Entries for Joey Snow

Announcing the RTW of the IIS SEO toolkit and the RC of URL Rewriter 2.0

Joey Snow — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:15:00 GMT

Need to make your web site’s relevance more search engine friendly as well as create simpler URLs? Today marks the RTW (Release to Web) of the IIS Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Toolkit and the RC (Release Candidate) of URL Rewriter 2.0.

The IIS SEO Toolkit helps Web developers, hosting providers, and Web server administrators to improve their Web site’s relevance in search results by recommending how to make the site content more search engine-friendly. The IIS SEO Toolkit helps to improve the volume and quality of traffic to your Web site from search engines, control how search engines access and display Web content, and inform search engines about locations that are available for indexing.

IIS URL Rewriter 2.0 adds support for outbound response rewriting and enables Web administrators to create powerful rules to implement URLs that are easier for users to remember and easier for search engines to find. IIS URL Rewriter 2.0 helps to easily define rules that match URLs or HTTP headers to generate more friendly and consistent URLs, protect content and assets from unauthorized linking and scanning, and integrate with existing IIS features to improve management, performance, and troubleshooting.

For more information or to download, please visit the IIS SEO Toolkit RTW page and the IIS URL Rewriter 2.0 RC page. Of course for all of your IIS 7.5 needs you should visit IIS.net.

IIS 7.5 Application Request Routing RTW

Joey Snow — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Today marks the final version of IIS Application Request Routing (ARR) 2.0 RTW – an extension for IIS that enables Web server administrators, hosting providers, and Content Delivery Network providers to increase Web application scalability and reliability through rule-based routing, client and host name affinity, load balancing of HTTP server requests, and distributed disk caching. With ARR 2.0, administrators can optimize resource utilization for application servers to reduce management costs for Web server farms and shared hosting environments.

The perfect companion to Windows 7

Joey Snow — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:59:00 GMT

It’s October 22nd and Windows 7 is officially available to purchase! If you are an IT Professional you may be wondering how do I get the most out of Windows 7? Well the answer to that is to pair it along with Windows Server 2008 R2. Available now Windows Server 2008 R2 is the next generation of the Windows Server product built on the foundation of Windows Server 2008 adding key light up features when paired with Windows 7.

Let’s start for those of you with branch offices. Are you challenged by slow and expensive WAN links? Do your users suffer productivity losses because of the delay in retrieving information from your main data center? Branch Cache functionality in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 increases network responsiveness of applications when accessed from remote offices, giving your users a Local LAN experience. To learn more have a look at our two part (part 1 part 2)webcast series where Kevin Remde walks you through Installation and Configuration of this feature.

Another great “better together” feature is DirectAccess. This feature gives users the experience of being seamlessly connected to the corporate network any time that they have Internet access. Not only that but you as IT Professionals also have access to the machine to allow you to manage it as if it were right on the corporate network even if the machine is connected to the internet on an airplane at 22,000 feet. Corey Hynes describes DirectAccess in a simple manner here.

For more information on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 please visit our Virtual Launch Page at www.thenewefficiency.com

Windows Server 2008 R2 Now available for TechNet Plus Subscribers [Windows Server 2008 R2 Now available for TechNet Plus Subscribers]

Joey Snow — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:21:00 GMT

If you are one of our TechNet Plus subscribers today is the the day that you can get your hands on the RTM version of Windows Server 2008 R2. The latest release of our Windows Server product. In order to help get you ready to get those servers of yours ready for R2, I’ve decided to post a blog highlighting some of my favorite Edge videos on R2.

Migration Videos

Inside the new Server Migration Portal: It's no secret that in the past migration guidance from Microsoft has been spread out all over the place and has been difficult to find. Enter the Server Migration portal on TechNet. In this interview I sit down with Sergei and Jared to talk about this new portal and get details on the portal as well as some of the new tools there to aid IT Professionals in migration of their server roles.

Installing the Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Tools: Gordon Ryan shows us some great how to guidence on installing the new Windows Server R2 Migration tools.

