Full of I.T.

Good Fun: Windows 7 Film Festival – The Results

KevinRemde — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:34:20 GMT

Just got an e-mail from Stephen Rose. He writes:

17 film teams in the Seattle area competed. Rules were to create a 30 second to 2 minute film, targeted to IT Pros. Each team picked a different genre from a hat (e.g. Comedy, Music, Parkour, Blast from the Past, etc.). And they had to include the following in their film: 1) a character called “CIO Wiggins”, 2) a line of dialog “The guys in IT are going to like this” and 3) mention “Windows 7”. The results are hilarious and interesting. Check them out! http://www.youtube.com/user/Win7FilmFest

Good stuff!

Cool: New Career Planning Resources

KevinRemde — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:18:07 GMT

Microsoft Learning has a new site (and really a global campaign) devoted to helping you plot out your career, and to help you then find the trainings and resources that can help you get there.

From the site:

“Today, more than ever, your career is the best investment you can make. Microsoft provides certifications, guidance, career paths, and special offers associated with some of the most commonly recognized IT job roles in the industry.
Microsoft Learning Plans and offers help you train on and become certified in the most notable and current Microsoft products, including Windows Server and Windows client technologies, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Microsoft SQL Server.”

Click here for more information.

Breaking News: You want PowerShell 2 on XP? Server 2003? You got it!

KevinRemde — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:29:13 GMT

I fired up my tweetdeck just a minute ago and saw this tweet from Jeffrey Snover (the architect of PowerShell):

“What does it mean?

It means that the new version of PowerShell (version 2.0) is now RTW (Released to Web). And not only PowerShell 2.0, but also WinRM 2.0 and BITS 4.0. It’s called the “Windows Management Framework”.

“But aren’t those already included in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7?”

Yes.. but you who are running Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or even Windows XP would like to (or need to) take advantage of this powerful new management platform as well. And now you can!

Here’s the link to the PowerShell Blog that Jeff’s tweet mentions above: http://blogs.msdn.com/powershell/archive/2009/10/27/windows-management-framework-is-here.aspx

And here’s the KB where you can learn more about it, as well as download these tools: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968929

Oh.. and one more link – this one to the Windows Management Infrastructure team blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/wmi/

Just for fun…

KevinRemde — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:05:00 GMT

I just think this is so very clever. So I had a little fun with it.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Featuring (in order of appearance): Laura, Kevin, Amy, Nancy, and Andy Remde

Breaking News: Big Day!

KevinRemde — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:29:27 GMT

Technorati Tags: Windows 7

Best of Questions and Answers for the IT Manager Community Talk with Kevin – Windows 7 “What’s in it for you?” (Part 3 of 3)

KevinRemde — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:59:00 GMT

Attention IT Managers!

The other day we had a fantastic chat with Venky Chandrasekharan, and nearly 200 live attendees, all about Windows 7 and what it provides you in your IT organization and for your business.

(You can listen to that recorded chat session HERE.)

As I like to do with these, I promised that I would take the Q&A log from the event and expand upon the answers we gave, as well as answer the more technical questions that we didn’t have a chance to get to. And we had so many wonderful questions that I is taking me quite some time to get through them all.

So, here is PART THREE of our three parts.

My apologies if you don’t see your question here. It’s either coming in a later post, or it simply was too technical (or off-topic) to be worth addressing here.

I hope you find these question, answers, and resources useful!

---

Questions and Answers (Part 3 of 3)

“When running Virtual XP on a Windows 7 computer and you connect to a server do you need two licenses? One for Windows 7 and one for Windows XP?”

My understanding is that, no, your Windows 7 machine CAL will cover you for the XP installation and its access to your server. (Please, if you have heard otherwise, let me know. Like you, I’m finding information on this very hard to find.)

“The option you were talking about connecting to your PC remotely. You need to have Server 2008 R2, with Windows7 to do this?. So if I have the Server 2003 I cannot do this? & what is the security risk involved?”

For DirectAccess, you need to have Windows Server 2008 R2 as your DirectAccess Server – the machine that your Windows 7 clients connect to/through to get to your internal network. But that doesn’t restrict what servers or resources you can then connect to on the internal side.

“You mentioned earlier about ‘capturing’ problems in Windows 7 - do you have a link to info outlining how to do this? I am currently experiencing failures with Word and Excel 2007 trying to print to my Dell network attached printer. I would really like to generate a ‘log’ and get assistance to solve this.”

The Problem Steps Recorder is really just a simple screen-capture-with-every-action kind of a tool, so it’s not recording anything in the way of items that might be captured in the event log. Which I suppose is also to say – you already have a log. J It’s the Windows event logs. Errors related to application failures or devices can be found using the event viewer.

