Hi Everyone,
During the month of April & May, we delivered Windows Azure IaaS – IT Camps in 6 cities focusing on Windows Azure Virtual Machines, Windows Azure Virtual Network. As promised during our events, I am sharing some of the essential resources that you can use for understanding Windows Azure IaaS features.
IT CAMP Content, Presentations, Hands-on Manuals.
http://sdrv.ms/11qSkWM
Windows Azure Free Trial & Downloads, Documentation Resources
http://www.windowsazure.com
ARTICLES
Windows Azure: General Availability of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2013/04/16/windows-azure-general-availability-of-infrastructure-as-a-service-iaas.aspx
Windows Azure: Active Directory Release, New Backup Service + Web Site Monitoring and Log Improvements
http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2013/04/08/windows-azure-active-directory-general-availability-new-backup-service-web-site-monitoring-and-diagnostic-improvements.aspx
Windows Azure: Improvements to Virtual Networks, Virtual Machines, Cloud Services and a new Ruby SDK
http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2013/04/26/windows-azure-improvements-to-virtual-networks-virtual-machines-cloud-services-and-a-new-ruby-sdk.aspx
Setting up software based Site-to-Site VPN for Windows Azure with Windows Server 2012 Routing and Remote Access
http://fabriccontroller.net/blog/posts/setting-up-software-based-site-to-site-vpn-for-windows-azure-with-windows-server-2012-routing-and-remote-access/
Windows Azure: What’s in it for the Enterprise?
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/03/29/windows-azure-what-s-in-it-for-the-enterprise.aspx
Windows Azure Active Directory: Ready for Production with over 265 Billion Authentications & 2.9 Million Organizations Served!
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/04/08/windows-azure-active-directory-ready-for-production-with-over-265-billion-authentications-amp-2-5-million-organizations-served.aspx
The Power of ‘And’
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/04/16/the-power-of-and.aspx
SQL Server in Windows Azure Infrastructure Services – Updated Documentation and Best Practices for GA, Upcoming Blogs
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/04/24/sql-server-in-windows-azure-infrastructure-services-updated-documentation-and-best-practices-for-ga-upcoming-blogs.aspx
Virtual Network adds new capabilities for cross-premises connectivity
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/04/26/virtual-network-adds-new-capabilities-for-cross-premises-connectivity.aspx
Videos
Windows AzureConf 2013
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/windowsazure/Windows-AzureConf-2013
Overview of Windows Azure Virtual Machines (IaaS)
http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/overview-of-windows-azure-virtual-machines-iaas
Introduction To Windows Azure Training
http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/introduction-to-windows-azure
Windows Azure Security Overview
http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/windows-azure-security-overview
Windows Azure Active Directory
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Patterns-Practices-Symposium-Online/pattern-practices-symposium-2013/Windows-Azure-Active-Directory
Introduction to Windows Azure: the cloud operating system
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/BUILD/BUILD2011/SAC-852F
Inside Windows Azure Virtual Machines
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/PDC/PDC10/CS63
Windows Azure IaaS and How It Works
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2012/AZR201
Windows Azure Internals
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2012/AZR302
Using Windows Azure Storage
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2011/COS304
If you have any queries feel free to reach out to me on aviraj@microsoft.com
THANK YOU.
Hi All,
Last week one of our customers was trying to install System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager. During the installation customer encountered an issue with SQL Server when using Named Instance instead of Default Instance. MSSQLSERVER.
I decided to try out the scenario on my own test environment to simulate the same issue by configuring the SCCM & SQL Server using the Names Instance instead of using the Default Instance that work on Port 1433.
Here is my test scenario using 2 virtual machines.
Domain Controller: DC.MSFT.COM
SCCM Primary Site: SCCM.MSFT.COM
There are steps I followed to begin my Configuration Manager deployment in my test environment.
INSTALL Windows Features for SCCM.CONTOSO.COM machine. Following are the prerequisites required.
