When I wrote the post about what SQL instance and version should we install SCE 2007 to, I was pretty sure my best practice would be the copy of Express that ships with SCE 2007
I do know that running SCE 2007 on SBS 2003 R2 Premium DOES work with the Express Database that ships with System Center Essentials 2007, and to be honest this really should be good enough given the cap of 75 Devices in SBS 2003 and the number of dedicated SQL Instances that get installed on an SBS Build. So what's one more in the scheme of things?
I have completed a build on the Default Instance of SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition which ships with SBS 2003 R2 and all things considered I would always recommend that the Express Instance be used.
That said here are the manual work around's I used which did not need to be done using the Express Instance:
- Install SQL 2005 Workgroup edition according to the SBS Installation Instructions use the version from the web site as the version on the DVD is version 1, (make sure you do not install reporting services);
- Rerun the installation of SQL 2005 Workgroup selecting Reporting Services, (do not configure reporting services);
- Install SQL 2005 Service Pack 2
- Run the Reporting Service Configuration....
I looked at the reporting services configuration as set in the "Express Build" and made it the same for the "Workgroup Build" which I hope you agree we do not recommend. Oh BTW did I mention the SCE Installation does this for you if you choose the SQL Express route.
 | Select the Correct Instance and Click Connect |
 | Click Server Status;
Check the Service Status: is Running |
 | Click Report Server Virtual Directory;
Click New |
 | Select Default Web Site;
Enter ReportServer;
Click OK |
 | Click Report Manager Virtual Directory;
Click New |
 | Select Default Web Site;
Enter Reports;
Click OK |
 | Click Windows Service Identity;
Click Built-in Account;
Select Local System |
 | Select Web Service Identity;
Press New next to Report Server;
Repeat for Report Manger |
 | Enter ReportServer or ReportManager in the application pool name;
Select Built-in Account and select Local System |
 | Click Database Setup;
Select the SBS Server Name and click Connect;
Select ReportServer from the list of Databases;
Select Service Credentials from the list
Click Apply |
 | Click Email Settings;
Enter and address for the Sender Address ie Reports@smemanaged.com;
Enter the SMTP Server details |
 | Click Execution Account;
The default is domain\administrator (however I suggest some effort be taken to find a least privilege alternative) |
Install SCE 2007 IAW Installing System Center Essentials in SBS 2003 R2 Standard Edition
In the section that covers the removal of the SSL Certificates the following procedure should be followed instead, if the SSL Port remains configured SCE 2007 Install will report un-configured Reporting Services.
| 
| Select the Default web and Right Click Properties |
 | Click Advanced |
 | Select the SSL Address and Click Remove;
Click OK |
| 
| Select the Directory Security Tab;
Click Server Certificate |
 | Click Next > |
 | Click Remove the current certificate;
Click Next > |
 | Click Next > |
 | Click Finish |
Return to the installation
When complete reverse this procedure
When I asked around about issues people have had deploying SCE 2007 on SBS 2003 R2 Premium, I was told there were some issues with SQL Server (2005 Workgroup Edition). I have not been able to collect the exact issues because many of the people are working from memory.
I do know that running SCE 2007 on SBS 2003 R2 Premium DOES work with the Express Database that ships with System Center Essentials 2007, and to be honest this really should be good enough given the cap of 75 Devices in SBS 2003 and the number of dedicated SQL Instances that get installed on an SBS Build. So what's one more in the scheme of things?
The Installing SQL Server 2005 WorkGroup Edition in Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Document says:
- Do not upgrade the instance of MSDE that is installed for Monitoring (MSSQL$SBSMONITORING), because this it is not supported.
- Do not upgrade the instance of MSDE that is installed for Update Services (MSSQL$WSUS), because this is not supported.
and the Installation of ISA Server 2004 adds a (Microsoft ISA Server 2004 instance).
I am very much in favour of doing an upgrade of the MSSQL$SHAREPOINT instance to SQL 2005 Workgroup Edition so that Full Text Search is enabled for Windows Sharepoint Services, but if I didn't have a line of business application that needed SQL Server 2005 Workgroup then I wouldn't be installing a Default Instance just because I could.
When I created SME Managed I really wanted to keep all the design, support and management information in the SME space together where I could refer people to it. I already had Mackie.is-a-geek.net and it is a mix of all geeky things I want to talk about and I didn't necessarily want folk to go to two places to get everything.
Not to mention right now a very different group of people are getting to each blog, I expect it to converge over time but the automatic cross posts are here to stay unless I get massive negative feedback from this post of course.
Mackie.is-a-geek.net Traffic
SMEManaged.com Traffic
In the course of developing some of the builds for SCE 2007 on SBS 2003, my server threw an error and asked permission to send error information. As you can see the dialogue box says Please tell SMEManaged01_MG about this problem. I am curious why this does not use the Organisation from the Servers Registration information. I'm of course in search of a way to change this to give the users a better experience.