“What version of IIS supported by Windows 7?”

Well.. if you’re asking “What version of IIS is available to add to and run locally on Windows 7, the answer is IIS 7.5 (same as with Windows Server 2008 R2).

The first and best place for IIS-related information, plus forums where you can ask questions or search on other people’s answers is at www.iis.net.

“Would you briefly explain how Windows 7 will be easier to deploy? Create and manage images?”

http://www.microsoft.com/deployment - get the MDT (Microsoft Deployment Toolkit). It has great documentation and step-by-step instructions.

“Can I use Problem Step Recorder in Vista or XP? If not, can you recommend any tool?”

No. Unfortunately the Problem Steps Recorder is only available as a part of Windows 7. There may be other tools out there that will work for XP or Vista. Sounds like a good opportunity for someone to develop a useful shareware utility…

“Anti-Virus that would run are Windows 7 could be find in this link http://www.microsoft.com/windows/antivirus-partners/windows-7.aspx . Windows Anti-Malware Engine improved a lot in Windows 7 and it is different from Windows XP and Windows 7 one. So user encourage to use only anti-malware which are ready for their platform. user should not use compatibility mode to run incompatible antivirus (same apply to other system tools).”

Thanks for sharing that!

“Can you give an overview of Problem Steps Recorder and how and when it should be used. Are there any security concerns to be aware of?”

As we discussed in the live chat, the only security concerns I could see would involve the fact that the PSR is taking screenshots, which could potentially include confidential information that is somewhere on the desktop or within the applications visibly running at the time. You’d be wise to include that warning when instructing your users on using this tool.

“I set up Virtual XP on Win 7 and ran into a NAT issue, similar to ICS. I could not add the virtual PC to the domain. Was I doing something wrong?”

By default XP mode does indeed do NAT for the sake of the XP running virtually on Windows 7. You can change it and essentially let the XP machine connect directly to the network through the Windows 7 machine’s NIC.

See this excellent blog post on working with networking in Windows XP Mode.

“I am finding that win7 don't like some of my newer network dirve and can become very un stable i and wil just sit and do noting and have to be rebooted before it will work with the app you trying to load. is this to be addressed”

That's a little hard to troubleshoot in a live chat, I'm afraid. :) My advice would be (if you haven't already) to look at the event logs and see if there are any clues there. It also could be a network issue - timeouts on connections that aren't able to be maintained.

“Can you name two or three of the specific positive comments made by the business community for the deployment of Windows 7?”

You can find those all at http://www.microsoft.com/windows - and go more specifically down to any items "for business".

“Can Windows 7 be installed on an Intel Mac at this time?”

Yes. http://www.bing.com/search?q=install+windows+7+on+mac&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IE8SRC

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Good stuff? Hopefully you saw PART ONE and PART TWO also.

Best of Questions and Answers for the IT Manager Community Talk with Kevin – Windows 7 “What’s in it for you?” (Part 2 of 3)

KevinRemde — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:56:00 GMT

Attention IT Managers!

The other day we had a fantastic chat with Venky Chandrasekharan, and nearly 200 live attendees, all about Windows 7 and what it provides you in your IT organization and for your business.

(You can listen to that recorded chat session HERE.)

So, here is PART TWO of our three parts.

My apologies if you don’t see your question here. It’s either coming in a later post, or it simply was too technical (or off-topic) to be worth addressing here.

I hope you find these question, answers, and resources useful!

---

Questions and Answers (Part 2 of 3)

“Will Win 7 integrate well with XP in the environment until a full implementation is completed in the environment?”

Yes.. everything you might be doing as far as XP systems relating to one another is supported in a mixed XP/Windows7/Vista environment as well.

“Are there any thoughts going around to make XP Mode 64 bit to take advantage of more memory?”

Great question. And as we mentioned in the live chat, we’re not aware of any plans to create a XP-Mode 64-bit virtual machine. You can run XP-Mode on top of 64-bit Windows 7 (so you can have more memory on the host to work with), but the XP itself is 32- bit.

“The real time response of windows, xp, vista is very poor. Many seconds can elapse before a mouse click is recognized or a switch to another application is acknowledged. Has that changed significantly in W7?”

I don’t know if your particular situation is specifically related to XP or Vista, so I’m certainly not able to say for sure that your issue will be fixed with Windows 7. However, I do know that a lot of low-level optimizing has taken place in Windows 7, so that might improve things for you. Practically everyone I’ve talked to about their early experiences with Windows 7 have said that they noticed a dramatic improvement in responsiveness.

