Virtual Tech·Ed Site Launches!

The Virtual Tech·Ed site launched (http://www.virtualteched.com/Pages/VTEhomepage.aspx) and it is definitely worth a good look. One key item to note is that the authors have taken the time to document the past Tech·Ed information that is spread across Microsoft sites, including webcasts and virtual labs.

If you get the chance, take the time to give it a good look.

Microsoft TechEd 2007

It's that time of year again. Registration for Microsoft Tech·Ed 2007 (TechEd 2007) opens up on 22 January 2007, or next week. It appears that the fee to attend TechEd has not increased this year. If you are the early bird that catches the worm, your early registration (by 6 April 2007) will net you a $200 discount off of the conference fee.

This year TechEd 2007 will be hosted by Microsoft and their technology partners at the Orange County Convention Center (www.occ.net) in Orlando, FL. This new convention center is located on the SouthWest Corner of Orlando, FL.

For attendees of last year's TechEd, there is a lot that Orlando brings to the table that Boston does not. Orlando is much more friendly to tourist buses. Most of us remember the bus fiasco last year where the cab drivers in Boston mutinied and several of the bus providers had their drivers go on strike. In fact, one of the bus lines had their VP of HR doing some bus driving. In addition, the streets are a bit wider in Flordia. After all, Orlando did not start as a small colonial town as Boston did. ...and, let us face it, the folks in Florida may be a bit happier since it is warmer and has better weather than Boston. Granted, Boston is a very interesting city with great historical value. It is also an excellent walking city and has some absolutely wonderful buildings and parks.

The plans for TechEd 2007 originally included New Orleans, LA. With the rebuilding in process, the $200 hotel rooms, and the crime issues that have plagued NOLA for years, both pre-Katrina and post-Katrina; it is likely better that the folks at Microsoft made the decision to not bring the party to New Orleans this year. However, if there is a TechEd in the future of New Orleans, it would definitely be worth going to that city.

The TechEd 2007 site (http://www.microsoft.com/events/teched2007) is not up yet, but you can review additional information at the TechEd 2006 site (http://www.microsoft.com/events/teched2006).

Cheers,

Bob

TechEd 2006

After my first day at TechEd 2006 and the pre-Con, I can say a few things...

Virtual TechEd 2006 is awesome!
Here is a link to Virtual TechEd 2006. This is a great resource for participants as well as folks who can't make it this year. It does not bring the whole experience to bear, but does bring some of TechEd to everyone who can't attend.

FREE DRINKS!!!
Before the SWAG has even started to be passed out there is free water, free soda, free ice cream, free labs, free resources, free free free (well, of course there is a cost to TechEd...but this stuff could have been $1.00 per water, $1.00 per soda, etc.)

The show flat-out ROCKS!
Yes, yes, I was kind of curious as to why someone would plan a show in Boston, where hotels rooms are limited, very expensive, and where there are lots of questions regarding the financial efficacy, or severe lack thereof, regarding the city's spending on The Big Dig.
...and I have the answer. The BCEC (Boston Convention and Exhibition Center) is HUGE and it is just beautiful inside. There is a TON of floor space, hundreds of little presentation rooms.

The people are GREAT!
In the past 6 hours I have had the distinct opportunity to meet several hundred folks ranging from participants, staff, crew, assistants, and experts.
The experts

The Hands On Labs are GREAT!
The Technical Learning Centers are GREAT!
Okay, okay, so maybe I am biased here. The HOLs and the staff manning the HOLs in the Technical Learning Center are just really nice people and add a lot of value to the TechEd Experience. The experts are very happy to answer questions.

The weather cleared up!
Last night the weather was really crappy. Today the weather is just amazing and beautiful. Partly Cloudy, 70 degrees, a light breeze, and crystal clear with no smog!

The weather is beautiful, hope you are here!

-Bob

My Take on Windows Vista

Spoiler - Okay, under my MVP non-disclosure agreement, I can't talk about anything that is not public. I can't talk about any bugs that I did or did not find. I can not talk about applications and their performance or functionality.
So, here is the public information:
Windows Vista: The Features

However, it does not note anything about me giving an opinion that I can find.

Windows Vista is one slick, functional, feature-rich and beautiful operating system. Some of the features that I have found really nice is the AeroGlass feature. This is just beautiful. The new Windows Flip features are great, such as the ability to see information while tabbing through Windows, and the ability to see what is running when I mouseover items on the task bar.

...and the Sidebar...I miss the old Pointcast days so the customizable RSS feeds in the sidebar are great to see.

