Announcement: 462

MDOP Asset Inventory Service - Announcements announcements

  • Link
    Important information About Your AIS Agent Installation Package
    Paul Bourgeau

    Overview

    =======

    Every Asset Inventory Service (AIS) agent installation package contains a certificate that identifies the account of the AIS subscriber. This certificate is used to ensure that inventory reported by an agent is associated with the correct account when it is received at the AIS web service.

    This certificate has a lifetime of 3 years. After this time, the installation package cannot be used to successfully enroll new agents, although existing agents will continue to function just fine. A notification will be displayed in the console for those accounts that are approaching the 3 year threshold (approximately 60 days before the certificate expires). The systems administrator of the AIS account should then download their new agent installation package which is available from the normal download page in the AIS console.

    The AIS service supports multiple agent installation packages per account. This means that the original package and the new package can both be used to install new agents. This allows a transition period where an organization can change their procedures to use the new installation package. Eventually, however, the certificate in the original installation package will expire, after which time only the new package should be used.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    =======================

    What do I do if I see the following announcement on my home page:

    “Your original AIS agent installation package expires on <expiry date>. Please download your new agent installation package and use it for all future installations. [Computers that had the original agent installation package installed before <expiry date> do not have to be updated.]”

    This means that your original agent installation package is going to expire soon, and you need to download a new one and use that for agent installations. The message will typically be shown 60 days before the package expires. You can continue using the original installation package until the date in the announcement but it is recommended that you start using the new one as soon as possible.

    When I go to the client deployment area, there’s no option to download a new installation package

    If you see the expiry announcement on the home page, the service will have generated a new installation package for your account. You download it the same way you downloaded the original package by visiting the Client Deployment area of the Management and Support workspace and click on the link that says “Download Client Here”. You can verify that you have downloaded the latest package by viewing the properties of downloaded file as follows:

    ·         Select the file and display the property page

    ·         Select the Digital Signatures Tab and view Signature List

    ·         Locate “Microsoft Corporation” in the list and double-click it

    ·         The Signing Time on the displayed property page should be Nov 2010.

    What happens if I carry on using the original installation package?

    If the announcement is shown on the home page and you continue to use the original installation package after the date shown in the message, you will not be able to successfully enroll agents into the AIS service. The installation will be successful, but when the agent attempts to enroll in the service, it will be rejected. The only way to correct this situation is to download the new installation package from the service and install that on the affected machines. [see below: How do I correct a failed installation?]

    What do I do if I see the following announcement on my home page?

    “Your original AIS agent installation package expired on <expiry date>. Please download your new agent installation package and use it for all future installations. [Computers that had the original agent installation package installed before <expiry date> do not have to be updated.]”

    This means that your original agent installation package has expired. If you obtained a new installation package and phased out using the old package before the date of expiry, then you have no further actions. If, however, you have been attempting to deploy agents using your original agent installation package then you need to take the following action:

    -          Stop using the original installation package

    -          Download a new agent installation package from the AIS console by visiting the Client Deployment area of the Management and Support workspace and click on the link that says “Download Client Here”

    -          Start using the new installation package for all future installations

    -          Identify the machines where an attempt was made to install the AIS agent with the expired installation package.

    o   These will be machines where the agent was recently installed, but are not displayed in the console.

    o   For these machines, re-run the install with the new package [see below: How do I correct a failed installation?]

    How do I correct a failed installation?

    If you identify a machine where an attempt was made to install an AIS agent, but the enrollment failed because the agent installation package had expired, proceed as follows:

    -          Option #1

    o   Uninstall the AIS agent

    §   Asset Inventory Service Tips and Troubleshooting

    ·         Tip: How to remove the AIS client software

    o   Run the installation using the new agent installation package

     

    -          Option #2

    o   Run the installation using the following MSI flags: REINSTALLMODE=vomus

    §  For example:  msiexec /I  <path to new .msi file> REINSTALLMODE=vomus

    Note: if you simply run the new agent install on the failed machine (without following either of these options) it will not successfully update the agent configuration and enroll with the service.

    How do I know when my agent installation package will expire?

    The following steps describe how to determine when an agent installation package was signed. If the current date is less than 3 years from this date, the package can still be used to install and enroll an agent :

    ·         Locate the agent installation package

    ·         Select the installation package file and display the property page

    ·         Select the Digital Signatures Tab and view Signature List

    ·         Locate “Microsoft Corporation” in the list and double-click it

    ·         If the Signing Time on the displayed property page is less than 3 years ago, then the package can still be used to install and enroll an agent.

    Why does the certificate in the agent installation package expire after 3 years?

    Certificates have an expiry date to reduce the time period available to an attacker. Three years was adopted as a reasonable balance between renewing the agent installation packages and providing acceptable security for user accounts.

     

Power View announcements

  • Link
    Welcome to the Power View Forum!
    Sandy Rivas

    We are happy to announce that Power View for Office / Office 365 has it's own forum!  Power View allows you to analyze and create stunning interactive visualizations that uncover hidden insights to share and collaborate from anywhere, on any device!  As you do that - you may have questions / feedback / tips to share.  Please utilize this forum to share/gain knowledge and expertise in Power View.

    We look forward to hearing how you are using Power View and what challenges and suggestions you may have. The more you share, the more the forum can help you get the most out of Power View now and you can influence the next version!

    The Power View Team

Forums Redesign - Q&A / Discussions announcements

  • Link
    How to share your feedback on the new design
    Bryant Hawthorne - MSFT

    Thank you everyone who has provided feedback into this forum so far. We appreciate the feedback and are actively prioritizing it accordingly. We are monitoring the suggestions and bugs and are currently working to make improvements based on feedback that has already been provided.

    In order to help us make further improvements to this new design, please take the following action:

    • If you have a suggestion for the redesigned Forums please post these to Suggestions and Feedback for the Forums. Please limit one suggestion per post and we encourage users to vote up suggestions to bring attention to the Forums team.
    • If you encounter bugs please continue to post bugs in the Forums Issues forum.
    • If you have additional questions or comments about the redesign, this forum is the place to post.

    Again, thank you for your feedback and know that your voice is being heard.

App-V General Sequencing announcements

  • Link
    How to ask a question efficiently in the TechNet forums
    Aaron.Parker
    Thank you for posting in TechNet forum. Online problem solving can be relatively time consuming because it may demand several messages back and force to fully understand the symptom and background, especially at the very beginning. Here are a few suggestions that can help you get the best answer to your question as quickly as possible.
     
    When You Ask
    1. Selecting a good title which summarizes the specific problem you have. It will be the one of the main driving forces for others to want to actually read your item. Choosing a badly-formatted title will drive people away, thinking that since the title is so badly written, so must be the information and the question within the thread.
    2. Provide all the necessary information in your initial post. The following information would be very helpful:
    - Symptom description: Detailed description of the problem. If you receive any error messages, please let us know the exact error WORD BY WORD.
    - Environment: The system environment, such as your OS/application version, your network topology, and your domain environment, etc.
    - Any recent relevant configuration change(s): If the issue started to occur after installing any application/updates or changing the configuration, please let us know.
    - Any additional information. Tell what you have done prior to asking your question. This will help us understand that you've done so far.
    3. Write in a clear language. Avoiding spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Don't type IN ALL CAPS, which in most cases is read as shouting and considered rude.
    4. Keep within 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 we have seen people given great and wonderfully long answers yet no reply from the original poster.
    5. 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 gives the people who donate their time, warm and fuzzies.)
     
    When answered
    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, pleases replies 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.
    Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Learning Manager Bugs and Feedback announcements

  • Link
    Please read before posting questions to this forum.
    FJ2008
    Dear Forum User:

    This forum is dedicated only to customers who are using Microsoft E-Learning products. So please post questions only which are related to Microsoft E-Learning Products/issues/information request only.
    Thanks,
    Sidharth lala
  • Link
    Report a Learning Manager Bug
    Alicia Cales

    Did you find a Bug in Learning Manager? Log it here!

    In your post, please include:

    • Course name or number of where the issue is occurring with
    • URL where you are experiencing the problem/issue
    • Detailed reproduction steps of what you did in order to get the problem/problem. If there is an error message, please obtain a copy of the error message.



Surface Hardware Units announcements

App-V Server and Management announcements

  • Link
    The Great App-V Survey Project
    Tim Mangan

    I am asking for some help here in filling our an anonumous survey about App-V usage.

    Traditionally, Microsoft is the only one that has any information regarding App-V usage out there, and basically Microsoft doesn't share that info (unless someone is bragging).  So I am trying to gather some information to share with the community using an un-scientific survey.  The survey is very short (10 questions), and does not ask you to identify yourself or your company.  You can see all of the questions before you even start.  It is just some basic questions to "get a feel" for what people are doing. 

    Let me be clear that this is not a Microsoft santioned survery and they have nothing to do with it.  My company is requesting this information and will only use it to provide information back to the technical community. Any information gathered will only be used in aggregate form.

    Please fill out the survey at this link: http://www.tmurgent.com/AppVSurvey.aspx

    Thank You!

    Tim Mangan

  • Link
    How to ask a question efficiently in the TechNet forums
    Aaron.Parker
    Thank you for posting in TechNet forum. Online problem solving can be relatively time consuming because it may demand several messages back and force to fully understand the symptom and background, especially at the very beginning. Here are a few suggestions that can help you get the best answer to your question as quickly as possible.
     
    When You Ask
    1. Selecting a good title which summarizes the specific problem you have. It will be the one of the main driving forces for others to want to actually read your item. Choosing a badly-formatted title will drive people away, thinking that since the title is so badly written, so must be the information and the question within the thread.
    2. Provide all the necessary information in your initial post. The following information would be very helpful:
    - Symptom description: Detailed description of the problem. If you receive any error messages, please let us know the exact error WORD BY WORD.
    - Environment: The system environment, such as your OS/application version, your network topology, and your domain environment, etc.
    - Any recent relevant configuration change(s): If the issue started to occur after installing any application/updates or changing the configuration, please let us know.
    - Any additional information. Tell what you have done prior to asking your question. This will help us understand that you've done so far.
    3. Write in a clear language. Avoiding spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Don't type IN ALL CAPS, which in most cases is read as shouting and considered rude.
    4. Keep within 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 we have seen people given great and wonderfully long answers yet no reply from the original poster.
    5. 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 gives the people who donate their time, warm and fuzzies.)
     
    When answered
    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, pleases replies 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.
    Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Windows Vista IE announcements

Surface Applications announcements

App-V Clients announcements

  • Link
    How to ask a question efficiently in the TechNet forums
    Aaron.Parker
    Thank you for posting in TechNet forum. Online problem solving can be relatively time consuming because it may demand several messages back and force to fully understand the symptom and background, especially at the very beginning. Here are a few suggestions that can help you get the best answer to your question as quickly as possible.
     
    When You Ask
    1. Selecting a good title which summarizes the specific problem you have. It will be the one of the main driving forces for others to want to actually read your item. Choosing a badly-formatted title will drive people away, thinking that since the title is so badly written, so must be the information and the question within the thread.
    2. Provide all the necessary information in your initial post. The following information would be very helpful:
    - Symptom description: Detailed description of the problem. If you receive any error messages, please let us know the exact error WORD BY WORD.
    - Environment: The system environment, such as your OS/application version, your network topology, and your domain environment, etc.
    - Any recent relevant configuration change(s): If the issue started to occur after installing any application/updates or changing the configuration, please let us know.
    - Any additional information. Tell what you have done prior to asking your question. This will help us understand that you've done so far.
    3. Write in a clear language. Avoiding spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Don't type IN ALL CAPS, which in most cases is read as shouting and considered rude.
    4. Keep within 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 we have seen people given great and wonderfully long answers yet no reply from the original poster.
    5. 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 gives the people who donate their time, warm and fuzzies.)
     
    When answered
    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, pleases replies 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.
    Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

App-V Documentation announcements

  • Link
    How to ask a question efficiently in the TechNet forums
    Aaron.Parker
    Thank you for posting in TechNet forum. Online problem solving can be relatively time consuming because it may demand several messages back and force to fully understand the symptom and background, especially at the very beginning. Here are a few suggestions that can help you get the best answer to your question as quickly as possible.
     