“I have just installed Win 7 Pro today. I was able to get it installed with no errors and it worked fine the first time. I was also able to get my HP k550dn printer setup and working without any software installation. That was very impressive.”

Cool! Thanks for sharing that.

“What versions of Windows 7 will run Virtual XP? Does it require special hardware?”

The free (no additional cost) XP OS is only for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. Yes, it does require that your CPU be the newer Intel or AMD ones that have built-in support for virtualization. And keep in mind that memory will also be important, because your virtualized XP is configured to use real memory while it’s running.

“Can you talk about the HighDPI feature in Win7?”

You can get more detail from the “Engineering Windows 7” blog.

“Do you have a list of search connectors available for download?”

I found this list (http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/742-windows-7-search-federation-providers.html ), but of course this is going to hopefully be an ever-expanding list.

“XP mode is amazing. i am running ms dyamics nav into xp mode and he works great !!!”

Excellent! Thanks for sharing that!

“We are currently running a Windows Server 2008 domain controller. What additional options will we see moving to the 2008 R2 (in regards to the Windows 7 clients)?”

As we discussed in the chat, there are a couple of new features/capabilities that do require both Windows 7 as the client and Windows Server 2008 R2 as the solution. Check out this good “better together” page: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/R2-Better-Together.aspx

“Is there a network equivalent of OneCare (that I have at home)?”
“Is the free anti virus tool from Microsoft will be installed by default? What is the memory limit? Will there be 64 of Windows 7?”

Microsoft just recently released a free antivirus product for home users called Microsoft Security Essentials. http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

For AV in business, you should consider the solutions in the Microsoft ForeFront set of products. http://www.microsoft.com/forefront/en/us/default.aspx

“With the virtual options in Win7, can I make a virtual machine of a user's old computer and then run it on their new Win7 computer? (A sort of backup feature)”

I suppose this could be done. Taking an image and then installing the image into a virtual machine is one way to accomplish it. Or if you have System Center Virtual Machine Manager you could do a “P2V” (physical to virtual) migration in order to create the VHD (though the resulting machine will be built for Hyper-V).

Remember, though, that the “XP Mode” capability is not really supposed to be a backup of a previous machine. The main goal is to give people a platform as a last resort for application compatibility. The effort to build and maintain the old desktop within the new is, in my opinion, more work than it’s worth.

“Are there any differences between Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise?”

Functionally, with the exception of some features that are not enabled (but can be) by default (such as games in Enterprise), the two are the same. Where they differ is with regard to licensing benefits that you get with Enterprise, because it is only through Volume Licensing and with Software Assurance that you can have Enterprise Edition. Products such as MDOP (Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack) become available to you to add to your license as well.

“How will Windows 7 improve my user's ability to search for files on our network?”

Yes. As we discussed in the live chat, we want to provide (because people want) a common platform to launch a search. Adding the ability to plug into other search services and launch them from within the Windows Explorer window (a feature called “Federated Search”) is how we make this happen.

“Is Windows Defender still available in Windows 7?”

Yes.

“Windows XP would often lock up and just wait for some internal time out on a resource. There was no straight forward way to release the resource or even know what application or resource was, that caused the lock up. This often led to restores to earlier working points, loosing desktop changes and other app changes: a lot of work was lost. What does windows 7 have that allows a user to know what is wrong with the OS and what to do about it without having a Systems Admin IT professional diagnose the system?”

Windows 7 has built-in Troubleshooting now that goes above and beyond even what we did in Windows Vista. I use Vista as the example all the time, because when it came to trying to solve networking issues, Vista really had the right idea. Instead of just tearing down and re-building the connection and hoping it works (ala XP), Vista had a top-down, decision-tree approach to trying to solve the problem. Sometimes the troubleshooter will solve the issue, and other times at the very least it will give the end-user better, more useful information that they can pass on to their administrator.

Windows 7 takes it several steps beyond that to not only let the end user troubleshoot networking, but also application compatibility issues or errors, hardware/device issues, display issues, and system and security issues.

Check out this Channel 9 video that goes into the details on how this new troubleshooting and diagnostics functionality works.

“What are the upgrade paths to Windows 7? Can you upgrade from XP?”

From XP, no, you cannot do an in-place upgrade. There are tools that can help with the migration of your files and settings. There are also tools that can automate the process for business IT people who need to do this for many machines.

Here’s a good “Upgrading to Windows 7” page: http://windows.microsoft.com/upgrade?os=other

And even a step-by-step tutorial here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7

“Are you going to go over Windows 7 and Direct Access more?”