What I am looking forward to trying is the new Speech Recognition features. I used this a little bit in Windows XP and Microsoft Office Word 2003. It did make typing a bit less mundane. However, my southern drawl did make for some grammatical errors. What would really be nice is the ability to record items and save the recording with the paragraph so that I could dictate and then go back and fix it once I have completed the whole document. Since I haven't played with it, I am not sure if this feature is in there or not.

Great work to the MS Devs, testers, customers, and Beta team.

Neat Air Travel Website

Those that know me know that in the past few years I have travelled quite a bit, racking up 200,000+ miles in 3 years. The downside to this is that I need to be a bit more cost efficient. The upside is that I learned about a neat website that checks quite a few of the other travel websites for good deals on flights.
SideStep - www.sidestep.com

My gosh, this sounds like a spam e-mail. The downside for SideStep is that I have performed some searches, but I have not yet used their site.

Office 12 - NEW UI Layout Preview ( Office 2007 )

Microsoft, in an attempt to try and make Office even more user friendly (Hey, I am happy with Office 2003 and RPC over HTTPs for Outlook), has updated the User Interface for Office 2007, known as Office 12. Recently, on Channel 9, one of the program managers spent just shy of an hour discussing and demonstrating the new UI.

http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=114720

Brangelina (sic), TomKat(sic), TomKitten(sic), ad nauseum

...and I really mean nauseum. What journalism graduate thought it was kute (sic) to kombine (sic) names like that? That just makes me (sic). It's Angelina and Brad, Tom and Katie (and Suri), not Brangelina and not TomKat and TomKitten.

Granted... Would some journalist name Matt and Ben either Batt or Men?

Bob

McAfee Groupsheild - Late Night System Maintenance Amusements

In the process of installing and configuring McAfee Groupshield 6 I found this little Easter Egg:


Normally I would not blog about a grammar error, but I have a guess how this grammtical error got in there. Well, I have two guesses and one of them is not a spell checker. It's funny that a company spends millions of dollars protecting a brand only to find out that the brand is now "Networks Associates".

...and that is all I have to say about that.
...but it will be corrected once I customize the error messages for my client.

ITSec Quote of the Year (so far)

Microsoft Says Recovery from Malware Becoming Impossible
From within the second paragraph:
"...there really is no patch for human stupidity"

This has to be the best IT Security quote thus far this year. Having made plenty of mistakes myself, and even one in my college days that did an rm /r on my home directory...I can attest that there is no patch that will correct human stupidity or naivete.

TechEd 2006

...finally finished making my arrangements for TechEd 2006, which is being held in Boston this year. For those of you on the left coast or those that live in the Deep South, Boston is a little teeny tiny city with a lot of residents. Frankly, I think Savannah, GA is larger than Boston, MA. Google returns that Savannah is 78.11 square miles and Boston is 48 square miles. Both are colonial cities with a ton of history. Disclaimer - Home is Savannah, GA AND the Washington, D.C. metro. ...and I have spent time working in Boston, too. Boston is an amazing city and is just gorgeous.

For 2 years of my career BrainShare, Novell's premier technical event for IT folks, seemed like the best place...until Microsoft technology paid better than Novell. ...Microsoft just marketed themselves better...Novell had a better directory services product.

For the past 5 years, I have wanted to go to Microsoft TechEd because learning new stuff is fun, that information can be used to teach others and empower them (Thanks Steven Covey...that is a great Habit), and Disney would be fun. TechEd had been held in Orlando in past years. This year it is in Boston, home of the $200 hotel room as there are so few hotel rooms in Boston and even less land.

*Self-Promotion Warning*

It's been a long road getting there, but I finally made the decision to go to TechEd this year. On top of that, I figured that asking my current employer to allow me to expense it was going to be difficult, at best. So, I cleared it with my wife and budgeted for it. Having the MVP and MCT netted a discount of nearly $750 off the normal registration fees. Getting there is not inexpensive, but we caught a $254 flight deal, and used our $99 companion tickets (Thanks USAir and Bank of America) to take Becca and her friend Liz.

After completing my registration, hotel, and flight arrangements, Microsoft Learning and the Microsoft MVP program put out messages for volunteers. Positions were as Speakers, Technical Learning Guides, Ambassadors, etc. There really is a lot of opportunity for folks with their MCT certification and/or MVP award.

Based upon credentails, and that I do a fair amount of 1 and 2-day cross training in my field, Exchange and LCS, working the show was a goal. Volunteering was cleared with my VP as we was happy to let Microsoft foot part of all of the bill, and for me to take vacation for training. My new employer (starting 17 April) is excited that I have the opportunity as well.

After applying, and a month wait, I recieved the notice that my name had been selected as a TLG and I am totally stoked. This is a GREAT chance to learn, a great chance to teach, and an excellent opportunity to gain exposure to the new technology as well as excite those around me working on the technology. Plus, my wife may let me spend the money that I would have spent on the registration,

So, this year, I will be a member of a great team working the Technical Learning Center at TechEd. That is going to be so AWESOME! See ya there!

