THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS DIVA

From the mail bag....

The SBS 2008 best practices state that the server itself should be the main DHCP server on the network. I've encountered situations that, for whatever reason, someone disabled the dhcp server on the server and enabled it on a gateway device or something else. In these cases, even if the workstation was assigned the server's IP as the dns or if you set it statically, DNS resolution seems to not work as expected. There are certain resources that I cannot access. Mainly the "http://connect" site. To fix this issue, I always reconfigure those networks to have the sbs server as the main DHCP server, and I always perform my server installations in this way,  but I've always wondered why this happens.

I understand that that when a host leases an IP from the server. The server registers the IP and hostname in DNS, and that this doesn't happen if the server does not assign an ip address.

But if the workstation is configured with the server's IP as its dns server, shouldn't the workstation be able to resolve http://connect regardless if the workstation leased its IP from the server or not?

So why does finding the domain work when the server is handing out the DHCP, but not necessarily when the DHCP is on the router?

It's all because of the DHCP scope options that are in there.

That's the "why" and why we say having the Server hand out the DHCP is the best for SBS 2011 standard.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd572752(office.13).aspx

So you go to do a SBS 2003 to 2011 migration and you can't get the MBCA to run?

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/smallbusinessserver/thread/86773d39-acd6-4fe5-9ea6-06afe46314cb

Uninstall it and reinstall it.  Seriously.  I've seen situations where the MBCA doesn't do it's thing for whatever reason and uninstalling and reinstalling does the trick.

Strange but true. 

https://skydrive.live.com/#!/view.aspx?cid=C756C44362CD94AD&resid=C756C44362CD94AD%21808  Other weird tips in that document.

Coming Soon! A New and Improved Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) -Volume Licensing - Site Home - TechNet Blogs: http://blogs.technet.com/b/volume-licensing/archive/2011/07/29/new-and-improved-volume-licensing-service-center-vlsc.aspx  

I don't mean to be doom and gloom with respect to upgrades to the Microsoft Volume licensing Center, but ... they don't have the greatest track record with upgrades. So you may want to proactively download some things if you were waiting to do them for later.  Hopefully nothing bad will happen, but then again I thought our Congressmen and women would have come together way before now... not to start down the politics mind you.

Two new articles published in the Wiki to help you troubleshoot Certificates and Client Deployment - Windows Small Business Server Documentation - Site Home - MSDN Blogs:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sbsdocsteam/archive/2011/07/26/two-new-articles-published-in-the-wiki-to-help-you-troubleshoot-certificates-and-client-deployment.aspx

Keep in mind these are wikis so if you find there are fixes you found that work for you, you can edit them.

Want an easier way in SBS Standard to change the password policies?  Go to the console, then to Users and Groups, then to Change password policies and knock yourself out.

Got word from the SMBMVPTour Gnome that he spotted Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 premium (aka the domain join version) on the action pack today.

MultiPoint server is now on Action pack | MVP Tour:
http://blogs.msmvps.com/smbmvptour/blog/2011/07/27/multipoint-server-is-now-on-action-pack/

http://home.techsoup.org/stock/pages/product.aspx?id=LVS-46168

TechSoup has it as well.

Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 is a special version of the Windows Server operating system that allows multiple users to simultaneously share one computer. Each user station, typically consisting of a monitor, keyboard, and mouse connected to a station hub, provides an independent Windows desktop environment. The station hubs connect to the single host computer through USB or video cables and use the host computer's processing capabilities.

Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Premium Edition supports up to 20 simultaneously connected user stations. The host computer also can be used as a station to support one additional user. The Premium edition also supports joining an Active Directory domain if needed, providing users with access to network services.

MultiPoint Server can be useful for organizations or libraries with computer labs, classrooms, or other collaborative environments where using just one computer for several users can save energy, simplify maintenance, and lower expenses. The ability to share a monitor in splitscreen view between two independent users and to connect older machines as stations over a local area network (LAN) provides further cost- and energy-saving options.

MultiPoint Server includes MultiPoint Manager, which allows the primary user to monitor and manage MultiPoint Server user stations. Primary users can create accounts for an unlimited number of standard users, who can access their customized desktop and settings by logging into any station. Primary users also can view full screens of individual users or thumbnail screens of all active users, allowing them to monitor user activity without leaving their station. They can suspend all stations at once or broadcast the desktop of their own or any user's computer to all other connected user stations.

