Windows 7 RC Goes Live, and Other News

Quite a bit of news in the last week – just to make sure you didn’t miss these events in the pre-Derby festivities:

  1. Office 2007 SP2 has launched
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b444bf18-79ea-46c6-8a81-9db49b4ab6e5&displaylang=en
  2. Vista SP2 has reached RTM
    http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2009/04/28/windows-vista-sp2-rtm-windows-vista-sp1-blocker-tool-removed.aspx
  3. WSS v3 w/ SP2 is out
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=ef93e453-75f1-45df-8c6f-4565e8549c2a
  4. Windows 7 RC hit MSDN and TechNet today (for subscribers)
    http://blogs.technet.com/springboard/archive/2009/04/30/windows-7-rc-is-available-for-technet-and-msdn-subscribers-to-download.aspx
  5. Windows 7 RC will be available to the general public on May 5
    http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/04/24/windows-7-release-candidate-update.aspx
  6. Window 7 Beta expires July 1
    http://blogs.technet.com/springboard/archive/2009/04/30/plan-ahead-for-windows-7-beta-and-rc-expiration-dates.aspx
  7. If you got a THRIVE card at the last KYSBSUG meeting, those expire TODAY, so make sure you active it today.
  8. Chris Rue is coming to Cincinnati on Tuesday May 5 on the Microsoft Tour
    http://www.chrisrue.com/funcave/2009/04/im-getting-on-the-bus.html
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Get Your Search On

search_server_express_2008 Recently announced: Microsoft Search Server Express is now available as a free download! It’s available in x86 or x64 versions too.

Download URL: Click here
File name: SearchServerExpress.exe
Size: 248 MB

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

  • Processor: 2.5 gigahertz (GHz) (minimum)
  • Memory: 2 gigabytes (GB) RAM (minimum)
  • Operating System: Any of the following editions of the Windows Server 2003 or newer operating system with the most recent service packs: Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition, and Web Edition.
  • Hard disk: NTFS-formatted partition with 3 GB of free space (minimum)
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 with ASP.NET 2.0 enabled
  • Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
  • Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation Runtime Components
  • Note: Search Server 2008 Express can be installed on one computer only. It supports an unlimited number of Web front-end servers, but only one application server.

RESOURCES:

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Download – Selling SBS and WSS Kit

wss_logo Title: How to Sell, Deploy, and Build Business with Microsoft Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0 and SBS 2003 R2
File Name: Selling_WSS_and_SBS_Kit.zip
Version: 1.0
Date Published: 11/15/2007
Language: English
Download Size: 3.2 MB
Download URL: Click here

Description: 
A new partner enablement tool that helps you create solutions using Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2. Access the toolkit’s resources—including a process cookbook, technical documentation and marketing materials—to learn how to build your business by selling and deploying customized solutions.

Contents Include:

  • Application Templates Overview for WSS v3
  • Asking the Client to Agree to a WSS Demo Final.doc
  • Helpful Technical Resources from Microsoft.doc
  • Identifying Potential WSS Clients.doc
  • Making WSS into a Secure Extranet.doc*
  • Preparing Your Business to Sell and Support WSS.doc
  • SBS Business Benefits Highlights.doc
  • SharePointBackups.exe
  • Site Administrator Homework Sample.doc
  • Visio Windows SharePoint Process Flows 061107.pdf
  • WSS 3.0 User Training Guide.doc
  • WSS 3.0 Admin Training Guide.doc
  • WSS 3.0 Site Demonstration Script.doc
  • WSS 3.0 Site Intake Template Starter Site.doc
  • WSS 3.0 Technical Setup.doc
  • WSS Admin Training Agenda Sample.doc
  • WSS Future Opportunities.doc
  • WSS Packaged Offering StarterSite Sample.doc
  • WSS Process Flow Steps Documents Objectives Toolkit Readiness.xls
  • WSS StarterSite Intake Template.doc
  • WSS User Training Agenda Sample.doc
  • Your Ideal Pilot Client.doc

*If you’re looking for the document on creating a secure extranet using WSS v3 on top of SBS, it’s in this download.  This is the same WSS / SBS content released at Worldwide Partner Conference 2007 that everyone has been asking for over the last several months.  Basically, this stuff is a gold mine!

