Eileen Brown's WebLog

System Center Essentials: Beta 2 released

I've just noticed that we've released Beta 2 of System Centre Essentials (for small and medium businesses).  This is certainly worth evaluating if you're starting to feel that your IT infrastructure is getting a bit out of hand... Have a look at the official info on it:

System Center Essentials 2007 (Essentials 2007) is a new management solution in the System Center family of IT systems management products. Essentials is specifically designed for IT professionals working in midsize businesses who often face IT challenges similar to those of larger enterprises – troubleshooting end-user problems, automating management tasks, managing multiple systems, and diagnosing and resolving IT problems.

If you are an IT professional working in a midsize business and experiencing challenges with troubleshooting end-user problems, automating management tasks, managing multiple systems, and diagnosing and resolving IT problems, then Essentials 2007 can help you address those challenges.  Designed from the ground up for your environment and specific management needs, System Center Essentials 2007 provides a more unified management experience because it enables you to better secure, update, monitor and troubleshoot from a single console, so you can efficiently and proactively manage your IT environment.

Get the latest product information and download System Center Essentials 2007 Beta 2 here..

There's a good white paper explaining what system Center Essentials does and a fairly useful Webcast for you to get an overview of SCE.  You can also use the Wiki site for feedback to the team...

Windows mobile 5.0 and persistent storage

Oliver had lots of questions on mobility.  Jason kindly filled in the blanks for me, and answered Oliver's mail.  I was in an all day meeting and couldn't respond.   Here's Oliver's original mail, with answers.  The Persistent Storage feature is one of the huge benefits of WM 5.0 and well worth migrating to...

We are trying to roll-out many of the new HP iPAQ 6900 series WM5.0 devices but the following answers are needed; (We understand the iPAQ 6900 series to have MSFP loaded as standard)

1). On the iPAQ devices connecting to the Exchange 2003 SP2 server, under the schedule section. The ‘As items arrive’ option is not available to set. Only ‘Manually’ option and time interval ‘5,10,15 minutes’ etc. How can I enable this option on the device ?

First check your device that you have the feature pack enabled (you should) – go to Start Settings About... check the build no is > 14847.2.0.0 

The only other reason you may not be getting the As Items Arrive option is because the feature may not have been enabled when your device talks to the server.  Exchange ActiveSync capabilities (including Direct Push) via the HTTP OPTIONS command.  By default, ISA 2000 does not allow the OPTIONS command http://support.Microsoft.com/?ID=304340

2). Am I right in saying to ensure HTTPS check box option under configure server section in WM5.0 is enabled, I must use a Public paid for certificate e.g. Verisign cert ? Or can you generate and use one from Microsoft Certificate services already used with OWA for company?

Our recommended approach is to use a public certificate from one of the approved vendors.  You can use a self generated certificate however you will then need to get that signed by your mobile operator to install it.

3). Once ActiveSync is all working with Direct push, I have read several times that this feature does not work when using over wifi or in cradle. And only when GPRS/3g mode used can direct push work ? Can you confirm.

It does not work over wifi as it switches to scheduled 5 minute sync to extend battery life. 

4). I have heard that the new WM5.0 devices have built in as standard a feature called Persistent Storage (PC) to ensure if battery completely dies, that all info is held on device like the Blackberry. Is this feature on by default ? Is there an area that it can be configured in WM5.0 ?

Persistent Storage is a default feature of Windows Mobile 5.0.  It is present in all memory.

5). Lastly, is there a link, newsgroup or Blog where best to visit to gain most up-to-date knowledge of configuring / fire fighting WM5.0 devices ?

I've got to say that Jason's blog is the best resource around for mobility info.  Thanks Jason for helping me out...

Exchange 2007 Train the Trainer

I'm delivering another session of Train the trainer in the UK.  it's quite scary listening to some of the stories of customers around Europe and their infrastructure.  Especially the stories about international organisations (!). Yikes.  I really feel for you and the challenges you face in prising your teams away from Exchange 5.5.   I've heard lots of Exchange 5.5 (won't or can't move) security nightmare stories, and more.  I promised to link to all the questions that we've covered on the course.

