Thankx Susan for the SBS 2008 Recap

Thankx to the SBS Diva for putting together this valuable list for us!

When working with SBS you’ll find that you’ll tend to see some issues in the forums and newsgroups again and again.  So to help with the ability for those searching for answers to find solutions, here is a recap of some of the top issues we see in the newsgroups and forums.  As you’ll soon see, most of these issues were long ago discussed on the official SBS blog located at http://blogs.technet.com/sbs  With any issue impacting SBS your first thought should be “Hey, I remember reading something about that on the SBS blog”.  You then should go to http://blogs.technet.com/sbs and search back. 

But here is a recap of some of the issues all of us would like to see a lot less of and I’m sure you would as well.

1. 1.      Symptoms:  SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 migration fails due to “dirty” active directory that was not cleaned up before attempting the migration.
   1. Reason:  SBS 2003 being a single domain controller can work for YEARS being in an active directory journal wrap condition caused by a dirty shut down of AD and never have issues.  However when you go to attempt a migration it will fail.
   2. Solution:  Always follow the SBS migration keys to success blog post SBS 2008 Migrations from SBS 2003 – Keys to Success and run the SBS 2003 best practices analyzer and the Microsoft IT Environment Health Scanner to test for journal wrap issues.  If you do have the Journal wrap error, all you need to do is set a registry entry just as the event error tells you to do with a value of “1” and it will fix itself.

   3. 2.      Symptoms:  Other Migration failures
      1. Reason:  Migrations can have some potential reasons for failure but these days they follow into a couple of categories.
      2. Solution:  Read the http://blogs.technet.com/sbs as it documents the typical causes for issues.  As was listed earlier you should always review the “Keys to success” post and start there with any migration and go through each.  The other issue I see as a sticking point in migrations is public folder replications which may be caused by using a smart host which blocks the replication. Another sticking point may be not running the migration preparation tool or having a mismatch and using SP1 media for the migration preparation tool, and using SP2 media to install the server.  Ensure you use the SAME media to match up the prep tool with the built server.  You can review a demo here to see what should occur during a migration – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=31d3f757-9118-4f12-9db2-296c4729cd5e  .  One thing to keep in mind to ensure that you have a way back is to have a good backup.  In a perfect world you would restore the SBS 2003 back to it’s original condition before you started the migration.  The reality is for most of us is that your best bet you can do is to ensure you have a System State backup and you restore that.  Then you go back into your Active Directory ensuring that any traces of the new server are not found in your active directory and start the migration over.  From this point of clean up you have 21 days again to do the migration.
      3. 3.      Symptoms:  Migrations tasks are bypassed or not completed.
         1. Reason:  The process to migrate from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 is do-able but it’s quite honestly a long process.  Thus there is a natural tendency to skip over reading the documentation and the process and try to circumvent some of the steps.
         2. Solution:  Don’t cut corners.  Download the documents and especially the migration checklist, and review other community guidance.  The process of migration is totally do-able as long as you read, understand the process, and set up a practice with a demo domain first.  There are third party migration sites as well that can help you through the process as well.  Whether you decide to do a clean migration and totally reset up the entire network a Microsoft migration or a third party migration is up to you.  Generally speaking most feel that a small client (approximately 5 or so workstations) may benefit from a clean setup especially if you’ve never touched their server before and you want to start fresh.  Anything in the 25 or above range should not be done during a clean install as you impact the desktops too much.  I blogged a dry run of my entire migration process, stuck the content here, and the tagged blog entries are here – http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/tags/Migration/default.aspx   and here – http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/tags/Migration+Extras/default.aspx

1. 4.      Symptoms:  Reinstalling SBS 2008 after a bad install, a bad migration attempt, etc.
   1. Reason:  You install SBS 2008 and believe you’ve had a bad installation.  Therefore you decide to reinstall all over again.
   2. Solution:  There are bad installs and then there are innocuous error messages that make you think you’ve had a bad install when you really haven’t.  Let’s discuss some that are benign and can be ignored and some that need to be addressed.

                                                              i.      You choose to install updates during the install of SBS 2008 and the error message indicates a failure of the updates during the install.  This is a benign error that you should not reinstall your server for.  I honestly do not choose to install updates during the install process because I have installed before with a known media and the last thing I want to do is to install with a changed media set.  At this time there are absolutely no updates that directly impact the install process.  All of them are security updates that you can install after you have built the box.  You can safely install SBS 2008 with the media you have and patch it afterwards.  No security issues will occur with the shipped media you install with.

