Windows Small Business Server and Essential Business Server Documentation

Released: Windows EBS 2008 International Technical Libraries!

We're happy to announce the release of the following international technical libraries for Windows EBS 2008:

• Chinese (simplified)
• Chinese (traditional)
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Russian
• Spanish

Enjoy!

“This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.”

Content Upgrade: SBS 2008 Migration

Thinking about moving to the latest version of SBS? Our Microsoft PSS team just posted a great summary of the end-to-end SBS migration process:  

http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2009/02/19/sbs-2008-migrations-from-sbs-2003-keys-to-success.aspx 

Be sure to read the latest version of the Windows SBS 2008 Migration Guide before you begin the migration.

“This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.”

Are you in the know? Watch this screencast to discover how you can share your knowledge!

Sure. We're good at what we do. We love to help you learn about how our software works and how you can use it in your organization! But let's face it. We're great with the nuts and bolts, but you work with our systems every day! Most of you know more about the in's-and-out's, pro's-and-con's, and if's-and-then's of our software than we do -- because you live it!

So don't be shy! Share your knowledge!

The Microsoft technical libraries at the TechNet and MSDN Web sites include a feature called "Community Content" that allows you to contribute technical information. It's easy to use, and it's a fantastic way share what you know, help others, and strut your stuff a bit at the same time.

As a slight nudge of encouragement, we recently published a screencast that introduces you to the concept of Community Content, and walks you through the basics of how to use the feature.

So plan now to set aside 11 minutes of your busy day to view "Introducing the TechNet and MSDN Community Content Feature." You might just find it inspiring. We sure hope so!

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Observations from TechEd '09 - Tuesday

I knew it was going to be a good day. The drive in to downtown from my home office in nearby Burbank was smooth, and quick by L.A. standards. My friendly navigator (affectionately known as "Maggie") directed me right to the parking garage without a hitch, and there was virtually no one in front of me at the registration stand.

If you were there - I didn't see you. However, I did observe a throng of technical professionals as they moved from classroom to classroom, booth to booth, and kiosk to kiosk. I must admit that there doesn't seem to be quite as many attendees this year as there were a couple of years ago in Orlando, but I can say without a doubt that I feel the same full energy and passion from folks as they discover, research and demo a plethora of products and technologies from Microsoft and an abundance of partners and providers.

I spent most of my day yesterday slowly walking the Expo floor - twice. Like anyone, I lingered at booths and stations of key interest and meandered past those of little interest or for which I have limited technical knowledge. I don't know why, but I always feel a bit embarrassed about not being able to hold up my side of a conversation about a technology that might as well be quantum physics. But it's not like I was being assaulted by street vendors trying to hawk a knock-off. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE that I came in contact with (or meandered past) greeted me with a welcoming smile and invited me with words or gestures to check out their cool and sometimes ground-breaking offerings. Some personal favorites on the day include demos from TechSmith, KnowledgeLake, and ComponentOne. And it was sooooooo cool to sit down and play with Microsoft Surface. The potential in this technology is vast and exciting.

So what's the buzz this year? SharePoint, SharePoint, SharePoint! Mix in healthy doses of Win7, WinServer, and Server Virtualization, and you have the basic fixings’ for TechEd Pie!

I'm going for another recipe on Thursday. I'll let you know what I find.

-Steve Holland

This is one of the longest lines at the show. What are these attendees so excited about? 

Would you believe... Starbucks?

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

EBS Has a Community Corner

The talented SBS MVPs are making contributions to the SBS documentation in the Windows SBS MVP and Community Corner.

Now the EBS folks have the same opportunity in the newly opened EBS Community Corner. Interested? E-mail us at ebsdocfb@microsoft.com.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Tip: Using Site: Query Feature to Narrow Search Results

Scenario
You want to find information about Remote Web Workplace in SBS 2008. You use Google or Live Search and enter the search terms "remote web workplace" (in quotes). Lots of potentially useful links show up but you want the authoritative documentation from Microsoft. Here's a simple and easy way to narrow your search.

Search tip
In the Google or Live Search search box, enter: "remote web workplace" site:technet.microsoft.com

Using the site:<domain> query narrows your search to the specified domain and cuts out the clutter. Very useful!

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

It's time! Update that SBS 2000 server to SBS 2008. Here's how!

Have you been itching to update your SBS 2000 server to the latest and greatest SBS 2008, but afraid to scratch because you find the thought of migrating your data and settings to be intimidating? Well, fear no longer! We have just published a white paper by Microsoft Support Engineer Edwin Joseph that helps guide you through the steps necessary to complete the migration successfully. We know that you've been waiting for this for a while now and we're pleased to make it available at this time. A big thanks to Edwin for pitching in! 