- .NET Framework 3.5
- Remote Differential Compression (RDC)
- Bits with IIS Role
- PowerShell 2.0 Engine
Install WSUS Server Role
Install Windows ADK with USMT, WINPE & Other components. I have installed Windows Assessment Services as it includes its own SQL Express database (Just to avoid any additional complexity)
Create a Windows Firewall exception rule. Open WF.MSC. Create a new Inbound Rule for Port 1433, 4022 exception. Port 1433 to connect to SQL Database & Port 4022 for Service Broker. You can also enable these ports using a Group Policy.
Install SQL Server 2012 with Named Instance: SCCM
Till this stage everything was going smooth. I could open SQL Server Management Studio & connect to the database. Next step is to install the System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager.
I launched the SCCM installer & started following the Primary Site Configuration. On the Database Information wizard screen I was getting the following error.
The error states…
---------------------------
Configuration Manager
Setup is unable to connect to SQL Server with the connection information provided. Verify the following:
. The SQL Server and instance names are entered correctly
. The specified SQL Server instance is not configured to use dynamic ports
. If a firewall is enabled on the SQL Server, inbound rules exist to allow connections to the correct ports
. The account used to run Setup has permissions to connect to the specified SQL Server instance
OK
As you can see it has given me few details to check with. And then I started checking everything 1 by 1.
For the first issue, I am sure that I have created an instance with correct name.
For the second issue, I have assumed that SQL Server will use Port 1433. So we are good. We will come to the same point back after 2-3 lines
For the third issue I have manually created Firewall Port exception. So that was ruled out.
For the last issue I have used the default system account that SQL Server 2012 configured so this was also ruled out.
Now, let’s come back to Point 2 i.e. The specified SQL Server instance is not configured to use dynamic ports. In this example, this is the reason we are getting the error when using the Named Instance.
Here is the FIX
1. Go to Windows Server Start Screen (yes Windows Server 2012 also has a new Start Screen as Windows 8 because of the shared codebase. NT Kernel 6.3 Build 9200 anyone J)
2. Search for SQL Server Configuration Manager
3. In SQL Server Configuration Manager, expand SQL Server Network Configuration. Click on Protocols for SCCM (SCCM is your Named Instance)
In the right side pane, right click on the TCP/IP (Status Enabled) and click on Properties
4. In that click on IP Addresses tab. Scroll down to the bottom & make a change to IPALL. TCP Dynamic Ports -> Blank. TCP Port -> 1433 (as this is our default port for SQL Server Database Connection). Click on Apply.
And notice that you need to restart SQL Server (SCCM) Service.
Additionally, you can also configure the same for all the IP Addresses. IP1, IP2…etc. In my case I just made the change as specified above.
5. To restart a service. Click on SQL Server Service. Right click on Instance Name: SQL Server (SCCM) and click on Restart. Wait for few seconds.
6. Now, last step go back to your SCCM Installation. Fill in the details
7. And…NO ERROR. You are on next screen that means you are ready to install SCCM using SQL Server 2012
So that’s how the SQL Server related issue got fixed. Enjoy
The enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) is designed to help prevent hackers from gaining access to your system. The new EMET 4.0 (Beta) features provides a preview on what’s in store for the final version. Please note that this is a "Beta" release. It is not ready for wide enterprise deployment. The latest official EMET release, EMET V3, is ready for enterprise deployment. Below is a summary of the features and changes that are included with the EMET 4.0 Beta release: • Certificate Trust: considering the raise of PKI-related attacks, we decided to implement a configurable SSL Certificate Pinning to try to detect Man in the Middle attacks that leverage SSL/TLS certificates. The Certificate Trust feature in EMET is rule-based and allows to pin a specific SSL/TLS certificate to a trusted Root Certificate Authority; • ROP mitigations and hardening: in the last Technical Preview release of EMET, we introduced some mitigations to try to stop ROP-based attacks by implementing some of the winner ideas of the BlueHat Prize contest. With this new EMET release we hardened the ROP and other mitigations to detect and stop novel attack techniques. For example EMET 4.0 beta is able to stop one ASLR/DEP bypass technique presented at this year’s CanSecWest; • Early Warning Program: this feature will allow EMET to send contextual data back to Microsoft, through the standard Windows Error Reporting channel, every time that an exploit has been detected and stopped. We are adding this feature to help us respond to new 0day exploits as soon as possible. • Audit mode: if an exploit is detected, EMET will not kill the attacked process but it will just report the attack and let the process continue. This mode is only applicable to certain mitigations, for example the ROP-related ones, that detect the attack when the process is not already in a crashed state. This feature is useful for enterprise customers for testing purposes and to spot false-positives and app-compat problems without compromising the user experience; EMET 4.0 beta also includes several bug fixes and UI changes to improve the overall user experience. Also, at the end of the installation, EMET will automatically import settings to protect Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat/Reader, and Oracle Java, as well as a pre-defined set of rules for the Certificate Trust feature that will monitor the main Microsoft online services. More information are available in the User Guide, available in the EMET installation folder. Please remember that EMET 4.0 requires .NET Framework 4, and in order to protect Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 you need to install KB2790907 – a mandatory AppCompat update that has been released on March 12th. Software vulnerabilities and exploits have become an everyday part of life. Virtually every product has to deal with them and consequently, users are faced with a stream of security updates. For users who get attacked before the latest updates have been applied or who get attacked before an update is even available, the results can be devastating: malware, loss of PII, etc.