                                                            ii.      You choose to install updates after the install of SBS 2008 is complete and you find you cannot browse companyweb from the server or add Windows 7 clients to the domain using the connect wizard. There are fixes for things like this in SBS 2008 Update Rollups available from MU and WSUS so make sure you flip to MU (Microsoft update) or approve these updates in WSUS.  A priority update on the SBS 2008 (KB961048) will change the update rollups of the SBS platform to automatically get approved.  Remember the default patching condition of the server is that Security patches will automatically get approved, but NOT automatically installed.  It’s up to you to go to the server and install via the update icon showing in the corner any patches offered up there.  Exchange rollups are not automatically approved so don’t forget to either manually visit Microsoft Update (not just Windows update), or go to the update tab in the console and approve updates you see there.

                                                          iii.      You choose to install WSUS 3 Service pack 2 and it “breaks” the WSUS integration with the SBS 2008 console.  I use “breaks” in quotes because I honestly don’t feel this is a real “breakage” since it’s very easy to put it back into a working condition.  For the WSUS integration you just need to ensure that you choose “All products” as the category of patches.  This will not download more patches than you have in your network and will merely ensure that the detection of new patches, new machines will work properly.  WSUS is a component that I have uninstalled and reinstalled several times without issue following the instructions here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd443475(WS.10).aspx

                                                           iv.      There are times that a reinstall all over again may be correct, but then there are many times that it’s not needed.  You may just need to install it several times in advance to practice before you install it for a client.  Your first install should never be for a client.  Review these demos ahead of time – http://www.microsoft.com/sbs/en/us/demos.aspx and practice on real hardware or hyperV virtual platform.

1. 5.      Symptoms:  Network card drivers may need updating or tweaking to ensure proper functionality.
   1. Reason:  Since the advent of the advanced networking included in Windows 2003 Service Pack 2 you either love Offloading or hate it.  When it works, it speeds up your server and works beautifully.  When it doesn’t, the network can act a bit strangely and possibly have speed issues, you may also see issues with BITS, VSS issues, RRAS and WMI all documented here – BITS, IAS VSS and RRAS may stop responding on SBS 2008 with a particular NIC driver . 
   2. Solution:  Always start out first by examining to see if you have the latest network card driver.  Once you have that in place as well as Windows 2008 SP2 installed, determine if you want to disable Large Send Offload and Task Offloading in the properties of the nic or RSS, Tcpa and DisableTaskOffload as documented in the blog post.

1. 6.      Symptoms:  Outlook prompts over and over again for credentials
   1. Reason:  In December of 2009 the MSRC announced a widespread release of KB973917 .  This update impacts the kernel mode authentication used on SBS 2008 and the symptom is that Outlook prompts for credentials.
   2. Solution:  Review the SBS blog post that specifically covers this issue:  Outlook 2007 Credential Prompts in Small Business Server 2008    If you had kept your SBS 2008 server reasonably up to date in patching, you’d honestly never see this issue as the fix was included in update rollup 8 for Exchange 2007 Service pack 1.  At this point in time, I’d recommend following the blog or installing Exchange 2007 Service pack 2 using KB974271.
   3. 7.      Symptoms:  Microsoft Exchange services fail to start.  Server hangs at applying computer settings.  Network icons show as offline.  Event 2114. 2601, 2102, 2114, 8197, 7005, 7044 and/or 7024.
      1. Reason:  You unchecked the IPv6 protocol from the network interface card in your SBS 2008 server after reading some Windows 2008 guidance that said you didn’t need IPv6.
      2. Solution:  Review the SBS blog post that specifically covers this issue: Issues After disabling IPv6 on your NIC on SBS 2008.   Don’t uncheck the IPv6 protocol as you really do need it.  Exchange 2007 in particular is very sensitive to having this protocol disabled and will complain very loudly and with very painful symptoms.  If you truly have to disable IPv6 for reasons unknown to me, then follow that blog post to disable it the RIGHT way for a SBS 2008 server.  Merely unchecking the box is not the right way.  I’ll add another blog post to review even though it’s not IPv6 related in this section only because the symptom for this event is Exchange emails not being sent.  If you have a default SBS 2008, the WSUS administration site pumps out huge amount of unnecessary log files.  If the server has been in production for a year or more, you might see an issue where these log files have grown so large that they are now interfering with Email being sent.  To fix this, go into the IIS console and disable the IIS logging for the WSUS administration site and delete the log files as documented on the SBS blog:  Recovering disk space on the drive C: in Small Business Server 2008.  And don’t forget to “Run as admin” when performing tasks as it will show you the true use of drive C:
      3. 8.      Symptoms:  Multiple nics enabled on SBS 2008 cause the SBS 2008 networking wizards not to work.
         1. Reason:  The SBS 2008 wizards were built with the assumption that you would only use one nic.  Thus if you attempt to do network teaming wizards will not run and the Support personnel will ask you to de-team the box before they work with you.  NIC teaming is not a supported scenario for SBS 2008  (see – Returning Small Business Server 2008 to a Supported Network Topology ) and you’ll need to remove it to get the server into a supported topology.
         2. Solution:  This is one of those tricky situations where you’ll need to set the box up and always return it to a supported single nic solution when installing and dealing with support.

