THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS "DIVA" : smbnation

Taming UAC

bradley — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:43:00 GMT

So one of the questions that came up at SMBnation was how to get an app to play nice with UAC if it didn't want to play nice with UAC.

One of the things that User Account Control does is point out badly written apps. The same 'hacks' that one has to do to get the app to play nice with XP's non administrator is typically the same "hacks" you need to get an older app to play nice nice with native win7. Of course, if you are having to support an older app you might want to consider XP mode regardless which typically doesn't cause the Win7 to throw off a UAC.

http://www.threatcode.com/group_policy.htm is how to use group policy to push out permissions for files/folders and registry keys.

As I said at SMBnation, sometimes you do what you need to do to get a line of business app working. Sometimes you'll use XP Mode. Sometimes you'll use a terminal server box. Sometimes you'll virtualize desktops. The business need and flow will dictate the decision you make.

But if you want an app to natively run in XP as a nonadmin in the meantime, the best tool that identifies what files/registry keys need to be loosened up is Luabuglight. Dana also recommended the app compat toolkit, but I think Luabuglight is easier.

But bottom line, get ready because Windows 7 is right around the corner. Are YOU ready?

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd361745.aspx

Check out all of those resources there!

XP Mode in action

bradley — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:17:00 GMT

http://www.screencast.com/t/NxghXEexzX

Click on that link and hit the play button. In that screencast you'll see a demo of XP Mode on Windows 7.

What I'm showcasing is not only how a 1998 16bit accounting application will run on a 64bit Windows 7 machine, but also how IE6 can cohabitate with IE8.

That said, the other thing I'm showcasing is that this is an insecure Windows XP. It has no antivirus, it needs patching. And the 'mode' it's in is like RDP access in a network, if you try to run it in standard user, you won't be able to log into it as it's just like when you try to run XP in non admin mode and use RWW, you need to flip the user to the domain and run they system with Remote Desktop users having local rights.

Notice how you can set it up so that the old apps are mere icons on the desktop but they are running in the virtual machine under the Win7? The time to load that accounting app is from a cold boot on that virtual image. Most of the time you'll hibernate that system to make that boot faster.

But for any old horrifically ancient application that you just HAVE to have running, the important question to ask of your vendor is not "do you support Win7?" but rather, "Do you support XP Mode".

Resources for Windows 7

bradley — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:19:00 GMT

Resources for Windows 7 -- http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/springboard/default.aspx That's a keeper there.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/default.aspx

And a free online webinar on October 7th - http://www.windows7summit.com/

From Desktop

Windows Key + Tab = Aero [press Tab to cycle between Windows]
Windows Key + E = Windows Explorer is launched.
Windows Key + R = Run Command is launched.
Windows Key + F = Search (which is there in previous Windows versions too)
Windows Key + X = Mobility Center
Windows Key + L = Lock Computer (It is there from the earlier versions as well)
Windows Key + U = Ease of Access
Windows Key + P = Projector
Windows Key + T = Cycle Super Taskbar Items
Windows Key + S = OneNote Screen Clipping Tool [requires OneNote]
Windows Key + M = Minimize All Windows
Windows Key + D = Show/Hide Desktop
Windows Key + Up = Maximize Current Window
Windows Key + Down = Restore Down / Minimize Current Windows
Windows Key + Left = Tile Current Window to the Left
Windows Key + Right = Tile Current Windows to the Right
[Continue pressing the Left and Right keys to rotate the window as well]
Windows Key + # = Quicklaunch
Windows Key + = = Magnifier

From Windows Explorer

19. Alt + Up = Go up one level
20. Alt + Left/ Right = Back/ Forward

http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/20-windows-7-shortcuts-you-must-know/

What happened here, shouldn't stay here

bradley — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:17:00 GMT

In the airport ready to head home in a bit and one of the takeaways that I hope everyone of you get from SMBnation is what happened here for you shouldn't stay here. You need to ensure that you take what you learned, what ideas you had, what things you need to follow up on and what connections you made and ensure you keep those connections after Las Vegas.

If you swapped business cards with someone, send an email to that person tomorrow morning. If you meant to call a vendor first thing in the morning, do it.

But don't keep what you learned here in Vegas!

Elvis was "in" the building

bradley — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:06:00 GMT

Elvis was "in" the building. For those of you that missed out on SMBnation, it may not have been in Seattle, but I think the change in venue definitely worked well for some.

