TechNet Magazine March 2008

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Know the Tools You'll Need to Deploy Windows Vista

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. ...

SQL Server includes a number of built-in functions you can use to retrieve system information. Here's an overview of these functions. ...

Find out how you can use Windows Boot Performance Diagnostics to identify the source of startup performance problems and automatically fix issues. ...

To make replication go smoothly, you need to do a bit of planning, which involves selecting a specific replication model. Here's an overview of the common replication models you will likely choose from. ...

In the Exchange Management Shell, you can modify the filters and conditions associated with a dynamic distribution group using the Set-DynamicDistribution-Group cmdlet. This cmdlet has several other uses as well! ...

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Popular Articles

Virtualization: Achieving High Availability for Hyper-V

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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Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 introduce important changes to BitLocker, including support for data volumes and improved protection against cryptographic attacks. Byron Hynes explores the new features, demonstrates how to use BitLocker on a server, and discusses some of the recent media coverage affecting BitLocker.

Byron Hynes

TechNet Magazine June 2008

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Without too much effort, you can deploy a terminal server to host the applications you need in your environment. But there are some important decisions you’ll need to make to ensure your implementation meets user expectations. Greg Shields discusses the various options you have and explains how they will affect you.

Greg Shields

TechNet Magazine January 2009

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Raymond Chen looks at the skewed relationship bugs have to errors, and explains why it's important that programmers suffer as well as give results.

Raymond Chen

TechNet Magazine October 2008

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The new Group Policy Preferences feature found in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista provides more than 3,000 settings, greatly expanding what administrators can do with Group Policy. Here’s a guide to using Group Policy Preferences to manage your environment.

Derek Melber

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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March 2008

Special Coverage: Windows Server 2008: Inside Windows Server 2008 Kernel Changes

Dive in to our detailed tour of key changes in the Windows Server 2008 kernel that improve reliability, performance, and scalability. Find out how Windows Server 2008 makes better use of thread pools, streamlines recovery from hardware failures, improves virtualization with Hyper-V, and more. Mark Russinovich

Special Coverage: Windows Server 2008: What's New in Active Directory Domain Services

Windows Server 2008 introduces some substantial enhancements to Active Directory Domain Services. Take a close look at how read-only domain controllers and Windows Server Core improve security in your environment, how the new Server Manager and revamped backup simplify management, and how the new auditing tools help ensure compliance. Gil Kirkpatrick

Special Coverage: Windows Server 2008: Getting Started with IIS 7.0

IIS 7.0 is packed with new features—too many to include in a single article. The new version builds on the solid, securityfocused design you got with IIS 6.0, providing enhancements that greatly improve the manageability and extensibility of the platform. Get an overview of some of the most important changes in IIS 7.0. Isaac Roybal

Special Coverage: Windows Server 2008: Policy-Driven Network Access with Windows Server 2008

How do you allow network access to those who need it without sacrificing security? See how new technologies in Windows Server 2008, such as Windows Firewall with Advanced Security and Network Access Protection, let you implement a policy-based approach to help you achieve this goal. Ian Hameroff and Amith Krishnan 62 Configuring Roles with Server Manager A DNS server need not be a print server. One approach Windows Server 2008 takes to improve security and manageability is to simplify server roles so you can easily install only the tools and services you need, and nothing more. Here's an introduction to using Server Manager for configuring roles and simplifying deployments. Ian Hameroff and Amith Krishnan

Special Coverage: Windows Server 2008: Configuring Roles with Server Manager

A DNS server need not be a print server. One approach Windows Server 2008 takes to improve security and manageability is to simplify server roles so you can easily install only the tools and services you need, and nothing more. Here's an introduction to using Server Manager for configuring roles and simplifying deployments. Byron Hynes

Special Coverage: Windows Server 2008: Deploying Windows Server 2008 with System Center

It used to be that server administrators would install Windows Server manually using the CD or DVD and then spend several hours configuring the server. With the release of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and the new Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, server administrators can now use the same tools that desktop administrators have been using for years to automate deployments. Tim Mintner

Special Coverage: Windows Server 2008: Auditing and Compliance in Windows Server 2008

Auditing change is now a core responsibility for IT departments. It is an essential part of understanding and managing systems and data in a distributed environment. This article discusses common challenges, the landscape of compliance and regulation, some of the basics of auditing, and how you can create a comprehensive auditing strategy. Rob Campbell and Joel Yoker

Columns

From the Editor: Here's to Windows Server 2008 Joshua Hoffman	Letters: Readers Speak Out	Toolbox: New Products for IT Pros Greg Steen
Utility Spotlight: Windows Server Logo Certification To help ISVs and customers gauge application compatibility, Microsoft created the "Works with Windows Server 2008" program. Here's a look at the free supporting test tools made available through the program that can help you ensure that applications will deliver a predictable experience. Venkat Krishnamachari	The Cable Guy: Migrating Your Intranet to IPv6 with ISATAP Getting ready to move to IPv6? The Cable Guy explains how you can use an IPv6 transition technology to get IPv6 connectivity and migrate to an IPv6-capable intranet. Joseph Davies	Windows PowerShell: Progress Report For your users with attention span issues—and even those without—providing status feedback in your scripts is a good idea. Here's all you need to know to provide status in Windows PowerShell. Don Jones
Hey, Scripting Guy!: Our Favorite Shell Games The Scripting Guys demonstrate how you can change the last-modified date of a file with some script and the Shell object. The Microsoft Scripting Guys	Security Watch: Using SCW on Windows Server 2008 You've heard about the new Server Manager tool in Windows Server 2008. But the Security Configuration Wizard (SCW) is still available, as well. Find out why you will still want to use SCW. Jesper M. Johansson	The Desktop Files: You Can't Be Too Rich or Too Thin Thin clients come and thin clients go, but there always seems to be some scenario that can benefit from them. Today, they're used in kiosks and in environments where Web browsing is all that is needed. Here's a look at how you can repurpose old hardware with a client app to save some money. Wes Miller
Field Notes: Preparing for IT 2.0 Here's a look at the importance of learning from the past in order to address the challenges that the future holds for IT. Romi Mahajan	Windows Confidential: How Betas Became RCs Raymond Chen discusses the intriguing backstory of how naming conventions for non-final releases have changed. And he gives a gentle plea for companies to take beta testing more seriously. Raymond Chen