January 2005 - Posts

How to disable MSN Messenger traffic in ISA server

If you're worried about losing data and confidential information or just concerned about the amount of time that your staff spend chatting on MSN messenger then have a look at this article which explains how to restrict MSN Messenger traffic through ISA server by creating a new rule.

If you need to use Instant Messaging internally at work, then you should have a look at Live Communications Server 2005 which has features suitable for use in a corporate environment, and with the Windows Messenger client should give you the ability to manage your environment effectively. And with the Istanbul client on the way, its certainly worth considering.

Go on - have a play with LCS 2005!

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 1 Comments

Deleting contacts from MSN messenger

Susan asked  the following question:

If someone has deleted you from their contact list, such that they no longer appear when you click on "view" those who had added you to their contact list, can they actually still see you if they are still on your allow list? Also, can they add you again without you knowing, or would authorisation be requested again?

This is following on a
response I saw to another query where you said you can't actually delete someone from your list unless they delete you too. 

So lets take the following scenario...

Susan deletes Eileen – she can't see Eileen any more on her contacts, but in Tools:Options:Privicy tab Eileen is still on her "allow list"

Eileen can still send a message to Susan as Susan did not block Eileen

Susan can right click on Eileens name  (in Tools: Options: Privacy tab  and add Eileen back to her active contacts.  No more authorisation would be required.  If Eileen also deletes Susan then neither name will appear in either "allow list" – however either person can type the contact name in again, and the name will appear again – without aurthorisation.

The only way to guarantee that another person can’t see you is to block them – they will only assume that you are not on line.

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 8 Comments

Deployment of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool Using SMS

A useful KB article:   Visit http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=891716  to find out step-by-step how to use this virus removal tool in an enterprise environment with Systems Management Server (SMS)

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 2 Comments

Exchange 2003 message encryption

I've been asked about all of the security features that Exchange 2003 uses and also how we secure our messaging environment.  I blogged about the resources available at my presentation last week , but I've found an amazing set of security resources about Exchange 2003.  There is also a white paper on Trustworthy Messging which explains about messaging encryption.

Well - no more blogging for a while - I'm driving up to Whistler for a few days skiing.  Should be interesting as I haven't skied for a year and am so out of practice!

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 1 Comments

Live Communications Server 2005 Deployment resources

I found this website with a list of deployment resources for LCS 2005 when I was looking for the Live Communications Server (LCS) SDK which is worth sharing.  Lots of resources here.  Paul has a good collection of documentation about LCS too..

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

Exchange 2003 stress and perfomance tool

Download this great Exchange tool to simulate large numbers of client sessions by concurrently accessing one or more protocol servers using this highly scalable tool.

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

SMS 2003 Database schema information

I often get asked where information about our SMS internal database is published.  This KB article explains why the schema isn't published.  You can have a look at the SMS 2003 SDK for info on the schema and check out Ron and Steve's posts too...

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 2 Comments

MOM 2005 - Monitoring Active Directory across slow links

I found this useful piece of information when reading the MOM deployment guide. Chapter 7 talks about settings to apply when monitoring AD over a slow link.  Here's an extract from the guide:

There are several scenarios in which you might decide not to collect warnings, performance data, and miscellaneous noncritical events. These scenarios include the following:

·         Deployments with very slow WAN links

·         Large branch office deployments

·         Deployments across satellite links

·         Deployments in which alerts are forwarded to a global network operations center

·         Scenarios in which warnings and informational messages are not needed

If you are deploying the Active Directory Management Pack in any of these scenarios, you can disable certain performance data to decrease network traffic.

To disable performance data

          In the MOM Administrator console, double-click Management Packs, double-click Rule Groups, double-click Microsoft Windows Active Directory (enabled), and then double-click Active Directory Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 (enabled).

            In the left pane, right-click Reporting Rules for Active Directory, and then click Properties.

            On the General tab, clear the Enabled check box, and then click OK.

            In the left pane, double-click Active Directory Windows 2000 (enabled).

            In the left pane, right-click Reporting Rules for Active Directory, and then click Properties.

            On the General tab, clear the Enabled check box, and then click OK.

            In the left pane, right-click Management Packs, and then click Commit Configuration Change.

 

Using the consoles over a slow link

You can use the Web console over a link as slow as 64 KBps, however the Administrator and Operator consoles are not suitable for this type of connection and is not supported. It is recommended that over slower links that you use Terminal Services to connect to a computer that has the Administrator or Operator console and that is connected over a faster link to the Management Server. Satellite connections are also not supported.

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 2 Comments

Password change notification service for MOM 2000 MP

Microsoft Password Change Notification Service MOM 2000 MP– English - Released

Microsoft Password Change Notification Service MOM 2000 MP provides a monitoring system for the Microsoft Password Change Notification Service. PCNSMP collects events placed into the event log by PCNS. Key events are highlighted to indicate possible service outages, configuration problems, and degraded performance so that corrective or preventative actions can be taken in a timely manner.

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

MIIS Management Pack for MOM 2000

Microsoft Identity Integration Server 2003 Management Pack for MOM 2000 SP1– English - Released 

This management pack monitors identity integration scenarios for MIIS 2003. Examples include

·   Management agent errors requiring administrative intervention

·   Events indicating service outages

·   Alerts indicating configuration issues and connected data source changes

·   Verification that all dependant services are running

·   Identity integration is performing normally and predictably

·   Automation of identity integration does not result in data corruption or loss

·   Notification if the password management is denying access to requests

·   Notification when account provisioning doesn’t occur correctly

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

BlogCast on Channel9

Oh Gosh! Robert Scoble has placed my BlogCast idea on Channel9  I'm honoured!  Seriously though thanks to Betsy, Mike and Robert for delivering a storming set of sessions for me this morning at the conference.  Watch out for the increase of Microsoft bloggers after today's training.

