TechNet Flash - Volume 10, Issue 9: April 30, 2008
Note from the Editor
Greetings New TechNet Flash Subscriber,
Are you managing large and distributed IT infrastructures and looking to consolidate physical servers onto a virtual infrastructure? Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager provides support for consolidating as well as rapid provisioning and deployment of new virtual machines. And now you can try out the beta version of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, which offers multi-vendor virtualization support and Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO) for dynamically managing virtualized IT infrastructure. For more on this comprehensive management solution for the virtualized data center, see:
" What’s new in System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008?
" Top 10 Benefits of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008
" Introduction to System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 white paper
Speaking of virtualization, check out the beta of a new Solution Accelerator on Microsoft Connect. The Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool combines Windows Workflow with Windows PowerShell to automate the update process of virtual machines (VMs) stored in a Virtual Machine Manager library. VMs that are offline for extended periods need to be kept current with the latest operating system updates to maintain good network security. For more details, see the Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool Executive Overview.
And finally, a reminder that the beta of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V is now available. With this new hypervisor-based server virtualization technology, you can consolidate server roles as separate VMs running on one physical server.
Special Deal
Evaluate Microsoft server products and be entered to win a Windows Home Server. Sign up to download a free trail or take a virtual lab through the Evalu’08 program and you could win.
Thanks for reading,
Mitch Irsfeld
Editor, TechNet Flash
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/cc307899.aspx
Your Featured Content
Ensure that the content most relevant to you is presented in this section.
TechNet Magazine: Active Directory Backup and Restore in Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 operating system and the new Windows Server Backup utility bring many changes and welcome enhancements to backing up. Read an in-depth guide to backing up and restoring Active Directory service in Windows Server 2008.
TechNet Magazine: Designing OU Structures That Work
Too many Windows administrators underestimate the importance of having a well-designed Organizational Unit structure. Find out why having a sound OU strategy is important and determine the best OU structure for your organization.
Best Kept Secret: Microsoft Assessment and Planning Tool for Virtualization
Cooling costs for your data centers have just gone up. Your IT admin just told you that you are about to run out of rack space. What should you do? Get the help you need with the free Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) tool. It helps you determine if your existing servers can be consolidated using Microsoft server virtualization technologies.
Get Ready for Virtualization with Essential Tools and Resources from Microsoft
Get ready to build a more agile and cost-effective virtualized infrastructure with latest suite of Microsoft Virtualization Solution Accelerators.
Webcast: Application Compatibility in 90 Days (Level 300)
May 8, 8:00 AM Pacific Time
In this session, we identify the tools, technologies, and best practices that have been used successfully by Microsoft services and partners to minimize or eliminate many of the perceived (and real) challenges that customers experience with both independent software vendors (ISVs) and internally developed applications running on Windows Vista.
Two Ways to Get Windows Vista SP1
You can now get Windows Vista SP1 by visiting Windows Update or the Microsoft Download Center.
TechNet Radio: System Center and the Data Center
Learn how the System Center family of products can integrate into typical data center-related tasks such as planning, consolidation, deployment automation, updating and patch management, health and performance monitoring, data backup and protection, and regulatory compliance. Also learn about the role of virtualization.
Webcast: System Center and the Data Center (Level 300)
May 19, 1:00 PM Pacific Time
See how the System Center family of products can help you deploy and manage data centers quickly and easily, reducing the total cost of ownership, improving service levels, and increasing organizational agility.
New Column: “Inside SharePoint -- Building Your SharePoint Infrastructure”
In this first installment of TechNet Magazine’s new SharePoint column, we give an overview of the SharePoint architecture and show you how to set up a basic SharePoint infrastructure with Windows SharePoint Services.
Video: How, When, and Why You Should Deploy the 2007 Office System
Should you wait to upgrade your operating system before deploying the 2007 Microsoft Office system? Should you upgrade or perform a clean install? Mike Jorden from Microsoft answers these questions and more.
Webcast: LUA Buglight (Level 400)
May 1, 8:00 AM Pacific Time
LUA Buglight (version 2.0 currently in the works) is a tool designed to help both developers and IT professionals (system administrators) identify the specific causes of least-privilege user account (LUA) bugs in desktop applications running on the Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Vista operating systems.
This webcast will cover the steps to install the necessary additions to both the Apache Web Server and IIS to support the Web applications that use either Perl or PHP.
CIO Interview: Simplifying Web Code by Using a Microsoft Foundation
Ron Sha of Glu Mobile talks about the importance of a strong content management platform.
