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Feb
17

Q&A from the February 2011 Third Thursday Webinar – Configuring SBS 2011

by Third Tier

The following is the Q&A from the February 2011 Third Thursday webinar on Configuring SBS 2011 Standard. If you didn’t get a chance to ask your question or you have a question after listening to the recording of the webinar, head on over to our Forum site (https://www.thirdtier.net/forum) and post your questions in the Third Tier Info / Webinars area!

Question: If you click on the Status column first, and then in the Startup Column, any services that are not running will be at the top of the list. Saves you from scrolling down the lsit.

Answer: good tip!

Question: for later: certificates: do I order a certicate for remote.corbus.nl or corbus.nl?

Answer: you’ll likely get the cert for remote.corbus.nl, unless you are wanting a wildcard certificate for the entire domain.

Question: Public share is not moved by the Wizards – must be done manually

Answer: That’s correct.

Question: Does the SBS2011 built-in backup support Exchange-aware backup? SBS2008 did not if I’m not mistaken…

Answer: Yes, both SBS 2008 and SBS 2011 do include Exchange as part of the backup process.

Question: If using a third party backup, what is the recommended procedure to get SBS to not report that backup is not configured?

Answer: It was not possible to change that alert in SBS 2008, I have not checked to see if that has changed in SBS 2011, but I suspect that it works the same as SBS 2008, meaning that you will still see the alert even though you have a third-party backup configured and running.

Question: for smaller clients that might use Microsoft Security Essentials will they be reporting back to the SBS console that they are up-to-date, or virus riddled?

Answer: MSE should report correctly to the SBS console

Question: When you change external backup drives in the morning, does it make a full backup at noon on the new cartridge, thereby slowing down the system?

Answer: I believe that is correct. A full backup is taken when a backup drive is swapped out.

Question: Are you seeing issues with Forms Based Authentication service not starting up on reboot?

Answer: answered live

Question: Haven’t seen it on our production 2011.

Answer: Thanks.

Question: setup of USB backup drives needs to be done with all external drives connected – got error when adding another drive until original drives were reconnected

Answer: Great tip!

Question: Symantec Protection Suite Small Business Edition is not yet supported for SBS 2011 – any other recommendations?

Answer: Some of us are holding off on installing any AV on the SBS 2011 for the time being.

Question: If you decide to use Trend client on server, use WFBS6 for now, not WFBS7. We have WFBS7 running on our SBS 2011 TAP site, but recommend WFBS6 on new deployments for now.

Answer: That’s something we’ve heard from several people, thanks for sharing.

Question: I did experience an issue on a clean install of SBS 2011 with BAckup configured and functioning properly. For some reason the Exchange transaction log files were not being committed and deleted. I resolved the issue by killling the origional backup and after reconfiguring backup Exchange realized the backups were being performed and the transaction logs flushed. Much panic when the C: drive ran out of space in a matter of a day or two.

Answer: Thanks for sharing, we hadn’t heard about this specific item.

Question: I have Trend WFBS 7 installed on one production – most current patch released end of January addresses memeory and PCU issues. appears to work OK

Answer: Good to hear, thanks for sharing.

Question: Any issues with Outlook Anywhere / Autodiscover that you have come across on your lab boxes (that have haunted SBS 2008 in the past)?

Answer: answered live

Question: +who does a hosted console for their AV ?

Answer: Trend, Vipre are the two that i’m aware of. Others may also.

Question: thanks guys!

Answer: welcome

Question: Thanks………….. Lots of good info!

Answer: welcome!

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0 Categories : Amy Babinchak, Eriq Neale, Q&A, Webinar

Jan
20

Q&A from Managing SBS 2011 – Installation webinar

by Third Tier

Here is the Q&A from today’s webinar on Managing SBS 2011 – Installation:

Question: sas or sata drives?
Answer: We are using primarily sata drives. Where we find that they aren’t fast enough, we generally provide a second sever for file storage with those drives.
Question: A lot of DVD burners do support DL, but good luck finding the media! I have found it easier to find Blu-Ray burnable media than DVD DL media…
Answer: Good tip. We’ve found the same thing. The USB setup is very simple and so much faster.
Question: Can we build SBS 2011 and fully configure it with our unique “recipe” (GPOs, tweaks, setup wizards, etc) then image it? Could we then apply that “custom” image to new servers and then tweak a few things for that specific customer? And… If we build that base as “company.lan” can we change that after that fact to “xyzcorp.local”?
Answer: You can’t do all of those things, but you can do most of them. This is a pretty complex questions. We’ll talk about it at the end during Q&A
Question: Do i need an trial key, for trial period of SBS2011. (Have downloaded from MSDN)
Answer: It will let you run without a key for a few days. If you have an MSDN subscirption you can get a key from your downloads section.
Question: I have a customer installation with my ISO file. But need an trial period, before I get the key to my customer. OEM editions have not been released yet in Norway.
Answer: You should be able to install without a product key when you run the install and then add the product key later.
Question: So i dont need an trial key for getting 60days trial
Answer: There is no place in the install where a key is asked for, so no trial key is needed. I’m not certain about the timeframe allowed before a key must be entered, but it doesn’t prompt for a key during install.
Question: Are you all using HP or Lenovo/IBM hardware or whitebox/HAAS hardware for SBS 2011, in particular I’m interested in the RAID controller and any out of band management you deploy.
Answer: Eriq’s company is using Dell hardware for hardware. We’ll discuss this more in live Q&A.
Question: I have started an SBS2011 server installation with 8GB ram for a customer, and i am worried that this will be a problem for my customer. Should i sell more RAM or keep on with 8GB?
Answer: If the customer is very small, it might be OK. But you will find it slow. I would recommend a few more GB minimum. Ram is pretty cheap these days.
Question: It is a 4user business with a simple MySQL database for an LOB software
Answer: I think I would still get them another 4GB. It will help the server have a long healthy life
Question: Most of customers coming from SBS2003. Firewall recommendations and why… What to look for?
Answer: We are using Calyptix. I would recommend a UTM appliance of your choice because attacks today come from all angles.
Question: We use HP 410i with 512MB FBWC controller + 4x146GB SAS 10K disk in RAID5. Choose BBWC or FBWC on the controller. Makes it much faster.
Answer: Thanks for the recommendation.
Question: When we virtualise SBS & a seperate SQL box then we have a mix of SATA and SAS.
Answer: Thanks for the recommendation
Question: If we are okay with using “company.lan” as the internal domain for all customers can we use the “confgiure and image” method and just change the external domain name “xyzcorp.com” using the wizard (in other words not run that wizard before imaging). In other words if we are okay with a generic internal domain name for AD are there any other reasons we cannot build an image of SBS 2011 for use in deployment?
Answer: This is a much better choice. We haven’t tried it. Do some experimentation first and keep us posted on how it goes.
Question: Is there anything new in SBS 2011 that better supports Macintosh / Ipad / Iphone Os es?
Answer: answered live
Question: Amy, how much cache ram on the raid controllers for your SATA installs?
Answer: 256 or 512mb
Question: Teaser question re migration: it sounds like I need another physical server even when I have a perfectly capable box currently running sbs2008. Is this true????
Answer: There’s no in place upgrade. This is function of Exchange. So you do need two boxes. We either replace the existing hardware or if we reuse it we virtualize the SBS 2008 on a temporary server.
Question: Does Remote (RWA) work from Safari Browser?
Answer: It depends..Yes but you can’t remote control a machine in the domain.
Question: Have you tried doing an install on an SSD? If so what RAID options did you choose, if any? Since SBS 2011 is based on Windows 2008 R2, it supports TRIM to increase SSD life span. I have my production SBS 2011 running on 2008 R2 Hyper-V and the virtual disk on an SSD and the performance is amazing! I’m not doing this for customers yet but was just wondering if you guys have played around with SBS on any type of SSD structure yet.
Answer: We have not. But this is great information for everyone. Thanks for sharing.
Question: Will handout or recording of the slides be available?
Answer: The webinar has been recorded and will be available on the site. Most likely there will be a subscription available for supporting materials later.
Question: Are there any documents I should follow or that Eriq can recommend for Macintosh join on SBS network SBS 2011?
Answer: I’ll be doing a post on Macintosh connectivity to SBS 2011 in the near future (read weeks, not days )
Question: Have you found a way to disable the remote file share access that shows up in the remote web?
Answer: answered live
Question: Do you feel it is too soon to put SBS 2011 into a client production environment?
Answer: Eriq does not, we have a number of proposals out right now for SBS 2011 migrations.
Question: Thanks. That’s too bad than you can’t filter somehow. Just like the remote control server only shows up for admins, not normal remote users.
Answer: Yes, we’ve bugged it for a future update, but no idea if/when it will be updated.
Question: This might have been discussed earlier, but when clients with SBS 2003 need a hardware refresh and aren’t ready for SBS 2011 yet, do you typically P2V it? If so, what tech do you use?
Answer: I use Storagecraft backup restore into a MS hyper-V machine. MS P2V should work equally as well
Question: Any difference in specs for virtual installs?
Answer: Not much experience with this yet. We expect that the requirements will be higher for virtual servers.
Question: Thanks – Great Job, as usual!!!
Answer: You’re welcome!