Bob

VMWare Server and MS Virtual Server - Free?

It took a few months...but soon after EMC's VMWare division started giving away GSX server as VMWare Server, Microsoft had to answer and is now giving away Virtual Server 2005 R2. Not a bad deal.

It is important to note that Microsoft's product will have Linux support as well!

VMWare Server
http://www.vmware.com/products/server/

Details here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/default.mspx
Download here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6DBA2278-B022-4F56-AF96-7B95975DB13B&displaylang=en

Kellie Pickler, the Mynx, and the Calimari

Kellie Pickler, the Mynx, and the Calimari ...it almost sounds like a C.S. Lewis chronicle...

Kellie is likely on the top of the world after "Simon" gave her the brightest compliment that I have heard vibrate forth from his scathingly bitter vocal cords. Yes, I personified Simon's vocal cords.
http://us.video.aol.com/video.full.adp?mode=0&pmmsid=1475337

However, I damned near fell out of my seat when Simon called her a Naughty Little Mynx, to which she responded "What's a Mynx?" ...and then it sounded like Paula and Randy "baited" her with "Like Calamari".

It was hilarious and cute to see her perk up say in her chippy twang "Like a Calamari!"

...and with that, I must stop laughing, pick myself up off the floor, and get back to daily life.

Google Video back up

Well, it would seem that Google Video is back up and running. It appears to be a bit cleaner, but now Jessica Simpson is gone *sniff*. I feel like Nick Lachey all of a sudden. I guess that is better than feeling like K-Fed. WTF is Kevin thinking anyway? The former Ms. Spears has/had one of the hottest careers on the planet, not to mention that she seems pretty sweet and a little naieve. Anyway, this chump is out there supposedly fooling around on her. Granted, a tiger can't change it's stripes...but at least the big cat knows what hand feeds it.

...anyway, back to Google Video. It definitely looks like there have been some major improvements and I may actually end up buying an old episode or two of SCRUBS. Don't worry, there is plenty of free stuff, like the webcam idiot who bastardizes all of the Guns 'N Roses songs.

Last, but not least, some of the popular items pull up what I can only term as Japanimerotica videos. Being a big kid having grown up with "The Transformers" and even "Ranma 1/2", I can definitely appreciate Japanime. While I sit here wondering "Why does someone make Japanime charachters scantily clad, or clad in nothing but long flowing locks?" I suddenly think back to some of my friends who went gaga over "Jessica Rabbit" and then I am quickly reminded of the raunchiest cartoons that I am drawn to like a train wreck "Drawn Together" and "South Park". As an aside, I will choose to drool over the real life equivalent of Jessica Rabbit, Miss Nicole Kidman. Specifically Nicole's role in Days of Thunder. Congrats on the wedding to Keith on the 11th...you two should go great together. Please note that any marital problems may make for some great country songs by the Austrialian Cowboy. I digress...it has been many years since cartoons were truly kid safe and since Nicole had those stunning red locks.

Back to my short obsession over inventing a word. I did a quick Google search on the word Japanimerotic and found that it does not exist. Either that, it it has been blocked by some foreign government. So, there it is...at 3:23 Eastern Standard Time on the 25th of February, Bob Christian coined the term Japanimerotica to describe erotic and pseudo-erotic Japanime videos and pictures. I guess I could have made up Japanimeerotica as well, as it does not appear to exist in the ether, either. Maybe Cybernanny will use this word to allow parents to block potentially disturbing cartoons. Granted, kids nowadays do more disturbing things than we would have ever thought of doing back in the late 80's and early 90's. Sheesh, I am starting to sound like my parents did when I was younger. ...and there it is, I am officially grown up. *kidding*

Well, being nearly 4AM, it's time to finish reading my Exam Cram book and then turn into a pumpkin.

Cheers,

Bob

Google Video Up and Down

It appears that Google is in the middle of making some major changes to it's video application. Within the past few hours it has been down, up, down, and back up. It looks like the new UI will have the possibility to rank things by popularity AND it appears that they will have videos for sale. That's interesting to say the least.

In addition to the up and down, it also appears that they are applying new certificates to the site (https for secure transactions maybe?)