Try Out System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008
See firsthand how Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 with Windows Mobile 6.1 can help improve mobile device security, simplify management and lower costs. Download the 120-day trial evaluation software.
Mobility for IT Webcast Series: Windows Mobile
Join our technical experts as they provide comprehensive insight into how Windows Mobile smartphones/PDAs and System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 can help improve mobile work-force productivity, enhance mobile device security, simplify management and lower costs.
Microsoft Releases Beta of Forefront Codename "Stirling"
Microsoft Forefront code name "Stirling" is an integrated security system that delivers comprehensive, coordinated protection, making it easier to manage and control security across an organization’s IT infrastructure.
Webcast: Forefront Code Name "Stirling" Technical Overview (Level 300)
May 20, 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Get an overview of the new features of Forefront code name “Stirling,” including a single management console and dashboard for security configuration and enterprisewide visibility, plus new versions of Forefront Client Security, Forefront Security for Exchange Server, Forefront Security for SharePoint, and Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server.
May 9, 8:00 AM Pacific Time
Within Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, you are required to deploy servers with appropriate DNS records, ports configured, and possibly load balancers depending on what type of topologies are selected. In this webcast, we address all three in advanced topology configurations and also provide examples of global type deployments with these settings.
Webcast: SQL Server 2008 (Part 2 of 3): Manage Large-Scale Data Warehousing (Level 300)
May 12, 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Attend this session to learn how to incorporate the new features in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 to manage large-scale data warehouses that can scale to larger numbers of users and growing volumes of data. In this session, we cover new technologies like Resource Governor, data compression, and enhanced indexed views.
Windows Networking Solutions Users Group (WiNSUG)
Join WiNSUG on May 1 for its monthly meeting.
Alamo PC Organization SBS SIG (APCO SBS)
Join APCO SBS on May 2 for its monthly meeting.
Join IADNUG on May 3 for its Code Camp.
Danbury Area Computer Society (DACS)
Join DACS on May 5 for the presentation “The Remote Desktop.”
Cincinnati Networking Professionals' Association (SBS SIG) (CiNPA)
Join SBS SIG CiNPA on May 7 for its monthly meeting featuring a Heroes Happen Here Windows Server 2008 Launch Event.
West Michigan Small Business Technology User Group (wmsbtug)
Join wmsbtug on May 7 for its monthly meeting.
Boston Area Windows Server User Group (BAWSUG)
Join BAWSUG on May 7 for its joint meeting with the Exchange Users Group.
New England SQL Server Users Group (NESQL)
Join NESQL on May 8 a meeting featuring SQL Server 2008 Data Compression.
Detroit SQL User Group (DSSUG)
Join DSSUG on May 8 a meeting featuring the changing role of the SQL Server database administrator.
South Florida SBS User's Group (SOFLSBS)
Join SOFLSBS on May 8 for its monthly meeting.
North Texas PC Users Group - IT Professionals (NTPCUG)
Join NTPCUG on May 10 for its “Second Saturday” meeting.
NPA - Orange County Chapter (NPA)
Join NPA on May 12 for a lunch-and-learn meeting with roundtable discussions and spam filtering with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.
ISSA - Sacramento Valley Chapter (ISSA-SVC)
Join ISSA-SVC on May 13 for the May ISSA Tech Nite.
Huntsville NT Users Group (HUNTUG)
Join HUNTUG on May 13 for its monthly meeting.
Join NYSBS on May 13 for its meeting featuring a behind the scenes look at Exchange Hosting Services.
Sacramento Small Business Server Technology Users Group
Join Users Group on May 13 for its monthly meeting.
Join Palm Beach IT on May 13 for its monthly meeting.
Minnesota Small Business Server Users Group
Join the Minnesota Small Business Server Users Group on May 13 for its monthly meeting.
Southern California IT Professional Association (SoCal IT Pro)
Join SoCal IT Pro on May 14 for its monthly meeting.
Windows Small Business Server User Group (WinSBSUG)
Join WinSBSUG on May 14 for its monthly meeting.
Lexington Microsoft User Group (LexMUG)
Join LexMUG on May 14 for its monthly meeting.
BDPA - Philadelphia (BDPA-Philly)
Join BDPA-Philly on May 21 for its monthly meeting.
Evaluation Center Updates
Evaluate Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006
Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 is the integrated edge security gateway that helps protect IT environments from Internet-based threats while providing users with fast and secure remote access to applications and data. Register to download the free 180-day trial software today and you will receive relevant resources that address the challenges specific to each stage of evaluation.
