Archive for August, 2009

What’s the difference? Window 7 vs. Windows Vista SP1 vs. Windows XP SP3

Published August 31, 2009 Mark Menges Leave a Comment
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With the release of Windows 7 there are now three versions of Windows available for a desktop or laptop computer. This makes for interesting times for us who work in the IT field. Which version will we be supporting for the next few years? Many who use Windows XP are happy and feel no need to make a change. Some have just completed the — sometimes painful — migration to Windows Vista and will do just about anything to avoid making another change. And there are always those that must have the latest and greatest and have been excited by the favorable pre-release buzz for Windows 7.

I like each version of Windows for different reasons. XP seems like an old friend whose ways you know so well and with whom you are completely comfortable. Vista is like a new acquaintance that was hard to warm up to but eventually won you over with unexpected virtues. And Windows 7 is like a brand new race car stuffed with new technology and brimming with potential.

So which is the Windows to choose? I have a weakness for comparison charts that goes back to my high school years when I would pore over car magazines and baseball statistics deciding who was the best of class. When I came across Microsoft’s own comparison chart that listed the features of the last three Windows Desktop operating systems I had to download it and print it out for analysis. Get it at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=FA0177CC-7E82-4993-B0D6-FEC84216DD9C&displaylang=en

My conclusion? Windows 7 wins hands down if your criteria is the sheer number of new or improved features but you have to use the operating system for a while before you can be really sure.

By the way, one of Microsoft’s best little known offers for IT Professionals is the Action Pack Subscription which includes permanent, not trial copies of new software. For only $300 you get copies of the latest versions of Windows with which you can make your own judgement. Check out the Action Pack at: https://partner.microsoft.com/40016455.

And have fun with it.

-Mark Menges

Related Courses

Implementing and Administering Windows 7 in the Enterprise

Planning and Managing Windows 7 Desktop Deployments and Environments (M6494)

The Impact of Windows Server 2008 on Exchange Server Environments

Published August 27, 2009 Rich Luckett Leave a Comment
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The release of Windows Server 2008 earlier this year marked a long awaited upgrade to the Windows Operating system. For Exchange Server administrators it happened at a precarious moment in time. Many organizations had already deployed Exchange Server 2007 prior to the release of Windows Server 2008. This, of course meant, that they had already deployed Exchange 2007 on the Windows Server 2003 64-bit platform. Those that have decided to upgrade their Exchange 2007 servers from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 had some additional hurdles to cross. Up until recently I felt that most administrators understood the impact. However, in the classes I have been teaching over the last month I have noticed an increase in the number of students whose organizations are just now beginning their move to Windows Server 2008 both for Active Directory servers and for Exchange Servers. Surprisingly, many of them were unaware of the impact that deploying Windows 2008 will have. I felt it was important to write about the specific challenges that Exchange 2007 administrators will face in this process. I’ve also put some references in this blog for further reading on the subject.

Regardless of the challenges you may face upgrading from Windows 2003 to Windows 2008 there are a number of compelling benefits that Windows Server 2008 Provides to Exchange Server 2007. Here are some of the top reasons people are upgrading:

  • Hyper-V
  • Failover Clusters – CCR and SCC Geographically Dispersed
  • AD Federated Rights Management
  • SMB V2 for 40% increase in throughput / performance for log shipping
  • IIS 7.0
  • New TCP/IP Stack
  • Dynamic Hardware Partitioning for reduced outages
  • Self-healing NTFS
  • Server Manager and PowerShell
  • IPv6 for HUB and Edge (Not UM)
  • Storage manager for SANs
  • Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor – System Stability Report
  • Integrated SCW

For additional information on the benefits see http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2008/03/05/448338.aspx and http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753208.aspx .