Why we have de-emphasised public folders

Why we retired the RUS

Other things that have been discontinued in Exchange 2007

How to create a room as a Resource and give it an owner (follow the managing resource scheduling link at the bottom of the page) 

How do you set the SMTP size restrictions for a user?  Use the Powershell cmdlet Set-MailUser.  Description of the parameters here.  (Default is no restrictions)

Definition of different Exchange Topologies (in the help file at the bottom of this page)

x400 connector for Exchange 2007 (will be available here...)

Default authentication methods  for the Client Access Server

How Edge subscriptions populate ADAM with AD information.

EdgeSync synchronisation:      Configuration data is synchronized to ADAM once every hour, and recipient data is synchronized to ADAM once every four hours. You cannot modify the synchronization intervals.  Info here...

Configuring tarpitting in Exchange 2007

Enabling Tarpitting in Exchange 2003 (just do it!)

How to enable connection filtering on the Hub transport server (not the Edge server.  Useful for small businesses...  First check you have  the Hub transport agent installed using the Get-Transport-Agent cmdlet, then, if it's not enabled, use the Enable-TransportAgent cmdlet

Exposing the Spam Confidence Level in Outlook

Exposing the Spam Confidence Level in OWA

Exchange Hosted Services (and free 30 day trial)

How to configure the File Share Witness

Phew!  Lots and lots and lots of questions! I'm off for a lie down in a darkened room now...!

Thanks to James and Greg for the moral support and technical expertise on this course too.  I'm really grateful...

Flickr plug in for Live writer

I don't usually post photos onto my blog - I find that they're a hassle to do as I hate HTML.  I need to go into the HTML interface, find the part of the post to add the image.  I then need to add the <img src> tag (or whatever it is) into my blog.  I get frustrated and give up as I can't get my head around how to make things work seamlessly.  I must be scares of anything with a < > around it!  We had a bloggers get together last month where  we shared stories, tips and tricks about blogging, and encouraged other blogging virgins to take the plunge like John was persuaded to.  I couldn't get to the session as I was presenting at the MMMUG meeting that evening.  I wish I'd gone though.    Steve told everyone about how he uploaded his images using Flickr and Live Writer.  He even blogged about it.  I thought I'd give it a go...

Wow.  It's very impressive indeed.  It takes only 3 seconds to upload an image to Live Writer which goes straight out to the blog.  Woo hoo!  no more HTML to write!  (My first attempt was here by the way).

I'll certainly be posting more pictures on my blog if it's that easy...

Do you want to be an idol?

I get some quirky requests sometime.  Some of them are easy to ignore, some of them require a bit of wriggling to get out of tactfully, and some of them are unusual enough for me to take a second look at.

As soon as I heard about this I said yes, yes YES! 

At TechEd ITForum this year, we get a lot of requests from external speakers who would like to present at the event.  Some are well known presenters, some not so well known.  Some presenters are seasoned, some are on stage for the first time.  But what if you'd love to present at TechEd (either Developers or IT Forum), but you're unsure about your presentation style, skills, ability etc.  How do you get "in" to the speaker lounge?

This year, for the first time we've created "Speaker idol", where anyone who wants to present, has the opportunity to submit a session of them presenting (3 minute clip).  Jason will be ther "Master of ceremonies" and I'll be one of the judges on the panel every day.  The 12 finalists, will be on stage in the Community lounge in front of a panel of judges where we will narrow down to the final 2 presenters. 

The winner: Gets to present a technical breakout session  at ITForum next year, and gets a free ticket.

2 runners up: Get free tickets to IT Forum next year. 

