I think I know why

I have been pondering why Microsoft have a manual migration process for Companyweb from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008. My conclusion is that in SBS 2008 there are at least two special items – Fax Center and Archived E-Mails, that would be lost if you did a straight old to new migration. So, the safest option is simply migrate to a backup site (oldcomapnyweb) on SBS 2008 and let the user copy data from there.

 

That is all well and good but what I can’t understand is why Microsoft simply doesn’t save these “special locations” as templates and then have the user add them in manually later if required. I have been testing that exact concept and it seems to work pretty well so far.

 

From what I see it is going to be far easier to migrate Companyweb directly from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 and then add in the “special locations”.

First looks at SharePoint on SBS 2008

So I have spent a little time fiddling with Sharepoint (a la Companyweb) on SBS 2008 and have the following observations:

 

1. During the default installation it appears that Sharepoint data and programs get installed onto the C: partition. This seems to be the case with all the applications. You need a minimum partition size of around 65GB to complete the install. You maybe able to change this if you use the answer file method of installation. If you have a lot of existing Comapnyweb data or plan to then it is probably a good idea to relocate the Sharepoint data before you get too much further along the implementation.

 

2. It appears Companyweb is installed using the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Embedded Edition. This means that there is no database size limit but it also means that the Sharepoint farm can’t be expanded and the Embedded Edition of SQL can’t be upgraded. It also means by default that the Sharepoint data is on the C: drive under the Windows directory.

 

3. The move Sharepoint data wizard works really well. Running this wizard will allow you to move your Sharepoint data to another drive on your system. When you do move the data it simply replicates the same directory structure on the new drive. By default this means you will end up with a Windows directory on the drive under which will be the Sharepoint data (maybe confusing later on?). Interestingly, the wizard is smart enough to actually move the current content database rather than just the file. In my case because I had done a migration to a new content database I was afraid that it wouldn’t relocate it because it was a different name. But nope, it moved it. The wizards appears to move the data file, config file and search files by detaching the SQL databases, relocating them and reattaching. Pretty neat I’ll admit.

 

4. The default Companyweb installation has an item ‘Fax Center’ clearly the intended destination for faxes. Under this it has a number of sub-folders for incoming, outgoing faxes etc. Since my Companyweb migration was going to cream this I saved it as a template and then added it back to Companyweb after the migration, with exactly the same name and the fax configuration wizard picked it up. So it appears that if you delete ‘Fax Center’ in Sharepoint you can recreate it provided you use the name ‘Fax Center’ and the Fax configuration wizard will pick it up as a destination to route faxes. I’d like to know a bit more about how this actually works and how I could direct faxes to different document libraries I admit.

 

5. I noticed that Companyweb has a item ‘Archive emails’. I wonder what that is for? I wonder whether Exchange 2007 can archive old emails into this? That would be pretty cool if it could. Something worth further investigation when I get a chance. Anyone out there know?

 

6. Companyweb is obviously now 64 bit (since SBS 2008 is 64 bit) combined with the addition of more memory and better disk speeds the performance is much quicker than it was before. Admittedly, this was only a test machine but I get the impression that Companyweb will perform pretty well in new SBS 2008 installation. This will hopefully mean that more people will use it!

 

7. I am not sure whether Companyweb will forgo inbound emails because it is on the same box as an Exchange server. This was the case previously in SBS 2003 but maybe different in SBS 2008, I’ll need to look into that. If you go for SBS 2008 Premium you can always install Sharepoint on the second server and configure inbound emails there I suppose. I have the feeling that Companyweb still won’t support inbound emails but I can’t say definitely until I do some more research.

 

8. The migration of Companyweb from SBS 2003 appears to migrate the data to a new site called Oldcompanyweb on the SBS 2008 server. As I have said previously, I haven’t fully tested this but it is going to mean a bit of work for people who have invested a lot of information in the old Companyweb. Don’t forget all those people who have implemented Sharepoint v3 on SBS 2003 as well, there doesn’t appear to be anything in the migration notes about that. I think there are probably easier ways to migrate the old Companyweb data but I need to understand what Microsoft recommends before I make any assumptions. So another thing to the ‘to do’ list.

 

So there you have it. A few quick impressions of what I see of Companyweb on SBS 2008. There is still plenty of testing to do but from what I see so far I think Sharepoint v3 on SBS 2008 will work pretty well.

