Steve's TS2 Insider

System Center Data Protection Manager SPLA

sdeming — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:16:36 GMT

Q: (from Grant)

We already have a data center and are active in the SPLA (for a couple years). I am very interested in the System Center DPM hosted off-site backup you mentioned. Can you provide additional information (i.e. best practices, solutions accelerator, etc.) for us to setup the infrastructure for this?

For the Services Provider Use Rights (ServicesProviderUseRights(Worldwide)(English)(January2009)) document.

The following link will provide links to the other resources you are looking for.

https://partner.microsoft.com/US/productssolutions/servers/systemcenter/dataprotectionmanager

What is a memory "Hard Fault"?

sdeming — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:23:02 GMT

Q: (from Eric)

I've had some "anomalies" recently on my Vista machine. While using Task Manager's "Resource Monitor", the Memory section is showing several "Hard Faults". I assume this is not a "Page Fault" (causing a memory-disk swap) because I expect there would be thousands (not dozens) over time. What is a memory "Hard Fault"?

Apparently there are now two types of Page Faults: Hard Faults when the desired page is not in the memory cache and can be found on the hard disk and Soft Faults when the desired page is found elsewhere in memory (ReadyBoost?) I found this information on MSDN at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa964785(VS.85).aspx.

EXIF Data

sdeming — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:20:48 GMT

Q: (from Eric)

I had asked about metadata embedded in digital pictures. You described a command-line tool for editing EXIF data.

Could you give me a link to that software?
What's the relation between EXIF metadata, and IPTC metadata? My favorite image editor is XNView (freeware) - which has tools for manipulating IPTC data
Which fields of EXIF and/or IPTC metadata can Windows Explorer show?

Here are the links that I’ve found useful in working with EXIF data:

http://www.w3.org/2003/12/exif provides a list of fields
http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool is where I found the EXIFTOOL.exe that I use
http://www.photome.de appears to have an interesting tool but I haven’t checked to see if it can do batch conversions or is as flexible as EXIFTOOL

EXIF vs. IPTC: According to http://pipin.org/community/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&Itemid=76 EXIF (EXchangeable Image Format) appears to be technical data about the picture while IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) appears to be classic photo credits for professionals. It does disturb me a little that EXIF data may be discarded by some programs.

It appears that Microsoft supports the EXIF standard with Windows Explorer

System Center Essentials Client Licensing

sdeming — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:39:32 GMT

Q: (from Peter)

What are the System Center Essentials Standard License requirements for a 10 user office? It is a bit confusing on the CALs. There are CML CAL's, SML CAL's, and CML OSE CAL's. Do all users need at least a CML CAL in order to be managed by Sytem Center Essential counsel?

System Center Essentials comes with 50 Client Management Licenses (CMLs) and 10 Server Management Licenses (SMLs). But to answer your question, yes, every managed desktop needs a CML.

Open Value Company Wide Small Business Desktop Advantage

sdeming — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:45:39 GMT

Q: (from John)

I have attended quite a few of your DC area presentations over the past few years and you have said if I get stuck on an issue with Microsoft I could shoot it over to you and you may be able to point me in the right direction. I have a customer that I want to move to the “Small Business Desktop Advantage” SKU across the entire company, (Windows, Office and an SBS license). Here is where it has gotten sticky, my distributor has told me Microsoft is using the same SKU for that as they did say 6 months ago when SBS 2003 had only 1 client license for either Premium or Standard. You told us in DC a few weeks ago that MS has moved to 2 different licenses for SBS 2008, one for standard and one for premium. My distributor also told me this and that is where the problem is. The “Small Business Desktop Advantage” SKU comes with “one (1) SBS licenses” and it doesn’t state on my distributor’s end whether that is now an SBS 2008 Standard or SBS 2008 Premium license in that package. Additionally, there is only one “Small Business Desktop Advantage” SKU package, not separate SKU packages for SBS Premium and Standard 2008.

My distributor called in to one of their Microsoft Licensing reps and he told them to “piecemeal” a license together but that really didn’t answer the question she has about the “Small Business Desktop Advantage” license.

Would you be able to shed any light on one how to proceed with using the “Small Business Desktop Advantage” license? I need an answer in writing from Microsoft as to what the situation is with this license in this transition from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008. Thanks.

This took me some work to find an answer:

The Small Business Desktop Advantage Company Wide SKU specifically is:

Office 2007 SB Edition
SBS 2003 CAL
Windows Vista Business Upgrade
3 years of Software Assurance on all three products

Because it includes SA, if the customer has SBS 2003 R2 Standard and they upgrade to SBS 2008 Standard; they get access to SBS 2008 Standard CALs. If the customer has access to SBS 2003 R2 Premium and they upgrade to SBS 2008 Premium; they get access to SBS 2008 Premium CALs.

Since you can still buy SBS 2003 R2 with SA through Volume Licensing, this is still an option.

