Microsoft Case Study on EBS 2008 implementation at Work
by admin on Jan.22, 2010, under IT Shop
Microsoft has published a case study based on the implementation and advantages of EBS 2008 currently running at my work environment. Read about it here http://3.ly/njC
Big shout out goes to Nick King, Larry Karr and Rebecca Warner for making this happen.
Cheers
Aben
Windows 7 “GODMODE”
by admin on Jan.05, 2010, under IT Shop
Ok Windows 7 rockzzz!
That said as with any systems we need to have that little more control over it. “Please welcome on Stage WINDOWS 7 GODMODE”
“GodMode” is a simple folder that brings all aspects of Windows 7 control in a single place. It collects all of the Control Panel functions, interface customization, accessibility options, just about every aspect of controlling Windows 7 into a single place.
Setup
GodMode is very simple to setup:-
a. Create a folder anywhere on your Windows 7 System
b. Rename the folder as follows:-
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
c. Click anywhere on the empty space to activate the folder name change.
and you get
Save a shortcut to the desktop so that you can easily browse it like this
Enjoy!
Migrating User settings from XP to Windows 7
by admin on Nov.24, 2009, under IT Shop
Last week we completed our migration from our aging IBM workstations and laptops to newer hardware that could support Windows 7.
Due to various restrictions I could not replace the old hardware and have them replaced with the newer one straight off. Instead the newer machines had to be built from the bottom up using MDT 2010. You can do the user state migration via MDT 2010 and can be really useful and time saving but my deployment scenarios.
Instead I relied on another piece of software from Microsoft called Windows Easy Transfer for Windows 7.
So, let’s take a look at the scenario that I ended up with.
Saturday- Getting all the new workstations from the supplier, had them all powered up, keyboard, mouse, monitor and networked. Started off with batches of 5 machines getting Windows 7 deployed out to them.
Sunday- Continued with the Windows 7 deployments.
Each machine that finished the deployment had the following:-
- Operating System
- Office 2007
- Visio 2007
- Flash Player
- AV Client Installed
- Domain Connected
- GPO deployed (few application installs, printers, network drives)
On the other hand I had the older machines still running in the domain. We couldn’t use the same computer names for the newer machines, but this was ok as these machines aren’t going to be decommissioned yet but retained to be used as Remote Web Workspace machines for all the laptop users at work who don’t have desktops to login into while they are remote.
Monday morning- Got the users to log onto both the machines, since they are not local admins on both the machines, had to run the software both on XP and Windows 7 machines with administrator accounts.
On the XP side:-
Download the software for x86 XP machines from here .
Install the software and it will be available under Start>All Programs
Here you have 3 options to go with. Most scenarios the options will be 2 and 3.
Option 3 is quite simple and helps transfer all your settings onto an external storage, another partition, file storage etc.
Lets take a closer look at Option2. This avoids for any error after the migration where you may have a user complain that something is missing. 
Since we are migrating from XP to Windows 7, this is the only option that is presented to us. Later when we come across the same steps on Windows 7, there will be an option to choose whether the system is the old computer or the new one.
Take a note of the migration key as we would need to enter this again on the Windows 7 machine.
At this stage the XP machine will be searching for the Windows 7 machine with the same key to start the exchange process.
Now lets head over to the Windows 7 machine:-
You could either open it by searching for it
or browsing to system tools folder
Windows Easy Transfer starts off with the same screen
Depending on the options chosen from your original computer, choose the same selection here as well. I am going with the network option,
Since this is the computer to which we are migrating all the settings into, the option that needs to be selected is that its a new system. Incase of transfer from Windows 7 machine to another variant or another edition of Windows 7 we choose the old computer option or vice versa.
Get the key that was given to us at this screen on the Windows 7 machine and enter it here
At this stage the system is scanning the XP machine for all the user settings that are stored on that computer.
Once the scan is complete you have the option to choose which of those user settings you would like migrated.
Choosing what needs to be restored can be tricky but its quite straightforward and can be easily browsed as shown.
