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SBS2008

We have our new server commissioned and running.

Hardware Specs

• ASUS TS700-E4/RX8 Intel Core Xeon Server
• 2 x Intel Quad Core Xeon 5405 1.6GHz CPU
• ASUS Server Mainboard
• 32GB of ECC Fully Buffered DDRII RAM (4 x 8GB)
• 12 DIMM slots support Quad channel DDR2 533/667 FBD up to 48GB
• ASUS Pedestal Server Chassis with 730W Power Supply
• 2 x 300GB Seagate SAS Hard Drives
• 2 x 1TB Seagate Drives 24/7
• up to 8 hot-swap SAS or SATAII HDDs
• Onboard RAID 0, 1, 1E
• Hardware RAID 5 via optional ZCR RAID card
• 2 PCI-X 133/100 MHz (one support ZCR RAID card)
• 2 PCI-E x 8 slots
• 1 PCI-E x 16 (x8 link)
• ASUS 16x DVD-RW Drive
• Dual Intel Gigabit LAN
• ASUS ASWM 2.0 & Server Anti-virus License
• 3 Years Hardware Warranty
• Powerware 5110/1500VA UPS

We are running SBS2008 which works very nicely. We found that there is a dearth of how to’s out there on the web in relation to a number of specific configuration issues we came across but we seem to have solved most of them now. We did use Philip’s excellent SBS 2008 setup list as a starting point. We also found lots of good helpful stuff on his website. we were both doing similar migrations from SBS 2003. In our case we didn't use any migration tools but manually moved data and mail. I actually copied every users mail out of exchange into a PST file, and then re-imported them into the new box from the PST file. The main reason for this was to avoid bringing over corrupted profiles and other bits and pieces from the old server. The value of this paying off already with quick profile load times and no errors.

Here are some useful SBS2008 articles from Philip:

• SBS 2008 and the Self-Issued Certificate
• Signing Into the SharePoint Site Via the Windows 7 Favorite Link
• SBS 2008 – Hang On Before Installing WSS SP2
• With Windows 7 and SharePoint, Who Needs A VPN? And … It Network Drive Maps!

Windows 7 – Release Candidate

We are very impressed with this. Big improvement over the beta with much better driver support, more stable and the UI has been changed subtly. The biggest things are probably unseen to most users, but as noted in Philips articles above the connections to sharepoint and the server are much better than Vista.

Some news and links here:

• Make Media Center Black – how to – link for Astrotoy7’s Black Theme for Media Center
• Media Streaming with Windows 7

Office 2010 (Twenty-Ten)

• The Microsoft Office 2010 IT Blog – subscribe to this RSS feed

Other Stuff

• Windows Live Hotmail - Manage All Your Email Accounts From Hotmail – great for the gen Y email kiddies
• Free Backup Software - GFI Backup: Home Edition – its FREE!
• Ripple: Social Network Influencers – awesome charts and explanations
• Hunt for Dead Links – some great tools
• Mash it up Film Fest – Myspace and YouTube