You can access the paper from the MVP and Community Corner page in the SBS Technical Library. Or... you can download it right now!

Oh, and when you have the chance, check out Edwin's blog. Lots of tidbits in there about common support issues.

Cheers! 

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

New Documentation: Integrating Windows Small Business Server 2008 with Exchange Online

Are you curious about how you can take advantage of the online services that are provided by Microsoft? Exchange Online is one of the online services that Microsoft provides. Exchange Online uses the best practices that have been developed with customers and partners. Exchange Online guarantees a high level of availability, which enables you to reduce the workload on your IT staff so they can focus on projects that move your business forward.

To learn more about this exciting new technology, see the new solution paper titled Integrating Windows Small Business Server 2008 with Exchange Online.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Coming soon . . . Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Administrator's Companion!

Microsoft Press just announced their first book on Windows EBS:

Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Administrator's Companion, by J.C. Mackin and Charlie Russel

Publication date is May 13, 2009, so order your copy today, or check soon with your favorite bookseller. List price: $49.99.

According to the Press, "We decided to focus first on the many aspects of Windows EBS that are unique to the product — aspects such as planning for your Windows EBS network and using the Windows EBS Administration Console. In the remaining chapters, we provide an overview of the Windows EBS component technologies so that you can get started administering your network. As a result, Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Administrator’s Companion is an indispensable guide for Windows EBS deployment and administration, as well as a great introduction to this exciting new product if you are simply exploring it as a solution."

Sounds like super content to us, and we look forward to seeing more titles on EBS from MS Press and other publishers!

Meanwhile, be sure to visit the Windows EBS Technical Library for the latest (did we mention free-of-charge?) technical documentation about this server suite for midsize businesses.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Windows SBS 2008 and Microsoft ISA 2006!

This week we published another community-authored solution paper in our Windows SBS MVP and Community Corner (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239198.aspx). This week’s paper was contributed by Eriq Neale, SBS MVP. And as you might gather by the title of this post, the paper provides step-by-step instructions for setting up Windows SBS 2008 and Microsoft ISA 2006 together. Good stuff.

Eriq is a seasoned writer with loads of Windows SBS experience under his belt. Most recently, he authored “Windows Small Business Server 2008 Unleashed.”  It’s a great book—and we’re not ashamed to admit we learned a couple new tricks by reading it.

Enjoy!

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

What is Windows Server 2008 Foundation?

This week, Microsoft launched a new version of Windows Server 2008 that is designed to provide basic server functionality for small businesses with a maximum of 15 users. The launch of Windows Server 2008 Foundation helps serve Microsoft's goal to provide a Windows Server-based solution for every customer need, size and budget. We are pleased to say that the Windows Server Solutions Group at Microsoft (i.e. us, the folks who bring you Windows SBS, Windows EBS, and Windows Home Server) were key players in delivering this significant new server solution.

To help you understand how Windows Server 2008 Foundation differs from the other Windows Server 2008 editions, we just published the Windows Server 2008 Foundation Technical Library. The library includes the product overview, "Introduction to Windows Server 2008."

Check it out!

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

New Documentation: Extend Windows Essential Business Server with the Premium Edition

Have you wondered how the Windows Essential Business Server Premium Edition might help you? If you have identified a need for SQL Server 2008, or maybe you have line-of-business applications that you would like to run on a separate server, the Premium edition of Windows EBS might be the right solution for you.

To learn more about how the Premium edition can be used to extend the capabilities of Windows EBS, see the new solution paper titled Extend Windows Essential Business Server with the Premium Edition.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Check out our first community-authored solution paper!

Cue the applause - the very first document was published in the Windows SBS MVP and Community Corner last week!

Andrew Alaniz, a consultant for the Small and Medium Business (SMB) practice at CTS, provided us with a solution paper for backing up and recovering Windows SBS 2003 using Data Protection Manager 2007. We'll be publishing another paper very soon.

Interested in contributing your content? E-mail us at sbsdocfb@microsoft.com.

 This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Documentation Updates: Product Help and Migration Guide chm files

Hi everyone!

We have just published updates to the Windows SBS Product Help and Migration files that you can use to replace the versions currently installed on your server. These updates include more than forty documentation fixes that were submitted by users and testers since the product was released. You can download these updates and copy them to the c:\program files\windows small business server\bin directory of your Windows SBS 2008 server.

You can quickly access these files from the Downloadable Documentation page of the Windows SBS 2008 Technical Library or directly from the Microsoft Download Center at the following locations. 

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Product Help
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122144)

Windows Small Business Server 2008 Migration Help
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122143)

Keep the feedback coming. We're listening!

“This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.”

Released: Windows SBS 2008 International Technical Libraries!

We're happy to announce the release of the following Windows SBS 2008 international technical libraries:

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.