Migrating DHCP using the Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Tools: Gordon Ryan walks through a migration of DHCP using the Windows Server R2 Migration tools.

Hyper-V Videos

Hyper-V Changes in Windows Server 2008 R2: Issac Roybal is the Product Manager for Hyper-V and spent a few minutes with me discussing some very late breaking features in Hyper-V coming with the Windows Server 2008 R2

Hyper-V R2: Initial Installation & Configuration: This video walks through the installation of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2, and also looks at some of the key changes in this release, such as Processor Compatibility Mode, Core Parking, and more.

Hyper-V Server 2008 R2: Bare M… Migration (In about an hour!):In this one-off video, Matt McSpirit, Partner Technology Specialist at Microsoft UK, walks through a bare-metal installation of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (RC) on 2 physical nodes, hooks them up to an iSCSI SAN, configures the SAN storage, and then, from a Windows 7 (RC) laptop, validates, and builds a Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (RC) Cluster. The end result? A Highly Available, Live Migratable, Virtual Machine!

Direct Access Videos

DirectAccess with Devrim: DirectAccess provides users the experience of being seamlessly connected to their corporate network any time they have Internet access. If their corporate network supports DirectAccess, the users don't need to connect via their Virtual Private Network in order to access corporate resources. They can work as if they are in their office, no matter where they are.

Direct Access Simplified with Corey Hynes: I asked Corey to sit down with me and talk about one of the truly game changing features in Windows Server 2008 R2: Direct Access.

Configuring DirectAccess - Windows Server 2008 R2 Demo Screencast: This is the fifth 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). In this Screencast Kevin Remde walks through configuration of Direct Access in Windows Server 2008 R2.

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Windows Server 2008 R2 Hits RTM Milestone [Windows Server 2008 R2 Hits RTM Milestone]

Joey Snow — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:43:00 GMT

RTM or Release To Manufacturing means that the latest release of Windows Server, Windows Server 2008 R2, is now blessed by engineering as ready and begins the manufacturing process. It's the final code.

I sat down with Julius Sinkevicius, Director of Product Management, to discuss this milestone and what you as IT Professionals need to know about this new version of Windows Server 2008 R2.

For more on the RTM announcement see Oliver Rist's post: http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/

For more information take a look at the great information on the Windows Server 2008 R2 Resource Center or the TechNet Resource Center.

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Microsoft Surface Business Intelligence (BI) [Microsoft Surface Business Intelligence (BI)]

Joey Snow — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:01:00 GMT

What happens when you combine Business Intelligence with Virtual Earth and the Surface? The BI team showcased an application known as Falcon Eye at TechEd which takes data navigation to a new level. This is a great example of what you can do yourself with these technologies. What does it do? Besides looking really cool, Falcon Eye integrates data with Virtual Earth so that you can investigate it hands on through a Microsoft Surface device.

Microsoft Surface homepage
Microsoft Business Intelligence homepage
Infusion's homepage (creator of Falcon Eye)

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New Backup Features in Windows Server 2008 R2 [New Backup Features in Windows Server 2008 R2]

Joey Snow — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Gordon Ryan checks in again with a very cool screencast highlighting some of the new backup features that arrive with the RC version of Windows Server 2008 R2 including:

The ability to backup System State as a separate job as well as the ability to do incremental System State backups.
The ability to exclude specific file types, file folders, and specific files instead of having to backup an entire volume.
The ability to backup to a volume or a network share instead of requiring a dedicated disk for backups.

For more information on Windows Server Backup in R2, take a hop over to the Windows Server 2008 R2 Tech Center on TechNet.

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Direct Access Simplified with Corey Hynes [Direct Access Simplified with Corey Hynes]

Joey Snow — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:06:00 GMT

After presenting a Sunday Pre-Con session with Corey Hynes, I asked him to sit down with me and talk about one of the truely game changing features in Windows Server 2008 R2: Direct Access.

