Windows Small Business Server 2008 Release Documentation

Updated: May 13, 2010

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

Welcome to the Release Documentation for the Windows® Small Business Server 2008 server software. This document contains up-to-date information to help you properly install and configure Windows SBS 2008. You should review this document before you install your Windows SBS 2008 network.

System requirements

Ensure that your computer meets at least the minimum hardware requirements listed, determine if you need additional hardware, and check that the drivers for your hardware are supported by the Windows Server® 2008 operating system. For information about compatible hardware, see the Windows Server Catalog Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=125619).

Hardware requirements

As you prepare your hardware for installation, choose how to partition the drives on your server. As a best practice, for increased performance and easier backup and restoration, place your system and data partitions on separate physical drives. At a minimum, you should create one partition (the C:\ partition) for the operating system and applications, and then create a separate partition for data. As an option, you might consider using redundant storage technologies, such as RAID5 or RAID1, to help protect your data.

For more information, see the "System Requirements" section in "Planning Your Windows Small Business Server 2008 Network" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=104282).

New and updated information

You might not be able access https://companyweb from the server

You may receive an “access denied” error when you try to access https://companyweb from the server. If this happens, the server will prompt you to provide your authentication information three times, but each time either a blank page or a 401 error page appears. This issue occurs after you install any of the following on Windows SBS 2008:

• Internet Explorer 8

• MS09-014: Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer (KB963027), or a more recent cumulative update for Internet Explorer.

• Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2008

• Windows SBS 2008 with Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2008

To resolve this issue, do one of the following:

• Perform either Method 2 or Method 3 as described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article “Blank page or 401.1 Unauthorized accessing Companyweb from the SBS Server” (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=180784).

• Use either Windows Update or WSUS to install the most recent Update Rollup that is available for Windows SBS 2008 (requires administrator approval).

You cannot use the Web site at https://connect to join a computer running Windows 7 to the domain

If you want to join a computer that is running the Windows 7 operating system to the Windows SBS 2008 network, you must first install Windows SBS 2008 Update Rollup 3 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=16394) or later.

To install the most recent Update Rollup that is available for Windows SBS 2008, use either Windows Update or WSUS (requires administrator approval).

You might encounter the error “One or more updates cannot be installed” during server installation

On the Get important updates page of the Install Windows Small Business Server 2008 Wizard, if you choose Go online and get the most recent installation updates (recommended) and then click Next, the Installation finished page appears and informs you that the wizard encountered some non-critical issues. If you click View installation issues, the wizard displays the error “One or more updates cannot be installed.”

To resolve this issue, make sure that the server is connected to the Internet, and then do one of the following:

• Download software updates immediately

• Configure software update settings to approve updates automatically

To connect to the Internet

1. Open the Windows SBS Console.

2. On the Home page, click Connect to the Internet.

3. Follow the instructions in the wizard.

To download updates immediately

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click either Windows Update or Microsoft Update.

2. Follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the available updates.

To configure software update settings

1. Open the Windows SBS Console.

2. On the navigation bar, click Security.

3. Click the Updates tab, and then, in the task pane, click Change the software update settings.

4. On the Server Updates and Client Updates tabs, choose from the following four update options:

   • High.   All updates and service packs are automatically approved for installation.

   • Medium.   All security, critical, and definition updates are automatically approved for installation.

   • Low.   All security and definition updates are automatically approved for installation.

   • None.   No updates are automatically approved for installation.

5. On the Schedule tab, choose how and when to update your servers and client computers.

6. On the Included Computers tab, choose the computer names and update groups that you want to include in updates. You can also change the update group to which individual computers belong.

7. Click OK to apply the changes.

8. To synchronize your software update settings immediately, in the tasks pane of the Windows SBS Console Updates tab, click Synchronize now.

