Small Business Server. This venerable Microsoft product is well known among small business technology experts. Throughout its 15-year history, it has adapted to meet the challenges of the small business, has been updated regularly to accommodate new technologies and best practices, and has become the cornerstone for many small businesses.

Some Interesting Commonalities
2011 will see a refresh of SBS, but it also brings us something new; a modification in SBS that poses the potential to be as game-changing as SBS itself. Small Business Server is no longer a single product, but has become a brand with three distinct products.

It would be easy to assume that with a shared name comes a shared platform, with similar features and functionality. However, this is certainly not the case. The Small Business Server brand represents a shared purpose of servicing the small business market, but as businesses have evolved and their needs diverged in an ever-increasing marketplace, so too do these products represent the vastly different needs of small businesses. Making the choice on which product best fits means understanding the core focus of each product. So which is right for you? Small Business Server 2011 Essentials? Small Business 2011 Standard? Does that premium add-on provide enough “value-add? Understanding these products, their similarities, and their differences will be important in making future plans and purchases.

First, while each product has a specific focus to help fulfill a niche in the small business space, at their core they do have some things in common. They are all built on Windows Server 2008 R2. With a few licensing restrictions, you receive all of the functionality of the Windows Server platform. All of the common features are there for file sharing, printer sharing, a DNS server, and IIS for hosting some web content. Some of the less used features are there as well, such as NPS which has a solid RADIUS server for rolling out a more secure Wi-Fi network, and RRAS, which can be used for controlling remote access. Beyond the core of Windows Server, each product adds its unique superset of features to distinguish itself from the rest.

What About SBS-E?
Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (SBS-E) is the new kid on the block. An entirely new product, despite its name, this server is built for the small business that is on the verge of outgrowing “workgroup” status. It installs itself as a domain controller, providing strong central management of users, passwords and policies on the network. Taking a page from the Windows Home Server playbook, it offers a client PC backup engine to help the small business protect essential data. It has a dashboard to help monitor the health of the server, the network and a plethora of wizards to help the day-to-day office manager maintain the system. Its primary purpose is to offer an easy server for the business, small footprint, easy to manage, and otherwise stay-out-of-the-way installation. And, of course, SBS continues its presence on SBS-E. Formerly called RWW, the latest incarnation of Remote Web Access (RWA) offers a unique web-based solution for accessing client PC desktops, shared files stored on the server, and even streaming media via Silverlight.

For those familiar with previous versions of SBS, what is missing is as notable as what is new. Gone are the components that require extra administration such as Exchange and SharePoint. As many “first-server” businesses will still have ad-hoc solutions in place, these “missing” pieces strategically place this server to be an ideal complement to more informal solutions such as Google Apps or hosted Exchange for email solutions. Similarly, a company can leverage their existing collaboration solutions, including hosted Sharepoint, Google Apps, or any of the offerings from IBM, Cisco and others. The lightweight nature of SBS-E makes it particularly adept and nimble to meeting new small business models where previous SBS editions were an ill fit.

Like all versions of SBS, SBS-E does have some limitations. First and foremost, it is limited to 25 users and 25 computers. As a solution targeting the smaller side of “small business” this usually won’t be an issue. If you are looking for a higher user count, you may want to investigate other products, such as SBS Standard or even stand-alone Windows Server deployments, depending on features. Also, like previous versions of SBS, “enterprise” features have been intentionally disabled. SBS does not support multiple-domain forests, it must be the root of the domain, does not support trusts or federation, and must hold all FSMO roles. If all of that is Greek, don’t worry; these are all features intended for large businesses. Not even mid-sized businesses will use those features often, if ever. The small business, properly installed and managed, will never even know they aren’t there.

Small Business Server 2011 Standard
Small Business Server 2011 Standard is the next edition of the traditional SBS product line. There won’t be many surprises for long-time SBS aficionados, but there are some refreshing changes and updates. Of course, first there is the name. That “standard” tacked on the end is a result of the SBS name becoming a brand instead of a product, but will be important when seeking support. As the differences between SBS Standard and SBS Essentials are fairly significant, what fixes problems on one server can be completely meaningless advice on another. Get used to the new product name; it will save you hassle down the road.

SBS Standard takes Windows Server 2008 R2 and makes it a domain controller so like SBS-E, it becomes the core of a more manageable network. It then builds in Exchange 2010 SP1 and SharePoint Foundation 2010 to offer a complete email and collaboration solution out of the box. Next is the SBS Dashboard designed to help monitor the server’s health and provide quick and (usually) logical access to myriad of management tasks. And finally, each task is usually managed by a wizard specifically written for SBS that hides the more complex details, making the process of managing a server with this many components look deceptively simple. SBS Standard also includes an updated RWA interface, a shared fax solution similar to previous versions of SBS, an integrated patch management solution via Microsoft WSUS, and basic reporting to help keep track of the whole thing.

Like its SBS Essentials counterpart, SBS Standard, too, has its limitations. It has the same enterprise domain features stripped out and has the same enterprise restrictions that were listed for SBS-E. It also has a limit on users or computers; although instead of 25, it is 75 for SBS Standard. In addition, a common limitation that some larger businesses run into is in trying to deploy a Remote Desktop (formerly Terminal Services) server solution. The SBS Standard server cannot host remote desktop applications and should never have standard users logging directly into the server. If RD roles are needed, a second server and licenses will need to be added to the network.

SBS Premium Add-On
Finally, the third product in the SBS 2011 line-up is the Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on. The Premium Add-on takes a copy of Windows Server 2008 R2, bundles a copy of SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small Business, and makes it available for the SBS customer that needs some extra functionality. Since the copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 is not customized, this allows it to act as a Remote Desktop application server or it can act as a redundant domain controller. It could be dropped in a DMZ on the network and host external website content or extranet data. The Premium Add-on adds significant flexibility to both SBS-E and SBS Standard.

