TechNet Magazine January 2008

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Tips

Configure Your SQL Server Attack Surface

Find out how to use the sp_configure stored procedure to limit your attack surface by disabling unnecessary features. ...

You can use Ocsetup.exe to install or remove roles, role services, and features on Server Core. Note that the Ocsetup.exe syntax is case sensitive so you must type package names exactly as shown in this list. ...

Do you know what tools you'll need to use to prepare and deploy Windows Vista to systems throughout your environment? Here's an overview of the tools you'll need, and the ones you can forget about. ...

When a mailbox is stored on the server, you can grant access to individual folders in the mailbox. Granting access in this way means that users can perform tasks only for which you’ve granted permission. ...

This tip shows you how to use the transform command in the Scwcmd utility to create a GPO that includes the settings in the security policy (and any security templates attached to the policy). ...

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Popular Articles

The Desktop Files: Windows Won't Start!

Drivers fail, files get corrupted, disks crash--there are numerous uncontrollable reasons why Windows might fail. But all is not lost. Wes Miller explores the kinds of things that can go wrong in a Windows system, and explains how you can troubleshoot them to get your system working again.

Wes Miller

TechNet Magazine January 2009

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Consolidating servers onto fewer physical machines has many advantages, but it is extremely important that you plan for your systems to be highly available. Here’s a guide to using Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering to bring high availability to your Hyper-V virtual machines.

Steven Ekren

TechNet Magazine October 2008

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See how the free Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager can help you easily copy, delete, and back up files from a flash drive, as well as perform other useful tasks.

Lance Whitney

TechNet Magazine January 2009

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Windows PowerShell: Trapping Errors

Learn how you can implement error-handling in Windows PowerShell.

Don Jones

TechNet Magazine January 2009

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Raymond Chen explains why it is often the developers who have their acts together who end up checking in the final bug fixes to products.

Raymond Chen

TechNet Magazine January 2009

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Our Blog

Geek of all Trades: Control Network Access Using DHCP Enforcement

NAP monitors the health of specified computers when they attempt to connect to a network and includes a number of mechanisms to enforce health requirements. In this article, Geek of All Trades Greg Shields gives readers an overview of these enforcement mechanisms and, as an example, takes a closer look at setting ...

Use Windows PowerShell to Manage Virtual Machines Here are a few examples of how you can use Windows PowerShell scripts to manage virtual machines running on a Server Core installation. Note that these scripts are presented as samples and may need to be customized to work in your environment.

Create a New ...

Disabling an Unused Part of Group Policy Objects One way to disable a policy is to disable an unused part of the GPO. By disabling part of a policy that isn’t used, the application of GPOs and security will be faster.

Administer Windows Server 2008 Server Core from the Command Prompt ...

In the August 2008 issue of TechNet Magazine, Paul Randal wrote an article Top Tips for Effective Database Maintenance. It was geared toward "involuntary DBAs" (IT pros who inadvertently wind up responsible for a SQL Server instance). The article had a great response from our readers so Paul has written another ...

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Forefront Security

Microsoft Forefront is designed to deliver an integrated security solution that makes it much easier to deploy and manage security across an organization’s IT infrastructure. In this, our annual security issue, we feature two articles that describe how Forefront Security protects instant messaging and e-mail.

Protect ...

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January 2008

System Center: Real Control with Virtual Machine Manager 2007

Virtualization allows organizations to consolidate resources and save money. But as you begin to implement increasing numbers of virtual machines, you'll want a convenient way to manage them. Here's a guide to setting up Virtual Machine Manager and using it to perform administrative tasks from a centralized interface. Edwin Yuen

System Center: Better Backups with Data Protection Manager 2007

The latest version of Data Protection Manager offers many new features, delivering a powerful and flexible solution for managing your backups. Here's an overview of how DPM can protect everything from Exchange and SQL Server to branch offices and SharePoint sites. Calvin Keaton

System Center: Online Services Help Simplify Software Inventory

Software asset management is an essential task for every business—large or small. But with the amount of software businesses now purchase and deploy, getting a handle on those assets can feel next to impossible. Find out how the new Asset Inventory Service from Microsoft can help. Paul Bourgeau

Group Policy: Inside ADM and ADMX Templates for Group Policy

ADM files are both necessary and often confusing. Don't let this slow your Group Policy efforts. This guided tour will help you better understand what's inside ADM files and the new ADMX format, which tools you can use to handle them, and how you can make the best use of these files. Jeremy Moskowitz

Group Policy: Optimizing Group Policy Performance

All Group Policy is not the same, and knowing the differences between types can help you fine-tune performance on your systems. Explore monolithic and functional GPs, learn how to process Group Policy, and find out what happens when Group Policy changes occur. Darren Mar-Elia

Group Policy: Dive into Advanced Group Policy Management

AGPM, or Advanced Group Policy Management, is a handy tool that lets you work with Group Policy Objects in ways that other tools don't. And it's now available to members of the Microsoft Software Assurance program. Check out how you can use AGPM to edit GPOs offline, delegate administration, track changes, and more. Derek Melber

Columns

From the Editor: Winning Over a Cynic Joshua Hoffman	Letters: Readers Speak Out	Toolbox: New Products for IT Pros Greg Steen
Exchange Queue & A: Adding Voice Prompts, Choosing a PBX , and More Have questions about Exchange Unified Messaging? We've got answers. In this installment of Exchange Queue & A, we focus on Unified Messaging, discussing how you can implement phone and fax features, offer high availability, set up voice prompts, and more. Seema Rahman	Utility Spotlight: Windows Easy Transfer Companion This free tool can simplify the migration of key applications from Windows XP to Windows Vista. Lance Whitney	The Cable Guy: DNS Enhancements in Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 includes many DNS server enhancements. Take a close look at how these updates make name resolution faster, improve support for IPv6, and add greater flexibility to DNS administration. Joseph Davies
Windows PowerShell: Heading Off Malicious Code When designing Windows PowerShell, a lot of thought was put into security. But, as with any software, Windows PowerShell can still be exposed to malicious code. Here are some recommendations for choosing an Execution Policy that will keep your systems more secure. Don Jones	Hey, Scripting Guy!: There's No Mistaking Regular Expressions Looking for a way to avoid making mistakes? Validation is a good start. Learn how to perform character pattern matching in a script using regular expressions. The Microsoft Scripting Guys	Security Watch: Island Hopping: The Infectious Allure of Vendor Swag Security threats don't just come from e-mail and malicious Web sites. See how a USB thumb drive and some simple social engineering can be used to gain access to your entire network. And find out what you can do to keep your network more secure against this threat. Jesper M. Johansson
The Desktop Files: Shared Computing with Windows SteadyState The new Windows SteadyState toolkit can help you improve security and simplify management of Windows XP systems in a shared-use environment? Take a guided tour to find out how. Wes Miller	Field Notes: Your Most Important Task of the Day When you're working on a project, don't underestimate the importance of setting aside time to think, plan, and prioritize. Eric N. Bush	Windows Confidential: Remind Me Never to Do That Again Hardware detection in the days before proper Plug and Play devices was a very scary undertaking. Find out why. Raymond Chen