THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS DIVA

Today in Joe Wicox's Microsoft Monitor he talks about a SBSer who's not a SBSer.  Kinda sad because he could have had all the tools he wanted to at his fingertips and now he's stuck driving the wrong car.  Reminds me of those car commercials that advertise you have 30 days you switch out a card from the one you drove off the showroom floor with.  Too bad something like that can't be included in licensing.  There are many a time that people who don't know about SBS find out about it too late.  I did ping Mr. Wilcox to tell his friend about TechSoup.org to see if his friend could qualify for charity pricing.

I must say that I still think licensing is too complicated.  User CALs, Device CALs when all we SBSers need is just plain SBS CALS.  Just seems like it could be a lot easier than it is.  I nearly ended up with Device CALS when I wanted User CALS because Softchoice quoted me Device CALS on my first quote.  Fortunately I caught the error in time before the quote became an “official order“.

I just “reupped” for SA but am confused as to where my online license and product key numbers will be.  I've gotten emails from eAgreement web site and have digitally signed the agreement online through there, but not sure of what's next?  And the agreement I “electronically signed” was a 25 page document.  I felt like I needed an attorney before I signed it.  ;-)  And I now have a Jim Park as my Licensing sales rep...don't quite know who that is or how to get a hold of him... but hey  :-)

Whenever you need a hotfix for an issue, just a reminder that it's a TOTALLY free call.  Now I'll admit I'm spoiled [in many ways].  I live in Calfornia where I can get a hotfix 24/7.  Call the 800 number, press option 3, rattle off the KB number and in a couple of minutes I get my link to a download along with a password.  Done.  International folks don't have it quite so nice.  For that... I feel for you guys.. it should be way easier than it is right now.

And another thing... if you have applied a security bulletin, remember if you have any issues with that security hotfix, IT'S A FREE CALL.  So back up your system, apply those patches and if you have issues... call. 

And if you are a SBSer make sure you ask for the SBS specific support.  We've got “Motherships” in Charlotte, Las Colinas, Shanghai and of course Redmond.  The folks in those SBS PSS departments “do“ look out for us SBSers. 

Q: Who can I contact if I apply a patch that is recommended by HFNetChk and the patch appears to cause problems on my computer?
A: Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services for hotfix-related issues.

Q: How can I contact Microsoft Product Support Services?
A: For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) phone numbers and information about support costs, view the following Microsoft Web site:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

When you contact PSS with a hotfix or patch issue, please inform them that you are having issues with a hotfix.

Q: How much does a call to PSS cost?
A: There is no charge for support calls that are associated with hotfixes.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/Q305/3/85.ASP&NoWebContent=1

In case you are not aware, here are some places to go for SBS 2003 advice and guidance

WEBSITES

www.smallbizserver.net

www.sbsfaq.com

www.sbs-rocks.com

www.sbslinks.com

www.nethealthmon.com

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/default.mspx

NEWSGROUPS

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/sbs/community/newsgroups/dgbrowser/en-us/default.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs

LISTSERVES

sbs2k-subscribe[at]yahoogroups.com - This listserve is for technical issues with SBS 2k3

smallbizit-subscribe[at]yahoogroups.com - This listserve is for more marketing and business matters with SBS 2k3

mscrm_smb[at]yahoogroups.com - This listserve is for the combo of CRM+SBS [Scott Colson ROCKS!]

CONFERENCES

SBS Conference, September 2004 in Seattle - www.smbnation.com

True geek fest for SBSers all over the world.  Get together with fellow SBSers to talk geek for a couple of days in Seattle. 

BLOGS AND RSS FEEDS OF INTEREST TO SBSERS

well... this one  ;-)

KC Lemson's Blog

Kevin Weilbacher's Blog

Chad Gross's Blog

Exchange [the EHLO] Blog

Charles Anthe's Blog

Windows .Net Mag SBS RSS feed

[updated for the CRM Yahoolistserve that I forgot and Chad's blog]

[oops forgot Harry's web site but it resolves to smbnation so I guess I'm not too much in the doghouse ;-)]

So Tammy talks about how to find “stuff” on Microsoft's site when looking for Exchange stuff.  But let's say I read a post that Jeff Middleton wrote about server migration and want to find that in the newsgroup?  First.  Flat out.  Outlook Express is ...well... just terrible as a search tool.  So let's just throw that out the window as an option, shall we?  So fire up our Google tool.  And instead of going to google “normal” we're going to “google” on “Groups” or newsgroups.  See that other tab?  Click on it and you'll get here.  Now Click on advanced search.  Now... roll up your sleeves, here's where it gets fun. 

Let's first limit our search to a specific newsgroup:  microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs  That's the newsgroup that you'll find SBS2k3 stuff.  If you want 2k stuff you put in “microsoft.public.backoffice.smallbiz2000“  Put that in the box called “Return only messages from the newsgroup”  Now, I know that my MVP buddy Jeff Middleton is MR. Group Policy and Mr. Migration.  So I'm putting “Jeff Middleton” in as author.  See where it says “Return only messages where the author is”  That's the place.  Now put “migration” in the “with all the words” box.  {Sometimes less words are better than more.  Let's see what we get shall we?  Oh and change the number of posts to view is “100“.