Here are the rules for submission:

• Presentation submissions to be emailed to Speaker Idol-ITF@mseventseurope.com, together with participant name, company name, job title, email address and contact telephone number
• Submissions limited to one per delegate
• Contest open to a total of 40 submissions (I.e. opportunity for 40 participants to enter)
• Submissions on a first come-first-serve basis
• Once total submissions reached, no further submissions will be considered
• Submissions go live on Monday 14 August 2006
• Submission deadline is Friday 13 October 2006 – after which no further submissions will be considered

Presentation

• Presentation to be submitted as Windows Media Files (WMV) - using Windows Media Encoder (click link for free download)
• Presentation to be filmed focusing on person conducting presentation
• Presentation to have good, clear audio quality
• Presentation can be on any subject relating to a Microsoft infrastructure product or technology
• Presentation restricted to 3 minute duration (maximum)
• Presentation file size not to exceed 5MB (maximum)
• Participant to be judged on the overall style of the presentation and the way in which they present themselves in front of a technical audience
• Participant to display a confident and persuasive style to develop rapport and influence the audience
• Participant to convey presentation in clear, understandable manner to create maximum impact
• Participant to be judged on presentation skills in the first instance, followed by the content of the presentation

 So come on have a go.  We're always on the lookout for good presenters.  Show us what you can do...

Office 2007 for the Mac

Ooh.  this will impress my friend Mark, who's been banging on about this for ages.  The Mole and Tom have already tried it and like it,  and I uncovered this article, which says we're going to release Office 2007 for the Mac, 6 months after the release of Office 2007 for Windows.  About time too I say. 

Impressive... Shame that the ribbon interface won't be there though - its such a huge improvement from before.  I don't think the image that Gavilan posted quite does it for me.  I've really got used to the ribbon now...

But I'm not a Mac user.  Haven't used one for years.  Mark - help me out here... :-)

UK TechNet Events

Ok, so I'm going a little bit off topic, and including all of the events that we're holding in the UK for the next few months, but I've decided to do this as I believe:

• The UK TechNet events site needs an RSS feed (I get questions about when the next event will be on more than one occasion
• We're going on the road - not all of the events will be held on campus.  So you can stay after the event and buy me a glass of wine and grill me personally - and not just on email!

so here they are...

Please feel free to forward this onto those who'd like to attend one of these events and also check the TechNet Events page for new events that are being added weekly.  Please note that the events are being held regionally and not just in the Reading campus!

Exchange 2007

17 October 2006, Reading: Overview of Exchange 2007: what’s new?

Find out about the new features of Exchange Server 2007. We will demonstrate how you can have more control while giving your organisation the “anywhere access” it needs. This TechNet session includes demos as well as slides to give you a thorough introduction to this latest technology.

Licensing

23 October 2006, London: An Introduction to and Overview of Microsoft Licensing

Licensing can be confusing – but it needn’t be! Attend this course to understand Microsoft licensing and how to best apply it in your company to fit in with your business needs. This session is aimed at IT professionals who wish to gain a better understanding of Microsoft’s software licensing. The briefing assumes no previous in-depth or technical licensing experience.

Management

04 October 2006, Reading: The Best Of Microsoft Management Summit 2006 UK

The Microsoft Management Summit is an annual event held in the US. Now you can attend the UK event. We bring you the most popular sessions presented by the experts from head office in Redmond. If you want an in-depth understanding of how to optimise your organisation’s infrastructure then book now. This is your chance to get your questions answered and to hear about the latest developments in these management technologies.

02 November 2006, Reading: Monitoring, Reporting and Alerting on your environment with Microsoft Operations Manager

This TechNet session will demonstrate how you can effectively manage your IT infrastructure with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005. It covers product architecture and configuration as well as looking at third-party products and the tools to manage them. There will also be a sneak preview of some of the new features in Microsoft Operations Manager 2007.

Sharepoint

11 October 2006, London: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007: what’s new?

This TechNet event will explain and demonstrate the new features in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. It will cover upgrade scenarios from SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Windows SharePoint Services.

