DPM 2007 error 31008 when creating Protection Group

I was trying to create a protection group in System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 to protect SharePoint Server 2007.

I followed the protected computer prerequisites documentation and made sure the following were done:

1. Installed KB940349 on the SharePoint front end server.
2. Installed KB941422 – Update for WSUS 3.0. After installing this KB, I had to run the SharePoint Configuration Wizard.
3. Start the VSS Writer service on the WSS server as per this article.
4. Make sure the back end SQL Servers are running SQL Server 2005 with Service Pack 2.

I followed all these steps as per the prerequisites document. However, I still got the following error:

This item cannot be protected because some prerequisite software is missing. Ensure that all prerequisite software is installed and then protect this item (ID: 31008). Click Help to view the list of prerequisite software for the selected item.

The problem was solved when KB940349 was installed on the backend SQL Server as well. All servers were restarted after installing this update. Then I went to the Management tab on the DPM 2007 console and selected Refresh Information from the Actions pane.

On returning to the Create Protection Group wizard, the error was gone.

Windows Server 2008 with "Service Pack 1"?

Ever wondered why a brand new installation of Windows Server 2008 RTM shows that it already has Service Pack 1 installed?

The director of project management for Windows Server, Ian McDonald, mentions in his blog, the story behind this.

Here’s the long story shortened: Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 are supposed to share the same codebases which means service packs and patches get released at the same time and both server and client will have a common set of patches, depending on the installed components, i.e. a patch for Active Directory will not get installed on a Vista machine and a patch for Media Player will not get installed on Windows Server 2008 (unless you have the desktop-experience installed).

Windows Vista got released early. Windows Vista SP1 is already out. Then came the release Windows Server 2008, which also has the same codebase. Hence Windows Server 2008 got released ‘with SP1′.

The first service pack to be publicly (separately) released for Windows Server 2008 will be Service Pack 2.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is now available

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is now available via Windows Update.

Standalone package (5 languages) is also available for download at Microsoft Downloads Center. The recommended method of update is via Windows Update.

Internet Explorer 7 to be distributed via WSUS on February 12

On February 12, 2008 Microsoft will release the Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and Availability update to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). IE 7.0 will be distributed as an Update Rollup package.

The update is an installation package that will completely upgrade Windows machines running IE 6.0 to IE 7.0.

If you have configured WSUS to “auto-approve” Update Rollup packages, IE 7 will be automatically approved for installation after February 12, 2008 and consequently, you may want to take the actions below to manage how and when this update is installed. You will need to take action if:

• You use WSUS 3.0 to manage updates in your organization.
• You have Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)-based computers or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computers that have Internet Explorer 6 installed.
• You do not want to upgrade Internet Explorer 6 machines to Windows Internet Explorer 7 at this time.
• You have configured WSUS to auto-approve Update Rollups for installation.

See the Microsoft KB article for more information.

Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista SP1

Windows Vista is getting its first Service Pack while Windows XP is getting its last.

The release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3 is available for download. Service Pack 3 is more of a rollup of hotfixes and updates rather than a feature/experience enhancement. In short, it contains things that make Windows XP more secure, more reliable and faster. The user will not see noticeable change in the experience in general.

The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate is also available for download. There are large number of improvements for performance, security, reliability, interoperability, hardware compatibility, and deployment. There also some improvements for power consumption, desktop administration and is better geared for Windows Server 2008, the next version of Microsoft’s server OS.

Please note that Release Candidates are not the fully released versions and you will not receive support for it. Release candidates are for testing purposes. Please wait for the final release of the service pack before deploying to production systems.

Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 releasing tomorrow

On November 30, 2007, the Exchange Server 2007 service pack 1 will be ready for download on the Microsoft website.

The Service Pack is much awaited by the Exchange Server community and customers alike, with the long list of new features that the service pack promises. The new features include new deployment options, new features and improvements for each server role, improved integration with other applications, and even a new, third type of continuous replication.

If I were to mention each of the new features, this would become a really long, long, blog post. I encourage you to view the list on the Technet website.

Windows Error Reporting: A second look

I was just looking at the Windows Vista Problem Reports and Solutions feature today. Windows Vista has been observing each time an application crashed on my PC. What’s more interesting is that it was actually finding out what went wrong by searching for known solutions to the same problem.

All I had to do was click on each problem displayed on this window and a solution pops up. And the best part is that most of the solutions actually does work!

Hmmm… Self-healing Windows. Interesting.

ISA Server 2006 Supportability Update

In my earlier post regarding Service Pack 3 for ISA Server 2004, I mentioned about some of the really cool troubleshooting and monitoring features that have been introduced.

The same features are now available for ISA Server 2006. However, this is not a service pack, it is called the ISA Server 2006 Supportability Update. To download the update, click here.

Publishing Exchange 2007 on ISA 2006

• You can’t block attachments anymore on ISA. You need to do that from Exchange itself.
• This hotfix updates the ISA MMC, so you might want to install it on your remote management clients as well.
• This hotfix is for enabling Exchange 2007 publishing features on ISA 2006. They haven’t said anything about ISA 2004

This hotfix is definitely a must-have if you’re running/planning to run Exchange 2007 in your organization and use ISA 2006 to protect it.