Archive for May, 2008

05.29.08

Cougar Kickstart (RC0) - Part 2 Installation

Posted in OS, sbs2008 at 12:38 am by webmaster

Install Small Business Server 2008

You are now about 90 minutes away from having an install of Small  Business Server RC0.  If you have not yet followed the prepatory Part 1 please do so before attempting the install.  Follow the procedure below.  

  1. Turn on power switch                                                                    0 seconds
  2. Insert SBS2008 DVD 1 in drive tray
    1. Press any key to boot from dvd                                           30 seconds
      1. Windows is loading files                                             45       
      2. progress bar                                                              1:30
      3. gray screen                                                                2:00
      4. gray screen with “Please wait”                                    5:20
    2. Language screen                                                                  8:30
      (Note I have note deviated from the settings below because of various bugs that have existed prior to RC0 even though I live in Canada .  These issues may or may not now be fixed.)
      1. Language                   English
      2. Time and currency     English US
      3. Keyboard                  US
      4. (Defaults – Next)
    3. Install Now
    4. Type your product key for activation          
      1. TYPE YOUR PRODUCT ID HERE
      2. check auto activate                      9:30
    5. EULA – I accept                                   9:45                           
    6. Where do you want to install Windows   10:00
      1. Custom Advanced
      2. Recommend creating at least two partitions one for system and one for data under Drive options
        1. Disk 0 Partition 1 - > 100 GBytes
        2. Disk 0 Partition 2 Whatever is left > 100 GBytes
      3. Format both partitions
      4. This step is now optional (driver now included with SBS2k8 - earlier builds did not have this driver)
        1. Insert USB stick with drivers
        2. Load Driver
          1. Browse
          2. Select Drive with Sata drivers
            1. Removable Disk –> IDE –> WinVista64 –> SataRaid
            2. Select
              1. Raid Controller
      5. Next
    7. Remove usb                                                                   11:00
    8. Next
    9. Installing Windows                                                           12:00
      1. Copying Files                                                         12:00
      2. Expanding Files                                                      13:00 
      3. Installing Features             
      4. Installing Updates              
      5. Completing Install              
    10. Gray Screen, Reboot, Please wait
    11. Completing Installation                                                       33:00
      1. Preparing your desktop                            
  3. Continue Installation                                                                     35:00
    1. Verify the clock settings                                                      35:00
    2. Go online and get the most recent installation updates          36:00
    3. Company Information                                                         40:00
      1. Business Name
      2. Street Address
      3. City
      4. State/Province
      5. Zip/Postal Code
      6. Country
    4. Personalize your Server and network                                   41:00
      1. Server Name                                 srv
      2. Domain Name                               dmn
    5. Network Administrator Account                                           42:00
      1. First
      2. Last
      3. Account Name
      4. Strong Password
    6. Summary, Finish
    7. Expanding and installing Files                                                44:00
      1. Logging Off                                                                46:00
      2. Applying Computer Settings                                        47:00
      3. Preparing Your Desktop                                             48:00
      4. Expanding and Installing Files                                      49:00
      5. Stopping Services                                                       1:03:00
      6. Shutting Down       
    8. Expanding and installing files                                                 1:03:00
      1. Configuring Updates (2 of 3)                                      1:08:00
      2. Stopping services                                                       1:14:00
    9. Applying Computer Settings                                                           
      1. Configuring Updates (3 of 3)                                      1:18:00
    10. Applying User Settings        
    11. Successful Installation                                                           1:19:00
  4.  Start Using The Server                                                                  1:20:00
  5. Read and check the “Using the Windows SBS console”
  6. Connect To The Internet (preconfigured router)                              1:20:00
    1. Next
    2. Verify Network IP Addresses
      1. Verify Router IP      192.168.1.1
      2. Verify Server IP      192.168.1.2
      3. Select Next
      4. Select Finish
  7. Customer Feedback Options                                                         1:22:00
    1. Join CEIP
  8. Set Up Your Internet Address                                                       1:23:00
    1. I already have a domain name that I want to use
    2. I want to manage the domain myself
    3. sbs2k8.com, configure
    4. finish
  9. Configure a Smart Host for Internet Mail                                       1:25:00
    1. Next
    2. Smart Host Server Information                          Smart Host FQDN
    3. Next
    4. Finish
  10. Add a trusted Certificate
    1. Next
    2. I want to use the certificate that is already installed on this computer
    3. Finish

Your server is now operational.  There are other tasks that should be performed as post installation tasks. 

05.27.08

Cougar Kickstart (RC0) - Part 1 Preparation

Posted in OS, sbs2008 at 12:27 pm by webmaster

Cougar RC0 Kickstart

This is an attempt at providing a simple walk-through that allows IT Professionals and others up to speed and running Cougar a.k.a. Windows Small Business Server 2008 in a test environment.  

I will focus on providing the necessary information required to obtain real hardware, configuring that hardware, obtaining the software, planning the installation and completing it.  I will focus on the the simplest installation I can to get you up and running so you can become familiar with this new product.  This installation will focus on Windows Small Business Edition Standard Edition Release Candidate 0 (RC0). 

Now for the obligatory disclaimer.  I am providing this a guide as to what worked for me.  Please don’t try to run this in a production environment and as with anything else purchase items and follow procedures at your own risk.  This is not necessarily the only way to install nor is it necessarily the best way but it is a documented way that I have found works well.

In order to be able to complete this walk-through you should have a thorough understanding of networking, and server topics in general.  Sorry to those who like screenshots I simply don’t have the time to make them.  I hope you find this helpful.

Thanks also to all those who helped me along the way!