0 Categories : Amy Babinchak, Eriq Neale, Q&A, SBS 2011, Webinar

Jul
15

Q&A from Kerio Connect Webinar

by Third Tier

The following is the Q&A from the today’s Kerio Connect webinar with Eriq Neale. The recording of the webinar will be available in the store later in the week.

Question: Shouldn’t we be using the 64 bit version?
Answer: Kerio Connect is 32 bit, but supports also 64 bit in compatibility mode
Question: So you are saying that the 2nd IP address on the NIC and 2 available Public IP Addresses are a REQUIREMENT (minimum needed) for this product’s implementation or this is unique to Server 2008 Foundation?
Answer: Only if you want two different web applications on the same box. Otherwise you can run one of the two web services on a non-standard port
Question: Think this will work on a WHS box?
Answer: Yes you can run Kerio Connect on Home Server
Question: Since this product uses an AD connector, will it require a step for AD and then in Kerio to add a new user?
Answer: Answered live.
Question: Outlook 2010 supported?
Answer: Yes, Eriq is using Outlook 2010 live now.
Question: The Kerio connector setup screens all referred speicifcally to Outlook *2007* – that’s why I asked about Outlook 2010 So Outlook 2010 support is a qualified ‘yes’?
Answer: yes, with the limitation I just decribed regarding the Kerio settings dialog
Question: Migration from Exchange? Migration back to Exchange from Kerio Connect?
Answer: Answered live.
Question: Shared calendars and contacts?
Answer: Demonstrated live.
Question: Client is thinking about repurposing a Win2000 Pro wkstn. Thoughts?
Answer: Windows 2000 Extended Support ended 2 days ago (July 13, 2010) so running a production mail server on a non-supported box probably isn’t a good idea.
Question: Is there a benefit to use Kerio over Exchange on an SBS 2003 network or would this be a potential change to make when upgrading server hardware?
Answer: Answered live.
Question: On whs, you could presumably use different ports so as to not conflict with the remote access web site?
Answer: Yes, you could use different ports, but that would keep you from being able to use ActiveSync internally and externally. You could manually configure Outlook to use the differnet ports as well as Internet Explorer, but some tools cannot have their port configurations changed and wouldn’t work in that scenario.
Question: Can you talk about DR and support (DR or just generall support) from Kerio (8-5, paid, included, email only, etc.)?
Answer: Answered live.
Question: Any anti-spam features?
Answer: Yes. You can get more details at http://www.kerio.com/connect

