Because a lot of you provided us with the feedback that you wanted to have the RDP client 6.1 as standalone version we have released the Remote Desktop Connection client (RDC 6.1) for Windows XP SP2 on x86 platforms.

You can download RDC6.1 for Windows XP SP2 from the Microsoft Download Center (KB 952155)

We have also released the MUI package for RDC6.1 on Windows XP SP2 from the Microsoft Download Center (KB 952230).

These are some of the supported features of Remote Desktop Client 6.1 for Windows XP SP2:

• Windows Server 2008 & Windows Vista feature support
• TS Web Access support
• TS Easy Print support
• TS Remote Programs support
• TS Gateway support

Please review the complete list of features and details about RDC6.1 for Windows XP SP2 in this Knowledge Base article.

RDC6.1 is now available on the following platforms:

• Windows Server 2008
• Windows Vista SP1
• Windows XP SP3
• Windows XP SP2 (KB 952155)

Last Saturday I presented at an event in Croatia called KulenDayz (aka Cool’n’days). Kind of funny to present at a Sausage (salami) event. Sausage? Yes Kulen means sausage and actually it’s a local spicy sausage, tastes nice.

This event is organized by the community for the community. So my journey towards Croatia started with a short flight to Zagreb where I spent a few hours into the Microsoft office. Then we had to travel for almost 4 hours towards the event location in Beli Manastir.

I really enjoyed to be there I must say that the community did a tremendous job organizing this event. The location is perfect, I have a very nice hotel room with my personal steam bath :).

There are several MVP from the region that came to the event to talk to other members of the community and to my surprise I was not the only Belgian guy in the room, one of our own MVP’s Marc Gregoire also traveled to Croatia to join the event.

I had quite some attendees at my Hyper-V session and I told them at the end of my session that I would be around during the day and if they had any questions around Hyper-V they just could grab me and buy me a beer. I had to drink many beers :)

I hope they will invite me back next year.

Learn About Microsoft Volume Activation 2.0 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

Get answers to your questions about Microsoft Volume Activation 2.0 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Hear how Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 activation has changed, why these changes were made, and how these changes affect your deployment effort. We also discuss common activation scenarios, recommend best practices, and provide troubleshooting advice for common deployment issues.

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9151215

Exchange Server in Depth: Master Concepts and Optimize Your Server Environment

Deepen your knowledge of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 so that you can maximize the effectiveness of your server environment. Tune in and learn how IP networks and Active Directory Topologies enable e-mail routing in the Exchange Server 2007 environment. Hear about recommended topologies and deployment best practices. You also learn strategies to help you protect your Exchange Server 2007 messaging service and data. In addition to the webcasts, you can participate in a virtual lab for hands-on experience with Exchange Server 2007 and you can download the latest audio podcasts about Exchange Server.

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9151380

You might have seen this onto other blogs, I still wanted to add this for all of you who didn’t see it somewhere else.

And off course beside the links below you can always keep reading my blog. :)

Hyper-V Websites

Microsoft Virtualization Home Page

http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/default.mspx

Virtualization Case Studies

http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/case-studies.mspx

Virtualization Solution Accelerators

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/cc197910.aspx

Windows Server 2008 Virtualization & Consolidation: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/virtualization-consolidation.aspx

Hyper-V FAQ

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-faq.aspx

Optimized Desktop Infrastructure (VDI and much more): http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/enterprise/default.mspx

Virtualization TechCenter:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/default.aspx

How to Install Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V RC

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-install.aspx

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Performance Tuning Guide

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/Perf_tun_srv.mspx

MSDN & TechNet Powered by Hyper-V

http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2008/05/20/msdn-and-technet-powered-by-hyper-v.aspx

MSDN & TechNet Powered by Hyper-V Whitepaper

http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/C/5/6C559B56-8556-4097-8C81-2D4E762CD48E/MSCOM_Virtualizes_MSDN_TechNet_on_Hyper-V.docx

Blogs:

http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/default.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/

http://blogs.technet.com/jhoward/

http://blogs.technet.com/roblarson/

http://blogs.technet.com/virtualworld/

http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/

http://blogs.technet.com/mapblog/

http://blogs.technet.com/stbnewsbytes/

Webcasts:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032368894&CountryCode=US

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032372420&CountryCode=US

Data Mining and Business Intelligence for Enterprises

Available Videos

Data Mining and Business Intelligence for Enterprises:

http://www.microsoft.com/emea/spotlight/event.aspx?id=99

Links to Session Videos:

• Introduction to Data Mining
• Working with Data Mining
• Using Data Mining in your IT Systems (Part 1)
• Using Data Mining in your IT Systems (Part 2)

No IT project can be successful unless the specific network environment is well understood.  To help IT professionals and Microsoft Partners solve common migration issues and assist them in planning their virtualization efforts, the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team is proud to announce the release of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 Beta .

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (or MAP) is the next-generation version of the agent-less assessment platform from Microsoft. In this new version, MAP has expanded its capabilities into assessment areas of Hyper-V server virtualization, desktop security, and SQL 2008 migration.  In summary, MAP 3.1 assessment areas now include:

• Server Migration Reports and Proposals (Windows Server 2008)
• Server Consolidation Reports and Proposals (Virtual Server 2005 R2 and Hyper-V) (NEW!)
• Desktop Security Assessment to determine if desktops have anti-virus and anti-malware programs installed or if the Windows Firewall is turned on (NEW!)
• Application Virtualization Assessment Reports (Microsoft Application Virtualization, formerly SoftGrid)
• SQL 2008 Migration Assessment Reports (NEW!)
• Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 Hardware Assessment Reports and Proposals

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit performs three key functions - including hardware and device inventory, compatibility analysis, and readiness reporting.