The downside is that the top 2 videos are Jessica Simpson's Pizza Hut "These bites are made for poppin' video" and some guy showing his girlfriend's kitty, and I am not talking about the pretty little furry animal. ...not exactly what the internet is meant for... Then Again, this World of Warcraft video spells it out right...and I laughed my @$$ off the first time I saw this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L854AFW7GhU

Disgusted - Injured Soldier Charged $700 for body armor

The Charleston Gazette - Injured Soldier Charged $700 for Body Armor

Talk about turning my stomach. LT. Eddie Rebrook IV from Charleston, WV was nearly fatally injured in a roadside explosion in Iraq when his in a battle a bit over a year ago. His $700 body armor was cut off as medics were saving his life. Due to the blood, the body armor was a biohazard and had to be destroyed. The Army is now charging the soldier for this body armor.

What is our country coming to when we are charging a soldier for the body armor that saved his life while he was performing his duties and protecting this country.

What is next - Charging a soldier $100,000 when his or her HMMWV (Humm-Vee) is destroyed because it was not properly equiped with enough armor to protect the engine and gas tank.

One thing I remember from my High School civcs teacher was a cartoon... Wouldn't it be funny if schools had a billion dollars to develop a good ciriculum... and the Air Force had to hold a bake sale to develop a new bomber.

Don't get me wrong...I love the U.S., I love the Army and happily served in West Virginia before being discharged due to a multiple fracture of my foot. I live and work between Georgia and D.C. However, it disgusts me to see the mistreatment of our "grunts".

Bob

A bit stale... SYMANTEC TO ACQUIRE IMLOGIC

SYMANTEC TO ACQUIRE IMLOGIC

This is old news, but I thought it was interesting to note. Symantec has noted their intention to acquire IMLogic.

Now, on to the blog part of this. I used to be a HUGE Symantec fan back in the late 90's. Prior to that I was a huge Norton fan, then Symantec acquired them. Norton's disk defrag and their disk doctor was the leading disk utility back in it's day. Norton's anti-virus products, and F-Prot's (different vendor) anti-virus products, were absolutely amazing. I fell in love with NAV Corporate Edition back in the 7.x days due to it's ease of use, east of administration, and low performance impact on the workstation.

Now that we are into the 9.x version, called Symantec Anti-virus, I really don't see as much in way of major revisions as I would expect. It's still on the front-edge of technology, but it is not as great as it could be. Even after the dot-com bust, there should be a significant amount of development going into the product line. However, it may be that SAV has reached it's maturity stage and the code is just being maintained without a major effort to improve it. Granted, Symantec has had a lot of heat lately over their "rootkit" issues. Oddly enough, the security vendor F-Secure (see my F-Prot comment earlier) found the hidden directory.

Anyway, since the early to late 90's, the quality of software in general has diminished significantly. Companies want to turn a profit, but don't necessarily want great or near-perfect code. They just want to get the software out the door. In this case, I am not referring to Symantec.

In their defence, since NT4, 2000, and XP, we have chkdsk. The decent built-in disk defrag really started in Windows 2000. The Windows 98 tool was crummy, but it was free and it worked. Maybe this lead to the downfall of improving upon the defrag tools and disk tools that Norton has.

Who do I feel has the best disk defrag tool? Hands down it is Executive Software, makers of Disk Keeper...well, now their company is called Diskeeper corporation. We see their product as the defragmenter in Windows. Maybe Symantec will acquire Diskeeper Corp. next since they are a best-of-breed.

Symantec has absorbed some other personal favorites, such as PowerQuest (Partition Magic), Veritas (Backup Exec and NetBackup). They can't get Sybari since MSFT made that purchase a little while back. Sybari was a definite up and comer in the messaging market, and had developed quite a nice product.

The oddity is that I do not feel that Symantec has put as much into R&D to improve it's core products. Granted, one could argue that acquiring a company and recoding the product to have the Symantec name and symbology is R&D. Sorry, it is not. One could argue that acquiring the people that could improve Symantec is R&D. Quite possibly it is borderline, but it is part of M&A and not R&D.

However, when a company like Sybari comes in and starts winning over large customers, including several large goverment contracts, it's time to take note. Commvault is doing much the same thing in the backup technology realm. Commvault is a spin-off of Lucent, if memory serves me correct.

Ultimately what it boils down to is that Symantec has money and stock to burn and has been acquiring some great companies. Let's hope that Symantec takes an opportunity to integrate their acquisitions and improve on all of their product lines.

Cheers,

Bob

XBOX 360 Bugginess Part 2

I have been playing Call of Duty 2 on the XBOX 360 for several weeks and it reset my game progress. More on that in a minute.

Normally I play a PC game as they are about the same price, come with free updates (for the most part) and the saved games save locally to disk, which makes it easy for me to keep game progress when I rebuild my PC's OS. However, I will say that I have enjoyed the XBOX 360 even though it has not been the most reliable game console.


I had just completed the D-Day mission (Silo) on Veteran. It even shows it as complete. However, when selecting "Next Mission" it takes me back to Russian training. D-Day shows "In progress" even though I have completed it. Both the coastal Guns mission and the Pointe mission no longer show as having been completed. However, the silo is showing as having been completed. That' odd because you can't start another mission within the level until you have completed the previous mission.