Thanks again all.

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 4 Comments

Exchange 2003 RPC/HTTP Documentation

There are some great documents about RPC/HTTP so I thoughts I'd create a list of the best documents

Exchange Server Tech Center

Exchange 2003 client access guide

RPC/HTTP Deployment scenarios

How to conigure always up to date notifications

Exchange Active Sync - Frequently asked questions

Top 10 KB articles for Exchange server mobility

Its good to have these documents all in one place, so thanks go to Scott Schnoll for collating them...

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 1 Comments

Blogging bootcamp

I'm relatively new to blogging and there are lots of things I'd like to know about the topic, so I've arranged for some of my Microsoft colleagues to deliver a blogging bootcamp session at our internal conference in Seattle this week.  I believe that blogging is the way to get information about the products that I cover out to as many people as possible, without increasing the time I spend answering my mail.  So I've persuaded Robert Scoble, Betsy Aoki and Mike Torres to teach our pre-sales people how to blog effectively, and save themselves time by using an RSS reader and reducing their dependency on email.  So maybe you'll see more blogs from the pre-sales and Evangelists after my sessions tomorrow.

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 6 Comments

Insiders forums

Steve Lamb blogged about creating a Security Insiders forum and so far has received very positive feedback about the need for this type of community.  I'm thinking about following his lead and creating 3 different types of Insiders forums:

Messaging Insiders

Real Time Communication Insiders

Windows Management Insiders

I wanted to include Insiders who didn't specifically use Exchange for messaging, or MOM for managing the Windows environment, to encourage sharing of industry wide best practices and to encourage debate.  I'm also looking for presenters / technical writers etc.

If you're interested please let me know, if this is a good idea or not, either by adding to this post by posting a comment, or by using the contact link on the blog.  I'd be interested in your thoughts. 

 

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

Operating System version requirements for MOM 2005 components

I found this useful piece of information about which versions of the OS are needed to support MOM 2005 components and thought it was worth sharing.  A lot of our really useful information is hidden deep down in white papers, and hard to find.  Maybe we should think about reducing the size of the white papers we publish, and sort of publish them as a component, then if you need to learn *just* about  one subject, you don't need to plough through hundreds of pages to get to where you want!

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

SMS 2003 Webcasts for February

TechNet Webcast: Preparing a business case for Systems Management Server (SMS) (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 01, 2005 - 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Pacific Time

Ed Goad, Senior Systems Engineer, Microsoft Corporation

You have determined from an IT perspective that SMS is the right solution for your environment - but how do you build a business case that will help you secure the resources you need for proper implementation? In this webcast, we will discuss key considerations, such as reviewing your infrastructure and building an implementation plan, that will help you build the business plan you will need to make your ideal SMS deployment a reality.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267026&Culture=en-US

 

 

TechNet Webcast: Zero Touch Deployment Using Systems Management Server 2003 with the Operating System Deployment Pack (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

David Smith, Senior Consultant, Entirenet

Ben Hansen, Group Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation

How automated is your desktop deployment operation? The Zero Touch Installation (ZTI) component of the Business Desktop Deployment Solution Accelerator adds functionality to the OS Deployment Feature Pack of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. Join this webcast to learn how to fully automate your desktop deployment as we demonstrate higher end functions of SMS 2003. We will highlight the features in the Operating System Deployment Pack that are most useful for deploying new machines in the Enterprise. We recommend that you have some basic familiarity with SMS to get the most out of this webcast.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267990&Culture=en-US

 

  

TechNet Webcast: Microsoft System Management Server 2003 Technical Overview (Part 1 of 2) (Level 200)

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

This two-part series highlights the new features of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, showing how SMS 2003 integrates with network and operating system technologies such as Active Directory and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). In the first part, we will discuss and demonstrate SMS Active Directory integration as well as review the new SMS Advanced Client. We will also cover asset management using Software and hardware inventory. Familiarity with SMS is helpful but not required for this session.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267548&Culture=en-US

 

 

TechNet Webcast: Using Tools from the SMS 2003 Toolkit 2 (Level 200)

Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Pacific Time

Wally Mead, Program Manager, SMS, Microsoft Corporation

You've been using SMS 2003 or have been thinking about it. Is there something that could make it even easier to use this powerful system to administer an enterprise-wide IT system? Fortunately for you, SMS 2003 Toolkit 2 has been recently released. It contains many tools that can provide immediate benefit to SMS sites. Join SMS 2003 expert Wally Mead as he explains these new tools and how you can use them to improve SMS efficiency and troubleshoot SMS issues more quickly.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267539&Culture=en-US

 

 

TechNet Webcast: Microsoft System Management Server 2003 Technical Overview (Part 2 of 2) (Level 200)

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

This two-part series highlights the new features of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, showing how SMS 2003 integrates with network and operating system technologies such as Active Directory and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). The second part of the series will focus on software distribution and SMS reporting. We will examine the software distribution process, including roaming boundaries and the SMS Installer. The session will end with a brief discussion of SMS reporting features. Familiarity with SMS is helpful but not required for this session.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267552&Culture=en-US

 

 

 

 

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 2 Comments

Share Point Portal Server Webcasts for February

Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Unlocking the Power of Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 by Connecting With SAP

Tuesday, February 01, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Eric Anderson, President, ERP-Link

Are you looking for a way to maximize your SAP information using Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server?  Join ERP-Link and Microsoft for this 60-minute webcast where you will see real-time examples. Learn how to connect Microsoft .NET applications to SAP using iNet.Integrator to develop and deploy Custom Portal and .NET connected solutions 95% faster than using traditional middleware or JAVA frameworks, thus reducing your cost-to-deploy and the total cost of ownership.  We will present an overview of a new technology which enables you to instantly connect .NET platforms - including SharePoint Portal Server - to SAP R/3. We will also show you the unique .NET Visual Studio Composer for creating full function SAP Composite WebParts and .NET mini-apps.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267590&Culture=en-US