    When You Ask
    1. Selecting a good title which summarizes the specific problem you have. It will be the one of the main driving forces for others to want to actually read your item. Choosing a badly-formatted title will drive people away, thinking that since the title is so badly written, so must be the information and the question within the thread.
    2. Provide all the necessary information in your initial post. The following information would be very helpful:
    - Symptom description: Detailed description of the problem. If you receive any error messages, please let us know the exact error WORD BY WORD.
    - Environment: The system environment, such as your OS/application version, your network topology, and your domain environment, etc.
    - Any recent relevant configuration change(s): If the issue started to occur after installing any application/updates or changing the configuration, please let us know.
    - Any additional information. Tell what you have done prior to asking your question. This will help us understand that you've done so far.
    3. Write in a clear language. Avoiding spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Don't type IN ALL CAPS, which in most cases is read as shouting and considered rude.
    4. Keep within 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 we have seen people given great and wonderfully long answers yet no reply from the original poster.
    5. 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 gives the people who donate their time, warm and fuzzies.)
     
    When answered
    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, pleases replies 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.
    Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

App-V Add-ons announcements

  • Link
    How to ask a question efficiently in the TechNet forums
    Aaron.Parker
    Thank you for posting in TechNet forum. Online problem solving can be relatively time consuming because it may demand several messages back and force to fully understand the symptom and background, especially at the very beginning. Here are a few suggestions that can help you get the best answer to your question as quickly as possible.
     
    When You Ask
    1. Selecting a good title which summarizes the specific problem you have. It will be the one of the main driving forces for others to want to actually read your item. Choosing a badly-formatted title will drive people away, thinking that since the title is so badly written, so must be the information and the question within the thread.
    2. Provide all the necessary information in your initial post. The following information would be very helpful:
    - Symptom description: Detailed description of the problem. If you receive any error messages, please let us know the exact error WORD BY WORD.
    - Environment: The system environment, such as your OS/application version, your network topology, and your domain environment, etc.
    - Any recent relevant configuration change(s): If the issue started to occur after installing any application/updates or changing the configuration, please let us know.
    - Any additional information. Tell what you have done prior to asking your question. This will help us understand that you've done so far.
    3. Write in a clear language. Avoiding spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Don't type IN ALL CAPS, which in most cases is read as shouting and considered rude.
    4. Keep within 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 we have seen people given great and wonderfully long answers yet no reply from the original poster.
    5. 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 gives the people who donate their time, warm and fuzzies.)
     
    When answered
    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, pleases replies 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.
    Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.
  • Link
    Welcome to the AppV Add-Ons forum
    Cholione

    Hello and welcome to the Application Virtualization Add-Ons forum

     

    This forum provides you an avenue where you can share knowledge, get questions answered, and learn from others with IT environments similar to yours who use the Resource Kit tools and other Add-ons to get the most out of their AppV deployments.

     

    If you have any suggestions or feedback to the AppV product Add-ons like the resource kit tools, ADM template and so on, please feel free to post in this forum.

Power BI Dashboard Preview announcements

Azure Active Directory announcements

  • Link
    AADSync is available as a customer technology preview (CTP)
    Markus Vilcinskas

    For more details, click here.

    Cheers,
    Markus

  • Link
    Introduction to the Wiki Toolbox
    Markus Vilcinskas

    Link

    Cheers,
    Markus

  • Link
    Who should use this Windows Azure AD forum?
    Nick Pierson [MSFT]

    This Windows Azure Active Directory (Windows Azure AD) TechNet forum is intended to provide community support for IT Professionals who use the Windows Azure AD Portal or that manage and/or troubleshoot identity-related issues with any of the following Microsoft cloud services:

    • Office 365
    • Windows Azure
    • Windows Intune

    Members from the Windows Azure AD team will occasionally monitor this forum to help answer questions. However, participation by identity MVPs and other IT Pro community members is strongly encouraged to provide quick replies to those who need answers.

    If you are a Developer looking for support related to Windows Azure AD, please use the Windows Azure AD MSDN forum instead.

    Thanks!

    Nick Pierson

    Windows Azure AD - Senior Writer

    Looking for Windows Azure AD content but not sure where to start? Check out the new Windows Azure AD Content Map wiki page to find helpful links to Azure AD content that may reside anywhere on the Internet. Please contribute to this page and add links!



SQL Server 2012 Setup and Installation (Pre-Release) announcements

SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot for Excel (Pre-Release) announcements

SQL Server 2012 Integration Services (Pre-Release) announcements

Windows 7 Optimized Desktop Deployment Proof of Concept announcements

  • Link
    PoC 2.0 released
    Anthony_Mann

    The Desktop POC Kit v2.0 is a customer focused offering available as free download via the Microsoft download center (http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9728107). The kit enables customers to drive an accelerated desktop deployment by providing a ready to run deployment server with the full suite of Microsoft desktop deployment tools installed and ready to use.

    The Desktop POC Kit v2.0 provides enhancements and new products to the POC kit. This version of the POC kit introduces 2 new technical modules. These new modules are “Managing Desktop Policies” which features the Security Compliance Manager tool and product security baselines to drive rapid implementation of Microsoft recommended group policy settings. The other new module is the “Zero Touch Deployment” module which features deployment using the zero touch deployment method using System Center Configuration Manager.

    The updated version of the POC also brings additional products to the deployed desktops. The following products are now included in the POC kit:

    ·         Visio Premium 2010

    ·         Forefront

    ·         Project Professional 2010

    The kit provides new features increasing the value of the kit. These features include:

    ·         Visio deployment dashboard – single view of all deployment tools and deployment progress

    ·         Office 365 Readiness – the deployed image requires the required elements to prepare the deployed desktop for connection to the Office 365 beta services

    ·         Expanded image build & customization

    The existing Desktop POC v2 content has been updated to provide increased understanding of the deployment process. This includes improvements in the technical execution guidance providing deeper explanations and providing improved explanations of why the actions are required. The technical tools are also updated to the latest available versions.

    The following recaps what is delivered on the POC deployment server:

    ·         Assessment/Compat Tools

    o   Microsoft Assessment & Planning Toolkit 5.5

    o   Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.6

    o   Office Migration Planning Manager 2010 Update 1 Beta

    o   Office Environment Assessment Tool 2010 Update 1 Beta

    o   Office Compatibility Code Inspector 2010 Update 1 Beta

    ·         Image Build

    o    Security Compliance Manager

    o   Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 Update 1

    o   Office Customization Tool & Config.xml

    ·         Image Deployment

    o   Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 Update 1

    o   System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3

    ·         Supporting products

    o   Windows Server 2008 R2

    o   SQL Server 2008 R2

    o   Forefront Server

    o   Microsoft Office 2010

    o   Visio Premium 2010

    o   Custom Visio deployment dashboard

    ·         The Desktop POC provides and is ready to the deploy the following components to connected clients in the POC environment

    ·         Windows 7 Enterprise

    o   Language Packs

    o   Custom drivers

    ·         Office Pro Plus 2010

    o   Customized feature installation

    o   Custom help solution template

    o   Customized ribbon

    o   Office 365 required updates

    ·         App-V 4.6

    o   Office 2010 sequenced package

    o   DSC Office Add-ins: PowerPivot

    ·         Visio Premium 2010

    o   Deployment dashboard

    ·         Project Professional 2010

    ·         Forefront client security

    ·         Microsoft Online Services Sign-in Assistant (365 Readiness)

    ·         Silverlight

    ·         Office 2010 Interactive Ribbon guide: Word

    ·         Office Excel Add-in: PowerPivot

    The Desktop POC v2 delivers enhanced technical guidance divided into 14 technical modules. These modules include:

    1.  Setup Guide

    2.  Benefits of an Optimized Desktop

    3.  Justify the Upgrade

    4.  Evaluate Hardware Readiness

    5.  Windows Compat

    6.  Office Compat

    7.  Application Virtualization

    8.  Manage Desktop Policies

    9.  Image Build

    10.  Deploy: Lite Touch

    11.  Deploy: Zero Touch

    12.  Test Windows

    13.  Test Office

    14.  Next Steps

Service Pack 1 RC for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 announcements

  • Link
    This forum is now read-only
    Anthony_Mann
    Now that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 has been released, this forum is now marked read-only. This enables users to search, but not post. If you have any questions, please ask your questions in the other Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 forums.

SQL Server 2012 High Availability and Disaster Recovery (Pre-Release) announcements

SQL Server 2012 Spatial (Pre-Release) announcements

SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services (Pre-Release) announcements

SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot for SharePoint (Pre-Release) announcements

SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services (Pre-Release) announcements

SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services (Pre-Release) announcements

Read Only - Forefront Threat Management Gateway announcements

Windows Server 2008 R2 General - Read Only announcements

Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services - Read Only announcements

Windows Server 2008 R2 Networking - Read Only announcements

Windows Server 2008 R2 Management - Read Only announcements

Windows Server 2008 R2 Web Technologies - Read Only announcements

Live Meeting - Rollout/Deployment Programs announcements

  • Link
    Welcome to Office Live Meeting Forums
    IrfanS - msft

    Welcome to Office Live Meeting forums.   This is home to comprehensive set of forums designed to cover various aspects of Microsoft Office Live Meeting. I am starting with few forums but will be adding some more as we go along. 

    Detailed technical topics should be posted into their respective forums if one is available. Other post can be done in the General section.  Please note however, it is important for a topic to be posted to the correct forum because different groups e.g. Support and Product Group teams and MVPs monitor different forums.  As moderators review the posts they may also move posts to another topic area per relevance.  Our ultimate goal here is to provide a useful response to every question within a reasonable amount of time.  We are targeting 2-3 business days, however being new initiative we are ramping up, so please bear with us on delays.

    Please also consider the following :

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

    These forums are not an official channel for product support. If you have an urgent or business critical issue, you should contact Microsoft Support Services

    Live Meeting Support for Technical and Billing Issues:
           Web Ticket: http://www.livemeeting.com/ask  

    Phone 1-866-493-2835 toll free (US and Canada Only) or refer to  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/939099/en-us  for additional support options.

     

    While much thought and planning was put into the creation of the forums, there is always room for improvement. I encourage you to please post your ideas and feedback in "General Discussion" forum or email them directly to me Irfan.Soomro@microsoft.com.

    Thank you for being a part of the Live Meeting community.

    Irfan Soomro
    Senior Program Manager

    Microsoft Office Live Meeting

Opalis v5 / v6 General announcements

AVICode 5.7 announcements

Microsoft Office 2010 Volume Activation (to be retired) announcements

  • Link
    Welcome to the Volume Activation forum!
    Ted Way

    This forum is for questions, feedback, or anything else related to volume activation for Microsoft Office 2010.  Volume products include the Office 2010 Professional Plus suite, and the volume editions of Microsoft Project and Microsoft Visio.

    Please visit the Office 2010 volume activation resource center:

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ee691939.aspx

    If you have any questions, please feel free to post!

    Ted Way [MSFT]
    Program Manager, Microsoft Office PLEX
    Enterprise Licensing, Group Policy, and 64-bit Office

Active Directory Federation Services announcements

Opalis v4 General announcements

Opalis Quick Integration Kit announcements

Opalis Integrations announcements

Security announcements

SQL Server PowerPivot for SharePoint announcements

Hybrid Auditing announcements

Networking announcements

Virtual Machine Manager (VMware) announcements

Azure Storage announcements

  • Link
    Azure Ultra disks GA
    DiegoRamirez-MSFT

    With general availability of Microsoft Azure Ultra Disks Storage today, we are delivering the next generation of our highly performant Azure Managed Disk, for data intensive workloads migrating to or running in the cloud. Azure Ultra Disk will help you get maximum extremely scalable performance and sub-millisecond latency for applications and databases like SAP HANA, Microsoft SQL Server, MongoDB, Cassandra, Oracle DB, Postgre SQL, NoSQL, MySQL and many more.

    Azure Ultra Disks will give you access to the best in class IOPS, throughput and latency in the cloud. You can now:

    • Choose from a range of different disks sizes ranging from 4 GiB up to 64 TiB with granular increments
    • Scale performance up to 160K IOPS and 2 GB/s per disk with zero downtime using our flexible innovative design
    • Achieve the optimal performance you need per disk even at low storage capacities 

    Our preview customers have benefited by achieving new levels of performance and scale on Azure for their Virtual Machine and Container workloads. Get started today with Azure Ultra Disk Storage.  Please refer to our how-to-guidefor a deep dive and learn more at https://aka.ms/UltraDiskBlog.


