April 2009 - Posts
A pair of security-related activities happening tomorrow, April 16. Just in time for CPAs across the US to start breathing normally again, there are a pair of webcasts that you may well be interested in. First, the April 2009 edition of the Third Tier Third Thursday webcast focuses on SSL Certificates in SBS 2008. I will be presenting a live demo of how SSL certificates work in SBS 2008 (surprise, it's different from SBS 2003) and discuss the pros and cons of using third-party SSL certs versus the self-generated cert that SBS 2008 provides. Following that, Dana Epp is hosting a security round-table discussion on selling security in the SMB space. Amy Babinchak, Susan Bradley, and Ben Yarbrough join Dana for the round-table discussion.
But if just knowing about those two events wasn't enough, let me entice you a little more. Dana is offering to give away a copy of the SBS 2008 Unleashed book to one person who attends both sessions. If you don't have your very own copy of the book yet, here's one way you could possibly end up with a free copy.
Register for both events as follows:
Third Thursday Webinar: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/mvp/meetingICS?id=F2FGNW&role=attend&pw=w%242S%3BM%60Wx&i=i.ics
Selling Security to the SMB Space: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/733132802
See you there tomorrow!
Last Thursday, I posted that the ISA 2006 with SBS 2008 whitepaper had been published by Microsoft. Tonight, the paper will get a very small refresh and be linked from the SBS: MVP and Community Corner at TechNet. There have been a lot of questions in the community about how to configure ISA 2006 to work in front of SBS 2008, and this whitepaper should answer the vast majority of the questions on that topic.
Looking for a copy of SBS 2008 Unleashed in PDF format? You can purchase it directly from the publisher. Unfortunately Sams does not include electronic copies of their books when the actual books are purchased, but we did not have a PDF version of SBS 2003 Unleashed available at all, so this is a definite improvement.
Over the last few months I've been working with Microsoft to publish a whitepaper on how to install and configure ISA 2006 in front of an SBS 2008 network. That whitepaper is finally available for download. If you got ISA 2006 as part of the SBS 2003 Premium Software Assurance make good offer, or if you're looking to acquire and configure ISA 2006 on your own, the document will walk you through the process of installing and configuring ISA 2006 to publish and protect your SBS 2008 network.
There's been a lot of scuttlebutt over the last year or so regarding Microsoft's position with their partner community. Most of that has resulted in a general consensus in the SMB community that Microsoft is trying to cut their partner relationships and go direct to your clients. Several people have blogged their opinions about this, but I'm not going to dispute or confirm any of those other posts. The intelligent human being will take in a wide variety of information and make up their own mind about how they're going to deal with any actions they may see in their own sphere of influence.
But one thing I've found out that many Microsoft partners in the SMB space did not know was that there is a group within Microsoft that is actively trying to hook up with Microsoft partners and help promote their businesses in their local communities. No, this is not part of the SBSC program and the TPAMs that may or may not be helpful, this is an entirely different and independent group - the Local Engagement Team.
There are two public facing sites for this team. The first is the MSLocalBiz site (http://www.mslocalbiz.com) which is aimed at consumers. The other is MSLocalPartner (http://www.mslocalpartner.com) which is aimed at MS partners. The goal of this organization is to connect local partners with other local organizations to help promote Microsoft products to help solve issues faced in the small business community.
For more information about what the Local Engagement Team is all about, listen to eOnCall this Thursday, April 9, at 10am and 1pm Central time at the AirTunZ Rock station. I interview one of the Local Engagement reps, Michael Murphy, about the Local Engagement Team and what they're trying to accomplish with the local community. Each episode is only 15 minutes, so it's not a huge time commitment on your part, and you may find out that the Local Engagement Team could be a big boost to you in your local community. [The show in podcast format will be posted next week, and I'll update this blog with the URLs for the shows if you can't listen during the broadcast on Thursday.]
Listen to the show, then check out the MSLocalPartner and MSLocalBiz sites and see how working with the Local Engagement Team could help your business.
