TechNet Flash - Volume 11, Issue 2: January 28, 2009
Note from the Editor
Greetings and Welcome to TechNet Flash.
At CES early this month, Microsoft announced the release of Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta 1, providing enhancements in virtualization, Web platform, management, scalability, and reliability. New features also ensure greater integration with Windows 7 for scenarios such security, remote access, and branch office infrastructure. You can learn more and download the beta today. And TechNet Plus subscribers can download the Windows Sever 2008 R2 beta bits.
Also released was the beta of Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization V 1.0, an enterprise virtualization solution that helps your users run legacy applications on their Windows Vista desktops. The final version of MED-V 1.0 is slated for release in the second quarter of this year as a part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack. Download the beta.
IT Managers Get Hub on TechNet
The new Microsoft TechNet IT Management Community Hub is ready for you to participate. Connect, find resources, and get the information you need. Check out webcasts and podcasts from industry leaders, blogs by subject matter experts, community forums, and more. That’s just the beginning.
Win a Cray CX1 Desk-Side Supercomputer
Enter our Super Duo Super Sweeps by January 31, 2009 and you could win:
" A Cray CX1 desk-side supercomputer
" One of 10 Premium MSDN Visual Studio Professional subscriptions
" One of 10 Xbox 360 consoles
Mitch Irsfeld
Editor, TechNet Flash
Your Featured Content
Ensure that the content most relevant to you is presented in this section.
Windows 7: A First Look for IT Pros
This short white paper provides an early first look focusing on details of interest to IT professionals, including advancements in manageability, security, and deployment.
Explore new and updated features in Windows 7 with these short screencasts. Subscribe to the Windows Client Videos for IT Pros RSS feed to be automatically notified as new walkthroughs are added.
Installing Windows 7 on a Netbook Using a USB Stick
This video shows you how you can install Win7 on netbooks - which do not normally come with a DVD drive - by preparing a USB drive with the installation bits and installing from it.
TechNet Edge Video: Branch Cache in Windows 7
When the first person in a branch location requests a file over the WAN, it will be cached locally for any subsequent requests within the branch. Check it out.
Windows Performance Tools Kit, v.4.1.1 (QFE)
Use these tools to analyze a wide range of performance problems including application start times, boot issues, deferred procedure calls and interrupt activity (DPCs and ISRs), system responsiveness issues, application resource usage, and interrupt storms.
Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta
Check out the new features and technologies that help improve the security of computers running Windows Server 2008 R2, increase productivity, and reduce administrative overhead.
Download the Windows Azure Software Development Kit (January 2009 CTP)
The Windows Azure SDK provides developers with the APIs, tools, documentation, and samples needed to develop Internet-scale applications that run on Windows Azure.
Get the Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio (January 2009 CTP)
Download Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio, which extend Visual Studio to enable the creation, building, debugging, running, and packaging of scalable services on Windows Azure.
Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments
This article covers the Microsoft support policies and recommendations for running currently supported versions of Microsoft Exchange Server in a hardware virtualization environment.
What’s New in Data Protection Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 (On Demand Webcast)
Every workload that is protected by DPM 2007 received some enhanced functionality within SP1, including mirrored database support for Microsoft SQL Server, Standby Continuous Replication (SCR) protection with Microsoft Exchange, significant optimization of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server farm protection, and of course, Hyper-V protection.
Desktop Deployment Webcast: Planning, Deploying, and Managing the 2007 Office System (Level 200)
February 2, 2009, 7:00 A.M. Pacific Time
Topics we cover include deploying the 2007 Office system with the Deployment Workbench, adding the 2007 Office system to the Deployment Workbench, performing multi-language integration, and the Office Customization Tool (OCT).
Webcast: Building on Your Existing Virtual Environment (Level 300)
February 4, 2009, 8:00 A.M. Pacific Time
In this webcast, we look at how to use Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 to manage virtual environments and migrate to an environment based on Hyper-V.
Find out how to use and extend Microsoft SQL Server and Analysis Services to simplify the storage of KPI and metrics into an Analysis Services catalog that can support intuitive UI-agnostic content creation.