As with all SBS products, there are a few restrictions. First, the Windows Server install *must* be a part of the SBS network. There won’t be any splitting the product off and running a second business from it. Similarly, the SQL Server for Small Business also has licensing restrictions that require it exist on the SBS network. Neither restriction is a deal breaker and, for those who play by the rules, won’t ever be noticed.

Of note, gone is the “Premium Edition” of previous SBS versions. The SBS Premium Add-on helps fill the void left by the SBS 2008 Premium Edition, but adds more flexibility. As an Add-on purchase, it can be purchased as a business grows instead of forcing a user to make the decision up front. This also allows it to be purchased as an add-on for SBS Standard, but also is an add-on for SBS-E. While the latter may not be a common scenario, there are certainly environments such as a small manufacturing plant, where SBS-E is the better fit, but they need a second server for RD or a LOB SQL app. SBS-E coupled with a Premium Add-on provides a comprehensive solution in these cases.

In summary, 2011 represents both an evolutionary step for the SBS product line and a revolutionary one at the same time. As Microsoft repositions its products to better serve emerging trends, the SBS product line now has offerings in both the familiar and the exceedingly new. While it will take some time to see how adoption pans out, it is good to see that small businesses now have greater choice in finding a product tailor fitted to suit their needs.  For more information about SBS 2011, please contact HBR Solutions Inc. at info@hbrsolutions.com

Small Business Server. This venerable Microsoft product is well known among small business technology experts. Throughout its 15-year history, it has adapted to meet the challenges of the small business, has been updated regularly to accommodate new technologies and best practices, and has become the cornerstone for many small businesses.

Some Interesting Commonalities
2011 will see a refresh of SBS, but it also brings us something new; a modification in SBS that poses the potential to be as game-changing as SBS itself. Small Business Server is no longer a single product, but has become a brand with three distinct products.

It would be easy to assume that with a shared name comes a shared platform, with similar features and functionality. However, this is certainly not the case. The Small Business Server brand represents a shared purpose of servicing the small business market, but as businesses have evolved and their needs diverged in an ever-increasing marketplace, so too do these products represent the vastly different needs of small businesses. Making the choice on which product best fits means understanding the core focus of each product. So which is right for you? Small Business Server 2011 Essentials? Small Business 2011 Standard? Does that premium add-on provide enough “value-add? Understanding these products, their similarities, and their differences will be important in making future plans and purchases.

First, while each product has a specific focus to help fulfill a niche in the small business space, at their core they do have some things in common. They are all built on Windows Server 2008 R2. With a few licensing restrictions, you receive all of the functionality of the Windows Server platform. All of the common features are there for file sharing, printer sharing, a DNS server, and IIS for hosting some web content. Some of the less used features are there as well, such as NPS which has a solid RADIUS server for rolling out a more secure Wi-Fi network, and RRAS, which can be used for controlling remote access. Beyond the core of Windows Server, each product adds its unique superset of features to distinguish itself from the rest.

What About SBS-E?
Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (SBS-E) is the new kid on the block. An entirely new product, despite its name, this server is built for the small business that is on the verge of outgrowing “workgroup” status. It installs itself as a domain controller, providing strong central management of users, passwords and policies on the network. Taking a page from the Windows Home Server playbook, it offers a client PC backup engine to help the small business protect essential data. It has a dashboard to help monitor the health of the server, the network and a plethora of wizards to help the day-to-day office manager maintain the system. Its primary purpose is to offer an easy server for the business, small footprint, easy to manage, and otherwise stay-out-of-the-way installation. And, of course, SBS continues its presence on SBS-E. Formerly called RWW, the latest incarnation of Remote Web Access (RWA) offers a unique web-based solution for accessing client PC desktops, shared files stored on the server, and even streaming media via Silverlight.

For those familiar with previous versions of SBS, what is missing is as notable as what is new. Gone are the components that require extra administration such as Exchange and SharePoint. As many “first-server” businesses will still have ad-hoc solutions in place, these “missing” pieces strategically place this server to be an ideal complement to more informal solutions such as Google Apps or hosted Exchange for email solutions. Similarly, a company can leverage their existing collaboration solutions, including hosted Sharepoint, Google Apps, or any of the offerings from IBM, Cisco and others. The lightweight nature of SBS-E makes it particularly adept and nimble to meeting new small business models where previous SBS editions were an ill fit.

Like all versions of SBS, SBS-E does have some limitations. First and foremost, it is limited to 25 users and 25 computers. As a solution targeting the smaller side of “small business” this usually won’t be an issue. If you are looking for a higher user count, you may want to investigate other products, such as SBS Standard or even stand-alone Windows Server deployments, depending on features. Also, like previous versions of SBS, “enterprise” features have been intentionally disabled. SBS does not support multiple-domain forests, it must be the root of the domain, does not support trusts or federation, and must hold all FSMO roles. If all of that is Greek, don’t worry; these are all features intended for large businesses. Not even mid-sized businesses will use those features often, if ever. The small business, properly installed and managed, will never even know they aren’t there.

Small Business Server 2011 Standard
Small Business Server 2011 Standard is the next edition of the traditional SBS product line. There won’t be many surprises for long-time SBS aficionados, but there are some refreshing changes and updates. Of course, first there is the name. That “standard” tacked on the end is a result of the SBS name becoming a brand instead of a product, but will be important when seeking support. As the differences between SBS Standard and SBS Essentials are fairly significant, what fixes problems on one server can be completely meaningless advice on another. Get used to the new product name; it will save you hassle down the road.

SBS Standard takes Windows Server 2008 R2 and makes it a domain controller so like SBS-E, it becomes the core of a more manageable network. It then builds in Exchange 2010 SP1 and SharePoint Foundation 2010 to offer a complete email and collaboration solution out of the box. Next is the SBS Dashboard designed to help monitor the server’s health and provide quick and (usually) logical access to myriad of management tasks. And finally, each task is usually managed by a wizard specifically written for SBS that hides the more complex details, making the process of managing a server with this many components look deceptively simple. SBS Standard also includes an updated RWA interface, a shared fax solution similar to previous versions of SBS, an integrated patch management solution via Microsoft WSUS, and basic reporting to help keep track of the whole thing.