 

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft IT Plans and Optimizes an Enterprise SharePoint Infrastructure (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 08, 2005 - 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Pacific Time

Joel Oleson, IT Technologist, Microsoft Corporation

In this session, Microsoft IT offers best practices and lessons learned from their experiences in deploying SharePoint products and technologies on the Microsoft corporate intranet. We will examine capacity planning and performance optimization techniques and considerations specific to deploying SharePoint within an enterprise infrastructure.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267616&Culture=en-US

 

 

 

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

Exchange 2003 Webcasts for February

Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Enable Regulatory Compliance with Microsoft and EMC

Monday, February 21, 2005 - 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Chris Gray, VP of Compliance Solution, EMC Corporation

Organizations worldwide are trying to navigate the minefield of e-mail retention, archiving, monitoring, and recovery to meet both business and regulatory requirements. Failing to protect e-mail has cost companies millions in litigation, regulatory fines, and lost production. All of these costs are avoidable by deploying an e-mail management solution that properly archives, stores, and monitors internal and external e-mail communications centrally and securely. Join EMC and Microsoft for a webcast to learn how to help minimize the risk of non-compliance, downtime, and lost data, while reducing costs and boosting the productivity of your entire Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail system.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267119&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft IT Does Storage Design In Exchange Scale Up Deployments (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 01, 2005 - 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Pacific Time

Dave Lalor, Senior IT Operations Engineer, Microsoft Corporation

This webcast will examine the storage design deployed within Microsoft to support the large-scale clusters utilized for the worldwide Exchange consolidation. Experts from Microsoft IT will outline best practices learned during the deployment and provide methodologies that will help you gain an understanding of what is required to deliver an optimized storage design.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267609&Culture=en-US

TechNet Support Webcast: Performance baselines and troubleshooting analysis in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003

Nicholas Basile, Microsoft Corporation
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

This webcast explains why baselines are important and describes data analysis for problem identification and discusses the Performance Monitoring tool, counters required for baselines, and counters and data analysis for troubleshooting performance-related issues.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=891814

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

Live Communications Server webcasts for February

Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Introduction to Live Communications Server 2005 - Overview of Real-Time Collaboration and Presence

Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Dennis Karlinsky, Lead Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Boost business productivity, improve organizational agility, and reduce the costs of managing a complex messaging infrastructure with secure and reliable, enterprise instant messaging (IM). Use corporate IM to deliver more with less; real-time collaboration and presence technologies are here! Microsoft Live Communications Server 2005 provides your business with enterprise-ready instant messaging, presence awareness, and an extensible platform that connects people, information, and business processes - enabling better decisions made faster. Attend this webcast and learn how this application uses a familiar Microsoft Office system to facilitate smooth, simple communication without the constraints of geography, office location, or time.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267894&Culture=en-US

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

Collaboration webcasts for February

Discover Today’s Office
Live and on-demand webcasts available now

Discover how to get the most out of Microsoft Office System to save time and be more productive. Tune in to these live and on-demand webcasts to learn time-saving tips for optimizing your use and your team’s use of today’s Microsoft Office System. Explore products such as Microsoft Outlook 2003, Word 2003, Excel 2003, OneNote 2003, InfoPath 2003, and PowerPoint.

Office Tips and Tricks for Administrative Assistants: Learn shortcuts you can use right away

Live and on-demand webcasts available now

In today’s fast-paced environment, administrative assistants are faced with new challenges. Beat information overload and collaborate with your team using Microsoft Office 2003. Learn steps you can take today to better manage Outlook, and new ways to manage documents and meeting notes, coordinate schedules, and support your team.

 

Webcast: The Microsoft Collaboration Platform

Monday, February 07, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Jim Bernardo, Lead Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Everyone is talking about collaboration-but what is it, and how can it help your business? In fact, collaboration is a means, not an end. Attend this webcast to learn more about Microsoft's approach to collaboration, and the innovations Microsoft brings to the market to help organizations work together more effectively.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032268073&Culture=en-US

 

Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Microsoft Office Live Meeting for Sales and Marketing

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Murari Narayan, Director, Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Office Live Meeting Web conferencing helps Sales and Marketing professionals meet, present, train, and collaborate with employees, prospects, customers, partners, and global audiences-in real time and at a moment's notice. Live Meeting helps you demonstrate products and negotiate deals more easily and quickly with anyone, anywhere, using only a PC with Internet connection and a phone. Attend this session to learn how Live Meeting will help you expand your market reach, generate leads, gain time-to-market advantage and instantly engage with customers in your target markets to increase market share.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267888&Culture=en-US

 

TechNet Webcast: Visio 2003 Solutions for IT, HR and Sales and Marketing Professionals (Level 200)

Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time

David Edson, Trainer, Comsys

Diagrams created in Visio 2003 visualize and communicate information in ways that text and numbers cannot. Designed for those new to the program, this webcast will enable you to build Visio diagrams that enhance understanding and productivity. Whether you work with networks or organizational charts, this session will give you a solid understanding of how to use Visio to visualize and document your designs and plans. Join us to discover how you can benefit from the enhanced decision making and collaboration Visio provides. Attendees will receive FREE Visio templates valued at over $500. This offer is made by Venturi Partners, and not by Microsoft Corporation.  Venturi Partners is solely responsible for fulfilling the terms of this offer.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267988&Culture=en-US

 

TechNet Webcast: Securing Office 2003 (Level 200)

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

David Smith, Sr. Consultant, EntireNet

Your enterprise uses Microsoft Office 2003, but are you prepared meet the security challenges with the powerful tools available? In this technical session, you will learn about the security fundamentals of Microsoft Office 2003, and ways to protect your users and your organization from viruses and malicious macros. We will address security planning and preparation throughout the deployment of Microsoft Office 2003, explain the security features of Service Pack 1 and the contributions they can make to your security plan.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032268000&Culture=en-US

 

MSDN Webcast: Advanced SharePoint Workflow Using Custom Document and Form Libraries (Part 1 of 2) (Level 100)

Monday, February 07, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time

Michael Yeager, MCS Consultant, Microsoft Corporation

Part one of this two-part series will show information workers how to install, configure and use the "SharePoint Workflow Document and Form Libraries" in both simple and advanced workflow scenarios including multi-step approval processes that enable the flow of Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Visio diagrams, or Microsoft InfoPath forms across multiple Microsoft SharePoint libraries and sites.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267192&Culture=en-US

 

MSDN Webcast: Developing Smart Tags and Attached Schema Documents for the Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework (Level 300)

Monday, February 07, 2005 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Pacific Time

Todd Abel, Solution Architect, Microsoft Corporation

Gain a comprehensive understanding of smart tag and attached schema creation using the Information Bridge Framework in this informative webcast. We will walk through the development of a simple attached schema document and smart tag recognizer, highlighting best practices and techniques for developing smart tags and attached schema documents. The discussion will also cover deployment considerations including client and server configuration, security and setup of Information Bridge Framework solutions.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032266636&Culture=en-US

 

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Tips and Tricks for Creating Fast and Flawless Presentation Graphics with PowerPoint (Level 200)

Thursday, February 03, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Stephanie Krieger, Document Production Expert, Arouet.net

Want the ability to add great-looking flowcharts, diagrams, and organization charts to your documents without any stress? Microsoft PowerPoint is the easy answer! This webcast will show you time-saving tips and a few tricks for creating that perfect presentation graphic in a fraction of the time you'd expect. Though we'll touch briefly on the Diagram and Organization Chart tool, the focus will be on using AutoShapes and other Office drawing tools. And, for when that PowerPoint graphic is destined to end up in a Word document, we'll look at a fast and easy technique for ensuring that the graphic is a perfect fit every time.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267335&Culture=en-US

 

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Avoid E-mail Overload with Microsoft Office and Mission Control (Level 100)

Tuesday, February 08, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Cathy Favre, Chief Learning Officer, Mission Control

For many people today, "e-mail overload" has become an overwhelming issue and an obstacle to productivity. Mission Control, an educational corporation that designs principles and tools to increase personal and organizational productivity, shows you how to take a closer look at your email and provides a set of principles and work practices that enable you to achieve e-mail productivity with the Microsoft Office System. During this webcast, we will outline best practices and new ways to manage, handle, and deal with your e-mail to help you be more productive and free of e-mail overload.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267532&Culture=en-US

 

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Tips and Tricks for Executive Administrative Assistants: Outlook and Beyond (Level 100)

Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Jared Andersen, Microsoft Business Productivity Advisor, Microsoft Corporation

Managing your own day is challenging enough-managing someone else's doesn't have to be. From e-mail and calendaring, to meeting and document preparation, the Microsoft Office System can help you support your manager or management team more effectively than ever before. Join us for this informative webcast and get useful tips and tricks to get the most out of Outlook 2003, Word 2003, and Windows SharePoint Services-a component of Windows Server 2003.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267257&Culture=en-US

 

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Make Meetings More Productive with Microsoft and Mission Control (Level 100)

Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Cathy Favre, Chief Learning Officer, Mission Control

Do you know when to say "no" to meetings? Do you want to train your team to have meetings that are more productive? Join this webcast with Microsoft and Mission Control as we present a set of meeting principles and Microsoft Office tools that will help ensure people come prepared for meetings knowing what is to be accomplished, and are ready to dedicate 100% to achieving the successful and productive outcome of the meeting. Learn the skills you need to take your meetings to a new level of productivity and eliminate scrambling, wasted time, and ineffective meeting practices.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267511&Culture=en-US

 

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Successful Project Management in Marketing (Level 100)

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Keith Wilson, BComm., MBA, Senior Consultant/Partner, Project Management Practice, Inc.

In today's world marketing is often times comprised of a series of projects.  Learn how Microsoft Project Standard 2003 plays a crucial part in the successful planning and execution of marketing projects. This webcast, developed to specifically address the needs of marketing professionals, will provide relevant information and examples on how Project Standard 2003 can be used effectively in your business environment. See how to set up projects quickly, communicate data effectively, track projects and analyze projects with Project Standard 2003. Attend this webcast and receive a free marketing Project template and self-training kit.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267337&Culture=en-US

 

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Tips and Tricks for Using Basic Word VBA Every Day: It's Much Easier than You Think! (Level 300)

Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time

Stephanie Krieger, Document Production Expert, Arouet.net

Ever spend time repeating the same actions in Word time and again, sure that there must be a better way? Well, there probably is! Contrary to what you might have heard, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) doesn't have to be scary! When you know even the basics of working with Word VBA, you'll be amazed at how much you can do that you never knew was possible-and how much time you can save on things you do every day, from complex document tasks to daily updates! This webcast will introduce some core essentials of Word VBA and provide tips and tricks for using VBA as a daily productivity tool.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267697&Culture=en-US

 

Microsoft Small Business Webcast: Create Compelling Catalogs Using Microsoft Publisher 2003 (Level 100)

Wednesday, February 09, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Joelle Thompson, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Make your products jump off the page and into the hands of your customers by crafting catalogs for maximum effect. Attend this webcast and learn how you can assemble publications quickly, leveraging the business information you already maintain. Using the catalog merge feature in the Microsoft Publisher Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard, you can use text and pictures from a data source, such as a spreadsheet, to quickly create compelling catalogs for your business.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267788&Culture=en-US

 

 

 

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

Webcasts - Exchange 2003 in depth

Have a look at these webcasts to get a thorough understanding of Exchange 2003 concepts.

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 0 Comments

Hardware failure and recovery with Exchange 2003 presentation

I promised I'd blog about all of the great resources that I referred to during my presentation at the event today, so here's a few off the top of my head.  If there is anything I referred to, but have forgotten to include send me a mail and I'll edit this post - so keep on coming back here for updates...  I created a blog entry with links from my other presentation today

If you want to have another look at how the Recovery Storage group works, there is an 8 minute long BlogCast demo showing how the RSG works for you to look at at your leisure.

Customising OWA

How to restore deleted user accounts and their group memberships in Active Directory

Best Practice Recommendation for Recovering your Active Directory Forest

Deletion of Critical Objects in Active Directory in Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003

Unsuccessful Replication Without Partner Listed

How to Recover from a Deleted Domain Controller Machine Account in Windows 2000

 

 

 

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 5 Comments

Messaging Security at Microsoft presentation

I promised I'd blog about all of the great resources that I referred to during my presentation at the event today, so here's a few off the top of my head.  If there is anything I referred to, but have forgotten to include send me a mail and I'll edit this post - so keep on coming back here for updates...

Windows Server Security guide

Securing Exchange Communications 

Protecting individual messages and S/MIME

Preventing the enumeration of Exchange Server 2003 e-mail addresses 

Intelligent message filter

Exposing the spam confidence level in an Outlook form

Exchange 2003 and anti virus software

Delaying the SMTP address verification responses for each address that is not valid (session Tar-pitting)

Messaging Security at Microsoft

 

posted by Eileen_Brown with 12 Comments

SMS 2003 and Active Directory - extending the schema

I found this interesting point on the SMS 2003 FAQ document which is worth sharing.

Q. Do I have to extend my Active Directory schema to use SMS? 
A.

No. You need to extend the schema only if:

You want to use global roaming for Advanced Clients.

You want to use the most secure method available for authenticating management points to Advanced Clients.

You want to use automatic key exchange for secure site-to-site communication.

You want clients to automatically detect the server locator points and management points without requiring Windows Internet Name Service (WINS). If you do not extend the schema, WINS is required for automatic site assignment, roaming, and selection of a local management point.  

Although running SMS 2003 in an Active Directory domain gives you many other benefits, such as advanced security and support for boundaries based on Active Directory sites, schema extension is not required for those features.

For more information about extending your Active Directory schema, see the “Active Directory Schema Modification and Publishing for Systems Management Server 2003” white paper on the Microsoft Download site. For more information about authenticating management points, see “Appendix B:  SMS Certificate Infrastructure” in Scenarios and Procedures for Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003:  Security on Microsoft TechNet.

 

 

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Achieving High Availability with Exchange 2003

Microsoft IT has released a white paper detailing how we achieve 99.99% availability with Exchange 2003, clusters and Service level Agreements and the Best Practice Analyzer that Paul Bowden is talking about at a TechNet event in February.

Its an interesting read, and gives an insight into how we manage our Exchange environment internally, with lots of useful links.

I'll be delivering a presentation on Thursday on how Microsoft IT implements Messaging security if you have some free time and want to get inside away from this blustery British weather and into a nice warm auditorium!

 

 

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SMS 2003 Webcasts

In addition to the following SMS webcasts, check out the SMS Webcast Series. The series is offered seasonally and offers progressive webcasts to help you build on your SMS expertise.

TechNet Webcast: Overview of Office 2003 Deployment Tools
January 20, 2005: This intermediate-level technical presentation introduces some of the potential tools you can use in deploying Office 2003, including CD Images and SMS 2003.
TechNet Webcast: Creating a Highly Available SMS Site
January 19, 2005: Do you have a large number of clients in your environment, demanding high availability from your servers? Join this webcast to learn how to deploy an SMS cluster with network load balancing (NBL) and availability in mind.
TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2003 System Administration (Part 2 of 2)
January 12, 2005: This session covers Windows Server 2003 administration from a number of views, including a look at out-of-the-box tools, SMS 2003 options, and MOM 2005 features. The presentation concludes by showing how SMS 2003 and MOM 2005 augment the tools previously covered, including software and patch management in SMS 2003 and server monitoring using MOM 2005.
TechNet Webcast: Deploying XP SP2
January 11, 2005: How do you assure that Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) gets properly and appropriately installed? This webcast discusses using tools, such as Software Update Services, Group Policy, and SMS 2003.
TechNet Webcast: Implementing SMS 2003 Software Metering
January 06, 2005: This session discusses the Software Metering feature of SMS 2003. It shows how to use SMS 2003 to monitor which desktops are using which applications, and how much they are using them.
TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2003 System Administration (Part 1 of 2)
January 05, 2005: This session covers Windows Server 2003 administration from a number of views and concludes by showing how SMS 2003 and MOM 2005 augment the tools previously covered, including software and patch management in SMS 2003 and server monitoring using MOM 2005.
TechNet Webcast: Managing a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network - (Part 3 of 4)
December 15, 2004: This webcast is the third in a four-part series that examines key aspects of proactive Windows Server 2003 network management. In the third part we will focus on using SMS to package and deploy software and updates across your network.
TechNet Webcast: Deploying SMS for Server Management
December 14, 2004: Ever wonder what is involved in an effective deployment of an SMS infrastructure? In this webcast, we will explore the specific business and technical requirements needed to analyze and deploy SMS for use in the management of a server environment.
TechNet Webcast: Zero Touch Deployment
December 9, 2004: Learn to fully automate your desktop deployment. Get guidance on using the latest versions of SMS and Microsoft BizTalk to automate deployment and provisioning. This webcast introduces the Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) Enterprise Edition solution. which offers complete guidance for Zero Touch Provisioning using Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004.
TechNet Webcast: Creating a Highly Available SMS Site
December 7, 2004: Do you have a large number of clients in your environment, demanding high availability from your servers? Join this webcast to learn how to deploy an SMS cluster with network load balancing (NBL) and availability in mind.
TechNet Webcast: Security Patch Management Tools (Part 3) - SMS with the SUS Feature Pack
November 22, 2004: In this webcast, we will discuss using SMS and the SUS Feature Pack as patch management tools in your environment and how they fit into a comprehensive patch management strategy. SMS and SUS offer different advantages and benefits to an organization. This webcast will review their different capabilities and how they contribute to a secure infrastructure.
Executive Circle Webcast: What's New with Microsoft's Enterprise Product Roadmap
September 29, 2004: This webcast will bring you up to speed on the enterprise software roadmap, highlighting the significant shifts in delivery dates and support policies for Windows Server™ 2003, SQL Server™, Systems Management Server and Security technologies.
TechNet Webcast: Upgrading to SMS 2003 SP1
September 23, 2004: Now that SMS 2003 SP1 has been released, what is the upgrade process? In this webcast, we'll perform an upgrade of an SMS 2003 site to SMS 2003 SP1.
TechNet Webcast: Security Patch Management Tools (Part 3) - SMS with the SUS Feature Pack
September 17, 2004: Do you have an effective, comprehensive patch management strategy? Do you know when to use SMS and when to use Software Update Services (SUS)? In this webcast we will discuss using SMS and the SUS Feature Pack as patch management tools in your environment and how they fit into a comprehensive patch management strategy.
TechNet Webcast: SMS 2003 Lessons Learned
September 9, 2004: SMS 2003 has been in the market since November 2003. What are some of the gotchas others have already encountered? What are things to be aware of? In this webcdast, we'll discuss issues other customers have encountered in their SMS 2003 deployments to help you prepare for your deployment.
TechNet Webcast: Security Patch Management Tools (Part 3) - SMS with the SUS Feature Pack
June 23, 2004: This webcast will discuss using SMS and the SUS Feature Pack as patch management tools in your environment and how they fit into a comprehensive patch management strategy. SMS and SUS offer different advantages and benefits to an organization. This webcast will review their different capabilities and how they contribute to a secure infrastructure.
TechNet Webcast: Combining PatchLink with SMS, SUS, and MBSA for Patch and Security Management
May 27, 2004: This webcast demonstrates how PatchLink UPDATE works with Microsoft SMS 2003, SUS, and MBSA to enable patch management from a single console for all Windows operating systems as well as non-Windows OS platforms.
TechNet Webcast: Microsoft System Management Server 2003: A Technical Overview
May 21, 2004: Whether you have used SMS before or are just thinking about SMS for the first time, this webcast will give you the information you need to plan for an upgrade or adoption of SMS 2003. The session starts by showing the new features of SMS 2003 and goes on to show how SMS 2003 integrates with Network and operating system technologies, such as Active Directory and Windows Management Instrumentation.
TechNet Webcast: Shop Talk Discussion on Patch Management at Microsoft using SMS 2003
May 5, 2004: This webcast tells you how the Microsoft Information and Technology Group (Microsoft's IT department) patches its desktop and server environment using SMS 2003.
TechNet Webcast: Getting Started with Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003
March 25, 2004: This webcast shows how features in the new version of SMS 2003 can help you improve the management and security of your IT infrastructure. Agenda items include an overview of the new capabilities in SMS 2003, recommended best practices for deployment, and how to use the new and improved features.
TechNet Webcast: Using SMS 2003 Software Update Management Features
March 3, 2004: This webcast discusses the SMS 2003 software update management process, and demonstrates the entire process from installation of this feature to verification that the distributed patch was deployed successfully.
TechNet Webcast: Upgrading SMS 2.0 to SMS 2003
February 4, 2004: This webcast describes guidelines and procedures you can use when upgrading to SMS 2003. It also discusses the differences in architecture, site systems, client deployment, and capabilities between the two versions of SMS, and includes a walkthrough of an upgrade on an SMS 2.0 site.
TechNet Webcast: Introduction to Automated Deployment Services
February 3, 2004: This webcast offers a comprehensive overview of ADS and provides details on its architectural design, features, and benefits, as well as examples of customer deployments.

TechNet Webcast: Getting Started with Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003
January 8, 2004: This webcast explains how features in SMS 2003 can help you improve the management and security of your IT infrastructure.

 

 
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Webcasts: 10 Ways to learn about MOM 2005

The following webcasts will help you learn more about MOM 2005, the latest event and performance management tool. Register to view any of the webcasts below. You can find additional MOM webcasts on the Management Webcasts page.

Microsoft Operations Manager 2005—Exploring Microsoft's New Event and Performance Management Tool for Windows Server System and Beyond

September 02, 2004: This webcast discusses MOM's new features for managing and optimizing your infrastructure. Hear how this release builds the foundation for the Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI) and provides a stepping stone for Microsoft's integrated change, configuration, and operations management solution, System Center.

 

Managing Exchange Server with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Increasing Service Availability and Reducing Email Outages with MOM 2005

September 07, 2004: Learn how the Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack for MOM 2005 can help improve the health and performance of Exchange Server 2003 through specialized, proactive monitoring and alerting.

 

Managing SQL Server with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Increasing SQL Availability and Reliability with Specialized Knowledge and Tools in MOM's SQL Management Pack

September 14, 2004: Learn how to manage SQL Server with Microsoft's premier event and performance management tool—MOM 2005. In this webcast, two Microsoft program managers will share their insight and techniques on using MOM 2005 to help ensure service availability for SQL Server 2000 and the upcoming SQL Server 2005 version.

 

Monitoring your E-Business Solutions with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005—Using Built-In Knowledge in MOM 2005 to Reduce Downtime

September 16, 2004: If you're interested in improving and optimizing the performance of your BizTalk and Commerce Servers using MOM 2005, you won't want to miss this webcast. We will show you how to take advantage of powerful built-in features in MOM to effectively monitor your e-business solutions and reduce downtime.

 

Using Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 at Microsoft IT—How to Manage 6,000 Servers Across 225 Worldwide Sites for Maximum Performance and Availability

September 21, 2004: Gain valuable insight into how Microsoft uses MOM 2005 to help ensure its servers stay up and running. Attend this webcast for an opportunity to learn and ask the experts how they have implemented the new technology in MOM 2005 to monitor over 6,000 servers across 225 worldwide sites.

 

Monitoring Solutions to Extend Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Capabilities—Service Monitoring Solution Accelerator

October 14, 2004: This webcast explores powerful solutions for improving Service Monitoring using products such as MOM 2005 and SQL Server Notification Services. Learn valuable automation techniques, best practices, and design considerations as we examine key concepts, such as MOM 2005 Service Continuity, Notification Work Flow, Alert Tuning, and Auto Ticketing.

 

Real Stories of Microsoft Operations Manager 2005—Lessons Learned from our MOM 2005 Early Adopters

October 19, 2004: If you are planning a MOM 2005 deployment in the near future, watch this webcast to gain valuable insight from the experiences of participants in the MOM 2005 Technical Adopter Program. In this webcast, Omar Kouatly, owner of the program, will share highlights from the design, deployment, and troubleshooting experiences of over 30 MOM 2005 users.

 

Monitoring Active Directory with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005—Using MOM 2005 to Improve Availability of One of Your Most Critical Services

November 04, 2004: Learn how MOM 2005 can significantly improve the effectiveness of Active Directory management in your organization. In this webcast, we will highlight key features of the new release of Microsoft's event and performance management tool that can help you monitor and keep your AD forests up and running.

 

Installing Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 from Start to Finish—Your Guide to Setting Up and Testing MOM 2005

November 16, 2004: Learn from the experts how to install MOM 2005 and troubleshoot any areas of concern during the installation process. This webcast can be used as an on-demand reference for the setup, configuration, and testing of MOM 2005 in your own lab environment.

 

Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 at MSN - Using MOM 2005 to Monitor One of the Largest Web Portals in the World

June 14, 2005: See how MOM 2005 is used to support the unique business requirements of MSN, Hotmail, and Passport through proactive monitoring and alerting.

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MOM 2005 Performance and sizing White Paper

An accurate analysis of the performance and sizing of the hardware systems that support Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 is critical to the successful implementation of MOM 2005. This technical whitepaper shares some of the knowledge gained from the performance and sizing testing for MOM 2005, and is presented in various scenarios.

 

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MOM 2000 Management Pack for Terminal Server

Microsoft Windows Terminal Server MOM 2000 MP, version 2 monitors the TS services application event log. This management pack includes event rules for the Terminal Server service, Licensing Service and Session Directory service in NT4 TS Edition, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. The events collected from each service indicate critical issues with TS operations during deployment.

The improvements in this version include:

  • Fewer rules and alerts, every rule has a name describing a high-level operational problem. 
  • Rules have well-adjusted alert severity levels, depending on the criticality of the events in the rule. 
  • Version 2 contains very well-documented description of every event and steps to remedy a situation caused by it. 
  • Consistent rule naming conventions. All rules start with either ‘TS’ (for Terminal Server), ‘LS’ (for Terminal Services License Server) or ‘SD’ (Terminal Services Session Directory), which lets administrators at a glance see which service threw an event.

The improvements above apply to Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 sections of the MP.  

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Configuring SQL Server Replication for an SMS 2003 Management Point

This white paper is provides guidance for configuring SQL Server replication for management points in an SMS 2003 site.  SQL Server Replication allows management points and server locator points to query the SMS data they need, and to service client requests without placing additional load on the SMS site database server. The replication process is handled, entirely, by the SQL Server publication and subscription services. 

The website does recommend that you have a look at the SQL documentation too to check replication - oh and also read Mat's blog  and for insider tips!

 

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Live communications Server (LCS) 2005 Resource kit now available

the LCS 2005 Reskit is now available to download from the web. The SID mapping tool and documentation is especially useful for anyone who has deployed LCS 2005 in a resource forest and needs to map the primary user account to the disabled user account in the resource forest.  There is also a guide showing how to deploy LCS 2005 in a Multiple Forest environment.

Other tools include:

LCSTracer - to capture tracing information from the server (Have a look at Tom's post on this tool)

Checkspn.vbs - Tool to allow non domain administrators to install LCS and have the service principal name (SPN) registered within AD

LCSCheck.exe - to check if LCS is correctly configured for remote access

LCSDiag - to check the server configuration

LCSPing - to check TCP connections between servers and ports

LCSUsers - to query how many LCS servers are deployed and how many users are o each server.

There are lots more tools, scripts and utilities to have a look at.

For more information about the hardware and software requirements, and supported environments, see the Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 Deployment Series at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011450741033.aspx.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) 2005

Rod Trent pointed me towards an interesting new blog today.  Martin Dey has created an MMS 2005 blog in which your comments and suggestions about MMS 2005 get straight to the guy who is organising it!  Great idea.

blogged about how to register for this event the other week. 

 

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BlogCast: The Exchange 2003 Recovery Storage Group

Ewan did a fantastic BlogCast for me last month about tips and tricks using a Smartphone, so I've managed to persuade him to record some more BlogCasts for me.  I like listening to his lilting scottish voice.  My voice is very husky and soothing and I don't want you to fall asleep during my blogcasts, so I'm very pleased he's agreed to record another demo for me.

The BlogCast topic today is about using the Exchange 2003 Recovery Storage Group (RSG).  The demo includes bringing back the database from a backup, and using the RSG to merge the data back into the store whilst both stores are on line and the user is loggd into their live mailbox. 

It's a 4.6mb file and the demo runs for 8 minutes.  View it here.

There are links to other BlogCasts here

 

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Virtual Labs for Live Communication Server (LCS) 2005 (and other products)

Patrick blogged about his experiences with LCS 2005, but if you havent tried it yet you can have a play in a virtual lab without having to install LCS at all...

Virtual Labs for Live Communications Server 2005 are now available on the TechNet site -  you can easily register on the site below to obtain an account and start using these virtual labs.  Topics covered include deploying in a single forest, single domain topology; enabling federation; enabling remote access, and deploying Live Communication Server archiving service. 

Go on to the TechNet site to register:

These are the labs:

·  Deploying Live Communications Server 2005 Standard Edition

·  Enabling Federation for Live Communications Server 2005 Standard Edition

·  Enabling Remote Access for Live Communications Server 2005 Standard Edition

·  Deploying Live Communications Server 2005 Archiving Service

 If LCS is not your bag though, there are also Labs available on Exchange, MOM and SMS

Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005
Take advantage of key features of Microsoft Active Directory and SQL Server management packs as well as new features of MOM 2005. This virtual lab allows you to experiment with managing Exchange and Active Directory and Monitoring SQL Server with MOM 2005 in the enhanced security of a sandbox environment.

Microsoft Systems Management Server Manager (SMS) 2003
Test the capabilities of SMS 2003 in the sandbox environment of this virtual lab. Experiment with and learn more about SMS 2003 and Microsoft Active Directory integration, patch management, security updates, Office deployment and configuration of SMS for hardware and software asset inventory and usage.

Microsoft Exchange Server
Learn how to take advantage of key features of Exchange Server 2003. This lab provides exploration of the Microsoft Active Directory and Exchange management packs and walk-through server configurations. In addition, you'll explore anti-spam and SMTP security features, migration from Exchange Server 5.5, disaster recovery and more.

If you want to know how we deployed LCS internally read the MS IT document on how we did it...

 

 

 

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Using an Alternate Exchange 2003 Server to recover data

Adarsh asked me the other day when he should build an alternate Exchange server in order to retrive data. Well,  you should use an alternate server only when you can't use recovery storage groups. For example if you want to recover Public folders.  If you can use the recovery storage group then this is much easier... see http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=DF144AF6-BEE5-4B35-866A-557E25FE2BA1&displaylang=en for information on when Exchange Recovery Storage groups are useful in your deployment.

 

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Exchange 2003 in Native mode

I had a question from Andy the other day.  Andy is currently running Exchange 2000 and is hoping to migrate to 2003. They are also going to be upgrading the AD from 2000 to 2003. He wanted to know whether they would be best to go into native mode before migrating to Exchange 2003 and if so can they remove the ADC first?

Well Andy, I would recommend switching to native mode only after all of the computers that may be running 5.5 are deleted from the organisation.  See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/272314 and http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829577  for information.  The Exdeploy wizard allows an easy upgrade from Exchange 2000 native mode to Exchange 2003.  See this article to walkthrough the process. http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Upgrade_Exchange_2000_to_2003.html .  If you’re not running 5.5, I’m not sure what purpose you have your ADC for?  If you have no 5.5 or NT 4 in the organisation, then it doesn't matter in which order you do the switch to native mode.  I’d do it after the successful installation of Exchange 2003.  See chapter 3 and 6 in the Deployment guide for more information. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/Exchange/guides/Ex2k3DepGuide/90258468-cd8d-485f-90b2-08d499a48147.mspx

 

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System Center Reporting Server 2005

I've blogged about this before, but I keep getting questions on this topic.  If you want to know more about how System Center Reporting Server works with SMS 2003 and MOM 2005 then have a look hereThe first release of System Center 2005 will include SMS 2003, MOM 2005 and System Center Reporting Server 2005.

System Center Reporting Server 2005, the third component of System Center 2005, will deliver an integrated data repository and reporting service to support your IT decision making.  Everything currently available in the MOM 2005 Operational Database will be in System Center Reporting Server 2005. The same data transfer service (DTS) jobs used to move data from the MOM 2005 Operational Database to the MOM 2005 Reporting Server, will be used to transfer data from the MOM 2005 Operational Database to the System Center Reporting Server Data Warehouse.  With SMS 2003, all the software inventory, hardware inventory, software distribution, and security update management data will be moved to System Center Reporting Server 2005 and the schema will be published to enable you to create custom reports and ad hoc queries.

There is an FAQ available with more information, or you can have a look at SMSPerfGuys blog for techy design information.

 

 

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User State migration tool (USMT) 2.6 integration with SMS 2003 OS Deployment Feature pack

I blogged about the SMS 2003 OS deployment feature pack the other week, and how good the support for USMT 2.6 was.  I've finally got around to having a play with migrating some data to my spare machine.  It's fantastic!  As long as the USMT installation folder is accessible through a UNC path, and you've specified where to store the user state data, then it works like a dream.  I grabbed it from the download centre  and had a play with Scanstate and Loadstate command line tools.  Scanstate captures an intermediate store like a server or CD drive, with the user files and settings from the source computer.  Loadstate restores these files and settings to the destination computerHere is the syntax for both commands:

scanstate <MigrationPath> [/i <InfFile> [/i <InfFile> [...]]] [/l <LogFile>] [/v <number value>] [/f] [/u] [/x] [/c]

loadstate <MigrationPath> [/i <InfFile> [/i <InfFile> [...]]] [/l <LogFile>] [/v <number value>] [/f] [/u] [/x]

By default, the OS Deployment Feature Pack saves the user state data locally on the destination computer, which is the most secure location as it doesn't impact the network. 

Very useful indeed, and so easy to use...

 

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