And then the transfer can be strarted.
Towards the end you should be able to see a finished transfer report including a comparision between the programs that are installed on both the machines.
This took on an average between 5 to 10 minutes per user and ultimately was quite easy and time saving in the sense of settings up outlook,printers,desktops, wallpapers etc.
Quite useful even for doing a Windows 7 RC to RTM edition.
Installation SharePoint 2010 Foundation Server
by admin on Nov.20, 2009, under IT Shop
Yay! Finally after weeks of anticipation, Microsoft released the beta version of the SharePoint 2010 product line. I had been delaying the SharePoint project at work so that we could get started on the newer and meaner SharePoint 2010. Don’t get me wrong WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007 had revolutionized the concept of SharePoint, but then why not wait for 2010?
Considering the size and requirements of our firm, SharePoint 2010 Foundation Server would be serving our needs as we try and find our foot with it as well.
So this will be the starting blog as I take a deeper dive into SharePoint 2010 Foundation Server and what it has to offer.
My Pallete for the installation:-
Windows 2008 Standard SP2
Virtualized (Dhaaa! )
So lets get into it.
Get your SharePoint via MSDN or TechNet and also available via Public Download
Installation Phase
The installation was fairly straightforward with a few speed bumps which are easily avoidable.
-
Double click the beta exe file and it will start extracting the setup files
-
Next you will be presented with the following screens and the options. First thing I fell in love with SharePoint 2010 was the fact that I got all my prerequisites in one place wohoo. (So I thought)
-
Here you can see the list of Prerequisites that are needed and they can be installed as easily as next next option.
-
Towards the end you get the following screen
Which shows the end of installation of the prerequisites.
-
So you get back to the original screen and start the Install SharePoint Foundation option
-
And then I hit Speed bump 1. One of the error message was because of reboot requirement after I uninstalled my dev WSS 3.0.
After reboot and restart of the installation I hit Speed Bump 2 but with a difference
But I thought I had all the prerequisite software’s installed.
And then I found this on TechNet
And couple of clicks away
I was able to get down and dirty with my SharePoint installation
And then onto the configuration page
Office 2010 Technical Preview to Beta Upgrade
by admin on Nov.17, 2009, under IT Shop
Woke up this morning, coffee in hand and twitter slowly getting buzzed about the arrival of the Beta downloads for Office 2010 suite.
Click click click TechNet click click and then it was all down to waiting for the beauties to be downloaded to the lappie. Sharepoint 2010 beta was also out but that’s for another blog post.
Before installing the beta, uninstall the Technical Preview version or any previous versions of Office
Starting the installation of the Beta software
And we have a speedbump
Oops forgot to take Visio 2010 Technical Preview out and another uninstall and reboot later
Bit of tweaking
And we are away
And we are done
Licensing
Start any of the application, in my instance I started with Outlook (dhaaa!)
Click to change product key
Activation
And we are done
Stay tuned for my first deep dive into Outlook 2010 Beta.
Btw this post is my first one from Word 2010 Beta. Upgrade had even the blog settings all ready for me.
Exchange 2010 RC to RTM Upgrade
by admin on Nov.15, 2009, under IT Shop
The following are the steps that I went through to upgrade the Release Candidate Version of Exchange 2010 to RTM edition of Exchange 2010.
I got my copy from TechNet and the same is available under MSDN as well.