Overview

We will be performing the following tasks:

  1. Peruse RC0 resources
  2. Planning
  3. Obtain Materials
  4. Preconfigure Router
  5. Preconfigure Public DNS
  6. Preconfigure Testbox
  7. Install Small Business Server (Separate Post)
  8. Post Installation Tasks (Separate Post)

Peruse RC0 Resources

Peruse the following resources:

Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 Documentation

There is also a newsgroup available to beta participants:  microsoft.connect.windows.server.sbs08

Planning

You will need some information along the way.  Here is a list of what you will need.  Please note FQDN refers to your fully qualified external domain name like microsoft.com.

         

  1. Product Key
  2. Network Information

    3. WAN Information

     

      1. Static IP
      2. Subnet Mask
      3. Gateway
      4. DNS Servers
      5. An A Record entry in your external DNS pointing to the static IP address of your server with the keyword remote prepended to it. remote.FQDN as in remote.microsoft.com)
      6. MX Record
    1. Lan Information
      1. IP
      2. Subnet Mask
      3. Gateway
  3. Company Information
    1. Business Name
    2. Street Address
    3. City
    4. State/Province
    5. Zip/Postal Code
    6. Country
  4. Server and internal domain information  
    1. Server Name      
    2. Domain Name
  5. Network Administrator Account information
    1. First Name
    2. Last Name
    3. Account Name
    4. Strong Password
  6. Public DNS domain name
  7. Smart Host Fully Qualified Domain Name

    Obtain Materials

    1. Obtain Hardware (~ $500 Canadian new)
      1. ASUS M2NPV-VM
      2. AMD 64 X2 4600+ (You may want a faster processor as this does not quite meet the hardware requirements)
      3. 4 GBytes System RAM (I installed 8 GBytes but 4 works)
      4. 200 GBytes SATA drive
      5. SATA DVD drive
      6. Linksys WRT54GL running DD_WRT firmware (Linksys firmware works as well.  I like the flexibility of DD_WRT
    2. Download and burn the first DVD of Small Business Server 2008 Standard Edition RC0 (Build 6001)
    3. Obtain and note Product Key
    4. Obtain the following Bios for the testbox 1(201) (earlier versions prior to 901 did not work.)  http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socketAM2/M2NPV-VM/1201.zip 
    5. Obtain 64 bit Driver Package and place on usb stick.  There are reports that this is not required anymore but I have always installed the raid drivers. 

    Preconfigure Router

    1. Pre-configure the hardware router with a 24 bit subnet mask with an address of 192.168.2.1 with the standard port redirects.  Also disable DHCP on the router.  Note it is picky about the LAN subnet you use so be careful.  Note I do not use UPnP.  Below is a checklist of things that should be done
    2. Configure WAN interface
    3. Configure LAN interface
    4. IP                       192.168.2.1
    5. Subnet Mask      255.255.255.0
    6. Disable DHCP
    7. Open the following Ports by port forwarding them to 192.168.2.2
      1. 25       SMTP
      2. 443     HTTPS
      3. 987     HTTPS (Sharepoint/Companyweb)
      4. 3389   RDP (Optional)

    Preconfigure public DNS

    You really need a static IP address to use the full functionality of Small Business Server.  Note the required A record of remote.FQDN. (For example it would be “remote.microsoft.com)

    1. Ensure you have a A record for remote.FQDN
    2. Create an MX record for your mail system pointing to the static IP address of your server.

    Preconfigure TestBox

    1. Upgrade bios of Motherboard to 1201 (otherwise crashes on install)
      Using the ASUS bios updater located in the bios this was very easy DELETE –> Tools –> ASUS EZ Flash 2 (Install 1201.bin on a USB stick)
    2. I connected the SATA hard drive to raid 1 and the SATA DVD drive to raid 2
    3. Enable raid in bios
      1. Use Del key to get into the bios and configure drives for raid
      2. Advanced –> Onboard Device Configuration –> NVRAID Configuration
      3. Raid Enable (Enabled)
      4. Sata 1 (Enabled)
    4. You may also want to ensure AMD Virtualization is enabled Advanced –> CPU Configuration –> AMD Virtualization (Enabled)
    5. Use F10 key on powerup to configure raid and make bootable (and select striping)

    Your ready to begin installing.  If you have accomplished all of the above you are only about 90 minutes away from using Small Business Server 2008.

PART 2 Installing 

 

 

05.01.08

Backup in Vista

Posted in OS at 4:21 pm by webmaster

A recent post on the newsgroups pointed out the complexity of backup in Vista these days.  I have to admit that I miss ntbackup.  Here are some interesting facts about backup on Vista

Vista Business , Enterprise and Ultimate

The following backup methods can be employed:

  1. Shadow copy for standard documents
    1. Open “System Protection” program in the Control panel to configure Shadow copies
  2. Vista backup automation for standard documents
    1. All Programs –> Accesories –> System Tools –> Backup Status and Configuration
    2. Warning this backup does not backup everything.  It omits some files (exe files for example).  Use only if you want a lightweight backup program.
  3. Complete Backup for a full image of everything
    1. All Programs –> Accesories –> System Tools –> Backup Status and Configuration 
      1. Stores data on CDs/DVD’d, secondary partition or external hard drive (usb/firewire).
        1. When using external harddrive stores the data in a folder called WindowsImageBackup / machinename
  4. System restore for point in time registry restoration

Other backup methodlogies

Obtain third party backup software (Acronis Home, bootitNG or even Ultimate Boot CD)

Instructions for running/installing ntbackup on Vista.

64 bit download ntbackup