New book: MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-653): Configuring Windows Small Business Server 2008

Our newest Microsoft Press Training Kit -- MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-653): Configuring Windows® Small Business Server 2008 (ISBN: 9780735626782) – is now available at fine bookstores everywhere. The book, authored by Small Business Server experts Beatrice Mulzer, Walter Glenn, and Scott Lowe, provides comprehensive preparation for exam 70-653 and the MCTS: Windows Small Business Server 2008, Configuration certification.

The book includes complete coverage of all exam objectives, real-world scenarios, lab exercises, customizable practice tests, and a discount voucher that will save you money when you’re ready to take the exam.

To give you a taste, we’ve included excerpts from the Introduction and two sample chapters:

Introduction

This training kit is designed for Microsoft Small Business Specialists who want to update
their current certification credentials as well as for consultants to small businesses and
value-added resellers (VARs) who want to add credentials reflecting their experience with
Windows Small Business Server 2008 (Windows SBS) server software. A Small Business
Specialist is a server administrator who has at least three years experience managing
Windows-based servers and infrastructure in an environment of 5 to 75 users in a single
physical location. A Small Business Specialist is responsible for supporting network services
and resources such as messaging, database servers, file and print servers, a firewall, Internet
connectivity, an intranet, remote access, and client computers. The Specialist might be
responsible for implementing connectivity requirements, for example, connecting branch
offices and individual users in remote locations to the small business network and to
the Internet.

The Preparation Guide for Exam 70-653 is available on the Microsoft Learning site.

By using this training kit, you learn how to do the following:

■ Deploy hardware and software for servers running Windows SBS 2008.
■ Migrate to Windows SBS 2008.
■ Deploy hardware and software for computers on the network.
■ Maintain systems and services availability.
■ Implement and maintain remote access.
■ Maintain user accounts and computers.
■ Implement and maintain collaboration.
■ Implement and maintain messaging.

Windows SBS 2008 might appear to be quite simple because it was designed with ease of
use for the administrator in mind. When an administrator is familiar with the Windows SBS
Console, managing the Windows Small Business Server network should be straightforward.

What most administrators—especially administrators who have an enterprise
background—overlook is that the Windows SBS Console functions on top of the Windows
Server 2008 operating system and uses most of the Windows Server 2008 native
administrative tools, managed through the Windows SBS wizards. In previous releases of
Windows Small Business Server, often administrators would forgo using the Windows SBS
wizards because, for instance, they were certain that adding a user or group account should
be done through the Active Directory Users And Computers console and not through a
wizard! In the end, this resulted in user accounts that were only partially functional, with
authentication and access problems. The basic knowledge that these administrators were
missing was that Windows Small Business Server configures its own organizational units and
applies preconfigured Group Policy settings. Using the Windows SBS Console to create the
user or group accounts places the newly created accounts in the appropriate organizational
unit, therefore minimizing administrative tasks while ensuring consistency.

The caveat here is to use Windows Small Business Server and its tools and wizards as
intended. Only reach for additional tools when necessary—for instance, when you cannot
perform an advanced task through the Windows SBS Console. Read this book, practice the
exercises, and keep this thought in mind as you take Exam 70-653, and you are well on your
way to becoming a Small Business Specialist.

Excerpt from Chapter 3:

Joining Client Computers to the Windows Small Business Server Domain

Joining client computers to the Windows Small Business Server 2008 (Windows SBS) domain
is an excellent example of the Windows SBS 2008 philosophy of automating administrative
tasks to the point of miniscule effort. You can join 10, 20, or more client computers to
a domain without first having to create computer accounts in the Active Directory directory
service. You can also configure Group Policy, updates, disk quotas, e-mail quotas, and folder
redirection with a minimal amount of effort and, better yet, without having to touch each
individual native tool or program.

You can use the Windows SBS Connect Computer Wizard (covered in Lesson 2) combined
with several Windows SBS Console tasks (covered in Chapter 2, “Managing Users”), and
voila, your client computers will become Windows SBS 2008 network clients that are
standardized and easily managed. But before you assemble your Windows SBS 2008
network, you must be sure the client computers meet certain prerequisites.

The recommended client operating systems for the Windows SBS 2008 network are the
Windows XP Professional operating system with Service Pack 2 (SP2), the Windows Vista
Business operating system, the Windows Vista Enterprise operating system, and the Windows
Vista Ultimate operating system. If your client computers run earlier operating systems
such as Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows Millennium edition, Windows 98, Windows 95,
Windows Vista Home Basic, or Windows Vista Home Premium, it is important that you
upgrade them to one of the recommended operating systems. You can then manage them
from the Windows SBS Console, and the recommended operating systems provide additional
security features, reliability, and better performance.

You can use the Client Advisor utility in Windows SBS 2008 to scan client computers
that are running one of the recommended operating systems to help determine their
compatibility with the Windows SBS 2008 network prior to joining the computers to the
domain. With this time-saving tool, you can prepare client computers and avoid possible
failures during the domain join process.

When you have established basic network connectivity between the client computers and
the server running Windows SBS 2008, you can join client computers to the Windows SBS
domain by starting the Windows SBS Connect Computer Wizard. The Windows SBS Connect
Computer Wizard joins client computers to the Windows SBS domain, migrates local user
profiles, and configures networking and additional settings as configured by you in the
Windows SBS Console.

This chapter discusses the details of preparing client computers for the Windows SBS 2008
network, migrating user data, and joining client computers to the Windows SBS 2008 domain,
as well as configuring the network and client computer settings in the Windows SBS Console.
Chapter 2 discusses managing user and computer accounts in greater detail.

Exam objectives in this chapter:

■ Prepare the computer.
■ Join computers to the domain.
■ Migrate local data.

Excerpt from Chapter 6:

Managing Messaging and Collaboration

Messaging and collaboration are two key drivers in technology-buying decisions. The
ability to quickly and easily stay in touch with customers and work seamlessly with other
people in the organization to meet customer needs often raises the need for new technology.
In Windows Small Business Server 2008 (Windows SBS) server software, Microsoft takes
collaboration to a new level by including both Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Windows
SharePoint Services 3.0 as a part of the base product. Both Exchange Server 2007 and
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 offer powerful features that take information management
outside the corporate boundary by enabling high levels of remote access. Through this ability
to access information anywhere anytime, Windows SBS 2008 removes location from the
equation. Users can just as easily work at the local coffee shop as they can from their office.

In this chapter, you learn how to manage Exchange Server and SharePoint. You might
realize that you need to work with these two products for some time before you can consider
yourself a master. Because Windows Small Business Server exposes only a fraction of
the features available in these two products, take time after the exam to explore these two
products in great detail; you’ll find that, used appropriately, they can revamp the way you do
business.