October 2008 - Posts
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?
A:
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
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
A:
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.
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.
Sign up at: TechDays '08: Licensing Bootcamp - Partner Track
And see the other DC TechDays sessions at: Washington, DC Tech Days
Q: (from Carol)
When are exams for Windows Small Business Server 2008 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 coming out?
A:
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
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?
A:
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.