Disclaimer: The Local Engagement Team is sponsoring the eOnCall program and has been since March 1. However, my working relationship with Michael Murphy started well over 6 months ago, and the sponsorship of the program grew out of our efforts to help EON Consulting get more involved in the Denton area. But, by sharing information about the Local Engagement Team with other partners, I'm actually reducing the cut of their budget I could be getting to help grow that business locally, so I'm certainly not gaining anything by sharing this information with the rest of you. :)
This change in our economic climate is generating different reactions from different people, no huge surprise. Over the last few months, I've seen several different approaches from customers, peers, and other contacts. Some have chosen cut back their marketing and advertising spending as a way to save cash flow. Others have started spending more in marketing and advertising to generate more customer leads and referrals. Some have cut staff, others have added sales staff. Some are taking the same approach to business that they have for years, others are looking over their business models and seeing if change makes sense to them.
I'm not here to tell you that there's any right or wrong way to approach your business. What works for me may not work for you, and vice versa. The same tactics that work in a large metropolitan area may not work in a smaller, more rural, closed community. The same approaches that are working well in Texas may fall flat in Michigan.
But one thing is constant - technology is constantly changing. Microsoft released SBS 2008 last year, and in case you haven't figured it out yet, it's not the same as SBS 2003. IT Professionals who make their living supporting customers who run SBS are having to learn the differences in Server 2008 from Server 2003, Exchange 2007 from Exchange 2003, etc., etc., etc. Windows Server 2008 Foundation was announced last week, and while it's based on Server 2008, it's got some key differences that will make it more of a niche solution than an across-the-board solution for many consultants.
So what are you doing to keep up with the changing technology? What are you doing to learn about new solutions or opportunities for your business? One thing I'm fairly certain of is that if you're not open to change, you're going to get left behind at best. So how do you keep up?
My background is in education. I started my career in the higher education arena, and I've always approached every job or business opportunity as an educational opportunity. Either as a way to learn for myself and grow as a person, or as an opportunity to help another learn and grow. In business, it's often referred to as continuing education. Many industries require people holding certain certifications to take a number of continuing education classes each year to maintain their certification. That's not the case in the IT industry, and while I'm not advocating any sort of formal continuing education system for IT service providers, I know that the good ones are always pushing themselves, keeping up with the latest trends, tools, technologies, etc.
Many of us will take the approach of trying to learn things on our own. That's my own primary method for education. I sit down in front of a new tool or a problem or a challenge and I work my way through it until I get to the other side. Others are book learners and gain their perspectives from reading anything and everything about a topic that they can get their hands on. Still others are visual learners and choose to watch others do things to pick up skills and techniques. And still others learn almost by osmosis, by being around others who are well-versed in an area and learn from interactions with them.
As you look to the challenge of growing your business or your personal skill set, let me offer two events that may help you learn in the short term so you can make decisions to help you in the long term. The month of May has two events geared towards helping IT professionals and their organizations grow by offering discussions and presentations on growing your business, learning about new technologies, and interacting with your peers. These are the SMB Nation Spring event in Montclair, New Jersey May 1-3, and the SMB Summit in Dallas, Texas, May 15-17. Both of these events have a number of speakers chosen specifically for their expertise in certain areas that are of interest to the IT Professional community these days. The SMB Nation Spring event is set more as a regional event, but the SMB Summit is intending to draw a national audience. If you're not already considering attending one of these two events in May, I would certainly give it another thought.
Why?
Check out the web sites for both events and see who the speakers are and the topics they are presenting. If there are not multiple sessions that apply to you or your business, I'll be very surprised. Think about the opportunities you will have to interact with the speakers outside of their presentations. Think about the opportunities you'll have to interact with your peers outside of the sessions and event activities. I will be speaking at both events, but that's not the primary reason I'm going to each - I'm looking forward to seeing the other sessions that are being offered; I'm looking forward to interacting with a number of the other speakers; I'm looking forward to the hallway conversations I'll be able to have with the other attendees. I expect to gain a great deal of insight into my own business and other ventures by interacting with the other people who will be at these events.