SBS 2008 Companyweb migration success

Here’s good old http://companyweb on SBS 2003 running under Sharepoint v2

 

image_2

 

Now here’s the same http://companyweb running on SBS 2008 after I had migrated all the content across:

 

image_4

 

There’s no trick photography, sleigh of hand or digital retouching here I have successfully been able to migrate Sharepoint v2 data from SBS 2003 to Sharepoint v3 in SBS 2008.

 

Having been able to migrate successfully before from Sharepoint v2 to Sharepoint v3 I knew that it would be possible but wanted to make sure on SBS 2008. I will admit that there is trick or two unique to SBS 2008 I had to overcome before I could get it working but nothing major. Now that I know it can be done I will go back and work on improving the process further.

 

Subscribers to my Windows Sharepoint Operations Guide (WSSOPS) will soon be see a new chapter dedicated to the full migration process of companyweb on SBS 2003 to SBS 2008. If you aren’t a subscriber then you are going to face some hurdles but nothing that isn’t insurmountable given the information current out there on the Internet. I will save you a bit of time and say that you can’t simply backup Sharepoint v2 and restore it to Sharepoint v3. The rest you’ll just have to work out for yourself, sorry.

 

I need to have a closer look at migration options that Microsoft now has with SBS 2008 but I have a feeling that they don’t have anything for Companyweb, which I think will concern quite a few people. I may be wrong but I’m sure there are plenty or people who will want to migrate SBS 2003 companyweb to SBS 2008 companyweb but maybe I’m wrong?

Microsoft do have a way to migrate Companyweb

So after studying what Microsoft has to offer about migrating Companyweb on SBS you’ll find:

 

Steps performed on source server

Steps performed on destination server

 

Interesting, it seems that the Microsoft procedure actually creates a second Sharepoint v3 site on the new SBS 2008 server. Quoting from the final results of the document:

 

You now have a working Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Web site that is named OldCompanyWeb and that contains the structure and documents of your old Windows SBS 2003 CompanyWeb Web site. This is a good time to review the contents of your Windows SBS 2003 CompanyWeb Web site and to reorganize or archive items, if appropriate. You can open the new Windows SBS 2008 internal Web site and the Windows SBS 2003 OldCompanyWeb site side-by-side.

 

If you open document libraries and use the Explorer view, you can copy and paste documents and folders from one site to the other.

 

I must admit that if I had a really big Companyweb site I wouldn’t want to be recreating it. It is fine to say “just copy the documents” but what about all the other information like lists, calendars, tasks and so on? I can see this being a pain even for a small site.

 

Now, I will admit I haven’t verified that my method doesn’t break anything and it may well do that (I think it may have issues with inbound faxes and maybe the database relocation wizard) but I will check those out as well as the suggest migration method from Microsoft.

 

On the other hand I can understand why Microsoft recommends doing it this way because who knows what customizations have been done to people’s companyweb? Who knows if these will even migrate correctly? At least with a second Sharepoint v3 site if something “breaks” then you still have an original SBS2008 companyweb to fall back on.

 

So I can understand Microsoft’s logic but if you have a big/complex SBS 2003 companyweb site and you want to take the Microsoft option then basically be prepared to recreate the site on SBS 2008 from what I see.

Video 46 posted

So after all the recent dramas of getting SBS 2008 working I decided to celebrate with a new You Tube video. This video is a first look at the new Small Business Server from Microsoft. I quickly run through what’s the same, what’s new and then examine the new SBS management console.

 

Hopefully over time I’ll be posting more videos about SBS 2008 including all the good old things that I have covered in previous videos on SBS 2003 such as creating users and computers. You’ll find the latest video here:

The weather starting getting rough…

The tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, virtual SBS would be lost.

 

So, continuing on with what appears to be my never ending quest to get a virtual SBS 2008 machine working I had finally gotten a 64 bit guest environment working via Windows Server 2008 64 bit and Hyper-V. Phew. During the last episode I had just started installing SBS 2008.

 

Everything was looking good until the installation tells me I don’t have a network card. I check the Windows configuration manager and I do have a network card but the driver won’t start. Now if I had read John’s comment to my previous post I would have been aware that I needed to set up the virtual machine for SBS with a legacy network card. Unfortunately I didn’t do that, I did however find a work around. I mounted the virtual machine additions CD image, updated all the other missing drivers from that CD image, deleted and re-installed the network card from device manager and got it working. I’ll have to remember that legacy card option for the next virtual SBS 2008 server I run up. Thanks for the heads up John.