The Windows Small Business Server 2008 networking wizards do not support network teaming

Some hardware manufacturers provide network adapters and drivers that feature fault tolerance technology. You can use fault tolerance technology to group network adapter ports for a connection to a single physical segment. This is known as “network teaming.” If connectivity through one port does not work, another port is automatically activated to handle the connection. This process is transparent to the operating system and to other devices on the network.

The Windows SBS 2008 Connect to the Internet Wizard and Fix My Network Wizard do not support network teaming because it is a scenario that is not typically used in a small business environment. However, you should use these wizards to properly configure the server to use a single network adapter.

If you choose to use network teaming, you should not use the Windows SBS 2008 networking wizards after you configure teaming because doing so will have an unknown effect on the team. Additionally, because the Windows SBS 2008 networking wizards do not support network teaming, if you require assistance from Microsoft support, you will be instructed to remove the network team and then to use the Windows SBS 2008 networking wizards to properly configure the server for your network.

To remove a network team

1. Uninstall the network teaming software, and then restart the server when prompted.

2. Use Device Manager to uninstall the virtual network adapter, and then restart the server when prompted.

Migration

An Alias (CNAME) resource record is not created for the https://companyweb Web site when you migrate from Windows Server to Windows SBS 2008

When you migrate from Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 to Windows SBS 2008, the Alias (CNAME) resource record for the https://companyweb Web site is not created. As a result, you are not able to access the https://companyweb Web site. To resolve this issue, run the Fix My Network Wizard.

To run the Fix My Network Wizard

1. From the server running Windows SBS 2008, open the Windows SBS Console.

2. On the navigation bar, click Network, and then click Connectivity.

3. In the task pane, click Fix my network.

4. Follow the instructions in the wizard. You can click each potential problem that the wizard lists to get more information about the problem.

If the problem persists after you run the Fix My Network Wizard, clear the list of DNS addresses that are stored on the computer.

To clear the list of DNS addresses that are stored on the server or on a client computer that is running Windows Vista

1. Click the Start button.

2. In the Search box, type command prompt.

3. In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

4. At the command prompt, type ipconfig /flushdns, and then press ENTER.

To clear the list of DNS addresses that are stored on a client computer that is running Windows XP

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as.

2. In the Run As dialog box, select The following user.

3. Ensure that the User name text box displays Administrator, type the password for the local administrator account, and then click OK.

4. At the command prompt, type ipconfig /flushdns, and then press ENTER.

Post-installation

Issue with the Windows SharePoint Services Timer process

If you set the clock on Windows SBS 2008 to be earlier than the current time, the Windows SharePoint® Services Timer process (owstimer.exe) consumes more than 50% of the available CPU. To release the CPU resources, you must restart the Windows SharePoint Services Timer process.

Multilingual User Interface (MUI) packs are not supported

Windows SBS 2008 does not support the use of language interface packs (LIP) or multilingual user interface (MUI) packs.

Running the Trusted Certificate Wizard causes an error in Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway)

After you run the Trusted Certificate Wizard to import a certificate, you might see the following error in the Terminal Services Gateway Manager: “IIS is not configured for TS Gateway.” If this error occurs, you cannot connect to a computer through Remote Web Workplace. To resolve the error, restart the TS Gateway service.

To restart the TS Gateway service

1. To open the Services manager: On the Start menu, click Run, and then type services.msc.

2. In the User Account Control window, click Continue.

3. Right-click Terminal Services Gateway, and then click Restart.

Authentication issues with Outlook Anywhere and Terminal Services Gateway (TS Gateway)

Use the procedure that follows to fix these authentication issues:

• Microsoft® Outlook® repeatedly prompts you for credentials through Outlook Anywhere (previously known as RPC over HTTP)

• Remote computer log on fails if you are using the Connect to Computer feature in Remote Web Workplace

You can encounter these issues if you open the TS Gateway Manager administrative tool. When you open TS Gateway Manager, the server turns off basic authentication for the RPC virtual directory. Because of this, there is a delay in accessing Outlook Anywhere. To prevent future authentication issues of this type, install the hotfix that is described in Knowledge Base article 954034 on the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=124578).

