Essential Business Server 2008 (EBS 2008) is more than just Windows 2008 server with a bundled applications. Under the covers Active Directory is used to store configuration data used by the various EBS roles (management, messaging and security). Changes to configuration after installation should be made using the utilities like “ChangeIPAddress” rather than manually to avoid unwanted side-effects. It is however nice to understand a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes. Here are a few tips to help get you started.

A good first point of call for installation errors is this log file. It contains a comprehensive log of the installation process:

• C:\Program Files\Windows Essential Business Server\Logs\mmssetup.log

Configuration data stored in Active Directory can be exported to an XML file using the EBS Export Configuration Wizard. The resulting XML file is readable in plan text. To run this wizard, navigate to the following location in the Start menu:

• All Programs \ Windows Essential Business Server \ Tools

An alternative method for viewing the data is ADSIEdit. I recommend only viewing data with this tool, as editing can have serious adverse affects! Using ADSIEdit navigate to the EBS Configuration data as follows:

• Connect to the Configuration Partition
• Open MMSConfiguration
• Select the properties of the node you are interested in
• You should now see the configuration information

Details of the data stored in Active Directory can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd430092(WS.10).aspx

The EBS Console displays information about servers and PC’s in the EBS 2008 domain. Information is gather via Windows Update and so the WUAUCLT utility can be used to register PC’s that for one reason or another have failed to register or have stopped checking in and updating the console. At the command prompt type the following commands to force the client to check in:

• wuauclt /detectnow
• wuauclt /reportnow