Other capabilities include the following:

• Software programs installed on the host computer can be accessed from any connected station, without separately installing the software for each user. (Note that Microsoft Office and other Microsoft programs available through Volume Licensing require a separate license for each user station in a MultiPoint Server environment. Other software manufacturers may have their own licensing requirements for shared computing environments.)
• Public Documents folders allow users to share information and collaborate on projects, while users' private folders can be accessed only by the user or the administrator.
• Traditional desktops, laptops, and thin clients also can act as stations by connecting to the host computer using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) over a local area network (LAN). This allows an organization to use existing and possibly older computers as stations without removing those computers' ability to operate independently (devices connecting over LAN must be licensed in the same manner as other user stations).

Licensing

This product includes a MultiPoint Server 2011 Premium Edition server license. Each user station that connects to MultiPoint Server must have two types of client access licenses (CALs): a MultiPoint Server CAL and a Windows Server CAL. These two CALs, licensed per device (a user station), are available as a single donation through TechSoup (see Related Products below). If the host computer is used as a user station and not just for administration, organizations must acquire both a MultiPoint Server CAL and a Windows Server CAL for it as well.

Individual MultiPoint Server device CALs are also available through TechSoup for users with valid Windows Server CALs. MultiPoint Server user CALs, as opposed to device CALs, are not available through TechSoup since this kind of licensing would be more costly in a typical MultiPoint Server setup than licensing per device. For example, a setup with 10 user stations would require just 10 device CALs for any number of users. If licensed per user, the same setup would require each user to have a separate license.

At the Volume Licensing Service Center, the product key for Windows MultiPoint Server will be listed as Windows Server 2008 R2.

64-Bit Only

MultiPoint Server 2011 requires a 64-bit processor with at least two cores. See System Requirements below for more information.

Software Assurance

Under the Software Assurance program, you have the right to install any new release of products covered in the agreement during the term of your coverage.

Amy blogs about an issue I've seen a couple of times with SharePoint -- a "503" error.

https://www.thirdtier.net/2011/07/when-sharepoint-companyweb-503s-on-you-heres-how-to-fix-it/

So here's the setup... I've seen two issues with SharePoint - the first has to do with Patching.  As you should know by now when you install updates on SharePoint they don't automatically run the psconfig command anymore.  The reason is that SharePoint 2010 products as a rule do not do this as they expect their SharePoint admins to manually run that command.  That's why I'm not convinced that I want to ask the SBS team to ask for an automatic routine that runs that command.  We already know how many times that didn't work for prior versions of SharePoint.  So I'm not sure I want the risk of running that command.  So make sure after all SharePoint updates and after Service Pack 1 that you run the psconfig command.

Now for the other issue that I'm seeing in SOME not all SBS.  Behind the scenes in SharePoint is a routine that kicks password changes in SharePoint for the managed accounts like spfarm.  There have been times that I've seen someone report that they are seeing an error 503 when they open up SharePoint and the issue was not caused by patching, in fact they couldn't figure out exactly why it happened.  If they reset the passwords, then SharePoint works.  So something is happening with the routine that syncs up the password changes.

But it's the why that we need to get to the bottom of.

So here's my ask of you.  And keep in mind there are two separate issues.  One is the lack of people psconfig-ing after SharePoint sp1.  Already documented, already blogged.  http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/05/24/you-must-manually-run-psconfig-after-installing-sharepoint-2010-patches.aspx

The other is the "503" Error.  If you suddenly see a SharePoint in this condition, ping me at susan-at-msmvps.com as I'll need to see if the resolution Amy posted works for you (it should) and then to get log files from you to investigate why.  Not everyone will hit this.  There's a specific fact pattern/trigger of cause.

As in any investigation to prove without a doubt, additional data points are needed.

For anyone that goes to the Captain America movie this weekend...

http://fresnobeehive.com/2011/07/fresno_mentione.html

Yes, they really did say "Fresno" in the movie.

(the significance being ..it's where I live)

So far the most commented wiki post I have is

Small Business Server 2003, 2008, 2011 - External Backup Drives Compatibility List - TechNet Articles - Home - TechNet Wiki:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/1780.aspx

If you've hit an external harddrive that doesn't work as a backup unit. let us know or edit that page.  It's a wiki so you can add what has and has not worked for you!

Well someone is working on the download site.  Now when you go to "all Downloads"  on www.microsoft.com/downloads it automatically changes to search for t* (just that) and then sort by date.

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/search.aspx?q=t%2a&p=0&r=10&t=&s=availabledate~Descending

Richard from thundermain.com has updated his rss feed to match that sort.  So far in my tests I think it's finding the downloads now.  I'll keep an eye out to confirm if there's anything missing.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/MicrosoftDownloadCenter

So if you put that in your favorite RSS reader you too can keep track of what is (hopefully) everything that gets posted to the download site.

