SQL Server 2008 R2 is here! Get to know the new features and capabilities like Application and Multi-server Management, PowerPivot, Master Data Services, Report Builder 3.0, StreamInsight! Microsoft, Dell, MaximumASP and PASS provide a free hosted demo environment on http://www.previewsqlserver.com/ for you to test SQL Server 2008 R2 with several interesting labs. The new opportunities with SQL Server 2008 R2 are also shown at our TechNet Techtalk at Wallisellen on the 27th of Mai at now cost (in German). Registration under: TechTalk- SQL Server 2008 R2 – Was ist neu.
I can also recommend our Reviewers Guide, which gives you insights about all the new features of SQL Server 2008 R2 on a technical level.
More on SQL Server 2008 R2 including Case Studies: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/tour/en/default.aspx Download SQL Server 2008 R2 Trial and Express (up to 10GB DBs in Express now!): http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/R2Downloads.aspx
Downloads of the other editions in the TechNet or MSDN Portal will be available in early May…
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Today Microsoft announced that Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 R2 and Visual Studio 2010 will be last releases of our products with support for Intel Itanium Processors.
http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/archive/2010/04/02/windows-server-2008-r2-to-phase-out-itanium.aspx Support for shipped products continue as per the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy
The security of our products is an important matter for us at Microsoft. In order to support you to optimum effect in the secure operation of your IT infrastructure, Microsoft has released an unscheduled security update. We only ever issue unscheduled security updates for important reasons.
If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6, 7 or 8 we recommend that you install this security update as quickly as possible. You can use the link below or Microsoft Update
Further information and the link to download the security updates can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-018.mspx.
Swisscom has launched a new Television offering: ��Swisscom TV air” for computers and Mobile Phones. Live TV, Video on Demand and also Sport Events, that are currently only available on Swisscom-TV und Teleclub is now available to everyone in Switzerland. The platform supports HD (H.264) and is based on Microsoft Silverlight, PlayReady and IIS Smooth Streaming
A webcast series, level 300, “Migration from IE6 to IE8” is being offered until the end of March 2010. The webcasts will show what tools are available to you, plus the effort needed to migrate your environment to Internet Explorer 8.
Find a suitable date and time for you to view the webcast from the Webcast Calendar
Sometimes it is difficult to determine which fix is included in which SQL Server Service Pack, Cumulative Update or even build.
There are a number of Knowledge Base Articles (KB) that list this very nicely.
SQL 2005 builds released after SP2: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/937137 SQL 2005 builds released after SP3: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960598
SQL 2008 builds released after RTM: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956909 SQL 2008 builds released after SP1: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970365
And the above pages are all listed here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957826
The DirectAccess Connectivity Assistant informs DirectAccess users of their connection status with the organization’s intranet; provides tools to help them reconnect on their own if problems arise; and creates diagnostics to help users provide IT staff with key information if necessary—all to help customers operate with more efficiency, and at a lower cost. Learn more about DCA.
Simple Dialogues show the user what the client machine’s DirectAccess status is and directs the user how to resolve the problem if one exists. For the Administrator, detailed event logs are also available for troubleshooting.
DCA is the newest addition to the Windows® Optimized Desktop Toolkit 2010, which helps IT pros plan, deliver, and operate the right desktop technologies for users across their organization.
Windows Phone 7 Series is truly a different type of Phone. For Business or Consumers.
Windows Phone is THE experience -completely different from other phones available today.
Information is brought together in a meaningful and valuable way. With the new Windows Phone hubs, information from multiple sources (your phone, applications, social network sites, other web sites) is served up in one place, organized around you.
Windows Phone will also provide many valuable services – thanks to great integration with Xbox Live, Windows Live, Zune, Bing, and Office.
Learn more at http://www.windowsphone7series.com/
16th March 2010 Registration 08:30, Seminar start 09:00, End 16:30 Location: Microsoft, Richtistrasse 3, 8304 Wallisellen Language: English
If you want to get the most out of your Analysis Services cube it’s essential to know and understand MDX: you need to be able to write queries and calculations.
This one-day seminar, aimed at those with little or no previous MDX experience, will teach you the basic concepts of the language as well as show you how to write common queries and calculations.