There is also a 120 day evaluation copy available here in couple of different formats:-
- Virtual Experience that gives you an chance to try Exchange 2010 and OCS 2007 R2
- Free 120 Day Software Trial
- Pre-configured VHD
- Exchange Online
Steps involved:-
- Backup your server. I use Shadow Protect to backup the VM’s but also equally recommended is DPM 2007 or if you can get your hands on 2010. You can read on Shadow Protect from here
-
Get to your Exchange 2010 RTM Setup folder and double click on setup.exe
-
Choose your language pack
-
Click on Install Microsoft Exchange Server Upgrade Option and Setup will start shortly
-
Setup will start with the basics
-
Followed by a readiness check
-
You may get the following message
Which can be resolved by downloading the required file from here and installing it
- With that the Readiness Check should complete successfully
-
The next step the upgrade starts to kick in and will proceed to complete
-
Once the upgrade has been completed open up Exchange Management Console and Click on Server Configuration. In the Actions Window click on Enter Product Key
Enter the RTM Product key for the edition that has been licensed to your organization
-
Restart Exchange Information Store
And that’s it, your RC Exchange 2010 is now a fully functional RTM Exchange 2010.
ACC levy increase for Motorbikes..thoughts from one who rides with passion
by admin on Nov.05, 2009, under General Rant
A few thought below re the ACC increases for bikers.
A rider can only be on one bike at one time therefore the risk profile of any person cannot be raised regardless of the size and number of bikes he or she owns.
The ACC risk profile of bikers apparently includes those who race or who go on one of the many weekend off road races or gatherings and accidents on farms including 4×4s are included. None of these situations require machines to be are registered for the road. Take these out and the statistics begin to improve dramatically. We are currently expected to subsidise the above which is not right.
Add in the number of accidents caused by car drivers (around 60% I believe). If its user pays then car drivers are being subsidised by us not the other way around. This needs to be reversed.
Any ACC levies should be attached to the individual’s licence rather than each machine. We know 10% of the drunks and drug abusers cause 90% of the problems, recidivism is alive an well. Attach levies to those who are breaking the law e.g. 20 demerit points = $200 pro rata up to 95 points =$950 levy before you can register or warrant your car or bike for road use. This would soon stop the dangerous people hitting us.
Put the levies into driver education and introduce a better graduated system such as in Japan.
Finally its rather obvious what this government is doing, we are not all stupid sheep as they may think.
The minister creates a huge issue by saying ACC is costing mega bucks, he then scares people into thinking they must pay very much more.
Once the higher levies are in place this then becomes attractive to insurance companies and he gets to sell off ACC.
Competition and choice is a catch-phrase or right wing governments without social conscience (like ours).
Hang on… ACC is the best and cheapest system in the world envied by many countries far more litigious than ours where lawyers cream a great living from other peoples loss and grief. Do we want to go there? ACC was set up as a service NOT a business and that’s actually OK.
Look what happened with railways or power generation, distribution and supply – when it was GVT owned the infrastructure was in place. Introduce the profit motive and things are cheaper for a while then it all changes as profits go offshore and infrastructure is run down through lack of investment .
Come on Kiwis make your protest, put in your submission, see your MP. Lets not roll over and accept the lies and half truths we are being fed.
David Croft
About the Author
David Croft works for Central TAS as a Programme Manager for the Regional Mental Health and Addiction Services Department. A keen motorbiker who would rather be riding along with his kids on a nice day in Wellington.
If you would like to get in touch with David you could email him @ david_croftATcentraltas.co.nz
Post Update by Aben Samuel
A new Video postsed on Youtube
Reporting Functionality for Forefront Threat Management Gateway
by admin on Nov.02, 2009, under IT Shop
Forefront Threat Management Gateway is the new revamped face of ISA servers which used to perform the functions of Edge Security gateway servers for networks. Its core functionalities include providing protection from WAN/Internet based threats and also providing means for secure Internet connectivity for Small to Medium Size organizations.
It is a critical part of the Essential Business Server package by being part of the Security Server.
One of the functionalities for Forefront TMG would be its reporting functionality which is able to provide either a :-
- One time Report
- Recurring Report
solely depending on the needs of the network administrator. There are also options around customized reports for:-
- Summary Contents
- Web Usage Contents
- Application Usage Content
- Traffic and Utilization Content
- Security Content
- Malware Inspection Content
On EBS 2008 you may come across the following problem when trying to generate a report.