  • Link
    Archived Windows Azure Storage Forum Content
    Brad Calder

    When the forums moved into specialized areas, the original forum content for Windows Azure was left archived at this link:

     

    http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-GB/windowsazure/

     

     

  • Link
    Windows Azure Storage Team Blog
    Brad Calder

    Please see the Windows Azure Storage Team Blog for more information on Windows Azure Storage

     

    http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazurestorage/

     

Cloud Services (Web and Worker Roles) announcements

Windows Multipoint Server announcements

  • Link
    Forum closed
    Sandra Aldana - MSFT
    This forum is now closed. Thank you for your participation.
  • Link
    What to do when Dashboard cannot be used in WS 2016?
    Eva Seydl

    If you are running into an issue where the WMS Dashboard is in an unusable state the security certificate might be expired which the Dashboard needs to connect to the webservice on the Server. Please use the following steps to identify if you are running into the same issue and apply the solution provided in this article: 

    1. Run "c:\Program Files\Windows MultiPoint Server\LogCollector.exe".  Click "Collect Data" and then "View Logs" in MultiPoint Log Collector 
    2. "View Logs" will open a folder with some zip files.  Open the latest zip file, and then open "Microsoft-Windows-WMS-Trace.csv" from inside the zip file (use notepad)
    3. Search for SecurityNegotiationException in the logs.

     

    If you see this error to run the following command in PowerShell as administrator:

    net stop wms; $hostname = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_ComputerSystem -Property Name).Name; Get-ChildItem -Path 'Cert:\localmachine\MultiPoint Services Certificates\' | ForEach-Object {if ($_.Subject -like ('*'+$hostname+'*')) {Write-Host ('Removing '+$_.Thumbprint); Remove-Item -Path ('Cert:\localmachine\MultiPoint Services Certificates\'+$_.Thumbprint)}}; net start wms

    The certificate can also be manually deleted but the process to do that is complex, so either way should work.

    If you want to try to manually remove the certificate, follow these steps:

    1. You will need your local host name.  If you don't know that, you can run the command "hostname" from a command prompt and it will tell you the computer's host name.
    2. From a command prompt run “Net stop wms”.  You will need to be running in an elevated command prompt as an administrator.
    3. From a command prompt run “mmc.exe”.  You will also need to be running in an elevated command prompt as an administrator.
    4. CTRL+M to add a new snap-in
    5. From the list of available snap-ins on the left, choose certificates, then add it to the list.  There will be a popup dialog.  Choose computer account from the three options, then choose local computer
    6. Find “MultiPoint Services Certificates” in the list of  certificates for the local computer.  Delete all the certificates where “Issued By” is the local host name.
    7. Now run “net start wms”.  When the MultiPoint service starts, it will create a new certificate for you.  This should fix the problem.

    An update is work in progress and will be shipped in one of the upcoming releases.

  • Link
    Testdrive MultiPoint Services Role as part of Windows Server 2016
    Eva Seydl

    Download the latest technical preview for Windows Server 2016 and test-drive Multipoint Services role: https://aka.ms/ws2016-eval 

    If you are running into issues let us know here on the TechNet forum.

    Are you missing features? Let us know on UserVoice: aka.ms/uservoice-wms

Streaming Media Services announcements

Microsoft Online: Announcements announcements

MDOP Asset Inventory Service - General Discussion announcements

  • Link
    AIS Discussion Forums - Important Notice
    Paul Bourgeau
     

    Welcome to The Asset Inventory Service technical forums, brought to you by the System Center Online team!

    These forums are a venue for you to post questions, comments, and feedback about your experiences with the Asset Inventory Service.  The goal of these forums is to promote discussion among users of AIS, and foster a community of AIS users.

    Before posting a technical question, be sure to review our technical documentation and troubleshooting guides. They contain important information that may help you resolve your issue.  If you don’t find the information you need in the documentation, please post your issue. It is easier for us to give correct guidance if your log files are included.

    The log collection tool is used to gather the following information:

    ·         SCOnlineClient.log from %Windir%

    ·         System Event Logs

    ·         System Center Online Registry Settings

    ·         System Center Online Scheduled Tasks

     

    To run the log collector tool, navigate via command line to c:\program files\Microsoft System Center Online Client\Diagnostic Tools and run "cscript logcollector.vbs"

    After the Log Collection Tool script is complete, the resulting set of files is located in the same directory.

     

    Please note: The log collector files may contain personally identifiable information.  You may choose to review the contents of these files and alter them file to hide any information before posting it in these forums.

     

    We welcome your input and participation!

Systems Management Server 2003 announcements

  • Link
    Welcome to the SMS 2003 Forum!
    Wally (no longer at Microsoft)

    Welcome to the SMS 2003 forum. As you have heard, Microsoft is moving from the public newsgroups to forums. This is the one location for you to ask questions on SMS 2003.

    Please do not ask questions on Configuration Manager here (there are other forums specifically for Configuration Manager at: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/configurationmanager/). And please don't ask SMS 2003 questions on the Configuration Manager forums :-)

    There will be community presence here to help you with your questions on SMS 2003, however, be aware, that just like in the newsgroups, responses/answers are never guaranteed. You may need to go to Customer Support Services (CSS) to have questions resolved. We'll do our best to help here when possible.

    Thanks, and enjoy,

    Wally

Configuration Manager (Current Branch) – Mobile Device Management announcements

Configuration Manager Servicing announcements

  • Link
    Cumulative Update 1 Now Available
    Brian Huneycutt [MSFT]

    We are pleased to announce that Cumulative Update 1 for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager is now available for download via KB 2717295.

    For additional information on the cumulative update model, see our team blog. Installation instructions are covered in the “Update System Center 2012 Configuration Manager” documentation on TechNet.

  • Link
    Welcome to the Configuration Manager Servicing Forum
    Yvette O'Meally

    The Servicing forum is for discussing the servicing releases for the Configuration Manager family of products and sharing community knowledge about keeping Configuration Manager environments updated.  This includes questions about hotfixes, cumulative updates/rollups, service packs and serviceability best practices.  Questions on or troubleshooting for other product features should still take place in the appropriate forum for the feature.

    For an overview of hotfix installation for Configuration Manager 2007 please see the following article:

    KB 2477182 System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Hotfix Installation Guidance

    Before posting we would ask that you check for solutions that have already been published or posted:

    ·In posts already in the forums - often someone has already hit your issue and posted a solution (see searching below)

    ·In the documentation library HERE

    ·On other Technet resources or blogs – links below


    Tips for keyword searches:
    Sometimes it's just a difference in a keyword, but you can find a lot of answers with the correct ones.
    Search in Technet or your favorite search engine:
    Keywords: always use 'Configuration Manager' then narrow to specific terms that you find in error messages, component names or logs.
    You might be surprised how often the answer is in the top 10 results returned.

    Still didn't find what you are looking for?
    Great, create a post and provide enough information so you can get a useful answer quickly. The more information you provide, the faster someone can recognize your issue and get you the best solution.

    ·        Look through the forums to locate the category that most closely matches the feature or operation you are attempting.

    ·        Include the version of the product - Config Mgr 2007 SP1, SP2 or R2 and the KB number of the hotfix if applicable.

    ·        Describe relevant details about your environment (operating systems, SQL, AD, accounts, site settings) and what you are attempting to accomplish.

    ·        If there is an error or problem, include sections of relevant logs and/or exact error messages.

    ·        Describe what remedies you have tried already.

    ·        Check back on your post often, many are answered the same day!

    Other Useful Links:

    System Center Configuration Manager

    Main Product Page

    Community Page

    Product Team Blog

    Support Team Blog

    Configuration Manager 2012 Documentation Library

    Configuration Manager 2007 Documentation Library

    Configuration Manager 2007 Lifecycle Dates

    Configuration Manager Support Announcements


     

    Systems Management Server 2003

    TechCenter

    System Management Server 2003 Lifecycle Dates

Configuration Manager 2007 General announcements

  • Link
    All ConfigMgr 2007 forums are consolidated
    Kerim Hanif [MSFT]

    We consolidated and merged all threads of the Configuration Manager 2007 forums to Configuration Manager 2007 General.

    Please post all of your questions regarding ConfigMgr 2007 (no matter which area) to Configuration Manager 2007 General.

    Thank you.

  • Link
    ConfigMgr 2007 Superflows
    Robert Marshall - MVP

    Check out the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Superflows

    The SuperFlow interactive content model provides a structured and interactive interface for viewing documentation. Each SuperFlow includes comprehensive information about a specific Configuration Manager 2007 dataflow, workflow, or process. Depending on the focus of the SuperFlow, you will find overview information, steps that include detailed information, procedures, sample log entries, best practices, real-world scenarios, troubleshooting information, security information, animations, and more. Each SuperFlow also includes links to relevant resources, such as Web sites or local files that are copied to your computer when you install the SuperFlow.

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff385001.aspx

  • Link
    Reporting forum is now live
    Stan White [MSFT]

    This is the home for reporting related questions including using SQL Reporting Services with Configuration Manager.

    Existing posts related to reporting are being moved there.

  • Link
    !!! Read before posting to the Configuration Manager forums !!!
    Stan White [MSFT]

    Welcome to the Configuration Manager community!

    The Configuration Manager forums are a great way to get expert help when you are not finding what you need in documentation or other online publications or if you have further clarifying questions.  There are lots of feature experts from the community ready to help - people like you who work with the product every day and have to solve the very same issues you are working though, and of course some of the folks from Microsoft that design, build, test and support the product. 

    First of all these forums are for System Center Configuration Manager 2007 releases only. 
    For the latest information see our Product Page
    Posts about other products will be moved or deleted to keep the search indexing accurate.
    For help with SMS 2003 please see the ‘other links’ at the bottom of this announcement.
    For help on Beta products use the Connect site at https://connect.microsoft.com/


    Before posting we would ask that you make a reasonable effort to find a solution that has already been published or posted:

    ·          In posts already in the forums - often someone has already hit your issue and posted a solution (see searching below)

    ·          In the documentation library HERE

    ·          On other Technet resources or blogs – links below


    Tips for keyword searches:
    Sometimes it's just a difference in a keyword, but you can find a lot of answers with the correct ones.
    Search in Technet or your favorite search engine:
    Keywords:  always use  'Configuration Manager'  then narrow to specific terms that you find in error messages, component names or logs.
    You might be surprised how often the answer is in the top 10 results returned.

    Still didn't find what you are looking for? 
    Great, create a post and provide enough information so you can get a useful answer quickly.  The more information you provide, the faster someone can recognize your issue and get you the best solution.

    ·          Look through the forums to locate the category that most closely matches the feature or operation you are attempting.

    ·          Include the version of the product - Config Mgr 2007 SP1, SP2 or R2.

    ·          Describe relevant details about your environment (operating systems, SQL, AD, accounts, site settings) and what you are attempting to accomplish.

    ·          If there is an error or problem include sections of relevant logs and/or exact error messages.

    ·          Describe what remedies you have tried already.

    ·          Check back on your post often, many are answered the same day!

     

    Other Useful Links:

     

    System Center Configuration Manager 2007

    Main Product Page

    Community Page

    Product Team Blog

    Support Team Blog

     

     

    Systems Management Server  2003

     

    TechCenter

     

    Community Support Newsgroups

    SMS Admin

    SMS Installer

    SMS Inventory

    SMS Miscellaneous

    SMS Setup

    SMS Site Communications

    SMS Software Distribution

    SMS Tools

    SMS Software Update Services

Microsoft Intune announcements

  • Link
    New MDM Forum in the Configuration Manager TechNet forums
    Shakti Prasad Mishra

    Hi Intune Admins,

    We would like to share a new resource for admins using System Center Configuration Manager with Microsoft Intune on TechNet.

    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/systemcenter/en-us/home?forum=configmanagermdm

    If you have questions about Mobile Device Management with System Center Configuration Manager + Microsoft Intune please feel free to post questions in either forum.

    Thanks,

    The Microsoft Intune Team

Office 2016 for Mac announcements

  • Link
    Welcome !
    Matt Seybold

    Office 2016 for Mac is available for Office 365 and Volume Licensing customers. The new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote provide the best of both worlds for Mac users: the familiar Office experience paired with the best of Mac. Volume License customers can download it from their Volume Licensing Service Center starting today, August 5, 2015.

    Thank you.

Visio General Questions and Answers for IT Professionals announcements

  • Link
    About the Visio 2010 forum
    Fred Diggs

    Welcome to the Visio 2010 Forum. This forum provides a place for you to discuss all topics related to Visio such as questions you may have about the product or tips & tricks you have learned and want to share with others.

Backup – Windows and Windows Server announcements

  • Link
    Old Threads
    Sushil.Baid [MSFT]
    Folks - Some of the old threads has been marked as general discussion based on inactivity on them for a longer duration. If the issue is not resolved, please start a new thread.
  • Link
    Vista Backup and Recovery - common causes and solution
    Christine Fok
    We've created a solution table on our blog for some issues we've seen while troubleshooting Vista backup\recovery (including System Restore) issues with some customers. We encourage you to visit the blog and see if it addresses your issue.

    http://blogs.technet.com/filecab/archive/2008/03/12/common-causes-and-solutions-to-backup-system-restore-and-complete-pc-backup-problems-updated.aspx

    Regards,
    Christine
  • Link
    Welcome to Windows and Windows Server Backup Forums!
    Malu Menezes

    Windows Backup forums provide you an opportunity to join a community of Windows customers where you can share knowledge on windows backup, get questions answered, and learn from others with backup needs similar to yours. Start by posting Windows Backup related questions and leverage the knowledge available in your new forum community.

     

    This forum supports Backup questions for Windows and Windows Server.

     

    Also, visit our blog for fresh information on Microsoft Storage and Windows Backup:

    http://blogs.technet.com/filecab

Remote Desktop clients announcements

High Availability (Clustering) announcements

Windows Server 2012 Essentials announcements

File Services and Storage announcements

  • Link
    New white paper providing guidance for sizing NTFS volumes
    JoseBarreto

    Microsoft released a new white paper, available here, discussing best practices and guidance for sizing NTFS volumes and some details on CHKDSK execution times on Windows Server 2008 R2. When planning Windows Server deployments, we are often asked questions such as “How large can I make my volumes?” or “How long will it take to repair a volume?”. This white paper helps answer these questions.

Hyper-V announcements

  • Link
    How to ask a question efficiently in TechNet forum
    BrianEh

    Thank you for posting in TechNet forum. The online problem solving can be relatively time consuming because it may demand several messages back and force to fully understand the symptom and background, especially at the very beginning. Here are a few suggestions that help you get the best answer to your question as quickly as possible.

     

    When You Ask

    1. Selecting a good title which summarizes the specific problem you have. It will be the one of the main driving forces for others to want to actually read your item. Choosing a badly-formatted title will drive people away, thinking that since the title is so badly written, so must be the information and the question within the thread.

    2. Provide all the necessary information in your initial post. The following information would be very helpful:

    - Symptom description: Detailed description of the problem. If you receive any error messages, please let us know the exact error WORD BY WORD.

    - Environment: The system environment, such as your OS/application version, your network topology, and your domain environment, etc.

    - Any recent relevant configuration change(s): If the issue started to occur after installing any application/updates or changing the configuration, please let us know.

    - Any additional information. Tell what you have done prior to asking your question. This will help us understand that you've done so far.

    3. Write in a clear language. Avoiding spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Don't type IN ALL CAPS, which in most cases is read as shouting and considered rude.

    4. 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 we have seen people given great and wonderfully long answers yet no reply from the original poster.

    5. 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.)

     

    When answered

    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, pleases replies 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.

    The content of this post was borrowed from: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/33d4bcfd-9a20-437c-8a5a-26d0deb01131/how-to-ask-a-question-efficiently-in-technet-forum?forum=winservergen

  • Link
    Managing Server 2012 Hyper-V Remotely
    BrianEh

    This has been a popular question lately, here are the details:

    Remote Server Admin Tools: 

    (please note that there is a client and server combination here.  AFAIK there is not (yet) a tool release to manage Server 2012 from Win 7 clients)

    Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28972

    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/2202.remote-server-administration-tools-rsat-for-windows-vista-windows-7-windows-8-windows-server-2008-windows-server-2008-r2-and-windows-server-2012-dsforum2wiki.aspx

    Manage Hyper-V Server 2012 Remotely:

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj647785.aspx

    (there are domain member and non-domain member instructions in there)

IPAM, DHCP, DNS announcements

Network Access Protection announcements

Setup Deployment announcements

  • Link
    Known Issue: After applying KB 953230 WDS stops working
    Jez Sadler - MS
    On  7/8/2008, a security patch was released for DNS by Microsoft and other DNS server vendors. The Microsoft patch was tracked as KB953230 - the documentation on it is here.

    As part of the patch, DNS now reserves 2500 UDP ports - including the ports from 64000 to 65000 that WDS uses by default. Because of this, if DNS and WDS are running on the same server, WDS cannot access those ports and so is unable to perform TFTP (required for PXE boot) or Multicast.

    To work around this, open the WDS MMC, select your server, and go to Server Properties from the right-click menu or the Action menu. Then on the Network Settings page, set a different range of UDP ports. The best range to choose will depend on what else you are running on your server - you want to pick ports that other server roles and applications are not using. The dynamically allocated ports start from 49152, so your Start port should be at least that.

Remote Desktop Services (Terminal Services) announcements

Windows PowerShell announcements

Small Business Server announcements

  • Link
    Looking for the Windows Server 2012 Essentials Beta Forums?
    Cris Hanna
    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winserveressentials/threads
  • Link
    SBS Best Practices Analyzer
    Kevin Weilbacher [SBS MVP]

    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

  • Link
    How to use your own NNTP News Reader instead of the web, to access SBS Forum:
    Russ Grover - SBITS.Biz

    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.)

  • Link
    How to Successfully Post a Question to SBS Forum:
    Russ Grover - SBITS.Biz

    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 y    ou'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

     

     

Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials announcements

  • Link
    Welcome to the forum for Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials!
    Ning Kuang

    Welcome to the forum for SBS 2011 Essentials and Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials!

     

    SBS 2011 Essentials and WSS 2008 R2 Essentials are both build on top of Windows Server 2008 R2 platform, and share the technologies from Windows Server Solutions product family.

    Customers will benefit from enhanced technical expertise when the two communities are combined together.

    Note, there are still major differences between these two products, It will be helpful to call out the product name when ask questions, following are some of the examples:

    1. SBS 2011 Essentials must be a Domain Controller; WSS 2008 R2 Essentials can be a standalone server.

    2. SBS 2011 Essentials does not include Media Feature.

    3. WSS 2008 R2 Essentials are offered via OEM channel as devices,  the “headless recovery” method for server recovery is used, where a server recovery DVD and a USB key are needed. For details, refer to the OEM manufactory’s user manual.

    For manuafactory related quesions and issues, you can reference your manuafactory's support and community site, for example: http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-Sentinel-DX4000/bd-p/sentinel

  • Link
    How to use your own NNTP News Reader instead of the web, to access SBS Essentials Forum:
    Russ Grover - SBITS.Biz

    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 Essentails Forum is group: Technet.en-US.smallbusinessserver2011essentials

    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.)

    Remember to pay it forward, your knowledge is great for the community :)

    Thank You
    Russ Grover - SBS MVP

     

  • Link
    How to Successfully Post a Question to SBS Essentials Forum:
    Russ Grover - SBITS.Biz

    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. 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.

    3. Post what service Packs or additional programs you have added, This helps people know where you are at.
    (Not all details are necessary, but try to include any relevant information, but if you think it may be an AV related issue mention what AV you are using.)

    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.

    Lastly 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

Configuration Manager (Current Branch) – Application Management announcements

Configuration Manager (Current Branch) – General announcements

Configuration Manager (Current Branch) – Operating System Deployment announcements

Configuration Manager (Current Branch) – Security, Updates and Compliance announcements

Configuration Manager (Current Branch) – Site and Client Deployment announcements

Configuration Manager (Current Branch) – Migration announcements

Configuration Manager (Current Branch) – SDK and PowerShell announcements

Service Manager - Customization Using the SDK and Authoring Tool announcements

Database Design announcements

  • Link
    Database Design Resources
    Arnie Rowland

    The following list of database design resources is not intended to be exhaustive or ‘the correct list’. Items are included simply because one of the Moderators knew the material and offered it as a suggestion. If you wish to offer suggestions for inclusion, please do so.

     

    Books

     

    A Developer's Guide to Data Modeling for SQL Server: Covering SQL Server 2005 and 2008

    Eric Johnson and Joshua Jones

    An Introduction to Database Systems

    Chris Date

    Applied Mathematics for Database Professionals

    Lex de Haan, Toon Koppelaars

    Architecting Regulatory-Compliant Architectures
    Mike Walker, Microsoft

    Data Modeling Essential

    Graeme Simsion and Graham Witt

    Database Modeling and Design: Logical Design

    Toby Teorey

    Information Modeling and Relational Databases

    Terry Halpin

    Practical Issues in Database Management: A Reference for the Thinking Practitioner

    Fabian Pascal

    Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation

    Louis Davidson, Kevin Kline, et al

     

    Online Resources

     

    A Simple Guide to Five Normal forms and Relational Database Theory
    http://www.bkent.net/Doc/simple5.htm

    Data Modeling vs. Database Design
    http://www.aisintl.com/case/library/R-Theory_vs_ER/r-theory_vs_er.html

    Data Models
    http://www.databaseanswers.org/data_models/index.htm

    Database Design - Ten Common Database Design Mistakes, Louis Davidson
    http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/database-administration/ten-common-database-design-mistakes/

    Database Design Issues -EAV Model Discussion (Querying an EAV Table)
    http://tinyurl.com/yks8hu

    Database Design Issues –EAV and OTLT
    http://tonyandrews.blogspot.com/2004/10/otlt-and-eav-two-big-design-mistakes.html

    Database Design ROI by Paul Nielsen
    http://www.sqlserverbible.com/files/databasedesignroi.pdf

    Introduction to the Unified Dimensional Model (UDM)
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms345143(SQL.90).aspx

    Library of database models
    http://www.databaseanswers.org/data_models/

    On Normalization and Repeating Groups by Fabian Pascal
    http://www.dbdebunk.com/page/page/622318.htm

    ORM white paper
    http://www.orm.net/pdf/ORMwhitePaper.pdf

    Overview of the Relational Model
    http://www.utexas.edu/its/archive/windows/database/datamodeling/rm/overview.html   

    Understanding Data Model Quality, Graeme Simsion
    http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/5100

     

  • Link
    Please READ before Posting or Replying to Posts
    Arnie Rowland

     


    Out of Scope
     

    Some topics are out of scope for this forum.

    1. Bugs, Product Decisions, and Feedback: The purpose of this forum is not to ask the product team why decisions were made and to ask them to make other changes. That feedback belongs in Connect. The purpose of this forum is to help you out with specific issues, if possible. Please post your feedback via Connect:

    https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer

      

    Rules of Conduct

    ·         Relevance to Topics: We encourage you to keep your postings as close to the subject as possible.

    ·         Respect: Please be respectful of other participants, and their contributions; avoiding insults, demeaning remarks and slurs.

    ·         Tolerance: Please don’t assume someone’s curtness was meant to insult, slur, or demean you.

    ·         Confidentiality: Confidential information should not be posted. This is a publicly available forum.

    ·         Appropriate Language: Please keep the conversation on a professional level, avoiding any hint of profanity in your interactions.

    ·         Advertising/Solicitation: Advertisements should not be posted, and will be removed.

    Forum Moderators may, at their discretion, edit posts for clarity, readability and inappropriate language; split post into separate threads when appropriate; and delete post that do not positively contribute to the thread. Failure to comply with these 'Rules of Conduct' may result in your posts being edited to remove the offending comments, censure, or expulsion from participating in the Forums. The bottom line is: this Forum should feel like a ‘safe’ place to ask hard questions that invoke passionate responses.

    Marking Answers

    By their very nature, many database design questions will not have a easily decernible 'answer'. You are encouraged to give folks 'credit' for helping you when appropriate. If someone's response was 'Helpful', use the 'Vote as Helpful' button. If a response answered some part of your question, or provided you one or more clues that led you to a solution, then use the 'Mark as Answer' option. Just as a thread may evolve into multiple questions, it may also have more than one 'Answer'.

    Welcome to the Database Design Forum

    This is a Forum for questions and discussions about database designs for Microsoft technologies, including: SQL Server, Access, SQL Azure, SQL Express, SQL Compact, etc. Often Database Designs will be generic and can be ported to any vendor's technology. Design problems that are best solved with other technologies will be welcomed and addressed to the best of our knowledge and ability.

    We ask that you recognize that database design is a mixture of art and science. You may receive conflicting suggestions, for there can be multiple paths to a workable solution. You will have to use your own judgment and knowledge of your business requirements to determine the best solution for your particular problem. The 'right' design is compounded by many factors, including business, regulatory, hardware/software requirements, as well as staff expertise. We also encourage you to share your experiences with a particular design issue if it will serve to help others encountering similar problems.

    In order to receive useful responses, please spend some time and properly present your scenario. Attempts to 'save time and effort' by cutting out parts of the scenario will often lead to wasted time and effort as the suggestions have to be discarded because they don't work with other parts of the unseen puzzle.


    But there are limits to what you can expect from volunteers through a disconnected medium. The questions most likely to receive a good and targeted answer, are those that present a small problem, that give a very clear description of that problem within its context, and that are placed by people with a fair understanding of the subject who need help getting over a few nasty bumps. The questions that are almost impossible to answer satisfactorily are those that present a huge problem, with no clear description, and asked by someone totally new to the subject matter.

    We hope that you will understand when we say that most of us that volunteer our time on this Forum do so in order to help folks learn. We will be pleased if you find the Forum to be useful. However, it is difficult or impossible for us to engage with folks privately. We don't have time to do both, and our commitment is help folks using the Forums.

    Do not hesitate to read all of the threads, join in the discussions, offer your own experiences and information, and ask questions to increase your knowlege. Seek out blogs from those who write in a manner that you appreciate, and consider reviewing the Database Design Resources for additional guidance and help.

     

Service Manager - Data Warehouse, Reporting and Dashboards announcements

Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics announcements

Lync 2010 and OCS - Mobility announcements

Lync 2010 and OCS - Planning and Deployment announcements

Operations Manager - Authoring announcements

  • Link
    Welcome
    Justin Incarnato [MSFT]

    System Center Operations Manager forums provide you an opportunity to join a community of Operations Manager customers where you can share knowledge, get questions answered, and learn from others with IT environments similar to yours. Start by posting Operations Manager related questions in the forum corresponding to your topic of interest and leverage the knowledge available in your new forum community.

    If you have any suggestions or feedback on the System Center Operations Manager product, please feel free to post in our forums.

Operations Manager - Deployment announcements

Operations Manager - Extensibility announcements

  • Link
    Welcome
    Justin Incarnato [MSFT]

    System Center Operations Manager forums provide you an opportunity to join a community of Operations Manager customers where you can share knowledge, get questions answered, and learn from others with IT environments similar to yours. Start by posting Operations Manager related questions in the forum corresponding to your topic of interest and leverage the knowledge available in your new forum community.

    If you have any suggestions or feedback on the System Center Operations Manager product, please feel free to post in our forums.

Operations Manager - General announcements

Operations Manager - Management Packs announcements

Operations Manager - Reporting announcements

Operations Manager - Unix and Linux announcements

System Center Orchestrator - Third-Party Integrations announcements

  • Link
    FAQ: Frequently-Asked Questions About the Forum
    Robert_Hearn
    Welcome to the System Center Orchestrator forum! This forum is designed to help you find answers to questions about System Center Orchestrator (formerly Opalis Integration Server).

    Please note that this forum relates only System Center Orchestrator 2012.

    If you have questions about Opalis, please visit the Opalis forums here:     http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/scinterop


    Q: Where can I find more information about the products, technical information and troubleshooting?

    A: You can find a number of Orchestrator-related resources from Microsoft and the community on the Opalis / Orchestrator team blog:
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/opalis/p/opalis_resources.aspx
    Q: Why are some threads locked?

    A: When a thread is marked as answered or was not replied to for a long period of time, new posts in that thread may not get recognized and may not get a response. To ensure that new posts get the visbility they need, we lock threads that are marked as answered or where we cannot get a response from the poster within a reasonable period of time, so that any new replies will be done in a new thread and gain immediate attention.

    If you have the same issue as mentioned in a previous thread, but the answer provided does not solve your problem, post a new question and refer to the existing thread so we can quickly rule out that issue as the cause of your particular problem. That will speed up the process of getting your problem solved.

    Q: How long should I expect to wait for an reply?

    A:     We typically respond to new questions within 24-48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) depending on when the post occurred. If you need faster response or you have a critical issue, please contact Microsoft Support (http://support.microsoft.com/).

System Center Orchestrator - General announcements

  • Link
    FAQ: Frequently-Asked Questions About the Forum
    Robert_Hearn
    Welcome to the System Center Orchestrator forum! This forum is designed to help you find answers to questions about System Center Orchestrator (formerly Opalis Integration Server).

    Please note that this forum relates only System Center Orchestrator 2012.

    If you have questions about Opalis, please visit the Opalis forums here:     http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/scinterop



    Q: Where can I find more information about the products, technical information and troubleshooting?

    A: You can find a number of Orchestrator-related resources from Microsoft and the community on the Opalis / Orchestrator team blog:
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/opalis/p/opalis_resources.aspx
    Q: Why are some threads locked?

    A: When a thread is marked as answered or was not replied to for a long period of time, new posts in that thread may not get recognized and may not get a response. To ensure that new posts get the visbility they need, we lock threads that are marked as answered or where we cannot get a response from the poster within a reasonable period of time, so that any new replies will be done in a new thread and gain immediate attention.

    If you have the same issue as mentioned in a previous thread, but the answer provided does not solve your problem, post a new question and refer to the existing thread so we can quickly rule out that issue as the cause of your particular problem. That will speed up the process of getting your problem solved.

    Q: How long should I expect to wait for an reply?

    A:     We typically respond to new questions within 24-48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) depending on when the post occurred. If you need faster response or you have a critical issue, please contact Microsoft Support (http://support.microsoft.com/).

System Center Orchestrator - Quick Integration Kit / SDK Development announcements

  • Link
    FAQ: Frequently-Asked Questions About the Forum
    Robert_Hearn
    Welcome to the System Center Orchestrator forum! This forum is designed to help you find answers to questions about System Center Orchestrator (formerly Opalis Integration Server).

    Please note that this forum relates only System Center Orchestrator 2012.

    If you have questions about Opalis, please visit the Opalis forums here:     http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/scinterop


    Q: Where can I find more information about the products, technical information and troubleshooting?

    A: You can find a number of Orchestrator-related resources from Microsoft and the community on the Opalis / Orchestrator team blog:
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/opalis/p/opalis_resources.aspx
     
    Q: Why are some threads locked?

    A: When a thread is marked as answered or was not replied to for a long period of time, new posts in that thread may not get recognized and may not get a response. To ensure that new posts get the visbility they need, we lock threads that are marked as answered or where we cannot get a response from the poster within a reasonable period of time, so that any new replies will be done in a new thread and gain immediate attention.

    If you have the same issue as mentioned in a previous thread, but the answer provided does not solve your problem, post a new question and refer to the existing thread so we can quickly rule out that issue as the cause of your particular problem. That will speed up the process of getting your problem solved.

    Q: How long should I expect to wait for an reply?

    A:     We typically respond to new questions within 24-48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) depending on when the post occurred. If you need faster response or you have a critical issue, please contact Microsoft Support (http://support.microsoft.com/).

System Center Orchestrator - System Center Integrations announcements

  • Link
    FAQ: Frequently-Asked Questions About the Forum
    Robert_Hearn
    Welcome to the System Center Orchestrator forum! This forum is designed to help you find answers to questions about System Center Orchestrator (formerly Opalis Integration Server).

    Please note that this forum relates only System Center Orchestrator 2012.

    If you have questions about Opalis, please visit the Opalis forums here:     http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/scinterop


    Q: Where can I find more information about the products, technical information and troubleshooting?

    A: You can find a number of Orchestrator-related resources from Microsoft and the community on the Opalis / Orchestrator team blog:
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/opalis/p/opalis_resources.aspx
    Q: Why are some threads locked?

    A: When a thread is marked as answered or was not replied to for a long period of time, new posts in that thread may not get recognized and may not get a response. To ensure that new posts get the visbility they need, we lock threads that are marked as answered or where we cannot get a response from the poster within a reasonable period of time, so that any new replies will be done in a new thread and gain immediate attention.

    If you have the same issue as mentioned in a previous thread, but the answer provided does not solve your problem, post a new question and refer to the existing thread so we can quickly rule out that issue as the cause of your particular problem. That will speed up the process of getting your problem solved.

    Q: How long should I expect to wait for an reply?

    A:     We typically respond to new questions within 24-48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays) depending on when the post occurred. If you need faster response or you have a critical issue, please contact Microsoft Support (http://support.microsoft.com/).

Virtual Machine Manager - Self-Service Portal 2.0 announcements

  • Link
    Now Available - System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0 SP1
    mlbriggs

    Using the System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0 SP1, you can respond more effectively—and at a lower cost—to the rapidly changing needs of your organization. Built on Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V technology, and System Center Virtual Machine Manager, the VMMSSP enables you to offer infrastructure as a service.

    The VMMSSP includes a pre-built, role-based self-service portal for both the datacenter managers and business unit IT consumers to provision infrastructures for their applications and services. The VMMSSP is now localized in three languages: Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. This dynamic self-service portal provides automated workflows to on-board business unit IT departments, and enables partners to expose their unique hardware capabilities through familiar Microsoft scripting technologies.

     

    This new version provides localization for Chinese and Japanese and lets users import virtual machines created outside the self-service portal but managed by VMM and additionally to re-import virtual machines previously removed. Fully supported by Microsoft, the System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0 SP1 is a partner-extensible solution that enables customers to dynamically pool, allocate, and manage their computer, network, and storage resources to deliver a private cloud platform inside their datacenter.

    Next steps:

     

    System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0 SP1 features:

    • Import virtual machines. Allows DCIT administrators to re-import virtual machines that were removed from the self-service portal and also import virtual machines created outside the portal but managed by VMM.
    • Set virtual machine expiration dates. This feature lets users set an expiration date for the virtual machines that are being created or imported so that the virtual machines auto-delete after the set date. This feature also provides users the flexibility (through role-based access) to set or change the expiration date for the virtual machine.
    • Define and use custom virtual machine actions. A datacenter administrator can now create up to five custom virtual machine actions and make them available to users on the Virtual Machines tab of the self-service portal. For example, a database administrator can create a Create Checkpoint action and add it to the list of actions on the Virtual Machines tab.
    • Use Opalis policies in virtual machine actions. In a datacenter that includes a deployment of Opalis Integration Server, a datacenter administrator can customize tasks in virtual machine actions to trigger Opalis policies instead of running scripts.
    • Define and use custom virtual machine properties. A datacenter administrator can define custom properties to collect information from users in the Create Virtual Machine wizard, and use these properties in the tasks of the CreateVM virtual machine action. For example, if a datacenter administrator creates the properties RAM and CPU Count, the Create Virtual Machine wizard includes fields for RAM and CPU Count. When a user finishes the wizard, the wizard passes the RAM and CPU Count values that the user entered to the tasks in the CreateVM virtual machine action.
    • Notify administrators. This feature provides functionality to notify BUIT or DCIT administrators via email about various events in the system (for example, Submit request, Approve request, and so on).
    • Move infrastructures between business units. This feature allows DCIT administrators to move an infrastructure from one business unit to another when the system is in Maintenance Mode.
    • VMMSSP Management Pack. This feature allows DCIT administrators to monitor the health of the self-service portal components. Download VMMSSP Management pack.
    • Localization. The VMMSSP is now localized in three languages: Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.
    • Manage virtual machine DVD drives and media. When working with virtual machines that have DVD drives, users can attach media such as ISO images to the virtual machines.
    • Connect to VMware virtual machines. Users can now use the VMMSSP to manage and connect to virtual machines hosted by VMware host servers.
  • Link
    New visitors – Please read before posting
    mlbriggs

    Hello!

    This forum is dedicated to questions about Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 Self-Service Portal 2.0 (VMMSSP). Please use good judgment to post your question to the relevant subforums.

    If your question is not about this product, please find the correct forum here: http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/default.aspx?SiteID=17

     

    When posting a question or an issue, it is helpful to include the product version that you have a question about, your VMM environment, the steps you tried, and any specific error messages you observed.

    Thanks!

  • Link
    Welcome to the VMMSSP v2 TechNet forum
    mlbriggs

    Hello and welcome to the Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 Self-Service Portal 2.0 forum!

     

    The VMMSSP forum provides you with an opportunity to join a community of VMM 2008 R2 customers where you can share knowledge, get questions answered, and learn from others with IT environments similar to yours. Start by posting questions related to VMMSSP in the forum corresponding to your topic of interest, and leverage the knowledge available in your new forum community.

    If you have any suggestions or feedback regarding VMMSSP, please feel free to post in our forums.

  • Link
    Announcing the release of Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 Self-Service Portal 2.0
    mlbriggs

    VMMSSP (also referred to as the self-service portal) is a fully supported, partner-extensible solution built on top of Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V, and System Center VMM. You can use it to pool, allocate, and manage resources to offer infrastructure as a service and to deliver the foundation for a private cloud platform inside your datacenter. VMMSSP includes a pre-built web-based user interface that has sectionsfor both the datacenter managers and the business unit IT consumers, with role-based access control. VMMSSP also includes a dynamic provisioning engine. VMMSSP reduces the time needed to provision infrastructures and their components by offering business unit “on-boarding,” infrastructure request and change management. The VMMSSP package also includes detailed guidance on how to implement VMMSSP inside your environment.

    Prerequisites:

    ·         Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Edition.

    ·         Windows Server Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0

    ·         Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2.

    ·         SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition or Standard Edition.

    ·         .Net Framework 3.5 SP1

    ·         Message Queueing (also known as MSMQ)

    ·         Windows PowerShell 2.0

    Where to get it: Download VMMSSP 2.0

    Benefits of VMMSSP:

    With VMMSSP, you can:

    ·         Allocate datacenter resources. Use VMMSSP to pool datacenter infrastructure resources, such as network, storage, load balancers, virtual machine templates, and domains, and make them available to business units to meet their infrastructure needs. You can also use VMMSSP to establish the costs associated with reserving and using infrastructure resources.

    ·         Simplify business unit on-boarding. Use VMMSSP to simplify the process of enrolling a business unit and provisioning its infrastructure. With VMMSSP, datacenter administrators can register business unit requirements in one central location. After they have registered, business unit administrators can request resources in the organization’s infrastructure pool to host their IT services.

    ·         Validate and provision infrastructures requests. Use VMMSSP to simplify the process that datacenter administrators use to validate and provision a business unit IT administrator’s infrastructure requests. Using VMMSSP, datacenter administrators can provision the requested resources, and assign them to the requesting business unit IT administrator.

    ·         Provide forms for self-service virtual machine provisioning. Use VMMSSP to streamline the business unit IT user’s experience in managing virtual machines.

    ·         Extend and customize virtual machine actions. Use the powerful extensibility features of VMMSSP to work with IHV, ISV, and SI partners to customize different virtual machine actions (create, delete, stop, start, resume, shutdown, pause, store, and deploy).In this way, you can leverage the unique characteristics of your infrastructure.

     

    Note   Like the self-service portal that is currently available as part of Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, the new self-service portal offers a web-based user interface for managing virtual machines. But it also differs from the existing self-service portal in many ways. One of the most important differences is that the virtual machine actions are extensible, so datacenter administrators work with hardware vendors and partners to customize the actions to match their own capabilities or requirements. Another difference is that this self-service portal provides standardized workflows that gather data using web-based forms and support both manual and automated steps. This approach reduces the time needed to provision infrastructures and their components, and helps ensure consistency in the resulting infrastructures.

     

    Important   VMMSSP is not an upgrade to the existing VMM 2008 R2 self-service portal. You can choose to deploy and use one or both self-service portals depending on your requirements.

SQL Server Analysis Services announcements

SQL Server Compact announcements

Data Mining announcements

SQL Server Express announcements

Power Pivot announcements

  • Link
    Fix for PowerPivot November CTP Expiration Released
    Kathy MacDonald [MSFT]

    The PowerPivot team is pleased to report that the fix for the November CTP expiration issue has been released. We know many of you have been eagerly awaiting this fix since last week when the PowerPivot for Excel add-in expired. We do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

    We have released a new version of the November CTP for the PowerPivot for Excel add-in. This new version is functionally identical to the old one except that it extends the expiration date to end of the year. You can download it from the same locations as in the past:

    Please note that the new version will take some time to replicate across all servers in the Microsoft download center. If you download it from the above links and still get the expiration error message, then try again periodically. It might also help to clear any browser/download caches on your computer.

  • Link
    PowerPivot for Excel 2010 November CTP Expired
    Kathy MacDonald [MSFT]

    If you are running the November 2009 CTP version of the PowerPivot for Excel 2010 add-in, your add-in expired on April 1st. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

    The SQL Server team will re-release the November 2009 CTP version of the PowerPivot for Excel 2010 add-in with an extended expiration date very soon. We will post an availability announcement with the download location and installation instructions on the PowerPivot blogs and forums as soon as possible.

    Kathy MacDonald
    SQL Server Analysis Services

  • Link
    PowerPivot Beta will not work with released versions of Excel, Sharepoint 2010 and others. Pls read!!
    Vikram Jayaram


    Summary

    =============================

    If PowerPivot for Excel 2010, Excel 2010, SharePoint 2010, or the Reporting Services Addin for SharePoint 2010 are beta versions, PowerPivot and its related functionality will not work with the Released versions of these components.

     

    More Information

    =============================

    The beta versions of the components listed above are not compatible with the released versions of these components. If the beta versions of the components are installed, they will not function with the released versions. For example, if you have a beta version of the PowerPivot download installed and upgrade to the released version of Excel 2010, the PowerPivot addin will not be available in Excel.

     

    The solution is to upgrade the beta components to their released versions when they become available.

SQL Server Master Data Services announcements

  • Link
    SQL16 CTP2.3 is available for download
    Sherry_Li

    We are excited to share the new features which shipped in SQL CTP2.3 public release.  You can download the product here:http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48726, and Excel add-in here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=47343

    In this monthly release, we added a few highly asked features.  Please give it try and look forward to hearing your feedback.

    Manage Business Rules (MDS Add-in for Excel)

    In the Master Data Services Add-in for Excel you can manage Business Rules, such as creating and editing business rules. Business rules are used to validate data. For more information, see Manage Business Rules (MDS Add-in for Excel).

    Many-to-Many Relationships in Derived Hierarchies

    You can now create a Derived Hierarchy that displays  many-to-many relationships. A many-to-many relationship between two entities may be modeled through the use of a third entity that provides a mapping between them. The mapping entity is an entity that has two or more domain-based attributes referencing other entities.

    For example, entity M has a domain-based attribute that references A and a domain-based attribute that references B. You can create a hierarchy from A to B using the mapping entity.

    For more information, see Show Many-to-Many Relationships in Derived Hierarchies (Master Data Services)

    Merge Conflicts

    If you try to publish data that has been changed by another user, the publish will fail with a conflict error. To resolve this error, you can perform merge conflicts and republish the changes. For more information, see Merge Conflicts (Master Data Services) and Merge Conflicts (MDS Add-in for Excel). 

     SQL Master Data Services Team

  • Link
    Master Data Services SQL2016 CTP2.2(July) Release is public available
    Sherry_Li

    Please give it a try and let us know your feedback!

    SQL Server 2016 Community Technology Preview 2.2 is publicly released and the latest bits can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-sql-server-2016

    In CTP2.2 MDS introduced following changes:

    1. Custom Indexes

    You can create a non-clustered index on one attribute (single index) or on a list of attributes (composite index), in an entity, to help improve the query performance. For more information, see Custom Index (Master Data Services).

    2. Entity Sync Relationship

    You can share entity data between different models by creating an entity sync relationship. For more information, see Entity Sync Relationship (Master Data Services).

    3. Member Revision History

    A member revision history is recorded when a member is changed. You can rollback a revision history, as well as view and annotate revisions. Using the Log Retention Days property, you can specify how long historical data is retained. For more information, see Member Revision History (Master Data Services).

  • Link
    New release on MDS Excel add-in available for download
    Sherry_Li

    Hi, we are pleasured to announce the release of MDS Excel add-in. You can download it here:

    http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42298

    This release includes a number of performance improvements – most users will see a 4x improvement when loading data from an MDS server, without any additional server or environment changes. For an additional performance increase (2-4x), you can enable Dynamic Content Compression in IIS.

    It works with both SQL12 or SQL14.  The installation will be in place upgrade so the users don't need to uninstall previous installation.  All the MDS connections will be preserved through the installation. 

    Please download the new version of Excel add-in.  Your feedback is welcome!

    Thanks,

    SQL MDS Team

  • Link
    Please Indicate "Mark as Answer" if a Post has Answered the Question
    edhickey

    While reading a reply to your question, you will notice a button with an icon that says "Mark as Answer."   Please select this button when a reply answers your question.

     

    There are several reasons to do this:

     

    • Our search engine weights Answered questions more highly. By marking Answers you increase the chances that others searching this forum will find the answer directly rather than re-posting the question.
    • You give credit to the hard working folks who answer your questions. This is peer to peer support, so recognition is our only reward. (Check out the Top Answerers in 30 Days chart at the bottom of the thread list to see who is currently answering questions.)
    • You help Microsoft to track the health of this forum. Our forum gets 'measured' based on how many unanswered questions are in it at any time and we work hard to keep those numbers to as low a level as possible. By marking answers, others get a more accurate understanding of how well (or badly) things are going on the forum.

     

    You can also vote "Yes" or "No" if the reply was helpful.

     

    Thank you!

     

    Ed Hickey

Machine Learning Services (R announcements

  • Link
    Get started with R analytics on SQL server
    Jitendra Kulshreshtha

    Overview

    The process of building an end to end solution typically consists of obtaining and cleaning data, data exploration and feature engineering, model training and tuning, and finally deployment of the model in production. Development and testing of the actual code is best performed using a dedicated development environment. For R, that might mean RStudio or R Tools for Visual Studio.

    However, after the solution has been created, you can easily deploy it to SQL Server using Transact-SQL stored procedures in the familiar environment of Management Studio.

    In this tutorial, we assume that you have been given all the R code needed for the solution, and focus on building and deploying the solution using SQL Server.

  • Link
    Run machine learning directly on SQL Server !!!
    Jitendra Kulshreshtha

    What is SQL Server Machine Learning Services?

    • THIS TOPIC APPLIES TO: yesSQL Server (Windows only)

    SQL Server Machine Learning Services is an embedded, predictive analytics and data science engine that can execute R and Python code within a SQL Server database as stored procedures, as T-SQL script containing R or Python statements, or as R or Python code containing T-SQL.

    The key value proposition of Machine Learning Services is the power of its proprietary packages to deliver advanced analytics at scale, and the ability to bring calculations and processing to where the data resides, eliminating the need to pull data across the network.

    There are two options for using machine learning capabilities in SQL Server:

    R and Python packages

    Support for each language is through proprietary Microsoft packages used for creating and training models of various types, scoring data, and parallel processing using the underlying system resources.

    Because the proprietary packages are built on open-source R and Python distributions, script or code that you run in SQL Server can also call base functions and use third-party packages compatible with the language version provided in SQL Server (Python 3.5 and recent versions of R, currently 3.3.3).

    RPythonDescription
    RevoScaleRrevoscalepyFunctions in these libraries are among the most widely used. Data transformations and manipulation, statistical summarization, visualization, and many forms of modeling and analyses are found in these libraries. Additionally, functions in these libraries automatically distribute workloads across available cores for parallel processing, with the ability to work on chunks of data that are coordinated and managed by the calculation engine.
    MicrosoftMLmicrosoftmlIndustry-leading machine learning algorithms for image featurization, classification problems, and more.
    olapRnoneBuild or execute an MDX query in R script.
    sqlRUtilsnoneFunctions for putting R scripts into a T-SQL stored procedure, registering a stored procedure with a database, and running the stored procedure from an R development environment.
    mrsdeploynonePrimarily used on a non-SQL installation of Machine Learning Server, such as the (Standalone) version. Use this package to deploy and host web services, build scale-out topologies with dedicated web and compute nodes, toggle between local and remote sessions, run diagnostics, and more. For an (In-Database) installation, use this package in a client capacity: for example, to access a web service on a remote server dedicated to running just Machine Learning Services workloads.

    Portability of your custom R and Python code is addressed through package distribution and interpreters that are built into multiple products. The same packages that ship in SQL Server are also available in several other Microsoft products and services, including a non-SQL version called Microsoft Machine Learning Server. Free clients that include our R and Pyton interpreters include Microsoft R Client and the Python libraries.

.NET Framework inside SQL Server announcements

SQL Server Notification Services announcements

SQL Server Replication announcements

SQL Server Reporting Services, Power View announcements

SQL Server Migration announcements

  • Link
    Welcome to the SQL Server Migration forum
    Keshav Ramarao

    Need help with migration to SQL Server? Have any questions related to SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) products for Oracle/Sybase/MySQL/Access? Feel free to discuss any SQL Server migration related topics or post any questions related to SSMA.

SQL Server Samples and Community Projects announcements

  • Link
    How to Use this Forum - Please Read Before Posting
    Mr. Wharty

    Welcome to the SQL Server Samples and Community Projects Forum.

    This forum is the place to discuss all things "samplish" in the SQL Server community and samples space, whether it's an "official Microsoft sample" or a community project in CodePlex or Code Gallery. This is*not* the place to discussion specific nuances of T-SQL syntax or wage data modeling methodology wars: there are lots of other forums for those purposes. This one is for questions about samples, community projects and conversations between the collaborators that build them.

    Some examples of projects that are open for discussion can be found here: http://www.codeplex.com/SqlServerSamples. It doesn't have to be listed there to be fair game, but it's a good bet that it is fair game if it's already listed there.

    Below are a few guidelines to help you find your answer quickly and also to help the people who answer the questions, answer yours correctly.

    • Is your question about SQL Server Samples and Community Projects . If it's not please locate the correct forum otherwise your question may be moved, closed/locked or deleted.
    • Try searching the forum . Search the forum to see if your question has been asked before and answered.  If you cannot find what you are looking for, please start a new thread rather than adding to an old one as some people do not see answered questions in their forum views so you may not get the assistance you're looking for.
    • Don't be brief . The more information you can give in your question, the better the response will be.
    • Check your alerts . You can subscribe to a question so that you can see any update on it (ReferSetting up your alerts below).
    • No Spam. Spamming will have your thread deleted and may also result in your account being banned.
    • Be polite.  You will get better assistance if you're polite to other members so no flaming or trolling.  If you persist with flaming or trolling, your accountmay get banned.
    • Mark your question answered. If someone answers your question please mark their reply as the answer to your question. You can also mark multiple replies as answers if you think they answered your question.  Marking replies not only assists others with similar questions, it also let's people know that you're grateful for their assistance.

    Dead thread/Answer policy.

    Where possible the moderators will allow sufficient time for the original poster to come back and mark the replies to their questions as answers. The amount of time is at the discretion of the individual moderator but is suggested that it will be declared dead after a week if the original poster does not respond . We will always try to be fair and mark suitable replies as answers.

    Setting up your alerts

    If you are having trouble receiving alerts on the threads you have created or replied to please see thisthread for troubleshooting advice.

  • Link
    Samples bugs and suggestions.
    David Reed (Glacier Peak)
    All of the work items for our community projects and product samples are in TFS on CodePlex. If you want to report a bug, suggest a change for an existing sample or suggest a new sample, create a work item in the appropriate project so that our community team (not just Microsoft employees) can vote on them, help us triage and prioritize them.

    For example, here's the URL for the work items for AdventureWorks: http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples/WorkItem/AdvancedList.aspx
  • Link
    Welcome aboard! Community & Samples Forum Intro
    David Reed (Glacier Peak)

    This forum is the place to discuss all things "samplish" in the SQL Server community and samples space, whether it's an "official Microsoft sample" or a community project in CodePlex or Code Gallery. This is *not* the place to discussion specific nuances of T-SQL syntax or wage data modeling methodology wars: there are lots of other forums for those purposes. This one is for questions about samples, community projects and conversations between the collaborators that build them.

     

    Some examples of projects that are open for discussion can be found here: http://www.codeplex.com/SqlServerSamples/ It doesn't have to be listed there to be fair game, but it's a good bet that it is fair game if it's already listed there.

     

    Also, please post your project announcements here when you create a new release or a whole new project. If you're looking for people to work on your project or looking for a project to work on, this would be a good place to do both.

     

    Let us know what's missing, let know what could be better and let us know what we're doing right!

SQL Server Setup announcements

System Center Essentials 2010 announcements

  • Link
    Frequently Posted Questions and Answers
    Anshu Agrawal

    Frequently Posted Questions and Answers

    Following list of questions are from SCE 2007 and SCE 2010 forums and answers applies to SCE 2010.
    Document Owner: Anshu Agrawal

     

    Question 1 - How can I create auditing rules in Essentials?

    Question 2 - How do I set up a remote console in a different domain or using local policy?

    Question 3 - How can I discover network devices to manage?

    Question 4: Can I run both Essentials and WSUS in the same domain?

    Question 5: Can I monitor a machine that is in a workgroup?

    Question 6:  My managed computers installed successfully, but still report a status of "unknown" in the computer space.  How can I get them to contact?

    Question 7: How can I create a dynamic deployment group?

    Question 8: I get an error when creating software packages saying verification failed.  How do I resolve the issue?

    Question 9: What would prompt an update to go in “Unknown” category in updates space overviews page?

    Question 10: What steps are required to uninstall Essentials from server A and reinstall on server B on same domain?

    Question 11: Is it possible to upgrade from SQL Express to SQL standard without reinstalling Essentials?

    Question 12: Can Essentials ask for the location of the VM files on the destination during the migration process?

    Question 13: Can a package be redeployed?

    Question 14: If we disable auto-select would it uncheck previously selected products?

    Question 15: Where can I find deployment guide of Essentials 2010?

    Question 16: What is the data retention schedule for reporting in Essentials? 

    Question 17: How can you send files to Microsoft for the Essentials team to review?

    Question 18: How can you verify if the computer (agent) is contactable via network?

    Question 19: What if the computer discovery fails for an agent box?

    Question 20: How can you choose installation path for SQL in Essentials installation process?

    Question 21: Why does running the automatic approval rule for all computers result in unapproved updates?

    Question 22: Can third party updates be approved by auto-approval feature?

    Question 23: What if you see monitoringHost.exe process consuming a lot of CPU?

    Question 24: How to troubleshoot if windows update (WU) and Essentials reports different status for updates?

    Question 25: What are the locations to find common logs to troubleshoot issues in Essentials?

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Question 1 - How can I create auditing rules in Essentials?

    Answer: In Essentials, you can create custom rules that collect events from the security log. 

    Go to Authoring space -> Management Pack objects -> select Rules -> Create a rule -> Alert Generating Rules/Event Based/NT Event Log.

    Select the Essentials group you want to collect events from. To collect from all computers, select the Agent group.

    Select the Security Log to collect events from. Next you build the Filter Expression.

    The Source will be Security and the Event ID will be the security event you are interested in, for example event 612 is Audit Policy Changed.

    Finally, configure the alert with title and description to match the event, such as "Audit Policy was changed".

    You need to make sure that auditing for the type of event you want to capture is turned on at the domain group policy or local security policy level, otherwise the security events won't be written to the log for Essentials to see them.

     

    Question 2 - How do I set up a remote console in a different domain or using local policy?

    Answer: When in the same domain, the certificates used to connect to Essentials are generally available from the group policy, but for a different domain or local policy, the certificates require manual import on the UI machine.

    The two certificates are available on the Essentials server in the install directory folder titled Certificates.  The WSUSSSLCert.cer should be imported into the local computer's trusted root authority store.  The WSUSCodeSigningCert.cer should be imported into the local computer's trusted root authority, third party publishers and third party root certification authority stores.

    Question 3 - How can I discover network devices to manage?

    Answer: To discover network devices, launch the same wizard used to discover computers (it appears in the administration space of the splash page in Computer and device section with the name "Add new Computer and devices").  In the Discovery type page, chose network devices.

     

    Question 4: Can I run both Essentials and WSUS in the same domain?

    Answer: Individual machines can only report to one WSUS server.  Those machines managed by Essentials should only report to the Essentials server for updates, although users are not prohibited from contacting Microsoft update directly by default.  If not all machines in the domain report to the Essentials server, a second Essentials server can be used to manage just those machines not included in Essentials.

     

    If the current environment is running a WSUS 3.0 server, you can upgrade the current server to be a Essentials server and retain the settings and data currently stored.

     

    Question 5: Can I monitor a machine that is in a workgroup?


    Answer: Yes.  You will require two certificates from a trusted authority for both the Essentials server and the new manual agent.

    For more information on how to create the appropriate certificates, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb735408.aspx

     

    To import the Essentials server’s certificate on the server machine, use the install directory\tools\MOMCertImport.exe tool. 

    Use the System Center Essentials 2010 media and choose a manual agent install.  You will need the two certificates from the install directory of SCE in a folder called ‘certificates’ (WSUSSSLCert.cer and WSUSCodeSigningCert.cer, as well as the PFX certificate from the trusted authority and the trusted authority .cer certificate.

     

    Question 6:  My managed computers installed successfully, but still report a status of "unknown" in the computer space.  How can I get them to contact?

    Answer:  The out of box experience wizard or configure product features wizard must have been run before computers will report status in this section.  If using group policy, the settings may take some time to update before the clients will contact.  If using local policy, the configure product features wizard must be run before agent deployment.

    If these steps have been completed successfully, check one of the machines that is reporting the "unknown" inventory by running the rsop.msc.  Computer Configuration\Administrative Settings\Windows Components\Windows Update\Specify intranet Microsoft updates location should point to https://sceserver.fqdn:8531.  If this is not the case, check that the computer is a member of the AD security group SCE Managed Computers (SCESERVER_MG) and if so, try relogging into the machine or rebooting to pick up the group membership.

    If the correct server is reported, check the %WINDIR%\WindowsUpdate.log to see if any errors are occurring with contacting the Essentials server.  As always, if the answer is not clear, these forums are here to help!  Including the log file information in your post will aid in quick answer.

     

    Question 7: How can I create a dynamic deployment group?

     Answer: Many dynamic groups are available in Essentials from imported management packs that are not initially update/software deployment groups.  For example, groups already exist for SQL servers, active directory servers, or exchange servers if the management packs have been imported for monitoring.  To make these deployment groups, chose to create a group from an already exiting group in the computers space grouping wizard.  If the group you would like to create does not exist by default, try choosing the option to Specify Criteria.  This will create a dynamic group based on manufacturer, model, operating system, service pack, and/or organizational units.

    The authoring space contains a more complex grouping wizard that can create a dynamic computer group based on computer properties.  Once the group has been created from the wizard, it will be available to become update/software deployment group in the computers space using the “create new groups wizard”.

     

    Question 8: I get an error when creating software packages saying verification failed.  How do I resolve the issue?

     

    Answer: Either the out of box experience wizard or the product configuration wizard must be run before using any of the software packaging features of the product.  If this is a remote UI, ensure that the WSUSSigningCert.cer is imported onto the local UI machines Trusted Root Authorities, Third Party Publishers and Trusted Publishers certificates store.  You can find this certificate on the Essentials server installation directory in a folder called Certificates.

     

    Question 9: What would prompt an update to go in “Unknown” category in updates space overviews page?

    Answer: The Update comes to unknown state if it’s not pending, failed or successful. When an update is not qualified for any other states it will put into unknown state.

    Basically “unknown” state is not an installation status as we have pending, failed and successful. Usually it is because an update is so “new” to Essentials that WSUS hasn’t run the applicability check on that update yet. So WSUS does not even know if the update is applicable to the clients. Not to mention the installation status which is after the applicability check, approval and installation of the update are done. Unknown is usually a transient state.

    The unknown state will not display on the overview page of the updates space in Essentials 2010.

     

    Question 10: What steps are required to uninstall Essentials from server A and reinstall on server B on same domain?

    Answer: You must uninstall Essentials from server A to install it on server B first if both servers are on same domain (Only one copy of Essentials per domain is supported).
    Please follow the following steps:

    1. Uninstall from server A
    2. Check to make sure the AD GPO and Security group objects are gone from AD (The security group is called SCE Managed Computers and the policy objects are named System Center Essentials All Computer Policy and SCE Managed Computer Policy)
    3. Install Essentials on server B.
    NOTE: Please go to administration->agent managed and uninstall all SCE agents prior to reinstalling Essentials.

    Also, uninstall Essentials will also uninstall WSUS.

    Question 11: Is it possible to upgrade from SQL Express to SQL standard without reinstalling Essentials?

    Answer: It is possible to upgrade SQL Express to SQL standard:
    http://www.toddklindt.com/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=55 

    Question 12: Can Essentials ask for the location of the VM files on the destination during the migration process?

    Answer: On the Migrate Virtual machine page, there is an option to specify the folder location on the destination host. There is also a "Browse..." button to select a different location on the destination host. The virtual machine will be placed on the location specified here.

    Question 13: Can a package be redeployed?

