IT Pro Tips

December 2007 - Posts

• Deploying and Configuring Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007

  By Will Kelly I was drawn to the Deploying and Configuring Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Virtual Lab because I’ve been looking at better ways to deploy Office Communications Server 2007 and refresh my understanding about the relationship between Office Communications Server 2007 and Active Directory. The lab seemed like a good way to get a sense of how to deploy and configure Office Communications Server 2007 with Active Directory. The lab starts with important information about configuring Active Directory in preparation for OCS. The lab shows how with a few clicks, you can easily prepare the schema from a domain controller and then prepare the forest and domain from the Office Communications Server 2007 – key first steps for securing your Office Communications Server 2007 implementation. The lab then moves forward into creating the Active Directory schema and how to create the Active Directory forest. The Active Directory schema and forest After walking you through how the schema and Forest setup, the lab then walks you through a few clicks through the setup interface how to setup an Active Directory domain to support your Office Communications Server 2007 implementation. -Now with the Active Directory setup complete, the next lab exercise covers how to install, configure, and validate Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. The lab leads you through a replicable process that you can put into practice when it is time to do the real thing in a production environment. First, the lab walks you through methodically how to install Office Communications Server 2007: After completing the installation process, the lab takes you through the all important Office Communications Server 2007 configuration steps: Next, the lab walks you through configuring security certificates. Security certificates are one of the big drawing cards for deploying OCS and ridding your corporate desktops of consumer IM clients once and for all. The lab maintains a smooth and stead y pace and walks you through starting up Office Communications Server 2007 services. Starting up services enables Now that the services are up and running, the lab walks you through the important steps of validating server functionality so you know that Office Communications Server 2007 is running. Next, the lab walks you through how to configure IIS to use the new certificate further ensuring your Office Communications Server 2007 implementation is secure. The lab finishes off by walking through how to configure DNS for Office Communications Server 2007. In all, this lab provides a great walk through that quickly got me up to speed on Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 deployment and configuration without having to rack machines in my favorite server room. You can walk through the lab yourself here: Deploying and Configuring Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Virtual Lab Posted Dec 26 2007, 12:01 AM by itprotipsadmin with 5 comment(s) Filed under: OCS 2007

• Working with Office Open XML File Format: Microsoft Office Excel

  By Richard Lane Richard Lane shows how to get up to speed on Office Open XML File Format quickly by using the Working with Office Open XML File Format: Microsoft Office Excel webcast. You can watch the video any way you choose, either right there on the web page, or by downloading it in one of several formats for viewing on your desktop. Presenter Matt Hester is an enthusiast both for Excel and for OOXML, and that comes across in this presentation. The webcast kicks off with a look at the benefits of Open XML. There is a host of reasons to prefer the new format. TIP: Along with various technical benefits, the new formats are smaller and will save disk space. Next, there is a look at all the different elements that make up a typical Excel workbook.   It is easy to take the power of Excel for granted, but after a quick tour through core features I was reminded of how capable it is. I also learned some new things about how Excel handles formulas, all done to maximize the reliability of the results.   The major part of the webcast is a walkthrough of creating a workbook and modifying it as XML. It starts with a demo of how to create a workbook. I picked up one or two Excel tips along the way. In a fun aside, Matt reminds you of the maximum size of an Excel 2007 sheet. Clue: huge.   The webcast next reveals the secret of how to get at the XML source. We get to see the several different XML files that make up a workbook, and how to drill in and find which one to edit.   Next, Matt walks through opening and editing an OOXML file in what might be the oldest application in Windows – Notepad! In real life you would use an application or script, but there’s nothing like Notepad for showing you the raw text of the XML.   There’s also a demo of how to inspect XML in Internet Explorer, where it looks a bit prettier.   After making the edit in Notepad, the webcast shows how to re-open the document in Excel. It turns out that there is a deliberate error, though the presenter makes the point that Excel still opened the document and did not reject it completely.   You can guess what comes next. We go back into Notepad, fix the error, and reopen the document in Excel to prove that all is now well. Cool. It is a simple demonstration that proves a vital point: thanks to OOXML, you can successfully edit an Office document even in an application as simple as Notepad. Try that with Office 2003! Working with Office Open XML File Format: Microsoft Office Excel Posted Dec 19 2007, 12:01 AM by itprotipsadmin with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Open Office

• Introduction to Exchange Server 2007

  By Orin Thomas If you are considering a move to Exchange Server 2007 in your environment, or just curious about the product itself, you should take a look at the free Introduction to Exchange Server 2007 TechNet Virtual Lab. The purpose of this lab is to familiarize you with the sort of tasks that you would perform on a daily basis should your organization implement Exchange Server 2007. The lab starts with an introduction to the Exchange Management Console, the one-stop-shop for the Exchange Server 2007 administrator. The lab then instructs you how to use the Exchange Management Console to configure the features of Outlook Web Access. You’ll learn how customize the OWA experience to best meet the needs of your organization.   From there the lab takes you through an examination of a mailbox database’s properties, including where a mailbox database’s maintenance schedule can be configured.   The lab provides an introduction to the Toolbox, which contains important Exchange Server 2007 tools including the Best Practices Analyzer, Database Troubleshooter and the Queue Viewer   One of the most common tasks an Exchange Administrator will perform will be creating mailboxes for new users. The virtual lab provides step by step detail of the process, allowing you to see exactly how it is done.   The final part of the lab takes you through creating a Managed Folder Mailbox Policy and the steps you need to take to apply it to a user’s Exchange mailbox. You will also learn how to use Exchange Management Shell to create a Messaging Records Management Schedule   Taking this lab will give you a solid introduction to how to perform common tasks on Exchange Server 2007. Posted Dec 04 2007, 01:44 PM by itprotipsadmin with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Exchange Server 2007