No, we really didn’t have time to go deep into any particular technology area in the live chat. However, here is a good “Executive Overview” of DirectAccess in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

And not too long ago I recorded a screencast demonstrating how to configure DirectAccess.

“Does Windows 7 require Windows Server 2008 R2 to effectively manage the desktop?”

No.

“What version of PowerShell comes with Windows 7?”

PowerShell 2.0 In fact, it’s installed by default now, rather than having to download or add it.

“How do I go about using Windows 7 Compatible logo for my application?”

Here is the Windows 7 Software Logo Program

“Would you briefly explain how Windows 7 will be easier to deploy? Create and manage images?”

That is a big topic. I recommend you start here: http://www.microsoft.com/deployment.

Look for information about and download tools such as the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) and the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK).

---

Good stuff? Hopefully you saw PART ONE also.

Best of Questions and Answers for the IT Manager Community Talk with Kevin – Windows 7 “What’s in it for you?” (Part 1 of 3)

KevinRemde — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:55:13 GMT

Attention IT Managers!

The other day we had a fantastic chat with Venky Chandrasekharan, and nearly 200 live attendees, all about Windows 7 and what it provides you in your IT organization and for your business.

(You can listen to that recorded chat session HERE.)

So.. I’m going to post these in 3 parts. Here is part 1 of 3.

My apologies if you don’t see your question here. It’s either coming in a later post, or it simply was too technical (or off-topic) to be worth addressing here.

I hope you find these question, answers, and resources useful!

---

Questions and Answers (Part 1 of 3)

“How can I change the default keyboard for all running applications in Win7? When I try it, I change only for current Application.”

Enter “keyboard language” in the Start menu’s searchbox and hit return. You should see “Change keyboards or other input methods”. Click it.

“Are the ‘Win7 64bits’ faster than 32bits? How much in percentage?”

64 bits are twice as fast as 32. (I’M JUST KIDDING!!!)

I really don’t know the answer in actual percentage. It’s going to be faster when you have more memory than a 32-bit OS and the 32-bit address space can support, of course.

I “binged it”. There are some good comparisons and data here: http://www.bing.com/search?q=64-bit+vs.+32-bit+performance+comparison&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IE8SRC

“How will Windows 7 improve my user's ability to search for files on our network?”

In the chat we discussed this one. Basically you’re going to want to look at how Search Federation in Windows 7 can be used to unify the search experience (and so improve their ability) on the desktop.

And if you’re curious, I found a list of Search Federation providers here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/742-windows-7-search-federation-providers.html

“What is MS recommending in terms of adoption of the 32-bit or 64-bit version? Is future development going to focus on 64-bit?”

On the Server side it’s all going 64-bit. Most new server products (and even our latest OS, Server 2008 R2) are 64-bit only. And that’s because server-class hardware is all 64-bit for the past several years now.

The same can’t be true for desktops and laptops. 32-bit will still be an option for awhile. So we’ll have 32-bit and 64-bit versions at least for the near-term. I can’t predict when the switch to all 64-bit will happen on the desktop side.

“How is Win7 compatible with older servers and Group policy and security settings?”

As we discussed in the live chat, there isn’t really anything special about Active Directory or how Group Policy objects are replicated to and supported by Domain Controllers that Windows 7 requires that is any different than any other AD joined client operating system. And if a policy is set that configures new functionality in Windows 7, or for that many ANY operating system that is newer than the one where a policy is being applied, it will just be ignored.

“I noticed that also in Windows 7, sometimes drivemappings are been lost, and only the red cross is been displayed. The names are lost of the mappings, but!!! the drives are still there and accessable....according supportsites from msft this already should have been solved in Vista..but also in my Win7 syst. x64 its still a problem...”

That’s a bit more of a technical support issue than we usually attempt to address in these IT Manager Community Chats, I’m afraid. But you might want to see if you have some kind of a networking issue.. where unexpected latency is causing these “connections” to time out. The documentation you saw on a fix might not relate to the problem you’re having, so it’s hard to say that this was the fix you were expecting.

“Is there a view of the presentation that shows windows 7, all I see is a cover page of the presenters?”

Did you join late? (smile) As I explain up at the front of all of these sessions, the idea here is to make it a live, interactive session. We only put a few resources up there for your use… but we really want the end result to be something you can get value from by simply listening to it – not having to focus on slides or demos. And it gives us the opportunity to keep it interactive, too.. much more fluid than having to follow a slide deck or script.

“How will anti-virus work with the resources? Will anti-viruses slow down the computer like it did in Windows XP?”

