TechNet Edge

Tools to plan and deploy Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2

David Tesar — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:28:00 GMT

I sat down with Maryann Blake, Baldwin Ng, and Mellissa Stowe to help you learn how the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 (MDT), Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 (MAP), and Infrastructure Planning and Design guides (IPD), can help you deploy Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2. With so many tools, which one should you use when? What are some limitations of each tool?

Here's how the interview breaks down:

How IPD guides will help with Win7 / R2 migration
Where IPD guides won’t help
[3:37] What the MAP toolkit can do to help with your migration
[7:48] Requirements to install MAP
[10:29] How the MDT will help with your deployment of Win7 R2 and how the MDT works
[14:53] When you might run into limitations with the MDT
When you should use the SCCM integration option versus the standalone MDT.
[16:08] How many machines to have minimum return of investment to use the MDT?
[17:00] One Tip/Trick for each of the IPD, MAP, and MDT

Resources

Screencast (Part 1 of 4): Master Your Environment with System Center Configuration Manager 2007

johnbake — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:21:00 GMT

Part 1: The Administrator Console

The first in a series of four screencasts on System Center Configuration Manager.

Part 2 of 4: Site Server Roles : Discuss the different Site Server Roles and what each of role does.

Part 3 of 4: Operating System Deployment and Software Update Management : Review the OSD functionality and integration with WSUS.

Part 4 of 4: Desired Configuration Manager and Network Access Protection : Review DCM and see how NAP can be integrated with SCCM 2007 to remediate unhealthy systems.

As more clients and servers are added to your environment, the task of managing these resources becomes much more complex. Knowing the range of available hardware and software, while keeping the machines current with the latest applications and patch updates can become onerous. But don’t despair – there’s a solution to this problem. System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (SCCM 2007) is the ideal way to comprehensively assess, deploy, and update your servers, clients, and devices – across physical, virtual, distributed, and mobile environments. Not only can you take control of your infrastructure, but you can also leverage SCCM 2007’s integration with Network Access Protection (NAP) to quickly and easily remediate machines throughout the organization that don’t meet the network policy requirements. You’ll see how simple this remediation process can be, regardless of whether machines are communicating with your network through VPN, hardwired, or wireless connections.

Exchange 2010 Rights Management and Transports

Adam Bomb — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Colin shares a couple recent and real examples of email going to the wrong people, or at the wrong time, and talks about some of the new features in Exchange 2010 that can prevent some of those things from happening.
How about moderating emails, so a manager can approve mails sent external to the company? Or automatically applying Rights Management to emails based on sender, or recipient, or contents? Also some new features for auditing and archiving mail.
Find out more about Exchange 2010 at the website, and click here for all the Exchange 2010 videos here on Edge.

Attend TechEd Australia, get a free HP Netbook!

Adam Bomb — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:03:00 GMT

Found out about this via a Jeff Alexander, a colleague in Australia - all paid attendees of TechEd Australia this year will receive an HP Mini 2140 Netbook running Windows 7!

The full details are on the TechEd website, here.

One of the cool things we'll be doing is using our own deployment tools to get the OS installed and configured on the machines, and given the quick turnaround from when Windows 7 releases, the netbooks are being delivered, and when the conference starts, it's going to be a rapid deployment - keep an eye out here to see if the tools are up to the task (I'm betting that yeah, they will be).

Leveraging Software to Reduce Energy Consumption

Microsoft IT Showcase — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Faced with data center capacity limitations, soaring server use and increased energy consumption, Microsoft IT (MS IT) organized for and developed an Environmental Sustainability (ES) plan. Aimed at reducing the environmental impact of Microsoft, the ES plan inlcudes the strategy of using software to reduce the energy consumption of software-driven devices.

IT Pro Momentum Interview: Windows 7-Projekte von ADT-F

Ralf M. Schnell — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:42:00 GMT

Die Firma ADT-F hat im Rahmen des Programms IT Pro Momentum einige erfolgreiche Windows 7-Projekte durchgeführt. Der für die Projekte verantwortliche Consultant Frank Fiebiger hat uns in unserer Kölner Niederlassung besucht und berichtet in einem Interview über die besonderen Herausforderungen und das Ergebnis seiner Projekte.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit - building install media for Windows 7

Adam Bomb — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 and User State Migration Tool (USMT), it's possible to create a USB drive to install Windows7 that will migrate all the user data from an XP or Vista install - and here's the cool part - can finish it all in less than 30 minutes on pretty typical hardware. I've demo'd it at conferences, and Jeremy has done screencasts and demos of it here on Edge.
In this video, Jeremy gives us a quick tour of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, and shows how to create the install media that makes the magic happen.
The MDT is currently in beta, you can download it from http://connect.microsoft.com
You can see the tool in action here and here. A screencast of the MDT is here.