So will there be a next version of SBS?

bradley — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:15:00 GMT

One of the questions that I heard a TON of from various partners at SMBnation is "will there be a next version of SBS"? With all the buzz about Windows 2008 R2 more and more people are asking "but what about"?

The Windows Server blog answered this exact question the other day.....

http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/archive/2009/10/01/remote-access-smbs-will-continue-to-get-enterprise-caliber-capabilities-with-sbs-and-ebs.aspx

I'll let you read the answer there on that blog.. but hint... count down 6 paragraphs, and look for the second and third sentences.

How to get the Remote Web Applications to be an icon in the RWW page on SBS 2008

bradley — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:33:00 GMT

How to get the Remote Web Applications to be an icon in the RWW page on SBS 2008

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd262136(WS.10).aspx
Deploy Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services RemoteApp

http://blog.mpecsinc.ca/2008/08/sbs-08-rww-ts-remoteapp-killer-app-for.html

First off the info is in the Charlie Russel SBS 2008 book. http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9780735620704/ch25lev1sec6

Adding a RemoteApp to Remote Web Workplace

One of the cool things you can do with the new TS RemoteApps capability is add an application directly to the RWW landing page. This allows a user working remotely to directly and securely access an application on the SBS network without having to log on to take a full Remote Desktop session.

The basic process is:

Create an .rdp file for the application.
Save the .rdp file to the path where Remote Web Workplace resides on your SBS server.
Create a new MIME type in IIS for RDP.
Add a link to the .rdp file to the RWW page using the SBS Console.

Let's go through the process to add a link to Windows Mail to the RWW page. You need to have the Desktop Experience feature already installed on your terminal server.

First, follow these steps on the terminal server to create an .rdp file for Windows Mail:

(the rest is in the book....)

http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9780735620704/ch25lev1sec5#X2ludGVybmFsX1NlY3Rpb25Db250ZW50P3htbGlkPTk3ODA3MzU2MjA3MDQvY2gyNWxldjFzZWM2

http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:F_TpstlnZn4J:www.smallbizserver.net/Forums/tabid/53/forumid/103/postid/100510/view/topic/Default.aspx+Adding+a+RemoteApp+to+Remote+Web+Workplace&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

There's another link there that talks about the process.

http://blog.korteksolutions.com/sbs-2008-rww-and-terminal-server-gateway-services/

Charlie is talking about the second server of SBS 2008 premium at SMBnation.

bradley — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:27:00 GMT

Charlie is talking about the second server of SBS 2008 premium at SMBnation.

The second server is the RTM of Windows 2008. Which means it has the RC of HyperV on there, not the rtm. Charlie said to get that box up to SP2 and ensure you have the final RTM of HyperV (Microsoft update to do this) to get it to the final version of HyperV.

Just one clarification that needs to be made. The second server of SBS 2008 premium under software assurance will not get the Windows 2008 R2 upgrade. SBS is a suite and software assurance is on the suite, not on the individual pieces.

Keys to migration success

bradley — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:27:00 GMT

One of the things that I will slightly disagree with Karl and Jeff's presentation on "keys to migration success" is the fact that you can back yourself out a bit of the migration process. As long as you take a system state backup if you have a failed SBS 2008 migration process, you can restore that system state (and just that system state) to the old SBS box and then do dcdiag to ensure that all the SBS 2008 traces are removed.

I helped someone to roll back in exactly this spot.

The key blog post you need to remember is www.sbsmigrationtips.com for the keys to success.

http://blog.mpecsinc.ca/2009/06/sbs-2003-to-sbs-2008-migration-guide.html and Philip's migration checklist is a keeper.

If you want more info about SharePoint in SBS, check this out from Robert Crane:

bradley — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:24:00 GMT

If you want more info about SharePoint in SBS, check this out from Robert Crane:

http://www.smbbooks.com/products/procra01.htm

If you are looking for information about Windows SharePoint Services V3.0 then look no further. We have developed a guide that help you install, migrate and maintain Windows SharePoint Services (which is also the basis for Microsoft SharePoint Server i.e. MOSS). The guide will get you up and running quickly.

The information is available as an annual subscription. This means full access to all updates and enhancements of the documentation for the subscription period. This subscription also includes a DVD of all the relevant product files and documents updated regularly with new features and best practices.