I have 8 of the 13 achievements and have completed the game on easy and some on hardened. When selecting Next Mission I get kicked back to Russian training. That should not happen.

It seems that I am not the only one experiencing these problems:
My Secret Game: Call Of Duty 2
http://www.mysecretshame.co.uk
games/2005/12/call-of-duty-2_11.html

Blogging Goals for 2005

After looking at my stats for last year, I posted 58 times, 6 more than I had desired. As for reaching goals, I did miss some of my goals, but I did make other goals. I am on the Vista and Office 12 betas. I have had invites to other Betas, such as the Istanbul beta, and even made a few bug reports.

Fortunately, I am learning more about being an MVP and how my work can benefit the LCS and Exchange communities as a whole. My grammar has improved considerably as a result of this process. Overall, it has been fun and interesting.

My blog gets between 8 and 60 hits per day, which is not bad, I guess.

Randall, Rebecca. and The Apprentice

From day 1 I have been saying "Randall, Randall, Randall!"
Tonight, at 10:57PM Eastern I regretted that decision. RANDALL IS A SELFISH JERK WHO THOUGHT ONLY OF HIMSELF! HE HAS ALREADY FAILED THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION BY LETTING A GREAT POTENTIAL CO-WORKER SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS! There, it is off my shoulders.

Randall went from this great, loveable, wonderful, and educated businessperson to this blithering adolescent "I won and you aren't stealing my thunder" little brat. He and Rebecca got along so well, were such good friends, right up until this episode where Randall got cocky and arrogant and selfish.

Only 1/2 of the Apprentice candidates in the back stood up when Randall noted for them to stand up if they supported him. That had to mean that the other 1/2 supported Rebecca. Look, she did what few people did, working on crutches with a weaker team. Randall was 3 and 0 only because he had an AMAZING team in all tasks. When she and Randall worked together they were seemingly unbeatable!

Trump had already made his choice, and it was clearly evident that he wanted to hire them both. Anyone could have seen and heard the setup, even the overeducated Randall. Maybe there is a direct correlation to education and street sense. Trump, without a doubt, recommended that Yahoo! save face from those evil executives. Those three seemed like they really wanted a tax write-off for a Yahoo! party. The CEO of Yahoo, however, made the win a balanced win for Randall and Rebecca. He orchestrated what could have been an amazing conclusion in that he showed the firing of 4 people and the firing of 2 people, which is outside of the "rules" that we have become accustomed to in past seasons. Trump had a perfect setup to hire both of them, even saying "You made my decision easier!" Trump made the statement that Rebecca was "Outstanding", and then said to Randall "You're Hired!"

Trump asked Randall what he thought, about hiring Rebecca, almost seemingly as a rhetorical question. Trump seemed surprised when his new employee sunk the proverbial Battleship(TM). Randall, being this nice guy, already a winner, a man of God (think - Do unto others...), and a friend of Rebecca, should have done the nice and right thing, giving her a chance to work in the Trump organization.

This sentiment echoed throughout the audience. Ranlall, the latest Apprentice was BOOED on live TV when he could have noted that she would have been a great loss if Trump did not hire her, and he would have been applauded. It's a bit hard to cut that out, as it was difficult to cut out "The Donalds" disappointment. In less than 30 seconds Randall fell from being "The Apprentice" to being a petty little brat. He destroyed what Trump had set up in the videos, in the Yahoo! donation, etc.

Personally, I think that Trump should have hired her anyway and undermined Randall, showing Randall that Trump is still boss!

Trump lost what he can never regain...a perfect ending to a great Apprentice season. ...and Randall cost Trump that Victory.

Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access Overview

Microsoft released Office Communicator Web Access on Monday. The great thing about it...it is
made available at NO EXTRA CHARGE for folks who own LCS 2005 with the appropriate CALs.

For more information see here:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/livecomm/communicator/webaccess/prodinfo/overview.mspx

My "beef" with Exchange E12 ramblings...

Okay...I think I have heard it all...
"However, as the first time Microsoft has abandoned the 32-bit server, this announcement represents an important milestone."
end paragraph
"The change will make the typical Exchange version migration slower and more complex. "
http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?doc_cd=136041

Gartner is addressing the Microsoft Exchange E12 announcement that Microsoft is abandoning continued development for Exchange E12 on 32-bit architecture.

Personally, I think that attributing slowness in a migration to the hardware differences between x32 and x64 is a bunch of bull puckey. Granted, there will be greater cost for the organizations.