    Answer: If you have successfully deployed your package and try to redeploy it won't fail or give you any errors, it will just not re-deploy it. In other case if you are trying to redeploy a package because it failed before. You can fix the failures on the package and redeploy it and it will deploy it. You can also do:
    1)If the package is based on msi, you just uninstall it on the client and it will be redeployed.
    2) If the package is based on exe, you have to delete the file C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\DataStore.edb (need to stop the automatic update service before). If you do this, all exe based applications that have been deployed to this machine before will be redeployed.

    Question 14: If we disable auto-select would it uncheck previously selected products?

    Answer: If you disable auto-select it will keep the products selection settings currently chosen but it will not add any or remove any product unless the user selects to manually.

    Question 15: Where can I find deployment guide of Essentials 2010?

    Answer: Deployment Guide

     

    Question 16: What is the data retention schedule for reporting in Essentials? 

    Answer: The data retention value is 37 days for reporting.
    If the retention period is increased on SQL Express you may hit the maximum allowed SQL Express database size.

    Question 17: How can you send files to Microsoft for the Essentials team to review?

    Answer: You can send data like logs, screenshots etc to us for review rather than posting them into a thread post.  This should help keep the posts smaller and easier to read.

    If requested, please send email to SCEData@microsoft.com.  If at all possible, please zip the files before sending.

    Please be sure to match the subject of the email with the subject of the post.

    Question 18: How can you verify if the computer (agent) is contactable via network?

    Answer:

    a.     Use the ping command to try and reach the computer using the same name provided to the discovery wizard.  You can do that by going to computer space -> select the computer -> Ping from task pane.

    b.    b. If the machine responds to a ping command, use the IP address of the computer to run ping with the “-a” switch and the IP address, e.g. “ping –a <IP address>”.  This will display the DNS name of the machine; it should match what was used in the original ping command.

    c.     c. Use “nbstat –a <computer name>” to see the registered NetBIOS name and the domain for the computer.  Use “nbstat –A <IP address>” to accomplish the same task using the IP address of the machine.

    d.    NetBIOS is not enabled by default and your network may not be configured to use it.  To determine NetBIOS status, use “ipconfig /all” from the command-line and look for a NetBIOS entry.

     

    Question 19: What if the computer discovery fails for an agent box?

    Answer:  Open the Event Viewer on Essentials server, check if any error message is logged on the Operations Manager event log with the computer name. You can forward the error message or screenshot at SCEData@microsoft.com

     

    Question 20: How can you choose installation path for SQL in Essentials installation process?

    Answer: Default installation does not allow choosing the SQL installation path. But you can install the SQL manually in the desired location and then try installing the SCE 2010. You can find the SQL 2008 Express bits under the prerequisite\SQL folder. SCE setup will detect the installed SQL instance.

     

    Question 21: Why does running the automatic approval rule for all computers result in unapproved updates?

    Answer: this can happen if EULA for that unapproved update has not been accepted. You can manually accept EULA and approve the update and then re-run your auto-approval rule. You will have to accept a EULA for each product separately.   Still it will save time of not approving all EULA for a single product manually.

     

    Question 22: Can third party updates be approved by the auto-approval feature?

    Answer: In Essentials 2010 you cannot run auto-approval rules to approve third party updates / catalogs.

     

    Question 23: What if you see monitoringHost.exe process consuming a lot of CPU?

    Answer: MonitoringHost.exe uses 100% of CPU is a known issue  - Kevin discusses it here from ops manager:
    http://blogs.technet.com/kevinholman/archive/2009/07/20/do-you-randomly-see-a-monitoringhost-exe-process-consuming-lots-of-cpu.aspx

    You can try restarting your health service for now.

     

    Question 24: How to troubleshoot if windows update (WU) and Essentials report different status for updates?

    Answer: If you are seeing more updates on WU/MU please take one update which is not shown in Essentials as needed and make sure the update is approved to the specific client.

    You can get the information by creating a view with the filter “Unapproved update” , select the specific computer group where your client machine resides. If you see the updates there you need to approve the updates.

    The other way you can achieve this by opening the %windir%/windowsupdate.log and look for the update and see what target group the update is approved to. E.g.

    2009-12-01 10:03:59:928  944 ee0 PT Initializing simple targeting cookie, clientId = d1b466eb-cc3c-43c1-bf48-d93323414e04, target group = , DNS name = sh13.shs.loc

    In the above log the target group is null and therefore the update is not approved.

    If you still see the discrepancy please post your query on Essentials forums.

     

    Question 25: What are the locations to find common logs to troubleshoot issues in SCE?

    Answer: You can find all the locations in the Essentials blog for Essentials 2010 troubleshooting guide:

    http://blogs.technet.com/systemcenteressentials/archive/2009/12/05/essentials-2010-troubleshooting-guide.aspx

    Please let us know if you have any other question along with answer which we can add in this post. 

     

     

    Credit for Answers Provided by:

    Stephanie Drenchen

    Anshu Agrawal

    Ranjith A

    Yog Li

    John Joyner

  • Link
    Frequently Asked Questions for System Center Essentials 2010
    Richard Rundle

    Frequently Asked Questions

    General

    Q. What is System Center Essentials 2010?

    A. Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 provides IT professionals in mid-sized organizations a unified physical and virtual IT management experience. It enables you to better secure, update, monitor, and troubleshoot from a single console, so you can efficiently and proactively manage your IT environment

     

    Q. When will System Center Essentials 2010 be available?

    A. The evaluation version of Essentials 2010 is available now. Essentials 2010 will be available for purchase from June 1, 2010.

     

    Q. How can I evaluate Essentials 2010?

    A. Download Essentials 2010 (registration required).

     

    Q. How long can I use the trial version of Essentials 2010?

    A. The trial version is valid for 180 days (6 months) from the date of installation.

     

    Q. Can I upgrade from the RC of Essentials 2010 to the final (RTM) version?
    A. Yes. You can upgrade from the RC to the RTM. Download the trial version and run SetupSCE.exe to upgrade.


    Q. Can I upgrade from the Beta of Essentials 2010 to the RC or the RTM?
    A. No. You need to uninstall the Beta and then install the RTM version.

     

    Q. What documentation is available for Essentials 2010?

    A. You can access Release Notes, Deployment Guide, Operations Guide, videos and other documentation from the Essentials 2010 evaluation site.

     

    Features and Specifications

    Q. How many computers can I manage with System Center Essentials 2010 RC?

    A. You can manage up to 50 computers running a Windows Server operating system and up to 500 computers running a Windows client operating system You can also monitor network devices using Essentials.  

     

    Q. What languages is System Center Essentials 2010 available in?

    A. Essentials 2010 is available in Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian and Spanish. English is the first language released, and all languages will be available within 90 days of the English language release.

     

    Q. Does System Center Essentials 2010 support Remote Operations Manager?

    A. No. Remote Opertions Manager is only supported for Operations Manager 2007 SP1 and Essentials 2007 SP1.

     

    Q. Can I upgrade from Essentials 2007 to Essentials 2010?

    A. Yes. It is possible to upgrade your existing Essentials 2007 installation to Essentials 2010 using the same server.  Run SetupSCE.exe and your existing installation will be detected and you will have the option to upgrade.

     

    Q. Can I run both Essentials 2007 and Essentials 2010 in the same environment?

    A. Yes, but you must meet the following criteria:

    ·         You cannot monitor the same computers using both Essentials 2007 and Essentials 2010.

    ·         If Essentials 2007 is using domain policy then Essentials 2010 must use local policy.

    More information on domain and local policy configuration is in the Essentials Deployment Guide.
     

    Q. Can I run both Essentials 2010 and Virtual Machine Manager 2008 in the same environment?

    A. Yes. Do not manage the same hosts or virtual machines using both Essentials 2010 and Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2. Essentials 2010 includes its own functionality for managing virtual machines. You cannot install both the Essentials 2010 and Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 on the same computer. 
          

    Pricing and Licensing

    Q. How much does System Center Essentials 2010 cost?

    A. Final pricing and licensing will be available by the end of May 2010. There is currently a limited time offer to purchase Essentials 2007 and Virtual Machine Manager 2008 with one year of Software Assurance which includes a free upgrade to Essentials 2010.

  • Link
    Welcome to System Center Essentials 2010!
    Richard Rundle

    Hello and welcome to the Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 forum!

    This forum provides you an opportunity to join a community of IT Administrators who are using System Center Essentials 2010. Essentials 2010 is designed for managing IT environments with up to 50 servers and 500 client computers.

    Here you can share knowledge, get questions answered, and learn from others with IT environments similar to yours.

    Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 is the successor to System Center Essentials 2007. If you have questions on Essentials 2007, please post them in the Essentials 2007 forums.

Service Manager - General announcements

Virtual Machine Manager – General announcements

  • Link
    How to collect SCVMM traces
    Carmen Summers

    For general information about troubleshooting VMM 2012, such as collecting traces and logging information, see VMM 2012 General Troubleshooting Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=211124) on the Microsoft Download Center.  .

    Before Collecting a DebugView Trace

    1.       Install DebugView on the SCVMM server, the host in question, and/or the Web server (for troubleshooting self-service portal issues).

    2.       Save the following code into a text file and name it "odsflags.cmd":

    @echo off

    echo ODS control flags - only trace with set flags will go to ODS

     

    if (%1)==() goto :HELP

    if (%1)==(-?) goto :HELP

    if (%1)==(/?) goto :HELP

     

    echo Setting flag to %1...

    reg ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\Carmine" /v ODSFLAGS /t REG_DWORD /d %1 /f

    echo Done.

    goto :EXIT

     

    :HELP

    echo Usage: odsflags [flag], where flag is

    echo TRACE_ERROR = 0x2,

    echo TRACE_DBG_NORMAL = 0x4,

    echo TRACE_DBG_VERBOSE = 0x8,

    echo TRACE_PERF = 0x10,

    echo TRACE_TEST_INFO = 0x20,

    echo TRACE_TEST_WARNING = 0x40,

    echo TRACE_TEST_ERROR = 0x80,

     

    :EXIT

    3.       Save the following code into a text file and name it "odson.reg":

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

     

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\Carmine]

    "ODS"=dword:00000001

    4.       Save the following code into a text file and name it "odsoff.reg":

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

     

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\Carmine]

    "ODS"=dword:00000000

    5.       Copy the three files created above, odsflags.cmd, odson.reg, and odsoff.reg, to the machines that DebugView will be used on.

    6.       Run the following commands at an elevated Command Prompt:

    odson.reg

    odsflags.cmd 255

    (If you need to collect traces for both VMM Server and the host or the Web server, make sure to run these commands on all of these computers).

    Collecting a DebugView Trace

    1.       Open DebugView as an administrator and ensure that both Capture Win32 and Capture Global Win32 are selected on the Capture menu item. You should be able to see tracing from the VMM components showing up in DebugView. (If you need to collect traces for both VMM Server and the host, make sure to do these steps on all of these computers).

    Figure 2: DebugView.exe Capture menu

    2.       Restart the Virtual Machine Manager Service on the SCVMM server by running the following commands at an elevated command prompt:

    net stop vmmservice

    net start vmmservice

    3.       Restart the Virtual Disk Service by running the following commands at an elevated command prompt:

    net stop vds

    net start vds

    4.       Restart the Virtual Machine Manager Agent service on the host by running the following commands at an elevated command prompt:

    net stop vmmagent

    net start vmmagent

    5.       Restart the IIS service on the Web server by running the following command at an elevated command prompt:

     iisreset

    6.       Reproduce the issue.

    7.       After reproducing the issue, save the output from the DebugView to a text file for analysis.

     Important:

    Turn off tracing after collecting the data by running the following command at a Command Prompt:
    odsoff.reg

     

     

    The format of a DebugView trace differs from that of an ETL trace since DebugView captures all Win32 application activity and, if selected, Kernel mode activity. If saved as a text file, it may be opened in other tools such as TextAnalysisTool.net or Trace32.

     

  • Link
    New to VMM Forum? Read before posting a question.
    Carmen Summers

    Hello!

     

    This forum is dedicated to questions about SCVMM (System Center Virtual Machine Manager). Please use good judgement to post your question to the relevant subforums. 

    If your question is not about this product, please find the correct forum here: http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/default.aspx?SiteID=17.

     When posting a question or an issue, it is helpful to include the product version you have question about, your VMM setup environment, the steps you tried and specific error message you observed. 

    A few related forums for your ease of reference are:

     

    Thanks!

     

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