TechNet Event Content: Cloud Computing with Software + Services (2 of 3)

yung — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:40:00 GMT

In part 1, I talked about what is Cloud Computing, what is Software + Services, and why IT Pros should care. Here in part 2, I focused on Microsoft’s efforts and offerings relevant to Cloud Computing, and introduced Microsoft Online Services with the following demos:

Acquiring Microsoft Online Services
Creating users
Managing SharePoint
Managing Exchange

So what are Microsoft Online Services? Very simply, they are enterprise solutions delivered through the cloud with subscription services hosted by Microsoft. Specifically, Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online and Office Live Meeting. With BPOS, Microsoft Online Services offer business the capabilities of Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Microsoft Office Communications Server, and Microsoft Office Live Meeting quickly, easily, and without the upfront costs of an on-premise deployment by hosting these solutions online. The best way to understand it is to try it out.

Case Study: Ingersoll Rand Increases Business Agility with Microsoft Online Services

Active Directory Enhancements - Windows Server 2008 R2 Demo Screencast 4 of 4

Kevin Remde — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:01:00 GMT

This screencast demo is part 4 of a 4 part series of demos which were also a part of the TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2008 R2 Technical Overview (Part 1 of 2).

In this fourth screencast I discuss and demonstrate new Active Directory functionality that comes with Windows Server 2008 R2 Active Directory Domain Services. I demonstrate the configuration of the "Recycle Bin" feature, and how to restore deleted objects that had been mistakenly deleted. I also take you on a brief tour through the new Active Directory Management Console.

You'll find a complete list of and links to all of the demos, plus links to the webcast and related resources here: http://blogs.technet.com/kevinremde/archive/2009/06/14/SRV306Screencasts.aspx

Case Study - Using MDT to deploy 200 clients in 2 days

Xi Wang — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:52:00 GMT

Using Microsoft deployment tool, consultant of ZhiQiang information LTD helped their customer deployed 200 clients OS in 2 days.

In this case study video, Microsoft evangelist interviewed Zunhua Chen, architect and consutant of ZhiQiang Information LTD and talked about the details.

Open Source Software (OSS) on Windows Server 2008

Matt Hester — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Are you afraid to run open source software on Windows Server 2008? Fear no more; it's easier than you think. Come discuss running LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) on Windows Server 2008. Not interested in Linux? No problem. You'll also learn how to run open source applications with IIS7, MySQL and PHP. Along the way, we'll compare and contrast the optimum maintenance, operation and monitoring of these diverse systems and applications. This session will include several informative demonstrations and you'll get plenty of time to ask questions.

2. Hyper-V & NetApp Storage - Demo Part I: Storage Config

Matt McSpirit — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:40:00 GMT

In the second of this 4 part series, we set up and configure a NetApp storage backend, to be used with a Hyper-V R2 Cluster. We install and configure the system using NetApp System Manager, and walk through Volume and LUN creation, and more...

You can check out the remainder of this 4 part series, here!

Exchange 2010 updates for Windows Mobile

David Tesar — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Adam Glick shows us the newest Exchange 2010 features for Windows Mobile 6.1/6.5 and explains the goals the team had for the client mobile experience. On his WM 6.5 device, he walks us through conversation view, ignore/move conversation, voice mail preview, voice to text, and get free/busy. Additionally, he tells us about the new allow/block/quarantine phone list and reporting built in to Exchange 2010.

Download the 360-day free beta version of Exchange 2010

Visit the Exchange 2010 TechCenter

Exchange 2010 Mobility Demo: Read and Reply State

Erin Briney — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Adam Glick, Senior Technical Product Manager, discusses the upated icons within Exchange 2010 Mobile. The icon update helps answer the question, "Did I handle that e-mail yet?" Now you can see if you replied to or forwarded an e-mail just by looking at the icon on the device, even if you replied from Outlook.

View Adam discussing what's new in Mobility with Exchange 2010.

View one of Adam's other demos on mobility:
Exchange 2010 Demo: Conversation View
Exchange 2010 Demo: Free Busy
Exchange 2010 Demo: Move Conversation
Exchange 2010 Demo: Nickname Cache
Exchange 2010 Demo: UM Card

Learn more about Exchange 2010 by visiting the Exchange TechCenter.

Interview with Rory Donnely - IT at work & play

Dave Northey — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:23:00 GMT

Rory Donnely is the CIO of Nissan Ireland, he is a big Microsoft fan and adopts our products early on in their lifecycle. He talks about the technology behind the Case Studies that he has already done for us (Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, Vista and Office) and his plans to deploy the new Microsoft products as and when they are available.

Rory is responsible for convincing me to go out and buy a Home Server. I get to ask him about his use of IT at home - Media Centre, Xbox, How Server, Zunes, etc.