When I tried to install System Center Essentials 2007 on SBS 2003 R2 Premium Edition, I received an installation failure. Viewing the Setup log file revealed errors setting up reporting services.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Machine : SMEMANAGED01
Product : Reporting Services
Error : The setup has encountered an unexpected error while Setting reporting service and share point exclusion path. The error is: Fatal error during installation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Machine : SMEMANAGED01
Product : Reporting Services
Error : The setup has encountered an unexpected error while Setting reporting service and share point exclusion path. The error is: Fatal error during installation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Machine : SMEMANAGED01
Product : Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services
Product Version : 9.1.2047.00
Install : Failed
Log File : C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Setup Bootstrap\LOG\Files\SQLSetup0001_SMEMANAGED01_RS.log
Last Action : InstallFinalize
Error String : The setup has encountered an unexpected error while Setting reporting service and share point exclusion path. The error is: Fatal error during installation.
Error Number : 29528
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This issue is caused by the Configure Email and Internet Connection Wizard setting the Default Web Site to the Local IP Address instead of the default All Unassigned. The fix is of course to reconfigure the Default Web temporarily to allow the installation to complete, this is described in a knowledge base article http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=920803.
I have prepared a quick Visual Guide because some folk just like to see.
 | Open IIS Manager;
Select Default Web Site;
Right click Properties |
 | Select IP Address;
Choose (All Unassigned);
Click Apply;
Click OK
Close IIS Manger |
When SCE 2007 is successfully installed return the configuration to the internal IP address.
I have spent some time this week installing System Center Essentials 2007 on SBS 2003 SP1 / R2 with some interesting conclusions, lets go on the journey.
The first go through I installed an SBS 2003 R2 Standard Edition Server on VMware Server.
I created the base server with:
- 127GB IDE disk,
- 3096MB RAM and
- (initially) a single NIC
Once I had documented the Single NIC Build I added a Second NIC to emulate the very popular Windows Firewall behind a Broadband Router configuration (SCE Computer details shown on the right).
In both configurations for Standard Edition I found no reason why this would not be a very useful management tool 
I would be much less keen to add this workload to Premium Edition, in fact the the same build as my Standard Edition Virtual Machines I have had more than one Blocking Error and still do not have a stable build.
I will not post these until I have fixes, I am still collecting data and will ask for help on the Managed Forums to see if there are resolutions to these installation blocks.
So for today I think SCE 2007 on SBS Standard edition with 4GB of RAM is something I am very happy to deploy, especially if the rumour of Service Pack 1 having much lower memory requirements are true.
BUT even if the Installation blocking issues are easy to resolve I'm not too sure I would want to add SCE 2007 to a machine that runs...
- Exchange 2003
- WSUS 2.0
- WSS 2.0
- WSS 3.0 <--- Very common SBS Community Additional Install
- ISA Server
- SQL 2005 Work Group
- Trend Micro CSM for SMB 3.6 <--- Doesn't everyone run Trend?
Best Practice so far:
System Center Essentials 2007 on SBS 2003 R2 Standard Edition? Give it a try looks to me as a definite future up and comer especially in SBS (Next) and Windows Essential Business Server.
System Center Essentials on SBS 2003 R2 Premium Edition? I really do think a Windows 2003 R2 Standard Edition Server to act as a management Server will be the best solution or you may have some pain. Plus if you remove WSUS from the SBS Server in favour of the SCE 2007 Server you get back a few cycles and a bit of RAM to let you serve a few more users.
I thought about only documenting the Device Management portion because we have a scheduled task to pick up all Servers and Workstations at 3AM Daily, but because I need instant gratification I thought so would many others.
I don't actually have any other servers or desktops in the SCE Lodge right now so this would actually discover any computers but I want to follow the deployment process for installing a green field.
There has been a good deal of Community conversation about the suitability of System Center Essentials 2007 for installation on Small Business Server 2003 SP1 / R2 and while I maintain the opinion that all SCE 2007 installs in SBS 2003 Networks should be done on dedicated Windows 2003 R2 Standard Edition servers, this build has (so far) not shown to cause significant issues with the Features or Functionality of the SBS 2003 R2 Server.
UPDATE: 1/1/2008 Also Tested on Dual NIC behind a Local Router
This guide has been written with a Default Installation of an un-patched version of SBS 2003 R2 as the base. The configuration is Single NIC with Local Router.
