Windows Vista ISATAP Wireless Bug

Seems my days as desktop support are not over – I still have to troubleshoot problems on my own machines.  I discovered this week that my Windows Vista Business (SP1) laptop would no longer connect to my wireless network at home.  All other machines in my home network (XP, Vista, and 7) would connect, and I was able to connect to the wireless network at the training course I was at this week.  The standard reboot or disable/enable of the network card was not working.  The WLAN AutoConfig service is started.  The behavior is the same in safe mode with networking.

Upon further investigation, I found that when I ran ipconfig at the command prompt, there were several entries for “Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection X” – X being a number.  A google search revealed instructions for getting rid of these entries by removing the hidden ISATAP adapters from Device Manager.  Apparently these are created because of caused by IPv4 and IPv6 tunneling issues.

This did not work.  My search then led me to this post, suggesting that I disable IPv6 on the wireless network adapter.  This, too, did not work.

I tried resetting the Winsock entries and TCP/IP stacks (by the way you have to run this as administrator).

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog
Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

I ran Microsoft’s Internet Connectivity Evaluation tool against my router and did not encounter any problems.

I tried editing the registry so that Vista would disable the DHCP broadcast flag.  No dice – it just hangs on “Identifying” when trying to connect to a network.

I tried a bunch of things after that, but when it comes down to it, it looks like I’m going to have to start from scratch to get it working.  😦

The Office 2007 Kick-Off

We’re planning to have an Office 2007 Kick-Off for all users, previous to any training or deployment.  I’ve found some valuable resources from trainer Tiffany Songvilay‘s OfficeOverEasy blog:

• The Kick-Off Event – intro to planning a Kick-Off Event, includes a link to a Microsoft promotional video for Office 2007 that I might just use
• Designing The Kick-Off Event – using a side-by-side presentation (2003 vs. 2007), showing the WOW features, and some tips on what NOT to do
• Event Planning Checklist – checklist of things to do previous to the event
  

These resources could, of course, apply to MOSS 2007 or any other new software deployment.

Office 2007 Training on a Budget

In case you can’t afford the thousands of dollars a day it takes to bring in a trainer for on-site training, here are some alternatives to help you do Office 2007 training in-house.

Use Microsoft’s FREE resources:

• Free self-paced training courses
• Office training roadmaps, covering basics, getting up to speed, keyboard shortcuts and advanced skills.
• Office 2007 User Interface Guides
• Download training right into your Office 2007 programs
• Watch Office Demos
• Download training presentations about Office programs
• Help prepare employees for deployment with the Enterprise Learning Framework
• Virtual Labs
• Become a partner (FREE) and check out Partner events and perhaps even get the Microsoft Across America Truck

Use Microsoft Software Assurance Benefits (if you have Software Assurance).

• Microsoft E-Learning – a few of these are FREE even if you don’t have Software Assurance
• Training Vouchers

Use FREE online webinars

• A simple Google search will bring you tons of these
• Microsoft also offers live and on-demand webcasts

Quick Reference Guides

• Customguide.com has free PDF cheat sheets for every Office 2007 application

More resources to come!

Pricing for On-Site Training for Office 2007

This fall we are deploying Office 2007.  We’re planning on doing some internal training, focusing on the differences between Office 2003 and Office 2007, but for the nitty-gritty of the training, we are considering bringing someone in.   I’ve acquired quotes and information from several well-known and lesser-known IT training companies, and the pricing varies.  Below is a table of costs for six different vendors:

TOTAL COSTS PER NUMBER OF DAYS
5 days	7 days	10 days	15 days	Cost Per Day
$9,750	$13,650	$19,500	$29,250	$1,950
$19,500	$27,300	$39,000	$58,500	$3,900
$26,500	$37,100	$53,000	$79,500	$5,300
$7,500	$10,500	$15,000	$22,500	$1,500
$19,000	$26,600	$38,000	$57,000	$3,800
$10,000	$14,000	$20,000	$30,000	$2,000

Pricing is based on 10-20 students per class.   Each vendor offered both full day one session training and half day two session training.  This includes materials and travel costs, but does not include providing computers for hands-on work.