Try System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008
Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 allows IT professionals to centrally and cost-efficiently manage Windows Mobile 6.1 devices like they do other managed computers, and it gives mobile employees security-enhanced, behind-the-firewall access to confidential information and applications.
Scripting for IT Pros
Hey Scripting Guy...
" How Can I Monitor a Folder for the Creation of New Subfolders?
" How Can I Store Arrays Within Another Array?
" How Can I Parse a Text File and Retrieve All the Information Contained Within Square Brackets?
See previous comics in the TechNet Flash Web-based archive.
Support and Troubleshooting
How-to Articles
" How to upgrade the Hyper-V beta build from Windows Server 2008 RC1 to Windows Server 2008 RTM
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 Essentials 2007 SP1 Trial Software Is Now Available
Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007 is a management solution specifically designed for IT professionals working in midsize businesses who often face IT challenges similar to those of larger enterprises: troubleshooting end user problems, automating management tasks, managing multiple systems, and diagnosing and resolving IT problems.
Service Level Dashboard for Operations Manager Beta on Microsoft Connect
This new Solution Accelerator takes Web application SLA reporting to a new level by combining server side monitoring with reports on synthetic transactions initiated from the users' side of the network. This approach allows the SLA to take local conditions such as network and configuration into account. This accelerator supports Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007.
Upcoming Webcasts
Parallel and HPC Computing at Microsoft: A Survey of Technologies and Tools (Level 300)
Friday, May 2, 8:00 AM Pacific Time
Get an exciting look at what parallel programming in the twenty-first century looks like. Keywords and topics covered include Message Passing Interface (MPI), OpenMP, ClusterSOA, MPI.net, Vampir, F#, Mathlibs, Optimization, Parallel Frameworks (TPL, Plinq), Debugging, Profiling, and much more.
New Tools to Streamline Your Windows Server 2008 Imaging and Deployment Processes (Level 200)
Friday, May 2, 1:00 PM Pacific Time
Learn how new features in Windows Server 2008 -- such as Windows Imaging Format (WIM) image format, Windows Deployment Services role, and the Windows Automated Installation Kit -- can reduce the cost for migrating to Windows Server 2008 and provide a lower cost of ownership.
Security
Forefront Special Promotions:
" Get up to 35 Percent off Microsoft Forefront Client Security
Find out more and download the trial software.
" A Chance to Win for Each New Forefront Product Trial You Download
From now until June 30, 2008, every time you download a different Microsoft Forefront product trial, you'll increase your chances of winning great prizes, including a new quad-core server system with 16 GB RAM, a 24" widescreen monitor, and much more--a U.S.$10,000 value. You could also instantly win a Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 7000 rechargeable mouse and ultrathin keyboard, or a $50 Best Buy gift card.
How to Protect SharePoint Products and Technologies with Data Protection Manager 2007
SharePoint administrators are looking for a better way to protect and recover their collaboration infrastructures. If your company relies on Microsoft Office SharePoint 2007 or Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to manage and deliver information, who will you trust to maximize its protection and recovery? Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 is the answer.
On Demand
24 Hours of Windows Server 2008 (Part 14 of 24): Windows PowerShell (Level 300)
In this webcast, we show how to use the help system, format output, and manage Windows-based servers with Windows PowerShell. We also cover converting VBScripts for system administration to Windows PowerShell scripts. We then examine the improved manageability features of the Windows Server 2008 operating system, such as Windows Eventing and WinRM, and we look at how Windows PowerShell works with the manageability features of Windows Server 2008.
24 Hours of SQL Server 2008: Ensuring Business Continuity (Level 200)
In this session, we look at high availability options in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 that help ensure that these systems are there when they are needed -- regardless of what component has failed.
Virtual Labs
Optimize Your Desktop Infrastructure: Unleash Your Desktop Potential for Business Agility
Take part in a virtual lab for hands-on experience in simplifying and streamlining the way you deploy, manage, and secure desktops across your enterprise. You will learn how to make better use of your current assets and incorporate the latest technologies as they become available, through techniques such as automation, standardization, compatibility testing, and improved utilization.
Microsoft Forefront Security Virtual Lab Series
Take part in these virtual labs and experience how the Microsoft Forefront line of business security products provides greater protection and control through integration with your existing IT infrastructure and through simplified deployment, management, and analysis.
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