Eileen Brown's WebLog

Customising tabs with Office Communicator 2005

I've been asked about this a couple of times before, there's obviously quite a bit of interest in this topic so it's worth another mention.

If you want to customise the tabs down the side of Office communicator 2005, haqve a look at the customising tab section in the planning and deployment guide which walks through how to set up the XML files etc for this..

There are other useful LCS and communicator documents mentioned here

**Updated link**

IMF and POP3 connections

Kerry was at the compliance event last week and asked me about the IMF.

I recently (last week) attended the Exchange Compliance and Disaster Recover presentation.
I have setup the IMF recently and have been collecting email via POP3 under SBS 2K3.
I have noticed through monitoring, that the IMF did not recognise all spam emails until I swapped to SMTP delivery at our site.  When using
POP3 it did not detect and did not move any emails into the junk folder, I current have the SCL set to 'Do nothing' when emails are categorised as I want to monitor the volumes and get the correct SCL/UCE in place.

Well Paul did a great blogcast on troubleshooting the IMF the other week but didn't talk about POP3 limitations.  The thing about the IMF is that the IMF only works on smtp connections where the IMF is installed.  The reason that the IMF doesn't work on the POP3 connector is that the sbs2003 POP3 connector puts the POP3 email into the pickup folder, and this bypasses normal smtp. 

So I've blogged about this just in case anyone else is trying to get the IMF working with POP3, and if you want an introduction to the IMF, Ewan did a great introductory blogcast on how the IMF works...

Blogcast: Enabling Roaming boundaries in SMS 2003

Here's a blogcast showing how to enable local or remote roaming boundaries in SMS 2003.  The blogcast talks about how to enable BITS to ensure bandwidth throttling and the benefits of assigning local or remote roaming boundaries depending on link speed. You can read about BITS in the Advanced client section of the deployment guide 

This enables a finer degree of control when software packages are distriuted, and allows clients to download software packages from an alternate site within their boundary. 

The blogcast runs for 3 minutes 22 seconds, and is optimised for streaming.  You can find links to other blogcasts here.

Disabling mobility services for Active Directory users

I was talking to James the other day about using mobility features with users  He wanted to be able to disable certain individual user accounts access to all Mobile Services provided by Exchange 2003 without going to the Exchange Features tab in the account properties in Active Directory.  He wanted to disable or enable access to ALL users within an OU or Domain without going to each individual user account?  He asked whether there's a script around that can do it, but couldnt find one.

I had a look around, and asked a few colleagues and came up with AD modify which will allow you to do this.  Have a look at this article written by Henrik for a step by step article on how this is done.  Seems like this will save James quite a bit of time (he works in a rather large organisation).

Scripting for MOM

Now this is a great idea. Mike blogged about how there's a TechNet site with sample scripts and walkthroughs for creating scripts for MOM with a great article about the basics of scripting. 

But here's the great thing.  There's a link asking for content, so you can ask to see scripts that solve your (or mine) particular MOM problems.  That means that I can try to persuade someone else to do the scary scripting for me. Hee hee...

Exchange 2003 SP2

After Steve announced SP2 at TechEd Orlando and Terry blogged about it (and so did I), I've had quite a few questions about when SP2 would be released (2nd half of 2005 by the way), and some of the features in it.  Well here's the link to the page documenting the features, things like the Windows mobile 5.0 messaging and security features pack, and some of the mobility management, mailbox improvements and anti phishing technologies that will be included with SP2.

There is also an FAQ about SP2 here.

posted by Eileen_Brown with 3 Comments

What's your favourite blog?

So today is an admin day.  I'm trying to get through my backlog of emails, run through next years events planning stuff with Louise, catch up on my technical knowledge, reading all of the blog feeds that I subscribe to, and answering as many customer mails as I can which come in through the blog, and I'm drowning a little with all that I have to do at the moment.

So I thought I'd go through my RSS reader and delete all those feeds that don't really give me as much as they used to.  So now, I'm stuck with a fairly empty RSS reader and not many blogs to read.  So I thought I'd ask you.  Which technical blogs do you read? And which blogs inspire you and motivate you.

Leave a comment and let us all know so that I can populate my RSS reader afresh... Thanks...

Blogcast: Configuring the Advertised Programs Client Agent in SMS 2003

Here's a blogcast from the TechNet team on how to configure the Advertised Programs client Agent in SMS 2003.  the APCA forms an important part of software distribution in SMS 2003. The blogcast runs for 1min 25 seconds and talks about the various options that you can set at the client to determine how often the client polls the server.  You can also set options if you want the client to be notified when a new program arrives for installation.

