Change domain address

[snotty54]

Dear MVP's:

I run a small business and decided to go from peer to peer to SBS 2008. Consider myself a user but not afraid to tackle anything and I'm determined to learn sbs 2008 well enough to take care of it myself. An IT friend loaded sbs 2008 on a new machine I purchased for the server, but since he doesn't specialize in this area, got stuck trying to set up the pop email. Since then I began researching on the net and from this forum I purchased sbs 2008 unleashed and read it slowly from one end to the other. Great book , thank you Dave. I've discovered several things initially, the machine I purchased for a server is totally inadequate other than running sbs 2008 for the short term to learn, all the client computers I plan to connect to the server (4) all had os's that don't work with sbs2008 which is why my IT friend got stuck.
I don't want to waste anyone's time so I've read through every post and thread on this forum back to 2008 when it started, and learned more. I'm excited about making sbs 2008 work for me, and hope I can have the patience to work through all the problems I'm sure I'll encounter. I hope my effort to find the answer any way I can first before querying everyone on here will encourage you to answer me and put me out of my misery, or at least steer me in the right direction.

Since my IT friend loaded the sbs2008 on my box, I have changed the domain of my website. I used the wizard to change the domain and lost the internet. I ended up being late for work but changed the domain back and ran the fix network wizard then finally rebooted the router and got the net back, whew!

The present state of sbs2008 is I have two users installed but no clients yet. I have one laptop with a new os (Win 7 Pro) which I will be installing on all the clients over the next few days.

I apologize for this long post, and if you've made it this far, my question is, what effect will using the set up internet address wizard to change my hosted web site domain address have on the system, OK to change it now before I begin installing clients and actually trying to get email and everything running?

Lastly, if this is an inappropriate post on this forum because of my lack of experience, please let me know.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[markdmac]

You can create an alias for yourself such as "helpdesk" and have that delivered directly to your mailbox. I would avoid using the actual Administrator mailbox for anything.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.

 

[snotty54]

Hi Mark:

I just created a new email called "sbadmin@domain.com" in my hosted web email and then input the new email address to the administrator account in the "edit user account" dialog but I'm still doa for email on my clients. Not sure what to do at this point, I'm trying to do research each evening and I guess I'll sort it eventually.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[snotty54]

I shouldn't say I'm not sure what I'm doing next; next is get the static ip, hopefully today, along with the user and password for my isp's adsl modem so I can input the static ip in there, and then I'm going to load the Godaddy ssl cert I bought, and then try to get the email working again.

 

[markdmac]

Scott, how are the clients configured? Did the autoconfigure work to set them up?

Take a look at my SBS 2008 FAQ. It might help you with the Autodiscover.

http://www.tek-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=7390

Overall from a high level here is what you need to do.

1. Get a static IP and set it up on your router.
2. Use NAT to direct port 25 traffic from public IP to SBS server internal IP.
3. Run Connect to Internet Wizard
4. Install Certificate using Trusted Certificates Wizard.
5. Configure MX record to point to public IP.
6. Have ISP create RDNS entry for you so public IP resolves to host name.
7. Use SPF Wizard to create an SPF record, add to public DNS (your ISP can help you with this)
SPF Wizard:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...hKGQ_DD0g&sig2=BNUVp8d-e7f5Qtf0wd9r9Q&cad=rja

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.

 

[snotty54]

Hi Mark:

Yes, I've set up 3 clients using the autoconfigure wizard and it seemed to go fine. They all bring up companyweb when I open explorer, and they all have access to a couple of printers usb'd to one of the clients.

I've copied your list of procedures to go through, and most seem straightforward and I shouldn't have a prob with them but NAT seemed confusing so I will have to research that.

Still don't have the static ip, perhaps tomorrow. ISP's/telecommunication companies work at their own pace here.

Keep you posted,

Scott

 

[markdmac]

NAT isn't so confusing. It is Network Address Translation.

All it does is redirect traffic on one port and IP to another port and IP. In other words it translates your public IP to your private IP.

What type of firewall do you have? If it supports UPNP then SBS will setup the NAT for you.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.

 

[snotty54]

Hi Mark:

I should have the static ip and access to the adsl modem today, finally. I'm putting pressure on my isp. They are the only one offering hard line adsl where I live, the other two telecoms only offer wireless which sucks unless you're in town where the fiber optic is.