Like its SBS Essentials counterpart, SBS Standard, too, has its limitations. It has the same enterprise domain features stripped out and has the same enterprise restrictions that were listed for SBS-E. It also has a limit on users or computers; although instead of 25, it is 75 for SBS Standard. In addition, a common limitation that some larger businesses run into is in trying to deploy a Remote Desktop (formerly Terminal Services) server solution. The SBS Standard server cannot host remote desktop applications and should never have standard users logging directly into the server. If RD roles are needed, a second server and licenses will need to be added to the network.

SBS Premium Add-On
Finally, the third product in the SBS 2011 line-up is the Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on. The Premium Add-on takes a copy of Windows Server 2008 R2, bundles a copy of SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small Business, and makes it available for the SBS customer that needs some extra functionality. Since the copy of Windows Server 2008 R2 is not customized, this allows it to act as a Remote Desktop application server or it can act as a redundant domain controller. It could be dropped in a DMZ on the network and host external website content or extranet data. The Premium Add-on adds significant flexibility to both SBS-E and SBS Standard.

As with all SBS products, there are a few restrictions. First, the Windows Server install *must* be a part of the SBS network. There won’t be any splitting the product off and running a second business from it. Similarly, the SQL Server for Small Business also has licensing restrictions that require it exist on the SBS network. Neither restriction is a deal breaker and, for those who play by the rules, won’t ever be noticed.

Of note, gone is the “Premium Edition” of previous SBS versions. The SBS Premium Add-on helps fill the void left by the SBS 2008 Premium Edition, but adds more flexibility. As an Add-on purchase, it can be purchased as a business grows instead of forcing a user to make the decision up front. This also allows it to be purchased as an add-on for SBS Standard, but also is an add-on for SBS-E. While the latter may not be a common scenario, there are certainly environments such as a small manufacturing plant, where SBS-E is the better fit, but they need a second server for RD or a LOB SQL app. SBS-E coupled with a Premium Add-on provides a comprehensive solution in these cases.

In summary, 2011 represents both an evolutionary step for the SBS product line and a revolutionary one at the same time. As Microsoft repositions its products to better serve emerging trends, the SBS product line now has offerings in both the familiar and the exceedingly new. While it will take some time to see how adoption pans out, it is good to see that small businesses now have greater choice in finding a product tailor fitted to suit their needs.  For more information about SBS 2011, please contact HBR Solutions Inc. at info@hbrsolutions.com

Can Microsoft blur the lines between Windows Small Business Server and cloud computing? The answer is beginning to emerge as the software giant launches a Windows Small Business Server (SBS) Aurora beta test. In somewhat related news Microsoft also is testing a new Windows Home Server, code-named Vail. Here’s a closer look at both efforts, and the potential implications for VARs and MSPs.

Microsoft offered some clues about SBS Aurora during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC10), held July 2010 in Washington, D.C. The Aurora strategy calls for SBS to integrate with third-party cloud services, such as online storage and SaaS security, The VAR Guy believes. Plus, third-party managed services tools — including remote monitoring and management (RMM) software) are expected to integrate with Aurora. Early SBS Aurora advocates include RMM specialist Level Platforms

Talent vs. Technology

The SBS Aurora beta test arrives at an intriguing time. Loyal readers may recall that one of Microsoft’s top small business executives, Birger Steen, is leaving the software giant to join Parallels, which helps hosting providers to rapidly launch SaaS and cloud services.

During the recent CompTIA Breakaway 2010 conference in San Antonio, Microsoft Worldwide Partner Sales VP Ross Brown conceded that the software giant needed to engage small business VARs more aggressively, especially as end-customers weigh on-premises vs. cloud and SaaS solutions.

Rise of Hybrid Clouds?

HBR Solutions Inc. is paying particularly close attention to SBS Aurora. SBS Aurora does all the usual things you would expect it to do, including running Windows applications with promised “tight integration” with Windows 7 and Office 2010. The brochure doesn’t say if any fancy WS2008 R2 features are supported such as BranchCache, which improves the speed of downloading documents remotely, or DirectAccess, a VPN replacement. It also adds improved backup and recovery tools and an improved (but supposedly also simplified) management console.

Microsoft has a big opportunity with this server to bring small businesses into the cloud, without making them give up the Windows tools they depend on. SMBs make up an enormous number of Microsoft’s most faithful customers — in large part because they are serviced by resellers that take the sting out of managing IT for them. SMBs are most likely to the see the costs benefits of BPOS and other cloud services, too. They can act as a proving point for the cloud to help convince an enterprise to use the cloud for its bigger, more expensive and more demanding apps.

But SBS Aurora potentially changes the rules of the game.

New Stuff!

Some of the new capabilities you’ll see in this next update include unified messaging and voice mail with Exchange, enterprise social networking with SharePoint, and Office Web Apps as well as platform-level capabilities such as single sign-on (the #1 most-requested feature!), identity federation, Powershell scripting and much much more. The list below includes some of the features and capabilities that are coming to BPOS. We’ll have more detail on these in the coming months.

With the launch of Exchange, SharePoint and Office 2010 earlier this year, Microsoft began the work to update BPOS with the new capabilities that these products deliver. Microsoft started with our largest customers in dedicated cloud environments, and many of them are now fully deployed on the 2010 wave of products. Now, Microsoft is beginning the work to update the broad base of BPOS customers.

In this next update, Microsoft is making huge strides bringing decades of on-premises innovation to the cloud, and they will get very close to parity with our server solutions. We expect a preview of these capabilities to be available later this year, with most customers deploying over the course of the following year and beyond, if they so choose.

I don’t have details to share on how the new capabilities will be packaged and priced, but I do know we’ll continue to offer the best bang for your cloud buck.