Security mitigation technologies are designed to make it more difficult for an attacker to exploit vulnerabilities in a given piece of software. EMET allows users to manage these technologies on their system and provides several unique benefits: 1. No source code needed: Until now, several of the available mitigations (such as Data Execution Prevention) have required for an application to be manually opted in and recompiled. EMET changes this by allowing a user to opt in applications without recompilation. This is especially handy for deploying mitigations on software that was written before the mitigations were available and when source code is not available. 2. Highly configurable: EMET provides a higher degree of granularity by allowing mitigations to be individually applied on a per process basis. There is no need to enable an entire product or suite of applications. This is helpful in situations where a process is not compatible with a particular mitigation technology. When that happens, a user can simply turn that mitigation off for that process. 3. Helps harden legacy applications: It’s not uncommon to have a hard dependency on old legacy software that cannot easily be rewritten and needs to be phased out slowly. Unfortunately, this can easily pose a security risk as legacy software is notorious for having security vulnerabilities. While the real solution to this is migrating away from the legacy software, EMET can help manage the risk while this is occurring by making it harder to hackers to exploit vulnerabilities in the legacy software. 4. Ease of use: The policy for system wide mitigations can be seen and configured with EMET's graphical user interface. There is no need to locate up and decipher registry keys or run platform dependent utilities. With EMET you can adjust setting with a single consistent interface regardless of the underlying platform. 5. Ease of deploy: EMET comes with built-in support for enterprise deployment and configuration technologies. This enables administrators to use Group Policy or System Center Configuration Manager to deploy, configure and monitor EMET installations across the enterprise environment. 6. Ongoing improvement: EMET is a living tool designed to be updated as new mitigation technologies become available. This provides a chance for users to try out and benefit from cutting edge mitigations. The release cycle for EMET is also not tied to any product. EMET updates can be made dynamically as soon as new mitigations are ready The toolkit includes several pseudo mitigation technologies aimed at disrupting current exploit techniques. These pseudo mitigations are not robust enough to stop future exploit techniques, but can help prevent users from being compromised by many of the exploits currently in use. The mitigations are also designed so that they can be easily updated as attackers start using new exploit techniques.
DOWNLOAD HERE
During my recent TechEd India 2013, Pune event, I was asked a question during our Stump the Speaker Session, the question was about what all Microsoft Server software is supported in Windows Azure Virtual Machines environment. And I have responded to the audience to wait for some time so that Azure team to share more details. Well, after the Windows Azure GA announcement, Microsoft has released a list of Microsoft server software supported in Windows azure Virtual Machines.
Feel free to share the following information with your customers. Hope it helps
This article discusses the support policy for running Microsoft server software in the Windows Azure Virtual Machine environment (infrastructure-as-a-service). Microsoft supports Microsoft server software running in the Windows Azure Virtual Machine environments as listed in the "More Information" section. This support is subject to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy. For more information, visit the following Microsoft website: http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=lifecycle
(http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=lifecycle)
All Microsoft software installed in the Windows Azure Virtual Machine environment must be properly licensed. Windows Azure Virtual Machines include by default a license for use of Windows Server in the Windows Azure environment. Certain Windows Azure Virtual Machine offerings may also include additional Microsoft software on a per-hour or evaluation basis. Licenses for other software must be obtained separately. For information about Microsoft’s License Mobility program see: http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/software-assurance/license-mobility.aspx
(http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/software-assurance/license-mobility.aspx)
In some cases, specific versions of Microsoft server software are required for support. These versions are noted in this article, and the supported versions may be updated as needed.