We have 247 posts regarding migration.  Just start clicking and surfing and ooh.. this one looks promising.

See what I mean?  We post in the newsgroups all the time and all those answers are right there ready for you to google.  So next time, try a little Googling with your researching :-)

That's right... RSS feed reader on a Smart phone... oh this getting way too cool...... dang how old is the Nokia I just got?

RSShome.com:
http://www.rsshome.com/index.html

So I finally got around to finishing up getting the right SKU codes/quote from Softchoice for my software assurance licenses for the next three years.  I'm going with Open License Value program which means I'm signing up for any and all changes in software for Office and Small Business Server for the next THREE, count them, THREE years.

Honestly there are some who question my sanity.  But here's why I did it:

This beancounter has Live Communication Server because of the SA I had on SBS 2000.

This bean counter can install Office on home workstations because of SA.

This bean counter sees that the server OS and the office productivity suite goes hand in hand.

This bean counter now has cold server rights.

This bean counter is used to annual subscription type agreements....it's part of our culture.

This bean counter can then go to Tracy, Charlie, Sean and Mir, and hold it over their heads that I'm now betting my business on them for the next three years.

It's probably the last one that's the most compelling reason   ;-)

Seriously, I also get elearning and other advantages... AND I get to bug the folks at Microsoft for three more years.  Should I warn them?  nahhhhhh   ;-)

FresnoBee.com: Business: Rolling Techies:
http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/8721547p-9598017c.html

You had to talk a bit above the generators running the laptops, server, big plasma display [okay gotta have one of THOSE] and there was SBS chugging along  ;-)  I felt a bit foolish walking up to the van.. no .. I'm not here to buy anything, I'm here to check out the SBS presentation..... no I know all about the features.... um... was a beta tester....and then end up telling Owen Thomas and Ricardo Bezerra about Sharepoint and RSS feeds and gotdotnet workplace webparts....and...

On the way out was saying how I really liked Office 2003 and you just had to have it and SBS 2k3 for the really "sweet" combo....

Off to send them an email for follow up  ;-)  Probably thought... who in the world was that wacky woman who came during the lunch hour ....

BTW Smiling Goat has a RSS feedreader part that plugs straight into Sharepoint.  Steve Downs pointed me to that.  Thanks Steve!

“A few of my SBS customers using Groupshield for AV scanning had their 
servers grind to a halt this morning with users complaining that Outlook 
was freezing with not-responding messages.

Store.exe on the server was consistently in the high 95-99% cpu 
utilisation.

Turns out that the scanning engine being used (4.1.60) by Groupshield is no 
longer supported (as of 1st June) and that the latest DAT files released 
sometime last night immediately conflict with that engine causing said 
symptoms. Because the servers were self updating with the latest DAT files, 
the problem came about unexpectedly. I believe it may only be on-demand 
based scanning that causes the issue, but other methods of scanning may 
also be affected.

The fix is to install the NAI superdat file, or the engine update to take 
it the engine to 4.3.20. Try here:

http://www.nai.com/us/downloads/updates/superdat.asp?ID=2

Charles Anthe posts in the newsgroup today the update about Exchange 2003 sp1.  There are a couple of issues that he mentioned and I'm copying them below..... [hope he doesn't mind]

“1. Outlook Web Access (OWA) now requires a domain to be included when
entering a username (e.g. - DOMAIN\username where previously username was
sufficient)

2. Outlook Mobile Access (OMA) now required a domain to be included when
entering a username (e.g. - DOMAIN\username where previously username was
sufficient)

3. The OWA spell check feature now gives an error when attempting to spell
check an e-mail from an OWA window.

4.  A critical alert from the SBS monitoring tools regarding store.exe
consuming memory is sent consistently. This alert can be safely ignored, or
customers can disable the alert to stop receiving the alert notices.

Microsoft is investigating these issues and will provide an update to our
customers that resolve these issues as soon as possible. Customers that need
to install Exchange Server 2003 SP1 can do so and work around the issues
above.”

Just a reminder if you are getting the 8331 error in your Exchange server there are three ways to get it fixed and you don't necessarily have to install the SP1.

I'll be upgrading to SBS 2k3 on the “real” server here at the office and I'll be demoting my current “baby” to be a member server and all that.  So why do I want to upgrade?  Well for one, Michael Howard points out a really good reason for being on Win2k3... the whole attack surface reduction “gunk” that they did for Windows 2003 is under the hood.  So besides the Sharepoint, besides the Outlook 2003, besides the Exchange Intelligent mail filtering, besides the Remote Web Workplace, besides all that... it's a lot more prepared for the gunk and junk out here on the Internet.  Keep that in mind.  ;-)

When looking for training .... don't forget... SBS 2k3 online labs - http://microsoft.granitepillar.com/partners

But I find that grab a spare computer, get a SBS2k3 book [Harry's or Jason's] and stick the cdrom in and start messin' with it.  There is nothing like rolling up your sleeves and getting in deep with your SBS2k3.