Customers should take the following steps to start preparing for the next major service update:

1. Make sure you receive the latest communications!

• Make sure that contact details for both the “Account Owner” and “Service Administrator” are up-to-date in Microsoft Online Customer Portal and that these email accounts spec are monitored regularly.
• Make sure that the domain “@microsoftonline.com” is marked as safe, to prevent the possibility of communications from Microsoft Online Services being blocked or filtered.
• Stay tuned for email communications as well as communications in the Microsoft Online Administration Center , the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog and the Deploying BPOS page for more information and guidance from Microsoft coming this fall.

2. Determine if you need to upgrade any client software

• The free Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit can assist customers in inventorying client software in their local environment: •Consider upgrading any client applications as is practical.

3. Decide how you want to leverage new identity and sign-on options.

• Understand the two different identity scenarios that the next major service update of BPOS will offer: federated identity using ADFS (single sign-on for end users) or a managed identity scenario (end users have separate credentials for BPOS).

New Capabilities
Office Web Apps Updates
•Word Web App
•Excel Web App
•PowerPoint Web App
•OneNote Web App
Exchange Online Updates
•Voice mail with Unified Messaging
•Integrated archiving
•Retention policies and legal hold
•Transport rules
•Multi-mailbox search
•Conversation View
•MailTips
•Enhanced Web-based administration
•Role-Based Access Control
•Remote PowerShell
•Free/busy between cloud and on-premises
•Cross-premises management
•Native migration tools
SharePoint Online Updates
•Portal site templates
•Extranet access
•Anonymous Access
•Multi-Lingual UI
•Office 2010 integration
•Tagging, Rating, Tag Cloud
•Activity Feed, Social Networking, Note Board
•Improved Wikis & Blogs
•Content publishing
•Navigation controls
•Cross site-collection search
•Phonetic search
•People search
•Visio Services
•Excel Services
•Sandboxed Solutions
•Improved workflows
•Improved SharePoint Designer 2010
•Access Services
•Better controls of FQDNs
Office Communications Online Updates *
•P2P A/V across firewall
•File transfer across firewall
•Presence with pictures
•Federation
•IM with Windows Live
* Additional features will be available based on Communications Server “14” as part of ongoing service updates.

Platform Updates
•Free/Busy co-existence
•Single Sign On
•Identity federation
•Redesigned admin interface
•More administration and access control
System Requirements

Operating System
•Windows *
◦Windows XP SP3 with RPC over HTTP patch
◦Windows Vista SP2
◦Windows 7
•Mac
◦OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
◦10.5 (Leopard)
◦10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Office Client **
•Office 2007 SP2 or Office 2010
•Office 2008 for Mac & Entourage 2008 Web Services Edition
•.NET 2.0 or later
•Microsoft Communicator “14”
•Mac Messenger 9
Browser
•Administration Center and My Company Portal
◦Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP
◦Internet Explorer 7 or higher for Windows Vista and Windows 7
◦Firefox 3.x
◦Safari 4.x
•Outlook Web App
◦Internet Explorer 7 or later
◦Firefox 3 or later
◦Safari 3 or later on Macintosh OS X 10.5
◦Chrome 3 or later
•Outlook Web App Light ***
◦Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
◦Firefox 2 or later
◦Safari 3 or later
◦Opera
* Windows XP Home and Windows Media Center edition are supported but will not support federated identity.

** Office client is not required for customers who choose browser-only access. We are currently investigating Office 2003 support and will publish a list of supported capabilities in the future. Office Communicator ‘14’ will be generally available later this year.

*** OWA Light is designed to optimize the OWA experience for slower connections and alternative Web browsers. For more information about the differences between OWA Premium and OWA Light,

Video surveillance is within the price range of small businesses now, allowing you to monitor your warehouse, shop floor and parking lot.

Key things to keep in mind when considering surveillance cameras, HBR Solutions IT Consultants recommend.

Make sure the camera’s data streams are encrypted.

Cameras should be on their own separate network. Otherwise, the “lawyers will chew you up” Purser says (as only JR can) by claiming that the data has been compromised or tampered.

Make sure that the video surveillance data is protected at rest and that you have a strong ‘chain of custody‘ for the data. You need a ‘two factor’ situation so that when someone is viewing the data, there’s also someone there monitoring the viewing to be sure the data isn’t tampered.

You need time-coding on every single frame, with dates and times (down to the milisecond if possible).

You can run them from your switch is you have a 30-watt switches. These are the switches with a higher power output (normal is 15.4w) to drive larger devices like full motion, free axis cameras.

Cisco recommends that you ask for these features when shopping for an IP video camera surveillance system:

• Pan, tilt, and optical zoom, for more viewing options.
• Power over Ethernet (PoE), which provides power to the camera and connects it to your network all in one Ethernet cable. PoE lets you install a camera where it is needed most, rather than where it is closest to an electrical outlet.
• Wireless access, if you need to install cameras in remote areas.
• Automatic alerts, including video clips or still images, sent whenever motion is detected on the premises.
• The ability to view live video feeds from any Internet-connected PC or mobile phone.
• The ability to integrate alarms, door sensors, motion detectors, and other security systems.
• Support for low- and no-light environments.
• An embedded microphone and speaker for two-way audio.
• Easy-to-operate user interface, for simplified access to captured videos and stills.
• Included surveillance and management software.

Computer and electronic servers is around the elastic and complicated devices, but they can also victim to unexpected and uncalculated change fall in temperature. Sure, the call to the tech guys to your computer and machines can be easily corrected later, but the maintenance and repair of your valuable electronics, again and again, over time cost you thousands of dollars.

Electronic products require careful handling and use. For computers and other hi-tech components, you must ensure that they removed in areas at room temperature or in the most appropriate environment for such items. If your business depends on electronic machines such as computers, mainframes and the like, or if you are generally of high servers to surround and hold the relevant information for your company, it is a breeze, you need a clean, cool room to keep your machines running for a long time.