Categories : Eriq Neale, Kerio, Q&A, Webinar

Apr
15

Q&A from Hyper-V 101 Webinar

by Third Tier

Here is the Q&A from April’s Hyper-V 101 Webinar hosted by Wayne Small

Question: How does Hyper-V deal with servers where memory is “assigned” to a specific processor? Is all the memory and the cores just accumulated automatically or is there something that needs to be configured?
Answer: It is a configurable option. Wayne is actually going to cover this later in the presentation.
Question: Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (the free edition) does not have the memory limitations as the non-R2 version had.
Answer: thank you for that information
Question: check http://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v-server/en/us/default.aspx for a R2 Comparison Chart.
Answer: Thanks Tim!
Question: You no longer need to know command line to run the free Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, check out the Core Config tool at http://coreconfig.codeplex.com
Answer: This is a community created add-on, not a feature of the product but a good reference none the less. Very few people are good at command line server management anymore.
Question: Is it ok to put a file share – not app – on the Hyper-V host without license issues?
Answer: I will ask Wayne this question at the end.
Question: Charlie Russel and Craig Zacker’s “Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2″ book is available as a free eBook – http://blogs.technet.com/eec/archive/2009/10/30/3290424.aspx
Answer: Free is good. Thanks for the tip.
Question: How soon will the recorded meeting be available for review….or do I need to take notes.
Answer: The recording will be posted in a few days.
Question: how to create an isolated network (from a dhcp point of view, eg for creating an sbs test environment without affecting the live sbs environment) but for it to still have internet access – http://mundy.net.au/Hyper-V/testing-sbs-in-hyper-v-isolating-dhcp-while-allowing-full-internet-connectivity
Answer: Thanks for the link.
Question: Not clear on the IDE part – have Proliant ML350 servers running with NO IDE drives – just SCSI
Answer: The IDE drives are virtual not physical. Your physical server can be scsi, while the virtual disks are IDE. That’s how I run mine. Same as Wayne.
Question: Can Wayne address the advantages of one large striped and mirrored drive vs separate spindles for each guest O/S
Answer: I will ask him at the end of the session
Question: So when you create a few snapshots and your testing is completed how do you merge all of the changes that you have made into the parent VHD?
Answer: We’ll address this question at the end of session.
Question: can you delete snapshots to increase the performance again?
Private Answer: Yes you can.
Question: Can y’all recommend some “how-to” videos on Hyper-V?
Answer: I used the Microsoft eLearning tools and virtual labs. We will ask Wayne for his suggestion.
Question: I just saw Waynes Tweet on this, So I’m 1hr late, is there going to be a slide deck download available? Thanks
Answer: The presentation is being recorded and will be available on our website in a few days
Question: what about memory allocation for the TS server?
Answer: Recall that Wayne said that they added 8 more GB’s of ram to bring the server to 24GB total. The added 8GB went to TS. It was not reflected in the slide.
Question: The folder on host in question is an Install share used by all of the lan users.
Answer: yes that would be a violation on the licensing agreement
Question: What is Wayne’s take on joining the host to the SBS domain as a member server?
Answer: All of Wayne’s hyper-v hosts are not joined to the domain because there is no other domain controller besides that hosted SBS server. You can join it to the domain when you have a non-virtual domain controller.

Categories : Q&A, Virtualization, Wayne, Webinar

Jan
21

Foundation Webinar Q&A

by Third Tier

Here is the Q&A from today’s Foundation Server webinar. The recording will be available soon in our Store, http://www.thirdtier.net/store.

