TechNet Flash - Volume 10, Issue 25: December 10, 2008
Note from the Editor
Greetings and Welcome to TechNet Flash,
Ah, the holidays. First, we give thanks before we overwork in order to overindulge, only to take stock and resolve to do it better next year. We do love our time-honored traditions.
Here’s your chance to take part in one of Microsoft’s traditions: The Customer Preview Program, where you can play an integral part in our development process. Check out the Customer Preview Program (CPP) for Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2. This is a traditional service pack release containing all cumulative security updates available since the Windows Vista SP1 release in March 2008; however, either Windows Vista SP1 or Windows Server 2008 is a prerequisite for installing this service pack. What makes the Windows Vista SP2 release unique is that it is a single service pack for both client and server operating systems. Since the code base for Windows Vista is shared with Windows Server 2008, a single update can be deployed across your full infrastructure.
For a summary of the key highlights of Windows Vista SP2 for IT pros – including support for new types of hardware and emerging standards and capabilities to improve system performance – see the Springboard Series Blog and bookmark the Windows Client TechCenter for ongoing updates and announcements. For a full list of changes in SP2, visit the Windows Server Division Weblog for Windows Server 2008 and The Windows Blog for the Windows Vista client.
And just a reminder: If you’re the type who completes your holiday shopping before the rush, you’re probably the type who would prefer to get access to something as important as Windows vista SP2 prior to a CPP or general public availability. We have just the place for you. Swing by the TechNet Plus Subscription site. Vista SP2 Beta was made available to TechNet Plus subscribers on December 2. Already a TechNet Plus subscriber? Then go directly to your benefits and get the Windows Vista SP2 bits or the Windows Server 2008 SP2 bits.
Is HPC for You?
Would your server workloads benefit from high-performance computing (HPC)? Carl Claunch, Gartner Vice-President and distinguished analyst, pens a great synopsis on when enterprises should install Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008 as the operating system for their computer clusters. Check out When to Choose Windows HPC Server 2008 for Your Computing Cluster. Then get a side-by side comparison of Windows HPC Server 2008 and its predecessor.
For more quick takes on HPC Server 2008, see the HPC Show on Channel 9:
" Five-Minute Intro to the Windows HPC Server 2008 Management Console
" New Job Scheduler Features with Windows HPC Server 2008
New on TechNet Magazine: Tip of the Day
Check out the helpful new Tip of the Day feature on TechNet Magazine. December is Windows Vista month, with a new tip posted every business day. Here are some recent tips:
" Know the Tools You’ll Need to Deploy Windows Vista
" Use Msconfig to Disable and Enable UAC
" Delete Files Permanently with SDelete
Round 2 of the Cloud Computing Survey
Thanks go out to those who participated in round 1 of this survey. Please give us your opinions in round 2. Do you have something to say about cloud computing? Click here, tell us more, and make your opinion count.
Mitch Irsfeld
Editor, TechNet Flash
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/ms788692.aspx
Your Featured Content
Ensure that the content most relevant to you is presented in this section.
Get Search Server 2008 Express
Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express is a free application delivering search across Windows SharePoint Services sites as well as file shares, Exchange Public Folders, and Web sites.
Sign Up for the Springboard Series Insider Newsletter
Get the inside scoop on resources, tools, and guidance to help you deploy and manage the latest Windows desktop operating system. Subscribe to this newsletter and you’ll also find tips and tricks from your peers, insight into upcoming resources, details about upcoming events, and special opportunities to share your feedback with the Windows IT Pro team.
Webcast: Advanced Windows PowerShell Scripting (Level 400)
December 15, 2008, 11:30 A.M. Pacific Time
Learn the basics of Windows PowerShell, examine how the help system works, and review the Windows PowerShell command structure. See how to format output and some basic Windows PowerShell commands, and how to use the Microsoft .NET Framework to build a simple form using Windows PowerShell.
Register for the SQL Server Application and Multi-Server Management Private CTP
Participate in this unique opportunity to work with SQL Server engineers on a new application model and central management point for discovering and managing SQL Server instances, defining deployment policies to simplify database management, optimizing resources, streamlining collaboration, and helping to efficiently manage at scale.
Download Microsoft Identity Lifecycle Manager “2” Release Candidate
Identity Lifecycle Manager (ILM) “2” RC delivers powerful self-service capabilities for Office end-users, rich administrative tools and enhanced automation for IT professionals, and .NET and WS-* based extensibility for developers.
Video: What’s New in DPM 2007 SP1 for Protecting SharePoint
Watch part 2 of the TechNet Edge Video series on the new features for System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2007 Service Pack 1. This installment looks at the new SP1 features for enhancing protection of SharePoint 2003/2007 and WSS 2.0/3.0. The DPM release of SP1 is scheduled for December 19, 2008.