I wanted to share this info in case there is anyone out there wondering what the costs are like for on-site training.  Basically – around $1,500 to $5,000 per day, or $7,000 to $10,000 per week.

Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Next week I’ll be taking a three day course titled “Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.”   I’ll share my discoveries here.

1: Overview of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Introduction to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Integrating Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 in the Enterprise
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Architecture

2: Planning and Designing for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Preparing for a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Implementation
• Planning and Designing for Non-Functional Requirements
• Defining Non-Functional Requirements for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

3: Deploying Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Deployment Architecture
• Installing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Managing Shared Service Providers
• Creating Deployment Plans for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Installing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

4: Administering Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Creating Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Sites
• Managing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Features
• Creating and Managing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Sites
• Activating and Deactivating Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Features

5: Implementing Portal Solutions
• Creating Portal Sites
• Implementing Collaborative Features
• Implementing Users Profiles and Audiences
• Creating and Managing Portal Sites
• Managing Personal Sites
• Managing User Profiles and Targeting

6: Implementing Content Management Solutions
• Overview of Content Management
• Managing Documents and Content with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Implementing Content Management Processes
• Implementing Content Management Policies
• Creating Content Management Sites
• Managing Authoring Workflows and Processes
• Implementing Auditing
• Creating Policies
• Creating Records Management Solutions

7: Implementing Business Intelligence Solutions
• Configuring and Incorporating Business Data Catalog Applications into Portal Solutions
• Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Excel Services
• Implementing Business Intelligence Dashboards
• Creating Report Center Web Sites
• Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Forms Server
• Creating Business Data Catalog Applications
• Implementing Excel Services
• Creating Business Intelligence Dashboards
• Deploying Server-Side InfoPath Forms

8: Implementing Search and Indexing
• Overview of Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Search and Indexing
• Implementing Search
• Defining Content Sources and Scopes
• Building Indexes
• Performing Searches

9: Maintaining and Optimizing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Implementing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Backup and Restore
• Monitoring Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Performance Tuning and Optimization of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Backing Up and Restoring Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Configurations and Data
• Performing Backups Operations
• Performing Restore Operations
• Monitoring and Optimizing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Solutions
• Monitoring Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
• Optimizing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

Course Description: This three-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills required to implement Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 successfully in their organization

The audience for this course is Business Application Administrators (BAAs), Web Administrators and Server Administrators who are engaged in the planning, design, and selection of line-of-business (LOB) applications (including Office SharePoint Server) in conjunction with internal business customers. Their primary responsibility is the deployment, customization, management, and support of LOB applications. They routinely monitor application status and troubleshoot application problems.

Nine Career Mistakes for IT Pros To Avoid

I saw this article,  Nine Career Mistakes for IT Pros To Avoid, in an email newsletter from Global Knowledge, an IT training firm, but deleted it before reading it.  Later, my boss mentioned it and said I should take a look.  Perhaps I should take this as a sign.

Here’s are the Nine Career Mistakes, along with my commentary:

1. Failure to appreciate your network of contacts. Definitely something I need to work on.  As a server jockey / desktop support firefighter as my main roles for so long, it turns out I don’t have a whole lot of IT networking contacts.  When presented with these new projects and needing to get quotes for work – I had to fall back on my favorite consultant (the only one I’ve maintained contact with) as well as vendors I usually order hardware and software from.  Additionally, while I have been to several conferences and courses over the years, I’ve never picked up the knack for networking.   Perhaps I will fare better with VMWorld.

2. Follow the money only. I don’t think this is a problem for me – I very much appreciate the culture and perks of my current employer, so I’m not only following the money.  I am, however, watching it very very closely.

3. Lousy soft skills. I may joke around with the users, pretending to be harsh (ID10T errors and what not), but overall I’d say my customer service skills have been quite impressive.

4. Being too supportive. This one doesn’t apply as I haven’t had the privelege and opportunity of having true underlings yet.

5. Not understanding your capabilities. I think I know my capabilities pretty well, but may not have had the chance to show them off – the chance to shine.  I’m hoping this career transition will provide that window.