Visit the Direct Access homepage
Download the DA Technical overview whitepaper

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SConfig for Server Core in 2008 R2 [SConfig for Server Core in 2008 R2]

Joey Snow — Mon, 25 May 2009 14:26:00 GMT

Have you ever been frustrated at not having a simple interface to configure Networking and Computer or Domain settings on your Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008? Well with Windows Server 2008 R2 we bring you SConfig. Take a look at this short screencast shot on site at TechEd 2009.

Read the Server Core getting started guide

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Mark Minasi on UAC and R2 Win7 interview at TechEd09 [Mark Minasi on UAC and R2 Win7 interview at TechEd09]

Joey Snow — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:59:00 GMT

I had a chance to catch up with Mark Minasi just after he gave a great session on User Account Control (UAC). Mark talks about his thoughts on UAC and about technology in general.

Mark's website: www.minasi.com
Mark Russinovich TechNet Magazine Article on UAC

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File Classification with Nir Ben Zvi [File Classification with Nir Ben Zvi]

Joey Snow — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:14:00 GMT

During the Keynote here at TechEd 2009, we announced a few new Windows Server 2008 R2 Features that come in the RC. One of these features, File Classification Infrastructure, is getting alot of buzz here around the convention center so I thought we should sit down with Nir Ben Zvi Senior Program Manager here at Microsoft and go over what File Classification is and how it can help IT Professionals. Get the latest on File Classification from the storage team blog at: http://blogs.technet.com/filecab/archive/2009/05/11/windows-server-2008-r2-file-classification-infrastructure-managing-data-based-on-business-value.aspx

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Hyper-V Changes in Windows Server 2008 R2 [Hyper-V Changes in Windows Server 2008 R2]

Joey Snow — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:18:00 GMT

Issac Roybal is the Product Manager for Hyper-V and spent a few minutes with me discussing some very late breaking features in Hyper-V coming with the Windows Server 2008 R2 RC release including changes to the number of supported cores as well as an extremely cool enhancement to the new Live Migration feature.

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TechEd Windows Server 2008 R2 Interactive Session [TechEd Windows Server 2008 R2 Interactive Session]

Joey Snow — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:59:00 GMT

Are you at TechEd and have questions about Windows Server 2008 R2? Join me at Orange Theater #1 at 2:45 PM for an interactive session where we answer the questions you have. As a special bonus for you folks not in Los Angeles, I plan on posting the questions and answers right here on Edge. See you then!

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Announcing Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate (RC) [Announcing Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate (RC)]

Joey Snow — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:59:00 GMT

Today Microsoft has announced the availability of the RC of Windows Server 2008 R2. TechNet Plus and MSDN subscribers can access the download today! General availability of the RC will be made public in the coming days.

I thought it would be a good time to post up some of the resources we have made available to help prepare you for Windows Server 2008 R2.

Edge Videos

Learning Resources

Planning Resources

Piloting Resources

-Active Directory Recycle Bin

- Migration Portal Interview

-Migration Toolkit Installation Screencast

-Migration Toolkit DHCP migration Screencast

-Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows Server 2008 R2

- WS08 R2 Overview Presentation

- WS08 R2 Reviewers Guide Beta

- 10 Tasks Made Easier by WS08 R2

- Direct Access Technical Overview

- AD Updates on WS08 R2

- Live Migration Whitepaper

- Networking Enhancements for Enterprises

- Building a Branch Infrastructure Using WS08 R2

- Branch Cache in Win7 & WS08 R2

- Direct Access in Win7 & WS08 R2

- Step-by-Step Guide to Using Live Migration in WS08 R2

- Branch Cache Early Adopter Guide

- Direct Access Early Adopter Guide

- Extending TS and Hyper-V VDI in WS08 R2

- WS08 R2 Streamlined Management

- VPN Reconnect Deployment Guide

in reply to Announcing Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate (RC)

Windows Server 2008 R2 RC Interview [Windows Server 2008 R2 RC Interview]

Joey Snow — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:59:00 GMT

Windows Server 2008 R2 has reached it's RC (Release Candidate) milestone and those of you on MSDN and TechNet Plus can download today. I sat down with Ward Ralston in what was supposed to be a 5 minute chat about R2 and ended up around 20 minutes. This guy loves what he does and it shows. Ward brings us up to speed on what is new in Windows Server 2008 R2 for us IT Pro guys and shares how his experience as an IT Pro impacts how he views the new features.

