THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS "DIVA"

Something about me, software and dates...

bradley — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:07:00 GMT

GpsPasSion - Reference site GPS POIs Radars:
http://www.gpspassion.com/fr/news.asp?id=743
Case:
http://iqc.garmin.com/eCustomer/KODSelfService/request.do?create=kb:garmin&view()=c{dc1fbbc0-6187-11de-69a8-000000000000}

My Zune died on 12/31, my Garmin Nuvi died on 6/20.. what is it with software and dates?

Would our founding fathers be on facebook these days?

bradley — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:07:00 GMT

Would our founding fathers be on facebook these days? Certainly more and more firms are putting their emphasis on social platforms rather than traditional marketing.

Vlad Mazek - Vladville Blog » Blog Archive » The SPAM Show:
http://www.vladville.com/2009/07/the-spam-show.html

Now before you say no to another Twitter or Facebook... consider the conversation going on at Nanog regarding Web 2.0...when do these mediums do bring value? Well in this case if you want to listen to the Vlad Spam show, signing up at Facebook is one way to both listen to the show and help Vlad get a "vanity url".

Re: Using twitter as an outage notification:
http://www.merit.edu/mail.archives/nanog/msg19119.html

Calling it a lame web 2.0 is pretty much off, when it's actually used for something sensible.

I seem to be trying to find the middle ground between members of the public who think "The Internet isn't appropriate because they didn't teach it to me in college 20 years ago" and those who say "Web 2.0 isn't appropriate because they didn't teach it to me in college 5 years ago". Shouldn't we at least be giving it the benefit of the doubt?

Since when has, what has been teached in college ever been a defining standard for what is happening on the internet or what the trend in computing is ?

It shouldn't be, but I'm guessing this is where much of the conservatism is coming from.

Migrate from Exchange Public Folders to Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite

bradley — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:20:00 GMT

Exchange public folders are widely used in on-premises Exchange environment. However, Exchange Online does not support customer usage scenarios of public folders. If you or your customers are using Exchange public folders, there are special considerations for moving customers to Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite. This document outlines these considerations for field representatives, discusses the most common public folder scenarios and how they are represented in Business Productivity Online Standard Suite services. It also provides the information you need to decide whether Microsoft Online Services is a good match for you based on your current public folder usage.

Download details: Migrate from Exchange Public Folders to Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=07bed889-7ee1-42fa-96b1-e03deef18ce5#tm

---

You know what I don't get? If public folders are 'widely used' I've never fully understood why Microsoft is indeed so anti-public folders. Is it scalability in large envirornments? Security issues? I've never fully understood why they don't support well at all something that even in their own words "is widely used".

In case you missed fireworks...

bradley — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:13:00 GMT

A little coding of a remote control

bradley — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:39:00 GMT

http://www.comcast.com/Customers/Clu/ChannelLineup.ashx?area=0

I'm desiging a remote control... one that categorizes the stations we look at a regular basis.. and I'm using a piece of software to 'code up' the remote control. Due to the fact that this is an older remote control and the driver for this is not 64bit, I'm having to use VMware to run the software and then download the program to the remote control.

But in seeing this thread on RemoteCentral I may try it again on the native Vista sp2.. I tried it initially on Sp1 and it sometimes worked fine, sometimes didn't....

In case anyone is still looking for a solution for NG TSU3500, I was able to install prontoeditNG using XP SP2 compatibility mode under Vista x64 bit SP2.
When conecting the remote, it is seen as an HID device, but uploads and downloads work fine.

And yes the icons look like an iPhone. I'm using the template of several Prontos from the Remote Central site to design the remote for our house. Instead of his and her stations, we have hers, hers, the Dog however doesn't have too many favorite channels other than Animal Planet. Speaking of iPhones, my Sister got one of the new 3gS models and when they say that you have to recharge after a day... they weren't kidding.

IPhone 3GS owners bemoan its battery life - Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-iphone3-2009jul03,0,2546606.story

They do tell you that if you want to conserve battery life to turn off push, turn off 3g, turn off wireless, turn off.... well you get the idea...

Feeding a driver

bradley — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:29:00 GMT

Notice: HP ProLiant G5 Servers - Installing the Embedded SATA RAID Controller Driver During an Installation of Windows Server 2008, Windows Small Business Server 2008, or Windows Essential Server 2008 - c01660474 - HP Business Support Center:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c01660474

When building a server ... and especially if you are reusing hardware and well.. being ..cheap about it... one thing to check to see if the hardware you are trying to install on has a Server 2008 64bit driver. Even on the newer low cost hardware that is meant to be used in the low end marketplace, you get to that very first screen where the system has booted up, it goes to find a harddrive to install to and....

nothing...