The answer to this need would be a good ventilation system. Finally, your goal is to keep your computer “comfortable” and free from dust and heat. However, you have this kinds of situations as your cooling system would eventually slow down and stop? It is an event any entrepreneur would not want to testify, but it is inevitable and even worse, it is unexpected. You’ll never know when a sudden electrical glitch would occur and interrupt the temperature is maintained within your  server room could occur after most operators who have, unfortunately, in this case a change of temperature in your office, occur at any time and you may not always on the spot signs that lead ultimately to failure on your system. How are you going to order a maintenance dilemma like this?

Just as heat and fire alarms, temperature alarms tell you if a change in the temperature around youor within a given area. Sense temperature alarms and notify you in advance what you should be layers in the temperature within a certain period, and the critical changes are expected. Whether you keep servers or fragile documents in a particular place, it is best to know the highs and lows in temperature, before you lose your computer files or whole, by a sudden change in your environment.

With the right temperature monitoring system, you can avoid high maintenance costs and problems with your electronics. You might not always around when these things will happen, nor will you always have control over his response to how your machine to certain changes. Let a high-performance temperature alarm watch your valuables for you when you are away.

5 Tips to Organize your Server Room in 2010

If you are looking to get your server room organized in 2008, there are a few key steps to keep in mind while you are going through the process. Your server room houses valuable information for your business and the safety and security of your equipment should be of top concern. In addition, the equipment that you choose should be efficient and safe for long term use.

1. Choose the Appropriately Sized Rack

As you are looking to organize your server room, the most logical place to start is by choosing new server racks. Select server racks with sufficient internal space to house all of your current equipment and room to accommodate future expansion. Having extra space is a must in your server room for expansion as well as unplanned additional equipment purchases. Some obvious things to check as well include determining that you have enough space to move the new servers in and that you have the proper floor space to maneuver around the equipment and that there is enough space in between the equipment to allow for safety spacing. When you are installing the equipment, be sure to install it according to the included instructions so that you do not have any future problems.

2. Include your New Server Room in your Security Strategy

Security, especially with vital information, is always important for a business to consider. As you are organizing your server room, be sure that any changes or additions fit into your overall business security plan. You may want to consider purchasing server racks that have locking doors, minimizing personnel access to the room and using monitor devices within the room for added protection. In addition, newer technology allows you to monitor the environment of the server room at all times. Temperature changes, water leaks, electrical circuit issues and other issues can change unknowingly, causing potential damage to your server room. With the addition of this technology, you will be able to act quickly to resolve any issues in order to protect your valuable equipment.

3. Customize your Server Rack Design

Once you have decided on a manufacturer for your server racks, most will allow for customization. Consider the addition or modification of the shelving, top or side panels, mounting rails and the feet to create a server room that matches all of your business needs and the space that you are utilizing as your server room.

4. Evaluate your Power Technology

Power technology is constantly updated, providing you with various options for your power strip. You have several choices to consider including rack mount power strips, remote power products, Three-phase power technology and standard power strips. Consider your space, the number of outlets that you will need, each plug’s requirements and any redundancy requirements when you are choosing the power technology for your server room.

5. Ensure your Safety with a Cooling Strategy

The heat that each unit gives off varies; making the cooling needs within your server room vary as well. Evaluate all of your requirements and the available cooling strategies to ensure the overall safety of the equipment, environment and company when making your selections.

So after a long silent period apart from Outlook 2010 on this blog, suddenly there is Exchange 2010! So what can you expect in the new industry standard mail platform.

Well the major change is in High Availability, take LCR, CCR and SCR from Exchange 2007, mix it all together and you have the best of all three! So there is no more LCR, CCR and SCR in Exchange 2010, but it is called Database Availability Group and so yes another acronym: DAG.

The major change is that Windows Failover Clustering is not involved in DAG, the high availability is at database level. You can have up to 16 copies of each mailbox database spread over you mailbox server farm. There are no more storage groups, you now set the databases at organization level and not at server level.

Well that sounds really enterprise/datacenter level, well with just 2 servers you can have high availability! without the need of expensive cluster storage solutions. Copies of databases may be placed on servers that have other exchange servers installed.

Another major improvement that benefits DAG is the 50-70% performance gain in IOPS. So there is no need for expensive fast spindles for storage, you can use direct storage, even desktop class SATA disks. So with this cheap storage you can give your users larger mailboxes. Microsoft even claims you can use the cheaper SATA drives without RAID, since you have copies of the databases on other servers. So now you can have a performing high availability exchange solution at home

But of course DAG works best in a datacenter environment, with 16 copies per database you can have site redundancy spread all over the world.

There has been no announcement yet about the Exchange SKUs, so I don’t know what form of DAG will be available in the standard edition, but LCR was available in Exchange 2007 in the standard edition which requires a manual recovery. I assume that 2010 standard edition will allow at least 1 database copy with automatic recovery support.

Another part of high availability is the new move-mailbox feature: online mailbox move. Now the end user can continue working with their email, reading, sending and receiving, while the administrator moves the mailbox to another server, all just during work hours. At the last stage the end user will expect a interruption, when the last sent and received email is copied over to the new location. So this is like Vmotion on VMware ESX (and soon Live Migration on Hyper-V Functional Descriptions

Database Availability Group: A set of Mailbox servers that uses continuous replication to provide automatic recovery from a variety of failures (disk level, server level, datacenter level).

Database-Level Failover: Exchange Server Database Availability Groups provide automatic failover at the database level, without the complexity of traditional clustering. A database-level disruption, such as a disk failure, no longer affects all the users on a server. Because there is no longer a strong tie between databases and servers, it is easy to move between database copies as disks fail. This change, coupled with faster failover times (30 seconds), dramatically improves an organization’s overall uptime.

Improved Site Resiliency: Exchange Server Database Availability Groups makes it easier to implement site resilience by simplifying the process to extend data replication between datacenters to achieve site failover. Log files are also compressed to improve transmission time and reduce network bandwidth usage.