I don’t know of anything special about Windows 7 that will make Antivirus perform any slower or faster than it does on our older operating systems. If your AV solution is a memory/resource hog or duplicates existing functionality already in XP SP2 and beyond, then it’s going to do the same thing in Windows 7.

Related note: Microsoft just recently released a free antivirus product for home users called Microsoft Security Essentials. http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

For AV in business, you should consider the solutions in the Microsoft ForeFront set of products. http://www.microsoft.com/forefront/en/us/default.aspx

“What are the settings for configuration on UAC?”

Here’s a great TechNet Magazine article by Mark Russinovich on User Account Control that, among other things, shows off the new User Interface: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.07.uac.aspx

For changing the settings using Group Policy: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows7/How-do-I-change-the-behavior-of-User-Account-Control-by-using-Group-Policy

For a great whys-and-wherefores discussion of UAC, check out the “Engineering Windows 7” blog post here: http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2008/10/08/user-account-control.aspx

“Will networking be enabled in xp mode?”

The thing to remember about “XP Mode” in Windows 7 is that at the heart of it, it is another running operating system (XP SP3), running as what it thinks is it’s own machine. And as such, yes, you can network it. Applications running there can (and will be default) have access to the same network that your host Windows 7 machine has.

Remember: Issues of security such as antivirus, antispyware, firewall, etc.. all apply to this other “machine” also. Keep it up-to-date!

“With the virtual options in Win7, can I make a virtual machine of a user's old computer and then run it on their new Win7 computer? (A sort of backup feature)”

It’s an interesting idea.. and I suppose it’s doable if you have some way to capture their machine as an image that you then could deploy to the virtual machine. Seems like a lot of work, though, to give them an old operating system on top of the new one.

“Windows 7 will support booting from VHD files at a software level?”

Not sure what exactly you’re looking for when you say “software level”. As we discussed in the chat around this question, it really is a combined hardware/software solution as it exists. It’s all software, after all, but it is at a lower level. You boot to a VHD using the new bootloader, which is able to see and launch/run an operating system from within that .vhd file as if it were just another disk partition. And once it’s running, the OS itself has full access to the hardware. Heck, you can even see your own OS disk, and along side it (probably your D: drive) is the actual physical disk that contains your .vhd file.

Now.. if you’re looking for running a .vhd file from within a currently running OS, there’s still Windows Virtual PC (the Virtual PC software that supports XP-mode can run other Operating Systems, too) as running virtual machines. That’s probably the more “software” level idea you’re thinking of.

“Can you please email updates to your blog to sort of an email list who are here?”

Sorry, I can’t. I don’t have access to the names/addresses of the people attending the webcast.

“In Windows 7, can you create virtual machines ? and are you capable of saving VM's to a USB flash drive?”

Yes, and yes.

---

Watch this blog for parts 2 and 3!

Celebrate! I’ve been “Full of I.T.” for five Years!

KevinRemde — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:28:20 GMT

Wow.. I just looked at my calendar, and noted that this here blog has reached the five year mark TODAY.

“Really? Five years?”

Yep. You and I have been chatting here ever since my first blog post back on October 17, 2004.

Since then I’ve posted 891 blog posts, and only 6 inaccuracies. (okay.. I made up that last one. So now it’s 7.)

Let’s keep the momentum going!

Breaking News: Microsoft WebsiteSpark

KevinRemde — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:10:00 GMT

Today we’re launching a new opportunity for web developers in small companies (10 or fewer employees) who would like a free “leg-up” from Microsoft.

“Visibility, support and software for professional Web Developers and Designers - at no upfront cost!” is what the heading on the site reads.

Here is a good summary straight out of the official Program Guide:

WebsiteSpark is a new global program, designed by Microsoft to help small professional Web development and design service companies succeed, by providing new business opportunities through connections with global partners and customers, support and training, and software tools – at no upfront cost. WebsiteSpark provides professional Web development and design companies with an innovative vehicle to get access to:

Business Opportunities: Opportunities to expand their customer base and drive new business, by showcasing their capabilities and connecting with partners via the WebsiteSpark Marketplace and other Microsoft marketing and business networking vehicles.

Support and training: Professional support from Microsoft and connections with WebsiteSpark Network Partners, Hosting Partners, and other Web developers and designers with complementary technologies or business models—an entire ecosystem that can provide a wide range of technical and business resources for every Web professional need.

Software and solutions: Fast, easy, and immediate access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools and Web server production licenses at no upfront cost, to build, design and bring to market differentiated, innovative, and rich Internet sites.