Twitter / @MysonPages: If your iphone doesnt talk ...:
http://twitter.com/#!/MysonPages/status/94046654893785088
If your iphone doesnt talk to your SBS 2011 server then you need this http://bit.ly/e9WSDm#sbs2011 #iphone #exhcnage #mail

Tonight we're going to start a blog post that may turn into a series called... "Hey Twitter - how about we take more than 140 characters to get to the bottom of the real issue?".

Tonight a twitter post that says "If your iPhone doesn't talk to your SBS 2011 server" then you need this and points to an Ehlo blog post.

Now I'm not sure if they mean SP1 installed or a step in the post... First off SBS 2011 already includes sp1 so it's not needed on SBS 2011.

If they are pointing to step number 7 - where it says "iPhone, OWA Premium and POP3 & IMAP4 issues due to invalid accepted domain" and that you need to reset the accepted domain, how about we discuss that.  As out of the box - as is - SBS 2011 properly sets the accepted domain.  If you notice that the accepted domain is flipped, then something has been changed by something, or some action, but the wizards of SBS 2011 set it up properly.

http://nuronv.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/sbs2011-owa/

http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/06/10/certain-remote-client-access-can-break-if-you-change-the-default-accepted-domain-on-sbs-2011-standard.aspx

If the accepted domain has spaces you may need to make adjustments, but out of the box - as SBS 2011 is shipped - after the domain name wizard is run, the accepted domain is set properly and iPhones should -just- work.

If you are finding differently, I'd like to talk to you.  Ping me at susan-at-msmvps.com because I'd love to see what's happening in your setup to make what should be working out of the box... not.

Recording of SBS 2011 Power Start Workshop - Migration to SBS 2011

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/contentserver/msrecordings/wwsl9tbltfdzszn4/wwsl9tbltfdzszn4.wmv

You do realize that you can use the trial, technet, msdn OR the Action pack media downloads and they use the key that is in your VLSC web site right?

What you don't know that?  Same rules as SBS Standard here.  If you are waiting for media but already have the product key, you can install from other media sources and key it with the real key.  Additionally you can leave it unkey-d and then run it without a key and then rearm it.  That eval can be extended three times.

*The 30-day evaluation period for SBS Standard, and 60-day evaluation period for SBS Essentials may be reset 3 times. After this time you will need to uninstall the software or upgrade to a fully-licensed version of Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard or Essentials.

http://www.microsoft.com/sbs/en/us/try-it.aspx

Ready to Manage Windows Servers... From Windows Phone 7? | MSPmentor:
http://www.mspmentor.net/2011/07/19/ready-to-manage-windows-servers-from-windows-phone-7/

Joe needs to add one more problem... this only allows you to monitor and control "Colorado" based servers.... what... you ask... are "Colorado" based servers?  It's SBS 2011 Essentials, Windows Home Server 2011, and Windows Storage Server R2 Essentials. 

It will not allow you to manage Windows 2008 R2 servers, nor Small Business Server 2011 standard servers.  Both of which do not have the Colorado console which is what the phone is hooking into.  As a remote management tool... it's not exactly ideal.  As a geek thing for a Windows phone 7, it's cool. 

Here's what I posted to the bottom of this blog:

Service Pack 1 for SharePoint 2010 Products is Now Available for Download:
http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blog/Pages/BlogPost.aspx?pID=984

"Can you post clearly in technet how to do a patch deployment on a single standalone server?  It's not clear to me that psconfig needs to be manually done after patching.

Secondly for these standalone deployments, can you change the wording of the KB that shows up in Microsoft Update and WSUS that a psconfig command is needed to properly deploy this update?"

I think the documentation for how SharePoint needs to manually run psconfig is not well documented.  Certainly not for standalone SharePoint servers.  And should be exposed in MU or WSUS in the KB details that it needs to be run. 

Bingle juice for others:

If you hit here because of any of these error messages and you just installed SharePoint sp1, make sure you run a manual psconfig command.  See this blog for more details:  http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/07/06/potential-issues-after-installing-sharepoint-foundation-2010-sp1.aspx

A Volume Shadow Copy Service operation failed.Unknown error (0x800423f0)

Volume Shadow Copy Service error: Failed resolving account spsearch with status 1376. Check connection to domain controller and VssAccessControl registry key

Information Store (2264) Shadow copy instance 2 aborted

The Execute method of job definition Microsoft.SharePoint.Search.Administration.SPSearchJobDefinition

spsearch4 vss writer inconsistent shadow copy

The network location profile changes from "Domain" to "Public" in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2524478/en-us?sd=rss&spid=14134
On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the network location profile that is selected changes unexpectedly from Domain to Public. Additionally, the firewall settings (these are determined by the network location profile) change to the settings that correspond to the Public network location profile. Therefore, some outgoing connections may be blocked, and some applications may be disconnected.

