Microsoft makes available a list of “service description” documents related to Office 365. The list addresses everything from Exchange Online to Office Web Apps, from Apple Mac/IOS support to SharePoint Online.
Here is the link:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13602
With SharePoint 2007 and 2010, it’s becoming necessary to run the psconfig utility after installing SharePoint security updates, in addition to running it after installing SharePoint service packs.
I just worked on a SBS 2008 server where the companyweb site stopped working, and users were getting the infamous ‘The Web Page is not available’ error. I discovered that a security update (KB 2596911) had recently been installed.
So, from the FWIW Dept:
If companyweb doesn’t start right away, check these two things before panicking:
Finally, you may find that running psconfig does not fix things right away. In fact, I had to run the psconfig command twice before Companyweb would run on this particular server. Go figure!
The second annual Tampa I.T. Pro Camp is just two weeks away – Saturday September 22, 2012 from 8am to 5pm. There will be 30 sessions covering topics such as Power Shell, Sharepoint, Windows Server 2012, Hyper-V and more! It’s also a great time to talk with other I.T. people from the local area.
I’m honored to have been asked to be one of the presenters.
For more information, or to register (free!) – go to http://itprocamp.com/tampa/
Windows Server 2012 Essentials (W2012e), in many ways, gathers together some of the best features amongst the Windows Home Server (WHS), Windows Storage Server 2011 Essentials, and Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials products.
Those who have grown to love and use WHS over the years know that WHS is not a domain server, and thus there is no need to do a domain join of your workstations. You run the connector software and you’re done.
W2012e, on the other hand, is a domain server. And when you run the connector software from a workstation, your workstation is automatically domain joined to the server, which requires a reboot of the workstation, and then it proceeds through creating a new account on the workstation.
Not that that’s bad … domain-joined workstations can take full advantage of things such as group policy, domain credentials, and VPN.
But what are the options for the WHS users and sites that do not need or want to join workstations to the domain?
Microsoft has released instructions (click here) for a regedit change that will bypass the domain join requirements when deploying a workstation in a W2012e network. Please note that although these instructions were posted on the Microsoft Technet forum site, they should not be considered an “officially supported” setup.
To skip joining the domain during a client deployment
Microsoft’s Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) for SBS is an excellent way to identify potential issues that can affect server performance and reliability. Refer to my previous blog post on how to install BPA for SBS 2011 Standard and Essentials.
The BPA report may identify both errors and warnings.
Please keep in mind that some of the warnings are simply that – warnings – and that not every warning needs to be fixed. For example, back in June, Microsoft identified an invalid BPA warning that they posted with a recommendation to ignore the warning. The invalid warning is:
The /EWS virtual directories maxRequestLength doesn’t match the get-transportconfig MaxSendSize
Furthermore, if you attempt to implement the change recommended by this BPA warning, you will create other problems, such as problems when adding a new user (click here).
If you are an I.T. person, becoming familiar with Hyper-V is not an option (IMHO). Here are some screen shots of Windows Server 2012 Essentials (based on the Release Candidate version), running as a guest in a 2012 Hyper-V GUI environment — all on an 8GB HP MicroServer system! I will use W2012e to refer to the Windows Server 2012 Essentials platform.
#1 – 2012 Hyper-V Parent Metro Screen – note that after enabling the Hyper-V role, a Metro App is automatically added.
#2 Clicking on the icon starts up the 2012 Hyper-V Manager Window. Note that I have two guest sessions, Windows Server 2012 Essentials (W2012e), and a single Windows 8 client workstation.
#3 Double-clicking on the W2012e guest, will start up the W2012e session, and is ready for me to sign in. One trick to remember: don’t use Ctrl-Alt-Del from a guest session! Instead use Ctrl-Alt-End to logon.
#4 And after logging in,
#5 .. we will see the W2012e Metro-styled Start page. You will see that I’ve added the Dashboard to the main screen.
#6 Clicking on the Dashboard icon will bring up the W2012e Dashboard program, from where we can manage our server, adding users, configuring backups, installing SSL certificates, and more!
More posts to follow on the Windows Server 2012 Essentials product …
KB2596911 is a security update for Sharepoint 3.0. After installing it, you might find that you cannot access Companyweb.
Don’t fear … there are several different suggestions that you may need to try to resolve this issue:
First, try rebooting your server, even if KB2596911 does not require a reboot.
If that doesn’t fix the problem, then try running the Sharepoint Products and Technologies Wizard (Start –> Administrative Tools). If that completes successfully, recheck Companyweb – and hopefully it works! If so, you’re all done.
If that doesn’t fix your problem, then check out this blog from the SBS team that addresses some additional steps when encountering issues with updating Sharepoint on SBS:
The Microsoft’s Best Practice Analyzer for SBS is one of the first things you should install on any SBS server. For SBS 2011 Standard and SBS 2011 Essentials, this is an easy three step process (which is documented in detail here).
Step 1: First you need to download and install the Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0. To install this directly on the SBS server, be sure to select the 64 bit version of MBCA 2.0 (File: MBCA_Setup64.msi). Installation takes just a few seconds, literally.
Step 2: Next, download and install the Microsoft Windows SBS 2011 BPA 1.0 to your server (file: BPASetup.msi).
When you install the BPA you have two optional items you may wish to enable (which is the default) or disable:
Step 3: After you have done this, from the same page, download and install the BPA update (File: WSSG-KB2699813-X64-ENU.msp). Please note – when installing this update, you may be surprised o see that you are asked if you wish to Repair or Remove he BPA. Be sure to select “Repair”.
To start your first BPA scan, click Start –> Windows Server Solutions BPA –> Windows Server Solutions Best Practices Analyzer 1.0
It normally takes very little effort to order and install a GoDaddy SSL certificate on an SBS 2008/2011 server, thanks in part to the Install Certificate wizard that comes with SBS.
I had a situation with an existing UCC SSL cert from GoDaddy that needed a “Subject Alternative Name” (SAN) added. I wasn’t sure how to do it, but GoDaddy’s support desk was quick and responsive. It turns out the solution was easy, if you do it in the right order!
1. Run the SBS wizard to generate a new CSR request. Leave this screen up.
2. Login to the GoDaddy site, and drill down to the SSL cert in question, and select Manage, and then enter the additional SAN names required (in my case, it was autodiscover.xxx.com).
3. Then select the Re-Key option from Godaddy, and once the cert has been re-keyed (a matter of seconds), you can download the Cert zip file – with no waiting for a confirmation email!
4. Copy and unzip the Cert file on the server, and then complete the SBS Wizard.
With the UR3 update to the SBS 2011 Best Practices Analyzer, you may see a new warning:
The certificate for the Remote Desktop Gateway service seems to be bound incorrectly
Source: 432
This issue may cause users to not connect to Remote Web Workplace.
The resolution is to run the following commands from an administrator-level command prompt:
REG ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\HTTP\Parameters\SslBindingInfo\0.0.0.0:443 /v DefaultFlags /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
net stop tsgateway
net start tsgateway
To help you in this process, I have already put these commands into a file for you to use:
Rerun BPA and the warning message should no longer display.
For more information on this issue, its impact and resolution, please check out Microsoft’s KB 2472211 article.
EDIT: Fixed reference to net start tsgateway. Thanks, Alexander!