SQL Server

07 November 2006, Edinburgh: Enhance your business’s reporting capability: An introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services

SQL Server 2005 has a wealth of reporting services that can provide true business intelligence. This session will show you just how capable this technology is and how easy it is to set up, manage and deliver reports that will give the insights your company is looking for.

Windows Vista

11 October 2006, Edinburgh: What's New in Administering Vista

In this session we will examine Group Policy functionality improvements that have been made with Windows Vista. We'll describe the new and updated features and how these help to alleviate the problems that were present with previous versions of Windows.

Young readers of TechNet magazine

We get an internal newsletter from KC every week talking about progress to date with Exchange 2007, customer quotes, comments and links to interesting messaging related topics.  This made me smile.  I've worked with Greg in the UK for quite a while now.  He knows the answer to every Exchange question that has me stumped, and we deliver Exchange 2007 ignite courses from time to time.  This is "so" him!

“I was so proud of my son, sitting in bed reading TechNet Magazine (I swear this isn’t staged).  He picked it up, climbed into the bed and started learning… then I checked the article he was reading.   A Paul bloody Bowden ExBPA article and not something his own father wrote! Outraged I am. I’ve kicked him out.  I’ve kicked him out.  He’s outside right now. In the dark.  Crying.  That’ll teach him.  He’ll soon come to learn that SMTP Virtual Server security and EasyESP are way more interesting” – Greg Taylor

By the way - I did get permission from Greg to reproduce the photo and his comments, and also to give a link again to his January and August articles.

Thanks again Greg... By the way, your son obviously has excellent taste! :-)

Cleaning up your Powerpoint documents

John, one of our Platform Strategy Advisors (he talks about Visual Studio a lot in a broad Geordie accent), send a mail out with an amazing tip about Powerpoint, which I repeat in full as it's really useful and will save you lots of time...

If you, like me, have often slaved over the laborious task of removing speaker notes from presentations before you send it to a customer then this tip which I gleamed from the Office 2007 site (posted by an Office guru in MSFT Turkey) on how to do it in PPT 2007 is useful. Worth saving.

In my job, I share a lot of PowerPoint slides with customers. Historically, the challenge has been that I want to remove any speaker notes, custom metadata, or other comments left by the original authors of the slides. I used to have a vba script which removed the notes, but it was such a pain to load the macro and run it every time I wanted to "cleanse" the slide deck. Fortunately, PowerPoint 2007 has a neat feature built-in to accomplish the same thing. Called the "Document Inspector" and it's located on the Office button.

Click the Office Button (where the "File" menu used to be)

Select Finish > from the drop-down list

Select "Inspect Document..."

Brilliant.  thanks for digging this one up John, it's now shared with the rest of the world (but not Greenland!)

Web Office: Hype or reality?

I was really interested to read Richards post on the Web Office of the future and how we've evolved since the olden days of indicidual Word processing packages, spreadsheets, and email clients.  I'm using a whole host of Web tools at the moment.  Windows Live for my email, Live messenger for IM, Live writer for offline blog authoring.  I haven't found a "Live" spreadsheet yet - maybe if I did more sums then this would have motivated me to do some research.  Do we have a Windows Live spreadsheet yet?  I've not seen anything, but I expect that someone is working on this over at Windows Live somewhere...

I don't agree with his statement though that the Web Office suite will be commonplace by the early 2010's.  Customers I talk to are just getting their heads around blogs, have never heard of a Wiki, and are baffled that RSS has the word "simple" in it!  We do tend to get a bit ahead of ourselves in the technology industry and expect everyone to be up to the same page as us.  But often they're not.  Just try asking the person next to you on the bus about blogs and Wiki's, and what software they're using on their home PC's and be prepared for a surprise.

Early 2010's?  No way.

Asking Questions about Exchange

"Live it vivid" Betsy has been getting around a bit.  She's on Channel 9 again (not many luminaries manage to get on Channel 9 twice) talking about her new role on QNA.  I've had a play with QnA, sometimes as the person asking the questions, but mostly as the smartass with all the answers :-).  Have a look at the questions on Exchange for example (or SQL if you're so inclined).