To fix the issue open IIS Manager 7.0 and click on Application pool and select ReportServer$ISARS and choose advanced settings either from the right hand actions pane or by right clicking the option and choosing advanced settings as shown below
Under the advanced settings change the value for Enable 32-bit Applications from False to True as shown below
Close all the windows including IIS 7.0 manager. Once that is done go back to Forefront TMG and try to run the report as shown below
The generating report window will pop up next
Once that is compelted the report will open up inside the browser as shown below.
These reports can be configured to save on a network share or have it emailed out via the exchange server.
Essential Business Server 2008 (Post 1)
by admin on Oct.31, 2009, under IT Shop
The objective of this blog post is to give an inside tour of the EBS 2008 setup that I currently look after and also to kick start the EBS 2008 series of posts.
History:-
When I joined the firm that I currently work for about a year ago we were using:-
- Lotus Notes for Email
- Mail Marshall and Web Marshall for Anti-Spam and Proxy services.
- Windows 2000 Domain
- Several Windows 2003 servers performing several functionalities for the network.
- Symantec Anti-Virus
- Mix of XP SP1 and SP2 machines.
We were part of a domain forest that was maintained and looked after by a government entity down in New Zealand. So policies and procedures had to be followed based on a wider scale and was quite limited and not to the needs of our organization.
Finally towards the end of 2008, the management made a Strategic decision to move the whole infrastructure out of this forest and take complete ownership of the network. Search for a solution lead to EBS 2008.
Reasoning:-
- Best and complete solution for Email, Security and Management for an SME size organization.
- Affordable than buying the different applications separately for eg: Exchange server 2007, Windows 2008 Server, Forefront Threat Management.
- Customized and optimized installation procedure.
- Provided more functionality and features than SBS 2008.
Planning and Testing Phase:-
Due to the nature of the setup of the network, the EBS 2008 network had to be built completely separate from the existing infrastructure. This meant going out shopping for a couple of IBM blade servers, Cisco Router, SAN drives and a brand new ISP. I know paradise for an IT pro 
The purchases were completed and work was started on the planning stages of EBS. EBS 2008 standard consists of 3 different servers and the premium version has an additional server. Since we had licenses for SQL Enterprise Edition the need to purchase Enterprise version of EBS did not suffice.
The standard version consists of the following:-
- Management Server
- Security Server
- Messaging Server
And the enterprise version consists of all the above servers in addition to a Windows 2008 Standard Server with SQL server 2008 Standard. This blog post at this stage would only cover EBS 2008 Standard.
One of the initial problems that I faced at the initial planning stages was that I needed 3 different blades to host EBS 2008. I could only free 2 blades and would have been overkill with the amount of RAM. Even if I could come up with another blade I had issues assigning a second network card to any one of the blades to perform the functionalities of Security Server which requires 2 sets of Network cards.
Answer: Virtualization
I clearly remember that it was during that month that Citrix went on to releasing Citrix Hypervisor Version 5 for free with Enterprise features. With both the blades on Citrix Hypervisors I started to build the EBS 2008 test environment. (Install number 1). Ran into a lot of issues with I/O, networking and so forth (sorry it was quite a while back) and I was desperate for another solution. I had already implemented ESXI on some of the servers in the old network and so was comfortable with it. But I guess I was like a kid in a candy store when Citrix announced its release.
ESXI was easy in a lot of ways. It is a straight forward product for SME’s who want to get the benefits of virtualization but don’t want pay for the enterprise features of ESX. Yes there is a new player on the group and a post on Hyper V vs. Esxi deserves another day.
Installation of EBS 2008:-
This was happening in March 2009. There wasn’t much documentation available for EBS 2008. Got all the stuff from TechNet printed out and read it a few times over. There isn’t much information available in the documentation towards Clean new Installs and of course couple it with a lot of ignorance led to a few sleepless nights. But finally my test installation number 8, yep number EIGHT went smooth and I was happy with it.
