Steve's TS2 Insider

Q: (from Eric)

With mainstream support for Exchange 2003 ending April 14, 2009, what happens to the support for Exchange in SBS 2003 R2?

A:

From the http://support.microsoft.com pages, click on the Find out how long your product is supported link and from the list of all products at the bottom:

So based on…

So mainstream support ended 4/14/09 for the Exchange component. But that’s for functional bugs and enhancements (which should have been addressed by now) critical security issues are still covered through 4/8/2014.

Q: (from Jeff)

Can the new Windows Server be used at the branch location of a geographically distributed organization? Can it be wrapped into Active Directory? Can it be used with the distributed file system (DFS)?

A:

Yes – you can add Foundation Server to an existing domain and therefore make it the server at a branch location (in which case the users would still need to buy Server CALs to access the other Windows Servers in the domain)

Yes – it supports DFS like Windows Server 2008 Standard edition

More Windows Server 2008 Foundation information can be found at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/foundation.aspx

Q: (from Dave)

Hey there,I really like the concept of Windows Server Foundation. However, I can't seem to find the SKU's. According to the Microsoft website for Foundation, "Windows Server 2008 Foundation is available through Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) only."and then they provide some logos of different OEMs. Does this mean that as a small system builder, I don't have access to Foundation? Only the large ones do?

A:

You are correct - only a limited number of our multi-national OEMs can deliver Windows Server Foundation boxes. I work with several sizes of OEMs that would like direct access to this technology for their partners & customers so I will continue to lobby to have the guidelines loosened.

To help, I would suggest that you submit a business case as to why you need to have direct access to the OEM version of Windows Server Foundation; how it impacts your business, the solution you offer to your customer, etc. at http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/.

Q: (from Paul)

Where can I find more information on the Key Management Server vs. Multiple Activation Keys?

A:

From the TechNet site:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb892849.aspx

You can find a detailed PDF:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/5/f/45fb677a-c215-442e-afd0-419e08b6c5d1/VA%202.0%20Vertical%20Wall%20Poster%20RTM.pdf

OK… It’s started… My rule was to not talk about Windows 7 except to provide hardware purchase guidance until April.

A customer is waiting to purchase hardware because they’ve started hearing about Windows 7. What can you do?

1. Tell them not to wait. Windows 7 is still months away.
2. Because Windows Vista and Windows 7 share the same device driver model and hardware specifications, tell them to make sure the hardware they purchase is Windows Vista Ready.
3. If the reason they avoided Windows Vista was because of software compatibility, Windows 7 will not be the miracle cure. Help your customer resolve their software issues now and they will be ready for Windows 7.
• If available, upgrade the applications to Windows Vista compatible versions
• Try running the application in Compatibility Mode
• Use the Application Compatibility Toolkit to create a compatibility profile
• Run the application under a previous version of Windows using Virtual PC
• Explore the implementation of the Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V)
4. Make sure your business customers buy their Windows Vista Business edition and get it covered with Software Assurance. That way they can choose what operating system they run today and when Windows 7 launches, they can choose to upgrade when they are ready.

But now I’m seeing some clear messaging around the Windows 7 benefits:

1. Simplifies Everyday Tasks
• Improved Task Bar
• Jump Lists
• Direct Access
• Branch Cache
• Internet Explorer 8
• Accelerators
• Web Slices
• In Private
2. Works the Way You Want
• Touch
• Sleep & Resume Faster
• Fewer Interruptions
• Less Memory & Runs Faster
• Better Battery Life
3. Live a Life Without Walls
• Enhanced Media Center & Media Player
• Home Group
• Device Stage
• Domain Join
• Windows Live Essentials
• Messenger
• Photos
• SkyDrive
• What’s New

I’ve added links to the various beta videos that support each of the aforementioned topics – I’m impressed and looking forward to showing customers and partners Windows 7 running on a live system. If there is a term or topic above that you don’t understand – now is the time to start your research so you have the answers when your customers start asking!

Q: (from Steve)

I need your help in to find the best tool to calculate licensing for a new client of mine.  The client has 11 pc’s and only two or three have valid windows and office licenses.  I would like to get them on software assurance so they are always up to date.  They will be purchasing a new server and possibley four or five new pc’s.  Please let me know the best tool to use as soon as you can.

A:

The best licensing tool for you to start with would be LicenseWise found at www.MS-GearUp.com. If you need further help, you should reach out to your favorite distributor who will be happy to walk you through the licensing process (and then sell you the licenses!)

Q: (from John)

I have attended quite a few DC area events over the last few years. You has said a few times that SBS 2003 Premium customers with SA on the SBS will get ISA 2006 as part of their SA when going to SBS 2008. I have found a website that has the number to call for fulfillment of that and when I called the Microsoft rep that answered told me “I don’t know anything about servers, can you fax me a receipt?” Is there any better contact number or place to call / extension because I really don’t think that is the correct number / group for what I am looking for?

A:

To exercise the SA rights on SBS, have your customer (or you if you’ve been granted permission by the customer) go to the licensing.microsoft.com web site and order the SBS Premium 2008 disk set. The disks will include SBS 2008 Standard Edition, Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (32 & 64bit), SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition (32 & 64bit), Windows Server 2003, and ISA 2006.

If you want to talk to someone about this, your best resource is to reach out to the distributor you work through.

Q: (from Bryan)

We've installed Sharepoint Services 3.0 SP1 on one of our servers.  We'd like to host some shared Word 2003 documents on a WSS 3.0 site but not all users of the site will have Microsoft Word or Microsoft Word viewer installed on their client machines from which they'll be accessing the site and viewing the documents.

We came upon a feature of Sharepoint Services 2.0 that allows one to setup an Office HTML Viewer service.  The HTML viewer service allows site visitors to view the host Word documents as HTML by converting the Word documents to HTML on the fly.  This same HTML Viewer service capability appears to exist in WSS 3.0 SP1 as well.  The screen for configuring the HTML Viewer in WSS 3.0 is found in the WSS Central Administration under the External Service Connections section of the Application Management tab.

This HTML Viewer service sounds like an ideal solution for our application and needs.  However, we've been able to find very little information on Microsoft's website or elsewhere on how to acquire the HTML Viewer service installation package for WSS 3.0 let alone install and setup the HTML Viewer service for use with WSS 3.0.

A:

The short answer is “no” the HTML Viewer Service is not supported in WSS 3.0 for several reasons:

1. Properly implemented, the HTML Viewer Service required another physical box to do the conversions on-the-fly
2. The service was never upgraded to support 2007 Office
3. The 2003 Office viewer had a security vulnerability  and was pulled from our download site

It appears the best solution is to convert the documents to a public format (PDF or XPS) before posting on the website. Here are links to the office converters.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=CF196DF0-70E5-4595-8A98-370278F40C57&displaylang=en

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en