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Notes from November 2007 KYSBSUG Meeting

kysbsug Thanks to everyone who attended the November 2007 Kentucky Small Business Server User Group (KYSBSUG) meeting last night on "Best Practices".

SPECIAL THANKS:

  • Thanks to all who attended, especially those traveling from Lexington.
  • Also, MAJOR thanks to Matthew Snoddy from Network Therapists for presenting!  We’re really looking forward to the Lexington SBS group launch in January!
  • And thanks to those who stayed after to attend the WHS build

GRAND PRIZE WINNER:

  • Windows Home Server Lee Johnson from Sentry Computer Systems took home the copy of Windows Home Server

    Congratulations Lee on finally winning something 😉

URLS MENTIONED LAST NIGHT:

  • SBS 2003 Best Practices Analyzer v1.3 (1.1 MB)
  • Exchange 2003 Best Practices Analyzer v2.8 (6.8 MB)
  • ISA 2004 Best Practices Analyzer v5.5 (2.8 MB)
  • WSS v3 & MOSS 2007 Best Practices Analyzer (1.4 MB)
  • Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer v2.1 – Beta 2 (1.3 MB)
  • Visio 2007 Connector for MBSA 2.1 (1.1 MB)
  • lookinmypc LookInMyPC (1.2 MB) – LookInMyPC generates a complete, comprehensive system profile that includes information on all installed hardware and software. Additionally it provides system diagnostic information such as details on running processes, installed services, startup programs, Windows updates and hot fixes, active network and Internet connections, TCP/IP port usage, event log detail, and much more. All this is provided in an easy to read, formatted report that you can view and print using your web browser.
  • AccessEnum v1.32 (51 KB) – AccessEnum gives you a full view of your file system and Registry security settings in seconds, making it the ideal tool for helping you for security holes and lock down permissions where necessary.
  • JDiskReport JDiskReport v1.3 (0.6 MB) – JDiskReport enables you to understand how much space the files and directories consume on your disk drives, and it helps you find obsolete files and folders.

    The tool analyses your disk drives and collects several statistics which you can view as overview charts and details tables.

    This is ad-free uncrippled no-charge binary multi-platform software that never expires.  (Requires Java).

  • The Dude 2.2 The Dude v2.2 (1.8 MB)  – The Dude is a network monitor that will enable you to scan all the devices within a network subnet and then draw a map of the network devices and tell you where your workstations are connected and warn you of service problems.

    Better still, your network doesn’t need to be internal. If your company has a network between offices, The Dude will enable you to map the entire network.

  • PsEXec v1.9 (1 MB) – PsExec, from Microsoft / Sysinternals is a light-weight telnet-replacement that lets you execute processes on other systems, complete with full interactivity for console applications, without having to manually install client software. PsExec’s most powerful uses include launching interactive command-prompts on remote systems and remote-enabling tools like IpConfig that otherwise do not have the ability to show information about remote systems.

    Note: some anti-virus scanners report that one or more of the tools are infected with a "remote admin" virus. None of the PsTools contain viruses, but they have been used by viruses, which is why they trigger virus notifications.

  • SIW - System Information for Windows System Information for Windows (SIW) v1.71 (1.3 MB) – SIW is an advanced System Information for Windows tool that gathers detailed information about your system properties and settings and displays it in an extremely comprehensible manner.

    This standalone utility does not require installation (Portable Freeware) – one less installed program on your PC as well the fact that you can run the program directly from an USB flash drive, from a floppy, from a network drive or from a domain login script.

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Installing WSS v3 on a Member Server in an SBS Network

Windows SharePoint ServicesIf you’ve got a member server in your SBS network (especially if that server is a beefy SQL box) it may make sense from a performance standpoint to install Windows SharePoint Services version 3 on the member server instead of directly on the SBS box.  This is actually a pretty straight-forward process, but in case you’re not totally comfortable with WSS v3 yet, the procedure is documented below using a combination of a Microsoft e-book and the WSS on SBS instructions Chad came up with for SBS. 

Note:  This free WSS v3 e-book is NOT the whitepaper Chad mentions in his article.  This is a digital book: "Deployment for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Technology". (189 pages – published May 2007)

There are two downloads on the page (the second is for an upgrade scenario).  Choose the first install (1.1 MB).