After December, SBS 2003 R2 will no longer be available via Volume Licensing and you will be able to buy the equivalent of Small Business Desktop Advantage via a “piecemeal” approach which is officially called “Build Your Own Platform” Where you choose:

The version of Office from
- Office Enterprise
- Office Professional Plus
- Office Small Business
The needed CAL from
- Core CAL Suite
- Enterprise CAL Suite
- SBS 2008 Standard CAL
- SBS 2008 Premium CAL
- EBS 2008 Standard CAL
- EBS 2008 Premium CAL
The version of Vista from
- Windows Vista Business
- Windows Vista Business with Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack
3 years of Software Assurance on all three products

You still need to license the “Build Your Own Platform for all desktops in the organization for Company Wide, but you don’t have to use the exact same configuration for all the desktops. For example in a 15 desktop organization, I could license:

10 desktops with:
- Office Small Business
- SBS 2008 Standard CAL
- Windows Vista Business
And 5 desktops with:
- Office Professional Plus
- SBS 2008 Standard CAL
- Windows Vista Business

And a link to the Build Your Own Platform: https://partner.microsoft.com/US/licensing/licensingprograms/ltvolumelicensing/40081471 slides 10 & 18

I hope this helps.

The BigEasy 2.0 & VAR Rebate

sdeming — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:16:44 GMT

Q: (from Nicole)

I was involved in the webinar today, but I was hoping you could help me out with this immediate issue.

I have the two scenarios below, which I’m presenting to a prospect tomorrow. I wanted to let them know what the Big Easy rebate would be under the Open Business and Open Value scenarios below.

Can you help me out by chance? I also, think they would be eligible for the VAR rebate if they went the Open Value route, am I correct?

Just to clarify, the VAR Rebate is only for you, the customer doesn't apply or directly receive any money. https://partner.microsoft.com/us/varrebates But you have to apply for the program before you sell the products to the customer.

For the Big Easy, you can go to www.microsoftincentives.com/bigeasy to calculate the potential subsidy.

BTW - These promotions can be used TOGETHER!

Volume Licensing 101

sdeming — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:25:47 GMT

Q: (from Kristy)

I'm looking for additional Licensing 101 sessions, similar to the one recently held as part of the Tech Days events in Arlington, VA. I'm having trouble finding a listing of other sessions.

Currently no other Licensing 101 sessions are scheduled for the DC area through the end of the calendar year. I know some additional DC events will be scheduled starting in January. If you want to participate over the web, we will have two web sessions Monday and Tuesday of next week (see the attached invite). They will also be recorded.

Virtual Licensing Bootcamp

Presented by Rachel Kistner Magee, Market Development Manager at Ingram Micro and Steve Deming, Partner Solution Advisor at Microsoft.

Licensing can be a very confusing topic that raises a lot of questions.

· What are the different licensing programs?

· What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

· Which one is the right one for my client?

· Is each product licensed differently?

· How do I know if I’m quoting my customer correctly for licensing?

· And, most importantly, how does licensing help me make money?

If you have ever asked one or more of these questions, then we can help.

Earn Additional Income. Build Continuing Revenue. Expand Your Services

Discover, learn and take advantage of the opportunities offered by Microsoft^® Licensing. This live webcast bootcamp will help build your capabilities in the areas of Open License, Open Value and Financing Options. The new pricing and licensing changes will be covered, and the entire session will also be infused by the most common licensing scenarios.

You should attend IF:

· You are a reseller or interested in learning more about Microsoft Licensing

· You are a Sales Manager, Sales or Tech Sales role in your organization

· You have attended a previous Microsoft licensing boot camp and are looking for a licensing “refresher”

Click here to register

Document Recovery in Word 2007

sdeming — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:23:08 GMT

Q: (from Otto)

Sorry to bother you with this, but I need advice on where to turn.

As you know I've been writing a book. We upgraded to Office 2007 and I accidentally started saving the files in XML format. Now it won't open, and we get an error message of "expecting an = sign". I've exhausted most of the Internet solutions including "load the XML converted into a version of Office 2003. None work.

Sorry to hear about the failed file format. The good news is that the new format is just a ZIP of an XML structure. Change the extension to ZIP and you will be able to read the raw XLM structure. The content would be found under the folder “Word” and the file “Document.xml”

You will have to recreate all of the formatting, but at least you will have access to the content. There is also the possibility of "Frankensteining" the Document.xml file from one .DOCX to another. But that will probably take a lot of effort with very little payoff.

WSUS under SBS 2003 R2

sdeming — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:20:33 GMT

Q: (from Gabriel)

Could you please refer this question to the proper person?

I attempted to install WSUS 2 and 3 on SMBS (Small Business Server 2003 R2) This did not succeed and caused some database confusion. Maybe the reason is that WSUS is already included in SMBS 2003.

