Partner Technology Specialist BLOG

Downloads for Windows Small Business Server 2003

sheilarich — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 20:16:00 GMT

Keep Your Server Up to Date

On this page http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/downloads/default.mspx you will find Windows Small Business Server 2003 updates. To keep your server up to date, you should install these updates (in the order specified). Check back often for additional security information, which will be posted here as it becomes available.

Understanding the Value of the Microsoft Platform versus Open Source

sheilarich — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:25:00 GMT

Make sure you are prepared for fact-based discussions with customers by explaining the open source software landscape and the major differences between commercial and open source software. Take this online course (the first of three designed to prepare partners to have effective, fact-based conversations with customers regarding the value of Microsoft relative to open source products).

http://learningcenter.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/aspen/lang-en/management/LMS_TrainLedInfo.asp?UserMode=0&LEDefId=389

TS2 Seminars coming to NH & Maine - Get Registered!!!

sheilarich — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:17:00 GMT

Be sure to sign up for the next TS2 Seminar in your area. TS2 is an exciting, half-day session for our Partners. Topics being covered are: Deploy and Maintain Windows Server 2003 SP1, Track and Maintain your Network using Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Workgroup Edition, Help Your Clients 'Close the Deal' using RMS and System Builder Content. To register for the next TS2 seminar in your area, click here.

Get your prescriptive guide for Securing Wireless LANs with Certificate Services

sheilarich — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:10:00 GMT

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/windowsserver2003/pkiwire/swlan.mspx

Partners! Join the Operational Efficiency & Productivity Partner Engagement Program

sheilarich — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 17:07:00 GMT

You'll need to login to the partner site to see this but please check it out. We have campaigns going on for Operational Efficiency, Small Business, Desktop Deployment, etc. https://partners.microsoft.com/Pep/Default.aspx?p1=OEP&p2=Home

Mini Code Camp right here in New England

sheilarich — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 21:06:00 GMT

Don't miss this! Rescheduled due to blizzard! Hope to see you there.

Mini Code Camp

Special Edition – VB.NET

Registration Open

Date: Sunday February 20
Time: 8:30AM -5:00PM

Location: Microsoft New England District Office

201 Jones Road, 6th floor
Waltham Weston Corporate Center Waltham, Massachusetts 02451

Join us for a Special Edition of Code Camp presented exclusively by our own Carl Franklin. This one day Mini Code Camp is focused entirely on VB.NET. The morning starts with a review of the fundamentals and the rest of the day expands on that to build a fully functional application that you can take with you! Come and learn best practices, coding techniques, database access, object oriented techniques and more for the VB.NET developer.

As always, the Code Camp Series represents the best technical content of the local developer community. Code Camp’s are always free and guaranteed to be the most fun that you can have anywhere!

Check out the schedule of Upcoming Webcasts!!!

sheilarich — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 20:53:00 GMT

So you survived our New England BLIZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAARD! 3-4 feet of snow! Whenever cabin fever strikes, launch one of our webcasts and settle in for some brain thawing.

Interoperability Month
January 17-February 11

Whether you’re architecting composite applications in a multi-platform datacenter, extending the life of your legacy applications, or integrating J2EE applications with .NET, interoperability is top of mind. Join us this January for a month-long series of webcasts and panel discussion around cross-platform interoperability. You will find introductory to expert level content across topics in development, architecture, deployment and management, and business value.

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=38526

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TechNet Webcast: Defense in Depth Against Malicious Software - (Level 200)

Wednesday, January 26, 2005 - 9:00 AM-10:30 AM

Kevin Remde, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

Malicious software has become increasingly advanced; worms and viruses can propagate more quickly and evade detection more effectively. This session describes how a Defense-in-Depth approach to antivirus solution design can help protect various components of a computing infrastructure from malicious software attacks, including client computers, servers and networking devices. Learn how to implement an effective outbreak control and recovery plan, and how to identify, contain and remedy the effects of malicious software.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032266575&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Preparing a business case for Systems Management Server (SMS) (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 01, 2005 - 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Pacific Time

Ed Goad, Senior Systems Engineer, Microsoft Corporation

You have determined from an IT perspective that SMS is the right solution for your environment - but how do you build a business case that will help you secure the resources you need for proper implementation? In this webcast, we will discuss key considerations, such as reviewing your infrastructure and building an implementation plan, that will help you build the business plan you will need to make your ideal SMS deployment a reality.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267026&Culture=en-US

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TechNet Webcast: Integrating Active Directory with Unix and Java/J2EE Environments (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 01, 2005 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time

David McNeely, Director of Product Management, Centrify

Have you tried to extend Active Directory functionality in non-Microsoft environments? Active Directory has many compelling advantages for organizations of all sizes. However, leveraging Active Directory features and functionality in heterogeneous computing environments is not always possible, and when it is possible it can be difficult to integrate and extend Active Directory features to non-Microsoft platforms in your infrastructure. This webcast will show you how to seamlessly extend Active Directory to non-Microsoft environments such as UNIX and Linux operating systems and J2EE/web application servers such as Apache, WebLogic and JBoss. Join us for this webcast and learn how to take advantage of Active Directory functionality throughout your computing infrastructure.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267728&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Introducing the Business Desktop Deployment Solution Accelerator Enterprise Edition (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 08, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

David Smith, Senior Consultant, Entirenet

Is your organization facing a migration to Windows XP and/or Office 2003? Join this webcast to learn about Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) Solution Accelerator Enterprise Edition, a set of prescriptive guidance and procedures to assist migration and deployment to Windows XP and Office 2003. We will look at the tools and guidance in this new solution accelerator and how the BDD enables a stable, scalable and secure end-to-end deployment for an organization. We will preview the functional areas of the BDD and walk through the installation and configuration of the solution accelerator to help you use the BDD in your environment.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267979&Culture=en-US

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TechNet Webcast: New Features of Windows Server 2003 Active Directory (Level 200)

Wednesday, February 09, 2005 - 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Pacific Time

Bryan Von Axelson, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

Active Directory has been growing! It has become a powerful - and essential - tool in properly organizing and administering a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 environment. Join this session as we cover most aspects of Windows Server 2003 Active Directory operations, focusing on new features for deployment, administration and management, forest trusts, Group Policies, and application support. Whether you're adopting Active Directory for the first time in Windows Server 2003, or are considering an Active Directory upgrade from Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000, you'll definitely want to join this webcast!

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032268117&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Microsoft Virtual Server 2005—Installing a Two-Node Virtual Machine Cluster (Level 200)

Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Pacific Time

Robert Larson, Subject Area Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Looking for an easy way to build a cluster of virtual machines to avoid the cost and complexity of a physical environment? Attend this session to learn how to create a two-node cluster of virtual machines running Windows Server 2003 - a key feature of Virtual Server 2005. This session will include a demonstration of the steps involved in building a cluster of virtual machines.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267134&Culture=en-US

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TechNet Webcast: Deploying and Managing Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Level 200)

Monday, February 14, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Chris Avis, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft

If you need to know how to plan and implement a successful Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) deployment, you will not want to miss this essential webcast. Learn how to prepare for deployment, including an overview of the best practices for testing mission-critical applications under SP2. You will learn how to use Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 to deploy SP2 and how to slipstream SP2 into new Windows XP installations. We will also show how Group Policy can provide centralized and simplified management of SP2 components such as Windows Firewall and Automatic Updates.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032268016&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Zero Touch Deployment Using Systems Management Server 2003 with the Operating System Deployment Pack (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 15, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

David Smith, Senior Consultant, Entirenet

Ben Hansen, Group Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation

How automated is your desktop deployment operation? The Zero Touch Installation (ZTI) component of the Business Desktop Deployment Solution Accelerator adds functionality to the OS Deployment Feature Pack of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. Join this webcast to learn how to fully automate your desktop deployment as we demonstrate higher end functions of SMS 2003. We will highlight the features in the Operating System Deployment Pack that are most useful for deploying new machines in the Enterprise. We recommend that you have some basic familiarity with SMS to get the most out of this webcast.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267990&Culture=en-US

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TechNet Webcast: Microsoft System Management Server 2003 Technical Overview (Part 1 of 2) (Level 200)

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

This two-part series highlights the new features of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, showing how SMS 2003 integrates with network and operating system technologies such as Active Directory and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). In the first part, we will discuss and demonstrate SMS Active Directory integration as well as review the new SMS Advanced Client. We will also cover asset management using Software and hardware inventory. Familiarity with SMS is helpful but not required for this session.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267548&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Using Tools from the SMS 2003 Toolkit 2 (Level 200)

Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Pacific Time

Wally Mead, Program Manager, SMS, Microsoft Corporation

You've been using SMS 2003 or have been thinking about it. Is there something that could make it even easier to use this powerful system to administer an enterprise-wide IT system? Fortunately for you, SMS 2003 Toolkit 2 has been recently released. It contains many tools that can provide immediate benefit to SMS sites. Join SMS 2003 expert Wally Mead as he explains these new tools and how you can use them to improve SMS efficiency and troubleshoot SMS issues more quickly.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267539&Culture=en-US

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TechNet Webcast: Defense in Depth Against Malicious Software (Level 200)

Monday, February 21, 2005 - 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

Kai Axford, Security Specialist, Microsoft

Malicious software has become increasingly advanced; worms and viruses can propagate more quickly and evade detection more effectively. This session describes how a defense-in-depth approach to antivirus solution design can help protect various components of a computing infrastructure from malicious software attacks, including client computers, servers and networking devices. This webcast also covers implementing an effective outbreak control and recovery plan and identifying, containing and remedying the effects of malicious software.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032268022&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Options for Upgrading NT4 LOB Applications Including Using Virtual Server 2005 (Level 200)

Monday, February 21, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time

Michael Murphy, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

As Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server comes to the end of its supported life, many organizations still have vital line-of-business (LOB) applications that run on this platform. This session details a variety of tools Microsoft provides to give organizations options on moving these applications to a newer platform. Using a five-step approach to moving an LOB application, we cover Application Compatibility mode on Microsoft Windows Server 2003, the Application Compatibility Toolkit, and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267986&Culture=en-US

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TechNet Webcast: Desktop Deployment Resource Roadmap (Level 200)

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

David Smith, Senior Consultant, Entirenet

Ben Hansen, Group Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Desktop deployment in a large enterprise can be complicated and time-consuming. But there are many tools and resources available to make the job easier and more automated. Spend an hour with us and possibly save yourself a lot of time and frustration. Join this webcast to learn about our best tools, resources and programs to make your deployment easier. Great for project managers too! This webcast will focus how to navigate the wide variety of MS resources available to customers to assist in planning, building, and Operating a deployment of Windows XP Professional and Office 2003 Professional.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267992&Culture=en-US

TechNet Webcast: Microsoft System Management Server 2003 Technical Overview (Part 2 of 2) (Level 200)

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time

John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

This two-part series highlights the new features of Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, showing how SMS 2003 integrates with network and operating system technologies such as Active Directory and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). The second part of the series will focus on software distribution and SMS reporting. We will examine the software distribution process, including roaming boundaries and the SMS Installer. The session will end with a brief discussion of SMS reporting features. Familiarity with SMS is helpful but not required for this session.

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032267552&Culture=en-US

Exchange Server Application Analyzer 2003 for Lotus Notes

sheilarich — Tue, 11 Jan 2005 20:13:00 GMT

Generate in-depth reports about Notes applications and help your customers develop a migration strategy. Learn about your customer's Lotus Notes applications with this non-invasive analysis tool. This updated version supports currently available Microsoft product offerings as recommended targets (e.g. Microsoft® Office SharePoint™ Portal Server 2003 and Microsoft® Office InfoPath™ 2003 and Lotus Notes releases up to and including version 6). http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=B6F78D8E-184F-49C4-BB1F-EE9A82B0893B&displaylang=en

Common Mistakes When Upgrading a Windows 2000 Domain To a Windows 2003 Domain

sheilarich — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 19:34:00 GMT

You might want to bookmark this one, a single resource with lots of information. Before you "run" and upgrade system to Windows 2003 domain there are some considerations to take: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;%5BLN%5D;555040&SD=tech

How to resolve Common "Windows Installer" Problems

sheilarich — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 19:28:00 GMT

Experiencing this?

When you try to install/uninstall some application/s, you may get warning messages like:

"The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed"

"Windows Installer Service couldn’t be started"

"Could not start the Windows Installer service on Local Computer. Error 5: Access is denied."

http://www.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;555175&SD=tech

Download Microsoft AntiSpyware!

sheilarich — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 18:30:00 GMT

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Free!!! Developer's Mini Code Camp 1/23/05 Special Edition, VB.NET in our Waltham, MA office

sheilarich — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 19:10:00 GMT

Burn off those holiday calories by getting those brain cells humming ;) Sunday, January 23, 2005 8:30 AM http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032264808&Culture=en-US

As always, the Code Camp Series represents the best technical content of the local developer community. Code Camp’s are always free and guaranteed to be the most fun that you can have anywhere!

Microsoft Partner Readiness - Lotus Notes Migration Workshop

sheilarich — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 19:04:00 GMT

Partners can take attend this two day hands-on workshop for a reduced rate of $175. http://www.msreadiness.com/lotusnotes.asp

OVERVIEW:
This two-day instructor-led workshop integrates lectures with product demonstrations and hands-on labs. The course will:

Provide you with an overview of the Lotus Notes and IBM Workplace platforms, and present comparisons with the Microsoft platform.
Explain why the Microsoft Communications and Collaboration platform is a great alternative.
Provide you with tools and know-how to get customers to migrate to the Microsoft Platform.

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Understand the issues that organizational CIOs face when standardizing Lotus Notes.
Understand Lotus Notes databases and applications.
Understand alternative migration strategies and processes.
Use Domino to Exchange mailbox and server migration tools.
Use the Microsoft Data Collector Tool to analyze the complexity of Notes Applications.
Use the ecKnowledge application available from CASAHL Technology, Inc. which integrates both Microsoft and IBM Lotus Notes collaborative applications with each other.

Download! Domain Server Consolidation and Migration: Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003 Solution Accelerator

sheilarich — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 18:19:00 GMT

Download this resource we've recently made available! It outlines options available, based on best practices, for the design and considerations of a migration effort from Windows NT 4.0 domains to Windows Server 2003 Active Directory service - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=51047540-D6FE-4CA2-9975-E831ACB66239&displaylang=en

Microsoft Partners Technical Demonstration Toolkits shipped in the December box

sheilarich — Thu, 30 Dec 2004 18:31:00 GMT

WIIFY? What's in it for you? Leverage pre-configured environments to perform demos, train yourself, become familiar with products, run mutiple environments on one machine, etc. The Toolkit was shipped to Certified and Gold Certified partners in the December monthly box.

The Toolkit Can Help You

Quickly set up complex demonstrations, such as a multisystem environment that includes Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Exchange Server, SQL Server, and Office.
Demonstrate the advantages of using Microsoft technologies and solutions and how they work together.
The demonstrations come complete with scripts and supporting materials, including PowerPoint presentations.
Run demonstrations with less hardware. Run a number of Virtual PCs on one machine. Give demonstrations without having to haul a number of machines to your customers.
Improve your understanding of Microsoft technologies with ideal, preconfigured environments.
Additional Microsoft Business Solutions demonstrations will also be provided to Microsoft Business Solutions authorized partners.