1. 9.      Symptoms:  Accessing the SBS websites, like OWA and RWW doesn’t work as it should due to the fact that the Internet Address management wizard was never run. 
   1. Reason:  Some people manually set up the server and don’t realize there is a wizard on the box to configure web publishing.  Thus accessing the SBS websites isn’t quite right and may impact the server’s working condition.
   2. Solution:  The SBS blog has several posts regarding the Internet Address management Wizard: Introducing the Internet Address Management Wizard part 1 and Part two of the series and Part three .  Also review how the run the “Fix my network wizard”  can help in your situation. If you wish to use a trusted certificate, review the Add A Trusted Certificate Wizard blog post for installing the certificate instead of the step from the provider.  In SBS 2008, the trusted certificate should be installed on the SBS Web Applications website and not the Default Web Site. If for some reason, you get stuck, here’s the blog post on how to install the certificate manually.

10.  Symptoms:  In troubleshooting issues with Remote Web Workplace or Outlook prompting for credentials you adjust the IIS authentication method incorrectly.

1. Reason:  Chances are the reason you hit this issue is that you didn’t run the “Fix my network wizard” that is in the console and instead decided to poke and tweak. 
2. Solution:  Again your best bet is run the “Fix my network wizard” – Introduction to the Fix My Network Wizard .  If that doesn’t fix things up and you need to take more of a look under the hood there are several suggestions I would make.  The first one would be is to install a virtual SBS 2008 somewhere as a baseline and compare your existing SBS with the baseline version.  Secondly review these two blog posts  — one that talks about manually adjusting the Windows authentication tab to Negotiate(Kerberos) Known Issues after Installing IE8 on Small Business Server 2008 and the Vista clients that are joined to the SBS domain -  and the other that discusses some of the common issues for the Remote Web Workplace – Common Remote Web Workplace (RWW) Connect to a Computer Issues in SBS 2008 -    Item number 4 in particular should be reviewed.  Also check in item number 8, that client certificates should be set to ignore the SSL settings on the RPC virtual directory.

Did you get the idea from this post that the best thing you can do if you support SBS 2008 boxes is to sign up for the SBS blog updates?  To receive the updates in your RSS reader subscribe here – http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/rss.xml  I personally use IntraVnews to pull it into my Outlook rather than the native Outlook rss reader, but you can use Google reader as well.  If you are into twitter you can follow the SBS team here:  http://twitter.com/WindowsSBS Last but not least, check out the SBS 2008 newsgroup .

So there you have it.  There’s a comprehensive listing of the top issues that I’m hoping we see less of now that you know about them!

Good By Bellevue, thx for the memories #MVP10

Thankx Microsoft for arranging such great weather for the summit this year :>) It was a wonderful summit, and you guys really rolled out the red carpet for the 1400 or so of us you herded into Bellevue for the event this year.

It was great to see all my peeps and old MS friends again and meet the new folks in the HSBS product groups. I learned a lot ( yes I remember the entire week is under NDA) and hopefully provided some useful feedback as well.

I would also like to send out a job well done to Al, Kym and the gang at Steward Transportation, most of you won’t even know who they are, but that is because of the great job they do getting us where we need to be, when we need to be there. It makes them invisible, believe me a few years ago the busing was a complete cluster and since they have taken over, it is almost a pleasurable experience, well it is sill a bus ride after all :>)

So long gang, travel safe back to your respective corners of the world, I am headed to Calif before making the trek home to the east coast.