Easier Deployment: Administrators can add high availability to their Exchange environment after their initial deployment, without reinstalling servers. Small organizations can deploy a simple two-server configuration that provides full redundancy of mailbox data along with Client Access and Hub Transport roles. These changes put high availability within the reach of organizations that once considered it impractical. Integrated Cluster Administration: Exchange Server Database Availability Groups feature automatic failover without the complexity of traditional clustering. The proven capabilities of Windows clustering are integrated with Exchange and are transparent to the administrator. Administrators no longer need to master clustering concepts or deal with separate administration tools in order to provide enterprise-class uptime.

Backup-less Support: The Exchange Server Database Availability Group architecture allows log file replay to be lagged, enabling administrators to perform point-in-time database restores without the need for tapes. Organizations can rely on their high availability infrastructure rather than tape backups to recover from failures, and substantially decrease their operating costs.

Transport Resiliency: Transport servers in Exchange Server 2010 feature built-in protection against the loss of message queues due to disk or server failure. Servers retain a “shadow” copy of each mail item after it is delivered to the next hop inside the organization. If the subsequent hop fails before reporting successful delivery, the message is resubmitted through a different route.

According to Microsoft’s Technet, they do support some functionalities of Hyper-V but be careful and make sure you follow these guidelines if you plan to get any type of support.  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996719.aspx

Documents are usually stored on file servers and the latest years have introduced several improvements for storing and accessing files.

Microsoft SharePoint is one of the new ways to collaborate and the document management is appealing to many organizations. But is this a total replacement for file servers? This article is about choosing the right location for your files and how SharePoint can help you secure certain information.

Figure 1: User accessing a file share via an application or Windows Explorer through a network drive

We all use files that are shared on the network. They are used for sharing documents and files in a central location. Security is set on file shares, folders and files and the end user has been taught how to use network drive letters for finding, opening and saving documents. This is working quite well and a lot of systems are programmed to support this typical way of storing data.

Administrators have many options to set on file shares to make them available to users and control access to these – and of course making sure that the data is backed up on a regular basis. Here are some examples of Windows file services features:

Availability is made by file server clusters and Distributed File Systems (DFS/DFSR) with replication

Quota management is used to set a limit on how much space the users may use

Shadow copies can be activated to make older versions of files available to users

Access Control Lists (ACL) determines the access to file shares, folders and individual files

Offline use of files is done by automatic replication

Encryption is made by configuring IPSEC on the server and client

The files sharing system has some disadvantages though. The administrators and end users must learn how to work with the files and make sure that the files have the correct access permissions. Linking documents together, adding customized attributes and specifying the way the documents are presented for a subset of users is not easy. Searching through all file shares for documents containing specific words or created by a specific user can also be quite a slow process.

Figure 2: User accessing a document library via an application or an Internet Explorer through a website

With SharePoint Microsoft introduced yet another place for storing files on your network and make these visible to users through a web interface. SharePoint is a great product for collaboration and companies around the world are implementing this as a part of their network and server infrastructure.

Exactly collaboration is where SharePoint provides additional features compared to the typical Windows file share. We have the possibility to add attributes, called columns, which are unique or linked to another source and make this changeable through either the web interface or the Office 2007 client application. We can sort, filter or link these attributes together and provide a more rich experience for the users of the documents. Other features that I want to mention are listed here:

Workflows, such as approval procedure, help automating simple or complex tasks – with or without user interference

Versioning adds the ability to see older versions of documents and controls which users can see the latest published version and who can edit the draft for the next published version of the file or document

Item visibility - Users do not have the ability to see information that they do not have permission to see. This is one of my favorite features of SharePoint, the security that comes out of the box. That also includes files stored in SharePoint and even the search capabilities take advantage of this security filter. Offline use of data is made through the Microsoft Outlook application

Access Control Lists (ACL) determines the access to the area or item (file). This is controlled by the administrator or a team site owner through the web interface

Encryption is made by enabling SSL on the SharePoint websites

Extranet features that can benefit from policies – that e. g. makes content read only if accessed from another zone such as the internet

Recycle bin (two-stage) for document libraries, lists and items

Lifecycle management that can be activated for archiving old content

Rights Management Services (RMS) support for advanced control of Microsoft Office documentsles

Some might ask themselves if they should move all their existing file shares to SharePoint to take advantage of the features. When I get that question my answer is: “it depends on which kind of data you have and how you want to use or present it”.

Taking all the above information in consideration, I would recommend data to be placed like below when it has some or more of the properties mentioned.

Windows file share

Large file size

Do not change much

Requires use of DFS replication

Typical files for placement on Windows file shares are old archives, backup files and installation files for operating systems.

SharePoint document library

Small and midsized in size

Changes regularly

Files used by teams on projects

Files and folders that need custom attributes and links/filters to these

Files that need to be indexed

Colligo Contributor File Manager is an extension for Microsoft’s Window Explorer file manager that links folders on a user’s file system with SharePoint document libraries and lists.

This tool makes local folders aware of the presence of SharePoint so users can access metadata, content types and document templates, while adding and editing files using familiar desktop operations. With the tool, SharePoint folders can be accessed from any application that uses the standard Windows File Open/Save dialog. File Manager is available as part of Contributor Pro or as a separate application.

Colligo Contributor Uploader for Outlook lets users upload e-mails and attachments to SharePoint and browse document libraries and lists from within the Microsoft Office Outlook interface. Users can drag and drop content into document libraries and folders, instantly capturing critical metadata, increasing adoption of SharePoint for e-mail management.

Products in the Colligo Contributor family include:

Contributor Pro - Full Desktop Integration 
Colligo Contributor Pro is the ultimate desktop integration for SharePoint products and technologies. It boosts offline productivity, improves content management, and increases the number of emails and documents classified in SharePoint. Contributor Pro includes three user interfaces: a rich standalone desktop client, an add-in for Outlook, and a Windows Explorer extension.