And without that driver in the right spot right there for that OS to see that embedded raid to then in turn see the drive, you go no where really fast. The good news is that in this era you no longer have to find floppy disks and feed it to the server, you can now use cdroms or usb flash drives. But the bottom line is still, you MUST have a driver for that hardware that the drives hang off of, otherwise that Windows Server 2008/SBS 2008/EBS 2008 will not see that system.

This is why for the SBS 2008 era, the Win2k8 era, heck the Windows 7 era, your best experience will still be with new hardware that has the drivers tailored for that OS.

More posts here -- Business support forums - Works for me: ML110 G5, MS Windows Server 2008 Standard x64, and Embedded SATA RAID drivers:
http://forums11.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/questionanswer.do?prodSeriesId=3580609&prodTypeId=15351&threadId=1309171&admit=109447626+1246730114966+28353475

(as always, this is only an on premises problem, cloud computing never ever has any issues.)

(Yeah I know ... totally cheap shot, but I couldn't resist)

You deployed a new SBS 2008 and now the phones demand a password

bradley — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:29:00 GMT

...and the people in the office are not too pleased with that. Or you have a PalmPre that won't work with the password policy - http://geekswithblogs.net/ntpro/archive/2009/06/25/133047.aspx

To edit this launch the Exchange 2007 console, click on the organization configuration, then on client access. Right mouse click on the "Windows SBS Mobile Mailbox policy". Click on the password tab and uncheck the "require password".

Sync the phones again, and you'll be good to go.

Here's the bad news... you just disabled that on EVERYONE and you probably don't want to do that in all cases.

So here's a compromise. Set up a brand NEW policy that copies over all of the settings of the SBS default policy, this time unchecking that password box.

Then you go down in the console to the recipient configuration, click on Mailbox and go into the properties of the user you want to exclude from the passwords on the mobile devices.

You Had Me At EHLO... : Exchange 2007 ActiveSync policies:
http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2007/05/23/439541.aspx

To add a user to a policy using the management console, the following steps need to be completed:

1. In the console tree, expand the Recipient Configuration node, and then click Mailbox.

2. In the work pane, right-click the user who you want to assign to a policy, and then click Properties.

3. In the user's Properties dialog box, click Mailbox Features.

4. Click ActiveSync, and then click Properties.

5. Select the Apply an ActiveSync mailbox policy check box.

6. Click Browse to view the Select Exchange ActiveSync Mailbox Policy dialog box.

7. Select an available policy, and then click OK three times to apply your changes.

Why do?

bradley — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:28:00 GMT

Why do HP's sound like a jet engine when they start up?

I've been told it's the boot fan test they do.

Why do servers attract dust "hippos"... not "bunnies" but "hippos" because there is downright dirt on the harddrives inside of servers.

Clean install part 2

bradley — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:21:00 GMT

Next step is to copy over everything that might blow up.

While I do use the Easy transfer wizard, I also copy over things manually for that 1 out of 10 time that Easy transfer doesn't work and Krissy gets my bed for the evening.

Grab an extra copy of the User\Username\Desktop folder just in case along with the NK2 file

Migrating Outlook Autocomplete Data (NK2 File Data) to a New Vista/Office 2007 Computer - Realtime Windows Server:
http://www.realtime-windowsserver.com/tips_tricks/2007/06/migrating_outlook_autocomplete.htm

Next up is exporting out Outlook.

Before you do a clean install of the network

bradley — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:55:00 GMT

A little work needs to be done on the workstations.

Long story short, I want to do a clean install on my home Server even though I had migrated it successfully. But before you do the "small network of users, clean install of SBS 2008, don't mess with the Sister's customized Disney desktop otherwise your 4th of July weekend will be spent in the doghouse (we share a house together) and the dog will be sleeping in your bed, you need to ensure you can flip the workstations off the network. Go into control panel, users, and reset that local admin password that you probably can't remember anymore and make them an administrator, and make the domain user an admin for temporary purposes while you are getting ready to copy files and back up that profile.

To make the user an admin, go into the properties, into group membership and ensure that they are an administrator for a short time (you can flip them back later)

This ensures you can flip the workstation back to the workgroup mode before rejoining the domain.