Tarheel AITP & Triad SBS Groups Present Windows 7

Our Next Meeting is Something Different
  March 4, 2010 Different Venue, Different Time (this meeting only)
Last meeting was January 5, 2010 (due to weather in February)

Tarheel AITP & Triad SBS Groups Present Windows 7
Presenters: Yung Chou and John Baker, IT Pro Evangelists, Microsoft

In association with the Tarheel AITP Group we are putting together a morning presentation with Microsoft. Two of the best presenters I know will be delivering the Windows 7 content. The agenda is below. We were only able to book a room large enough for 75 people so this event will fill up fast and we will not be able to extend it. You will need your confirmed reservation to attend. You can sign-up now at http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=145662 . Please do not wait to sign up, I will feel terrible if I have to turn you away. There is no cost to attend this event except your time and attention!
Keep an eye on our website for updates www.tSBSg.org

Agenda
Pre-Session 7:30AM Breakfast and Registration

Welcome & Introductions 8:30AM

 Session 1 = 8:45AM Cloud Computing Overview and Direction

Session 2 = 9:15AM: What’s New and Why Windows 7
Windows 7 uplifts Enterprise IT abilities to address business needs to a new dimension with many new innovations and improved functions. This session highlights the new features and capabilities of Windows 7 by walking through Windows 7 desktop fundamentals and business scenarios using Windows 7 optimized desktops including BitLocker to Go, Windows XP Mode, Direct Access, and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.

Break = 10:15am

Session 3 = 10:30AM: Windows 7 Deployment
Deploying Windows 7 is easy if you’re using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010. This session will walk you through the various tools that can help simplify your deployments. We’ll drill down in the MDT Workbench and look at how the MDT process helps you create a reference image, which can then be easily deployed to the target computers. We’ll look at how to configure the deployment environment, show how you can add operating systems, applications, drivers, and language packs using the Deployment Workbench, and then finish up by creating a task sequenced deployment to a target computer.

Closing = 11:45AM
Q&A, user group and communities information sharing, prize drawings, etc

 You can sign-up now at http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=145662

GFIMAX can tell you when the server reboots

Remember that notification that SBS 2003 sent you whenever the server rebooted
Do you miss it on your SBS 2008 and Windows HomeServers?

GFIMAX can give it back to you and I will show you how easy it is to add.

First open up your GFI MAX Dashboard and select the server you wish to know about

GFIMAX Dashboard

Click the Checks button
Next click Add 247 Check
Now click Event Log Check (note all the other options for future reference)

Select Type of Check

An empty form will appear to let us set our criteria
Note all of the options available just for this one type of check, this is a very powerful tool

Blank Event Log Form

Lets name it ” – Server Rebooted” without the quotes.
That is a blank space a hyphen and another blank space before the Server Rebooted
It will make sense later when you see it in the console, it just makes it a bit clearer to read 

Set the event log to query to System
Set Alert when to Log Contains
Set Event ID to 6005
Select Information for the Event Type
Set event source to EventLog
Check the message contains string and set it to started
Click OK

Filled in Event Log Form

Now we have to give it a little time to sync the changes to the server
Note currently it says Awaiting Synchronization in the status view

Finished Awaiting Synchronization

Once the server syncs to MAX the next time the server should reboot
you will get a message in you inbox like this 

E-Mail Notification Message

And if you go back to the GFIMAX Dashboard you will also see it shows up there as well

Reboot Message Status showing last occurance

Well that is all there is to it .
I hope you realize this is just one of the hundreds of things MAX can tell you about on you servers and workstations

If you would like more info about MAX simply click on him below!

A Sincere Apology from HA

I am terribly sorry and I would like to apologize to all of you who may have received 3 e-mails from me earlier this afternoon. I was attempting to let you know about a new offer that allows you to get 2% cash back on your online purchases. I did a test before sending out the big mailing to a few of my own addresses and of course it worked fine. But Murphy who never leaves my side made this simple process into a nightmare and sent out 3 copies of the message to each of you.

Please note: I did not add you to any mailing list, I just used MarketAmerica’s new “tell a friend” mailing system and imported my contact list to it. No DL’s, no yahoo or google groups, just e-mail addresses from my own contacts. I must know too many people because it went haywire. Once again let me apologize for this nuance, if you were a receipient.  I really do feel terrible and wish I could undo it!

For those of you who are fellow MarketAmerica partners, take this as a warning to you. Do not try to import a large list of names into “tell a friend” all at once, the system cannot handle it. I would not try more than a half dozen at a time, if I were you.