When upgrading to Windows Server 2008 there are a number of provisions for Exchange Server that must be made or adhered to. You cannot for instance upgrade Windows 2003 to Windows 2008 and then Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2007 SP1. You cannot upgrade Exchange 2007 RTM to Exchange 2007 SP1 and then upgrade Windows 2003 to Windows 2008. In short you must install Windows 2008 on a server that doesn’t have Exchange 2007 and then install Exchange 2007 SP1. After that you can move the mailboxes over to the new server. If you currently have a Windows 2003 Cluster you will not be able to do a rolling update from Windows 2003 to Windows 2008 for the same reasons you cannot do that on a standalone server. You will have to deploy a Windows 2008 Failover cluster on new hardware, Deploy Exchange 2007 SP1 and then move mailboxes from the 2003 cluster to the 2008 failover cluster. More detail is available in Microsoft’s official guidance at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc296562.aspx .

You should be aware of Exchange Server and Windows 2008 server scenarios that are not supported as well.

  • Exchange 2000 and Windows 2008 DCs cannot exist in the same AD Site
  • Exchange Servers do not use RODCs or ROGSs
  • Exchange 2003 will not install into a child domain of a pure 2008 forest
  • SCR does not support cross-platform (Windows 2003 – Windows 2008) replication

You will need to become familiar with the steps to provision Windows 2008 for Exchange 2007 you can find details on the requirements for each Exchange 2007 role at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb691354.aspx

Finally, I think one of the biggest surprises to Exchange administrators is that currently you cannot back up Exchange Server with the built in Windows 2008 Backup utility. Current options include using Microsoft System Center DPM 2007 VSS backups or Third-party VSS backup solution. Good news for those that have waited until now is that Exchange Server 2007 SP2 will include an Exchange 2007 VSS-based plug in for Windows Server Backup. For more information on Exchange 2007 you can see my previous blog “Paving the way for Exchange 2010 with Exchange 2007 Service Pack 2”.

-Rich Luckett

Related Courses:

Configuring, Managing, and Maintaining Server 2008

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

Ultimate Exchange Server 2007

Reliability Monitor is a great way to start a troubleshooting session on Windows Vista

Published August 25, 2009 Mark Menges Leave a Comment
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One of the many often overlooked features of Windows Vista is the Reliability Monitor. Reliability Monitor is available as a snap-in in any MMC console and is also included under the Monitoring node in the Reliability and Performance Console and the Computer Management Console. In Microsoft’s own words the Reliability Monitor “displays detailed information about application installations, application removals, operating system and application failures, hardware errors, and system clock changes.”

Reliability Monitor uses a Chart to display a computer’s Stability Index, which is a perfect 10 when the operation system is first installed. If application or hardware failures occur the Stability Index number in reduced and the failure is recorded in the Chart. Each day is recorded on the chart and you can click on a particular day to see all events related to software installations and failures of applications and Windows itself. Troubleshooting an unfamiliar computer is a snap because so much historically relevant data in brought together in one place. Looking at a Reliability Chart on a faulty computer is like reading a medical chart for a sick person. It is easy to spot trends that develop over time and locate a root cause. On my personal Vista laptop I saw my Stability Index decline to a deplorable 4.2. I scanned the chart and found the culprit- my Logitech webcam software was crashing on a regular basis. An update of the software from Logitech’s’ website and my Index was in the rise again.

Data is collected for Reliability Monitor by the RACAgent scheduled task which can be managed from the Schedule Tasks snap-in on an MMC. RACAgent runs by default on new installs of Vista and places the data it collects in a hidden folder called RAC in C:\Program Data\Microsoft.

Reliability Monitor can be viewed on remote computers if the Remote Registry Service is running on those computers by pointing the Computer Management Console to the remote computer using the Connect to another computer option.

And good news, Windows 7 will have the Reliability Monitor too!

-Mark Menges

Related Courses:

Implementing, Configuring, and Troubleshooting Windows Vista

First Look: Windows 7 Beta for IT Professionals

Implementing and Administering Windows 7 in the Enterprise

Updating Your Technology Knowledge of Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 7 Beta

Video: Windows 7 Overview with Craig Brown

Published August 24, 2009 Tim Hazell Leave a Comment
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Chief Technical Architect Craig Brown discusses the Microsoft Windows 7 Certification and Skills Learning Tracks available to Global Knowledge students.