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Behind the scenes at MMS for the Keynote Demo [Behind the scenes at MMS for the Keynote Demo]

Joey Snow — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:10:00 GMT

Hopefully you have had a chance to catch the interview I did with Jeff Wettlaufer regarding the demo he is doing at this years Microsoft Management Summit (MMS). Yesterday we made our way backstage for the keynote and had a chance to catch up with Jeff and get a view of things from behind the curtain (or big projection screen as is the case here).

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Microsoft Management Summit 2009 Keynote Demo

Joey Snow — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Last week before I made the trek down here to Vegas, I was walking through building 44 on my way back from a meeting and I saw this conference room decked out with a ton of laptops on the table. Normally that's not a strange sight as most meetings look like that, but there were no people attached to them and Jeff Wettlaufer and Wally Mead were in the room. Jeff, Wally and the rest of the team were building a VERY COOL keynote demo for the MMS 2009 conference demonstrating migration of 20 laptop computers from XP SP3 to Windows 7 over WIRELESS! Yes I said WIRELESS! Check out the video and stay tuned for a second part shot from backstage here in Las Vegas.

The History of Business Intelligence

Joey Snow — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:00:00 GMT

There is alot of talk these days around business intelligence, and it's important that we at IT Professionals understand what is is, what it came from, and where it's going. The folks over on the Business Intelligence team sent me this video that tells the story of B.I. in a very unique way.

Free Technet Events on Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and IE 8

Joey Snow — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:28:00 GMT

Hey folks in the Central region! Get ready now for Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and IE 8 by attending a FREE TechNet event! Here are the details:

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

IT professionals interested in learning about the next generation of Microsoft platforms and tools.

Session 1: Windows Server 2008 R2 – Optimize your Time

Get a jump start on your peers with Windows Server 2008 R2 by joining us for this no nonsense technical session, where we will discuss the critical improvements in the next version of Windows Server. Some have argued that, given the impressive scope of new functionality in Windows Server 2008 R2, it should not be an “R2” release, but rather should be given a completely new name. They point to features such as Direct Access, Branch Caching, Live Migration, Powershell 2.0, and VDI that will help you cut down on the amount of time you spend doing mundane tasks, reduce end user frustration and support headaches, and give your mobile workforce a competitive edge through ubiquitous access to company data. There’s a good chance that by attending this session you’ll find a way to save time and money with Windows Server 2008 R2, and so you’ll get the time you spend with us back many times over.

Session 2: Windows 7 – Maximize Your Potential

In designing Windows 7, the engineering team had a clear focus on what we call ‘the fundamentals': performance, application compatibility, device compatibility, reliability, security and battery life. Early reviews of Windows 7 seem to indicate that the choice to focus on the fundamentals is resonating well with many users and professionals. And, IT professionals will further benefit from the enhancements to manageability and security. You’ll also learn how your investments in testing and evaluating Windows Vista will pay off in the transition to Windows 7. Come see firsthand what all the buzz is about in this demo-intensive session where we explore the UI improvements, performance gains, and manageability enhancements in the next client operating system from Microsoft.

Session 3: Internet Explorer 8 – Get Excited About the Browser Again

Internet Explorer is currently the most widely used browser in business, and while we’ve seen nice incremental improvements to IE in recent history, we haven’t seen as many truly earth shattering changes. Well, many agree that the next release of IE, Internet Explorer 8, provides the most compelling upgrade to IE in many years. In a typical day, users spend 2 hours or more per day in the browser, so significant improvements here can have tremendous impact on productivity and the way we work. The browser needs to be thought of in the same terms as an operating system—it has to be rich, robust, interoperable, easy to use and secure. Internet Explorer 8 is a browser that meets these needs and more for users, enterprises, IT professionals and developers alike. Come learn how the new improvements, too numerous to mention here, are driving many to get excited about the browser again.