Question: Good to hear that Texas twang again.
Answer: you’re quite welcome, sir!
Question: Will it run on Hyper-V?
Answer: No, we’ll cover the limitations of the product in the presentation.
Question: Russell Clements – Systems Administrator at Institute for Creation Research (DFW-SBS President in my spare time…). I’ve used Third Tier twice and was VERY impressed with the OUTSTANDING service provided. It’s a GREAT resource – THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!
Answer: Thanks, Russell.
Question: He mentioned 15 users in AD. Does that count include all the “default” users (Administrator, Guest, IIS_WPG, IUSR_SVRNAME, IWAM_SVRNAME, etc.)? Or only the named users that we add for the customer’s employees?
Answer: No it does not includes those users. Only the named users. There is a licensing service then runs every few minutes and checks for users in the domain.
Question: I am not seeing slides changing
Answer: You should be on the slide What CAN Founcation Server do? Slide. If not, you may have lost connection and need to sign out and back in again.
Question: they are changing REALLY slowly
Answer: OK, well at least moving. Eriq hasn’t shown many slides yet.
Question: In Server 2003, there was a POP3 mail server. Is there one available for Foundation?
Answer: If there is in Server 2008 R2 then it’s available in Foundation Server.
Question: If a vendor says in there specis that they need server 2008 will a Foundation Server work?
Answer: Yes, unless it hits upon one of the feature limitations that eriq mentioned. But in almost all cases, yes it will.
Question: How are you handling email with this solution?
Answer: I am using hosted Exchange. POP mail through an ISP would also be an option.
Question: Do you have a link that compares windows home server with foundation server?
Answer: There is no direct comparison because they are housed in different divisions within Microsoft.
Question: Will there be evals or NFR’s that we can get maybe through the Action Pack to get familiar with the software?
Answer: Foundation Server came in the Action Pack with the last quarter delivery.
Question: For the small offices that have been limping along on Server 2000 or Server 2003 is there a migration path to Foundation? What about SBS03 users that have decided to move to hosted Exchange?
Answer: There is no direct migration from 32-bit to 64-bit.
Question: Can you add Exchange, Sharepoint ect. and is there any separate pricing for it.
Answer: Sharepoint services is a free download. Anything that you install onto Foundation Server will need to be purchased.
Question: Since this is sold in OEM only, if the server hardware dies then we cannot do bare metal restore because it violates OEM license EULA, correct? Or am I missing something.
Answer: Yes, regular OEM licensing limitations apply.
Question: What about a migration path similar to SBS03->08? If we want to preserve the existing AD …
Answer: Yep, you can join it to the existing domain as a domain controller, it will then have a copy of the AD. Don’t forget to move the FSMO roles after you remove the old SBS03 server.
Question: I’m not that familiar with the low-end Dell boxes. What is your recommendation for RAID? PERC S100/S300 (“software based”)? Or a hardware RAID card?
Answer: This is a matter of opinion. But in my mind, this is a low end box and therefore mirror is probably most appropriate. There are no limitations in the product itself regarding drives.
Question: Great job, but I joined late. Is this recorded?
Answer: YES! http://www.thirdtier.net/store
Question: So we need to be careful with additional users, like backup service, zenith remote admin, etc (which aren’t specifically “named Users” but it sounds like they will take up a foundations CAL?
Answer: Yes, any created user would count as one of the 15 users.
Question: 15 users – counting disabled? // What if foundation is not a DC role, can it be in a domain with trusts? // Can virtualization be used for validation of recovery processes OR as a temporary solution for recovery in case of critical hardware failure? // What are you doing to address Backup of foundation server?
Answer: answering live
Question: can Foundation Server software be purchased from Ingram or D&H?
Answer: No. Foundation Serveris OEM only and only to the major manufacturers at that.
Question: There was some debate in forums about whether you can attach in a larger domain as long as the user usage is 15 or lower. IE. 50 user shop. 10 users hitting FS with TS?
Answer: Nope. It can only be installed at the root of the domain, so it will count all of the users in the entire domain.
Question: You said Dell will ship this preinstalled. How do they configure RAID, disk partitions, etc.? Are there OK options or do you end up blowing it away and rebuilding?
Answer: The options availalbe from Dell have seemed OK to me. We have left it as installed and just setup our own data partitions.
Question: Foundation was recently sent to SBSCs for test setup
Answer: Yes, SBSC’s did get a copy of Foundation Server.
Question: Can you comment on why one would put in a foundation server vs a windows home server?
Answer: answering live
Question: Standard Microsoft Action Pack subscribers do not get Foundation server. I just checked on my online product downloads page. I am not SBSc.
Answer: It was shipped as a seperate DVD and not available for download. It may have been for SBSC Action Pack subscribers only.
Question: so the “administrator” counts as one user already, out of the 15?
Answer: We are not certain. We will get the answer and post it to the blog.
Question: Does the administrator user account count as one of the 15 users?
Answer: Look for the answer to this on our blog.
Question: Very good stuff guys. Thanks!
Answer: Welcome
Question: Excellent webinar.. thank you very much.
Answer: Welcome
Question: Thanks good info
Answer: Welcome
Question: Great info as usual.
Answer: Thanks Tom
Question: Foundation server only adds AD and TS?
Answer: Group Policy and all features of Windows 2008 R2
Question: is $299 the msrp?
Answer: Yes
Question: Thanks – Great Info
Answer: Welcome
Question: except direct access
Answer: It can be a DA client, just not the server side

URLs mentioned in the webinar:
Foundation Server Marketing Page: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/foundation.aspx
Foundation Server Technical Page: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744832(WS.10).aspx
Server 2008 R2 Feature Comparisons: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/r2-compare-features.aspx
Server 2008 R2 Role Comparisons: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/r2-compare-roles.aspx

0 Categories : Foundation Server, Q&A, Webinar

Jan
15

Q&A from Group Policy Webinar

by Third Tier

Question: w/out Mac or Linux can we keep SMB signing turned on…

Answer: Depends. I’ve hit Digital scanners/copiers that needed it off.

