November 23, 2007
It had to happen sooner or later, the planning for the migration of hosted Exchange email and Blackberry services had been on going for a couple of weeks and the deadline had been set.
The MX record change was very smooth; we had been allocated 6.00pm GMT for the change to take place, and this was verified around 6.30pm on
dnsstuff.com. Once the MX had been changed, I completed the email export from the hosting company, and imported these into the Exchange mailboxes on the new server using Outlook profiles on a workstation set up for this transition.
The interesting challenges came when configuring the Blackberries to talk to the new Blackberry Enterprise Server. In order to test this, I had requested 2 Blackberry 8310 handsets, along with Blackberry Enterprise Server activated SIMS from Vodafone. These arrived, and when powered on, showed that the handset had been connected to the Blackberry network. This was even verified by sending PIN to PIN messages between the handsets. So all looked good.
However, when connecting the new 8310 to the internal BES server using the Enterprise Activation option on the handset, the device would time out, and the Blackberry Manager would show no connection. Needless to say that this was somewhat disconcerting as I expected the handsets to function as they were brand new, and the SIMs were activated.
I searched the
Blackberry Forums and came across an article about the
8300 not working with Vodafone, which was exactly what I was looking for. The problem outlined here reported the handsets as faulty, as when the SIM was placed in an older Blackberry it would work.
I hadn’t tested this, and luckily had a couple of 8800s that also needed migrating. I started by activating them on the new BES with their existing SIMs, to confirm that the handset and SIM combination would work successfully with the new BES server. This was successful. The next step was to use the same SIM in a new 8310 and see if I was having the same problem as the forum article suggested. To my surprise, the SIM activated with the new Blackberry, and all applications were working. This clearly pointed to the SIMs not working, even though this had been checked twice with Vodafone.
The final piece was to put a new SIM into a known good 8800 Blackberry and try to connect – this failed as expected. It was 4.20am and at last I knew what the problem was.
Vodafone was contacted on Wednesday, and they instantly said ‘the SIMs haven’t been activated for Blackberry Enterprise Server – I’ll do it now’ How I wish they’d said it on Monday evening.
A special thanks to
Stephen Grant for helping me bounce ideas around at 10.00pm on a Monday evening!
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BlackBerry Enterprise Server, software | Tagged: BES, BlackBerry, RIM, Vodafone | 
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Posted by Noel
November 16, 2007
Until recently, my experience with Apple Computers was purely academic. I used them for some courses at university to cover desktop publishing, AppleTalk networking, and graphical user interface design. Beyond that, they’ve remained an enigma. Today I’m a corporate technologist, with in depth knowledge of the Microsoft Windows server operating systems and their associated applications. As such, the general philosophy about Macs has been that they are optimised for the DTP world, and are not much use for modern business.
However, I’m having a difficult time reconciling my Microsoft-centric mindset with the experiences I’ve had with Mac OS X recently.
I’ve been using the iMac for about 6 weeks now, and I have to say I really do like the interface. I like it that the menu bar for the current application is always at the top of the screen. I like it that the Dock has all of my favourite applications, and I’m amazed at the form factor and the clarity of the screen.
But, the two things that have impressed me most are;
- the native connectivity to Active Directory
- application integration for Mac Mail and Mac Address Book to Microsoft Exchange
While there is a big gap in the Mac iCal integration with Microsoft Exchange Calendar, I’ve used Snerdware’s Groupcal to provide the link.
Ultimately it’s a great solution – the users are fed up with Microsoft Entourage, and are happier working around the native Mac applications. I’m happy because the integration is straight-forward, and it’s taking the extra step to providing the best end user experience.
Needless to say that once Mac:Office 2008 arrives in January, I will be taking a look to see if Entourage is a more attractive proposition. At the moment though, Apple should be proud of their efforts and of the loyalty their users have for their technology.
Leave a Comment » | Apple, software | Tagged: ADmitMac, OSX | Permalink
Posted by Noel
November 7, 2007
A client in central London has been waiting for several weeks for BT to install a fibre cable into his building. The original request was for a 30Mb circuit on a 100Mb bearer with a 2Mb SDSL backup connection. Thus far only the 2Mb SDSL connection is live, and the client still doesn’t have a date for the main circuit installation.
Aside from these business circuits, the client has also had 2 be* lines installed. Until recently, I was unaware of be* but their circuits offer upto 24Mb download and 2Mb upload for the Be pro service. They provide a rebadged Thompson SpeedTouch 585 ADSL2+ wireless router with a 4 port 100Mb switch, which has been marketed as a ‘bebox’.
