TechNet Flash - Volume 11, Issue 4: February 25, 2009
Note from the Editor
Greetings, and Welcome to TechNet Flash.
Those who’ve played with the R2 beta release of Windows Server 2008 might have noticed a new tool, the Best Practices Analyzer, designed to help administrators reduce best practice violations by automatically scanning the roles in use and reporting the violations. Also in WS 2008 R2, Events and Errors documentation is available directly from Event Viewer, organized in hierarchical structure by server roles and server fundamentals.
For those of you testing the Windows 7 beta, stay tuned to the Microsoft Update blog. Starting February 24, we will be releasing up to five test updates to PCs running the Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) via Windows Update. These updates do not deliver new features or bug fixes; they do allow us to test and verify our ability to deliver and manage the updating of Windows 7. We typically verify servicing scenarios during a beta.
Gavriella Schuster, senior director for the Windows Enterprise team, posted recently to the Windows Blog a very succinct explanation of why deploying Windows Vista now will make the future transition to Windows 7 easier. In her post, Guidance on Windows Deployments for Business Customers, Schuster explains how testing and remediating your applications on Windows Vista can actually ease your Windows 7 deployment due to the high degree of compatibility.
In the same vein, the Springboard team published Managing the Diverse Infrastructure: Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. In a perfect world, we’d love it if your could wave a hand and all your PCs would be running Windows Vista so they are positioned for an easier Windows 7 rollout when the time comes. But we live in the real world where you are most likely managing desktops and laptops with different versions of the Windows operating system.
More Windows 7 Beta Tips in TechNet Magazine
TechNet Magazine is continuing its month of Windows 7 tips. Here are a few of the latest tips you’ll find on the TechNet Magazine site:
" Easily Install Windows 7 Alongside Windows Vista for a Dual Boot System
" Turn Off Security Messages and Other System Notifications in Windows 7
" Encrypt Portable USB Drives with BitLocker To Go on Windows 7
Just a reminder - you can find much of this new content as it becomes available on my TechNet Flash Feed blog, and/or follow me on Twitter. For instance, you could have seen the new troubleshooting capabilities in Windows Server 2008 R2, plus other things to know about the beta.
Speaking of blogs, check out the new Microsoft MVP Award Program blog featuring real-world, community content.
Mitch Irsfeld
Editor, TechNet Flash
Your Featured Content
Ensure that the content most relevant to you is presented in this section.
Windows 7: To the Beta and Beyond (Virtual Roundtable)
For those of you who couldn’t attend the February 12 live virtual roundtable discussion “Windows 7: To the Beta and Beyond,” moderated by Mark Russinovich, catch it on demand now on the Windows Client TechCenter. A transcript of the event – and a Q&A – will be available for download from the site in early March.
Free Web Hosting, Free Web Tools
Host your company’s Web site on the most up-to-date Microsoft Web platform, and get a great deal: free Web tools, free Web hosting for 60 days, and a US$100 Microsoft adCenter credit (U.S. customers only). Learn more.
Citrix Announces New Virtualization Solution Based on Hyper-V
Citrix has unveiled Citrix Essentials for Microsoft Hyper-V, a suite of advanced virtualization management capabilities for Hyper-V environments. Citrix Essentials enables storage management, provisioning services, and lab management, providing for scalable, manageable, and agile virtualization solutions.
Webcast: Powerful New Features in Office Project 2007 to Help You Succeed (Level 200)
March 16, 2009, 10:00 A.M. Pacific Time
In this webcast, we demonstrate the robust project management tools in Microsoft Office Project 2007 that provide you with the right blend of usability, power, and flexibility so you can manage projects more efficiently and effectively.
Don’t Miss Your Chance to Win for Each New Forefront Product Trial You Download
From now until June 30, 2009, every time you download a different Microsoft Forefront product trial, you’ll increase your chances of winning great prizes, including one of three US$10,000 Grand Prize server systems for your home, a D-Link DNS-232 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure, or a US$50 Best Buy gift card.
Create Visio Network Diagrams in a Snap – Download the Free LANsurveyor Express Plug-in
As an IT professional, you need an up-to-date network map to help you diagnose connectivity issues and maintain workplace productivity. Now LANsurveyor Express can automatically create network diagrams for you within Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2007. It’s valued at US$499, but for a limited time only, it’s free.