Question: Where will the download be located?

Answer: On www.thirdtier.net

Question: 3 questions on Group policy preference (GPP) 1.I have the following issue with setting GP preferences. We have migrated from SBS2003 to SBS2008. We needed to change the path of our network drive (N drive) share from the 03 server to the 08 server. I configured the GPP(default domain policy) on our SBS2008 action to replace on the GPP general tab and set the Item-level targeting to the relevant and OU. The results were that the required results worked on the desktop but not on the laptop which belong to the same user both desktop and laptop are running Vista SP1. How can I resolve this? 2.Do you recommend creating a unique group policy for GPP and not modifying the default policies? 3.Can you import/export GPP’s?

Answer: Does the laptop have roaming profiles? If you can ping directly this may take more debugging that in a live meeting Q&A, In general most GP folks I see prefer to set a separate policy rather than adjust the default policies. It ensure you can track what you did much easier. Yes one can import export/adjust.

Question: laptop does not have roaming profiles

Answer: I’d still email directly, there are group policy processing log files that should be looked at to see why it’s working on one and not the other

Question: If you add a W2k3 server to a SBS 2008 domain, why does it add it to the SBScomputers container and not the SBSservers?

Answer: I don’t remember the exact technical reason that the connect wizard was not able to detect the OS, but suffice it to say it can’t. Thus it only adds it to the one OU. Yes that’s one part of the join domain wizard that I find annoying as well

Question: What Log files should be looked at to debug group policy?

Answer: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc775423.aspx Check out that url. the Userenv log files can be invaluable

Question: when creating GPP (i.e drive mapping) you get a red,yellow or green symbol next to it what’s the colours meaning?

Answer: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winserverGP/thread/2d03b45f-4f2b-4359-89ab-4729aabd8ab0/ it has to do with “action” if the action is “update” you will see yellow, if “create” you will see green, I’ll have to see what red is, haven’t seen that one

Question: What is the red color in drive mapping?

Answer: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winserverGP/thread/2d03b45f-4f2b-4359-89ab-4729aabd8ab0/ I would assume that means you’ve hit a drive mapping error

Question: At what level of the AD are the custom created GP & GPP’s applied?

Answer: Answered by Eriq — you can select where those custom policies are applied. It’s where you set up and “create and link policy”

Question: Where can I get a free copy of the 2008 Unleashed?

Answer: Well if you write the book you get a free copy I’ve given some away some at my user group, but most will have to purchase it from Amazon.com

Question: Just some feedback for Eriq – I bought your book and find it very well written. A great reference for everyone!

Answer: He says thank you!

Question: What is the meaning of SBS 2008 Life?

Answer: According to Mark Minasi, SBS is a cult

Question: Since migrating over to SBS2008 the IE 7.0 Do you want to close all tabs? prompt keeps coming up on every new logon even though I check do not show me this dialog again checked . Is GP issue or not?

Answer: Is this only on the workstations or on the server?

Question: THANKS GUYS!

Answer: You are welcome!

0 Categories : Webinar

Dec
22

Q&A from SBS 2008 Tips and Tricks Part 2

by Eriq

Here is the Q&A from the second SBS 2008 Tips and Tricks Amy and I hosted on December 22, 2008. The meeting recording will be available shortly (check back to the blog for an update).

Tim Sullivan Asked: Will this be available as a recorded webinar? If so, how will I be able to access it? I probably won’t be able to stay on this for the whole session today.

Eriq Neale Answered: Yes, it will be available in the next day or two. Check the blog (www.thirdtier.net/blog) for access information.

Mark Asked: Can you use a change role to let migrated computer accounts appear on the console?

Amy Babinchak Answered: computer accounts only show if they are in the correct active directory OU. I’ll ask Eriq to show you.

