By BoonTee,on January 9th,2012% As the title implies,we are finally able to purchase,implement and deploy the Windows Storage Server 2008R2 Essentials solution for small businesses. This server,which comes in a variety of hard drive options from 1TB to 6TB of storage will provide an excellent out-of-box solution for small businesses. Among the unique feature set are the following: - Automated daily client computer backups of Windows and Macintosh clients and server backups.
- Simple recovery of individual files,folders and entire computers from image-based backups.
- Centralized file organization.
- Remote Access similar to what is available in SBS and SBS Essentials can provide RWA access in branch offices and locations where there is no SBS server.
- Support for thrid party add-ins.
You can download the Datasheet here –http://www.powerbiz.net.au/files/WSSE2.pdf PowerBiz Solutions has partnered with Hewlett-Packard to provide a custom solution called PowerBiz Backup Essentials. Using the HP Proliant Microserver,the PowerBiz Backup Essentials unit is a self contained Windows Storage Server 2008R2 Essentials solution. Just start up the unit,and configure a few settings to your network,and it is ready to go. For pricing,specifications and availability,send an email to info@powerbiz.net.au. For more information on the HP Proliant Microserver,check out this blog post –http://blog.powerbiz.net.au/features/hp-proliant-microserver/  
By BoonTee,on June 22nd,2011% The SBS Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) is a tool that collects information about your server and analyzes this information to produce a report on how you can configure the server to perform better. It is not a comprehensive 100% check of the entire system. It checkes your server against a specific set of configuration rules and reports when these rules are not properly followed. A write up about the BPA can be found here –http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/04/08/introducing-the-windows-server-solutions-bpa.aspx The following is a list of checks that the BPA does for SBS 2011 (from http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2011/04/25/windows-server-solutions-bpa-checklist.aspx) Small Business Server 2011 Standard EditionChecks the following service’s start mode: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartModeSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartModeSection
- IIS Admin Service – IISAdminStartModeSection
- Remote Registry – RemoteRegistryStartModeSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGatestartModeSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatestartModeSection
- Distributed Transaction Coordinator – DTCStartModeSection
- Netlogon – NetlogonStartModeSection
- DNS Server – DNSServerStartModeSection
- Windows SBS Manager –SBSMgrstartModeSection
Checks that the following services are started: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartedSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatesStartedSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartedSection
- IIS Admin Service – IISAdminStartedSection
- World Wide Web Publishing Service – W3SVCStartedSection
- Remote Registry – RemoteRegStartedSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGateStartedSection
- Windows Time – W32TimeStartedSection
- Distributed Transaction Coordinator – DTCStartedSection
- Netlogon – NetlogonStartedSection
- DNS Server – DNSServerStartedSection
- Windows SBS Manager –SBSmgrStartedSection
Checks the following service’s logon account: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartNameSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatesStartNameSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartNameSection
- World Wide Web Publishing Service – W3SVCStartNameSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGatewayStartNameSection
- Windows Time – W32TimeStartNameSection
- Distributed Transaction Coordinator – DTCStartNameSection
- Netlogon – NetlogonStartNameSection
- DNS Server – DNSServerStartNameSection
- Windows SBS Manager –SBSMgrStartNameSection
Other Checks: - SKUsFoundSection – Returns the Operating System Platform name
- PingDefGtwySection – Checks to see if the server is not able to ping the default gateway
- PingDefGtwyOKSection – Checks to see if the server is able to ping the default gateway
- Check2IPsSection – Checks to see if there are multiple IP addresses on the network card
- IPFilteringSection – Checks to see if IP Filtering is enabled
- HyperVSection – Checks to see if the Hyper-V role is installed
- IPv6Section – Check to see if IPv6 appears to be improperly disabled
- KernelAuthEnabledSection – Check to see if Kernel Mode Authentication is enabled in the applicationhost.config for IIS
Small Business Server 2011 EssentialsChecks the following service’s start mode: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartModeSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartModeSection
- IIS Admin Service – IISAdminStartModeSection
- World Wide Web Publishing Service – W3SVCStartModeSection
- Remote Registry – RemoteRegistryStartModeSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGatestartModeSection
- Windows Time – W32TimestartModeSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatestartModeSection
- Distributed Transaction Coordinator – DTCStartModeSection
- Netlogon – NetlogonStartModeSection
- DNS Server –DNSServerStartModeSection
Checks that the following services are started: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartedSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatesStartedSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartedSection
- IIS Admin Service – IISAdminStartedSection
- World Wide Web Publishing Service – W3SVCStartedSection