Once you’ve downloaded the Deployment e-book, jump to page 23:

  1. Install Internet Information Server (IIS) 6.0 from the Windows Server 2003 CD 1.
  2. Disable "Run WWW server in IIS 5.0 isolation mode"
  3. Install .NET 3.0
  4. Enable ASP.NET v2.0.50727
  5. Install WSS v3

    (Select Advanced Install, Select Stand-Alone server type, Choose your data location)

  6. Run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard.

    (This may require a restart of the services IIS, SharePoint Administration Service and SharePoint Timer Service.)

  7. The default web site will be http://servername/default.aspx
    Credentials to access the site should be in the format DOMAIN\user_name and the normal domain password.

    >>This is where we switch from the Microsoft e-book to Chad Gross’ "Companyweb & SharePoint v3 – Part 4" instructions <<

  8. Following Chad’s original instructions in WSS v3 Part 4, starting with "(insert cheesy on hold music . . . )"

    Login to the SBS server and create the new Host (A) record for http://intranet that points to the private IP address of your member server, and be sure to create the associated pointer (PRT) record.

  9. Follow the rest of Chad’s instructions on that page to extend the default site to http://intranet (you may have to delete the ":80" port from the URL at the bottom of the configuration page so the final URL is http://intranet and not http://intranet:80)

    >> Now leaving Chad’s instructions <<
     

  10. If you refresh IIS you’ll notice that the SharePoint – 80 default site is gone.  However, your old "Default Web Site" (the http://servername) is still there.
  11. Right-click the Default Web Site, click Properties, click the Home Directory tab, select the "A redirection to a URL" radio button, in the ‘Redirect to:’ text box type "http//intranet". Click OK.

    image

  12. Right-click the Default Web Site and start it.
  13. Now http://servername and http://intranet should both take you to http://intranet (be sure to test it from your SBS box as well).  If the link isn’t working, make sure you flushed your DNS cache in step 8 above.
  14. Login to your http://intranet site, click Site Actions / Site Settings / Title, description, and icon / rename your site "Intranet"
  15. Download and deploy your templates from the Fabulous 40 collection. Be sure to read the readme.txt enclosed in that download.
  16. Last, but certainly not least – BACKUP!!

    Chad mentions backing up your old WSS v2 http://companyweb site in Part 3, but the stsadm for WSS v3 is located in a different position, namely:

    – WSS v2 uses ..\60\bin
    – WSS v3 uses ..\12\bin

    The command I use to backup the WSS v3 http://intranet test site is shown below (yours will vary depending on the target location of your backup files):

Start / Run / CMD / Enter

CD C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\bin <Enter>

stsadm.exe -o backup -url http://intranet -filename "E:\WSSv3Backup\intranet_backup.dat" -overwrite <Enter>

Of course, you can use the system timer to schedule that backup daily if you like. 

Once you get past getting your feet wet with WSS v3, be sure to check out the section, "Administering backup and recovery for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 technology" on TechNet (especially if you’re running SQL as your database engine) before rolling out WSS to client sites.

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Invitation – Live TS2 and KYSBSUG Events Next Week

You know him and love him from the 2005 & 2006 SBS Tours, the 70-282 Exam Prep Series 1 & 2, and numerous webcasts and live events.  And once again, I’m happy to announce that our favorite Microsoft TS2 Presenter, Ronald Grattopp, is coming back to Kentucky!

  • TS2 Live Seminar – Lexington, KY
    Tuesday June 19, 2007
    Start time:  1:00 PM Eastern

    Venue: Regal Hamburg Pavilion 16
    1949 Starshoot Parkway
    Lexington Kentucky 40509
    Registration URL:  Click here

  • June 2007 KYSBSUG Meeting – Louisville, KY
    Wednesday June 20, 2007
    Start time:  6:30 PM Eastern

    Venue: Money Concepts
    323 Townepark Circle
    Louisville, KY 40243
    Start time:  6:30 PM Eastern
    Registration URL:  Click here

  • TS2 Live Seminar – Louisville, KY
    Thursday June 21, 2007
    Start time:  1:00 PM Eastern

    Venue: Cinemark Tinseltown USA
    4400 Towne Center Drive
    Louisville Kentucky 40241
    Registration URL:  Click here

More Details on the June 2007 KYSBSUG Meeting Next Wednesday!