Mark Asked: Can you guys do a migration from sbs 2000 to sbs2008 and a migration from sbs 2003 to sbs 2008 webcast?

Amy Babinchak Answered: We’ll take it under consideration. There certainly is enough material there!

Mark Asked: What’s the difference between the standard & advanced mode sbs consoles

Amy Babinchak Answered: Advanced mode add more options under Tasks.

Mark Asked: when will the on demand of this webcast be avaiable?

Eriq Neale Answered: Should be available tomorrow.

Ken Shafer Asked: I would echo the need for a migration webcast (2003-2008). Thank you Amy and Eriq!!! Merry Christmas!

Amy Babinchak Answered: Happy holidays to you as well!

0 Categories : Webinar

Dec
6

EBS: Introduction to TMG Q&A

by amy

0 Categories : EBS

Nov
30

Managing SBS 2008: Q&A

by amy

Thank you everyone for attending and saying such nice things about our presentation. You have encouraged us and so we’re actively planning the rest of the series. Tune in here for dates and times.

In part 1 of our series on Managing SBS 2008, we covered User Management, User Roles, Adding Exchange email aliases, Adding addition email domains and creating a Transport rule. Time was then rounded out with an active Q&A session that continued beyond the end of the presentation and has given us some great ideas for future content in this series. At the end of the presentation, we expanded upon many of the answers provided via text during the presentation.

As promised the recording of the Live Meeting event is available and the Q&A content is below.

Q&A throughout the meeting was handed by Susan Bradley as they came in. A huge thank you to her, as this is not an easy job.

Question: Multiple Email Addresses ?

Answer:

http://sbs.seandaniel.com/2008/10/hosting-multiple-domains-on-sbs.html

Follow that blog post for info on multiple email addresses in a SBS

2008 domain

Question: I get the following message from some clients. “Critical Event Notification” “Title: Percent Free Disk Space, Source:

Performance Threshold, Description: The free disk space on this computer has dropped below its notification for low disk space threshold.” I can I switch this off for certain clients or drives?

Answer: I hope this in a test setting as this is telling you your drive space is very low. In the notification window, in the event alerts, untick the drive notification box

Question: When you remove the email quota on the user template does it take effect immediately or do you need to stop/start the IS service for it to take effect?

Answer: You stumped me. I will have to check with Eriq and have him blog the answer as a follow up. I don’t think IIS needs to be restarted but I’m not sure.

Question: There seems to be 3 ways to assign permissions. User Roles, Security Groups and OUs. what are the advantages disadvantages of using each?

Answer: User Roles are in the SBS console, Security Groups and OUs are more native. in SBS will want to focus on the User Role, as it uses Security Groups to control a lot of stuff. OUs are good for customizing Group Policy which is beyond the scope of the user role.

Question: When you remove the email quota on the user template does it take effect immediately or do you need to stop/start the IS service for it to take effect?

Answer: Answer back: I was reminded by Eriq that we’ve nuked ourselves during the beta without doing a iisreset and quotas were changed

Question: Can you export & import custom user roles?

Answer: Great question. Don’t know but we’ll follow up and get an answer on the Thirdtier.net blog.

Question: Were are public folders shown? Is it straighforward to mail enable them?

Answer: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997560.aspx

http://exchangepedia.com/blog/2007/06/how-to-add-email-addresses-to-public.html there are several pages/blogs to assist in the process of mail enabling public folders.

Question: In example for sales address does it let you reply as sales?

Answer: You will still need to look for a third party tool in Outlook to reply as different email senders

Question: What’s the difference between Accepted domain and a Remote domain?

Answer:

http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2008/09/25/how-to-configure-non-authoritative-accepted-domains-in-sbs-2008-exchange-2007.aspx there is a good overview of it here. Accepted domains are your approved domains for relay. Non authoritative domains are ones that you need to add to allow relay

Question: Is send as sales@distru,com done the same way as 2003 ??

Answer: I need a follow up question, do you mean to a distribution list or so that a specific person can respond? You can set up a mail enabled distribution list inside the Group console.

Question: Is that user role resetting a bug RWW computer blank, seems pointless if you have lots over users you would need to review each one and reconfigure it ?