December 19, 2008, 11:30 A.M. Pacific Time
Join this webcast to learn how to provision and use vPro to extend the capabilities of System Center Configuration Manager to incorporate secure hardware and power management for a truly green managed enterprise desktop solution.
Virtual Lab: Using System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 Features
After completing this lab you will understand how to deploy policies and software using System Center Mobile Device Manager, use multiple methods of creating device enrollments, using either self-service or pre-enrollment, and actually enrolling devices.
Virtual Lab: SQL Server 2008 Data Mining Add-ins for Excel 2007
After completing this lab, you will be better able to prepare your Excel data for building mining models, build, explore and evaluate mining models in Excel 2007, and apply the mining model to a new data set and view the results in Excel.
For a limited time, receive Partner Subsidy Funds good for up to 15% back on ERP when you purchase at least 10 Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2007 or Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 licenses through a new or true-up Enterprise Agreement or Select License Agreement with Software Assurance.
Webcast: How Microsoft IT Uses Design Patterns to Deliver Agile Business Intelligence Solutions
January 13, 2009, 9:30 A.M. Pacific Time
Find out how to use and extend Microsoft SQL Server and Analysis Services to simplify the storage of KPI and metrics into an Analysis Services catalog that can support intuitive UI-agnostic content creation.
January 27, 2009, 9:30 A.M. Pacific Time
Learn how Microsoft IT leverages re-usable Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS) solution building-blocks for internal portals. Join us for an exclusive look at how Microsoft developed and deployed its SharePoint portal environment, and how that environment helps solve business problems.
White Paper: Configuring Windows Server 2008 Power Parameters
See the Windows Server Performance team blog for access to a best-practices white paper for optimizing power efficiency in the data center.
System Center Configuration Manager Usability Study
January 12 - 16, 2008, main Microsoft campus, Redmond, WA
Microsoft User Research is conducting a study focusing on design ideas for the next version of System Center Configuration Manager. This is a great opportunity for Configuration Manager users to provide feedback and help improve the user experience of the next version. Each participant will receive a gift item. If you are interested in participating, please e-mail us at itusable@microsoft.comwith ConfigMgr in subject line.
Evaluation Center Updates
Download the VMM 2008 180-Day Free Evaluation
There’s no better way to experience System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 than to try it in your own environment. Try a fully functioning version of VMM 2008 for 180 days for free.
Get the Free Windows Small Business Server 2008 Trial
Get the Free Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Trial
IT Management
New Live Interview & Demo: Security Assessment
Check out the demo in this Tech·Ed Online interview with the Group Product Manager behind the Microsoft Security Assessment Tool. Through the easy-to-use assessment process, you will find prioritized tasks with industry guidance, best practices, and recommendations to resolve security issues identified in the detailed reports.
Scripting for IT Pros
Hey Scripting Guy...
" How Can I Easily Reconfigure Services?
" How Can I Have Computer Configuration Information Written to an HTML File?
See previous comics in the TechNet Flash Web-based archive.
Support and Troubleshooting
Hotfixes
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.
Featured Downloads
System Center Service Manager Beta 1 Released
This beta includes the updated infrastructure components that will both deliver the performance we are targeting for the release and support our objective of delivering an IT service desk that is tightly integrated with the rest of the System Center product family.
Quicker SQL Server 2008 migration starts with the new Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.2. Bypass the labor-intensive task of locating and discovering SQL instances. Download the free toolkit today.
Upcoming Webcasts
Server Message Block 2.0 in Action (Level 300)
December 12, 2008, 9:30 A.M. Pacific Time
We look at what the new SMB 2 protocol does, how its performance is influenced by the new TCP/IP stack, and how other network parameters like Jumbo Frames contribute to overall network performance.
Security
Assess Your Desktop Security and Forefront Readiness with the New Security Assessment Tool
Find out how to assess whether your desktops are vulnerable to viruses and spyware with the new Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.2. This free toolkit also assesses Forefront Client Security and Network Access Protection (NAP) readiness of your PCs.
Need to Share Methods and Practices of Writing Secure Code?
The Security Development Lifecycle provides you and your team with corresponding levels of guidance and tools for strategy, assessment, and implementation of your security.
On Demand
In this webcast, we focus on showing you how to use ILM "2" to address self-service group management and password management scenarios, with an eye toward planning and deployment guidance for real-world production implementation.
How to Implement Microsoft Hyper-V Server and Intel Virtualization Technology (Level 200)
In this webcast, we discuss current and future Intel VT technologies and describe the Intel vision of hardware-assisted virtualization. We also address installation, management, and high availability of the Hyper-V Server role on an Intel server chipset platform.
Virtual Labs
SQL Server 2008 Resource Governor
After completing this lab, you will be better able to understand appropriate uses for the Resource Governor, create resource pools, create workload groups and also monitor resource usage.
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