It is being reported that Symantec is coming out with a new SMB version of Endpoint Protection. Pardon me if I don’t start jumping for joy.

I do install a lot of Symantec for clients, and I have dealt with their current Endpoint SMB solution. It does work, but at a very high cost. The management system in it is anything but intuitive, adding desktops to the management console and managing them through the console is not simple. The database for the Management system continuously grows to the point where I have had to make sure it is installed only on a data drive, and not to install the Endpoint Manager on an OS partition.

Other odd things I’ve run across is the way it comes out of the box, you need to go in and tell it not to scan your backup drive, especially if it is an SSD drive. I’ve had many issues with Symantec’s own BackupExec because the drive is in use due to Endpoint scanning it all. Then there is the firewall and the way on a server it starts blocking ports that you tell it to leave open. Some software packages do use special ports for legitimate communication purposes. As far as support goes, don’t get me started on the poor support resources Symantec has for all of its products.

Since Endpoint now does allow back reving to the older 10.2 AV solution, I tend to put 10.2 on because it causes less problems.  Less overhead, easier to manage, and it just works.

I know I’ll wind up having to deal with the new version, I just hope that the upcoming beta testing is open so I can place it on my test box and see whether it is worth it, or should I start recommending a different SMB solution. I know that my clients need the protection one way or another.

I figure what a decent way to start off the week with some links to some tips, tricks, and news.

First off is the news that Microsoft’s Free E-book Offer is back. Starting this Wednesday, April 15 and going through April 22, you can download 2 books from Microsoft Press, completely free. The more interesting one to myself is the Windows 2008 Small Business Administrator’s Companion.

Keeping on the Windows 2008 track Microsoft’s Technet Blogs have decided that this months weekly tip series is on Windows Server 2008. Week 1 and Week 2 have been posted and I have to admit, this is some real good information. Some of it seems quite simple, but as I’ve said before, how many times have you stupidly overlooked like the simple? I know I do quite often.

Finally it seems that the economy has hit the SMB Summit this year. Susan Bradley has more information at her blog, or you can just go to the SMBTN Blog. I say go and check out Susan’s blog anyways as she always has interesting posts with some good information.

And that is it for this Monday morning. More to come during the week, as I get to delve into the idea of 1:1 computing for schools.

Server 2008 is a nice Operating System. Works pretty smooth, pretty easy to find things in it, DFRS management could be a little bit easier, but the biggest problem I have with it so far is…

Aero. That’s right the stupid looking, pain in the arse, Vista look. I can hear you now saying, “Come on, it just takes some time to get used to.” That is what they said about Word 2007, and after a year I still can’t find half the stuff I used in Word 2003, heck I found that they pulled some of my most useful things in that.

So pardon me if I say it loud and proud. I HATE THE AERO EXPERIENCE! The way that you “explore” a network is unintuitive, a pain in the rear, and just cumbersome. The layout, even when switched to Classic Mode, is extremely poor, and again unintuitive. The fact that you have to turn on the run command is just plain stupid on a server. The login screen is a pain also, especially if you want to log onto a different domain or workgroup.

Yeah, there are people out there that might love it, and good for them. I’d rather see microsoft give us a choice of the old XP desktop or the Aero desktop. Hey, with Linux you have KDE and GNOME, plus a bunch of other lesser known GUI desktops. Give us the choice!

So my manager goes to put in the new 2008 server at one of our remote offices and finds that replication especially FRS which replicates SYSLOG, is not working with the server in the location. Worked fine when in the main office. So I dig around, and find that in AD Sites and Services, the subnet for the remote site was not connected to the site itself, but to the main office.

Always double check to make sure everything is set right in all palces before say, “Yeah just plug and go!”

So I finally got a test box to load SBS 2008 on. Having worked with SBS 2003 R2 for a number of years, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The install, which was from scratch, went pretty smoothly. I did notice that there was no place to do much customization of the install, which meant everything was going on the box from the start.

When the install got ready to start it did ask if I wanted to check for and download updates to be installed at that time, which I thought was a nice little touch. The full load time was about 2 hours.

Once installed, I noticed that it had a new Management interface. With the Vista base for the GUI, I was expecting changes, but not quite the ammount that I got. I didn’t see many of the things I’ve come to trust with the SBS 2003 interface, namely the advanced options such as computer management, Exchange browsing, etc. Midn you I have not looked hard into it all yet.

The other thing I noticed was that it gave itself a static IP without any input from me. This to me is a big no no especially if you are initially hooking it onto an existing network, as it could pick an IP Address that is used by a machine already on the network.

Outside of that right now, It seems like a nice system. I still have to run through the wizards to set up everything on it. It definitely is an experience though. The next thing to see is how intuitive it is and is the learning curve any different than looking at a Linux GUI or Mac GUI for the first time.

So here it is, the second Tuesday of March and we all know what that means. Yep Microsoft Patch Tuesday! So lets ee what good old Microsoft has patched up for us this month.

The only Critical is a Windows Kernel update, which is patching a hole that, “could allow an attacker to take complete control of your computer if you view a website, email, or document that contains an evil graphic or picture,” according to Eric Schultze of Shavlik Technologies.

Now we all know that a hole in the kernel is bad, and the way this is made to sound this hole can be even worse than other kernel hole, but still I would recommend installing the patch in a test environment first if possible, or at least on a non-mission critical machine. Something about making changes to the Kernel always make me a little leary.

Then there is a series of 4 patches for DNS. Not surprisingly these are for lesser used holes along the Kaminsky DNS attack lines. Definitely get these installed especially with some of the odd ways some viruses seem to be showing up from spoofed DNS.

Finally a patch related to SSL spoofing. Again important, but like the DNS patches, not listed as critical.

Personally, all the patches seem to adress some very serious issues. How SSL and DNS spoofing are not thought of as critical for patching is beyond my comprehension though. At least Microsoft did patch them. Now where is the Excel patch for a major hole in that program?

Mike

So this week has been an interesting week for me from an install standpoint. I got to load up from scratch my first Windows Server 2008 machine, and let me say that I am actually impressed.

The machine is going to a remote office, and needed to be laoded upto be a DC and file/print server on a Windows 2003 SP1 network, which I thought would make life interesting. Usually you find all sorts of odd things when integrating different Server OSes. Not as much in this case.

Active Directory was going to be my biggest worry, yet once I ran the adprep off the 2008 disk on the 2003 DC, everything jsut slipped right into place. The wizards that 2008 uses are fairly simple and straight forward, and did a great job of promoting the server.

The other item of big importance was DFSR for file replication and again, the install and setup of it was amazingly simple.

Yes, 2008 uses that darn Vista GUI, and yes I still don’t like how exploring files and folders (especially the network) is set up with it, its a small, superficial complaint to the ease of 2008. After install I found that 2008 booted faster than 2003, and was just as capable of a server OS. The other complaint I have about it is that it is too simple. I did not see a chance to customize my install initially, which I would like to have the option of.

The whole install and configuration took me 1 day and the file data replicated overnight easily, bringing all the NTFS security information with it.

Honestly, as much as I think Microsoft gets a lot wrong, so far I would say the did something right with server 2008.

Keep watching as my test server finally came in and I am going to be doing a review of SBS2008, installing from scratch soon.

So, while reading the other blogs and news sites I check daily, I came across this interesting article. It seems that Microsoft’s .NET 3.5 SP1 has caused yet more problems. This time with Exchange 2007 on SBS 2008.  With this latest issue that has now cropped up with .Net 3.5 Its time to remember a few things…

1) In Microsoft’s defense, they can’t test everything before releasing stuff. That is why hot fixes exist.

2) Never just accept patches. Always find a way of testing them yourself, even if it is on a personal machine, and research the patches also to see what problems other’s have had. The more reports you find, the more prepared you can be about any issues with it.

I know they are simple thoughts, but just watching how Microsoft has screwed up with this latest version of  .Net it just amazes me that people don’t think of these things. Course, I am one to speak.

So, being in the world of IT, there are many hats we all tend to wear. Sometimes many at once, sometimes at different times. Within all of the different hats there are certain things that stay the same, and can make each of us better. Here is the list of things I tend to do to try and make life easier, not only on me, but on my clients and company.

1) Plan Plan Plan! I can’t stress enough how important a good plan is for anything. Whether it is a move (physical or jsut moving shares), a new deployment, or even trying to fix a problem. Having a plan of attack will always make things go smoother.

2) Keep an open mind! We as techs tend to keep our sight narrowed, but this honestly is one of the worst things we can do. Closing your mind to the possibilities, no matter how far out they might seem, limits us, and can cause problems down the line. A great example was years ago when I was learning how to build machines I spent 6 months trying to figure out why I was getting no sound. The one thing I didn’t try until I was cleaning up my work area was making sure I had the jacks plugged into the right spots. Turned out I have the mic plugged into the speaker spot and the speakers pkugged into the mic. My narrow focus on a hardware problem cost me a lot of time and wasted energy.

3) Think of worst case scenarios! If you think of all the things that can go wrong, come up with what you would do if those things do happen, things will go a lot more smoothly. Not only will it save you time, but you will come out looking even better in the end because you thought things through. As a rule of thumb I always add time beyond what it should take when planning out a project as a standby in case things go wrong. As Scotty from Star Trek Said about multiplying his repair time estimates by 4, “How else do you think I got known as a miracle worker?”

4) GOOGLE!!! It never hurts to google thoughts and ideas. You can come up with both potential issues, find out if people have done things the way you are planning, and other ways to complete a project.

5) Check and Double Check everything before you start! Just to make sure you didn’t miss something. Ona recent in house project not only did I map everything out, but I went over the mapping 5 times to make sure I knew everything inside and out before I started.

Using these sorts of guidlines will not only help make you  a better IT guy, but in what can be a thankless job, will make you look great to your bosses and the people who count!