This build does not meet all the prerequisites of a SCE 2007 Installation but does allow me to demonstrate the flexibility of the Install as this entire build was conducted with only one reboot and all items were guided by the Installation Process or the System Center Managed Forums without aborting the Installation.
 | Launch Setup from a Patched SCE 2007 Installation Source |
 | The Installer detects the absence of MS XML Core Services 6.0 and Launches the install automatically |
 | Press Next |
 | Accept the License Agreement;
Press Next |
 | Confirm the Registration Details;
Press Next |
 | Press Install |
 | Press Finish |
 | The SCE 2007 Installer will continue automatically
Press Next |
 | Select the Upgrade WSUS check box;
Press Next |
 | The Installation Prerequisites will fail;
Press the More button next to the .NET Framework 3.0 Components |
 | The Prerequisite Details dialog appears;
Click the X86 version download Link |
 | When the download completes press Open |
 | Carefully read through the license agreement (go on humour me);
Click I have read and ACCEPT the terms of the License Agreement;
We all want to help make better products so check the Send anonymous information box;
Click Install |
 | Press Exit |
 | Your feedback is automatically sent to Microsoft |
 | Click Recheck, Notice the .NET failure is now cleared;
Press the More button next to the Checking for Pending Reboots item |
 | The resolution says to Reboot the Machine;
In every SBS based build I have conducted this DOES NOT clear the issue |
 | Run Regedit.exe;
Delete the HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\
Control\Session Manager\
PendingFileRenameOperations key |
 | Press Yes |
 | The Installation Prerequisites test now passes;
Press Next |
 | Now I'm pretty sure you didn't read the .NET Framework EULA, Read this one and click "I have read, understood and agree to ..";
Press Next |
 | Check the Name and Organisation Details are correct;
Press Next |
 | Press Next |
 | Choose a Database location, I put mine with the other SBS Database data files;
Press Next |
 | The Installation will now block due to the Self Signed Certificate on the Default web |
| | Select the Default web and Right Click Properties |
| | Select the Directory Security Tab;
Click Server Certificate |
| | Click Next > |
| | Click Remove the current certificate;
Click Next > |
| | Click Next > |
| | Click Finish |
 | Choose an Administration Account;
Click Next > |
 | Select all three check boxes, (why not help improve this great product?);
Click Next > |
 | Click Install |
 | The Installation continues, (not a cut lunch and a 6 Pack, but certainly go make coffee, you deserve it) |
 | Click I do not wish to check for updates, (I modify WSUS to use our upstream WSUS server to Sync the current updates before shipping, we set it back when delivered);
Click Next > |
 | Click OK |
 | Uncheck Launch the Essentials Console and Complete the configuration process, (we need to put back the self signed certificate first);
Click Finish |
 | Click No |
| Select the Default web and Right Click Properties |
| Select the Directory Security Tab;
Click Server Certificate |
| Click Next > |
 | Click Assign and existing certificate;
Click Next > |
 | Click Next > |
 | Click Next > |
 | Click Next > |
 | Click Finish |
 | Reboot the server |
Known Issues
These are the Issues experienced post Installation
WSUS no longer gives a Green Check
Windows Small Business Server (Windows SBS) Update Services is not running because it automatically turns off if you customize Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). For a list of specific settings that cause Windows SBS Update Services to turn off, see the Microsoft Web site. Even if WSUS is managing updates for your network, the accuracy of the status in the Windows SBS monitoring report or on the Update Services home page cannot be guaranteed. To use Windows SBS Update Services, reverse the changes that you have made to WSUS or reinstall Windows SBS 2003 R2.
WSUS Synchronisation Fails
Content download has failed. BITS service is not starting or is stopping during downloads.
- Open a command window.
- Type sc config bits start= auto
- Type net stop bits & net start bits
- Type net stop wsusservice & net start wsusservice
- Start WSUS 3.0: Click Start, click Administrative Tools, then click Microsoft Windows Server Update Services v3.0.
- Click Synchronization Results.
- In the Action pane, click Synchronize Now
When I start an install task, I try to gather as many of the required tools and fixes as possible. I knew there were some hotfixes available and was pretty happy to see there was a rollup which would save me some time. So I grabbed the executable so I could apply the fixes before I ran the configuration wizard especially since I already had one false start and wanted to get a good vanilla install so I could document it.
Here's the thing had I read the release notes I would have known this rollup patches the Installation Source and is a pre-install fix.
Here is what gets fixed...
I installed SCE 2007 in my lab today, and as I do with all my Lab Machines had installed Logmein Free so I could show people features or builds when out and about. After all you can only share so much RDP in a NAT'ed Config.
After the install, the configuration wizard launched and over 80% of the config items failed. I checked that all the SCE Services were running and found I could not start the OpsMgr Health Service. A quick Live Search and discovered an Issue with Logmein.
I removed the Logmein Remote Control Tool and all is well with the world again.
The only other thing that I think is worth mentioning is when using the Microsoft Managed News Groups it would be cool if people fed back the Solutions to close the case properly.
I think System Center will become a core management piece in my Small to Medium Enterprise Networks, but didn't want to create a SCE2007, DPM2007..... set of blogs. I did want to get down on Paper (blogosphere) how I Design, Manage and Support all things SME.
I don't know that this is the absolute best format or layout but I really like Community Server and depending on user interest you can subscribe to the whole community feed or the individual areas of Design, Management or Support, obviously is you want to narrow in on a specific technology then you can just sub the tag.
So why not do this on Mackie.is-a-geek.net?? I think this is much more generic and will keep on topic much easier with a focus on what I do professionally instead of what just pops into my head.
So here is the start and let's see where it heads.