Also, don’t forget to visit our Windows 7 resource page for White Papers, Web Seminars, training courses and more.

Go to www.globalknowledge.com/windows7.

Related Courses:

First Look: Windows 7 Beta for IT Professionals

Implementing and Administering Windows 7 in the Enterprise

Updating Your Technology Knowledge of Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 7 Beta

Perform a rapid rollout of Windows 7 using Windows Deployment Services

Published August 20, 2009 Mark Menges Leave a Comment
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If you are like me you are counting the days until you can deploy Windows 7 on your network.  For months Microsoft representatives have been touring the country evangelizing for Windows 7. They have been running 7 on their personal laptops since the beta and are excited to talk about a version of Windows that is more fun than Vista. Don’t get me wrong, Vista is a fine operating system with many great features but, well, it hasn’t been the most beloved version of Windows ever released.  Windows 7 in fact is an upgrade to Vista that builds on Vista’s strengths and adds zippier performance, new features, and a fun interface that gives it a personality.

So how can we get Windows 7 installed on our desktops and laptops? How about WDS? Windows Deployment Services is a Role that can be installed on Windows Server 2003 R2 or Windows Server 2008. I recommend the 2008 version to take advantage of the latest features.

WDS requires that Active Directory, DHCP and DNS services be available on the Network.

WDS has server functionality that includes PXE server, unicast and multicast capabilities

WDS can create a deployable image file of Windows 7 by using Capture Image. A Capture Image is a special version of WindowsPE that creates an image file of a Windows 7 computer and uploads the file to the WDS server. The WDS server can then distribute the image to many computers across the network.

Just in time for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 Microsoft has added some enhancements to WDS. One of the best is Dynamic Driver Provisioning which allows WDS admins to add needed drivers when applying a standard image to non-default hardware. Also WDS can now send multicast streams at an optimal rate for each client participating in a multicast. Faster computers can complete the image download sooner than older machines. This feature is called

Multicast with Multiple Stream Transfer.  The USMT has been improved with the ability to migrate local files to a new installation of Windows without copying or moving files.

Check out the latest innovations in system deployment at the Microsoft team blog at:

http://blogs.technet.com/windowssystemdeployment/archive/2009/01/20/windows-7-deployment-changes.aspx

-Mark Menges

Related Courses:

First Look: Windows 7 Beta for IT Professionals

Implementing and Administering Windows 7 in the Enterprise

Updating Your Technology Knowledge of Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 7 Beta

Paving the way for Exchange 2010 with Exchange 2007 Service Pack 2

Published August 19, 2009 Rich Luckett Leave a Comment
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According to the Microsoft Exchange Team Blog Exchange 2007 Service Pack 2 will become available in Q3 2009. For those that will continue to run Exchange 2007 well beyond the release date of Exchange 2010, which is slated for the second half of 2009, will of course want to apply the Service Pack as part of normal operations. Those that plan to deploy Exchange 2010 into an existing Exchange 2007 organization are also encouraged to deploy Service Pack 2 prior to deploying the first Exchange 2010 server. Updating Exchange 2007 to SP2 is not going to be a mandatory step to install Exchange 2010 as prerequisites will be available independent of SP2 but it will be a requirement for Exchange 2007 to interoperate with Exchange 2010. Interoperability is of course going to be important to much organization deploying Exchange 2010.

Obviously the benefits of deploying Exchange 2007 SP2 are farther reaching than a simple means by which we can transition to Exchange 2010. Administrators will benefit from new features of SP2 as well. These features include:

Centralized Organizational Settings – PowerShell has a new option that enables centralized management of many of the Exchange organization settings.

Dynamic Active Directory Schema Update and Validation – To prevent future deployment issues caused by schema conflicts, the dynamic AD schema update and validation feature will support dynamic schema updates and proactively prevent conflicts whenever a new property is added to the AD schema.

Enhanced Auditing – A new repository will be created for Exchange auditing events to make it easier for Exchange administrators audit the activities occurring on their Exchange servers.

Exchange Volume Snapshot Backup Functionality - The long awaited backup plug-in will now be available for Administrators to create Exchange backups with the Windows Server 2008 Backup tool.

