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Videos – Free SBS 2011 Standard Training

The folks on the Windows Small Business Server team at Microsoft have recently released a batch of training videos called “Learning Bites”. These short videos (typically under 5 minutes each) focus in on specific tasks and demos on SBS 2011 Standard.

SBS 2011 Standard “Learning Bites” Videos

Title of Video Length Released
SBS 2011 – Overview 26:05 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Technical Decision Maker Overview 50:49 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Administrative Console 5:00 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Backup Wizard 4:57 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Computer Properties 3:45 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Connect Computer 2:43 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Connect to Internet Wizard (CTIW) 2:05 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Groups and User Roles 4:37 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Health Reporting 3:33 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Internet Address Management 4:06 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Managing Remote Web Access (RWA) 3:15 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Using Remote Web Access (RWA) 3:16 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Managing Storage 3:16 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Managing Updates 3:59 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Managing Users 4:22 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Security 2:30 01/14/2011
SBS 2011 – Shared Folders 4:12 01/14/2011

 

As additional videos are released, you can find them here:
http://www.microsoft.com/showcase/en/us/search?phrase=SBS%202011

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Whitepaper – SBS 2003 to 2011 Migration Doc

Whitepaper title: Migrate to Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard from Windows Small Business Server 2003
File name: SBS7_Migrate2003.doc
Date Published: 01/12/2011
Language: English
File size: 724 KB
Pages: 83
Version: 1.0
Download URL: Click here

Description:

This guide explains how to install Windows SBS 2011 Standard in Migration Mode on a new server, and then migrate the settings and data from the old server that is running Windows Small Business Server 2003 to the new server that is running Windows SBS 2011 Standard. This guide also helps you demote and remove your old server from the network after you finish the migration process.

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How To Install SBS 2011 With A Bootable USB Drive

It seems like every release of Windows Small Business Server is bigger than the last, and SBS 2011 is no exception.  In fact, it’s downright HUGE! If you’ve downloaded the SBS 2011 Standard ISO from TechNet or MSDN, you’ve probably noticed that it’s actually too large to burn with a conventional DVD drive:

Sizes of ISO images for installing SBS 2003 R2, SBS 2008 and SBS 2011

Obviously, if you’re installing SBS 2011 as a Hyper-V child, downloading a 6.35 GB ISO straight onto the Hyper-V parent OS is no big deal. But if you want to install SBS 2011 on bare metal, you’ll probably need a bootable USB drive.

Here are the instructions on how to create your own bootable USB flash drive from scratch for installation of SBS 2011 Standard.

What you’ll need:

Update 2011/01/10 – As Kendall Morrison reminded me, your Windows PC needs to be running a 64-bit OS when you do this.

The demo environment.

For the purposes of this walkthrough, here are the drive letters on my Win7 PC:

  • The 6.35 GB SBS 2011 ISO is sitting in a folder on drive D:
  • The ISO will be mounted using Virtual CloneDrive in drive G:
  • The bootable USB drive will be drive H:

A Windows Explorer view of the drives on my Win7 PC

Go ahead and insert your USB flash drive, if you haven’t done so already.

Below is my drive layout in Disk Management.

A Disk Management view of the drives on my Win7 PC

Obviously, your drive letters will be different.

Step-by-step:

  1. In Windows Explorer, right-click the SBS 2011 ISO and mount it.
    Mount the ISO as a virtual drive (I'm using Virtual CloneDrive)
     
    Close the AutoPlay window (if one pops up).
  2. From the Start Menu, open an Administrative Command Prompt.
     
    Open the Command Prompt using Run as Administrator
     
  3. At the command prompt, type:

    DISKPART (hit Enter)

    LIST DISK (hit Enter)

    Open DiskPart and view the drives in your system
     

  4. Locate your USB flash drive in the list (mine is Disk 3).

    Type the following commands (hitting Enter after each one):

    SELECT DISK 3 (or whatever your USB disk number is)

    CLEAN

    CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

    SELECT PARTITION 1

    ACTIVE

    FORMAT FS=NTFS QUICK

    ASSIGN

    Select the Disk, clean it, partition it, make it active, format it, and assign it a letter
     

  5. At this point, AutoPlay will probably pop up and tell you that a new disk was found which matches the drive letter of your USB flash drive.

    You can close the AutoPlay window

    Close the AutoPlay window (if one pops up).
      

  6. Back in the Command Prompt, type the following:

    EXIT (hit Enter)

    DiskPart will finish, but leave the Command Prompt window open.

    Exiting DiskPart

  7. Next we need to make the USB drive bootable. Type the following commands (hitting Enter after each one):

    G: (G: is my mounted SBS 2011 ISO drive)

    CD BOOT

    BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 H: (H: is my USB drive)

    Command prompt instructions for making the disk bootable
     
    Close the Command Prompt window.
     

  8. Now we need to copy the install bits from the ISO to the flash drive:

    Open the mounted SBS 2011 ISO drive (which is drive G: for me)

    Highlight and copy all of the contents of the SBS 2011 drive.

    Copy the SBS 2011 installation files from the mounted ISO

    Paste the contents into the root of the USB drive (which is H: for me)

    Right-click the USB drive and paste the SBS 2011 installation files into the root

    The file copy will take a while (about 5-10 minutes), depending on the speed of your USB flash drive.

    File copy is complete

  9. Once the file copy is complete, safely eject the USB flash drive from your Windows PC and physically remove it.
     
    Eject the USB flash drive
     
  10. Unmount the ISO of SBS 2011 (which is drive G: for me)
     
    Unmount the ISO of SBS 2011 Standard

Now you just need to insert the bootable USB flash drive into your physical SBS 2011 box, set the boot option in the BIOS to boot from USB, and start the installation on the bare metal. Happy installing!

Props: IntoWindows.com blog

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Free Windows Small Business Server 2011 Training

Complete one of these Windows Small Business Server 2011 courses between now and January 26, 2011 and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a Windows Phone 7 or an Xbox Kinect sensor.

Windows SBS 2011 Standard Technical Training:

Note: You will need a Microsoft Partner ID credentials to log onto the training site to view this content.

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The World’s Fastest Small Business Server

One sunny day while mowing the yard with the old John Deere I thought, “How cool would it be if I could mount a Small Business Server on this lawn tractor?”

The answer (as you already know) is “not very cool”. Nobody wants to see a lawn mower running Exchange and SharePoint.

Obviously, I need to drink more fluids when mowing the yard in the hot sun, but that’s neither here nor there. The proverbial wheels were turning, and I started brainstorming for something much faster and infinitely cooler than a green and yellow tractor…

Matthew SnoddyEnter Matthew Snoddy – Microsoft Small Business Specialist, Texas LLC formation consultant and owner of Network Therapists in Lexington, Kentucky.

a.k.a. “The Stig” (nobody knows for sure)

Not only is Matthew a fantastic network engineer and wheelman, he’s got some beautiful muscle cars,
like the supercharged 2008 SRT8 Dodge Challenger. If you are more of a family guy car,  you can try to investigate this site to find some offers.

Matthew Snoddy–2008 SRT8 Dodge Challenger on the dyno

A Challenger is much cooler than a John Deere, but it gets even better!

Recently, Matthew expanded his stable with the addition of a rare (one of only 20 ever made) 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR convertible. A street-legal race car.

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