Windows Mobile Solutions Webcast: Delivering Security, Control, and Productivity
Tune in as we discuss how to centrally deploy and manage mobile devices and applications while safeguarding corporate data.
Webcast: Platform Solution Blueprints - Business Intelligence and Search (Level 200)
February 4, 2009, 1:00 P.M. Pacific Time
If you need better access to information about your business, then join this webcast and learn how the Microsoft BI and search solutions can help you find information about your business you never knew you had.
IT Management
Licensing Windows Server 2008 to Run with Virtualization Technologies
This document discusses how Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is licensed when used with virtualization technologies like VMware’s ESX Server, VMware’s VMotion, Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager, or Parallels Virtuozzo.
InformationWeek: New Analytics Reports for IT Managers InformationWeek surveyed its readers, and the results may help you align current business objectives with upcoming technology challenges. Download “Virtualization: Facing IT and Business Realities” and “Setting up Priorities for the Next-Generation Web Apps.”
Scripting for IT Pros
Hey Scripting Guy...
" How Do I Run an Office Excel Macro on Multiple Workbooks?
" How Do I Add a Function to an Office Excel Spreadsheet?
" How Can I Modify the Footers of an Office Excel Spreadsheet?
See previous comics in the TechNet Flash Web-based archive.
Support and Troubleshooting
How-to Articles
" How to recover from a DFSR database crash on designated primary member
Hotfixes
" Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 hotfix package (Coreserver.msp): December 19, 2008
Knowledge Base Articles
" SOAP requests or WSE requests may time out in BizTalk Server 2004 or in BizTalk Server 2006
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
New from Sysinternals: ZoomIt 3.0
This major update to ZoomIt, the Sysinternals screen magnification and annotation utility, adds a LiveZoom mode on Windows Vista and higher, allows you to change the typing and break timer font, adds the ability to copy the magnified screen to the clipboard with Ctrl+C, and introduces a new configuration interface.
Essential Toolkit for Cost Control with Hyper-V
Implementing virtualization can decrease your infrastructure’s power consumption and hardware needs. The free Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.2 can help you better understand your IT infrastructure and determine whether your systems are ready for migration to Hyper-V server virtualization technology.
Upcoming Webcasts
Client-Side Virtualization (Level 300)
February 11, 2009, 8:00 A.M. Pacific Time
In this webcast, we discuss the three client-related virtualization technologies - application virtualization, desktop virtualization, and presentation virtualization - and explain when it is appropriate to use each technology.
Consolidation and Rapid Provisioning (Level 300)
January 30, 2009, 8:00 A.M. Pacific Time
Learn how to use Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager to move production servers into a virtual environment. We also cover the creation of a self-service provisioning environment that allows groups to create and manage their own virtual machines without the help of the IT department.
Security
New TechNet Edge Video: Jeff Jones & Thomas Dawkins on MSAT
View this short Silverlight video to see two experts from TwC discuss MSAT and how it helps customers establish a baseline for security in their enterprise and manage an action plan for resolutions.
On Demand
Windows Server 2008 File and Storage Solutions (Level 300)
In this webcast, we cover some of the main file and storage features in Windows Server 2008, including Server Message Block 2 (SMB2), Distributed File System (DFS), Network File System (NFS), Offline Files, Storage Explorer, Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), Virtual Disk Service (VDS), Share and Storage Management, and File Server Resource Manager (FSRM).
Learn best practices for identifying server workload characteristics and mapping virtualized server workloads to the appropriate Intel processor families. Topics include Hyper-V server virtualization architecture, definition of common server workloads, Intel Xeon processor families, evaluating server workloads, sizing recommendations, and security and network considerations.
Virtual Labs
After completing this lab, you will be better able to create a Microsoft Exchange Server model, analyze results, and edit an existing model.
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Standby Continuous Replication
After completing this lab, you will be better able to install and configure Exchange Server 2007 Standby Continuous Replication, simulate a database loss, and activate the Standby Continuous Replication copy.
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