I can't imagine that a hardware migration would be any more difficult than a hardware migration today. The Move Mailbox Wizard is pretty easy and makes Exchange 2000 to Exchange 2003 a cakewalk as well as hardware upgrades pretty easy (KB822931 baby!!!)

Migration of Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2000 and Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 is pretty complex and can be really involved, dependent upon the size of the project. Upgrading 2000 to 2003 is a cakewalk compared to 5.5 to 2003 and 5.5 to 2000 upgrades. Moving between like 2000 and 2003 versions is also easy.

Regardless, there are some features, such as E12 following the lead of Active Directory Sites and Services for routing group connections, that will cause headaches. One one hand, it would be nice to have to worry about a single routing infrastructure. On the other hand, it is nice having different routing infrastructures.

Bob

XBOX 360 BSOD

chamisool, a Flikr.com user, posted this photo of an XBOX360 or XBOX 360 Blue Screen of Death. Actually, it is a Black Screen of Death if you want to be technically correct.

However, the BSOD was common in the NT4 days, and dwindled as Microsoft improved the system AND as manufacturers improved their drivers.

Note - the BSOD on the XBOX 360 has only been noted for a few systems. Microsoft has not noted whether it is a video card problem or a software problem.

Midnight Reading - You had me at EHLO! and DSProxy

While most of the Eastern US will be asleep tonight at midnight, I will be happily reading the "You had me at EHLO!" blog, specifically Ross Smith's article regarding the DS Proxy Referral process changes in Exchange 2003 SP2. This will definitely help out some of the segmented environments that I get to work in!
http://blogs.technet.com/exchange/archive/2005/11/04/413669.aspx

Well, that and the 75GB (18GB until you change a reg key) Priv update!

Hats off to the Microsoft Exchange team!
http://www.cafepress.com/ehlo.11672598

Thanks,

Bob

Microsoft Exchange Server: Microsoft Exchange Server Analyzer Tools

Yet again, Microsoft is providing us with tools to make our jobs a little bit easier. THANKS!

ExBPA has been updated to version 2.5 and two new tools have been added to the fray.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol
/exchange/downloads/2003/analyzers/default.mspx

Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool v2.5
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
details.aspx?familyid=dbab201f-4bee-4943-ac22-e2ddbd258df3

Exchange Server Performance Troubleshooting Analyzer Tool v1.0
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=55884

Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer Tool v1.0
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54760

Information on the Exchange 2000 Exchange 2003 .stm file.

The .STM file, or streaming file, holds non-MAPI information while the .edb file, or the Exchange database (essentially a large JET (Access-type of technology) database holds the messages and the MAPI information. If someone sends e-mail or accesses e-mail from a non-MAPI client (POP3, IMAP4, Web), that e-mail is stored in the .stm file. Mail from the internet is also non-MAPI and comes in a format called MIME. This information is also stored in the STM file. It may be converted to MAPI when a MAPI user (Outlook) accesses it and it is also converted to MAPI when the Move Mailbox wizard is used. There also may be pointers in the .edb to information in the STM.

Here are a few links that help to demystify the STM file:

http://www.winnetmag.com/Windows/Article/ArticleID/8955/8955.html
(about 1/3 of the way down in the document the STM is discussed)

Native Content Storage in Microsoft Exchange
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/232323
(Good article...communicates the idea behind the STM very well)

What causes a large .STM file?

Several things can cause a large STM file. One of those could be that your server is open as a relay. Sembee, an Experts-Exchange expert, and a Microsoft MVP, has produced some concise information.
http://www.amset.info/exchange/smtp-relaysecure.asp
http://www.amset.info/exchange/spam-cleanup.asp

Another thing that you could have in your system is a loop. Leaving Exchange up (and getting an outage approved), unplug the network cable temporarily. Take a look at your queues and see what gets queued up. Look @ both the SMTP messages and the messages in your MTA. Another thing to do is to enable message tracking and see who is sending a large amount of messages.

Look at your mailboxes and see what the largest mailbox is.

If you have a very large STM and a small EDB, something is wrong. Examples of exceptions are if you have an inordinate amount of OWA users, run a business that receives a lot of Internet e-mail, have a lot of POP3 users, who leave messages on the server, etc.

Some anti-virus scanners have even been known to cause problems with Exchange, both a the file level as well as Exchange-aware AV apps.

Please see this Experts Exchange question, and answer, regarding file-level AV scanners and Exchange:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Q_21300420.html


Regarding mailboxes:
One thing that you can do is look at the mailbox sizes, add them all up, and see if they are over xx GB. If they are, then you are fine. Even though Exchange has a single instance store, the user’s mailbox shows what they are using, but does not note the single instance storage info. So, in theory, if some users share documents, etc. then the store will be smaller than the total of the mailboxes in the store. So, if 2 mailboxes have a 1GB attachment (unrealistic, I know), they will total 2GB but the database will be 1GB (and change) (this is provided a new server with only 2 mailboxes).