I whinged that I couldn't easily get to find what I wanted in QnA, so Betsy wrote a gadget.  Note to developers:  Start learning to write Gadgets (the specs are here..) and post them here.  when Vista  gets released, your Sidebar Gadget could get you fame and fortune, head hunted and happy...

So go an have a play with QnA and see how quickly your question gets answered.  search out the weird pictures of contributors too.  What's the strangest pic you've found...?

Unified Communications Webcasts for October

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2005 (Level 100)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Evan Archilla, Senior Training Specialist, Projectline Services
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309173&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Tips and Tricks for Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 (Level 100)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Pacific Time
Evan Archilla, Consultant, Projectline Services
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309169&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Webcast: See How Microsoft Unified Communications Solutions Can Improve Services and Increase Productivity in the Insurance Industry (Level 100)
Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Kevin Kelly, INDUSTRY MANAGER INSURANCE, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309543&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Webcast: How State and Local Governments can Improve Services and Increase Productivity with Unified Communications Solutions from Microsoft (Level 100)
Thursday, October 26, 2006 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Joel Cherkis, DIRECTOR, COLLABORATIVE TECH, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309562&Culture=en-US

Sharepoint Webcasts for October

MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Server 2007 Web Content Management for Content Owners and Authors (Level 200)
Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Andrew Connell, MVP MCMS, Mindsharp
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032307695&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: Managing a Project Management Office with SharePoint Products and Technologies (Level 200)
Thursday, October 05, 2006 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Eamonn McGuinness, CEO, BrightWork
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032308769&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: SharePoint Server 2007 Web Content Management for Site Administrators and Owners (Level 200)
Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Andrew Connell, MVP MCMS, Mindsharp
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032307697&Culture=en-US

Momentum Webcast: A Sneak Peek at Office SharePoint Server 2007, the Cornerstone of the 2007 Office System (Level 100)
Monday, October 02, 2006 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Stephanie Doakes, Technology Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032308626&Culture=en-US

Office Webcasts for October

TechNet Webcast: Overview of Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Pacific Time
Jean-Francois LeSaux, EPM LEAD ARCHITECT, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309358&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: Programming the Outlook Object Model (Level 200)
Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Randy Byrne, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032307308&Culture=en-US

MSDN Webcast: Using Grid Computing to Scale Excel Services (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 04, 2006 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Dan Ciruli, Director of Products, Digipede Technologies
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032308755&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Office System Webcast: A First Look at the 2007 Microsoft Office System: Deliver Better Results Faster (Level 100)
Tuesday, October 03, 2006 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Evan Archilla, Senior Training Specialist, Projectline Services
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309294&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Office System Webcast: A First Look at the 2007 Microsoft Office System: Work Together More Effectively (Level 100)
Thursday, October 05, 2006 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Evan Archilla, Senior Training Specialist, Projectline Services
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309297&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Office System Webcast: A First Look at the 2007 Microsoft Office System: Control Content and Streamline Processes (Level 100)
Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Evan Archilla, Senior Training Specialist, Projectline Services
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309307&Culture=en-US

Microsoft Office System Webcast: Advanced Tips and Tricks for Creating Custom Documents with Word 2007 (Level 300)
Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Pacific Time
Stephanie Krieger, Document Production Expert, Arouet.net
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032309178&Culture=en-US

Momentum Webcast: Build Your Business Productivity Infrastructure with the 2007 Microsoft Office System Servers (Level 100)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Stephanie Doakes, Technology Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032308762&Culture=en-US

MOM and SMS Webcasts for October

TechNet Webcast: Agility Now (Part 08 of 10): Managing the Environment from Microsoft Operations Manager (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032306329&Culture=en-US

Momentum Webcast: Making the Transition to Integrated Software Configuration Management (Level 100)
Monday, October 23, 2006 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Andrew Cook, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Eric Lee, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032308773&Culture=en-US