If your interest is piqued but you're still not sure, check out what other speakers for the SMB Nation event are saying: Harry Brelsford talks about the shift to becoming a trusted advisor in this blog post. Dana Epp of AuthAnvil fame talks about his presentation for the SMB Nation event in this blog post.
Of course, if conferences are not your thing (although if you haven't been to one of these events, you really don't know what you're missing) or if your travel budget won't allow you to attend these events, you still have a number of options open to you for continuing education. Check out the 5W/50 webcasts. Check out Karl Palachuk's SMB Conference Calls. And, of course, I have to mention the Third Thursday webcasts at Third Tier.
Bottom line, there are LOTS of opportunities for you to learn about new technologies, new business opportunities, new ways to market to customers, etc., etc., etc. If you're not taking the opportunity to update (or upgrade) your skills or your business approach, know that someone else out there is taking advantage of that opportunity. What's your plan? How are you going to keep up with, or better yet, stay ahead of your competition?
On April 1 (maybe not the best move), Microsoft introduced Windows Server 2008 Foundation, or at least that's the name of the product on the official product page. Sure, it won't be long before we're referring to it as "Foundation" or "Foundation Server" but I digress. The two important items I want to cover in this post are:
- This product is not an April Fool's joke.
- There is already a great deal of confusion about this product.
The first point is fairly self-explanatory. As to the second, yes, the official pages at Microsoft are a bit vague about the limitations of the product, and you do need to be aware that there are some specific EULA and product limitations for this system. Those details will be getting hashed out over time in cyberspace, and at least initially I don't think it's critical for the small business IT pro to get in a panic about knowing or not knowing what all of the limitations are. It's still going to be a bit before you can actually get the product from the OEMs (one of the restrictions), so you've got time to get the skinny on the details of the limitations. What is important to know up front, I think, is where this product really fits into the grand scheme of small business computing.
One common theme I've already seen hashed out in a number of forums is that Foundation is a direct competitor to Small Business Server and Windows Home Server. It isn't. In fact, it can be used to augment networks where Home Server or Small Business Server are already in place. One place where Microsoft does see a need to be filled is in the micro business space (if I can use that term, referring to the less than 5 user business or home business) where cash flow just doesn't allow for a business to implement Small Business Server. The micro business may not need all of the bells and whistles of SBS (perhaps they've already got hosted e-mail and/or SharePoint somewhere) but they do want or need a small server to handle a specific task, such as a central file server or print server, or even a LOB app server (especially if the app is not SQL based) or a small Terminal Server. While we haven't seen specific pricing on the software that the OEMs will be charging (as of the moment of this post), the idea is to have a small scale server available for a small business at a low price point. And in some cases, it makes sense. If a business is looking to purchase a small server in the $500 range, are they all that interested in purchasing an operating system that costs more than the hardware? Not according to the research that Microsoft has done.
So how can Foundation be used in a small business? Well, let's hit a few of the product specs and limitations up front to give you some background for this discussion.
- Foundation is Windows Server 2008.
- Foundation is limited to a single physical processor. That processor can have as many cores as possible, but Foundation will only be sold on single-processor systems.
- Foundation is limited to a max of 8GB of RAM.
- Foundation is 64-bit only.
- Foundation is limited to a maximum of 15 users.
- Foundation is only available through the major OEMs (Dell, HP, IBM, etc.) and not through the System Builder channel.
- Foundation has no support for virtualization - it cannot be used as a Hyper-V host or guest.
- Foundation can be a Domain Controller or a Member Server.
There are many other items not included in this list, but this gives us enough of a basis to discuss what roles Foundation could play as a solution for your clients. I'm going to limit the scope of the rest of this post using examples where the business has no more than 15 users.