There are links to other blogcasts here...

Automatically forwarding mails to external mailboxes

Allister called me from his event yesterday with a query from one of the attendeed who asked if it’s possible to block rules in the Outlook client to prevent users from having emails forwarded to an external mailbox. In this instance, the rule blocking would need to be initiated from the server as the clients have already been deployed with this functionality enabled and the customer doesn’t want to have to touch all the desktops. He’s keen to do this to prevent employees from inadvertently forwarding content that may be obscene or inappropriate from inside the organisation to the outside world.

Wel this has been around since Exchange 5.5 and caused us an issue in a previous company after one of the Sales people left suddenly and had enabled this rule (and we didn't disable his NT account in time - but thats another story - and a process issue too)

Here are the kb articles for Exchange 2000 and for Exchange 2003 which documents how to override the setting for selected users, and a useful explanation about how message formatting, auto forwards and responses happen in Exchange 2000

I'm surprised Allister even needed to ask me this question - his blog is the place I go to for all my Outlook tips and facts..!

Exchange compliance and archiving

I co-presented with Veritas at an event this morning about the features of Exchange 2003, Exchange consolidation best practices from MSIT, the IMF and the ExBPA.  I had several questions about PST files and Public folders and their management for compliance and archiving.  Well I've blogged about backing up PST files, and best practices for PST files, and have touched on the subject of Public folders before.  So here's a few of the links that I mentioned this morning:

How to add age limits to Public folders

Configuring Outlook 2003 for RPC/HTTP

Configuring Exchange for RPC/HTTP

Messaging hygiene at Microsoft

Using Exchange Server 2003 Recovery Storage groups

Veritas Enterprise Vault

What did I miss?  add a comment if you asked me a question and I didn't include it here...

There's a really huge moon out there tonight...

Completely off topic I know, but I do occasionally blog about non technical things - just because they've caught my eye.  If you're in the Northern hemisphere (sorry Antipodes!), and look out at about 10pm tonight (June 22nd), you'll see a massive optical illusion with the moon on the horizon appearing to be much larger than usual.  You can read about all the technical details in this article from the Times and the Discovery Channel

So I'll be gazing south on my way home from the pub... well, that's the reason I'm going out isn't it?  :-)

Sharing SMTP address spaces in Exchange 2003

Mike mailed me with the question of the day... 

 If the "This Exchange organization is responsible for all mail delivery to this address" option is not selected on an Exchange recipient policy then will Exchange forward mails to a smart host if it cannot find an Exchange mailbox associated with an email address or contact?

So I had a look at the KB articles on Setting up SMTP domains for inbound and relay and about sharing SMTP address spaces.  Exchange treats e-mail messages differently depending on whether Exchange is authoritative or non-authoritative for a particular SMTP address space. To view this setting:

1. Open the properties on a recipient policy, click the Email Addresses tab, click an SMTP address, and then click Edit. 
2. Examine the setting for the This Exchange Organization is responsible for all mail delivery to this address check box. If this check box is selected, Exchange is authoritative for the SMTP domain. If this check box is not selected, Exchange is non-authoritative.  Exchange must always be authoritative for the primary SMTP address (the one in bold) on the default recipient policy. Otherwise, local mail flow may not occur. When you share selected SMTP address spaces, a shared address space is set as non-authoritative in Exchange. If the address space that you want to share is not the primary address on the default recipient policy, click to clear the This Exchange Organization is responsible for all mail delivery to this address check box for that domain.

If you share all Address spaces then Exchange becomes authoritative for all address spaces... here's what the kb says:

This configuration is much simpler, but much less flexible. In this configuration, Exchange is authoritative for all address spaces. You cannot have any contacts in your directory that have a target address that matches a domain that Exchange is authoritative for. To apply this method:

1. Open the properties on the default SMTP virtual server.
2. Click the Messages tab.
3. In the Forward all messages with unresolved recipients to host box, type the FQDN or the IP address, in square brackets ([]), of the server that will receive unresolved mail.
4. Click OK.
5. Repeat this procedure for the default SMTP virtual server on all Exchange servers except for any virtual server that is acting as an inbound gateway for the other system. Microsoft recommends that no mailboxes reside on this server.
Note that this setting only affects authoritative domains. Therefore, for any authoritative domains, messages that are sent to unresolved addresses are forwarded to the server that is specified on the SMTP virtual server. Any domains that are non-authoritative in Exchange 2000 or Exchange 2003 are not affected by this setting. Messages that are sent to unresolved addresses in non-authoritative domains are routed to a matching SMTP connector if a matching SMTP connector is present. If no matching SMTP connector is found, the message is sent to the server that is specified in the MX record that is found in DNS.