I installed a new Linksys 3000 wireless router and sbs is using that firewall. It does have UPNP and I believe I left it on although some posters on other forums recommend turning it off. So, if it is on, forget about configuring NAT? Do I need to check something in the router admin to make sure it is working and configured correctly?

I'm almost finished assembling my new server. I'm targeting Satureday am for SBS install. I have a quick question so let me just list the components of the server:
1. amd quad core processor 3ghz
2. 8gigs of ddr3 mem
3. (4) 500gig 7200rpm hard drives
4. video card 512MB mem (to keep graphics mem requirements off the main memory)

I want speed for data but also protection if an hd fails. What Raid setup would be best for me? Remember, only 2 users, 4 clients, small business. I presume I'll be using a 120gig partition for initial install, then migrating data off that disc once the system is up and running.

Thanks and rgds,

Scott

 

[markdmac]

I would go with a RAID 5 partition. You will get 1.5TB of usable space with that.

Regarding the UPNP, run the Connect to the Internet Wizard and let the SBS configure the Router.

What you should see setup for you is rules for the following ports:

25 SMTP
80 HTTP
443 HTTPS
987 SharePoint
1723 VPN

I would also recommend you add UDP 123 for Time Synchronization. You might want to look into getting 4 more GB of RAM if you have the budget. 8GB is the least I would ever use in SBS, it runs much better with 12GB.

You also might want to look at getting a copy of ShadowProtect for SBS. It is far superior to the native Windows Backup. Cost for that is about $400. It offers incremental backup and most importantly the ability to do a hardware independent bare metal restore.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.

 

[snotty54]

Hi Mark:

Noted. I'm saving up for Shadow Protect, I've checked it out and it seems to be a good product.

I'm going to hook up the new server to the router and initialize it, load it up, configure it, etc. etc., on a trial basis so I can do it while the original low powered box is running the current sbs so I won't lose the internet. Do you see any problems doing that?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[markdmac]

I think that is a good plan.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.

 

[snotty54]

Thanks Mark. Keep you posted on my success!

Rgds,

Scott

 

[snotty54]

Hi Mark:

Well, I seem to be going sideways. Got the static and adsl modem set, most email down, go to iptools and it shows my new static ip. Went into router to set static ip and internet won't work if I try to set it, so put it back to auto dhcp for the internet connection (not internal, that is disabled) and have it back but very slow on 2 of the 3 clients. Email working on one but not others, snafu city. Ran connect to the internet wizard a couple of times, shows internet up on the server. Going to try rebooting the server and then go to bed.

 

[snotty54]

Midnight still working on it. Rebooted server, net down, started fix my network wizard, said ip configured wrong, no surprise, knew it had to be reconfigured but couldn't find the info describing how to change it. Anyway, wizard says it did it. I've got internet back on one client, others still down, and all clients offline on the server, even after running

http://connect

on all 3. I'm going to just keep hammering until I figure it out.

 

[snotty54]

12:45am still working on it. I refreshed the AD and suddenly my clients were online again. Did a speedtest on internet and it is normal but all 3 clients very, very slow on internet or not bringing up pages at all. Did a best practices scan and it thinks SBS 2008 only has sp1 although it shows sp2 installed. 2nd error is there is a user account I've never heard of that does not show in the console because it doesn't have the necessary attribute; and 3rd error states this SBS is not a "Global Catalog Server"?

The one client that still had an exchange email on it without Outlook producing error (email was still not working)now does not log on to the server. It didn't take much for me to break this server...

 

[markdmac]

Make sure your clients are set to only have the SBS server IP address on the NIC DNS settings.

In the DNS Console, make sure the ISP DNS servers are listed under Forwarders.

Make sure on the server itself that the NIC TCP/IP properties only list itself for DNS.

Verify the GC state:

http://www.elmajdal.net/Win2k8/Sett...08_Domain_Controller_as_a_Global_Catalog.aspx

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.

 

[snotty54]

Hi Mark:

Thanks, I will run through that stuff tonight. This morning, before leaving for work, I rebooted the router, as I surmised my problems started when I tried to insert the static ip in the router, and then, before going in to the router to disable dhcp on the local network side, I started "Fix my network" and left it running. I presume now, after thinking about it, that the server may turn off it's dhcp and it won't be functioning. I may have to get into the router, disable dhcp and then try to turn dhcp back on in the server before I do anything else. Bull in a China Shop syndrome....

