David Overton's Blog : Support and Tools, Windows Essential Server Solution Family

How to get SBS 2008 to "fix" managing WSUS after you have manually upset it

David Overton — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:08:06 GMT

Today's post covers what to do when SBS says it no longer can change the WSUS settings from the console. The exact message is "Windows Small Business Server Update Service is not running because it automatically turns off if you customize Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)".

One way round this problem is to manually change all the settings in the WSUS console (from Administrator Tools, select Microsoft Windows Update Services 3.0 SP1) and change the settings as per instructions found at http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2006/07/13/441594.aspx. I'm a sort of "quick fix" kind of guy, so the easier way is to go to the same tool, but then run the wizard. The steps are:

Start the Wizard

Click through the first two screens and set the updates to come from Microsoft Update

Configure the proxy if required and press next. Then press Start Connecting. When done, press Next again.

Select the language(s) you want to download

Make sure "All Products" has been ticked

Tick all the classifications - you can optionally leave out "Drivers" if desired

Set the schedule - for me, 5am is a good quiet time on my server

Tick to begin sync and press Finish. Now SBS Console will be back on the case for you.

Ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2008,Small Business Server 2008,Microsoft,SBSC

SBS 2008 Update Rollup 1 Released to fix Vista AV reporting issue and GoDaddy domain registration issue

David Overton — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:02:00 GMT

Hi everyone, the first roll-up of fixes for SBS 2008 shipped today. It addresses some minor issues, which is good, but always worth being aware of. From the Official SBS 2008 blog

SBS 2008 Update Rollup 1 Releases Today

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Update Rollup 1 releases today. This rollup package addresses the following issues in Windows Small Business Server 2008.

Issue 1

The Security tab in the Windows Small Business Server 2008 Console incorrectly reports the spyware and malware status of Windows Vista Service Pack 1-based clients that are joined to a domain. Specifically, some security applications are reported as incompatible in the antivirus and malware status that is reported.

Issue 2

The Internet Address Management Wizard exits unexpectedly when you register a domain name. This issue occurs when you select GoDaddy.com as the provider, and then you click Register Now

How to obtain this update

This update will be available from the Microsoft Update Web site:

http://update.microsoft.com

More Information

http://support.microsoft.com/KB/958715

The Official SBS Blog : SBS 2008 Update Rollup 1 Releases Today

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2008,Vista,Windows Vista,Updates,GoDaddy,Anti-virus,Anti-Malware,System Updates,Microsoft,SBSC,Community

How to upgrade (migrate) from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 on the same system without using a swing migration

David Overton — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:33:00 GMT

Someone posted this question on a discussion group at work and it got me thinking. If you bought a nice new system over the last 2 or so years in preparation for SBS 2008 (Cougar as was or even SBS v.Next) and had it installed with SBS 2003 you've probably heard that SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 is a 2 box migration and needs the Swing technique to do an on box migration.

I've come up with a much simpler solution, but your hardware might need some additions to make it work. So here is what you need:

Box with 6GB of RAM minimum (4GB for SBS 2008, 1GB for SBS 2003 and 1GB for Hyper-V server).
1 new disk for SBS 2008 system disk and 1 disk to hold Hyper-V (which could be small if desired or temporary)
System that meets the minimum system requirements of Hyper-V (http://www.microsoft.com/servers/hyper-v-server/system-requirements.mspx)
You need to ensure your hardware is really up to spec and is fit enough that you want your new SBS 2008 system to run on it for the next 2+ years, otherwise this may well be a false economy.

The process in outline is below. If you need more detailed information, let me know and I'll knock something up (as well as this may possibly end up in the book)

Take a full system backup before starting
Take existing system and add RAM and 2 disks
Install Hyper-V Server onto 1 disk
Install Hyper-V manager onto a client PC (see here for details)
Configure the network to all nodes can connect to a real physical network that has your internet router and firewall on it
Configure a virtual machine with pass-through disks that point to each of your SBS 2003 disks. To make a disk visible in Hyper-V console as a pass-through see here. Only configure approx 1GB of memory as you only need it to run well enough to perform a migration.
Start and boot the SBS 2003 VM. Check that all services start (or can be started if there is a timing issue) and that all data is available.
Install the integration Services Setup disk, run the setup and reboot when asked
Create another virtual machine with 4GB of RAM that points to the other new disk, again as a pass-through volume. This will be the SBS 2008 boot disk and can be booted with or without Hyper-V later
Perform the Migration as per my book (not yet published) or Whitepaper
Start migration process, including creating the answer file.
Create a VFD with the answer file on it and boot SBS 2008 to start the migration
Finish the migration to the point where the SBS 2003 box is downgraded
Turn off SBS 2003 VM and store, recycle or dispose of disks
Choose to either make the machine book natively boot to the SBS 2008 partition (in the bios) or continue to use Hyper-V

That is it. Much simpler than a swing if your box is good enough to run Hyper-V server. If you intend on keeping SBS 2008 running under Hyper-V, have a look at this Technet article.

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2003,SBS 2008,Microsoft,Migration,SBSC,David Overton

Nick King – Microsoft corp SBS God in the UK on 7th November!!

David Overton — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:09:09 GMT

Hopefully you have seen this elsewhere, but if not…..

7^th November 2008, Reading: TechNet Exclusive! Hear from the guy that brought you Microsoft’s enterprise computing to small and medium businesses

An exclusive opportunity to meet Nicholas King, Technical Product Manager from Microsoft Corporation before the launch of the Windows Essential server solutions offerings, Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 on November 12^th . Hear Nicholas and Jamie Burgess advise on why these solutions have been created and why it is still important to invest in solution infrastructure in economic uncertainty. With the assistance of Jamie they will go into some technical detail around the two products that make up Windows essential server Solutions.

1. Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2008 is an all-in-one server solution designed to help you keep your data more secure and your company more productive. It provides many of the features used by larger companies, such as e-mail, Internet connectivity, internal Web sites, remote access, support for mobile devices, file and printer sharing, backup, and restore—all at one affordable price Premium version also provides advanced support for line-of-business applications.

2. Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) 2008 is an all-in-one integrated multi-server solution designed and priced specifically for midsize businesses. EBS provides the essential technology needed for a highly secure and reliable infrastructure. Powered by Windows Server 2008 technology, it combines software for management, messaging, and security features into one integrated server solution that is designed to dramatically reduce IT complexity and improve efficiency across the business, putting IT in control with a centrally-managed network platform. Join us to get a technical overview of Windows EBS 2008, learn about the server requirements, and find out more about the integrated technologies and architecture.

Finally after covering the key ways to deploy and manage the server infrastructure, Nicholas and Jamie will take you through how to keep ahead of the game and customise your solutions to make the most out of your server.

08.45 – 9.30 Registration

09.30 – 09.45 Windows Essential Server Systems – why should we invest in infrastructure in economic uncertainty

09.45 – 10.45 Deploying and managing Small business Server 2008

10.45 – 11.00 Break

11.00 – 12.00 Essential Business Server – Planning, Design, Installation and Migration of this multi server solution .

12. 00 – 12.30 Virtualising and customising your server solution.

12.30 – 12.45 Q&A

I hope to see you there!!

David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2008,Small Business Server 2008,Microsoft,Partners,SBSC

SBS 2008 systems limitations and functions are the same as Windows Server 2008

David Overton — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:00:02 GMT

With SBS 2003 R2, some of the Windows Server 2003 R2 features were not included. I asked today where we were with SBS 2008 and the CPU, Memory and feature lists are, so I am told, the same.

On the page http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/compare-specs.aspx it talks about the max number of procs, memory etc for Windows Server 2008 Standard. You should use these to represent SBS 2008, however, note SBS 2008 has it’s own minimum requirements. See below for the important points

KEY: = Not Available = Available

Specification	Standard	Enterprise
X64 Sockets	4	8
X64 RAM	32 GB	2 TB
Failover Cluster Nodes (Nodes)		16
Fault Tolerant Memory Sync
Cross-File Replication (DFS-R)
Network Access Connections (RRAS)	250	Unlimited
Network Access Connections (IAS)	50	Unlimited
Terminal Services Gateway	250	Unlimited
Virtual Image Use Rights	1	4

The features of Windows Server 2008 that are in Standard Edition can be found here - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/differentiated-features.aspx which should also be a list of what is in SBS 2008. Bear in mind that the product has not released yet, but it appears to be going this direction.

ttfn
David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2008, Small Business Server 2008, Small Business, Limitations, Windows Server 2008, SBSC, Microsoft

EBS 2208 and SBS 2008 Upgrades & Migrations from SBS 2003 and SBS / EBS 2008

David Overton — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:07:00 GMT

I saw over on Nicholas's blog post - Nicholas King : EBS/SBS Upgrades & Migrations that he has started to answer some of the questions around system upgrades and migrations. Below are some snippets of key information he has shared. Read his blog post for more. However, key thoughts for me are:

1) no in box SBS 2003 -> SBS 2008 upgrades. This is a box to box migration process. If you have SA or FPP copies of SBS 2003 then you can potentially do a P2V and then migrate from the virtual image. If not, I would consider running a VM of Windows Server to enable you to move the domain at least

2) Moving from one box to another (eg hardware upgrades in the future) are now supported. This can potentially be used to go from a RC0 build to RTM, but it is not tested or supported, however that does not mean it will not work!!

3) There is a GREAT document linked below that describes a migration in glorious detail

EBS/SBS Upgrades & Migrations

Recently I had several people ask me whether it is possible or supported to do a build to build migration or upgrade from the RC0 of either SBS or EBS to RC1 or even RTM.
Migration and Upgrade are two words often used interchangeably. Technically as you know they have some very specific meanings. Upgrade means to take the existing code base and then lay binaries over the top of, or underneath of (believe it or not this is how Vista does it!) the existing installation effectively taking the old installation and making it the new, whilst maintaining the existing configuration. Migration means setting up a completely new environment and then transferring the settings, user data and environment functionality to the new setup.
Upgrades are not something we design, test or develop for either SBS or EBS. For RTM our research points to the fact that most installations have new hardware on site, and added to that the SBS architecture change from 32-bit to 64-bit prohibits us from doing in place upgrades. EBS is V1 so no upgrade requirement there.
This leaves migrations, I need to be very clear that it IS NOT SUPPORTED from any build to build. Code can and does change from each of these milestones and we focus our resources on shipping a quality product for RTM. Now that that's out of the way, let's cover if it's possible..
Yes it is possible to do such a migration. We do this for our TAP customers using the same migration document that is on TechNET (we add some more details to it to cover the changes we make, but for the most part it is the same doc). Both products have focused heavily on migration scenarios. I'll break this into two sections to make it read easier.
Small Business Server 2008 Migration
Migration is one of the killer workloads for SBS 2008. We've built so much from SBS 2003. An SBS 2008 migration is based off of a domain join side-by-side configuration where you migrate the user accounts and settings from the old machine to the new using a 21 day trust we create. It is also answer file based so you'll need to kick off the tool found in the SBS 2008 binaries. You can read more by following the migration guide found here
<snipped>

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: SBS 2003 R2, SBS 2008, EBS 2008, Microsoft, SBSC, Partners, Small Business