I don't see this on my win7 as I changed the  network location awareness to service to automatic.  At least that's what I think I did.  All I know is I don't see this much anymore on my network.

Dissatisfied with Facebook? You're not alone:
http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/article/Dissatisfied-with-Facebook-Youre-not-alone/1311092836?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+betanews%2Fjoewilcox+%28Betanews+-+Joe+Wilcox%29

I'm having a hard time believing that Lincoln Mercury is rated higher than a chocolate bar.

My latest favorite commercial is a car ad (Toyota I think) where the young girl is ragging on her folks that have so little people in their Facebook account.  Yet they are the one taking the car out to a outdoor venue, and biking with friends, while she's stuck in a dorm room counting up her 600+ friends on facebook alone and all by herself.  Sometimes you have to balance the digital world with the analog one for sure.

So someone invited me to Google plus and there's someone in one of my circles that I have no idea who they are.  If you want a google plus invite so I truly know people in there, holler.  I have about 8 invites if I remember right.

SBS Essentials - Connectcomputer troubleshooting - TechNet Articles - Home - TechNet Wiki:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/3887.aspx

Common trouble shooting for SBS Essentials Connector software:

The log files for the connectcomputer process is located in a hidden file on the C drive. To see this file, click on Computer, then on the C drive. Now click on organize and then Folder and Search Options. Now click on the View tab. In the Hidden files and folders section, click on "Show hidden files, folders and drives" and click okay. You will now be able to see the hidden folder ProgramData.

Word to the wise.  When you keep getting a 'password incorrect' when you are trying to set up a domainname.remotewebaccess.com in SBS essentials which relies on LiveID authentication, you may want to check to see if LiveID is having issues in general...

Needless to say that wizard is not going to work well if LiveID is also having issues.

Dear SRX1157009138ID:. 

Several times now I've been asked exactly the same questions in response to an open ticket I have with the Microsoft online Customer service.  Twice now I've given full answers with exact screen shots of the issue. 

The issue is not on my side, the issue is on your side. 

Here it is in a nutshell:  Instead of listing all of the downloads that are released on the download site, you are searching for them.  And therein lies the problem, your search box is actually searching for the word download.  The problem is, not all of the download items released on the Microsoft download site have the word "download" in it, so it fails to list all of the downloads.

You shouldn't search for items, rather we need a list.

The good news is that the RSS feed that exposed the Download site so you could track it in your favorite RSS reader works again (Yea!  Thank you Richard!)  So go to www.thundermain.com/rss (which resolves to http://feeds.feedburner.com/MicrosoftDownloadCenter ) and put that in your favorite RSS reader.  So I once again can get in a format that works best for me, the items that are exposed in the "All downloads" "sort by date" from the Download site.

Unfortunately, the bad news is that because that is looking at the "all downloads", "sort by date" view of the download site, (see http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/search.aspx?q=download&p=0&r=10&t=&s=availabledate~Descending ) it's failing to truly list ALL downloads.  I know this for a fact because I know certain items have been released to the download site and you are failing to list them in that view.  Office 2010 sp1, for example, is one such download that is failing to be listed in the "all downloads" view.  Yet I know for sure it's there on the download site.

Again, Mr. SRX1157009138ID, the issue is your search box on that site is searching on "downloads".  If the released item on the download site doesn't include the word download or expose it in some manner, it fails to list that in that all download view.

Any browser has this issue.

Any connection speed has this issue.

It's your problem, now if I can just get someone in Microsoft online support to understand this... and actually fix it.... so that when you click on "All downloads" it's a LIST and not a SEARCH that doesn't work,  I will die a happy woman.

Otherwise I may be taking over the job of Crabby Office Lady who just retired.

"Hello,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Customer Service.

In order to assist you better, please provide additional information:

-  Please provide us with a detailed description of what you are trying to do and how you are trying to accomplish the task

- Download URL involved: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/search.aspx?q=downloadp=0r=10t=s=availabledate~Descending

- Identify the exact steps taken to reproduce the error you are reporting

- Identify the exact error message you are encountering, including a screenshot if applicable

- Is this issue intermittent or continual?

- How are you connected to the internet (i.e. dial-up, cable, DSL, WI-FI, etc.)?

- Identify the browser and versions in use:

Once I have these details, I will be able to determine the appropriate resources to assist you."