If you already have an SBS server in place at a customer site, but you're needing to add a line of business application that you know isn't going to play well with IIS on the SBS server, Foundation might be a good fit. Since it's Windows Server 2008, it supports IIS (along with the other Server 2008 tools) and can be a member server in an SBS network. If the LOB application requires a SQL back end, it might not be a good fit for Foundation, thanks to the 8GB limit (SQL can be very memory-demanding).
Suppose you need to add a Terminal Server that will only be used by a couple of users in the business, and the applications they will be using on the Terminal Server are not memory-intensive. Foundation may make sense as a solution here. You will still need to purchase Terminal Server CALs and configure Foundation with the Terminal Services roles, but it will work.
Suppose you have a customer that has 4 computers in a peer-to-peer network looking for a server to centralize their shared data. They are happy with their current e-mail situation, and they're working on a tight budget. Foundation might make a good solution for them, as they can use it as a DC to use Active Directory for central authentication and file share security on the server.
These are just a few examples of how Foundation could be used to be a first server in a small organization or to augment services in an existing small network. In the new few weeks as the stories become clearer, I'll post some additional scenarios where Foundation could be used. In addition, I'm preparing for a presentation on Foundation server for the upcoming SMB Summit in Dallas in May.
Bottom line, Foundation can be a valuable addition to the small business IT professional's solutions catalog. In cases where the cost of putting in an additional 2008 server into the network has been financially prohibitive for the smaller customer, Foundation may now make that type of solution more fiscally reasonable. Stay tuned for more information.
This past week, I went through the process to get the SBS 2003 Software Assurance fulfillment for a couple of my customers who are finally needing to activate those SA rights. The process was a little more cumbersome than I had hoped, and I could not find a location that documented the process in a single location. So, to hopefully help someone else who may be needing to get this done, and to make you aware of a couple of hiccups in the process, here's the scoop.
First, you have to place an order for the SBS 2008 media from MS Fulfillment. Unlike many other products where you can download the installation media through the eOpen site, SBS has the installation key printed and attached to the media set, so you have to get a media order placed. This is done through the VLSC Fulfillment line at 800-336-0098, You will need the Open License number and Authorization code to confirm the license, then you will confirm other details of the order. So long as you have the media shipped to the license holder, there is no additional shipping charge. Piece of cake, once you know the right number to call.
Second, you need to call a different group if you are activating SA for SBS 2003 Premium, because that comes with additional media (Server 2003, ISA 2006, Outlook, Sharepoint Designer). The number to call for that fulfillment is 866-326-7110. The first order I called in for had no problems. We provided the License Number and verified the customer details, and the order was placed. The second time I called in I reached an agent who had no idea what I was talking about. After going round and round with the agent, he checked with his supervisor and got a laundry list of things they wanted us to provide to be able to process the order. I opted not to continue down that road (since I didn't when we placed the first order and by all accounts I shouldn't have had any issues). I called in again later hoping to reach a different agent who knew what I was talking about, and when he also had no idea what the SBS 2003 SA Fulfillment entailed, I bailed and will wait to try again later to get someone who is able to figure out what's going on.
I've heard other anecdotal evidence of issues with getting the SBS 2003 Premium Make Good materials, so it's clear that this is not a common process that this group is dealing with. However, if you need to get the SA media for either, hopefully you won't run into the same type of trouble that I am.
UPDATE:
Just to make sure I hadn't got my wires crossed, I called back into the 866-326-7110 number and asked to confirm that the order we placed a couple of days ago had actually shipped. This wasn't a bogus call, as we did not get a shipping confirmation e-mail with the tracking number like we were told. The agent who answered the phone was able to pull up the order and provide the shipping confirmation (they hadn't entered the e-mail address after all, which is why no shipping notification was received). So I know I'm talking to the right people after all. After getting the confirmation, I asked if she could place the smae order for a different customer, and she got the order completed without any issues, just like the first order we placed.
I'm not sure yet what the "magic words" are to get the agents at the second line to look in the right place in the script to get the SBS 2003 Premium SA order done, but I don't have many more of these to do, so I'll wing it should I have any trouble in the future. And if I do figure out the "magic words" I'll post back here.