This month Ron Grattopp will be joined by Tim Barrett, and they will be co-presenting a deep dive on Windows SharePoint Services version 3 (WSS3).  Come learn the best practices for installing WSS3 on SBS, shortcuts to deploy the “Fabulous 40” templates, and other tips and tricks on WSS3.

“How deep is this deep dive” you may ask?  We have over 8 hours of content on WSS3, so we’re prepared to talk about all aspects; from deployment, to extending, to business value.  (The event is only 90-120 minutes long, so we’ll cover the content that the audience wants to hear.)

As always, there will be excellent networking opportunities and Ron is bringing some cool swag.

This Live event is FREE to attend, but registration is required:
http://www.clicktoattend.com/?id=119143

The venue is a little tricky to find, since it’s so new it doesn’t show up on most maps, but fortunately there is a map available on Map Quest:

Map to KYSBSUG Meeting at Money Concepts – 323 Townepark Cir Louisville, KY 40243, USA

And if you get lost, just call my cell (502) 817-3456 and I’ll give you directions.

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SharePoint PDF Icon Tool Gets Even Better

acrobat_pdf_iconDoes your SharePoint http://companyweb site running on SBS 2003 or R2 still show missing icons for PDF files you’ve uploaded?  Tsk-tsk.

Solutions:

GOOD – Back in the day we used to fix this problem manually by uploading the 16×16 PDF icon, updating the XML file, and restarting IIS.  Tedious, but effective.

BETTER – Then in 2004 Chad Gross [SBS-MVP] created a cool ZIP / batch file to automate the PDF insertion process for Windows SharePoint Services 2.0.

BEST – Skip forward to 2007 and Chad’s super-handy tool has gotten WAY better.  The new version works with WWS 2.0 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0!  Chad’s rewritten it in VBS, updated the icon to a newer PNG, and it creates an output logfile at C:\pdficon.log so you can make sure everything went smoothly.  Mega sweet!  Download the NEW PDF icon tool and try it out today!

I carry it on a USB drive keychain with my other must-have utilities.  Getting a PDF icon to display in SharePoint has never been easier.  Thanks Chad! You rock!!

Source:  Chad’s Blog

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MSNBC Web Parts Discontinued

I’ve been ‘rolling my own’ web parts for a while now like the Daily Dilbert, Local Radar, Bert&Ernie Terror Alert, Traffic Cam web parts, etc.  So it’s sad for me to see the default MSNBC Web Parts that are baked in to http://companyweb get the pink slip.  It’s kind of like watching Clippit die, but at least these web parts were useful.

On January 25, 2007, the following MSNBC Web Parts will no longer be offered through the online Web Part gallery for Windows SharePoint Services:

  • MSNBC Business News
  • MSNBC Entertainment News
  • MSNBC News
  • MSNBC Sports News
  • MSNBC Stock News
  • MSNBC Stock Quotes
  • MSNBC Technology News
  • MSNBC Weather

Personally, I think it’s bad form for Microsoft to nuke those and not replace them with something else that is just as easy to deploy.  MS suggests using RSS feeds instead.  But displaying RSS inside SharePoint 2.0 isn’t a cake walk for your average SBSer.  I’ve seen more than a few installs of Smiling Goat tank.   

Obviously the MSNBC parts aren’t ‘specific’ to SBS, but they are in the Online Gallery of every SBS 2003 install.  That’s a LOT of broken links.  Millions.

There’s currently an open thread on SharePoint University asking for alternative web parts.  So, you might want to check that thread periodically or just go ahead and delete web parts from your SBS installs before they timebomb.

Source:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929197

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Windows SharePoint Services 3 Available

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is now available for Windows Server 2003 in x86 and x64 versions.

Links:

*Note, per the WSS 3.0 & SBS whitepaper above:

“Some of the differences between Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 break the integration between Windows SBS and Windows SharePoint Services. For this reason, if you want to install Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 on a Windows SBS network, you must install it side-by-side with Windows SharePoint Services 2.0. This leaves your existing http://companyweb Web site intact, and it also creates a new Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Web site.”

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