Named Properties cmdlets – SP2 enables Exchange administrators to monitor their named property usage per database.

New User Interface for Managing Diagnostic Logging- You will now have a choice of where to go when you want to enable diagnostic logging. Both RTM and SP1 versions of Exchange 2007 required that you use the Exchange Management Shell (EMS). Now you will be able to use the GUI.

Public Folder Quota Management – PowerShell cmdlets have been enhanced to allow administrators to perform quota management tasks on public folders.

Exchange 2007 Service Pack 2 will also be supported on Small Business Server 2008. However the SBS team at Microsoft has some identified some issues Installing Microsoft Exchange 2007 SP2 on Windows Small Business Server 2008. The SP2 install causes problems in some web services of Windows SBS 2008. They have provided manual steps to work around the issues which are available in KB 973862. They are also working on a setup tool for Exchange 2007 SP2 specifically for SBS 2008 that will illuminate the manual steps. So you may want to wait for this tool to become available before installing SP2  on SBS 2008 to ease the process.

-Rich Luckett

Related Courses

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

Ultimate Exchange Server 2007

Migrating Exchange to a New Domain

Published August 18, 2009 Brad Werner 4 Comments
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When teaching about Exchange Server 2007, many questions about migration and transition from old messaging platforms arise. Coming to Exchange Server 2007 from GroupWise, Notes, and other systems naturally have a number of factors to be considered, yet even coming to Exchange Server 2007 from earlier versions of Exchange Server involves many possible approaches and choices. The following question is not uncommon:

We are in the process of moving to a new domain. I’m being told to look into what would be the best way to move/migrate all the users over to the new domain. One of the recommendations is to build a new Exchange box on the new domain and then move all the mailboxes over to the new Exchange server in the new domain.

My first question is “Is the new domain in the same Active Directory forest as the first?”

My second question is “Will the old domain still exist after the migration?”

Without the answers to these questions, I could describe a few scenarios leading to different directions and rather dissimilar tactics and final solutions.

However for the moment, I’ll assume that you’re talking about using a separate forest and that the original domain (and perhaps forest) will no longer exist after the migration. That’s not all that unusual – I’m not saying that everyone does that, but it’s not uncommon either.

Migrating Mailboxes to Another Forest

When the target domain is in another forest, it is also in another Exchange organization because in Exchange Server 2007 each Active Directory forest can support one Exchange organization and that messaging organization structure is based on and tied to the forest. Also, domain rename of Active Directory is not currently supported with Exchange Server 2007 installed in the forest due to some hard-coded FQDNs. Those are probably some of the reasons such a migration has been recommended to you.

  1. Establish network connectivity between the forests.
  2. Associate the two forests at a domain name system (DNS) level.
  3. Consider trust relationships between the forests.
  4. Establish Exchange Server(s) in the new environment if you haven’t already done so.
  5. Configure the proper connectors for mail flow between the Exchange environments.
  6. Move mailboxes over to the new environment, creating the user accounts along with them.
  7. Move public folders if you have them to the new environment.
  8. Move any relevant connectors from the old environment to the new.
  9. Consider the exit plan for decommissioning the old environment.

This list isn’t a strict guide, just a possible overview of one approach to the process. Let me know if you have questions on details or whether all of these aspects are necessary for your plan. I hope this helps!

-Brad Werner

Related Courses

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

Ultimate Exchange Server 2007

Exchange 2010 Transport Fundamentals

Published August 17, 2009 Rich Luckett Leave a Comment
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Exchange 2010 builds upon the significant changes to the transport that were made in Exchange 2007. In this article, I’ll review the transport pipeline and routing components and list some of the new architectural and administrative enhancements to the Exchange 2010 transport.

Before you explore the new transport features in Exchange 2010 you may want to review some transport basics. The basic fundamentals to the Exchange 2010 transport will better help you understand and appreciate the new enhancements. Two of the key fundamentals are the Transport Pipeline and Routing. The transport pipeline is a collection of Exchange 2010 server roles, connections, components, and queues that work together to route all messages to the categorizer on a Hub Transport server inside the organization. Message routing topologies in Exchange 2010 and routing decisions are based on the existing Active Directory directory service site topology.