You can read Rory's case studies here: http://www.microsoft.com/ireland/casestudies/

And if you live in Ireland and want to join the IT Pro Momentum program please email me mailto:daven@microsoft.com

Enjoy..

Dave

Application Compatibility resources with Jeremy Chapman

Adam Bomb — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Jeremy Chapman gives us a quick walkthrough of the tings you can do with the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.5, including inventory collection of the apps and drivers in use in your environment, and lookup of the compatibility of those with Windows Vista and Windows 7. He also shows you some of the other appcompat resources available for those looking to prepare for an OS migration.

TechNet Event Content: Cloud Computing with Software + Services (1 of 3)

yung — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:19:00 GMT

Recently there have been active discussions on Cloud Computing and Microsoft also has brought in a new IT service delivery model called "Software + Services." This series highlights Microsoft’s strategies and efforts in extending the Windows experience to the cloud, and talks about how to take advantages of what cloud computing is offering by extending and transitioning existing IT infrastructure into the so-called “Software + Services” model. Here in Part 1, let's take a 50,000 foot view and get a perspective on what has happened in the past two decades and appreciate:

What is Cloud computing?
What is Software + Services? And how did we get here?
As IT Pros, why should we care? What are the opportunities and what’s in for IT Pros?

To continue the discussion, in Part 2 we will walk through the process of acquiring Microsoft Online Services and basic administration including creating users, configuring SharePoint Online, and managing Exchange Online. Finally we will conclude the series in Part 3 with demos of migrating selected on-premise Active Directory users and Exchange mailboxes to Microsoft Online Services.

IT Services in the Cloud Interview

David Tesar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:14:00 GMT

Dmitry Sotnikov of Quest Software, gives us his perspective on services in the cloud and answers some of the frequently asked questions in his sessions such as:

- When is the right time to move to the cloud?
- What roles/services are not good to think about moving to the cloud
- What types of things you need to be thinking about when moving your services to the cloud
- How is portability a concern on where you want to host your applications?
- Where he sees benefits with Azure and BPOS over the competition

Visit the Azure homepage
Visit the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) homepage

IIS 7.5 on Server Core - Windows Server 2008 R2 Demo Screencast 1 of 5

Kevin Remde — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:41:00 GMT

This is the first of five screencasts based on the five demos that were part of the TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2008 R2 Technical Overview (Part 2 of 2) delivered on June 11, 2009.

In this first demo we look at a Server Core installation, and how we can add the IIS role and features, as well as do remote administration of it.

You'll find a complete list of and links to all of the demos, plus links to the webcast and related resources here: http://blogs.technet.com/kevinremde/archive/2009/06/19/SRV307Screencasts.aspx.

IE 8 Security Trustworthy Browsing webcast with demos

David Tesar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Eric Lawrence, Microsoft IE security PM, gives the deep and inside technical security and privacy details on Internet Explorer 8 in this webcast with demos from the IE 8 Firestarter event. Lots of questions were asked - hence why the session went so long!

Check out all of the IE 8 Firestarter sessions by going to the IE 8 Firestarter Tag on Edge (IT Pro related sessions) or IE 8 Firestarter Tag on Channel 9 (Dev related sessions)

Exchange 2010 new Management Features with Astrid McClean

Adam Bomb — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:01:00 GMT

In this visit to Astrid, she showed me a few of the new management features in Exchange 2010. There are many administrative tasks that can now be done via a browser - no management console install required.
There are several things users can now do for themselves, like creating and managing distribution groups, again, via a browser interface.

1. Hyper-V & NetApp Storage - Overview

Matt McSpirit — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:38:00 GMT

In this video, I'm joined by Steve Winfield and Pete Mason from NetApp, to discuss the value add that some of the NetApp storage technologies can bring to a Microsoft Hyper-V infrastructure. We explore the basics, but also look at some of the more advanced features like DeDupe and Thin Provisioning.

This is the first of 4 videos, with the remaining 3 actually showing the technologies in action. Check them out here!

How to protect SharePoint with DPM 2007 sp1

Jason Buffington — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:01:00 GMT

We get a lot of questions about how and why DPM 2007 is a great backup and restore solution for SharePoint.

So, I took most of the current information that I use on SharePoint protection, added some demo's, and included the SP1 updates for protection.

For more information specifically on how to protect and
recover SharePoint with DPM -- please visit www.microsoft.com/DPM/sharepoint.

Enjoy...

Interview with Scott Schnoll on Backup Strategy in Exchange 2010

Harold Wong — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:36:00 GMT

Scott Schnoll discusses possible backup strategies for Exchange 2010 considering all the architectural changes made for high availability (DAGs).

Interview with Kristian Andaker on Transitions to Exchange Server 2010

Harold Wong — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:36:00 GMT

In this video, we try something different and Becky Benfield steps up as the guest interviewer. She gets Kristian Andaker to share what is necessary to Transition from Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2010.