Microsoft BizTalk Server Microsoft BizTalk Server 2013 and later is supported. Microsoft Dynamics GP Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 and later is supported. Microsoft Dynamics NAV Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 and later is supported. Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 SP1 and later is supported. Microsoft Project Server Microsoft Project Server 2013 and later is supported. Microsoft SharePoint Server Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 and later is supported on Windows Azure Virtual Machines. For more information, please see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj154957
(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj154957)
Microsoft SQL Server 64-bit versions of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and later are supported. Please see http://support.microsoft.com/?id=956893
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=956893)
for details. Microsoft System Center System Center 2012 SP1 and later is supported for the following applications:
FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLE VISIT: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2721672
As you all aware we just concluded MMS 2012 event in Las Vegas.
Perhaps you missed a session or you weren't able to join us in person. Or maybe you just want to watch your favorite session over and over again. No problem! Session recordings and supporting materials are available 24-48 hours after the live presentation on MSDN Channel 9.
Enjoy!!
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve relationships with our customers and partners, Microsoft conducts a periodic worldwide Global Relationship Study via an independent market research company. If you have received a Microsoft branded e-mail invitation from Microsoft Feedback (feedback@e-mail.microsoft.com) to participate in this research, you can trust that the invitation was sent on our behalf. This is a valid Microsoft survey.
To all the IT Pros request you to share your sincere feedback. We are more than happy to have your feedback shared with us.
As always THANK YOU very much for your support.
Regards, Aviraj Ajgekar Technical Evangelist
Today we’re excited to announce that the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2013 for Software Assurance is now available for download! When people think about MDOP, they often think about its virtualization tools that help personalize user experience, simplify app deployment, and improve app compatibility for Windows. MDOP is much more than that though, it also helps manage and deploy important Windows features like BitLocker and Group Policy, as well as saves time by helping to make desktop repair planning proactive instead of reactive.
Here is the detailed blog post Making Windows 8 Even More Manageable with MDOP 2013
THANK YOU!!
Group Policy tools use Administrative template files to populate policy settings in the user interface. This allows administrators to manage registry-based policy settings.
You can download them from the following link
This poster for VMM in System Center 2012 SP1 can help you:
Hi IT Professionals,
As promised I am sharing my presentations that I delivered during TechEd India 2013 in Bangalore & Pune. You can download the presentations from this SkyDrive Link http://sdrv.ms/104garz
I have presented following topics in TechEd India 2013…
Getting Familiar with Next Generation of Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Windows Azure IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) Hybrid cloud using Windows Server 2012, System Center 2012 SP1 & Windows Azure
During my Cloud Demo I used following links to connect to different portals…
Windows Azure - General http://manage.windowsazure.com
Office 365 https://portal.microsoftonline.com
Windows Intune https://account.manage.microsoft.com
Azure Active Directory https://activedirectory.windowsazure.com
Advisor Sign up https://www.systemcenteradvisor.com/Main.aspx?signUp=on
Service Management Portal Demo http://www.katalcloud.net/
I hope this content will be useful to you. Thank You!!
Well, I believe most of us face this problem quite often to configure various features in Windows or Office using Group Policy. And often we try to hunt around online for specific policy to solve that problem. Check this link http://gpsearch.azurewebsites.net/
It contains all the group policy settings for all of your Windows & Office settings.
Thank You.
First of all, a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who have attended Microsoft TechEd India 2013 in Bangalore on 18-19 March 2013.
It was an awesome event & I got a chance to interact with lot of IT Professionals. As you all aware we are gearing for up TechEd India 2013 even in PUNE.
So, if you are attending TechEd Pune, do catch up in person.
In our upcoming TechEd Pune event I will be presenting on the following topics.