To immediately repair authentication issues with Outlook Anywhere and TS Gateway, perform the steps in the following procedure.

To fix the authentication issues with Outlook Anywhere and TS Gateway

1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. In the User Account Control window, click Continue.

3. In the Connections pane, expand <your server name>.

4. Expand Sites, and then expand SBS Web Applications.

5. Click Rpc, and then in the /Rpc Home pane, in the IIS section, double-click Authentication.

6. Verify that Basic Authentication and Windows Authentication are enabled. If either authentication is disabled, click it, and then in the actions pane, click Enable.

Computers that are not in the Windows Small Business Server organizational unit in Active Directory cannot connect through Remote Web Workplace

If you have computers on your Windows SBS 2008 network that are not in the Windows Small Business Server organizational unit in Active Directory® Domain Services, you cannot assign remote access to those computers through the Windows SBS 2008 console. Consequently, those computers are not available for remote connection through Remote Web Workplace.

To fix this issue, after you add users to the Remote Desktop Users group, create a new registry key on the server to enable the client computers to connect to Remote Web Workplace.

To add users to the Remote Desktop Users group on a client computer

1. From the client computer, click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties.

2. Click Remote settings.

3. In the User Account Control window, click Continue.

4. In the Remote Desktop section, click Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure).

5. Ensure that your firewall allows remote desktop traffic through port 3389.

6. Add users to the Remote Desktop Users group. To do this, in the System Properties dialog box, in the Remote Desktop section, click Select Users.

7. In the Remote Desktop Users dialog box, click Add.

8. In the Select Users or Groups dialog box, type the object names, and then click OK.

9. Click OK, and then click OK again to exit the dialog boxes.

To create a new registry key

1. From the computer running Windows SBS 2008, open Registry Editor. To do this, click Start, in the search field type regedit, and then press ENTER.

2. In the User Account Control window, click Continue.

3. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SmallBusinessServer.

4. Right-click SmallBusinessServer, click New, and then click Key.

5. Name the key BusinessProductivity.

6. Right-click BusinessProductivity, click New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.

7. Name the new value ShowAllComputers.

8. Double-click ShowAllComputers, and then, in the Value data text box, type 1.

9. Click OK, and then close Registry Editor.

The licensing log can consume a significant amount of hard disk space

If you receive warnings that the system drive is low on hard disk space, you can delete the events in the Windows SBS 2008 licensing log to free up additional space on the hard disk drive.

To delete events in the Windows SBS 2008 licensing log

1. From the server, open a Command Prompt window as an administrator. To do this, click Start, and then in the Search box, type command prompt.

2. In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

3. At the command prompt, type the following command:

   del "%systemroot%\system32\winevt\logs\Microsoft-Windows-Server Infrastructure Licensing*%4Debug.etl.*"

You can also use Registry Editor to disable the licensing log.

To disable the Windows SBS 2008 licensing log

1. Click Start, type regedit, and then press ENTER.

2. In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ServerInfrastructureLicensing

3. In the details pane, right-click TraceMask, and then click Modify.

4. In the Edit DWORD dialog box, change the value for Value data to 0 (zero), and then click OK.

5. Restart the server.

Modifying the scan engines that are used by Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server

Windows SBS 2008 includes a 120-day trial of Microsoft Forefront™ Security for Exchange Server, which helps protect your Exchange Server messaging environment from viruses, worms, spam, and inappropriate content. Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server includes a number of settings that are specific to Windows SBS 2008, and you can modify the Antivirus file scan engines that you use in your organization.

To change the Antivirus file scan engines

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft Forefront Server Security, click Exchange Server, and then click Forefront Server Security Administrator.

