Essential Business Server Wish List February 25, 2010
Posted by Steve in EBS, EBS 2008.Tags: EBS 2008
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It is no secret that I am a fan of Essential Business Server 2008 (EBS 2008), but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a wish list of features and changes for the next version. Here is my short list of features I would like to see in the next version of EBS. I am interested in other peoples thoughts, so why not post a comment with your suggestions.
Give me the latest
Since EBS 2008 was released back in November 2008, Microsoft have been busy updating many of the components that make up EBS. The first items on my wish list are upgraded versions of those products:
- Upgrade the underlying server technology to Windows 2008R2
- Replace Exchange 2007 with Exchange 2010
- Replace System Centre Essentials 2007 with System Centre Essentials 2010
- Sharepoint 2010 – perhaps the foundation version
Improve the installer
While the EBS 2008 installer is easy to use and very clever, it would be nice to have the option of a manual install. I understand the value of having a highly automated installation process but at times it would be nice to have choices. This would be particularly useful for “green field” installations.
Client side Antivirus
A client side antivirus solution would be a great addition to EBS. Forefront Antivirus Client could be incorporated into EBS to allow centralised management of antivirus protection of client computers. Unfortunately while the current version of Forefront client works perfectly on EBS servers and clients, the management components require 32bit servers with SQL 2005 and reporting services.
Backup
Currently EBS 2008 uses Windows Backup as the built in backup solution. Backup functionality that allows Exchange 2010 to be backed up would be a great addition.
EBS 2008 Configuration Data Introduction February 15, 2010
Posted by Steve in EBS 2008.Tags: Configuration, EBS 2008
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Essential Business Server 2008 (EBS 2008) is more than just Windows 2008 server with a bundled applications. Under the covers Active Directory is used to store configuration data used by the various EBS roles (management, messaging and security). Changes to configuration after installation should be made using the utilities like “ChangeIPAddress” rather than manually to avoid unwanted side-effects. It is however nice to understand a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes. Here are a few tips to help get you started.
A good first point of call for installation errors is this log file. It contains a comprehensive log of the installation process:
- C:\Program Files\Windows Essential Business Server\Logs\mmssetup.log
Configuration data stored in Active Directory can be exported to an XML file using the EBS Export Configuration Wizard. The resulting XML file is readable in plan text. To run this wizard, navigate to the following location in the Start menu:
- All Programs \ Windows Essential Business Server \ Tools
An alternative method for viewing the data is ADSIEdit. I recommend only viewing data with this tool, as editing can have serious adverse affects! Using ADSIEdit navigate to the EBS Configuration data as follows:
- Connect to the Configuration Partition
- Open MMSConfiguration
- Select the properties of the node you are interested in
- You should now see the configuration information
Details of the data stored in Active Directory can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd430092(WS.10).aspx
The EBS Console displays information about servers and PC’s in the EBS 2008 domain. Information is gather via Windows Update and so the WUAUCLT utility can be used to register PC’s that for one reason or another have failed to register or have stopped checking in and updating the console. At the command prompt type the following commands to force the client to check in:
- wuauclt /detectnow
- wuauclt /reportnow
Exchange 2010 and Symantec BackupExec 2010 February 10, 2010
Posted by Steve in DPM, Exchange 2010.Tags: Backup, Exchange 2010
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2010 is well and truely here and I haven’t updated my blog for a while, so here goes…One of the more interesting things I have been working on lately is Exchange 2010. Released towards the end of 2009, this version has many improvements over Exchange 2007 and I have been dying to roll it out to clients.
One of the biggest issues that has prevented many people putting Exchange 2010 into production until now has been backup. Many of my clients use Symantec BackupExec which until last week didn’t support Exchange 2010. Upgrading BackupExec from 12.5 to 2010 is required before Exchange 2010 can be backed up. Microsoft’s Data Protection Manager (DPM 2010) supports Exchange 2010 but is still in beta and being a bit conservative when it comes to client networks, I generally wait for products to go RTM before deploying.
The other Symantec product on my radar is Symantec Mail Security, the current version doesn’t support Exchange 2010, however version 6.5 due out before the end of February 2010.
I should know in the next week or so if this really is “bliss”. My Experience with Symantec recently could best be described as buggy. I hope they have learnt some lessons from the BackupExec and Endpoint Security issues of 2008/2009 and the quality of BackupExec 2010 and Mail Security 6.5 is good!
Update: 27 Feb 2010
BackupExec 2010 is now up and running in production. Only one minor issue with the mailbox of the BackupExec service account causing errors after it was moved to Exchange 2010 (with Exchange 2003 still in the backup). Simple work around, was to create a new service account and mailbox on Exchange 2003 and move that mailbox last.