Windows Azure IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) Hybrid cloud using Windows Server 2012, System Center 2012 SP1 & Windows Azure.
And of course DO NOT DemoX in Pune. We are working on very special demos for Pune
Our twitter hashtag for TechEd Inda is #techedin. For more details visit Microsoft TechEd India 2013 visti http://india.msteched.com
Aviraj Ajgekar Technical Evangelist Microsoft Corporation
Twitter: @aviraj111
Using or looking at Hyper-V for your workloads? Learn how the Cisco Nexus 1000V virtual access/distributed switch can help simplify your Hyper-V virtual environment through a non-disruptive operational model, policy based provisioning, and a strong services ecosystem. You will learn about the Cisco Nexus 1000V architecture, how it integrates with Microsoft's System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) and the rich networking capabilities it brings to Hyper-V environments.
Registration and webcast details are at the link below. If you register, you will receive an invitation in email that can be added to your calendar:.
Date and time: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 9:00 am Pacific Standard Time (San Francisco, GMT-08:00) Change time zone
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 12:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (New York, GMT-05:00)
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 5:00 pm GMT Time (London, GMT)
Thursday, March 7, 2013 2:00 am Japan Time (Tokyo, GMT+09:00)
Duration: 1 hour
To Register visit https://cisco.webex.com/cisco/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=205920741
TechEd India 2013 is here. This time we are doing TechEd in 2 cities, Bangalore & Pune.
For details visit http://india.msteched.com
To all of my friends across the worlds wish you all a very happy & a prosperous new year.
Aviraj Ajgekar Microsoft Corporation
The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP) is an agentless, automated, multi-product planning and assessment tool for quicker and easier desktop, server and cloud migrations. MAP provides detailed readiness assessment reports and executive proposals with extensive hardware and software information, and actionable recommendations to help organizations accelerate their IT infrastructure planning process, and gather more detail on assets that reside within their current environment. MAP also provides server utilization data for Hyper-V server virtualization planning; identifying server placements, and performing virtualization candidate assessments, including ROI analysis for server consolidation with Hyper-V.
The latest version of the MAP Toolkit adds new scenarios to help you plan your IT future while supporting your current business needs. Included scenarios help you to:
MAP is just one of the tools provided by the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, and Security Compliance Manager provide tested guidance and automated tools to help organizations plan, securely deploy, and manage new Microsoft technologies—easier, faster, and at less cost. All are freely available, and fully-supported by Microsoft. Learn more.
The MAP Toolkit includes the following components:
More details at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/dd537566.aspx
Internet Explorer 10. Fast and fluid for Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2.
DOWNLOAD HERE FOR WINDOWS 7
DOWNLOAD HERE FOR WINDOWS SERVER 2008 R2
The latest release from the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) team provides organizations with tools to accelerate their migration to the cloud.
Download the beta materials on Connect: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=219165
Thanks for your ongoing interest and participation in the MAP beta review program. We hope you’ll take the time to preview and provide feedback on MAP 8.0 Beta.
Accelerate your Windows Server 2012 migration with Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 8.0 Beta. This latest version of MAP adds new scenarios to help plan your environment with agility and focus while lowering the cost of delivering IT. Included in MAP 8.0 Beta are hardware and infrastructure readiness assessments to assist you in planning the deployment of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, preparing your migration to Windows Azure Virtual Machines, readying your environment for Office 2013 and Office 365, and tracking your usage of Lync.
Determine your Windows Server 2012 readiness
MAP 8.0 Beta assesses the readiness of your IT infrastructure for a Windows Server 2012 deployment. This feature includes detailed and actionable recommendations indicating which machines meet Windows Server 2012 system requirements and which may need hardware updates. A comprehensive inventory of servers, operating systems, workloads, devices, and server roles is included to help in your planning efforts.
Determine your Windows 8 readiness
MAP 8.0 Beta assesses the readiness of your IT environment for a Windows 8 deployment. This feature evaluates your existing hardware against the recommended system requirements for Windows 8. It provides recommendations detailing which machines meet the requirements and which may need hardware upgrades.
Key benefits include:
Assess your environment for Office 2013 and Office365
MAP 8.0 Beta assesses readiness for Office 2013 and Office 365 and provides an in-depth assessment of client desktops for upgrading or migration. This feature also offers support for Office 365 features such as web apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, or full Office 365 client support.