Free Downloads

Windows SharePoint Operations Guide - Chapter 1

Utilizing SharePoint to improve your business (from SMBNation 2008)

The SMB Conference call - September 2008

More available from : http://supportweb.ciaops.net.au/Shared Documents/

The dirty little secret of anti virus

bradley — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:35:00 GMT

The dirty little secret of anti virus is that we’re losing trust with our vendors. On average they have a 30% detection rate. They fail to detect, stop, or clean out rogue antivirus. They use outdated and depreciated APIs (tdi.sys) that cause slow downs and bring networks to their knees. They insert transport rules into the Exchange stack and fail to document how their product interacts or works with the software they are trying to protect. At times they have flagged key windows files and damaged systems so badly you hope your backup is good. And yet, as part of a standard operational process we install it on our servers.

When people ask me what antivirus I recommend for SBS2008…. I honestly don’t know which one I like.

But slowly some of us, are silently removing Exchange integrated antivirus and using cloud filtering/mail hygiene to filter the email. We no longer trust Exchange integrated antivirus because it’s causing too many problems with the mail transport. Some of these may be due to the drag on the box causing “backpressure”, but some of this is just due to how lousy the vendors are lately in building antivirus solutions that work ‘on ‘ the actual box.

We no longer trust antivirus to do the job we’re purchasing it for.

It’s trying to be this firewall, security solution, be-all end-all and too many times it’s failing on the core job that we bought them for in the first place. So what can we do? Firstly investigate if you can use cloud/mail hygiene solutions and turn off that Exchange integrated antivirus. Vendors like www.exchangedefender.com or http://www.reflexion.net/ are what we’re using.

But don’t let the antivirus vendors off the hook. When you are here at SMBnation this weekend, talk to your antivirus vendors, let them know what is working for you and what is not working for you. What you like and what you don’t like. Let them know what you are happy about and what you are not happy about.

Don't forget registration tomorrow morning!

bradley — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:09:00 GMT

Don't forget registration tomorrow morning!

Conference Registration:

Registration Hours:

Thursday, October 1st 12:00 – 4:00pm

Friday, October 2nd 7:00am – 6:45pm

Saturday, October 3rd 7:30am – 6:45pm

Sunday, October 4th 7:30am – 4:0

Riviera Conference Center before the Royale Pavilion

Heading back home from SMBNation

bradley — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:30:00 GMT

Sitting on the floor with the power cord plugged in next to the phone card machine getting ready to head back home.

Here's to everyone having safe flights back to home!

At the Speed dating table

bradley — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:38:00 GMT

(Unlocked computer with "you go owned" message courtesy of Dana.

I'm at the speed dating table ...come and talk to me!

Backup folder viewing

bradley — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:14:00 GMT

For those that are logging into my SBS 2008 box via RDP (I gave out the username and password at the session), if you are wondering how to see the drive letter of the backup drive, what you need to do is to right mouse click on the command line icon and click "Run As Administrator" . Then you can see the drive folder underneath.

SBS 2003 and SA in overseas SKUs

bradley — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:51:00 GMT

For all of those times that the foreign countries say that they get a worse deal than the US... listen up. The issue where in the USA where we can't order SBS 2003 with SA under volume licesning is only impacting English SKUs only.

All other language skus are not impacted and you should be able to order skus with Software Assurance.

(and for all those folks that say overseas folks get treated worse than USA folks... another case where you get a better deal than we do.)

Burning' up the conference

bradley — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:44:00 GMT

Last day of the conference and the attendees are on fire........... okay so more like a false alarm at the Hotel.

Nothin' like seeing Karl P. out in the street sipping his coffee while the firetrucks idle out front.

Bloggin from Jillian's

bradley — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 02:14:00 GMT

Bloggin' from Jillian's where we will be having Jeff's Billiard party later on. We came early to have dinner before the party started. For anyone heaing this way, join us on second floor for burgers.

The Dave and Mark Show at SMBnation

bradley — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:38:00 GMT

http://www.evolvetech.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=87

Dave Sobel and Mark Crall on virtualization.

Only Dave and Mark can bring out SMB Iceland to their presentation.

Look for a book on SMB virtualization from Dave Sobel coming out soon - http://www.greatlittlebook.com/

The blogs you need to follow

bradley — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:36:00 GMT

In the Ofer and Susan show we listed blog resources and I forgot a major one.

My very very very bad.

So if you are not following http://blogs.technet.com/sbs I will come and hunt you down.

But the other one you need to be following is http://sbs.seandaniel.com/.

Put it in your RSS feed reader today!