New Videos for IT Pros
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/sharepoint/dd425027.aspx
23 minutes, 8 seconds
Content types are designed to help users organize their SharePoint content in a more meaningful way. A content type is a reusable collection of settings you want to apply to a certain category of content.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/dd420576.aspx
Automate Report Delivery in SQL Server Reporting Services Using Subscriptions
7 minutes, 14 seconds
This video shows how to create report subscriptions and how to:
• Configure a shared data source to store credentials (required for subscriptions)
• Configure SSRS for SMTP e-mail delivery
• Create a subscription that delivers reports to a file share
• Create a subscription that delivers reports via e-mail
IT Management
Peer-to-Peer Connection: IT Management Forum
Discuss major topics and specific challenges you and other managers at IT organizations face today. Use this open forum to chat, discuss solutions, and share ideas with your peers as well as IT evangelists Kevin Remde, John Weston, Harold Wong, and Dan Stolts.
March 4, 2009, 1:00 P.M. Pacific Time
In this webcast, we discuss the technologies and practices that let an organization take advantage of the Microsoft promise of SOA and BPM to accomplish more with its existing infrastructure. Tune in to find out how to make your organization more agile and proactive in handling the business of business.
Featured Downloads
Download Windows Internet Explorer 8 RC1
Designed to be enterprise-ready, Internet Explorer 8 can help reduce security risks, includes a backward compatibility mode, expanded management capabilities, and deployment support. Find new features such as a cross-site scripting filter, the SmartScreen Filter, improved ActiveX technologies, 100 new group policies, and an application compatibility toolkit.
New Release of the Security Compliance Management Toolkit
The new release includes updated security guides, the GPOAccelerator tool to help you establish and deploy your security baselines, and configuration packs to use with Configuration Manager 2007 to help you monitor your security baseline for operating systems and office applications operating in your environment.
Scripting for IT Pros
Hey Scripting Guy...
" How Can I Generate a List of My Group Policy Objects?
" How Can I Create New Group Policy Objects?
" How Can Get a List of All My Orphaned Group Policy Objects?
" How Can I List All Group Policy Objects in a Domain?
See previous comics in the TechNet Flash Web-based archive.
Support and Troubleshooting
Hotfixes
" Hotfix Package 3 for Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5: January 2009
" Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 hotfix package (Coreserver.msp): January 27, 2009
" Description of the Project Server 2007 hotfix package: January 27, 2009
Knowledge Base Articles
See a selection of new Knowledge Base articles on the TechNet Web site. KB articles feature an Article Translations box in the right column. You can select a language from the drop-down list and read the article in the selected language.
Upcoming Webcasts
Microsoft and NetApp TechTalk: Optimize Your Datacenter with Hyper-V
February 26, 2009, 11:00 A.M. Pacific Time
Microsoft and NetApp will present a live online Q&A chat session. A panel of experts will address basic and expert-level questions about how to virtualize a server and underlying storage environment. See how to build and configure Hyper-V and NetApp solutions to cut storage costs.
Running Legacy Applications with Virtualization (Part 2 of 2) (Level 300)
February 27, 2009, 9:30 A.M. Pacific Time
In this webcast, we demonstrate how Woodgrove Bank extended their application virtualization capabilities using Microsoft System Center products.
Identity and Security
Download Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway Beta 2
Try the next generation of Microsoft Internet Security & Acceleration (ISA) Server and experience key features that include Web anti-malware, HTTPS inspection and the Network Inspection System.
Download the Security Development Lifecycle Optimization Model
The Microsoft SDL Optimization Model is a strategic framework which facilitates consistent and cost-effective implementation of the SDL in development organizations outside of Microsoft. Self-assess your current state of security in development and create a strategy and roadmap to progressively attain measurable security improvements with the Security Development Lifecycle Optimization Model.
On Demand
Dynamic Resource Management with System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 has a powerful new feature called performance and resource optimization (PRO) that enables administrators to quickly indentify performance issues in their virtualized environment, and provides remedial recommendations to rectify them.
SAP Virtualization Best Practices with Hyper-V and Systems Center
While virtualization is an important technology for increasing flexibility and improving the cost structure of SAP landscapes, the requirements in performance and availability of SAP applications typically depend on appropriate information for planning, sizing, and design of SAP infrastructures.
Virtual Labs
After completing this lab, you will be better able to scan messages for viruses and use file filtering to block attachments.
This lab demonstrates how to operate the desired configuration management (DCM) feature in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) for security baseline compliance monitoring.
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