“Hey Kevin.. that’s a developer opportunity, isn’t it? I thought this was an IT Pro-focused blog.”

Yes, it is. And yes, it is. But I know that small company developers are also the IT guys and gals. Maybe they read this blog. And it’s just such a great opportunity for free stuff to support the birth and growth of a small business that it’s news that’s definitely worth spreading.

Go to the Microsoft WebsiteSpark site for all the details.

Today “the NEW efficiency” starts…

KevinRemde — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:44:00 GMT

Today, September 24, 2009, in three cities in the U.S. we’re holding our first of what we internally are calling the “trifecta launch” events, launching Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. In fact, this morning I was up bright and early and in front of a movie theater in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, plugging in my laptops and making sure that all audio and video were working well.

“Were they?”

Yep.

So now I’ve got some time to kill before my first of four sessions on Windows 7 begin this afternoon. It’s a full house, and we’re going to ROCK IT!

And hey.. if you want the resource page that I put together to hand out to attendees, you will find it attached to this post, and well as online HERE.

Enjoy!

It’s a big day! …and not just musically!

KevinRemde — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:37:52 GMT

Sure.. today is a big day for Beatles fans. (My wife is out right now picking up the pre-ordered deluxe Rockband set.) And I’m not sure if I want to pay extra money for re-mastered “mono” recordings, when God gave me two perfectly good ears. (PS – I also enjoy colorized B&W movies.***)

Also, at this moment, Steve Jobs is on stage talking up new iTunes features that sound suspiciously like features that a ZunePass and Windows 7 homegroups will give you.

But – Hey! Let’s talk deployment!

Microsoft yesterday RTW’d (Released to Web) the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010. (MDT 2010) This is the version that is all set and ready to support the deployment of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available, as well as release notes and documentation.

GET ‘EM ALL HERE

or visit the Microsoft.com/deployment page for more documentation and news around all-things-deployment.

“What’s new?”

Here’s the text from the download page:

Overview
Deploy Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the newly released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010. MDT is the recommended process and toolset for automating desktop and server deployment. MDT provides you with the following benefits:

Unified tools and processes required for desktop and server deployment in a common deployment console and collection of guidance.

Reduced deployment time and standardized desktop and server images, along with improved security and ongoing configuration management.

Fully automated Zero Touch Installation deployments by leveraging System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate and Windows deployment tools. For those without a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure, MDT leverages Windows deployment tools for Lite Touch Installation deployments.

What’s New in MDT 2010
Improvements to the newest version of MDT allow you to:

Access deployment shares from anywhere on the network and replicate files and settings across organizational boundaries or sites.

Organize and manage drivers, operating systems, applications, packages, and task sequences with an improved UI.

Automate UI functionality using the Windows PowerShell command line interface.

Go get it!

***Just Kidding

Check Out My 5 New Windows Server 2008 R2 Screencasts

KevinRemde — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:38:00 GMT

Hey IT folks,

Back on July 30th, 2009, I presented what ended up being a pretty highly rated webcast on Windows Server 2008 R2 entitled “How Windows Server 2008 R2 Affects Your IT Infrastructure”. And as I’ve done in the past, I promised that soon after I would record the demos and get them up on TechNet Edge as screencast demo recordings. Well, they’re up there now!

“Hey Kevin.. that was July 30th? And here it is September 4th? That not very ‘soon after’, dude.”

Sorry “dude”. I got busy with other things.

“I forgive you.”

Thanks. (Wow.. they’re going to lock me up someday.)

Anyway.. as I said, I finally got them recorded and they are now up and online for your viewing pleasure, entertainment, or.. well.. just plain learning-goodness.

And as a side benefit, I was able to expand out the demos to their full glory, and was even able to add a couple that were in the original session as created. For example, you didn’t see the demo of Fine Grained Password Policies on the webcast. And I didn’t have time to show BOTH the “distributed mode” and “hosted server mode” implementations of BranchCache.

So.. here they are:

Also, for your benefit, HERE is a link to the webcast itself. And I posted the resources relating to the webcast HERE.

I sincerely hope you’ll find these useful! (And please let me know in the comments, either there or here, if you do!)

Best of Q&A from the IT Manager Webcast: IT Manager Community Chat with Kevin – Virtualization

KevinRemde — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:45:00 GMT

As promised, here are the “Best of Q&A” from the live chat I helped to deliver on September 3, 2009, entitled “IT Manager Community Chat with Kevin – Virtualization”

A BIG THANK YOU to my guest, Shanen Boettcher, for such a wonderful conversation around Virtualization and the value that businesses can gain through it.