Had a lot of help from these boys up on twitter who I would reckon are at this stage EBS 2008 guru’s @philippmuller , @PortlandITGuy , @michaelsainz , @nztechtweet , @LeonSodhi and I am sure I am missing a few more around here but at the end of the post will be a list of all the resources for EBS 2008 available on twitter.
Funny enough the final production installation for EBS 2008 was completed when I took a couple of days off and went to AKL to relax. Since our setup involved placing a router in front of the security server, meant that towards the end of the installation of the security server I had to do a couple of things
- Replace the DHCP service from the router.
- Change the IP address of the router so that it could be swapped with the internal IP address of the security server or the EBS 2008 LAN IP.
The above steps involved me talking with @kathrynwilson24 over the phone and getting her to copy paste a few pages of Cisco config. But finally the installation was stable and ready.
Since the ISO’s were all loaded up onto the Esxi Datastores meant that there was no need for physical proximity with the server room. This is quite the boon for SME’s who have maximum of 2 or 3 IT pro’s working for them. Since the ISO’s are always present on the server meant that the ability to do remote backup and restore of VM’s was quite simple and easy.
EBS installation though would seem like quite a straightforward process, is in fact not an easy one to tackle or at least it wasn’t one for me. But with each installation I grew more knowledgeable about what shouldn’t be done or how to fix some certain installation bug such as the .net sp3 installation just wouldn’t for the love of GOD install on its own. The trick around it was also quite neat though!
3rd party software’s that’s used with EBS network
- Shadow Protect for Backups
- Trend Worry Free Business Security Advanced
- Esxi Hypervisor
- Twitter (lol)
I am currently writing posts on Shadow Protect and Trend and how they been with EBS 2008 but that is for later. Cut the story short they have been perfect and would recommend them with a blind eye.
Additional Information for EBS:-
There is a lot of information about what Essential Business Server 2008 available
EBS Homepage , EBS Team Blog , EBS Technical FAQ , Facebook Page
There is also a Yahoo user group focussing solely on EBS and SBS 2008 products. There are lot of posts on technical issues and solutions faced by several EBS users from around the world.
Folks to follow on Twitter who are nothing less than Guru’s on EBS 2008:-
@philippmuller , @PortlandITGuy , @michaelsainz , @nztechtweet , @LeonSodhi , @stevenabanks , @ababinchak , @thirdtier , @WindowsEBS , @markstan , @carlcs , @nking .
Remote Web Workspace issue for SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 with XP SP3 Systems
by admin on Oct.29, 2009, under IT Shop
There had been an issue identified with XP Sp3 machines not being able to connect to remote machines within an SBS or EBS environment via Remote Web Workspace.
Some classic signs of the issue and various options that I had tried out in vain
-
When you click connect to your default remote machines the following box pops up
-
When following the error message and various steps available online to enable the add-on you don’t get to view the add-on in the first place.
-
You could also follow the procedure of deleting a few registry keys that would enable you to view the add-on from the manage add-ons from IE
-
You add the website to your trusted lists and it still doesn’t connect
-
There are scripts available that are used to install the RDP 6.1 ActiveX
-
@markstan helped me out heaps and we even tried this solution
-
After all my nagging I think @markstan went on vacation because of me as seen from his tweet
- Another thing I had noticed was the clean untouched XP SP3 VM that I build and manually updated with IE8 and latest updates didn’t seem to suffer from this.
So I setup the calendar appointments with my 4 users that had this issue to bring their different laptops back to the office. These guys are teleworkers and only come in couple of times a month to the office. So you could probably understand their frustration and of course mine.
But then on 27th October the RDP Gods decided to take pity on me and sent message via @nathanm with this tweet
All my test machines were powered up, installed RDP 7 from here and life returned back to normality.
The ActiveX issue was fixed and I had a couple of happy EBS RWW users going home in less than 20 minutes.
my tweets
- So true !! RT @virtualvader: The Magic of Virtualization http://bit.ly/aboxJ9
- RT @richfrombechtle: Why does the Prometric site suck so hard?! #prometrix #websites #isitreallythathard