Contributor Client - Offline SharePoint Access
Colligo Contributor Client enhances productivity and adoption by enabling mobile workers to instantly and securely access, modify, and create SharePoint content anywhere through a rich client interface. Changes made offline to libraries and lists are automatically synchronized to SharePoint products when back online.

Contributor File Manager – Windows Explorer Integration
Colligo Contributor File Manager seamlessly links folders on a users file system with SharePoint document libraries. Local folders become ‘SharePoint aware’ so users can access advanced features such as metadata, content types, and document templates. SharePoint folders can be accessed from any application that uses the standard Windows File Open/Save dialog.

Contributor Add-In for Outlook – Outlook Email Management
Colligo Contributor Add-In for Outlook delivers instant 2-way access to SharePoint libraries and lists – all within the Microsoft Office Outlook interface. Users can drag-and-drop content such as emails and attachments into document libraries and folders, instantly capturing critical message metadata and replace email attachments with SharePoint links.

Contributor Uploader for Outlook – Link Outlook to SharePoint 
Colligo Contributor Uploader for Outlook delivers a cost effective and intuitive way to upload content to SharePoint products and browse document libraries and lists – all from within the Office Outlook interface. Users can simply drag-and-drop emails and attachments into document libraries

What’s new with Outlook 2010?

64-bit editions

Starting with Microsoft Office 2010, Outlook is available as a 32-bit application and a 64-bit application. The version (bitness) of Outlook that you choose depends on the edition of the Windows operating system (32-bit or 64-bit) and the edition of Office 2010 (32-bit or 64-bit) that is installed on the computer, if Office is already installed on that computer. The bitness of an installed version of Outlook is always the same as the bitness of Office 2010, if Office is installed on the same computer.

Conversation actions

Outlook 2010 contains several new features to help users manage their Inboxes more effectively, including the Ignore and Clean Up commands. The Ignore button on the ribbon moves all of a conversation and any future replies to that conversation directly to the Deleted Items folder. The Clean Up button moves older, redundant messages in the conversation to the Deleted Items folder but keeps the most recent message.

Multiple Exchange accounts

Outlook 2010 can connect to multiple Exchange accounts at the same time. The Exchange accounts can be in the same or different domains or servers.

Roaming AutoComplete list

Recipient AutoComplete lists are now stored on the Exchange Server. A user’s recipient AutoComplete list is now available to any computer on which Outlook 2010 runs that is connected to the same Exchange account. Names can be easily removed from the list by using the new inline Delete function.

The ribbon

The ribbon, part of the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface (UI), replaces the menus and toolbars of the Outlook main window. Ribbon tabs can be customized or replaced with tabs that you create. Through the Options menu on the File tab, you can create new tabs that bring together your favorite commands and groups. Existing tabs can also be customized to meet the organization’s needs.

Features available with Office Communicator 2007 R2, Office Communicator Server 2007 R2, or later versions

With richer integration of Microsoft Communicator than in earlier versions, you can start live conversations from Outlook 2010. Hover over a name, see a person’s availability and then easily start a conversation directly through instant messaging, voice call, or video.

Features available with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

The following features are available with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and Outlook 2010.

1. Calendar features An organization can now establish a federated trust relationship with an external partner and share availability (free/busy) information, calendar, or contacts. Federation provides the underlying trust infrastructure to enable easy and secure sharing of information across Exchange organizations and in cross-premises organizations. You can also use the new Group Schedule view in Outlook Calendar to see multiple calendars vertically, instead of side by side, or save frequently used groups of calendars together from one location. The Group Schedule view is optimized for viewing a schedule for a group and scheduling a meeting for a group.
2. Call answering and routing rules Unified Messaging in Exchange Server 2010 enables you to create call answering and routing rules for individuals or groups of callers based on Caller ID and contact information.
3. Centralized rights management You can set up rules to automatically apply Information Rights Management policies to outgoing e-mails based on content or recipients.
4. Integrated e-mail archive The Personal Archive feature is available with Outlook 2010 and Exchange Server 2010 and lets you regain control of the organization’s messaging data by eliminating the need for Personal Folder files (.pst). Like .pst files, the Personal Archive feature does not affect the user’s primary mailbox size. However, unlike .pst files, the e-mail archive folders are stored online so that users can access the archived files by using Microsoft Outlook Web App or from a secondary computer by using Outlook 2010. By using either of these client applications, users can view an archive mailbox and move or copy messages between their primary mailboxes and the archive.
5. MailTips This feature is a configurable warning system to help prevent common e-mail mistakes. Extra information is presented to users when they compose e-mail messages. The MailTips are displayed in an InfoBar, similar to the banner that says “This message has not been sent”. MailTips do not prevent sending an e-mail message. But they reveal things that might be unexpected about the delivery or audience of the message, such as recipient validity, whether the recipient is external to the organization or is out of the office, if the distribution list is unusually large, or if a message might not be delivered.
6. Protected Voice Mail This feature enables encrypted voice mail to be sent to a user’s mailbox. Protected voice messages can be marked as Private to prevent them from being forwarded.
7. Text messaging through Exchange ActiveSync Windows Mobile 6.5 (or a later version) telephones or browser-enabled cellular telephones can access text messages by using Exchange ActiveSync, a synchronization protocol that is optimized to work together with high-latency and low-bandwidth networks.
8. Voice Mail Preview Microsoft speech technology converts voice mail messages into text that users receive in an e-mail or text message.

What’s removed

This section provides information about removed features in Outlook 2010.

ANSI offline Outlook data files (.ost) for Exchange synchronization

ANSI offline Outlook data files (.ost) can no longer be created (unless overridden by Group Policy). By default, newly created profiles in Outlook 2010 will be in Unicode.