6. Resume mistakes. I haven’t had to make one for a while – but I think my resume skills are still decent.

7. Don’t burn bridges when you leave your employer. Sure, this has happened in the long distant minimum wage past, but my work ethics have matured since then and I consider this one to be pretty important.

8. Be careful what you put in writing. Not my strong point.  Here I am blogging, after all.  And I freely communicate via email or IM when needed.  It’s the digital age, after all.  On the other hand, I try not to communicate anything that I wouldn’t want discovered, might be confidential, or that might reflect poorly on my employer.

9. Letting your tech skills get outdated and not learning about important new technologies. See also:  “10 Dying IT skills”.  While I’m not relying on my (lack) of knowledge about COBOL, some of my skills may be rusty.  HTML and CSS can only get me so far… I will need to dive into real web programming at some point, among other things.

VMWorld 2009

Just got approval and registered for VM World 2009, which is being held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.   To keep informed, I am now following VM World on Twitter , Linkedin, and Facebook.

This year at VMworld 2009, discover how virtualization is revolutionizing the next generation of computing—providing efficiency and flexibility at a time when both are critical to the future of IT.

As the only event completely dedicated to virtualization, VMworld, brought to you by VMware, is your opportunity to:

• Learn how VMware is transforming the datacenter and desktop into a flexible, reliable cloud infrastructure
• Discover the best way to introduce more efficiency, control and choice to your organization
• Connect with peers and virtualization thought leaders

I’ll be sure to blog about my discoveries there.

😀

Laptop Security Tips

I’m working on our information security awareness training program, which will include Laptop Security for our road warriors.  This is a brief collection of laptop security tips I’ve gathered for this purpose… let me know if you have any to add.

• Lock down your laptop with a security cable
• Use a laptop safe / locked briefcase to travel or store
• Use laptop motion sensors and alarm softeare
• Keep the laptop out of site, locked or in its bag
• Keep the laptop close at hand
• Keep an eye on the laptop
• Choose an inconspicious laptop bag – a school bag, backpack, padded briefcase or suitcase
• Protect your password, and choose your password wisely
• Store a minimal amount of data on the laptop
• Encrypt your data
• Use a screen guard / privacy screen

Is your Blackberry as secure as Obama’s?

I’m working on some training curriculum, which includes Blackberry security for our numerous blackberry users, and I found an excellent list of security considerations: 

• 50 Ways to Make Your BlackBerry More Like Obama’s

While your VIP’s might not need that high a level of security, many of the tips still apply to casual and executive users.

Microsoft Sharepoint Standard vs. Enterprise

We are considering implementing SharePoint and I’ve been tasked with comparing the different editions available.  We already have a pilot of Windows SharePoint Services, so mostly I am just showing what you get when you upgrade to SharePoint Standard or Enterprise.

Here are my findings…

Standard adds…

• additional personalization to the user experience, including audience targeting (displaying content specific to a user or group)
• many more site/page templates, including the portal template
• improved search capability (management of search, searching file shares and Exchange)
• true document management capability (with additional templates for this, and includes retention, auditing, email content as records, legal holds, archiving, logging, etc.)
• improved forms (browser based forms, centralized management and control)

Enterprise adds…

• Business Intelligence tools
  • Business data search
  • Integrated, flexible spreadsheet publishing
  • Share, manage, and control spreadsheets
  • Web-based business intelligence using Excel Services
  • Data Connection Libraries
  • Business Data Catalog
  • Business Data Web Parts
  • Business Data actions
  • Integrated business intelligence dashboards
  • Report Center
  • Key performance indicators

More details here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointtechnology/FX101758691033.aspx

A quote from one of our vendors gives the following pricing information:

MOSS 2007 Standard

• $2450.92 server license
• $51.57 CAL license (per users)
• Total for 100 users = $2450.92 + $5157.00 = $7607.92

MOSS 2007 Enterprise

• $2450.92 server license
• $51.57 CAL license (per users)  PLUS $41.19 additional Enterprise CAL license (per users)

For the record…

Performance Point Server 2007 used to be a separate application / license, but as of this year, if you have an Enterprise license, your SharePoint includes Performance Point.