Migrate to Windows Azure VirtualMachines
MAP 8.0 Beta performs a comprehensive assessment of Windows Server and Linux machines to determine feasibility of a migration to Windows Azure Virtual Machines. MAP then provides suggested changes to prepare targeted machines for migration. This feature helps you reduce the operating costs of hosting on-premise servers, as well as estimating the required size and monthly network and storage usage required to migrate on-premise Windows and Linux servers to Windows Azure Virtual Machines using actual data from the targeted environment.
For a comprehensive list of features and benefits, visit the Connect site: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=219168
Tell us what you think!
We value your input. Download the beta on Connect and tell us what you think! Send your comments to the MAP team:MAPfdbk@microsoft.com
Availability
This program is now open. The beta review period will run through December 14, 2012.
Tell your friends
To join the beta review program for Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 8.0 Beta, visit Microsoft Connect at: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=217916.
Learn more
Visit the MAP home page: www.microsoft.com/map
Get the latest news straight from the MAP team: http://blogs.technet.com/mapblog
MAP works with the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit and Security Compliance Manager to help you plan, securely deploy, and manage new Microsoft technologies—easier, faster, and at less cost. Learn more atwww.microsoft.com/solutionaccelerators.
Follow Solution Accelerators on Twitter to get the latest tips and updates: @MSSolutionAccel
PsPing is a command-line utility for measuring network performance. In addition to standard ICMP ping functionality, it can report the latency of connecting to TCP ports, the latency of TCP round-trip communication between systems, and the TCP bandwidth available to a connection between systems. Besides obtaining min, max, and average values in 0.01ms resolution, you can also use PsPing to generate histograms of the results that are easy to import into spreadsheets.
Download PSTools
Download Sysinternals Suite
For details visit http://www.sysinternals.com
The Windows 8 operating system is the newest member of the Microsoft Windows family. It differs from earlier Windows releases as much for what it does not change as for what it does change. That is, the features that IT pros loved about Windows 7 are still there in Windows 8—just better. The same keyboard shortcuts, management tools, security features, and deployment options are available in Windows 8. But in many cases, Windows 8 improves them in intuitive and significant ways. Some examples are the ribbon in File Explorer and faster disk encryption when using BitLocker Drive Encryption. This book describes these enhancements plus many of the new features in Windows 8.
Please enjoy this preview edition that contains Chapters 1-11. We will update this post with a link to the final ebook when it is ready.
Download the PDF version of the book here: Introducing Windows 8: An Overview for IT Professionals - PDF ebook
If you prefer a hard copy of the final book, you can order it here for $14.99 from our official distributor, O’Reilly Media.
By Microsoft Press
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2012/10/23/free-ebook-introducing-windows-8-an-overview-for-it-professionals.aspx
Today, I presented at the Reseller Club Hosting Summit in Mumbai, Renaissance Hotel. Here is the website for more details including agenda http://rchostingsummit.com/agenda/
I would like to thank everyone who attended the session & participated during Q&A. I would like to share some of the resources from my session.
Here is my presentation in PDF format uploaded on SkyDrive. DOWNLOAD HERE
Additionally, you can visit http://www.microsoft.com/hosting to find all of the offerings. For more understanding of Windows Server 2012 & System Center 2012 visit http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com to watch structured courseware by Microsoft experts.
Few download links for evaluation
Windows Server 2012 RTM Evaluation http://aka.ms/ws2012rtm System Center 2012 RTM Evaluation http://aka.ms/sc2012rtm
For any more question/queries feel free to write to back to me on aviraj@microsoft.com & connect with me on twitter @aviraj111
Windows Phone 8 is here, and with it comes new and exciting devices, along with more markets and languages, making it easier than ever to build great apps for a larger audience. See what’s new in the SDK.
Start here to take advantage of new opportunities to create apps targeting both Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8.