The pipeline’s job is to see that every single email delivered in an Exchange organization is categorized. If categorization does not complete than a message cannot be routed properly. Both the Edge Transport and the Hub Transport roles perform categorization. However, categorization on the Edge Transport is limited, for the most part, to inbound messages from a receive connector. The Hub Transport is more active as it needs to potentially categorize messages from Receive Connectors, Pickup Directory, Replay Directory, Store Driver and various Transport Agents. The core components and processes to the transport pipeline are:

SMTP Receive – A series of events that work together in a specific order to validate the contents of a message before it is accepted into the organization. This includes anti-spam and antivirus optionally.

Submission – The process of putting messages into the Submission queue. This is accomplished with Receive Connectors, Pickup directory or Replay directory, Store Driver submission, or transport agent.

Categorizer – Process in which the message is put directly in the delivery queue. The process involves: Recipient resolution, Distribution Group expansion, message Bifurcation, Routing resolution and Content conversion.

SMTP Send (Send Connector) – All messages that are sent to a different Active Directory site, to a mailbox that resides on a different version of Exchange, or to a mailbox that resides in a different Active directory Forest must be routed through a send connector.

Message routing in Exchange 2010 can be complex and requires a lengthy discussion. I’m not going to try to cover all the aspect of routing in this blog. However there are some key components to Exchange 2010 routing that belong in a fundamentals discussion.

Active Directory Sites – Used as a routing boundary for Hub Transport Servers

AD IP Site Links – Define logical routing paths and least cost routes between hub transports in different AD Sites.

Send Connectors – Primary used to route to external SMTP address space.

Routing Groups – Used as a routing boundary for Exchange 2003.

Routing Group Connectors – Define logical routing paths between Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2003.

Microsoft Exchange Transport Service – The Simple Mail Transfer provider for Exchange 2010 for inbound and outbound mail

Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology Service – Service responsible for locating and querying the Global Catalog and Domain Controller servers.

Routing Tables – A map of the topology used by the routing component to make routing decisions.

DNS – Exchange 2010 uses both a standard and enhanced DNS client to perform next hop name resolution. Enhanced DNS supports load-balancing for transport server roles.

SMTP – Protocol used for communications between transport server roles

RPC – Remote Procedure Calls are used by hub transport servers to submit mail to Mailbox Server roles within the same active directory site.

I strongly encourage you to check out the Microsoft TechNet articles under Understanding Transport for further details.

While much of the transport architecture was developed for Exchange 2007 there are some new and improved features. In the Toolbox you will now find the Routing Log Viewer. A feature that I think will be very popular for messaging compliance is the new Moderated Transport with will force approval by moderators for selected email messages.

-Rich Luckett

Related Courses

Configuring, Managing, and Troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 (M10135)

Designing and Deploying Messaging Solutions with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 (M10233)

70-567 Upgrade: Transition your MCPD Web Developer Skills to MCPD ASP.NET Developer 3.5

Published August 13, 2009 Randy Muller Leave a Comment
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Microsoft recently released a new Certification exam: 70-567 Upgrade: Transition your MCPD Web Developer Skills to MCPD ASP.NET Developer 3.5. This exam is intended for candidates who hold an MCPD web Developer 2.0 certification and who also wish to upgrade to MCPD ASP.NET Developer 3.5. People who would consider taking this exam use Microsoft Visual Studio in a team-based, medium to large development environment.  If you are considering taking this exam, you should have at least two to three years’ experience developing Web-based applications using Microsoft ASP.NET.

Candidates should also have a minimum of one year of experience with the following:

  • Database access by using Microsoft ADO.NET classes in the .NET Framework
  • Web Services
  • State management
  • ASP.NET configuration
  • Monitoring Web applications
  • Debugging
  • Application and page life-cycle management
  • Security aspects such as Forms Authentication and membership and roles
  • ECMAScript (JavaScript, Microsoft JScript)
  • Internet Information Server (IIS)

Candidates should be very familiar with Visual Studio 2005 or later and the .NET Framework classes that are related to ASP.NET and ADO.NET.  In addition, candidates should have a good grasp of ASP.NET AJAX.