The original intention for these be* circuits was for them to be used by non-core business activities, therefore not impacting the 30Mb internet circuit. However, when I received a call yesterday telling me that the 2Mb SDSL circuit had failed, it was these be ADSL lines that were to provide a quick solution.
I gave the bebox the same IP address as the network default gateway, and connected it to the network. I disconnected the business circuit routers so there would be no IP address conflicts. Within seconds, the users had internet connectivity through the bebox.
The only service that has been compromised by this is VPN access to the network. Therefore as a permanent solution, it’s not well suited for organisations reliant on VPN connections.
In short, the be* circuits provided a good backup to the failed BT circuit, and I’ll probably keep one as a standby line for the future.
Leave a Comment » | Internet Connectivity, networking | Tagged: ADSL, Be | Permalink
Posted by Noel
November 6, 2007
Everyone has heard of
Skype, but not everyone has used it. Last week, a colleague took delivery of a new
Levono notebook with a built-in
webcam. The first thing I said was that he should install
Skype. He said he’d heard of it and knew it was a voice over
IP application, but didn’t think he’d need it.
After installing it and demonstrating it’s capabilities, it’s now inconceivable that we’d ever communicate without the video element of the call. We both get more from the conversation when we are seeing eachother. Even when it’s only discussing MPLS circuits and their relevance to a particular environment, Skype Video brings more to the communication.
But there are other elements in the Skype arsenal that really make this a pivotal business tool. We use the Skype Chat to send web addresses, links to sites, any information really that needs to be accurately transcribed. We also use the File Transfer utility to send bigger text files and other data.
All in all, Skype really does deliver. I’ve been a big fan since its inception, and have both personal and business contacts. While quality of service is an obvious issue, no doubt this is something that will improve over time as broadband contention ratios drop and MPLS provision in the hoe increases. At that point, Skype could become a real contender against Polycom and Tandberg for multipoint videoconferencing services.
If you haven’t yet used Skype, I urge you to try it.
Leave a Comment » | Skype, software | Tagged: Lenovo, Skype, webcam | Permalink
Posted by Noel
November 5, 2007
I’ve been aware of the remote management concept for servers from when they were first introduced for Compaq ProLiant servers before their merger with HP. However, I hadn’t realised just how far they had come in terms of development and capability, until today.
After a conversation with a colleague, we decided to activate a hot spare server as a live Microsoft SQL 2005 environment for a forthcoming Sage AccPacc installation. The server was racked, powered, and had all relevant NICs connected, including the iLO before this decision was taken, so we’re not talking out of the box here.
However, from a bare metal chassis, we had a running SQL Server 2005 environment with Windows Server 2003, fully patched in around 4 hours. And the really cool thing about this is that I did it all from my home office using the iLO interface.
I saved some time by having the OS media mounted in the local server drive and running through the configuration over the wire, but I could have used the remote mount facility which allows you to set a CD drive on your remote computer to act as a local device to the server. While bandwidth is an issue, it’s still better than marching into the city to change over a CD.
Needless to say that I am very impressed with the functionality of the iLO2 environment, and will be recommending that all my clients purchase these as standard.
Leave a Comment » | software | Tagged: HP, iLO, remote management | Permalink
Posted by Noel
November 1, 2007
I’ve been looking into getting BlackBerry Enterprise Server installed with a single Microsoft Exchange Server organisation. While it is by no means difficult, it is also not that easy either. By that, I’m referring to the hoops that you have to go through to get the two systems to talk to eachother. For example, the creation of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server service account needs to have local server rights for authentication, and Send As rights in the Exchange Mailbox store to sent the email over the network.
Microsoft have been a big advocate of macros and wizards, and I don’t see how difficult it would be to run a wizard to check the current configuration, and make these modifications. The only problem that I see with this is that it may remove the ‘black art’ status that BlackBerry environment has gained. Thus far, I’ve not had any experience with the instant messaging components of the BlackBerry product suite.
I’m an avid 
user and am loathe to commit to another IM application. However, as a corporate IM solution, the BlackBerry handhelds are a great medium if you’ve already embraced the technology for email. At some point I’ll extend the BlackBerry infrastructure to test the IM features.
Leave a Comment » | BlackBerry Enterprise Server, software | Tagged: BES, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Microsoft, RIM, Windows Server 2003 | Permalink
Posted by Noel