WHERE ARE THE EVENTS?
4/28/2009 Waukesha, WI
4/28/2009 Austin, TX
4/30/2009 Bloomington, MN
5/4/2009 Indianapolis, IN
5/5/2009 Chicago, IL
5/12/2009 Columbus, OH
5/12/2009 Houston,TX
5/14/2009 Mason, OH
5/14/2009 Overland Park, KS
5/19/2009 Dallas, TX
5/20/2009 Southland, MI
5/20/2009 Downers Grove, IL
5/21/2009 St. Louis, MO
6/11/2009 Nashville, TN
6/12/2009 Knoxville, TN

To register for this event, head on over to http://www.technetevents.com/unleashed/.

Inside the new Chicago Microsoft Technology Center (MTC)

Joey Snow — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:08:00 GMT

Last month I visited Chicago to speak to a users group in the brand new Microsoft Technology Center. Being the total geek that I am, I had to get an interview with the man behind the cool technology that the MTC uses. Andrew Page was nice enough to take me behind the glass walls of the server room and throughout the MTC to show you the viewer what the Microsoft Techology Center is used for.

Migrating DHCP using the Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Tools [Migrating DHCP using the Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Tools]

Joey Snow — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:01:00 GMT

In this screencast Gordon Ryan walks through a migration of DHCP using the Windows Server R2 Migration tools from the Server Migration portal. In case you missed it, you should take a look at the video on setting up the R2 Migration Tools also done by Gordon.

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Installing the Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Tools [Installing the Windows Server 2008 R2 Migration Tools]

Joey Snow — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:01:00 GMT

In this screencast Gordon Ryan shows us some great how to guidence on installing the new Windows Server R2 Migration tools from the Server Migration portal that was featured in my interview with the product team.

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Inside the new Server Migration Portal [Inside the new Server Migration Portal]

Joey Snow — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:01:00 GMT

As you should know the upcoming release of Windows Server 2008 R2 is a 64 bit only release. That means those of you still running core server roles such as File/Print, DHCP, DNS, and Active Directory on 32 bit servers will need to migrate those services over to a 64 bit platform. It's no secret that in the past migration guidance from Microsoft has been spread out all over the place and has been difficult to find. Enter the Server Migration portal on TechNet. In this interview I sit down with Sergei and Jared to talk about this new portal and get details on the portal as well as some of the new tools there to aid IT Professionals in migration of their server roles.

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Performance Point integration with Sharepoint

Joey Snow — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:29:00 GMT

Recently it was announced that PerformancePoint Server would become part of the SharePoint Server product so I grabbed a camera and cornered Michael Tejedor, Senior Product Manager for BI in his office to find out what this means for customers and to catch up on the latest news for the Microsoft Business Intelligence product suite. Michael goes into the details of the announcement, what these changes mean for end users and for deployment going forward. Michael also revealed that as of April 1^st, SharePoint customers can get PerformancePoint Server for free! I said FREE! For more information check out www.microsoft.com/bi.

IIS Announcements at MIX 09 [IIS Announcements at MIX 09]

Joey Snow — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:39:00 GMT

Today at Mix09 in Las Vegas, we introduced the Microsoft Web Platform. This integrated set of tools, servers, and technologies for building and hosting modern web applications are designed to work for developers and development organizations of all sizes, and can interoperate with popular open source applications and products that are used in the community.

I had a chance to talk with Mailan and Thomas in the IIS team about two critical components of this announcement: Web Platform Installer 2.0 Beta to simplify the download and installation experience for .NET and PHP applications, and the Windows Web Application Gallery , a community hub for the most popular open source and community web applications that run on the Windows Platform.

We also had a chance to talk about some of the new extensions that the folks on the IIS team have created. For more information head on over to www.microsoft.com/web or www.iis.net

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