So what are the areas you should concentrate on when preparing for this exam.  You should know all areas, but Microsoft does break down the specific areas to help focus your studies.  This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below.

  • Configuring and Deploying Web Applications
  • Consuming and Creating Server Controls
  • Working with Data and Services
  • Troubleshooting and Debugging  Web Applications
  • Working with ASP.NET AJAX and Client-Side Scripting
  • Targeting Mobile Devices
  • Programming  Web Applications
  • Designing and Implementing Controls
  • Designing the Presentation and Layout of an Application
  • Accessing Data and Services
  • Establishing ASP.NET Solution Structure
  • Leveraging and Extending ASP.NET Architecture
  • Applying Security Principles in Application

When you take and you pass (notice said when taken and passed – lets keep the optimism alive here!) the 70-567: UPGRADE: Transition your MCPD Web Developer Skills to MCPD ASP.NET Developer 3.5, you complete the requirements for the following certification(s):MCPD: ASP.NET Developer 3.5.

-Randy Muller

Ease Deployment of Operating System Images with the WAIK

Published August 11, 2009 Mark Menges Leave a Comment
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Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 has recently officially been released to manufacturing.  The performance gains and new features of these new versions of Windows are very exciting. The sooner we install them on all of our organization’s computers the better. But there is one fly in the ointment. Installing hundreds or thousands of computers with new software can be a very big task. Manual installations of Windows and applications can take hours per machine, so many administrators have gone to image based deployments using an imaging solution such as Ghost.

With the Ghost application a technician creates a manual installation of Windows and applications on a computer. Then Sysprep is run on that computer to remove all security ids (SIDs) and other unique identifiers. Then the computer is shut down and rebooted with a Ghost boot disk that captures an image file of the entire hard drive. This image file, a ghost file, is then uploaded to a Ghost multicasting server for deployment.  The drawback of the traditional ghost file is that it is a sector based file that cannot be changed in any way after it is created. If any updates need to be made a new computer must be created, updated with the changes and captured as a ghost file. Another issue is that the computer to which the image is applied must be nearly identical to the original computer from which the image was created. Image based deployments can be complicated because of the need to create and distribute many different image files.

Microsoft has solved many of these problems with the introduction of the Window Image File or WIM. A WIM is file-based image file rather than a sector-based image file such as the original ghost file.  A WIM file can be mounted (accessed) and updated after it has been created using the ImageX utility. The WAIK (Windows Automated Installation Kit), a free download from Microsoft, includes some terrific tools that make deploying Windows much easier. Some of the tools and utilities included in the WAIK are ImageX, WindowsPE, OSCDIMG, Sysprep, and the USMT 3.0.

ImageX can create, modify, and apply WIM images. WIM files can be applied to a computer that has a different size hard drive than the computer on which the WIM file was created.

ImageX runs on WindowsPE, a lightweight command-line version of Windows that can boot from a flash drive, CD or even over the network.

OSCDIMG creates ISO files that can be booted from a CD of DVD. For example, CSCDIMG can create a bootable ISO of WindowsPE with ImageX.

A great feature of a WIM file is that a single WIM  can contain multiple Windows 7 or Server 2008 versions. For example, one WIM could contain 3 versions of Windows 7 each with a different selection of application or languages. All files in common are stored once in the WIM file and highly compressed. During installation you select the version desired. ImageX can place WIMs on network shares or even burn them on DVDs, spanning the image across multiple DVDs if necessary.

WIM files created using the WAIK tools can also be deployed from WDS (Windows Deployment Services) running on Server 2008.

The latest version of the WAIK can be downloaded from:

http://www.microsoft.com/DOWNLOADS/details.aspx?familyid=60A07E71-0ACB-453A-8035-D30EAD27EF72&displaylang=en

Download it and start exploring a new generation of imaging tools today.

-Mark Menges

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