Category Archives: Server Essentials, SBS

Windows previous versions documentation

This is the archive for older Windows 7, 8, Server 2012, 2008, 2003, R2 information that was previously on TechNet.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/

Meltdown and Spectre

 

Happy New Year … Not!

With the New Year comes a new class of malicious attack that can impact IT systems. This time, the attack is hardware based, affecting mostly Intel based systems, and to some extent, AMD systems as well.

Here is a list of resources that highlight what it is all about and how to mitigate against this new threat. In the words of Microsoft, “Don’t panic.”

Windows 10 support on Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server

The Essentials Server team have released a blog post to highlight which client versions are supported on currently supported Windows Server Essentials and Small Business Server 2011. The blog post can be read here – http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2015/07/23/client-connector-availability-with-windows-home-server-small-business-server-and-windows-server-essentials-for-supported-client-os.aspx

Basically, if you need to connect a Windows 10 client to Windows Server Essentials 2012 R2, which is probably the most common scenario, you will need to perform a manual client connector installation. A fix for the server is scheduled to be released on 17 November 2015.

Another common scenario would be the joining of the client connector for a Windows 10 client to Small Business Server 2011. In this case, 2 lines need to be added to the XML file on the server, which is located at C:\Program Files\Windows Small Business Server\Bin\WebApp\ClientDeployment\packageFiles\supportedOS.xml. Add the following 2 lines.

<OS Architecture="9" RequiredProductType="1" RequiredSuite="" ExcludedSuite="512" SPMinor="" SPMajor="" Build="10240" Minor="0" Major="10" Name="Windows 10, AMD64" id="9"/>
<OS Architecture="0" RequiredProductType="1" RequiredSuite="" ExcludedSuite="512" SPMinor="" SPMajor="" Build="10240" Minor="0" Major="10" Name="Windows 10, x86" id="10"/>

Windows 7, 8.1, 10, SBS and Essentials Client Conntector – What works, and what doesn’t

The Essentials Server team have just published a blog post which gives you an at-a-glance look at what features are supported and not supported with the six current (and recently past) SBS and Essentials SKUs.

Read the blog post here – http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2015/07/23/client-connector-availability-with-windows-home-server-small-business-server-and-windows-server-essentials-for-supported-client-os.aspx

Restore Files and Folders wizard has stopped working on Windows Server 2012R2 Essentials

A hotfix is available for systems broken by the MS15-010 (security update for Windows kernel mode driver: February 10, 2015) update.

When trying to restore files or folders on a client that is connected to the Windows Server 2012 or 2012R2 Essentials server from the dashboard, the following error occurs.

A hotfix for this is now available here – https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3045682

You can read up more information on this issue here – http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2015/03/13/the-ms15-10-security-update-for-windows-server-2012-r2-essentials-and-the-client-restore-functionality.aspx

PODCAST: Hybrid Cloud Strategy options

I spoke with Robert Crane from CIAOPS – Need to Know podcasts on the options that are available to small businesses in creating a cost effective hybrid IT solution.

Listen to the podcast here – http://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-78-boon-tee/

Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 Essentials Log Locations

Here is a list of where you can find important log files for Windows Server 2012 Essentials and Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials.

Server-side Logs:

In Windows Server Essentials 2012 and 2012 R2, the location of the log files is under %programdata%\Microsoft\Windows Server\Logs.

Service Integration Log Files:

O365/On-Premise Exchange/Intune   SharedServiceHost-EmailProviderServiceConfig.log
Windows Azure Backup   OnlineBackupGettingStartedWizard.log

Backup Log Files:

Server Backup Configuration wizard SBCW.log
Server Backup restore wizard ServerFFR.log
Client Backup Feature server side log Backup-<date>.log
Client backup database cleanup RunTask-BackupCleanup.log
Client backup database checker RunTask-Consistency check

Storage and Devices Log Files:

User/Device management feature SharedServiceHost-ManagementServiceConfig.log
Storage features Storageservice.<date>.log
Storage related feature Storageutil.<date>.log

Azure Backup Log Files:

Location: C:\Program Files\Windows Azure Backup Agent\Temp
Azure Backup Logs CBEngineCurr.errlog
Failed Azure Backup Logs LastBackupFailedFile#####.txt

Other Helpful Log Files:

DC Promo DCPromo_date.log
Health evaluation schedule task RunTask-AlertEvaluation.log
Macintosh Clients Status update RunTask-MacintoshStatusReport.log
Server DNS status ServerBeacon.log
Customer Experience Improvement RunTask-SaveCustomerExperienceImprovementProgramData.log

Program and Service Quality Measurement Log Files:

CA Role installation CA_ROLE_INSTALL.log
Media pack installation (2012 R2) MediaPackInstalltionWizard.xxxx.log
Media Service (Specially with RWA) MediaStreamingProvider.log
O365 (Assign/Un-assign Accounts) TaskStatus-OIMAddin.log

 

Client-side Logs:

The client-side log files are located in the folder %programdata%\Microsoft\Windows Server\logs. They are as:

Client Deployment ClientDeploy.log
Client package installation Failures ComputerConnector.log
Client backup restore mount driver BackupDriverInstaller.log
Client operation for File history Sync ClientOperator.log
Main log for client launch pad LaunchPad.log
Password synchronization feature in AAD PasswordSyncClientAlerts.log
Add-in feature on client RunTask-Add-in Management.log
Health evaluation schedule task RunTask-AlertEvaluation.log
Client Backup scheduled task RunTask-ClientComputeBackkup.log
Connector uninstall cleanup task RunTask-Connector cleanup.log
Update health definition file from server to client task RunTask-HealthDefinitionUpdate.log
RDP feature for RWA RunTask-RDP Group Configuration.log
Client VPN connectivity issues RunTask-VPN Routes Repair.log
Client network status update ServerLocator-<date>.log
Client deployment API call (Client deployment fails) Setupapi.dev.log
Health alert feature SharedServiceHost-HealthServiceConfig.log

 

 

Reference – http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2014/09/30/windows-server-essentials-log-files.aspx 

Enabling Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials integration with Microsoft Online Services when there are multiple domain controllers

The latest August 2014 update rollup for Windows Server 2012 R2 has addressed this issue. The integration feature previous only worked when the Essentials server was the only domain controller in the domain, which led to some difficult workarounds in migration scenarios.

The rollup can be downloaded via Windows Update or directly here – http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2975719.

You can read the Microsoft announcement here – http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2014/08/13/announcing-the-availability-of-enabling-windows-server-2012-r2-essentials-integration-of-microsoft-online-services-in-environments-with-multiple-domain-controllers.aspx.

Hyper-V and the “Windows cannot find the Microsoft software license terms” error

I was building a new Hyper-V server using Windows Server 2012 R2 and ran into this error. The scenario? You set up a new VM using the default settings, and configure the use of Dynamic RAM.

Once the VM is set up, you start this and get to the point of typing in the license key. In the case of the Datacentre edition, with Generation2 VMs, you can use the Automatic Activation Keys as detailed in the Technet article here – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/dn303421.aspx. And the following error occurs – “We couldn’t verify the product key. Please check your installation media.”

Alternatively, you may get the following message after selecting the operating system – “Windows cannot find the Microsoft Software License Terms. Make sure the installation sources are valid and restart the installation.”

The solution is straightforward. You need to assign at least 576MB RAM as the starting value for the VM to bypass this problem. I usually configure my virtual servers to start with a minimum of 1024MB RAM.

 

 

Configuring Microsoft Azure Online Backup on Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials

The Essentials team have blogged the step by step instructions on how to configure Microsoft Azure backup integration with an on-premises installation of Server 2012 R2 Essentials.

The blog post can be found here – http://blogs.technet.com/b/sbs/archive/2014/05/01/configuring-microsoft-azure-online-backup-on-windows-server-2012-r2-essentials.aspx

Note that there is currently an issue if you are using the Essentials role enabled on Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter edition in Azure (I have not verified if on-premises Datacenter edition is OK). You will receive an error, when attempting to install the Add-in – “The add-in cannot be installed because it is not compatible with WIndows Server 2012 R2 Essentials”. We hope that there will be a fix for this soon.

WSE