32-bit Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2007 MP support for MOM 2007(Operations Manager 2007)

For your information, there is currently a MP for Exchange 2007 for MOM 2005 SP1. This can be converted to a OpsMgr 2007 with some tools from the MOM 2005 ResKit and from the OpsMgr 2007 RC2 installation media. Here are the steps:
Mgmt Pack Convert from 2005 to 20071) Export them from MOM2K5 with Administrator Console2) Use MP2XML from MOM2K5 resource kit to convert the AKM file into a XML file3) Use MPConvert from Ops Mgr installation media to convert the MOM2K5 XML file into a Ops Mgr XML file4) Use Ops Mgr Operator Console to import the XML file as a management pack
Next, i used a 32-bit version of Exchange 2007 Eval edition. All worked well, but then i saw no updates or any information on the Exchange 2007 show up on my OpsMgr 2007 Console.
So i thought it was because i was running a 32-bit version of Exchange. Later i found out, even the 64-bit version of Exchange would have issues. Here are some more details from Microsoft.

---------------------------------
32-bit Exchange 2007: This is not officially supported, I believe there are some RTM builds out there (for demo purposes, or to run in a VM). The final word is that Exchange 2007 is 64-bit only.
Exchange 2007 converted on OM 2007: There are a number of issues with the conversion, and the test team is looking at the details (even if it converts and imports – it currently doesn’t work).
Some of the issues may be related to the fact the MOM 2005 Exchange 2007 MP runs on a 32-bit (emulation) MOM agent monitoring the 64bit Exchange server, while the converted MP with OM 2007 uses an 64-bit agent to monitor Exchange 2007. In theory, all should be fine since the helper object (accessing the hosted Powershell) is available in 32 and 64bit, however that the theory only. There may also be some registry issues (looking up the keys in the 32 bit emulation registry). Our team is working with the Exchange team to resolve.

The bottom line is that we have to see what the investigation brings. Right now the plan is to deliver a converted Exchange 2007 MP for OM 2007 RTM
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To summarize:
1. MP for Exchange 2007 won't work in MOM 2007 (Ops Mgr 2007) until RTM (in March 2007, i think)
2. MP for Exchange 2007 works well on MOM 2005 SP1.
3. Forget about 32-bit Exchange 2007, unless you wanted to do a quick Exchange 2007 ONLY demo.

Maybe you should know what a BitLocker.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa906017.aspx

Why SQL 2005 ROCKS and ORACLE Years Behind.

http://www.microsoft.com/sql/bigdata/default.mspx

HP advances fight to keep Moore's Law healthy

Hewlett-Packard Co. researchers may have figured out a way to prolong Moore's Law by making chips more powerful and less power-hungry.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9008078

Things to Consider Before you Deploy Full Disk Encryption

Read this article on Full Disk Encryption. Sure looks like a best practise kind of document for people considering full disk encryption.

What if you have encrypted a Petabyte of data with your secure storage solution and you then learn either the key or the algorithm is not strong enough? Article by Peter Giannoulis advises computer security managers to consider the lifecyle of the system several years after it is deployed.
http://www.sans.edu/resources/leadershiplab/pitfalls.php

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 CTP released.

Users say Outlook 2007 boosts e-mail management

Article on Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant

Pretty good article on http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Exchange-Troubleshooting-Assistant.html about Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant in Exchange 2007.

Good enough to get you up and running with Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant efficiently.

/Gill

MOSS 2007 Available for download from MSDN (Subscribers only)

Note there are special version of MOSS 2007, like the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Search version.

Read more the search version (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointsearch/FX101729721033.aspx)

A Hard Lesson in Privacy

Read this article at Security Focus about how this guy purchased a second-hand laptop and found some porn stuff in the laptop belonging to the owner and then it turns out the owner is a very popular tv hostess.

Read more..

SQL Server 2005 Waits and Queues:SQL Server Best Practices Article

This paper approaches the complex area of Microsoft® SQL Server™ performance tuning using a methodology called Waits and Queues.

Top 10 SQL Server 2005 Performance Issues for Data Warehouse and Reporting Applications

Relational Data Warehouse or Reporting work loads are characterized by low volumes of very large transactions. These applications are often identified as having predominately read workloads (e.g. Decision Support, Analysis, and Reporting) with periodic feeds or batch loads. It is important to keep these characteristics in mind as we examine the significance of database design, resource utilization and system performance. The top performance bottlenecks or gotchas to avoid for Data Warehouse or Reporting applications are outlined in this article at Mirosoft's TechCenter SQL Server site.

Article about DataWarehousing on Avoiding the Metadata Pitfalls

Summary: By doing a bit of groundwork and effectively controlling the scope of the metadata repository continuously throughout the project, few problems should arise.

Microsoft is often unfairly slammed for security issues, says NGSS

November 25, 2006 (Computerworld) --

Microsoft Corp may be taking the most heat among software vendors for security problems, but it's not always the one with the worst record.

A comparison of vulnerabilities in Microsoft's SQL Server database with Oracle Corp.'s relational database management products by Next Generation Security Software Ltd. (NGSS) shows that the latter vendor's products to have far more vulnerabilities than do products from Microsoft.

Read more...

BusinessValue Summit '06 (in Singapore)

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 CTP

CTP for SQL 2005 SP1 can be downloaded from SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 CTP (November 2006).

The CTP for SP2 adds data compression, increased business intelligence functionality, adds security updates and support for Windows Vista and Office 2007. Excel, Excel Server and Sharepoint have all been integrated with SQL Server, allowing for Excel data analytics to be done within SQL Server.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition

Overview (from microsoft.com)

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition offers essential relational database functionality in a compact footprint ideal for embedding in mobile and desktop applications including a new generation of occasionally connected dynamic applications.
Sharing a familiar SQL syntax and common ADO.NET programming model with other SQL Server Editions, and management via SQL Server 2005 Management Studio, SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition allows developers and administrators to apply their existing skills and be immediately productive.

In addition, SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition enables scale-up of an application, either via a robust synchronization with other SQL Server Editions, or by moving to a higher edition of SQL Server. SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition allows you to extend your integrated data management platform deeper into your enterprise and into your mobile workforce. Download SQL Server Compact Edition Release Candidate 1 (RC1).

The SharePoint 2007 went RTM yesterday.

Announcing Process Monitor v1.0

Regmon and Filemon is now combined into a single tool, Process Monitor. Also included is other monitoring tools like process, thread and DLL monitoring.

There are all sorts of information displayed, including some basic data mining capabilites.

/Gill

Sysinternals Suite Now From TechNet

MS TechNet has rolled up the entire set of Sysinternals Utilities into a single
Suite of tools. This file contains all the individual tools & help files. The
whole thing is just 8MB.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/sysinternalssuite.mspx