- Remote Registry – RemoteRegStartedSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGateStartedSection
- Windows Time – W32TimeStartedSection
- Distributed Transaction Coordinator – DTCStartedSection
- Netlogon – NetlogonStartedSection
- DNS Server –DNSServerStartedSection
Checks the following service’s logon account: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartNameSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatesStartNameSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartNameSection
- IIS Admin Service – IISAdminStartNameSection
- World Wide Web Publishing Service – W3SVCStartNameSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGatewayStartNameSection
- Windows Time – W32TimeStartNameSection
- Distributed Transaction Coordinator – DTCStartNameSection
- Netlogon – NetlogonStartNameSection
- DNS Server –DNSServerStartNameSection
Other Checks: - SKUsFoundSection – Returns the Operating System Platform name
- PingDefGtwySection – Checks to see if the server is not able to ping the default gateway
- PingDefGtwyOKSection – Checks to see if the server is able to ping the default gateway
- Check2IPsSection – Checks to see if there are multiple IP addresses on the network card
- IPFilteringSection – Checks to see if IP Filtering is enabled
- HyperVSection – Checks to see if the Hyper-V role is installed
Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 EssentialsChecks the following service’s start mode: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartModeSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartModeSection
- IIS Admin Service – IISAdminStartModeSection
- World Wide Web Publishing Service – W3SVCStartModeSection
- Remote Registry – RemoteRegistryStartModeSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGatestartModeSection
- Windows Time – W32TimestartModeSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatestartModeSection
Checks that the following services are started: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartedSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatesStartedSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartedSection
- IIS Admin Service – IISAdminStartedSection
- World Wide Web Publishing Service – W3SVCStartedSection
- Remote Registry – RemoteRegStartedSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGateStartedSection
- Windows Time –W32TimeStartedSection
Checks the following service’s logon account: - DNS Client – DNSClientStartNameSection
- Windows Update – AutoUpdatesStartNameSection
- DHCP Client – DHCPClientStartNameSection
- IIS Admin Service – IISAdminStartNameSection
- World Wide Web Publishing Service – W3SVCStartNameSection
- Remote Desktop Gateway – TSGatewayStartNameSection
- Windows Time –W32TimeStartNameSection
Other Checks: - PingDefGtwySection – Checks to see if the server is not able to ping the default gateway
- PingDefGtwyOKSection – Checks to see if the server is able to ping the default gateway
Windows MultiPoint Server 2011Checks the following service’s start mode: - Windows MultiPoint Server Host Service –WMSSvcStartModeSection
Checks that the following services are started: - Windows MultiPoint Server Host Service – WMSSvcStartedSection
- Remote Desktop Services –TermServiceStartedSection
Checks the following service’s logon account: - Windows MultiPoint Server Host Service –WMSSvcStartNameSection
Other Checks: - SRCShellAccountExistsSection – Verifies the SRCShell local account exist
You can also find the BPA for all versions of SBS from here –www.sbsbpa.com By BoonTee,on April 14th,2011% I’ve been working with the HP Proliant Microserver. This little unit makes an excellent cost effective server for SBS 2011 Essentials,or Windows Home Server 2011. The unit is inexpensive,and can handle up to 4 plug in Hard Drives. In fact,it also make an excellent NAS device or backup server when running Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. 
The full information for this unit can be found here –http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/au/en/sm/WF25a/15351-15351-4237916-4237917-4237917-4248009.html For SBS2011 Essentials,go with the maximum 8GB RAM,2 x mirrored 1TB,and additional drives to suit use. For Windows Home Server 2011,go with 4GB RAM,and as many drives as you need,preferably with a mirrored OS and main data volume. Always get the UR482E –3 year Next Business Day Carepack warranty,as this is reasonably inexpensive,and quite worthwhile in protecting your investment.I would also strongly recommend installing the HP Proliant Microserver Remote Access Card ( 615095-B21) –http://h30094.www3.hp.com/product.asp?sku=10265812&mfg_part=615095%2DB21&pagemode=ca This is an excellent Remote KVM and IPMI card,which would normally be found in higher end servers,but is available for this little unit. The documentation is rather sparse,and if you need to access the device out of the box,the default username and password combination is admin and password. More information on how to reset this card if you have lost this password can be found here –http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&objectID=c02681440&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