Operation FACEBOOK is on right NOW!

bradley — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:07:00 GMT

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Windows-Small-Business-Server/88799484644

Okay troops. We have a mission. Click on that link. If you aren't a facebook person, become one. Now. As we have a mission to get SBS a vanity url "fan" page faster than EBS 2008 did. We need 100 "fans" as soon as possible.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Windows-Small-Business-Server/88799484644

So click on that link and become a fan and lets get to 100 faster than EBS did. The race is on. On your marks, get ready, GO!

So step one Operation FACEBOOK is on right NOW!

Stay tuned for the SBS twitter feed next.....

..yeah yeah Susan blogging about twitter... what is the world coming to?

Three interesting posts

bradley — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:29:00 GMT

Three interesting posts I spotted from various blogs or were passed along to me lately ....

Are the vendors we use now for our software the ones we'll end up surviving in the road to the Cloud?
Vendors being pushed into cloud, kicking and screaming? | Service-Oriented Architecture | ZDNet.com:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/service-oriented/?p=2259

SMBs want a combination of on premises combined with cloud as when they want their data, they want their data.
Are SMBs Facing A Crisis Of Cloud Confidence? | bMighty.com: Blogs For Small Business and Mid-Sized Business:
http://www.bmighty.com/blog/main/archives/2009/06/are_smbs_facing.html

Karl Palachuk's new blog set on moving to the cloud...
Small Biz Thoughts by Karl Palachuk: Moving to the Cloud Part Two - Finances:
http://blog.smallbizthoughts.com/2009/06/moving-to-cloud-part-two-finances.html

So how do you reconcile everyone saying that SMBs are jumping to the cloud as fast as they can with the article that says they are wanting assurances?

And will the same vendors we use now for our software be the same ones we use in the future? Only time will tell.

Do you defrag your server?

bradley — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:26:00 GMT

I was asked if I defrag my SBS servers.

It depends.

I check with the vendor first of any LOB app I have.

I go around and don't defrag locations where there are SQL databases or Exchange databases.

And Amy of www.thirdtier.net recommends that you defrag Exchange right before you migrate to SBS 2008. And when she says defrag of Exchange... she means an offline defrag of Exchange

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328804

So why am I not getting Vista sp2?

bradley — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:47:00 GMT

So I have a few machines that I keep on manual MUing so that I can wallow and experience patching with the masses (the regulated patches, etc etc). So a machine I have was not offering up Vista sp2. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. So I asked and the brilliant Donna had the answer. I was keeping myself from Vista sp2. You see I had left the .NET 3.5 family patch that is rated "important" sitting there and had not installed it on this machine. And when you manually MU, any patch that is important keeps Vista from offering up the pre-patch.

Once I hid the .net 3.5 family patches so that I had no more "Important" patches to install, then the KB 955430 was offered up. Once I installed that, then I got sp2 offered up.

Watch your keypunching sometimes

bradley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:12:00 GMT

http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/2009/06/29/how-to-flip-your-sbs-2008-to-forwarders.aspx

Do-do brain me miskeyed a DNS entry. As Michael Hoffman pointed out, I typed in the wrong entry. Just goes to show you to double check such things.

OpenDNS's forwarders are 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.200 gawd I have a mental block 208.67.220.220

What it should look like.

And it does resolve

I've also seen folks recommend using 4.2.2.2 and 4.2.2.1 ... and the resulting arguments for and against using those forwarder values, but it does kinda annoy me that I'm having to recommend forwarders in the 2k8 era because of a base problem in Server 2008 that needs a manual registry hack and as we've seen the DNS in 2k8 appears to potentially have issues. That may be acceptable for big server land, but for SBS and EBS for that matter, it just seems that needs to be a bit better and to have this solid from the get go instead of seeing if you are or are not impacted.

http://www.eggheadcafe.com/conversation.aspx?messageid=33742551&threadid=33734006

Are you a fan of Essential Business Server?

bradley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:32:00 GMT

Are you a fan of Essential Business Server? Want to become one? Want to know more about EBS? Check out their Facebook fan page -- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Windows-Essential-Business-Server/107556414738

And then don't forget to follow the EBS blog -- the EBS newsgroups, the EBS forums in the Partner forums, the EBS FAQ and the virtual EBS user group.

So how much is it for a plane ticket to Australia?

bradley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:10:00 GMT

Microsoft gives TechEd delegates Windows 7 netbook - Software - Technology - News - iTnews.com.au:
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/148868,microsoft-gives-teched-delegates-windows-7-netbook.aspx

Not to sound like sour grapes, which of course I do sound like sour grapes, but for the USA version of TechEd, they lay off Steve Riley the week before, cancel the TechEd party, cancelled the certification exam testing site, the TechEd bonus "gift" is a subscription to TechEd Plus (which I gave to a partner in my SMB partner group because I already have one as a Software Assurance customer), and send out no DVD so that I have to download all of the sessions.