Unicode Outlook data files (.ost) are recommended in all scenarios except when alternate display names are required. To use alternate display names, configure Group Policy to set the default Outlook data files (.ost) to ANSI. The Group Policy keys to set are in the Outlook 2010 Group Policy template in Microsoft Outlook 2010\Account Settings\Exchange and Microsoft Outlook 2010\Miscellaneous\PST Settings. Note that ANSI .ost files do not work for profiles that contain multiple Microsoft Exchange Server accounts.

AutoArchive-based retention

Users can no longer deploy AutoArchive-based retention settings through Outlook 2010 by using Group Policy. Users who need retention policies are encouraged to explore the Messaging Records Management (MRM) features in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and later versions.

Calendar rebasing tool

The calendar rebasing tool is removed in Outlook 2010. Calendar rebasing was introduced in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, and was accessed by clicking Tools, Options, Calendar Options, Time zone, and then making selections in the Time zone drop-down list. Calendar rebasing is available through a separate Web tool, Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office, which is currently available to users from the Microsoft Download Center.

The Change Time zone button is no longer available in the Time zone dialog box, and all underlying code and user interface code are removed. New calendar items that are created in Outlook 2010 can display start and end times correctly without the need for rebasing. Users can use Time Zone Data Update Tool to rebase down-level clients and servers.

Customization of Contact Activity Search folders

In Outlook 2010, the Activities tab on the Contact Folder Properties dialog box is removed because of low usage. This feature allowed you to customize the list of folder groups available to search when in the Activities view on the individual Contact item.

DAV connectivity for HTTP account types

Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV) connectivity is removed in Outlook 2010. DAV is an old mechanism used when you connect to Windows Live Hotmail and synchronize e-mail. A new mechanism for Hotmail connectivity exists, and enables synchronization of e-mail, contacts, and calendar synchronization through a Web download. There is no visible loss of functionality to Hotmail users. Users who connect to other DAV accounts (non-Hotmail accounts) will lose connectivity and will be unable to synchronize e-mail.

Exchange 2000 connectivity

Outlook 2010 cannot connect to Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 or earlier versions of Exchange. Users who run Exchange Server 2000 in their environments will receive an error message when Outlook 2010 attempts to connect to the server. The error message will state that the server version is not supported. Public folders in Microsoft Outlook 2010 also cannot connect to Exchange Server 2000, although an error message does not appear. Users will have to migrate to Exchange Server 2003 or a later version.

Exchange Message Security feature support

Support for the Exchange Message Security feature in Outlook 2010 is removed. Customers must use S/MIME to support message security. The infrastructure to support the Exchange Message Security feature was deprecated in Exchange 2000 Server SP2.

A lot of people, myself included, have wondered why SaaS and cloud seem to be catching on more readily than ASPs at the start of the decade. Maybe we weren’t ready then. SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) may have helped with this, in part.

As Linthicum points out in the podcast, cloud computing doesn’t change the technology – it just changes the way we consume the technology:

Cloud provides us with another way to consume the same resources in a different kind of a model that enables us to scale up, it’s fairly elastic, so in other words, we can scale up just by paying more money. The ability to support different levels of agility because we can provision cloud computing systems in a very short period of time, we can change providers, typically quickly and those capabilities fit right into the need that I think enterprises are looking at these days.

Linthicum’s new book, “Cloud Computing and SOA Convergence in Your Enterprise,” explores the connection between the two. It’s an issue I’ve explored on this blog, as well as in interviews, including in an August interview with Atul Saini, CEO/Chairman/CTO of Fiorano Software.

However, while most of the news about moving to the cloud is positive, there are always caveats. Cloud can complicate load balancing and cloud offerings aren’t always mature enough to deliver on their promises.

How can you tell if the cloud’s a good choice for you?

Cloud computing is a better way to run your business for general apps that don’t require complex system workflow or specialized LOB applications. Instead of running your traditional apps yourself, they run on a shared data center. When you use any app that runs in the cloud, you just log in, customize it, and start using it. That’s the power of cloud computing.

Businesses are running all kinds of apps in the cloud these days, like CRM, HR, accounting, and custom-built apps. Cloud-based apps can be up and running in a few days, which is unheard of with traditional business software. They cost less, because you don’t need to pay for all the people, products, and facilities to run them. And, it turns out they’re more scalable, more secure, and more reliable than most apps. Plus, upgrades are taken care of for you, so your apps get security and performance enhancements and new features-automatically.

The way you pay for cloud-based apps is also different. Forget about buying servers and software. When your apps run in the cloud, you don’t buy anything. It’s all rolled up into a predictable monthly subscription, so you only pay for what you actually use.

I hear a lot about security and the accessibility of data centers all over the world, but how in the world will all of the information my company collects be protected? How will I be sure when I give my data to you that I can comply with all those regulations?

I would argue that it’s no different than your own data centers and your staff, except that it’s our data centers and your staff.  The fundamental limit is that networks and systems exist to do things with data. Depending on the sensitivity of that data — which we can negotiate contractually — it may never move out of your data centers and [the cloud] may lead to greater utilization of your existing data centers. Most of us are ignoring this aspect of things. APIs of the future will become much more rich and interesting when we can guarantee data around regulatory compliance and see real auditing information.

Why Host Using Cloud Computing?

Because the cloud can quickly scale to thousands of servers to make resources available as they are needed, companies such as Hosted Solutions Cloud computing customers never need to worry about physical space and hardware requirements to meet increasing traffic demands or huge traffic spikes.

What about Coexistance?

Coexistence is always an important feature for most companies.  Not every company is ready to do the plunge into the cloud on day one.  This is where coexistence can be a great leverage to being utilizing Cloud Computing as a strategic business solution.  An example is one of the great features of Exchange Online, part of the Microsoft Online Services BPOS suite, is that it allows coexistence with On Premise Exchange Servers. This can be very useful in situations where you have an On Premise Exchange Server and need to host some employees in the cloud.

So, the moral of the story: Yes, cloud and SaaS can be great options, particularly if you need agility and cost savings. But don’t delude yourself about the realities of cloud. The key is to make sure it’s the right option for you.