TechNet Magazine June 2008

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Monitor and Tune Network Bandwidth and Connectivity

No other factor matters more to the way a user perceives your server’s performance than the network that connects your server to the user’s computer. The delay, or latency, between when a request is made and the time it’s received can make all the difference. To determine the throughput and current activity on a server’s network cards, you can check these counters. ...

The version of Robocopy included with Windows 7 offers a new switch for performing multi-threaded copies. Here's what you need to know. ...

Did you know you can use Windows 7 beta 1 to manage your Windows Server 2008 servers? Here's the download you'll need and an overview of the tools it includes. ...

When you delete a mailbox from a user account, the mailbox is retained as a disconnected mailbox. You can reconnect the mailbox to the original user account or another user account, if necessary. We show you how. ...

Think part of your database is missing or corrupted? Find out how you can perform a partial restore to recover the missing or corrupted data. ...

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Popular Articles

Windows Administration: Expanded Control with Group Policy Preferences

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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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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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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Why do attachment sizes increase when sending and receiving e-mail messages? How can you ensure databases on a passive node in a CCR cluster are defragmented during online maintenance? Can you use an external trust between forests? We answer these questions and more.

Henrik Walther

TechNet Magazine January 2009

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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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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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June 2008

Security: The Great Debate: Security by Obscurity

Security by obscurity involves taking measures that don't remove an attack vector but instead conceal it. Some argue that this is a bad practice while others claim that as part of a larger strategy, every bit counts. The debate is quite heated, and some of our finest security experts face off, explaining security by obscurity and presenting both sides of the debate. Jesper M. Johansson and Roger Grimes

Security: New Elevation PowerToys for Windows Vista

Michael Murgolo is back with an update to his Elevation PowerToys. You'll find enhanced Run as Administrator functionality that works with third-party scripting tools, a way to replace a handy Windows XP feature removed from Windows Vista, and many more useful tools. Michael Murgolo

Security: Advances in BitLocker Drive Encryption

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

Security: Application Lockdown with Software Restriction Policies

When you want to reduce the total cost of ownership of the desktop machines in your organization, application lockdown can be a great help, letting you limit IT issues related to unsupported applications. See how you can use software restriction policies and Group Policy to control the applications being run throughout your IT infrastructure. Chris Corio and Durga Prasad Sayana

Security: Managing the Windows Vista Firewall

The recent update to the Windows Vista Firewall offers some impressive new features that make it a compelling choice for the corporate environment. Jesper M. Johansson gives a brief overview of the evolution of the Windows Firewall and delves into enhancements—such as new rules and profiles, domain isolation, and encryption—that will have administrators taking a closer look. Jesper M. Johansson

Security: Secure E-Mail Using Digital Certificates

Secure Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extensions let you hide information in transit, validate senders, and authenticate messages. Learn how to secure e-mail using digital certificates and how to troubleshoot problems you may encounter on your S/MIME system. Matt Clapham and Blake Hutchinson

Columns

From the Editor: The Great Debate Joshua Hoffman	Letters: Readers Speak Out	Toolbox: New Products for IT Pros Greg Steen
Windows Vista: Top Security Features in Windows Vista Why should you upgrade to Windows Vista? Among many reasons, the new security features make it a must-have. This article explores some of the major security features introduced in Windows Vista. Anthony (A.J.) Smith and Ned Gnichtel	Sustainable Computing: Learning from the Quincy Datacenter The Microsoft datacenter located in Quincy, WA is powered entirely by hydroelectricity. Dave Ohara takes you on a tour of this facility and shares some best practices from the Microsoft datacenter team for building and operating a sustainable datacenter. Dave Ohara	SQL Q&A: I/O Errors, Database Mirroring, and More Paul Randal answers your SQL Server questions, showing you how to create corruption in a test database, helping you avoid a shrink-grow-shrink-grow cycle, and explaining how you can determine how many databases you can mirror before performance starts to degrade. Paul S. Randal
Utility Spotlight: Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor Ready to upgrade the systems in your organization to Windows Vista? Find out how the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor can help you determine whether your systems are ready for Windows Vista and which versions they can support. Lance Whitney	Inside Sharepoint: Decentralizing Site Administration Explore the advantages and implications of delegating administrative control over SharePoint sites to individual departments while maintaining centralized administrative control over the SharePoint infrastructure. Pav Cherny	Windows PowerShell: Looking Good Discover how the object-oriented nature of Windows PowerShell allows you to apply formatting to its output. Don Jones
Hey, Scripting Guy!: Not-So-Hard Work Has Its Rewards, Too The Scripting Guys ponder hard work, true happiness, and outputting data to the command window in a readable tabular format. The Microsoft Scripting Guys	The Desktop Files: Security vs. Compliance IT professionals often find themselves with objectives that contradict one another. Take a look at how being compliant often comes at the expense of being less secure. Wes Miller	The Business of IT: 10 Keys to Becoming an Environmental Leader As IT departments play an increasingly important role in corporate environmental efforts, IT professionals are finding an opportunity to drive change and become thought leaders in their companies and industries. Here's an overview to becoming an effective thought leader for environmental and sustainability initiatives in your organization. Michael Walsh and Eliza Walsh
Field Notes: Sharing a Split Screen Developed by Microsoft Research India, Split Screen allows two users to share a monitor while running separate instances of the OS on each side. Kentaro Toyama	Windows Confidential: The Two Worst PCs Ever Raymond Chen fondly reminisces about working with the two worst computers ever made. Raymond Chen