So its a simple matter of ticking the box... but make sure you know what domains you're authoritative for - or you won't get mail!

Blogcast: Configuring Hardware and Software Inventory in SMS 2003

This is a 3 part blogcast as part of a series from the Technet team in the US showing how to configure and enable hardware and Software Inventory in SMS 2003. 

Part 1 is here, and runs for 3minutes 42 seconds and shows how to configure Hardware and software Inventory

Part 2 is here, runs for 1 minute 42 seconds  and shows how to enable hardware and software inventory.

Part 3 is here and reviews the inventory collected by viewing the updated collection..

There are links to other blogcasts here, or you can take a look at Brian's blogcast site for more advanced SMS blogcasts and how to's on lots of other topics...

Microsoft and Sybari - products

Well, Microsoft announced that the acquisition of Sybari has been completed today and talked about all the products that would be offered:

"Microsoft will offer Sybari products for the Microsoft Windows platform, including Antigen for Microsoft Exchange, Antigen for Microsoft SharePoint® Portal Server and Windows SharePoint Services, Antigen for Instant Messaging, Antigen for SMTP Gateways, Sybari Enterprise Manager, Advanced Spam Manager, Advanced Spam Defense and Antigen for Domino on Windows NT" 

There are lots of links a bout the acquisition up on the Windows Server System site, with the press pass page, and the product overviews for Anti virus and anti spam solutions.  But the topic I get asked about the most is messaging hygiene and how we do it at Microsoft. I've talked about this topic quite a bit in past blog entries so won't dwell too much on it here.. but it's worth having a look at our Intelligent message filter for Exchange if you haven't done so already.  Greg talked about this during the TechNet evening last week and his buddy Paul has done an amazing blogcast (with Powerpoint too) showing how to troubleshoot the IMF.  If you haven't seen the IMF at all, here's a blogcast showing an overview of the IMF 

Some reading for me to do then....I've got a goal to get one of my posts onto Rui's 'weekend reading' list each week - so what can I write about that's noteworthy enough? 

Office Webcasts for July

Portals Webcasts for July

MOM and SMS Webcasts for July

TechNet Webcast: Microsoft System Management Server 2003 Technical Overview (Part 1 of 2) (Level 200)
Friday, July 22, 2005 - 11:30 AM-1:00 PM Pacific Time
John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
This 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 Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation. In part one of this webcast, we discuss and demonstrate SMS Active Directory integration and review the new SMS Advanced Client. We 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=1032276908&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Disk-to-Disk-to-Tape Backup with DPM and Microsoft Partners (Level 200)
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 11:30 AM-1:00 PM Pacific Time
Christopher Whyte, Tech. Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Learn about Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) and independent software vendor solutions that interoperate with DPM to complete the disk-to-disk-to-tape scenario. Join this webcast and see how DPM enables you to streamline your backup infrastructure, use tape more effectively in the datacenter, and lower your overall cost on administrative overhead while protecting the data in your branches.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276926&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Microsoft System Management Server 2003 Technical Overview (Part 2 of 2) (Level 200)
Friday, July 29, 2005 - 11:30 AM-1:00 PM Pacific Time
John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
Learn more about the new features of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003.  The first half of the webcast series covered SMS Advanced Client along with Active Directory integration and asset management. In the final webcast we focus on software distribution and SMS reporting. We examine the software distribution process, including roaming boundaries and the SMS Installer. The session concludes 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=1032276930&Culture=en-US

