Celebrating 10 Years as a Microsoft MVP!

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Back from my vacation, I am thrilled to share that I have been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award for the 10th consecutive year. In addition to being recognized as an expert within Teams, I am have also been recognized as an expert with Microsoft Copilot. This means a lot to me.  Being an MVP has been an incredibly rewarding journey, both personally and professionally. It has provided me with countless opportunities to grow, learn, and connect with like-minded professionals who share a passion for technology and innovation.  The award is not just a title; it's a testament to the hard work, dedication, and contributions to the tech community. It's a privilege to be part of such an esteemed group of individuals who share the same love for technology, and sharing their knowledge about it.  As I reflect on the past decade, I am thankful for the experiences and knowledge I've gained. This recognition motivates me to continue sharing my expertise, mentor

Installing OCS 2007 R2 (and fighting it)... Part 1; SQL 2008

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Well, Here I am, about to install the next OCS version. I have three Windows 2008 servers at my disposal (in an existing domain). I am wondering just how easy a setup is, and if grandma could do it (which was my first impression during training) :) 
- First off is installing the backend server = SQL 2008
I thought this was going to be the easy part.... stupid as I am ;)
It turned out to be a little obstacle on my way. I launched the installer, and was prompted to first install .Net 3.5 and a installer hot-fix. I accepted, and the installation failed.... Again, and again.... As it turns out; The installer package only check for a few prerequisites of the installation, not prerequisites of the prerequisites. Only after installing (sorry; enabling the feature) .Net through server manager (and thereby enabling some IIS features as well) was I able to continue on with the SQL installation.
I guess I would have known if I read the manual first, but why do they make checks to an installation if they do not check (or install) all the prerequisites?
When it comes to the installation process (still talking about SQL), I can tell MS has been working a lot on it. The interface is clean, and easy to navigate through. They have even made a change in the defaults, to make you think. You now have to select the user under which the services (one for all or different for all) run under. This is a major improvement, as previous installation often run as local system or administrator. (Easy targets ;)