fans are quite weak on them with the PSU actually burning out.

When we contacted AOpen for a replacement power supply, fan, or even case they referred us to our Canadian distribution points for RMA purposes. We surmise that distribution dropped them as quick as they did due to this particular problem coming back to them.

With distribution dropping the S145A AOpen would not give us _any_ warranty support at all. So, we ended up replacing _all_ of the S145A cases with Antec Minuet 350 cases that we have had a lot of success with.

The whole mess ended up costing us a lot in terms of money and time lost replacing all of those cases.

With system building being a part of our business model we have always been quite particular about the system configurations we send out the door.

• Intel processors and boards.
• Kingston or Crucial RAM
• Antec cases
• Seagate hard drives
• Intel SSD drives
• Lite-On optical
• ATI/AMD video

The above recipe has served us quite well with the exception of the Seagate firmware bug we were hit with a year or two ago. We ended up swapping out quite a few AS and NS drives. However, Western Digital was not without their problems for the high end systems built on the Raptor and VelociRaptor drives either.

So, in the end, we have learned a very expensive lesson: Stick with what we know and run with it never looking back!

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 and 2011 Active Directory Password Complexity

To manage the password setup in SBS 2008 and SBS 2011 Active Directory we use the SBS Console:

1. Open the SBS Console.
2. Click on the Users and Groups tab.
3. If not already selected, click on the Users tab.
4. Under Tasks click on Change password policies.
• 
5. Set the password policy settings accordingly.
• 
6. Click Apply and OK.
1. NOTE: All users will be required to change their passwords on their next log on if any changes are made to these settings!

This wizard is normally used during the set up process only.

If this wizard is used somewhere in the middle of an SBS Migration or SBS Swing Migration the consequences may be dire. It is best left as the final step _after_ at least one week of the post-migrated server being in production.

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

Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP USB Flash Drive Must Have Drivers & Utilities

There are a number of different little utilities that we drop into the _Drivers folder on the USB flash drives we use to load the Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 OS with. We also put these utilities on our Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 USB flash drives for standalone Hyper-V deployments.

• ServerNameJoin.bat
• NOTE: We drop all Server Core and Hyper-V servers into their own OU where we have all aspects of UAC disabled. Core management does _not_ work with UAC enabled.
• Change OU structure to match your own.
• Pause is there to allow us to see if the process succeeded or failed.
• MYSERVERNAME: Must be the name of the Hyper-V server.
• MYDOMAIN: Must be the name of the domain.
• DomainAdmin: Must be the name of an admin account with permissions to join the domain.
• netdom join MYSERVERNAME /Domain:MYDOMAIN.local /OU:OU=SBSServers-ServerCore,OU=Computers,OU=MyBusiness,DC=MYDOMAIN,DC=local /userd:DomainAdmin /passwordd:*
• pause
• John Howard’s HVRemote utility
• This utility makes configuring the host for domain/domain, domain/workgroup, and the other iterations a breeze.
• Chris Eck’s VHDTool utility
• We use this utility to create fixed VHDs on _new_ LUNs/LDs or ones that have been properly initialized.
• It is fast and easy.
• NOTE: The size format is in bytes so add those zeroes!
• Intel’s most recent PROSet driver and command line utility.
• Intel Download Center: Intel Server Adapters search results.
• We use the prosetcl.exe utility to configure our adapter teaming and VLAN setup for each team.
• Appropriate drivers
• Intel AXXSASIOMOD (LSI) Driver
• LSI 3442 x64 Driver
• Intel RAID driver

With the above on our flash drive we are able to jump right into configuring the Hyper-V node for clustering or standalone VM guest delivery.

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

Restructuring DAS/SAN Storage Requires LD/LUN Initialization

We set up the Promise VTrak E610sD RAID subsystem and its storage for the client deployment we are going to do over the next few days.

In this case we are deploying one Intel Server System SR1695GPRX2AC (1U, Xeon X3470, 32GB, 600GB 15K SAS RAID 10) and the Promise VTrak unit. We will add the second 1U server in their new budget year and enable the cluster setup from there.

We did an initial storage configuration on the VTrak but made a few mistakes on sizes for the VMs that will be hosted by the one Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 node.

So, we needed to wipe the Logical Drives (LDs) and start fresh. Once we did so, we went in and initiated an Initialization sequence on each new Logical Drive that was created.

We initiate the Initialization process because the Hyper-V OS may pick up the previous disk configuration information from the new LD setup.

It can be a bit confusing to be looking in Disk Management and seeing the previous LD”s configuration still listed even after rescanning the disks!

The other consideration in all of this has to do with existing data if there was any. If there were VM VHDs on the LDs or even pass through information on them any new VHD created using VHDTool (previous blog post) would be able to scan the bits and see that existing data using a tool like GetDataBack (beware of imposters).

Initializing on the VTrak does not take a lot of time. So, it is well worth the wait to make sure we have nice client LDs to start with.

Done:

Now off to enable Microsoft MPIO on the node and configure it for performance.

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

Lots Going On!

We are in the process of setting up a 2 node cluster to get ready to deploy this week and into the weekend.

Posting may be a bit lite over the next few days or so.

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

Twitter, Tweets, and Tweeps

Okay, now that we have our Twitter account set up and the Tweets are starting to flow, the one thing that has become quickly apparent is that it is possible to hit Information Overload (IO) very quickly with this service.

Plus, the knee-jerk reaction is to drop every aspect of the day into our own Tweets.