2. In the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.

3. In the Connect to Server dialog box, select your Windows SBS 2008 server, and then click OK.

4. In the License Information dialog box, click OK.

5. In the Settings pane, click Antivirus.

6. In the list of scan jobs, select Transport Scan Job.

7. In File Scanners, select up to five scan engines, and then click Save.

8. Repeat step 7 to select the scan engines for the Realtime Scan Job and the Manual Scan Job.

Backup might not run if the server time zone settings are configured for (GMT +02:00) Jerusalem

This is a rare occurrence for which a corrective update is available. If you encounter this issue, contact your local technical support professional, or visit the Windows Small Business Server 2008 Help and Support Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=111161) for information about assisted support options.

Incorrect reference to "Preliminary Release” in answer file help topic.

The help topic "Tell Me More About Using Answer Files" incorrectly states that the information in the topic supports a preliminary release of Windows SBS 2008. The information in the answer file help topic also supports the final released version of Windows SBS 2008.

Premium installation

Join the second server to the Windows Small Business Server domain before installing SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business

If you plan to install the SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business database software (included with Windows SBS 2008 Premium Edition) on a second server, you should first join the second server to the Windows SBS domain. After joining the second server to the domain, restart the server and then log on to the server by using the network administrator account. At this point you can install the SQL Server software.

Promote the second server to domain controller before installing SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business

If you plan to use a second server running the SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business database software as a domain controller, then you must promote the second server to a domain controller before installing SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition for Small Business. After installing SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition for Small Business on a computer, you cannot change the computer from a domain controller to a domain member without first uninstalling it.

Log on to the second server by using a network administrator account to install SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business

If you do not use a network administrator account when you join the second server to the domain, the Windows SBS environment check fails due to lack of user access. If this occurs, the installation is blocked.

A second server that is based on the Windows Server 2008 technologies does not appear in the SBSServers organizational unit after you join the second server to the domain

After you install a second server that is running Windows Server 2008, you can join that server to an existing Windows SBS 2008 network. However, on the Computers page of the Windows SBS Console, the second server is listed in the "Computers" category, not the "Servers" category. Additionally, all Group Policy settings for client computers are applied to the second server, with the exception of the Small Business Server Update Services Client Computers Group Policy setting.

You can manually apply Group Policy settings for servers and move the second server to the SBSServer organizational unit (OU) by using the Users and Computers administrative tool in Active Directory Domain Services.

To move the second server to the Servers category and to apply Group Policy settings for servers to the second server

1. On the second server, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.

2. In the console tree, expand the root node, and then expand the node for your domain.

3. Expand MyBusiness, expand Computers, and then click SBSComputers.

4. In the details pane, right-click the second server, and then click Move.

5. In the Move dialog box, expand MyBusiness, and then expand Computers.

6. Select SBSServers, and then click OK.

Do not migrate the SQL Server 2005 Express instance of SBSMONITORING to SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business

The SBSMONITORING instance of the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express database software monitors system information in the Windows SBS 2008 Standard Edition. Windows SBS 2008 does not support migrating SBSMONITORING to SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business.

Do not migrate the Windows internal database instance of MICROSOFT##SSEE to SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business

The MICROSOFT##SSEE instance of the Windows internal database is used in the Windows SBS 2008 Standard Edition by Windows Server Update Services and by Windows SharePoint Services. Windows SBS 2008 does not support migrating MICROSOFT##SSEE to SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business.

International versions

Windows SBS 2008 does not support the Multilingual User Interface (MUI) technology

After installing Windows SBS 2008, if you install a MUI pack and then change the language for your server, you will experience issues with the Windows SBS Console.

Do not choose the English language when you install the Greek version of Windows SBS 2008

The Greek version of the Windows SBS 2008 installation automatically installs the Greek language pack. When Windows SBS 2008 Installation Wizard prompts you for your language, be sure to select Greek. If you choose the English language during installation, you will experience issues with the Windows SBS Console. Additionally, you cannot change the language version to Greek after you install the server.