Supported operating systems: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro
DOWNLOAD HERE or you can download a full 1.6 GB ISO File HERE
For more details visit http://dev.windowsphone.com
The Solution Accelerators team has started two new beta programs focused on tools, automation, and knowledge for System Center products. One program will provide Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) service templates and a SCVMM add-in to help you discover them. The other program will provide datacenter automation for private clouds using System Center Orchestrator. Datacenter automation for System Center Orchestrator enables you to automate operations of private cloud workloads such as SharePoint and Windows Server.
We invite you to join and participate in these beta programs.
To learn more about SCVMM service templates, join the beta program.
To learn more about datacenter automation for System Center Orchestrator, join the beta program.
Note: Save the Date for Live Meeting Sessions
We would also like invite you to join us for two Live Meeting sessions to learn more about these beta programs and provide the opportunity for you to give us feedback. Here is the information you need in order to join us for these Live Meetings sessions.
SCVMM Service Templates Session Details
Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT
Join the meeting
Audio Information:
Telephone conferencing Use the information below to connect to the telephone conference: Toll-free: +1 (888) 320-3585 Toll: +1 (425) 706-3500 Participant code: 1523457
First Time Users:
To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Microsoft Office Live Meeting.
Troubleshooting:
Unable to join the meeting? Follow these steps:
1. Copy this address and paste it into your web browser: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/join
2. Copy and paste the required information: Meeting ID: MBR99J Entry Code: M7s[{>/\c Location: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft
If you still cannot enter the meeting, contact support.
Datacenter Automation Session Details
Date: Thursday, October 25, 2012
2. Copy and paste the required information: Meeting ID: 7DH6GW Entry Code: 4fXc[!&?n Location: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft
Notice: Microsoft Office Live Meeting can be used to record meetings. By participating in this meeting, you agree that your communications may be monitored or recorded at any time during the meeting.
We welcome your participation in these beta programs and look forward to you joining us for these two Live Meeting sessions.
Sincerely,
Solution Accelerators Team Microsoft Corporation
This is to inform you that Microsoft is announcing the availability of an update to Windows that restricts the use of certificates with RSA keys less than 1024 bits in length. This is a necessary step to enhance your security as today, keys smaller than 1024 bits cannot be seen as secure anymore. The private keys used in these certificates can be derived and could allow an attacker to duplicate the certificates and use them fraudulently to spoof content, perform phishing attacks, or perform man-in-the-middle attacks.
The update is available on the Download Center as well as the Microsoft Update Catalog for all supported releases of Microsoft Windows. In addition, Microsoft is planning to release this update through Microsoft Update in October, 2012 after customers have a chance to assess the impact of this update and take necessary actions to use certificates with RSA keys greater than or equal to 1024 bits in length in their enterprise.
Recommendation:-
Microsoft recommends that customers download the update and assess the impact of blocking certificates with RSA keys less than 1024 bits in length before applying the update to their enterprise.
Known Issues.
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2661254 documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when installing this update. The article also documents recommended solutions for these issues.
Suggested Actions:
1. The package will push out via Windows Update only in OCT 2012 (but it is already available in the Download Center). Since you have time on hands, please use it to assess the impacts and make necessary changes.
2. PLEASE READ the advisory 2661254 to understand the situation. It only affect certificates with RSA key length less than 1024 bits.
3. Please read the “KNOWN ISSUES” section to understand the impact of applying the fix
4. Test this in a UAT (non-production environment) before applying entire production CA servers
Technical Reference:
- Main advisory: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/advisory/2661254
PKI Blogs:
o http://blogs.technet.com/b/pki/archive/2012/06/12/rsa-keys-under-1024-bits-are-blocked.aspx
o http://blogs.technet.com/b/pki/archive/2012/07/13/blocking-rsa-keys-less-than-1024-bits-part-2.aspx
o http://blogs.technet.com/b/pki/archive/2012/08/14/blocking-rsa-keys-less-than-1024-bits-part-3.aspx
SRD Blog:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2012/07/10/microsoft-s-continuing-work-on-digital-certificates.aspx
AD troubleshooting:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/instan/archive/2012/08/03/how-to-identify-if-your-adcs-has-issued-any-certificates-with-public-keys-lt-1024-bits-in-preparation-for-kb2661254.aspx
Please feel free to reach out to us for any clarifications and questions.
Regards,
Aviraj Ajgekar
Technical Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
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