Meanwhile Microsoft Australia gives away Netbooks at their TechEd.

Well the one consolation is that Los Angeles had Matt Damon presenting on SBS 2008 -- http://www.msteched.com/online/view.aspx?tid=c6a2eb0f-5c0c-45f5-847f-8a0fa24b572f

Hmm....so exactly how much is a round trip ticket to Australia anyway?

How to flip your SBS 2008 to forwarders

bradley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:08:00 GMT

http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/2009/01/29/the-official-sbs-blog-cannot-resolve-names-in-certain-top-level-domains-like-co-uk.aspx

The Official SBS Blog : Cannot resolve names in certain top level domains like .co.uk.:
http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2009/01/29/cannot-resolve-names-in-certain-top-level-domains-like-co-uk.aspx

http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/partnerwinserversbs/thread/560b488b-d458-44e1-b2a8-3054ae97141d

DNS Service seems to hang in SBS2008:
http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/partnerwinserversbs/thread/2cfd3800-db39-44e0-b881-94d56a8ba0ac

When you set up SBS 2008 one of the defaults it takes is root hints, but as you can see by some of those threads, in some DNS locales, DNS via root hints on Win2k8 is not a robust as it should/could be. So besides those suggested settings, some have recommended going back to forwarders. Now the idea here is not just any ol' forwarders but consider "cleaner" ones. If you have a client that is looking for a bit of management of their sites .... or ... in my case I also put my Dad behind this, OpenDNS.com as a dns fowarder will not only work for residential folks like my Dad but also server networks as well. Some have said that some of their sites and urls don't work behind opendns.com. I'd recommend you test first.

But the process is relatively straightforward...

Click on Start, Administrative Tools, DNS, click on the UAC prompt (and if you aren't clicking on it, it's because you've made it to silently elevate and not shut off completely right?)

Now right mouse click on the name of the server, and click on the forwarders tab. Click on edit and enter in the following values:

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

The process looks like this in SBS 2008:

Click on edit

In that area click and enter in the OpenDNS values

After each entry hit enter for the values to "resolve"

Huh, interesting, one isn't resolving today....

When you are done, click OK. The Server now is connecting via forwarders.

You aren't done yet. Now set up an account on opendns.com and add your IP address (it's best if it's a static IP) to your settings area. Click on Networks and add the static IP of the network. Then click on Settings and choose those areas you want to block. When you have a dyanamic IP you may need to install software to hook the dynamic IP to the OpenDNS network. From this setting screen if I hear of a bad url or network that I want to proactively block, I just enter it into the "Always block" settings.

Some of you may do similar to this with your managed firewalls and control access from that.

But bottom line if you want to flip your server to DNS forwarders, that's how you do that (you just substitute the IP addresses of your ISP if that's what you prefer), if you want to forward to opendns, that's the exact info how to do it.

Sometimes it's the little things

bradley — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:53:00 GMT

Personalize your PC:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/downloads/personalize

My Dad will be pleased. He will have more themes and backgrounds to rotate through and enjoy on is 24 inch widescreen monitor and his Windows 7 RC that I have loaded up for him.

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make people happy. Like a rotating display of really cool background images.

Virtualization in the SMB

bradley — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:17:00 GMT

So Dave Sobel emailed and said that he set up a new listserve specfically for topics in virtualziation....

Friends:

So based on requests, Evolve and SMBVirtualization.net are launching a yahoo group for discussion of SMB related virtualization scenarios, etc. The intention is to build a resource for technical and sales information, much like some of the other groups out there, but allowing a specific focus on using virtualization in the SMB. We’ll be linking material off the website too and helping consultants get information they need.

I’m doing something of a “soft” launch, not hitting the lists, but instead inviting the smart folks I know out there to join in. Please feel free to join us – lots of smart people here who can really help others.

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/smbvirtualization/

Would love to have you join us! Feel free to forward to anyone you think would benefit or be a great participant.

Dave
--
Dave Sobel
CEO
Evolve Technologies

So I asked him if it was okay to blog this and he said yes. So how about we not make this a 'soft' launch, but make it a big one. IMHO virtualization is a key wow-ness of SBS 2008. And with XPMode in Windows 7, you'll be doing and supporting virtualization from servers to workstations. If you aren't prepared you should be.