 

Finally after many trials and tribulations I have SBS 2008 standard installed. Here’s a few initial observations:

 

1. During the installation there aren’t a lot of options. Most of the configuration seems to come after you get SBS running. In that way you just have to let SBS 2008 install the default way. Now it is my understanding that you can provide an answer file to change these default options but it certainly seems “dumbed down”.

 

2. The connect to the Internet wizard is much more router and DHCP aware which is a good thing. The connection to the Internet is now simply connecting to the Internet. Email and remote access is in a different wizard.

 

3. The layout of the SBS console if very different but so far I like it. It is well organized and pretty logical I think. It is going to remove a lot of confusion for “non-IT” types. It is also interesting that it is moving further and further away from the technical to simply point and click. Again, “dumbing down” in my books.

 

I still have a lot more to play with, especially when it comes to Sharepoint on SBS 2008 and I’ll be posting my findings and thoughts in upcoming entries. Now that I have SBS 2008 running what can I do with it? I wonder ….

Just sit right back…

and you’ll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip. That started from this tropic port aboard this 64 bit ship..” as the classic TV theme goes. Well almost.

 

So to recap, I have been trying to install SBS 2008 into a virtual environment. Problem is because SBS 2008 is only 64 bit I need something that supports a 64 bit guest operating system. However, I firstly need to purchase hardware that supports 64 bit and then install a 64 bit host operating system.

 

Hardware purchase, tick.

64 bit host operating system, tick.

64 bit virtual environment software, tick.

 

My initial choice for 64 bit virtual environment was Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. Which I discovered doesn’t support host 64 bit operating systems. Strike one. Next option VM Ware Server. I install the current version (1.06). Problem is it doesn’t have signed drivers and Vista 64 bit wants signed drivers. Long story short the current version of VM Ware server doesn’t run on Vista 64 bit. Strike two. So now I try VM Ware server 2.0 Beta 2. Program installs but I can’t actually log onto the VM Server. What the …? I google here, I google there, turns out you have to enable the administrator account, (disabled by default under Vista), assign it a password and use that to log in. Ok, ok so I’m in. Now I create a VM machine and boot it but I can’t connect to the VM console. I get a message about being unable to connect because a secure connection can’t be established. I google here, I google there, turns out this a problem on Vista 64 bit. Damm! I try IE and Firefox to connect still no good. I google here, I google there but finally decide it’s a lost cause. Strike three.

 

Next option, Virtual box from Sun. Turns out that doesn’t support guest 64 bit operating systems either. . I know I can make this work, I ain’t beat yet.

 

Thinking, thinking….ok let’s try Windows 2008 and Hyper V as the virtual environment. This means an installation of Windows 2008 server 64 bit to remove the base Vista 64 bit I started with on my hardware. Luckily, I created a small system partition and had my data on another partition so all I needed to do was reformat and reinstall on the small system partition while my data remained intact. Hey, I’m not just a pretty face you know! Now my 64 bit machine doesn’t have a mouse, keyboard and monitor since I was using remote desktop. So I stretch my existing keyboard, mouse and monitor across, boot to the Windows 2008 Server 64 bit system DVD and install Windows Server 2008.

 

Ok, Windows Server 2008 is up, I enable remote desktop, remove the keyboard, mouse and monitor and access it remotely again. I add the role for Hyper V and reboot. Bugger, Hyper V console won’t load. Next stop Microsoft Update. Patching, patching, patching …. reboot, still no joy. Bugger x 2. So I search Microsoft.com and find that there is an update (not a critical or recommended update mind you for Hyper V on 64 bit Windows 2008 which I install and finally the Hyper V console is working. Phew. I go in and create a new virtual machine and start it up but am greeted by an error saying that the machine can’t start because Hyper V isn’t running. What the …?

 

So I’m googling and I’m googling and learn that you have to turn on the virtualization stuff in your PC’s BIOS since it is disabled by default in most cases. So I move the keyboard, mouse and monitor BACK to the 64 bit machine, reboot go into the BIOS and enable the virtualization stuff. I reboot the machine, move the keyboard, mouse and monitor BACK AGAIN to my original desktop and connect remotely.

 

That’s all for this entries exciting tale. Stay tuned to the next entry for … Just kidding, I couldn’t do that to anyone who has read this far. Bottom line is I now have it working and am in the process of installing a guest SBS 2008 system on a Hyper V virtual machine on a Windows 2008 64 bit host operating system. I’m sure this story is far from over so do stay tuned!