Small Business Server webcasts for July

TechNet Webcast: Small Business Server 2003 Technical Overview (Part 1 of 2) (Level 200)
Friday, July 8, 2005 - 9:30 AM-11:00 AM Pacific Time
Keith Combs, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
You are aware of Small Business Server 2003, but is it right for you? If it is, which edition best suits your needs? How can you determine its capabilities and ease of use? Join this webcast, which is designed to show the major features in Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 in a fresh, out-of-the-box installation. The presentation concentrates on features common to both Standard and Premium Editions, but also includes a demonstration on Internet Security and Acceleration Server, which is included in only the Premium Edition. Topics include Server Management, Internet Connection and E-mail, Remote Access and Security, and Remote Web Workplace.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276777&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Small Business Server 2003 Technical Overview (Part 2 of 2) (Level 200)
Friday, July 15, 2005 - 9:30 AM-11:00 AM Pacific Time
Blain Barton, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
You are aware of Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, but is it right for you? If it is, which edition best suits your needs? How can you determine its capabilities and ease of use? Join this webcast, which is designed to show the major features in Small Business Server 2003 in a fresh, out-of-the-box installation. The presentation concentrates on features common to both Standard and Premium Editions, but also includes a demonstration on Internet Security and Acceleration Server, which is included in only the Premium Edition. Topics include server management, Internet connection and e-mail, remote access and security, and remote Web workplace.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276783&Culture=en-US

Small Business Webcast: Create a Great SharePoint Portal Site with FrontPage 2003 (Level 200)
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM Pacific Time
Greg Randall, BDM, Microsoft Corporation
It is easier than you think to create custom Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal sites. Portal sites created with Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 are customizable with Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003. You can use FrontPage to customize everything from the fonts and formatting to the text and graphics on portal site pages. Attend this webcast presentation and see how to create a great SharePoint Portal site while using FrontPage 2003 to enhance your site. During the webcast we'll also discuss Microsoft "Work Essentials" tools that help you work faster, better and more efficiently.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276898&Culture=en-US

Small Business Webcast: Use SharePoint Services to Contact Your Help Desk (Level 100)
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM Pacific Time
Matt Berg, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Are you looking for a way to enable users in your organization to contact your help desk? Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services might be the solution you need. In this webcast, learn how to set up a help desk connection for all your users and quickly access your company's computer support team through a SharePoint intranet site.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276900&Culture=en-US

Small Business Webcast: Create Your Own Catalogs, Flyers and Business Cards with Publisher 2003 (Level 100)
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 9:30 AM Pacific Time
John Stroiney, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Corporation
With Microsoft Office Publisher 2003, it is easier than ever to design, create, and publish professional marketing and communication material in-house. Give us 30 minutes of your time and see how easy it is to use Publisher 2003 to create nearly every type of document you will need. As a bonus, learn about Microsoft "Work Essentials" tools to help you work faster, better and more efficiently.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276910&Culture=en-US

Small Business Webcast: Change the Way You Take Notes with Microsoft OneNote (Level 100)
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM Pacific Time
Mike Powell, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 combines the freedom and flexibility of paper notes with the efficiency and power of digital organizational tools.  Join this webcast and see how OneNote 2003 allows you to make the notes you take during meetings at the office accessible to you in digital format. See how OneNote 2003 helps you capture information in multiple ways, then organize and use it according to your needs.  We will also show how the easy search capabilities built into OneNote 2003 make this a powerful tool.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276914&Culture=en-US