Regarding the amount of free space in your Exchange database, and what you can expect to recover, check for 1221 events noting how much free space is in your database.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/186291

Do you have enough room for an offline defrag, if needed? (Some good resources)
http://www.petri.co.il/
defragment_exchange_2000_2003_server_databases.htm (links are wrapped)
http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/
techinfo/tips/defragmentation.asp (links are wrapped)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/254132

This may help, if you are using NAV/SAV for Exchange:
http://bobchristian.blogspot.com/2005/02/symantec-mail-security-settings.html

There have been a few E-E topics where it was noted that AV applications bloated the STM file.

If you are not running Exchange-aware backups, but you shut down the Exchange services for your backup and do a brick-level backup, this will not clean off old mailboxes or clean up items that have been emptied from the deleted items. Another bad thing about this is that the Transaction Logs will not be flushed, which causes disk usage to increase, unless you have implemented circular logging for each of your storage groups (*shudder*). Usually you don’t notice this until the disk space is significantly small and you have several thousand 5MB files on your drive. If you have a third-party backup utility and did not purchase the Exchange bits for it, at least run an NTBackup on the Exchange server and back the Exchange databases to disk. You can back up that .bak file with your normal routine, and then remove the large .bak file.

While this is a lot of information, and it comes in a somewhat “throw it to the wall” manner, I hope it helps.

…and if you are limited to 16GB, running Exchange Standard Editions, and you are in your 1GB buffer, you will want to reset the key back to zero (0) from one (1) so that you don’t hit 17GB and end up with a server that won’t start the IS:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
\MSExchangeIS\Private\Temporary DB Size Limit Extension

More information regarding this key can be found in KB813051
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813051

Big Brother Watching - Electronic Frontier Foundation decodes printer tracking dots

For years we have all been hearing that the government had manufacturers put a copier serial number on every printed page and require copiers to detect that money was being copied and create an off-set as well as log it.

For a while I never believed that a serial number was printed and there was no way to print one tiny enough to go unnoticed. I have been in IT for ~12-13 years, I have worked with computers for the past ~20+ years (TRS80, TI-99/4a, and Apple II), and I have worked on dot matrix (9-24 pin), Inkjet, LED, and Laser printers as a hobby and profession as well as a few Black&White copiers, though not by choice. The "dollar bill" offset was confirmed for me a long time ago before I touched a printer or copier...about 15 years. I figured that there was some way that our printouts could be tracked from Kinkos, etc. but I did not think that my corporate printer's printouts could be tracked.

So, I am all smug and stuff in my thinking... well, where there is a will and law enforcement, there is a way. Take a look at the Washington Post, TGDaily, and EFF article links below. This is downright scary when you really think of the implications. Anonymous letters are not so anonymous anymore, and the list goes on.

So, being all smug and stuff, I decided to print a page on a 4000 series color Laserjet and a Laserjet 5SIMx black and white dinosaur that is still working after all these years.

I flipped on the handy-dandy blue LED light on the end of my pen (thanks to Insight...they have really good prices and really nice pens as swag) The black and white, obviously, did not have the yellow dots mentioned. The color printer, however, did show a pattern that was easily noticed. Under the blue LED they show as light brown specs. ...can't wait to take it home and get it under a blacklight and a magnifying glass.

The rule of thumb is...don't even think of sending a letter to your Congressman or Congresswoman complaining about high gas prices if it is printed on a color printer!

Electronic Frontier Foundation decodes printer tracking dots
http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/10/19/eff-decodes-printertrackingdots/

Sleuths Crack Tracking Code Discovered in Color Printers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/18/AR2005101801663.html

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/list.php

Shamless Gloating - Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional)

Microsoft has awarded me their Microsoft MVP in Microsoft Office Live Communications Server. Thanks to all of you who nominated me.

You know you, or a product, is getting old when...

...you have to go searching support.microsoft.com to validate that you can't delete a public Folder through the Exchange 5.5 Administrator application.

XADM: Cannot Delete Public Folders Using Administrator Program
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/152745

That is what happened today... Having used ESM so long I was spoiled by being able to just go in and whack a public folder when it needed to be whacked, shunning the Outlook appplication. However, today was a trip down memory lane...

Top 10 and Worst 10 products - CNET.com

Can't say that I disagree with CNET's selections. It's a shame that Microsoft Bob did not take off. *sniff* However, I really wish that they would have listed the Amiga in the top 10.