By BoonTee,on January 19th,2011% Microsoft have release a bunch of video how-tos on various aspects on SBS2011. This is actually a fairly handy resource for training. There are a lot more videos and helps here –http://www.microsoft.com/showcase/en/us/default.aspx By BoonTee,on July 19th,2010% OK,so that wasn’t the last entry on Vyatta. This version of SBS (codenamed Aurora),is quite similar to Windows Home Server. As such,it does not appear to run a DHCP Server service by default. Therefore,the DHCP Server service needs to be configured on the Vyatta router. Three command lines will do the trick. set service dhcp-server shared-network-name ETH1_POOL subnet 192.168.100.0/24 start 192.168.100.100 stop 192.168.100.199 <<Name the Range,set the subnet,then put the starting address and ending adddress for the leases set service dhcp-server shared-network-name ETH1_POOL subnet 192.168.100.0/24 default-router 192.168.100.15 <<set the default router set service dhcp-server shared-network-name ETH1_POOL subnet 192.168.100.0/24 dns-server 12.34.56.100 <<set the default DNS server By BoonTee,on July 18th,2010% The final part of this series is to configure the router to enable port forwarding to the internal server. In the Vyatta documentation,this is called Destination NAT (One-to-One). For a SBS 2003 or SBS 2008 installation,the following ports need to be forwarded to the server –25 (SMTP),443 (HTTPS),4125 (RWW on SBS2003),987 (RWW on SBS2008). Additionally,once could forward port 3389 (Remote Desktop) if direct terminal access is required. The command sequence to set up port forwarding for a port (ie. SMTP) is as follows: set service nat rule 10 description NAT_SMTP <<give it a number and a name set service nat rule 10 inbound-interface eth0 <<the external NIC set service nat rule 10 destination port smtp <<can also use the port number –25 set service nat rule 10 inside-address address 192.168.100.202 <<the IP of your internal server set service nat rule 10 protocol tcp <<the vyatta manual incorrectly states “protocols” set service nat rule 10 type destination Repeat the above,changing the rule number,name,and port number/name. That’s it. Once the router is set up,it will bridge the private network in HyperV to the external LAN,which will enable testing of the SBS environment apart from the live production network. By BoonTee,on July 17th,2010% Now that the Vyatta router is in place,we need to configure it to become as firewall and to handle traffic properly. Once you have logged in to the router,it is a matter of using a series of command. These command are set off by the initial command –configure. When the series of commands are completed,a commit command must be executed to commit the changes and exit will drop back to the command line. To set up the NICs on the router,use the following commands. I am assuming that my LAN has an IP range of 192.168.200.0/24 and the Virtual Private LAN is set to 192.168.100.0/24. set interfaces ethernet eth0 address 192.168.200.2/24 <<External IP
set interfaces ethernet eth1 address 192.168.100.15/24 <<Internal IP You should also set up a DNS entry and gateway so that the router can forward all requests out via your LAN gateway. set system name-server 12.34.56.100 set system gateway-address 192.168.200.1 To configure the NAT functionality, set service nat rule 1 source address 192.168.100.0/24 <<the internal LAN set service nat rule 1 outbound-interface eth0 <<going out via the external NIC set service nat rule 1 type masquerade To configure the firewall to block all incoming traffic. Note:Since this is a test LAN and you have an external router,there isn’t a need to set this up,as it adds complexity to the set up of port forwarding in the next section. set firewall name ALLOW_ESTABLISHED set firewall name ALLOW_ESTABLISHED rule 10 set firewall name ALLOW_ESTABLISHED rule 10 action accept set firewall name ALLOW_ESTABLISHED rule 10 state established enable set interfaces ethernet eth0 firewall in name ALLOW_ESTABLISHED set interfaces ethernet eth0 firewall local name ALLOW_ESTABLISHED Next step –Setting up port forwarding for SBS 2003 and 2008. By BoonTee,on July 16th,2010% To Install the Vyatta Router,do the following: Create a new Virtual Device with the following settings. 
The hard drive needs only to be a 1GB drive. You will need two Legacy Network Adapters. Remove the default created Network Adaptor,as Vyatta will not recognize it,and install two Legacy Adaptors. One should be connected to the external network,and the other willbe connected to the Private Virtual Network. Insert the Vyatta ISO into the CDROM and start the Virtual Machine. At the login prompt,type the login user and password. Both are vyatta. 
Type Install-system to begin the installation. 
Answer most of the next few questions with the default answer. 
You have to answer Yes to the confirm format of the drive. 
Press Enter to copy the default configuration file to the system. Type in a new administrator password of your choice. 
Eject the ISO and it is all ready to go. The next part will take you through a basic and quick set up to configure the system as a router and basic firewall. By BoonTee,on July 15th,2010% I run Windows 2008 Server HyperV so that I can deploy my primary SBS 2008 Server,and also to host various test servers. In testing another SBS server,you can set up a Virtual Private Network. However,one of the challenges is to expose this server to the live network to simulate a real world environment using a router. Vyatta ( www.vyatta.com) produces an Open Source network appliance which can be configured as a router to bridge the Virtual Private Network to the Live Network,thus creating a real life scenario for the test environment. I will blog shortly about how to set up the Router in a hyperV. By BoonTee,on June 12th,2010% Office 2010 has been released. Information on the product and access to resources can be found at office.microsoft.com. A quick summary comparison of the 3 suite lines is as follows: Additionally,there is an OEM only version of Office 2010 called Office 2010 Starter. This edition comes with reduced functionality Word and Excel 2010,and presents advertisements on screen. For more information on this – http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/starter/ | |
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