Messaging and collaboration Webcasts for July

Mobility Webcasts for July

Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Windows Mobile Enterprise Features
Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Jason Langridge, Business Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Get a jump on the competition with an early view of the future of the Microsoft Windows platform. Even better, see some of the latest devices available, and some yet to be released. Learn about the enterprise-focused features that are provided by Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs, Pocket PC Phone Editions, and Smartphones. We'll demonstrate to you how to use these technologies together through scenarios that are enabled by Windows Mobile software for enterprise users.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276579&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Windows Mobile in the Warehouse
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Derek Ferguson, MVP Compact Framework, Editor-in-Chief, .NET Developer’s Journal, Magenic Technologies
Find out how your company can leverage rugged, Microsoft Windows Mobile-based industrial devices to improve warehouse productivity and efficiency. This webcast looks at the experiences of a major e-tailing organization that used Windows Mobile solutions to achieve dramatic improvements in their Logistics Center operations. See how they identified the areas within their warehousing system to address through mobilization, and how they selected the appropriate devices and software platforms for their needs. Learn the benefits of the phased approach this organization took toward warehouse mobilization, and discover how your organization might benefit from similar approaches.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276583&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Building a Mobile Portal for Enterprise Employees (Level 300)
Thursday, July 7, 2005 - 9:30 AM-10:30 AM Pacific Time
Richard Jones, Development Director, Anglia Business Solutions
Your organization's workforce is mobile, but is it as connected as it could be for maximum communication and rapid decision-making? This webcast provides expert step-by-step guidance for empowering a mobile workforce. This presentation shows how to build a mobile portal that can be accessed on Windows Mobile-based Smartphone, Pocket PC, and Tablet PC. This webcast also shows how to present Microsoft SharePoint, MapPoint -including location server- and a variety of other Microsoft products to a mobile, connected workforce.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276816&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Accessing Exchange Server from Your Mobile Device (Level 300)
Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 11:30 AM-1:00 PM Pacific Time
Paul Limont, Program Manager, Microsoft
Does your organization have all the mobile access it could in the areas of security, flexibility, and affordability? This webcast will discuss and demonstrate how Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 provides secure and affordable remote and mobile access to e-mail and personal information management software across a range of mobile devices. Come discover how to leverage the mobile capabilities of Exchange Server 2003 and the new mobility features available in SP2.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276821&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: New Managed Messaging, State, and Notification APIs in Windows Mobile (Level 300)
Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Robert Levy, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Take an in-depth look at the new managed application programming interface in Microsoft Windows Mobile for interacting with core device features. In this webcast you will learn how applications can easily interact with Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Messaging applications. See how Microsoft Systems Management Server interception enables communication between applications and devices. We will also explore how to build intelligent mobile applications with the Windows Mobile State and Notifications Broker.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032277124&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: Mobile Web Development with ASP.NET 2.0: Introduction (Level 200)
Monday, July 25, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Glen Gordon, MSDN Developer Community Champion, Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 makes it easy to create Web applications that target hundreds of devices. You can target Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs, cell phones and pagers, all from a single codebase. In this first of five webcasts, we'll introduce you to the different approaches for building applications for devices, and when you should choose mobile Web pages. We will walk through the architecture of creating mobile Web applications, including adaptive rendering and device adapters. The discussion will finish up with a high-level look at extensibility, device filtering, templating and data access. We conclude with a high-level look at the topics to be covered in the other four parts of this webcast series.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276882&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: Mobile Web Development with ASP.NET 2.0: Mobile Control Bonanza (Level 200)
Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Glen Gordon, MSDN Developer Community Champion, Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 makes it easy to create Web applications that target hundreds of devices. You can target Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs, cell phones and pagers, all from a single codebase. In this second of five webcasts, we'll show you how to work with each of the mobile controls, including Form, Panel, Calendar, PhoneCall, TextView, various validation controls and more. This webcast brings you what you will need to succeed in the Microsoft .NET Framework.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276940&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: Mobile Web Development with ASP.NET 2.0: Data Access and Security (Level 200)
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Glen Gordon, MSDN Developer Community Champion, Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft ASP.NET 2.0 makes it easy to create Web applications that target hundreds of devices. You can target Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs, cell phones and pagers, all from a single codebase. In this third of five webcasts, we show you how to manage data in a mobile Web application using data-bound controls and other features of Microsoft ADO.NET 2.0. We also look at ways to implement authentication and authorization in a mobile Web application.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276943&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Executive Circle Webcast: Mobile Security: It's Not an Oxymoron (Level 100)
Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Byron Hynes, Microsoft Certified Trainer and Consultant, independent consultant
In the rush to empower users with anytime, anywhere e-mail and data, have you considered the impact this might have on your security and privacy policies? Can unauthorized users intercept valuable and proprietary company data during transmission? If a user's mobile phone or Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC is lost or stolen, have the bad guys captured the keys to the kingdom? This webcast provides planning guidance and describes scenarios for securely deploying Windows Mobile-based devices to an enterprise-level Microsoft Windows-based network. Become familiar with emerging mobile security issues and common pitfalls, learn valuable mitigation techniques, and find out what you need to consider to improve security in your enterprise policy.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032277088&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Platform Security Drilldown for the Enterprise (Level 300)
Thursday, July 28, 2005 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Dave Field, Enterprise Program Manager, Microsoft Mobile Devices Product Group, Microsoft Corporation
Mobile networking is a powerful concept, but it also changes the rules when it comes to security. Join this webcast to learn about Microsoft Windows Mobile security features from the Enterprise perspective. We will cover how identified security threats are mitigated utilizing Windows Mobile platform security components. The presentation will include best practices for network and mobile security with Windows Mobile-based devices derived from our intense and extensive experience in this realm.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032276838&Culture=en-US

Real Time Collaboration Webcasts for July

Blogcast: Deploying the SMS 2003 Advanced client

This is the second blogcast in the series of SMS 2003 and the advanced client produced by the TechNet team. This blogcasts shows the actual deployment of the advanced client (we prepared SMS 2003 for the advanced client in the previous blogcast).  The blogcast also discusses the premissions needed to deploy the Advanced client, shows how to assign the XP workstation to the site, and the steps to deploy the Advanced client to the workstation and to the entire collection.  The client is deployed and validated from the Systems Management icon in control panel.

