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TechNet Flash, Volume 14, Issue 17 - August 8, 2012
TechNet Flash Editor's Note from Mitch Irsfeld
Signal the Ramp-up for Windows 8, Windows Server 2012
Heads up!
We're getting very close to releasing our re-imagined operating systems. In fact, both Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 were released to manufacturing last week. According to the Windows Server Blog, Windows Server 2012 will be made available to our volume licensing customers in the next couple of weeks. Save the date and join us online on September 4, 2012 for the Windows Server 2012 launch event.
The Windows 8 team informs us on the Building Windows 8 Blog that the next milestone will be the availability of new models of PCs loaded with Windows 8 as well as online availability of Windows 8 on October 26, 2012.
In both cases, you've had access to the preview versions (Windows 8 Release Preview and Windows Server 2012 RC) and you can expect soon more readiness resources. For small businesses, Windows Server 2012 Beta Essentials (formerly Windows Small Business Server Essentials) is available for download, designed for small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices. You can learn more about that release on the Windows Server 2012 Essentials TechCenter.
We recently released the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 Update 1 Beta 1 with support for Windows 8 Release Preview, Windows Server 2012 RC. And check out this blog post offering Windows Server 2012 Installation Options.
To access your readiness for Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8, the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 7.0 includes detailed and actionable recommendations indicating which machines meet system requirements and which may require hardware updates. A comprehensive inventory of servers, operating systems, workloads, devices, and server roles is included to help in planning efforts.
If you're thinking of building Windows 8 apps for your organization, sign up with Generation App to find insider tips on Windows 8 and learn how you can develop a Windows 8 app in 30 days with help from the experts.
Finally, you can learn some Windows 8 deployment tips by watching the video How Microsoft IT Deployed the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. It covers the deployment methods - WDS & USMT, MDT, Internet Explorer, Windows To Go, and Windows assessment - in addition to IT Easy Installer, BitLocker helpdesk, enterprise scenarios and experiences, application compatibility and development, imaging, vision, replication, Azure deployment, and GPO recommendations.
There's much, much more to come on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 for IT pros.
Thanks for reading,
Mitch Irsfeld
Editor, TechNet Flash
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