And THANK YOU to all of the people who attended the session LIVE! You asked some fantastic questions. That’s what these chats are all about!

Also - Here the RESOURCES I pulled together for this webcast.

I hope you find these useful!

Kevin

Questions and Answers

“When you look at a small business environment of 5 - 10 users running SBS2008 and Office 2007 can you technically run Office 2007 as a virtual application and does it cost more money than just running it on the 5 - 10 desktops?”

Short answer: Yes, but not by much.

Longer answer: Shanen did a good job answering this one during the chat; talking about how of course you’re not saving money on the license of Office. Whether running installed on the native OS or running as an App-V hosted application, you’ve still purchased a copy of Office. However, App-V requires SA and the MDOP, which add a small amount per-desktop. You’ll find that it’s far less-per-desktop than other similar stand-alone solutions out there.

“When will Microsoft support USB ports in VM's? (The main reason why some of our developers do not use Microsoft Virtualization for development and testing)”

Short answer: Not soon enough. (chuckle)

Longer answer: There is finally some limited USB device support (things such as USB connected storage) in the new version of Virtual PC that is coming along with Windows 7; particularly for the sake of XP-Mode hosted applications running on Windows 7.

There is also limited USB support in Remote Desktop (whether using the old “Terminal Services” kind of session, or a true VDI desktop connection). Those sessions can work with some plug-and-play devices that are on your client.

But as for true USB support of, say, a virtual machine running under Hyper-V; no, it’s not there. Not yet.

Believe me.. The day we do provide that will be the day that I start running my production workstation purely as a virtual machine from within a Windows Server.

(Of course.. we do have the ability to boot and run a .VHD (boot from VHD) on physical hardware.. so maybe I’ll just start doing that. THERE you get TRUE full-physical-machine access to your hardware, because the OS is just running on the hardware. It just happens to be running from within a .VHD file.)

“Windows 7 is the same code base as Windows Server 2008 R2 why not offer APP-V virtualization on the desktop as an option an phase out Virtual PC?”

Short answer: Because App-V isn’t related to Virtual PC. They solve two different problems.

Longer answer: This question required a very long answer, actually. Both Shanen and I talked about the difference between XP Mode and MED-V, and how the two both depend on Virtual PC as their foundation.

“For development and testing purposes, simulation of networks and testing distributed applications, would you recommend using Hyper-V within a Server, or a standalone Microsoft Hyper-V server? Is there a big difference whether we choose one or the other?”

As far as virtualization, no. It’s the same Hyper-V from the perspective of the machines you’re running virtually.

Running Hyper-V as the role installed into (actually under) Windows Server 2008 R2 is nice from the perspective of local administration. You can administer the machine directly, in addition to remotely.

Hyper-V Server pretty much requires you to manage it remotely. It’s not something you would manage from the console.

Another option you have (that you didn’t ask about) would be kind of a middle-ground – where you install Windows Server 2008 as a Server Core installation, and add the Hyper-V role to that. That’s a nice, lean, high performing platform as well, and it has the benefit of being able to host some additional roles as well (not just Hyper-V), if you want to. (So.. Hyper-V server is JUST Hyper-V. It’s not also able to be an Active Directory Services Domain Controller or DHCP server or DNS server.)

“How are we doing in the exchange server 2010 w.r.t virtualization? Would we be able to use the UC facility which is not the case with Exchange 2007?”

Short Answer: Nope.

Longer answer: Sorry we didn’t have the answer for you during the chat. Further investigation shows that, similar to Exchange 2007, most of Exchange 2010 will be supported under certain kinds of virtualization, running on certain platforms – but not the Unified Messaging role. That one still needs to be installed on a physical box. I have to assume it’s because there is a connection to hardware that needs to be there.

For the full details, see this web page: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996719(EXCHG.140).aspx

Best of Q&A for the TechNet Webcast: Thrive Live Chat! - Virtualization

KevinRemde — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:23:00 GMT

As promised, here are the “Best of Q&A” from the live chat I helped to deliver on September 2, 2009, entitled “TechNet Webcast: Thrive Live Chat! - Virtualization”

A BIG THANK YOU to my guest, Shanen Boettcher, for such a wonderful conversation and some great information for IT Pros around getting ready for Virtualization.

And THANK YOU to all of the people who attended the session LIVE! You asked some fantastic questions. That’s what these chats are all about!

Also - Here the RESOURCES I pulled together for this webcast.

I hope you find these useful!

Kevin

---

Questions and Answers

“We are currently doing Server Virtualization with great success, but what does it look like from a desktop perspective?”

VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) is certainly a hot topic these days. As described in the chat, this is a new and exciting area that allows companies to have more choices around how they configure and distribute desktop operating environments to their users; either benefiting by saving money on hardware, or by giving them more control over the desktop environment.

For more information on VDI and what Microsoft provides in that area, check out the Desktop Virtualization page here: http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/products/desktop/default.mspx

But no matter what kind of virtualization you’re supporting, the goal is that the end-user is not required to do much (if anything) different. His virtualized application should behave as any application would. His desktop should have a full AERO interface, and perform well. And in some cases, you can even improve their experience (“Wow, the application was updated automatically for me… I didn’t need to install anything!”)

“Does the MS assessment and Planning toolkit make recommendations based on the 2008 Hypervisor or the 2008R2 Hypervisor?”

On the webcast we actually answered your question incorrectly! The new (4.0) of the MAP (Microsoft Assessment and Planning) Toolkit indeed is geared towards Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 scenarios.

Here is the landing page: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/dd537566.aspx?SA_CE=NOT-MAPBETA-SITE-VIRT-WINSVR-20090615

And you can download it here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=67240b76-3148-4e49-943d-4d9ea7f77730&DisplayLang=en

“Are all the management tools supported in VM's?”

Yes.

“How many [virtual machine] migrations are supported at the same time?”

Only one migration can be taking place for each participating host (as either a source or destination hyper-V host). But if your hosts are in, say, a 16 node cluster, then you could potentially have as many as 8 Live Migrations happening at the same time.

“Is SCVMM integrated with Windows 2008 R2?”

SCVMM 2008 R2 was recently released to support the new functionality in Hyper-V that comes in Windows Server 2008 R2 (chief one being Live Migration). So, yes, it is ready to work with Server 2008 R2 virtualization.

http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/virtualmachinemanager/en/us/default.aspx

“Is all of the management in System Center? What if you don't have that in place?”

You can do management without System Center, but basically that limits you to running the Hyper-V Admin Console, which is mainly for basic configuration and “start/stop” functions. Yes, you can even do live migration and drive it using Windows Clustering. And if you’re good with PowerShell and WMI, you can build scripts to perform any bulk or frequently occurring administrative tasks.

However, for small-to-midsize companies who don’t want to invest in the System Center suite, we do recommend that you at least get System Center Essentials 2007 and the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Workgroup Edition. (We even currently have a 37%-off deal if you buy those two together.)

If you’re curious about the differences between System Center Essentials 2007 and the System Center products (Operations Manager 2007 and Configuration Manager 2007), check out this great comparison page: http://www.microsoft.com/Systemcenter/essentials/en/us/compare-products.aspx

“If I was looking to specialize in virtualization, what training/certification is available and what advice would you give me?”

First of all, SORRY EMMANUEL! I referred to you as “Emma” in the webcast, because my small Q&A window cut off the rest of your name! (sigh) For Microsoft training and certification tracks, the best place to always go is http://www.microsoft.com/learning.

Here is the Microsoft Learning “Training Portal” for Virtualization: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training/virtualization.aspx

“Why did the Terminal Services (TS) name change to RDS in the Server 2K8 R2 version?”

Sorry we ended the chat just before you asked this great question, Joseph.

I don’t have all the details, but I do know that the main reason for the change was because it really is more about a “remote desktop” experience now. As we talked about in the chat, you have remote desktop options of either a profile running on a terminal server (traditional Terminal Services), plus the added option of a unique OS running virtually under Hyper-V. Both appear as a desktop to the end-user.. but the technology underneath is different. Still, the beauty here is that many of the supporting technologies and much of the supporting infrastructure (Remote Desktop Gateway, Connection Broker, etc.) work on behalf of either the terminal-service-type desktop as well the remote desktop-that’s-really-a-virtual-machine desktop.

“Is the Virtual Machine Manager running on your desktop the same download VMM 2008 R2 that is a demo install?”

Yes. In order to drive Hyper-V Live Migration using System Center Virtual Machine Manager, you will use the newest version, which is SCVMM 2008 R2.

“Can you put up the blog again?”

Oops.. missed this one after we ended the chat. Well.. if you’re here, you’ve found it. (smile)

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Overview Deploy Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the newly released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010. MDT is the recommended process and toolset for automating desktop and server deployment. MDT provides you with the following benefits:

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Best of Q&A from the IT Manager Webcast: IT Manager Community Chat with Kevin – Virtualization

Best of Q&A for the TechNet Webcast: Thrive Live Chat! - Virtualization

Overview
Deploy Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the newly released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010. MDT is the recommended process and toolset for automating desktop and server deployment. MDT provides you with the following benefits: