Weekend Partner Events

With all the hype over Windows Vista, SQL Server 2005, SBA 2006, Diamond (next version of MCE) and all the other software we will not see for the foreseeable future it is easy to forget the problems true IT professionals are having in the field. I attempted to take the weekend off but had my usual slate of partner support calls and here are a few remarks:

70-282 Study Guide & Measure-Up Exam – Apparently both need a lot of corrections with the Measure-Up sample exam being completely worthless. Scott from Port Charlotte shared some questions with me that sounded like they belonged on an A+ exam. They explained every acronym inline. If you need to have PCI and DSL explained to you that 70-282 certification is going to be mighty expensive!

Never ever “reinstall” the server – Partner from Orlando called with a failed SP1 installation that he tried to remedy by reinstalling SBS 2003. This is NOT how you fix problems, especially when you are a Microsoft Partner. System down support for Service Pack issues is completely free, and even if its not, server is not a workstation. You do not wipe and recreate the central security and access control point of your network.

Joining Media Center Edition (MCE) to the domain – Apparently it is possible. If you can live without the MCE Extenders but can not live without centralized security and policy management, your boss’s shiny MCE can run within your Active Directory.

Hate vendors, but did you know you are one? – Had a candid chat with Susan Bradley on Friday about vendor-client relationship in the IT consulting world and she pointed out how many of your customers may see you as their vendor. You may not be selling a car, but your clients still double check your advice. It may be time to run a satisfaction survey and improve your practice.

Backing up your AD Domain Controllers – To wrap up the weekend, Brian from South Florida called at about 12:30 AM with another failed network/server issue. This did not happen to Brian, but partners often do not create frequent backups of secondary domain controllers in SMB networks. Remember that for Domain Controllers not only do you need to backup the System State but also the Active Directory database. And you need to do it often. If your backup exceeds the Active Directory age limit, you will not be allowed to restore the Active Directory. More details here.

So not a quiet weekend but a great list of items to brush up on and give an 18 point check to your disaster recovery procedure. Statistically, people learn to back up when they lose data. They ordinarily never learn how to properly restore the service, they are just content with anything coming back at all! With all the systems getting more dynamic and reliant on the remainder of the network, disaster and recovery are not a click-through process anymore. You need a plan!

Off to South Florida for a few partner events this week. If you’re in WPB or Miami come out on 8/2 and 8/4 (UA Movies & Boyton Beach 9, United Artist Movies @ The Falls 12) and learn something new about SBA 2006, Small Business Specialist, WSUS, SQL 2005 and any Vlad questions you may have. I’ll be there 8am – 5pm, look forward to seeing you. I will also be holding a hands-on Microsoft CRM 1.2 depolyment lab on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, if you are interested bring a notebook, pen & paper, plenty of caffeine and an extra tic-tac.