Could you please confirm or deny?

in SBS 2003 R2, Microsoft provided the “Green Check” which is based on WSUS with a slightly simplified interface. Therefore you should be able to do your patch subscriptions directly from SBS without the addition of WSUS

Licensing Question

sdeming — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 07:58:43 GMT

Q: (from Bruce)

Thank you for taking the time today to answer all questions, the seminar was very informative and helpful. I would appreciate the link for the slide presentation.

I do have a question regarding one of my customers if you can help me on how to advise them. They currently have 22 desktops and 2 laptops, about 10 of the desktops are Win2k and are being budgeted to be replaced next spring. The remaining computers are all Win XP Pro, most are running Office 2000, some have Office 2k3 and a few Office 2k7. They would prefer to standardize depending on price. All machines are older than 90 days. What would you advice me to have all computers running Office 2k7? I’m not sure that we want to run Vista at this point.

Thanks again for all your help

Excellent question. Truly testing to practice what I was preaching!

Assuming they would like to take advantage of something like “Portable Use Rights” we should try to get them into a volume licensing program: Open Business or Open Value.

Assuming they would like to take advantage of a Software Assurance benefit like “Home Use Rights” then we should get them into Open Value.

Since standardizing on Vista is not desired at this time and you didn’t mention anything about servers and server CALs, then recommending the Open Value Company Wide Desktop Professional is not a good choice.

But we could recommend Open Value Company Wide on just the Office 2007. But this gives them NO credit for the copies of Office 2003 and 2007 they already own.

If cash flow is the biggest concern, you can look at Open Value Subscription on the Office and even get the “Up to Date” discount on the copies of Office 2003 and 2007 they already have. But remember, this puts them on the subscription path – no perpetual rights.

I would recommend running these scenarios through License Wise at www.MS-GearUp.com to get some estimated numbers that you can work through with the customer.

The deck can be found on my SkyDrive:

http://cid-9dc1b9c3c6b95b61.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Licensing%20Bootcamp%20Public%20Files/081016%20TechData%20and%20Microsoft%20Licensing%20Bootcamp.pptx

Thanks for supporting Microsoft.

Washington DC TechDays UPDATE

sdeming — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:02:02 GMT

Extended shameless plug...

We've added a Licensing Bootcamp session to the DC TechDays. It's on Thursday afternoon.

For those of you who haven't seen information on the Licensing Bootcamps, they are four hours of non-stop licensing information. Volume Licensing benefits, Open Business, Open Value, Open Value Company Wide, Open Value Subscription, plus how to sell Software Assurance.

I know, it sounds like TOO much fun. but the Licensing Bootcamps consistently get high marks from partners interested in finding out how to deliver the greatest value in software and services for the least cost.

And see the other DC TechDays sessions at: Washington, DC Tech Days

SBS & EBS Exams

sdeming — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:28:31 GMT

Q: (from Carol)

When are exams for Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 coming out?

It appears that we have the first round of exams arriving in the next few weeks:

Exam 70-653: TS: Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuring
Exam 70-654: TS: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Configuring

It appears that the EBS exam comes out early October and the SBS exam comes out early November

MSAM Vista Activation Issue

sdeming — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:54:27 GMT

Q: (from Dave)

Hey Steve, The Vista NFR they gave me at the TS2 event has a bad PIN. When I attempted to get a product key, it said 'expired'. Can you help?

We've received several reports of this issue and are working on a solution. Apparently the disks we distributed have keys that were only valid through Sept 30th. We are working on getting the date extended. Please watch this space for a pending update.

UPDATE - as of earlier today the activation date was extended to the end of the calendar year.

Software Assurance vs. Upgrade Advantage

sdeming — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:39:37 GMT

Q: (from Rob)

What’s the difference between Sofware Assurance (SA) and Upgrde Advantage (UA)? I can’t find any clear statements. Do we still offer UA?

UA became SA when we switched to Licensing 6.0 in 2001. Upgrade Advantage only implied one benefit – upgrade protection. Now that we have Software Assurance – we can focus on multiple benefits including upgrade protection, home use rights, Vista Enterprise, cold server backup, etc. I often stress that people equate SA with upgrade protection because of it’s history, but it is SOOOO much more. Specifically you can’t sell upgrade protection on a product we recently released like Windows Server, so you should lead with a different SA benefit like cold server or training.

Here is a link to all of the SA benefits for the various licensing programs:

https://partner.microsoft.com/download/global/40029941

Microsoft Demos

sdeming — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:26:17 GMT

Q: (from Cathy)

Hello we were wondering if you had any canned demos you could send us on SharePoint for a demo this Thursday?

If you are a registered partner with the Action Pack, you get the Technical Demonstration Toolkit which has a full SharePoint setup with data and script (I use it all of the time)

If you are a Certified or Gold Certified partner, you have the Demo Solution Showcase (or you might have picked one up at WWPC) it also has a SharePoint demo with data and script.

Both of these can be downloaded from partners.microsoft.com based on your partner level:

Start with the Sales and Marketing tab at the top
Expand the Sales Demo branch on the left
You will see secured links for the Demo Showcase and Product Demos (TDT)