The Amiga, back in it's day, was "the shiznit" and really improved gaming. Psygnosis had some excellent games and had some awesome anti-piracy built into their games. Eidos bought Psygnosis' Europe division in 1998. Sony's 989 Studios took over the US operations. ...and, in 2000, Psygnosis was no longer in operation. Maybe Psygnosis will make the listing of top tech companies.

Top 10 Products
http://www.cnet.com/4520-11136_1-6312246-1.html?tag=txt

Worst 10 Products
http://www.cnet.com/4520-11136_1-6313439-1.html?tag=nl.e501

...and, yes, it is sad to think that I am mentioning something that was developed over 20 years ago as a "best" product. Guess I am that old...

with that I will sign off.

Cheers,

Bob

Changing Store Limits in Exchange 2003 SP2

How can I change the store limits in Exchange 2003 SP2?
http://www.petri.co.il/change_store_size_limits_ex2003_sp2.htm

I just came across this article this evening and wanted to share it. Apparently, according to what Daniel wrote, the 16GB limit in Exchange 2003 is upped to 18GB in Exchange 2003 SP2. Most of us know that one of the major improvements with Exchange 2003 SP2 is the ability for a mailbox store in Exchange 2003 standard to grow to 75GB instead of 16GB. In order to recieve the full functionality of 75GB, one will need to tinker with the system.

Obviously, this will result in other issues, such as organizations having to purchase larger tape drives and more tapes. However, the one thing they will not have to do is shell out $3400+ for Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition.

Moving Exchange Mailbox Stores ( Databases )

Before moving any Exchange Mailbox Stores, or Exchange databases, I suggest that you perform a good Exchange-aware backup. This ensures that the transaction logs are flushed AND you have a backup, should something go wrong.

Another frequent recommendation is the act of double-checking the NTFS permissions (security tab) on the directory where the files are currently located and the permissions on the folder to where the files are going to be moved.

Last, but not least... Make sure that you turn off your file-level anti-virus and make sure that you make the proper exclusions once the files are moved or prior to moving them.

Daniel Petri, an Exchange MVP, has a great site that has visual tutorials regarding moving your database and transaction logs.

How can I move Exchange Databases and Logs from one disk to another in Exchange 2000/2003?
http://www.petri.co.il/move_exchange_stores_to_a_different_disk.htm

Microsoft also has a KB article that touches on moving these databases and logs to another disk on the system.

XADM: How to Move Exchange Databases and Logs in Exchange 2000 Server
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257184

How to move Exchange databases and logs in Exchange Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821915

Techworld.com - Symantec patches simple-text password hole

Did you ever have one of those days where you wish you had access to old e-mails?

About 4 years ago, when working for a large IT security .com (which still exists) as a sysadmin, I discovered that the username and password for the Symantec system account was stored in clear text in the registry. It was subordinate of a LANDesk key, if memory serves me correctly. We brought this to Symantec's attention and they were surprised, but did not seem to be shocked. They did indicate that the problem would be addressed. I wish that I had the original e-mail.

Now it seems that they have moved from a registry to a text file...and someone found that little error. Now, hopefully, the problem has been completely resolved.

Symantec patches simple-text password hole
http://www.techworld.com/applications/news/index.cfm?NewsID=4342

Exchange Server 2003 Operations Guide

About once a week someone will inevitably ask the question about writing an Exchange 2003 Ops manual. Fortunately, Microsoft has done a lot of the footwork and presented it here:

Exchange Server 2003 Operations Guide


The high level list, which I try to recommend:
1) Backups...backups...backups
These are extremely important. The flush the transaction logs and they allow the online maintenance to recognize that a backup has been performed. You know, that while deleted item retention time thing. Actually, there are a LOT of maintenance tasks that are dependent upon the backups.

2) File Level Anti-Virus Exclusions
These are extremely important...find someone who had a problem caused because of a lack of exclusions.

3) Active Directory
Treat your directory servers just like you treat your Exchange Servers. They are not a forethought until they crash and you realize that most of the important config information and authentication information is stored in the directory.

4) Run the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer
The ExBPA is a great tool and can help you resolve issues related to Exchange before they happen. Does it have metrics for everything? No. It does, however, have metrics for about 95% of what an organization needs.
Recommendations would be to read the exclusions, last database backup times, etc.

5) Operations Checklist or Monitoring
Develop an Operations Checklist or guide and go through it daily.
or
Implement a monitoring tool, such as Microsoft Operations Manager.

XADM: Security Tab Not Available on All Objects in System Manager

I will write some nifty comments about the Security tab (Permissions tab) not showing, by default, for the Exchange Org (Exchange Organization). It's a simple setting and it needs to be made in HKey_Current_User (HKCU) and not HKey_Local_Machine (HKLM).

Until then...this is a good link:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/259221

Cheers,

Bob