TechNet Flash - Volume 14, Issue 8: April 11, 2012
Top Stories
SQL Server 2012 Hits General Availability
Microsoft is excited to announce the general availability (GA) of SQL Server 2012 for purchase and download.
Register for the 24 Hours in a Private Cloud Virtual Event
During the 24 hours of this online event, you will hear from top industry and technical professionals from around the world to help you better understand the Microsoft private cloud technology solutions that are available today. See how other industry organizations view the private cloud and how the role of the IT professional will evolve as more and more organizations begin a private cloud transformation.
TechNet Feature: SQL Server 2012 - the New Mission-Critical
SQL Server 2012 hit the General Availability (GA) milestone last week, but it's already battle-tested by hundreds of global organizations. Here are the resources to help you explore this new world of data.
Your Featured Content
Standards-Based Management in Windows Server "8"
Our goal for IT pros is to let them manage everything using Windows PowerShell, so we needed to give them simple-to-use cmdlets to remotely manage resources with standard interfaces on remote machines or heterogeneous devices.
Security Compliance Manager 2.5 Ready to Download
Security Compliance Manager 2.5 (SCM 2.5) is a free tool from the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team that enables you to quickly configure and manage both desktops and servers using Group Policy and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. In addition to key features from the previous version, SCM 2.5 offers new Exchange Server 2007 and 2010 baselines.
Planning Guide for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
The primary purpose of a private cloud infrastructure as a service capability is to provide well-managed infrastructure services to the platform and software layers. This document describes these infrastructure layer capabilities and the impact of private cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) patterns on their planning and design.
Webcast: Lync for Mobile Devices
April 19, 2012 10:00 A.M., Pacific Time
Watch this webcast to hear about enabling the mobility service on the server, deployment considerations, management, and security. We demonstrate the key types of communication that Lync 2010 supports, such as instant messaging, presence, audio conferencing, and phone calls. Additionally, we discuss security, management, and deployment considerations.
Virtual Lab: Develop a SQL Server 2012 Tabular BI Semantic Model
After completing this lab, you will be better able to create a tabular project, load data in the model designer, enhance the model design with calculated columns and hierarchies, define measures to aggregate and transform the tabular data, explore and test the model using Excel, define perspectives, define and refresh table partitions, define a security role, and deploy the project to a tabular instance of Analysis Services.
Video: Office Productivity on Any Device
Jeremy Chapman, Senior Product Manager for Office, talks about ways you can be productive with Office and Office 365 on various devices, such as iPads, Android slates, iPhones, Windows Phones, Windows PCs, and Macs.
Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server "8" Beta
Find Test Lab Guides that you can use to evaluate and deploy Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server "8" Beta in your environment.
What is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)?
In defining infrastructure as a service we need to drill into specific characteristics that a cloud platform provider must provide to be considered infrastructure as a service. Fortunately, as the technology has evolved over time, a definition of cloud computing has emerged from the National Institute of Standards and Technology that comprises five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.
Five-Part Series: PowerShell Essentials for the Busy Admin
In this video series, see why you should learn Windows PowerShell; how to compound Windows PowerShell commands for fun and profit; learn about Windows PowerShell providers; see how Windows PowerShell does event logs; and how to use Windows PowerShell to manage the remote desktop.
Webcast: New Capabilities in SQL Server 2012 Integration Services
April 13, 9:00 A.M. Pacific Time SQL Server 2012 Integration Services adds new features to the user interface to improve the learning curve for new developers, and adds new functions that will be a hit with experienced ETL developers. This webcast covers many of the new features in SQL Server 2012 Integration Services, such as shared connection managers, new parameter capabilities, improved ways for the data flow pipeline to handle changes to metadata, and the new deployment features that make it easier for administrators to manage Integration Services packages on the database server.
IPD Guide for System Center 2012 Service Manager
Download the Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) Guide for System Center 2012 - Service Manager to help your organization more quickly benefit from this platform for automating and adapting IT service management best practices, such as those found in Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) and the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL).
IT Camp: The Future of Virtualization: What's new with Hyper-V in Windows Server "8"
As virtualization continues to grow, Microsoft is continuing to grow our capabilities in this space. This session will focus on some key enhancements in Hyper-V in the upcoming version of Windows Server "8."