MAP is based upon an agent-less infrastructure scanning technology that allows users to conduct a network inventory of their servers, desktops, applications, and devices - all without installing any software agents on each machine being assessed. This tool has the ability to discover machines within Active-Directory managed domains and forests as well as workgroups.

With the new user interface and enterprise-scale inventory engine, users can generate multiple technology migration reports and proposals for their OS migration and virtualization projects in a matter of hours.

Fast and Zero-Touch. MAP provides secure network-wide assessment of a typical environment in a matter of hours instead of days, all without the deployment of any software agents on each inventoried machines.

Saves Pre-Sales and Planning Time. For most IT consultants and Microsoft Partners, a detailed network inventory and assessment of servers and desktops would typically take days of manual labor.  With MAP, they can now drastically reduce the time it takes for the same inventory to a matter of hours; allowing them more time to focus their efforts on critical pre-sales engagement tasks.  For IT professionals, it significantly reduces the time it takes to gather the information to make the business case for client and server migration as well as for their upcoming virtualization projects.

Actionable Recommendations and Reporting. MAP offers valuable inventory and readiness assessment reports with specific upgrade recommendations and virtualization candidate reports that make it easier for IT migration and deployment projects to get off the ground and running.

From Desktops to Servers. MAP provides technology assessment and planning recommendations for many Microsoft products including Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, Virtual Server 2005 R2, Microsoft Application Virtualization (SoftGrid), Terminal Services, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007, SQL 2008, and also desktop security.

Try the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 Beta now.

Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

IIS: Going Live with IIS 7.0

The release of Internet Information Services 7.0 sets new standards, offers fundamental improvements, and brings new capabilities for consolidating Web environments. Explore the most important enhancements and get an in-depth guide to testing, staging, and migrating your Web app's to IIS 7.0.

Communications and Collaboration: Planning Your Migration to Unified Messaging

Moving from a legacy voicemail system to a unified messaging platform can be done fairly easily and with little disruption to your end users—as long as you have a solid plan in place. Here’s what you need to know to plan your migration, test your new systems, and implement unified messaging in your organization.

Communications and Collaboration: How Voice Powers OCS 2007

Microsoft Office Communication Server brings important changes to enterprise telephony. Examine how voice calls are made layer by layer, learn how calls can be routed to various endpoints, and explore the importance of conversations in OCS communications.

Communications and Collaboration: Create Powerful Connections with Groove and SharePoint

Microsoft Office Groove and SharePoint Server both provide powerful collaboration capabilities. Compare how they differ from and complement one another, and find out how you can integrate Groove and SharePoint to provide an easy and flexible collaboration solution that will support users at different locations.

Windows Administration: Introducing Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering

Users have complained for years that clustering in Windows Server is too complicated. With the release of Windows Server 2008, clustering received a complete facelift. Explore some of the most significant advancements found in the new Failover Clustering, and see how this new implementation makes clusters much easier to set up and maintain.

Install this update to enable Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Beta (VMM) to function with Release Candidate 1 (RC1) to the Hyper-V role. After you install this update, you may have to restart your computer. Once you have installed this update, it cannot be removed

Download: http://connect.microsoft.com

Note: Before installing this hotfix your Hyper-V needs to be RC1. With this update you cannot manage Hyper-V RC0 hosts.

Windows Server 2008 Evaluation Enterprise Edition and Server Core Evaluation Virtual Hard Drive Images are now available for Hyper-V and Virtual Server

• Download the Hyper-V VHD's from here
• Download the Virtual Server VHD's from here

Harness the Combined Power of Microsoft Forefront Client Security and Network Access Protection

Many of your customers have deployed Forefront Client Security, the comprehensive anti-malware software that provides unified protection from viruses, spyware, and other current and emerging threats. But if hackers find a way to penetrate their defenses and malware infects their network, it can spread with alarming speed, compromising or destroying mission-critical data, disrupting operations, and costing your customers valuable time and money.

Customers need a multi-layered defense strategy to defend against such attacks. They need a way to quickly isolate and remediate compromised systems—before malware can spread. The Microsoft Forefront Integration Kit for Network Access Protection can help customers strengthen their malware defenses.

Customers can use the Kit to help protect their network infrastructure by configuring a Forefront Client Security compliance health policy across their network, monitoring the operational health of Forefront Client Security in real time, and remediating problems that arise.

Configure

The Kit’s System Health Validator (SHV) establishes the Forefront Client Security compliance health policy that will be enforced on managed computers. For example, Forefront Client Security must be installed, running, and its signature files must be up-to-date.

Monitor

The Kit’s System Health Agent (SHA) component monitors in real time the health of the computers on which the SHA and Forefront Client Security are installed to ensure they comply with the organization’s health policy.

Remediate

If NAP detects a compliance issue with Forefront Client Security on one of the managed computers, NAP will attempt to remediate the issue or restrict the computer's access to network resources, depending on the health policies.

Enhances security. The Kit helps strengthen your customers’ malware defenses by integrating two Microsoft security technologies: Forefront Client Security and Network Access Protection.

Saves time and reduces IT costs. Customers can quickly configure compliance health policies, automatically monitor client health, and remediate noncompliant clients, freeing up scarce IT resources for other tasks.

Easy to deploy. Customers can install and configure the Kit in just a couple of hours.

Tested. The Kit has been tested in our labs and verified by customers and partners under real-world conditions.

Free. The Kit is freely available at www.microsoft.com/fcsnapkit.