Steve, John and Mat link to other topics created by the the TechNet team. Here's the link to the blogcast.  If you don't know what a blogcast is, then Steve explains it quite well in his post.  There are other blogcasts on Microsoft.com too with an RSS feed to subscribe to new blogcasts

There are links to other blogcasts here

Windows R2 sharepoint services documentation

I've been looking through the huge amount of documentation about windows 2003 R2 when i came to this list of links about Sharepoint Services, and as this falls in my technology area, not John's, I'm including it here for reference.  The links all point to the same document, but I've included the full list so that you can see how many topics are covered  

Know how SharePoint Services Support for IP-bound virtual servers have been enhanced
Support for advanced extranet configurations with SharePoint Services
Windows SharePoint Services running on ASP.NET 2.0 (Whidbey)
Windows SharePoint Services support for Windows x64 editions
How to Configure the incoming and outgoing URLs for SharePoint
How to configure Windows SharePoint Services to use NTLM authentication
How to configure IIS and ASP.NET 2.0 for Windows SharePoint Services
How to integrate Windows SharePoint Services v2
Understanding how to configure IIS and ASP.NET 2.0 for Windows SharePoint Services v2
How to Install and Configure Windows SharePoint Services v2
Know how to install Windows SharePoint Services
How to Configure the incoming and outgoing URLs
How to configure an SPN for the domain user account

Know the new enhancements of SharePoint V2 SP2

(these all point to the Overview document of windows share point services 2.0 SP2 beta in Windows server 2003 )

Data Protection Manager Webcast

I've blogged about DPM a couple of times recently and it's been talked about a lot at TechEd Orlando the other week, so I thought I'd mention this webcast that's coming up..

System Center Data Protection Manager Webcast
TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft IT Deploys Customer Data Protection Scenarios with DPM June 28  1:00-2:30 PM PST
Learn how Microsoft uses Data Protection Manager for branch office backup with Calvin Keaton, Microsoft IT Operations Manager. This webcast will cover details of the MS-IT DPM deployment, including the ROI and TCO analysis which drove the deployment decision. It will also include key performance metrics and lessons learned during deployment. 
 

LCS with SP1 management pack for MOM 2005

I blogged about the availability of the management pack for Live Communications Server 2005 back in December.  Well now there is an MP for LCS with SP1

The management pack monitors and provides alerts for:
• Automatic notification of events indicating service outages
• Performance degradation
• Health monitoring
• Centralised management
Related Resources  

Approaches to fighting spam in an Exchange environment

Greg presented this Technet evening for me last night.  The topic was all about fighting spam - the bane of the messaging administrator and Gred did a sterling job.  here are some of the references that he referred to during the presentation.  There are another set of links that I referred to when I last presented a session on messaging security at Microsoft and stopping viruses which may be useful.   Also, the Exchange team bloged about tarpitting. 

He mentioned Paul's blog (and said that he should be his b****y agent!),  Evans stuff about IMF, junk mail folders etc.

Fighting spam with Exchange 2003

Download the IMF

IMF management pack for MOM

Microsoft safety (phishing and spam)

Fighting spam blog article

If there's something I missed, please let me know, and I'll update the links...

posted by Eileen_Brown with 4 Comments

Blogcast: SMS 2003 Integration with Active Directory

The TechNet team have been blogcasting on a variety of topics.  In my team, I'll cover all of the SMS topics, and leave the security, SQL and Virtual Server blogcasts to Steve, John and Mat.  The blogcasts use the semo virtual machines that we use in TechNet presentations so they'll be familiar to you.

here's the link to the first blogcast in the series.  We have a look at SMS 2003 and its integration with Active Directory.  Then SMS is configured to deploy the Advanced client.

There are links to other blogcasts here

And a huge thank you to the TechNet team, and Alan for producing these...

LCS integration with Sametime - no it doesn't!

Well I've really stepped out of my area now and been corrected.  I suspected that I was out of my specilist area, but my blog entry was incorrect the other day, and both Paul and Jevon have put me straight.

I was correct in that Live Communications Server 2005 and IBM Lotus/Sametime cannot federate with one another without a translation gateway between the two, but I was wrong about other facts:

Radvision do not provide integration for Sametime and LCS. What they provide is a multiparty conferencing unit that can be used by either.

Running LCS 2005 in a Virtual machine

Lena sent me a mail the other day about Virtualisation.

Hello Eileen,

I ran into a series of notes between you and several others about running SMS2003 on VMs.  Have you had any experience with running LCS 2005 on VMWare?  I would imagine that performance would be impacted for a VM hosting over 3,000 LCS clients……..thoughts?

Thanks.

She was also concerned about placing inappropriate applications on VMs.  She thought that VMs are great for test/dev and demos, but to run production LCS Enterprise hosting 5,000 active users on shared hardware that barely meet the minimum requirements of LCS itself would be a little concerning.

Well, my first thought was yikes! For a start, John is our Virtual guru (What I mean by that is he actually exists in the real world and he's our expert on Virtualisation) so I wanted to just forward him the mail, but  we do actually run LCS 2005 in our test and demo environments in VM’s, and  we also run scalability tests within VM’s.  Outside of the normal performance hits that exist with running anything in a VM, I haven't found any discernable additional hit with LCS .  Presence information about the user is stored in MSDE or SQL server so you should take care should be taken where you locate of these databases.
Active users in sessions aren’t a significant impact to the guest OS, so shouldn’t  really impact performance. The only issue to be aware of is when you use archiving and logging. As this uses SQL server, then the database should be placed to take account of the high I/O.  I'd put this on the host machine
LCS standard edition uses about 1.6kb per day for each active user and can host up to 12,000 active users (that is users actually in session).  You can have a look at the scalability documentation to give you a better guide to the sort of hardware to use for this size deployment
Have a look at the documents I mentioned in my blog entry  from the other week.  We use Virtual Server and Virtual PC – so the performance overhead may differ from VMWare…

Adding disclaimers to outbound SMTP messages

Jim sent me a question about adding disclaimers to outbound SMTP messages. 

"So with the steps as described in 317680 complete I fail to see the code operate in response to outbound public email.  My question is how to get in and debug/discover what goes on?  I stepped through smtpreg.vbs after editing it into Excel VBA form. The binding results seem reasonable. I don't see the event sink code run. My host environment is exchange 2003 standard edition on server 2003 (no sp1 for 2003)."

Well, If this is a single server then it is to be expected - there used to be an article Q288756 - which has been pulled now it seems, which used to describe a way of forcing messages out of a local smtp virtual server, back into another, then sending on - to get the event to fire. Basically, unless you has another smtp bridgehead to install the sink on it won't work in the form we provide it. (as far as I know....)

We would suggest one of two things - Exclaimer has for a nice tool - or - even better - GFI mail essentials, which lets you do this for free when the trial of their MailEssentials software expires, according to the terms of their freeware license - you will need to  check thoroughly etc etc to make sure you're covered.

Both are, if you're not a developer, a lot easier. (and lots of thanks to Greg in MCS for help with this one... ) 

Exchange SP2 IMF blocks phishing attempts

Now this is interesting (and I missed this when reading all of the Exchange SP2 announcements) Gerod's blog alerted me to the fact that SP2 IMF includes a blocking mechanism for phishing. 

"Updated and integrated Exchange Intelligent Message Filter. Based on the same patented SmartScreen filtering technology developed by Microsoft Research and now incorporated in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, MSN Internet Software and Services, and MSN Hotmail, SP2 will incorporate the latest data and updates to the Exchange Intelligent Message Filter. Improvements to this filter ensure a continued focus on identifying spam and reducing false positives. These updates include new capabilities in the fight against spam including blocking phishing schemes. Phishing schemes attempt through deception to fraudulently solicit sensitive personal information by masquerading as legitimate Web sites."

Now thats impressive...

(you can also listen to Steve Ballmers TechEd Orlando keynote speech here...)

Stopping notifications when contacts are added to the buddy list

This question had me puzzled for a while.  How to turn off notifications, so that you're not alerted everytime a user adds me to their buddy list...

Easy.  Go to options - permissions and change the "all other contacts" to Allow.

But how would you do this server side?

You would use WMI classes to create a domain ALLOW ACE for your domain and add it to all users allow/block list.  Here's the MSDN article that explains everything

Getting some interesting questions at this roadshow event...

LCS integration with Sametime

I've just finished my final presentation of the TechNet roadshow and the final one for this tour.  So I'm writing this in truly wind down mode.  I was demoing Office communicator (when the venue wireless network went down - typical luck eh?) and talking about futures for VOIP and PBX integration - the usual real time collaboration stuff.  One of the questions after the presentation stuck in mind, as I answered the very same question by email last week.  So, in my view, if I've needed to deal with the same question twice, then it's worth a blog entry!.

The question was whether LCS  and Office Communicator could provide integration with Sametime?

Exchange database limit increase

Damn... I was going to post about the massive increase to the Exchange database today after my roadshow presentation, but the Exchange team and KC beat me to it.  Then Ewan beat me to it with a comment on my blog entry too. Appears to be good news too judging by the comments...

Aah - the challenges of time zones eh?  I was in the bar when the post came out...

So I'll console myself with pointing you to all the links that I talked about during my presentation on Exchange and the AD instead.  Not quite as exciting as TechEd Orlando - but I'll see you all in TechEd Europe as I've managed to persuade Betsy to come over and talk about blogging with me in Amsterdam....

Watch this space.    

Maximum number of mail attachments

The blog entry that Ewan wrote the other day has got me thinking.  I'm still staggered at the maximum size of the attachments that you can send via an email.  2.4Gb!  What the heck were they sending?  The whole of the starwars DVD?  How long did it take for the message to leave the Outbox?  How long did it take to deliver? and how much did the whole network slow down?

some amazing sizes quoted on the comments to the blog too...

Well, I know that you can limit the maximum size of messages and attachments that you can send, you can limit the public folder note attachment size but can you limit the maximum number of attachments?  Well, here's what i've found....

The clients can open 100 attachments in a mail, so that's the default.  Here's the article that explains this.

How big is your mailbox?

Ewan has written a thought provoking post on the Exchange team blog.  He talks about organisations with huge mailboxes.  I mean really huge.  We have a reasonable quota allocated here at Microsoft which suits me, but it wouldn't suit some methods of working.

Just how large is your mailbox?  Just how large are the attachments that you need to send?  And how much space do you need for the mailbox store?  Does the 16Gb limit on the store really restrict your methods of working? 

Ewan would love to know, and asks you to post a comment on the blog.  Or tell me...

Windows messenger group policy files

If you haven’t made the switch to Office Communicator yet, and are still running Windows Messenger in your organisation, then you may be interested in this .ADM file to manage messenger with group policy.  This download updates the Microsoft Windows Messenger 5.1 Administrative Template (ADM) file and contains appropriate policy settings for Windows Messenger 5.1.

Download the .ADM file here....

Office Communicator Launches

John reminded me about Office Communicator RTM.  Here's the press release...

You can get the  trial version of the software here...

System Center Capacity Manager 2006, Express Edition

Have a look at this new tool that helps successfully architect application deployments and identify how changes to the infrastructure will affect hardware utilisation and user experience.

Exchange Active sync - Server issues solved.

I've been trying to catch up with the backlog of mails I've had whilst I've been out of the office (scuba diving, then at the TechNet roadshow in Harrogate) and I came across this gem of a mail from Daniel.  Daniel has a blog of his own, but he hasn't blogged about this rich collection of articles that he's found.  So I thought I'd share them with you.

These are a whole load of error 500 messages that you may get when trying to set up Exchange Active sync and these error messages may point to a whole host of issues.  Here are some links to the kb articles that may help you troubleshoot the server issues and get EAS working.  Thanks Daniel!

You receive an HTTP_500 error message when you synchronize your mobile device with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
 
Exchange ActiveSync and Outlook Mobile Access errors occur when SSL or forms-based authentication is required for Exchange Server 2003
 
Server ActiveSync Fails with HTTP_500 If SSL Is Enabled on Exchange Server Virtual Directory
 
XCCC: Valid SSL Certificate Is Required When You Use Server ActiveSync
 
Exchange ActiveSync and Outlook Mobile Access errors occur when SSL or forms-based authentication is required for Exchange Server 2003
 

Live meeting addins

Live Meeting 2005 Add-in: Live Meeting Add-in Pack Beta 2

With the Live Meeting Add-in Pack, you can perform conferencing tasks directly from Microsoft Office Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio, as well as from Windows Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Office Communicator 2005.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d1984810-117a-45ff-bfec-2756c6111097&DisplayLang=en 

Live Meeting 2005 Add-in: for Joining from Instant Messaging

The Live Meeting Add-in for Joining from Instant Messaging can only be installed when a user is invited to use Live Meeting during a Windows Messenger session or an MSN Messenger session and the user’s computer does not already have the Live Meeting Add-in Pack.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=eaa9e81a-fe29-41db-843b-3720cec6035a&DisplayLang=en