Answer: The user role wizard resetting is/was the intent of the developers. They don’t consider it a bug

Question: Are user driving mapping still done using bat files when they login.

Answer: No. I (Susan) recommend using Group policy preference now and not bat/script drive mappings.

Question: This is a question I keep asking without getting a response even from Microsoft. Here it is; When will the french version of SBS

2008 be available since my client base is mosty french here in Quebec, Canada?

Answer: The French version has been released and is on TechNet.

Eriq/Amy have connections with folks in Canada and will follow up on the blog to see if it’s out in the distribution channel.

Question: Recommended tool to handle the sales email question.

Answer: I think it’s one of the mapilab products, we’ll blog it

Question: In Exchange 2007 what is the recommend MAX mailbox Size.

Default is 2gb but what is the best MAX size before curruption ?

Answer: IMHO it’s less of an Exchange issue and more of what Outlook

2007 can handle. Exchange can handle terrabytes. IMHO it’s Outlook that drives the size of the mailbox.

Question: Is there a default logon script for SBS users in 2008?

Answer: No. Logon scripts are honestly not the way to do drive mapping anymore

Question: How about 13gb !

Answer: Outlook 2007 will probably choke

Question: Mailbox size is not a corruption issue, it is a performance issue. Outlook will slow down if you go above 2GB, especially above 4GB.

Answer: Exactly.

Question: Exchange 2007 work with GFI MailArchiver?

Answer: http://kbase.gfi.com/showarticle.asp?id=KBID003086 yup

Question: One last one, when is the next SP sechedule for ?

Question: I’ve just read this comment from another tech: 1. Server 08 Has a Vista backbone, and all of the quirks and nusances that go along with being beta tested on as a customer. (shame on you MS) 2. Vista is an IT Professionals nightmare. With 7 different flavors of the same OS, all but three are essentially “home versions” that have various functionality hollowed out of them. This was done in an effort to gouge you into buying Ultimate, Business, or Enterprise additions which are the equivalent of XP Pro, respectively. Unless you have one of these 3, you can give up the hopes of remote desktop sessions, or having the ability to join a domain. 3. Vista and XP do not play nice together. Simply put….Not compatible in a networked enviroment. 4.

Unless your client has A shiny New 08 server, with all workstations being Vista Business, and some pretty deep pockets to pay you for reaserch and Admin time…. Do the smart thing and walk away. What are your comments on 2008?

Answer: That’s a lot to comment on. I won’t put old os on new hardware. Win2k8 is compatible in a network environment as is Vista.

I’m running it here. That’s a blog post to follow up on if you don’t mind

Question: Is SBS 2008 Unleashed available on electronic media as a PDF?

Answer: Eriq is answering

Question: do you recommend using Outlook 2007 in cached mode on the local network? are there disadvantages to using it?

Answer: I recommend it. Local junk mail filter works and if on the off chance the server is having issue you have access to your mailbox.

it’s always on in my networks

Question: first SBS2003 I spent hours on basic bugs,, problemley wont migrate untill first maint released.

>Answer: SBS 2008 is going to a rollup patch method so that updates will come out similar to how Exchange rollup updates come out now

Question: If a mailbox is over 4-GB to increase performance do you recommended killing off the OST?

Answer: No I recommend archiving emails

Question: Is there anyway to bypass the 4gb Ram requirment, none of our test boxes can support it..

Answer: Min it can go is 3.6 gig. Buy from Frys or Ebay.

Question: how do I get on your mailing list? Steven Brown (VA)

Answer: www.thirdtier.net register there

Question: Your hardware recommendations for sbs – 50 users

Answer: how much email… use the exchange server size to drive the size of the server. def greater than 12gig of ram

Question: Is sue part of third tier

Answer: Amy, Eriq and Dave are the technical ones

Question: Which email client should MAC users run?

Answer: Eriq — Entourage 2008

Question: Is there a Transitions pack to get out of SBS/EBS?

Answer: There will be whitepapers on migration, it’s not needed to do a software ‘unlock’ anymore

Question: Microsoft employees had a podcast for sbs2003, do you know if they will do that this time too?

Answer: Great question. I will personally ask myself as I loved those.

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