827601 - Cannot send external mail when your smart host server is different from the ISP server where your e-mail is stored in Windows Small Business Server 2003:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=827601

837370 - Event ID 5120 is logged when e-mail messages are processed by Small Business Server 2003:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=837370

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/sp2preview.mspx  Everyone did hear the news that XP sp2 RC2 is now out and ready for a test drive, right?  Everyone should take this last opportunity to test drive it and GIVE FEEDBACK.  This is a SP that I'm going to be rolling out pretty quickly in my office and I'm very much looking forward to the additional security features in it.

In partcular, the additional protection for laptops is a “must have” if you are a road warrior.

The following Web cast could be a good opportunity to 
learn more about Exchange Server 2003 SP1 and ask 
questions about it.

TechNet Support WebCast: An overview of Microsoft 
Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1

Link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=839816 

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 16, 2004: 10:00 A.M. 
Pacific time (Greenwich mean time- 7 hours). 

Abstract: This Support WebCast session introduces 
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1). It 
talks about the various changes that are included in SP1 
and the benefits of installing SP1. The session also 
briefly introduces some of the Web release tools that 
will be released at the same time as SP1.

Enjoy!
Mir Rosenberg [MSFT]

So Michael Gartenberg asks for a “holistic story” surrouding Microsoft products.  hmmmmm.... guess he hasn't see a Touchpoint series or read a case study on Small Business Server 2003 then?  SBS 2003 + Office 2003 + Sharepoint... now throw in a Smartphone or two for OMA mobility stuff.  Look at this slidedeck from the Touchpoint series for example....[and notice the irony that this series of seminars is called “Touchpoint”].  If that isn't synergy... I don't know what is.....

There Mr. Gartenberg.  You asked.  I delivered... One synergy story.  We have them every day in the Small Business Server community that I'm in.

So Michael Howard is posting about “Threat Modeling”, and while I'm not a coder or a scripter [heck I can barely run SQL queries worth a darn], I must say that I enjoyed the first part of the Howard/LeBlanc book “Writing Secure Code, Second Edition”.  The concepts threat modeling and DREAD and STRIDE and threat modeling can be applied in a weird wacko way also to “setting up a network” as well as writing code.

I've even ordered the book “Threat Modeling” and I'm not a coder.  So why am I so into “threat modeling” from a SBS network admin standpoint?  Because I totally think we are looking in the wrong directions at our threats in SBSLand.  We spend so much time worrying about what our boxes look like from the “outside” from a Penetration Testing point of view, in the meantime our staff are downloading smily faces for their email and getting spybots and ad gunk trojans in their machines.  Right now our biggest threat of “Tampering with data” is due to “Elevation of Privilege” issues.  But here's the rub... it's not really “elevation” of privileges... we give our end users too much rights and privileges to their own machines all the time. 

Think about our little networks shall we, in terms of “entry points“? 

Entry points.... in my network, that's email, remote connections and the like.  I don't open up port 80 or port 443 for web site hosting, but every day I accept gladly all sorts of fun stuff via email.  I've purposely opened the port.  Time and time again we get asked in the newsgroup, I want to run a port scan on my server, and while that is a valid thing to do, I don't think “pen” testing a SBS box is a valid exercise if I can walk by the Secretary's desk and her password is on a sticky note [it's really not in my office, I'm just making a point].

Your network security is not only your server.  Your threat model needs to encompass the workstations as well.  Your weakest link is not your Server.  Your weakest link it out there surfing the Internet looking for emoticons to download.

Connecting a Macintosh to SBS 2003 Server via SMB

[MAJORLY RE-EDITED]

With the kind permission of Eriq Neale [THE SBS/MAC expert] he has graciously given me permission to point you guys over to his web site for DETAILED info on getting the MAC and SBS world to co-exist.

Look to Eriq's Site for more details!

Things I Wish I Had Known - Connecting a Macintosh to SBS 2003 Server via SMB:

Things I Wish I Had Known - How To Configure Entourage 2004 for SBS 2003:

Things I Wish I Had Known - How To Disable SMB Signing in SBS 2003:

SMB Signing is also discussed on Mariette's site at Smallbizserver.Net

Slow file copy to the SBS 2003 server:

Thank you Eriq and enjoy!

My buddy Anne Stanton is out netweaving again.  She brings up an interesting point about checking out “incubators”.  We have a project here in Fresno called the “Central Valley Business Incubator” and I'll be giving a talk on computer security to the organization next month.

If you are a SBSer... follow Anne's sage advice.... start a little “netweaving” [what's in it for “them” not just “me”] and check out the “Business incubators” in your area.  Contact the SBA and see if they give presentations.  Get in front of Rotary and Chambers of Commerce.  Pass out those business cards!