Thank You for Your Understanding,
HandyAndy

PS if you are wondering about the cash back progam and were one of the few who did not get bombarded by my mailing you can get details at http://www.marketamerica.com/shopmabc/index.cfm?action=services.custLanding&landingID=csmcp_maCash

Want to Get Paid to Shop

Need to Pass 70-653

So you have been looking at the new requirements from MS and realize you need to take and pass 70-653. Don’t panic my friend Bea the queen of IT Training, a.k.a. Beatrice Mulzer has just finished her MCTS EXAM 70-653 Primer, Configuring Windows Small Business Server 2008. This is not only the definitive guide to passing 70-653 but it also includes over 200 practice tests on the included CD as well as a 15% discount voucher to take your test. This self-paced training kit won Remond Magazines Best of the Best Award for Best Exam Preparation Product. Do yourself a favor and hop on over to your favorite bookstore and grab a copy, or get it from Amazon HERE.

Because you can, does not mean you should

Eric Ligman does a very good job of explaining upgrade rights once again. Please remember because you can do something does not mean you should do it, or even that you are allowed to do it. Think about what you are proposing to do and don;t put your clients at risk by installing illeagal software just becasue you know how!

2 Chances to Win a Free Pass for SMB Nation

That’s right, if you have been thinking about going to SMB Nation 2009 but needed that little something to push you over the edge here it is.

Both GFI and Calyptix have purchased Full Passes to SMB Nation’s Fall Conference and they are both holding contests to give them away.

Here is the link to the details for the GFI Contest on the Talk Tech To Me Blog, http://www.gfi.com/blog/enter-win-999-free-smb-nation-pass-oct-2nd-4th-las-vegas/

Here is the link to the details for the Calyptix contest (which also includes travel) http://www.calyptix.com/reg-smbnation2009fall-landing.php

I recommend entering both! A little quick math, this conference usually draws around 750 people, if you figure there are as many that want to go as there are that do go, that means you have a 2 in 750 chance of winning. Now I am not a satiation but that sure seems like good odds to me :>)

Good Luck I hope you win so I will get to see you there,
HA

GFI’s Where Is MAX Contest

Just got this note from my friend Dave at GFI about a new contest.

MESSAGE:

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Have you met MAX?

MAX is GFI’s latest recruit, providing IT support providers, Value Added Resellers (VARs) and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with an easy and affordable solution that will help them deliver a better service to their clients.

Take MAX to Your World

MAX loves meeting new clients and visiting different places and he’d love to visit your neck of the woods and beyond! By showing MAX around the first 100 participants will receive a GFI MAX T-shirt (one T-shirt per person, not per submission!) and one lucky person has the chance of winning a fantastic Sony VAIO netbook!

How to Win

■Take photos of MAX at your favourite place/landmark, or in some interesting location using the image of MAX available on http://www.gfi.com/blog/where-is-max/ which you can print out. You can also:

- draw/paint/illustrate MAX

- use MAX in graphic design

■Email your photo to us on blogs@gfi.com or upload the photo to a site. You can also add your photo link on Twitter tagging it with #gfi and addressing it to @GFISoftware.

■Comment on this blog post with a valid email address with the URL of where the picture is uploaded (if applicable).

We will then upload it to the GFI MAX Around the World gallery*.

Internal judging will take place to pick out the best GFI MAX Around the World submission that will win the grand prize – a great Sony VAIO netbook available in either brown, pink or white!**

Prizes

GFI MAX T-shirts –  guaranteed to the first 100 participants.  90 T-shirts now left for grabs!

SONY VAIO Netbook – 1 WINNER!

Where’s MAX – The Gallery

Check out the online MAX Around the World Gallery to see where MAX has been! The gallery is being updated constantly with all the submissions so see what others are up to and submit your own!

Rules and Deadline

There is no limit as to how many entries you can submit. As always you can be as creative as you like but please stick to the basic rules of decency and morality. Any offensive images will not be uploaded or considered.

The competition is going to run throughout the month of September 2009 so get snapping away for your chance to win a fantastic prize! The first 100 participants will each receive a GFI MAX T-shirt; however, all entries throughout September are eligible to win the netbook.

* We must be able to save the image from the site where you upload the photo because we will need to upload it to our gallery. By entering the competition, you give us the rights to use your images on our website.
** Color choice subject to availability.

==========

Thanks!

Dave Sanders

Director of Partner Relations

GFI Software

 Direct: +1 704 491 9541