But, upon further consideration we find that TMI and IO may become the norm and thus we get tuned out.

We also took some time to have a look at the plethora of Tweeps out there that we may wish to follow. But again, with so many 140 character posts flying by we would reach the TMI/IO point again very quickly.

We have seen some Twitter clients at the various IT events that have been attended.

For those of you that Tweet and follow what is the Twitter client of choice and why? Please do comment about your Twitter experiences and how you mitigate TMI/IO and also sift through it all!

What we are hoping to do is to enter into this new technology with “Baby Steps” (What About Bob – ****).

Thanks again for reading!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Hyper-V Failover Cluster 2 Node With 3TB RAW For Under $20K

As we have been going along we have been refining the two node Hyper-V Failover Cluster setup.

We are now at the point where the following base configuration would provide full Hyper-V failover capabilities for a very low cost:

• Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 Host (Requires 2)
• Intel Server System SR1695GPRX2AC
• Intel Xeon Processor X3470, 32GB ECC RAM, Dual 3Gbit SAS Controllers (SFF-3470 connectors).
• No local storage.
• Pair of SFF-3470 to SFF-8088 SAS Cables
• Promise VTrak E610sD Dual Controller RAID Storage System
• 10x 300GB 15K Seagate SAS (we use RAID 10 = 1.5TB usable)
• 2x 300GB 15K Seagate SAS global hot spares.
• Nodes boot from 75GB masked LUN on VTrak to eliminate the need for local storage.
• LUN Masking: Only the node will see its dedicated LUN as available.

With the above hardware configuration we are able to start our 2 node failover clusters at around $18K for the hardware setup.

For any client that currently has two or more servers and are conscious of the need for uptime we are promoting this setup.

At this price, there is no reason why we can’t be deploying Hyper-V failover clusters into most clients that have two good sized servers up for refresh ($6K-$8K/Server) or multiple small ones.

A big plus when talking about failover is the portability of the VMs. We can restore _anywhere_. Because of this portability we can promote our iSCSI backup target setup which then can eliminate the cost of any third party backup solutions.

Our goal is to go full on Windows OS native with as many tools as possible. And so far, we are being quite successful at making it happen.

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

ExchangeDefender E-Mail Outage – Our Client E-mail and Some Thoughts

The following is a copy of an e-mail we sent out to all of our clients that are protected by ExchangeDefender and/or using OWN’s hosted Exchange and SharePoint:

Hello and good morning,

First, we do apologize for the mail flow interruption yesterday. Up until now we have had very reliable services with ExchangeDefender. Since our first signing up with OWN about two to three years ago we have experienced a few hiccups along the way with one serious outage for hosted Exchange happening in the last 12 months.

Yesterday, our e-mail sanitation and continuity provider ExchangeDefender experienced a catastrophic power outage in their Dallas data centre (DC). It just so happened that the component that failed was an Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) about the size of a van that is supposed to keep power flowing into the facility by switching between the power grid or a backup generator.

Because that switch failed both power sources were cut off into the facility which eventually caused a system wide shut down. Statistically, the ATS failing is the equivalent to buying a 6/49 and winning the pot. A spare ATS was on-site, but we are talking about Kilo-Volts and Kilo-Amps of current so it is no easy task to switch them out and actually quite deadly.

The long and short of it is that Own Web Now, the owners of the ExchangeDefender services, have learned some lessons on where the system needs improvement. One place improvement will be made will be to set up additional data centres (DCs) to allow mail to continue flowing if Dallas has another outage.

We will also have LiveArchive access, which is your Web based access if our in-house servers go down, at additional DCs so that we can have access to our e-mail again if Dallas has a problem.

And finally, hosted Exchange 2010 will be set up for access across multiple DCs to eliminate the single point of failure in Dallas.

These changes are now in process. It will take about 3-5 months for the changes to be made.

Again, our apologies for the e-mail flow interruption.

While there are certainly other providers of these types of services out there, we prefer to continue our business relationship with OWN and ExchangeDefender. Why? Because we believe that OWN shares our vision, passion, and attitude about providing the best possible products and services for your hard earned money.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Thank you for doing business with us and have a wonderful day! :)

Along the way to where we are today as far as the products and services we at MPECS provide to our clients there have been hiccups, burps and outright failures.

We have come to standardize our server and desktop hardware configurations on certain vendor's products. Those configurations have come as a result of wasting both our client’s time and our time with the cheap stuff. BTDT and no thank you.

We have also come to realize the weaknesses in any given setup that we deploy as a result of unforeseen failures.

The good and bad experiences in our industry are a fact of life. And, as a result of those experiences we have come where we are today providing products and services that our clients can count on to run without virtually any interruption.

We will continue to stand by OWN and ExchangeDefender because they do share the same attitude as us. They, and thus we, will grow as a result of this experience.

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

Even Twitter Has Its Issues – @MPECSInc

Okay, so to receive SMS updates via Twitter we need to have an account. :(

Well, we now have one … somewhere in the TwitterSphere …

As more and more services go to the “Cloud” service outages or interruptions become a lot more costly to _all_ of the folks using that service!

Okay, so we are finally in though the confirmation e-mail will not show up until OWN has their own issues fixed up.

• MPECS Inc. Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/#!/MPECSInc

What we will do with this new Twitter account is left to be seen since our online time is already quite saturated. And, there is not a lot that can be said in such a short number of characters . . . as our faithful blog readers already know! :D

For now, we have one and it will be used to subscribe to @XDNOC and others of interest.

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