 

[snotty54]

Update-Sat am:

Worked from 8PM last night until 3 am this morning and got the router re-configured, managed to get server services running to the point where I was able to re-connect all the clients. All email is still down, and my internet is crawling, and unable to log on to some sites. My bandwidth was downgraded from 512K up/ 4 meg down to 512K up / 3 meg down and I'm wondering if that 25% change in download speed would stop me from logging on to certain sites. I'm not sure if my installation of sbs 2008 is causing the slowdown? Unfortunately, that bandwidth is only on Island, access from afar drops below 1 meg down. I've reviewed all the wizards and connect to the internet seems to be the only one to fix/check that.

I haven't seen any wizards specific to fixing email that doesn't work, so back to research. Research is tough now, as although I have access to the net now, it is so slow it is basically log on to a site, go away for 3-5 minutes and come back and it may be up or I get the can't access screen.

If it was easy anyone could do it I guess...

If anyone reading this has a suggestion on how to check if the server is hampering internet bandwidth for the clients, please let me know.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[markdmac]

I would look into what the MTU setting is on the router. There is a tool you can download for that:

http://www.softsea.com/review/TZ-Connection-Booster-Wizard.html

I would also check with the ISP. Most ISPs allow +- 10% of speed. You are seeing a 25% loss and that should not be acceptable to them.

When you say there is no email, let's break that down. Is there internal email working? Or none at all? We need to figure out where the problem is.

If you can post your public domain name I can verify your MX record for you.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.

 

[snotty54]

Hi Mark:

Thanks for replying. On the internet first:

When I signed with my isp for the static, I had to go from a residential adsl plan to a business one, and due to the upcharge for the business/static ip, I have to take a plan that gave me 512k up / 3 meg down where formerly I had 512K up / 4 meg down. They switched me to the business plan and gave me the static ip on Friday. I had trouble getting into the modem programming to change it to a static ip so had to call the isp's helpdesk Friday night and they helped me get into the modem, and re-program it with the static. We checked to see I had internet which I did, so they said goodbye. For the rest of the evening I noticed I had trouble getting into certain sites so I thought they were down. I went back to working on getting the server and clients communicating again and spent most of the night at that but was successful by 3:00am. Next morning I noticed the internet very slow and most sites unavailable and started going through every wizard in SBS to see what would help. Late in the day on Saturday I finally called the isp back and after 45 minutes the realization came that when they switched me over to the business plan and static ip, they somehow made a some sort of switching mistake. I can access local sites (within my country) and the odd site here and there, such as this one, but nothing else. Unfortunately, those employees do not work on the weekends so I have to wait until Monday for them to fix it, even though it is there mistake. The good of it is that I spent a lot of time going through every procedure I could find to get it to work, presuming it was a router or server setting gone awry, and maybe I learned something. Anyway, on Monday my broadband should be back up and I'll go from there.

The email is another issue where I posted earlier that I couldn't get my user mailbox to work in Outlook. When I enabled it and tried to fire up Outlook, a password dialog with the server admin user name kept coming up and I tried every password on the system (I keep a separate file of them) but I would get a different dialog saying Outlook couldn't open. I tried different users, everything. The only way to get Outlook to open was to delete the exchange mailbox. I have seen a post somewhere else on this issue but now with no internet, it is impossible to impliment solutions, especially if I need a link to something on the net. So I don't know if internal email is working. My wife's laptop still has her mail box in Exchange mode so perhaps the issue is solely with my mailbox? I did post that I switched my mailbox for the admin to my user account and assigned a new email address to the admin mailbox and this is when the problem began.

I've finished assembling my new server and it fired right up to it's BIOS, and I checked that all the componets were listed there. I have not begun the loading process as I'm determined to get SBS/Exchange fully up and functional before I make the move to a new install.

My next move, once the net is back up, is to download and install the godaddy cert I bought, and then work on getting the email working again. Once that is accomplished, I'll feel more comfortable loading sbs/exhange on the new server in a clean, new install.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[markdmac]

There is a bug in Exchange 2007 that manifests with multiple prompting for password. Installing Exchange 2007 SP2 resolves the error.

You should verify that you have that installed and make sure that your Autodiscovery is setup right. Those two can cause the issue you are describing.

I hope that helps.

Regards,

Mark

Check out my scripting solutions at

http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript

Work SMARTER not HARDER. The Spider's Parlor's Admin Script Pack is a collection of Administrative scripts designed to make IT Administration easier! Save time, get more work done, get the Admin Script Pack.