Small Business Server

Announcements

• How to Successfully Post a Question to SBS Forum:

  Russ Grover - SBITS.Biz Sunday, June 13, 2010 2:38 AM

  Here are a few suggestions that make it sure you get the best answer to your question as quickly as possible:
  
  1. Search the Forum for your question  -- Quite possibly  someone may have already answered your question, and you won't have to spend time waiting for it to be answered again.

  2. If Possible Run SBS Best Practices Analyzer. (It often can help you fix problems on your own.)
  
  SBS2011 Best Practices Analyzer Standard download from Here Link http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=15556
  Note In addition for SBS2011 you'll also need to download Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0 Here Link http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=16475  
  
  SBS2008 Best Practices Analyzer Download from Here Link http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=130639
  
  SBS2003 Best Practices Analyzer Download from Here Link http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=3874527A-DE19-49BB-800F-352F3B6F2922&displaylang=en

  3. Make sure your posting Subject or  "title" summarizes the specific problem you have -- 
  A question with a title of "Urgent! Help needed!" is not as likely to get
  answered as quickly a question with a title of "How to configure my firewall to open port 80". 
  A more specific, detailed title is far more likely to get a better response than a general one.

  4. Post what version of SBS you have. and service Packs, This helps people know where you are at.
  We can tell what version of Exchange you are using etc and sharepoint. (If different please tell.)
  (Not all details are necessary, but try to include any relevant information.)

  5. Avoid if possible "Me Too" Posts!  I'm guilty of this also, but unless it's exactly the same thing and you have some "Added information" you distract from the original post.  If you question if your issue is different Please make a new post. 

  6. Keep with the same thread. do not refer to a post you made last year, and above all, Please come back. There are hundreds and thousands of posts where I've seen people given great and wonderfully long answers yet no reply from the original poster.
  
  7. If you do post a question, be courteous to reply even if it's to say. "I've given up" or thanks that worked.
  (This helps the whole community when you do this, and makes the people who donate time, warm and fuzzies.)

  8. Give details about your problem --  rather than " It won't work, please  help!", provide some details like Error Codes, statements like, "Program starts, it gets to a part to install xxx and 2/3rds of the way and then does this.",  Links to Screen Shots and images also help.  Also search for any error
  messages in logs etc.  Other basic things like it was working before I did this, or it stopped working after I installed this. also helps.

  9. Give Positive FeedBack: Once you've received a correct answer to your question, either from a Microsoft employee, an MVP, or the community in general, please reply that the issue or question  has been answered. And if possible mark the solution as answered:  This step is important, since it lets other people benefit from your posts.
  
  In addition Please Vote as "helpful" replies that contribute to the answer or lead to resolution of the issue. 

  Reminder most answers are from volunteers. MVP's do not get paid by Microsoft.
  Many of them have REAL jobs and answer questions for FREE!
  
  Thank You and I hope you take the pay it forward philosophy that has made this forum a success.
  
  Russ Grover  SBSMVP July 2009 - July 2011

   

   

• How to use your own NNTP News Reader instead of the web, to access SBS Forum:

  Russ Grover - SBITS.Biz Sunday, June 13, 2010 2:49 AM

  For any of you struggling with the Web interface, and
  users who prefer to use an NNTP (newsgroup) reader to participate in the
  newsgroups community.

  Microsoft has developed a solution called the NNTP Bridge
  which allows a user to connect a variety of supported NNTP readers to the
  forums they would like to participate in and continue having the NTTP reader
  functionality.  You can find instructions on how to download and set up the
  
  Microsoft NNTP Bridge
  http://connect.microsoft.com/MicrosoftForums

  
  Another "Non Microsoft" supported NNTP Bridge can be found here
  http://communitybridge.codeplex.com/

  This SBS Forum is group: Technet.en-US.smallbusinessserver

  Note: The drawback to using these NNTP Bridges are that you are not able to VOTE posts as Helpfull or mark your post as Answered.
  (We still urge you to reply to if the solution worked for  you however, this benefits everyone.)

• SBS Best Practices Analyzer

  Kevin Weilbacher [SBS MVP]MVPMonday, June 21, 2010 12:25 PM

  In troubleshooting SBS issues, we will often ask whether you have run the SBS (2003/2008) Best Practices Analyzer (BPA).

  BPA examines a server that is running Windows Small Business Server and then presents a list of information and errors, which are sorted by severity, that you should review. The list describes each issue, and it provides a recommendation about what you should do to resolve the issue. The recommendations are developed by the product support organization for Windows SBS.

  Download SBS 2003 BPA

  Download SBS 2008 BPA

   

  Edit by Nick Whittome 04/09/2011
  For SBS 2011, there is a requirement to install

  the Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer 2.0 and then the Windows Server Solutions Best Practices Analyzer 1.0