Abstract:

Exchange 2007 SP1 on Server 2008 can't back up using in-box tools.  Either use DPM, or a 3rd party tool ($$$), or hack NTBackup to run on 2008 Server.  A workaround/hack is provided that allows NTBackup to run on Server 2008 x64 with Exchange 2007 SP1.

Background:

The Exchange Team Blog has the following text:

Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows Server 2008 does not include a backup utility that supports the Exchange ESE streaming backup APIs. The Windows 2008 backup application, Windows Server Backup, cannot be used to take backups of Exchange.

Exchange still includes the ESE streaming backup APIs, but the absence of an Exchange-aware backup application in Windows may come as a surprise to many. Another change we made that may also affect you is the removal of remote streaming backup support on Windows 2008.

This leaves you with two choices for taking Exchange-aware online backups when running Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows 2008:

1. Move to a Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)-based backup application. You can use Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2007 or a third-party backup application that supports Exchange-aware VSS-based backups of Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008. Windows Server Backup in Windows 2008 is a VSS-based backup application, but it does not include a VSS requestor for Exchange, which is a necessary component in order to use VSS to take an Exchange-aware backup.
2. Use a Third-Party application that supports ESE streaming backups using a local backup agent on the Exchange server. Because the ESE streaming APIs remain in Exchange 2007, you can still use them to backup Exchange. But to do that, you must use a third-party backup application that runs a local agent on the Exchange server so that the streaming backup is made locally, and not remotely. You cannot take remote streaming backups of Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows 2008 with or without a third-party product. Any streaming backups that are performed must be performed locally on the Exchange server.

Annoyances and anger aside, NTBackup (the old utility) can be made to run on Server 2008.  I found this: http://cs.thefoleyhouse.co.uk/blogs/karl/archive/2008/02/10/how-to-backup-exchange-2007-on-server-2008.aspx

To Install and use NTBackup on a Server 2008 Machine to Backup Exchange 2007 SP1:

1. Install NTBackup, as per http://www.petri.co.il/installing_windows_xp_ntbackup_on_windows_vista.htm
   1. Copy these files from a 2003 server (C:\Windows\System32\) to Server 2008 (C:\Program Files\NTBackup\):
      1. ntbackup.exe
      2. ntmsapi.dll
      3. vssapi.dll
2. Install the Removable Storage Manager from Server Manager.  (Features, Add Features, Removable Storage Manager.)
3. Copy Exchange DLLs to access Exchange (as per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/275876).  You need to copy esebcli2.dll from 2003 (C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\Bin) to 2008 (C:\Program Files\NTBackup)
4. Run regedit and change the esebcli2 key from C:\Program Files\Micrsoft\Exchange Server\Bin\esebcli2.dll to C:\Program Files\NTBackup\esebcli2.dll

Discussion:

I would seem that several product groups at Microsoft have failed to do comprehensive use-case analyses of customer requirements.  This has happened with Vista (poor file copy performance, poor video card gaming performance, 4GB RAM BSOD with RTM, to name a few), and with Exchange 2007 (Exporting to PST in 2007 requires a 32-bit box, Server 2008 CAS does not work properly with single server deployments since DSAccess fails to listen on the IPv6 on port 6004, and Server 2008 does not provide an in-box backup solution for Exchange 2007.)

Summary:

The latest firmware/drivers (February 2008 beta) with 3Ware 9650SE (8LP) and Windows Server 2008 do not get along.  The system gets to the boot screen with the progress indicator, then locks up.

The problem is resolved with older firmware version 9.4.0.1 with bootloader 3.05.00.002, using the latest beta drivers (3wareDrv.sys is version 3.0.3.108).  I have Windows Server 2008 Enterprise running now.

Workarounds:

1. (March 20th 2008) Use the latest in-engineering firmware and drivers, as per http://www.3ware.com/KB/article.aspx?id=14928
   Firmware 3.08.00.022 or newer should be compatible, when using the driver 3.0.3.108.
2. (March 2nd 2008) Downgrade the firmware.  Download firmware/bootloader: http://www.3ware.com/KB/article.aspx?id=15103 (older firmware 9.4.0.1 with bootloader 3.05.00.002)
   Drivers: http://www.3ware.com/download/productseng/Driver/windrv_x64.zip (I'm using 3wareDrv.sys, version 3.0.3.108)

Known Issues:

• Back up your RAID containers before downgrading - I had some weird errors.  I ended up nuking my RAID containers, then recreating them.
• I'm running the latest management utilities - no problems so far.

Details:

January 13th 2008

I have a Tyan FT48 with a quad core Xeon E5335.  I moved my 3Ware 9650SE (8LP) over to it this afternoon to do a Windows Server 2008 RC (Hyper V) install and discovered that the drivers provided for 3Ware are non-functional with Server 2008.  The system hangs at start up, at the Server 2008 boot up screen.  The green progress indicator locks up.

This is also happening with a 9550SX on a different system.  But just to be safe: The system BIOS is the latest available, 2.00b, from Tyan.

The 3Ware 9.5.0 production driver, and the in-engineering drivers have been tested.
Both cards have been updated to the latest firmware.

http://www.3ware.com/KB/article.aspx?id=14928 is not very helpful.  Has anyone tried the 9650SE with Vista?  Any boot problems?

My server remains on Server 2003 R2 x64 until this issue is resolved.  I'm disappointed that 3Ware doesn't have functioning drivers, still.

January 15th 2008

My email to 3Ware was promptly replied to. They've sent me updated drivers, soon to be posted on their website under "In Engineering", I'm told.  Bypassing the signature requirement is still necessary at this point, via http://www.3ware.com/KB/article.aspx?id=14928 I'm told.

I will get these tested the coming weekend.

February 2nd 2008

I got the 2008 RTM bits off Connect today - and I'll try to find some time to get this tested this coming weekend, using the latest engineering drivers.

February 6th 2008

I'm not checking the 3ware KB daily at http://www.3ware.com/KB/article.aspx?id=14928 , but some more 'information' has been posted: 64-bit Vista/Windows 2008 support is not currently available.  A firmware upgrade for the 9550SX(U)/9590SE/9650SE is required.  This will be officially supported with the 9.5.1 code set (due out August 2008), but a beta version will be posted to the 'In Engineering Phase' section of the 3ware web site soon (February 2008).

Later this month?  This is surely a problem that became obvious in earlier builds.  Perhaps I will dig up some older beta builds of 2008 that I have, and test.  I'm curious as to why they've done so little.  I'm very disappointed.

February 6th 2008 (again)

3Ware says they found the current bug last week (week of January 28th.)  They say they should have updated code by the end of this week (week of February 4th) and testing will be done next week (week of February 11th).  I'm told the code will be posted to the "in-engineering" section the week after (week of February 18th).

Pretty disappointing.  But at least they respond to emails, with real answers, unlike Adaptec.

February 26th 2008

Tried this past weekend with latest beta firmware on the 9650SE with the latest driver.  No boot.  Argh.

March 2nd 2008

Success!  I booted from a Windows 98SE floppy, and flashed my 9650SE (8LP) to 9.4.0.1 with bootloader 3.05.00.002 from http://www.3ware.com/KB/article.aspx?id=15103 .
My RAID containers were a bit wonky in the BIOS after, so make sure you do a complete backup of your RAID containers first.  I ended up re-creating the containers - and everything seems functional, so far.  Using that firmware and bootloader, coupled with the latest beta driver (3wareDrv.sys is version 3.0.3.108) I'm able to get Windows Server 2008 x64 RTM booting.

Thank you to the person who left the comment!  I have contacted 3Ware support, and they have updated the KB article to reflect this workaround.

Background:

I run Vista Ultimate x64 (64-bit).

Message:

When I open the Windows Photo Gallery, I am told that, "An Update to Windows Photo Gallery is Available".

Sure.  Sounds good to me.    If I choose to download the update, I'm directed to a Canon page, which looks like this:

Discussion:

So the 64-bit version is not supported.  Lovely.  Someone botched the 3rd party software integration.

If the app was written in-house, then it would already have been ported to 64-bit, be localization-ready, undergone a security review, etc. Because those are basic ground rules for coding at Microsoft.

http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2008/02/25/7885570.aspx

Background:

I have two Intel Xeon P4 Xeon servers.  The clock speed on both is 2.8GHz.

Problem:

Everything takes an eternity on them.  They're so slow.  And they do nothing but generate heat.

and a quick peek inside Task Manager on this particular machine shows:

Yup.  A massive amount of physical memory (6GB) that is sitting there, waiting to be used.

NetBurst was something that never should have happened.  AMD was around to make them realise that - and now we're being shipped lots of P3 cores on a die.

Meanwhile, I have a significant portion of my infrastructure that is, essentially, useless.  Perhaps it contributes to global warming by wasting lots of electricity, but Intel should have to deal with this.  Take back old P4 and Xeon processors and replace them with a new Core-based Celery or E2XXX series processor or something.

*sigh*  Unnecessary downtime.

What is PowerGUI?

PowerGUI is an extensible graphical administrative console for managing systems based on Windows PowerShell. These include Windows OS (XP, 2003, Vista), Exchange 2007, Operations Manager 2007 and other new systems from Microsoft. The tool allows to use the rich capabilities of Windows PowerShell in a familiar and intuitive GUI console.

How much does it cost and is registration required?

PowerGUI is a freeware product thanks to the support we are getting from Quest Software. You can download the product and access all information on this site absolutely for free and without any registration or login. You will have to register only if you want to post information to the discussion forums or library, or subscribe to notifications by email (RSS subscription does not require registration.)

What are the system requirements?

The main system requirement is Windows PowerShell (which in its turn requires .net framework 2.0). If you don't have this installed on your computer PowerGUI setup will detect that and open a web page from which the system can be downloaded. In terms of operating systems we support Windows XP, 2003, Vista, and Longhorn; both 32- and 64-bit. Particular snapins may add their specific system requirements. For example the Exchange 2007 snapin we ship today naturally requires Exchange 2007 or its administrative tools.

What can I do with PowerGUI?

Pretty much anything that the underlying system permits. You can browse through the system, filter/sort what you get, select the columns, perform actions on selected objects, change their properties, export data to clipboard, Excel, xml, or just html reports, and much more. And if you don't believe this is all being done by Windows PowerShell just switch to another tab and you'll see the PowerShell code behind what you've been doing.

Download: http://powergui.org/downloads.jspa

Robert McMurray: Earlier today Microsoft released the RTM version of the Microsoft FTP Service for IIS 7.0 for Windows Server 2008!

Listed below are the links for the download pages for each of the individual installation packages:

FTP 7 (x86) Installation Package
http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=1619

FTP 7 (x64) Installation Package
http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&i=1620&g=6

We've all seen it happen. Two servers are configured the same way, but suddenly, one of them stops working. The content is same, everything looks right, but one server is exhibiting unusual behavior. You could try to take the config from the working server and overwrite the broken one. But that won't tell you what happened, nor if it might happen again.

There's also the case where you only have one server, which suddenly breaks. Restoring from backup if you have one or manually sifting through config might be your only option. But often the problem isn't easy to spot and backups take time and effort to restore.

Enter MS Deploy. You can compare two live sites, a site with an archive, or compare two archives. In this case, I'll show you comparison of a live web site and an archive. An archive is like a snapshot of a site or server at a given point in time. When you take the archive, you may be doing it for a manual backup, to do an offline sync or to make a copy of a specific version of your app. It's a great way to quickly take a snapshot of your working app (and config) before you make changes.

http://blogs.iis.net/msdeploy/archive/2008/02/02/using-ms-deploy-to-compare-sites-or-see-what-components-your-site-uses.aspx

via http://blogs.iis.net/msdeploy/archive/2008/01/22/welcome-to-the-web-deployment-team-blog.aspx

Technical Preview 1

x86
http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=1602

x64
http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=1603

This white paper provides the information that you need in order to configure Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with multiple address lists so different groups of users can have their own address list and secure those address lists so that groups of users can only see their specific address list.

Much of the information in this white paper originally appeared as individual Help topics in the Exchange Server 2007 Help. In this white paper, we have consolidated the information that you need to deploy and manage segregated address lists in one central location. We have also provided sample scripts, which can be modified to fit your environment, to help automate the provisioning of virtual organizations and users.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/bb936719.aspx or
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb936719(EXCHG.80,printer).aspx

More technical papers: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc164340(EXCHG.80).aspx

Background:

A clean install of Windows Vista SP1 is attempted on an hp Pavilion dv1603tn.  The "high definition audio device" shows failure in Device Manager.  The HP provided Vista package was installed.  The "High Definition Audio Device" device error goes away, but the resultant "Conexant High Definition Audio" device is silent and refuses to play any sounds.  Attempts to do so show sounds appearing in the sound mixer - the levels change - but nothing comes out the main system speakers.

Solution:

The HP provided Vista package is non-functional.  Download and install the "XP" driver package on their website.  Windows Update then will provide an updated driver package for Vista if necessary.

XP package installed: Release Date: 2006-05-15           Version: 3.21.0.0 A
Vista package attempted: Release Date: 2007-05-15           Version: 3.38.0.50 A
It is possible that an "updated" package will be released in the future by the manufacturer to correct this problem.

1. Download the XP driver package, and open it with WinRAR or 7-zip or a similar archiver, and extract it's contents.  (This will prevent the package from auto installing.)
2. Next, right click on the High Definition Audio Device in Device Manager and update the driver to this package, by pointing the wizard to the folder where the files were extracted it.

The functional driver with Vista SP1 has a date of "4/18/2006" and is version "3.21.0.0".

Note:

Ensure also you download and install the latest video and chipset drivers from Intel.com - NOT HP's support website, which shows releases several builds behind.

How to obtain the latest update rollup for Exchange 2007

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=937052

What will support Windows Server 2008 at RTM?

• .NET Framework 2.0 (installed)
• .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 ( part of Application Server role )
• .NET Framework 3.5
• Dynamics CRM 4.0
• Exchange Server 2007 SP1
• Forefront Security Server 1.0
• MOSS SP1 ( installation notes for Windows Server 2008)  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936988
• SQL Server 2005 SP2
• System Center Data Protection Manager 2007
• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (Formerly SMS)
• System Center Operations Manager 2007
• Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0 SP1 ( installation notes for Windows Server 2008 ) http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936988
• Visual Studio 2008
• WSUS 3.0 SP1

What are we planning to support in the first half of 2008?

• We will ship the Hyper-V technology 180days after RTM
• Dynamics AX 2009
• MOM SP1
• SCCM 2007SP1
• System Center Essentials 2001
• Forefront Client Security SP1

What are we planning to support in the second half of 2008?

• Application Virtualization 4.5
• Commerce Server 2007 SP2
• HIS 2006 SP1
• MOM 2005 SP1
• SQL Server 2008
• System Center Essentials 2001
• Windows System Center VMM 2.0
• Windows Essential Business Server
• Windows Home Server vNext
• Windows HPC Server 2008

So what will not be supported?

• SMS 2003
• System Center Reporting Manager
• Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006 and earlier

Source:

http://blogs.msdn.com/neilhut/archive/2008/02/07/microsoft-server-and-tools-support-for-windows-server-2008.aspx

Windows Media Services

To obtain the new features and tools available in Windows Media Services for Windows Server 2008, such as the built-in WMS Cache/Proxy plug-in, you must obtain and run the appropriate Streaming Media Services role installer file on the updated platform.

• Windows Media Services and the rest of the Streaming Media Services role in Server Manager, on “full” installations of Standard and Enterprise editions of Windows Server 2008
• The Streaming Media Services Server Core role, on “Server Core” installations of Standard and Enterprise editions of Windows Server 2008
• The Windows Media Services snap-in for Microsoft Management Console (MMC) on a computer that is running the Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition of the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=9ccf6312-723b-4577-be58-7caab2e1c5b7&displaylang=en&tm

Visual Studio 2008 Product Comparison Data Sheet

This data sheet provides a comprehensive product comparison of the Visual Studio 2008 IDE products. It does not provide data about Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Foundation Server, Visual Studio Team System 2008 Team Explorer, or Visual Studio Team System 2008 Test Load Agent. This data sheet is provided for illustrative purposes only.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/f/e/5feb6914-bcdf-432f-81c7-e386812b086a/visualstudio2008productcomparisondatasheet.pdf (2.2MB)
http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/f/e/5feb6914-bcdf-432f-81c7-e386812b086a/visualstudio2008productcomparisondatasheet.docx (266KB)

Instead of just being rants, I found the following pages to be rather helpful.  There are some nice troubleshooting tips, changes you can make to improve performance, etc..

Why Outlook 2007 is slow: Microsoft’s official answer
http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=123

Outlook 2007 is slow, RSS broken
http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=54

Problem with Outlook 2007 - Email Receive is Broken!
http://www.roundtripsolutions.com/blog/2007/02/19/208/problem-with-outlook-2007-email-receive-is-broken/

What can I do about Outlook's huge PST?
http://ask-leo.com/what_can_i_do_about_outlooks_huge_pst.html

This is a list of the Basic Concepts posts being put up by Science Bloggers and others. It will be updated and put to the top when new entries are published. If you are not a Scienceblogger, email me (see below) and let me know of your post, or someone else's. If you want suggestions for a topic to write on, just ask.

http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/2008/01/basic_concepts_in_science_a_li.php

See also:
The Scientific Method -- http://geekcounterpoint.net/files/GC004.html
The fossil record -- http://geekcounterpoint.net/files/GC014.html
Stem cells -- http://geekcounterpoint.net/files/GC018.html
Special relativity -- http://geekcounterpoint.net/files/GC022.html
General relativity -- http://geekcounterpoint.net/files/GC027.html
Quantum mechanics -- http://geekcounterpoint.net/files/GC033.html
Climate Change 101 -- http://geekcounterpoint.net/files/GC045.html