The seminar will be taught by Chris Webb of Crossjoin Consulting Limited. Chris is an independent consultant specialising in Analysis Services performance tuning, troubleshooting, design and complex MDX; he’s also a SQL Server MVP, co-author of the books “MDX Solutions” and "Expert Cube Development with SQL 2008 Analysis Services" and a well-known Analysis Services blogger (http://cwebbbi.spaces.live.com/) He has been running MDX training courses for companies worldwide (including Microsoft) for several years. Register here.
With Desmond Lee, Swiss MVP
Event ID: 1032439126
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 11:00 - 12:30 (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
20:00 - 21:30 (CET+1) Central European Time
Deploying and scaling Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 in your enterprise network requires thoughtful consideration to ensure the quality of experience for end users. In this webcast, we discuss the features of Office Communications Server (OCS) 2007 R2 that are relevant to the network administrator, including codecs, quality monitoring, quality of service (QoS), and virtual local area network (VLAN) support. Discover how large enterprises have used these features, along with network right-provisioning and bandwidth planning, for their own successful OCS deployments, and learn how to apply these techniques to your enterprise network.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032439126
Want to understand the basics of Server or Client Virtualization, see how you Configure Hyper-V, App-V or Med-V, or need an idea how to manage VMware and Hyper-V from one tool?
Easy, visit the Microsoft Virtualization Channel on YouTube to watch the videos on how it is done.
http://www.youtube.com/user/MicroVirtualization
Interesting blog post on what scale Hotmail is running at.
Some highlights:
Read more about it on the Inside Windows Live Blog
In the new Swiss Windows 7 Compatibility Center you will find applications that are Compatible with Windows 7 as claimed by the specific Software Vendors. This list contains products from Swiss Software Vendors and Microsoft.
URL for German Version: http://www.microsoft.com/switzerland/windows/de/compatibility_center/ URL for French Version: http://www.microsoft.com/switzerland/windows/fr/compatibility_center/
These lists are in addition to the lists found on the US Compatibility Center that can be found here.
Is the software that you develop not listed? As a Software Developer you can still contribute to this list if your Application is Windows 7 Compatible. You can register the application here: www.isvappcompat.com.
Windows 7 Software Logo Program Software Developers who take part in the Windows 7 Software Logo Program are allowed to use the “Compatible with Windows 7” Logo:
The Log Program uses a Software Test that you as the developer run against your application. The results are then uploaded to Microsoft to be included in the list. More information can be found here.
Beside that Gemini and Madison got their official product names, PowerPivot and Parallel Data Warehouse, there are also new components in the November CTP of SQL Server 2008 R2: StreamInsight and Master Data Services. You’ll find the Setup-files for those components in the root directory of the DVD/ISO-file.
Master Data Services is comprised of a database, configuration tool, Web application, and Web service that you use to manage your organization's master data and maintain an auditable record of that data as it changes over time. You use models and hierarchies to group and organize data to prepare it for further use in business intelligence and reporting tools, data warehouses, and other operational systems. Master Data Services integrates with source systems and incorporates business rules to become the single source of master data across your organization.
You’ll find dditional information on the architecture and setup of MDS in MSDN: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/ee633763(SQL.105).aspx.
Master Data Services are a component of Enterprise and Datacenter Edition.
Microsoft StreamInsight is a platform that you can use to develop and deploy complex event processing (CEP) applications. Its high-throughput stream processing architecture and the Microsoft .NET Framework-based development platform enable you to quickly implement robust and highly efficient event processing applications. Event stream sources typically include data from manufacturing applications, financial trading applications, Web analytics, and operational analytics. By using StreamInsight, you can develop CEP applications that derive immediate business value from this raw data by reducing the cost of extracting, analyzing, and correlating the data; and by allowing you to monitor, manage, and mine the data for conditions, opportunities, and defects almost instantly.
More technical information on StreamInsight: http://msdn.microsoft.com/de-de/library/ee362541(en-us,SQL.105).aspx
Features for Application- and Multiserver Management which were introduced in my blog post for the August CTP are all updated, find more information on http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645579(SQL.105).aspx. The Enterprise Edition will serve as so called Utility Control Point (UCP) and monitor up to 25 instances of SQL Server for resource usage. If you want to monitor more than 25 instances (also Standard editions may be a target) you’ll need the new Premium SKU Datacenter Edition.
The Management Studio for SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP is fully compatible to SQL Azure, which means that you now are able to manage your SQL Azure databases the same way you do for your local databases.
On http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993(SQL.105).aspx you’ll find a feature comparison for each SQL Server Edition. The Enterprise Edition does also have some limitations regarding CPU (8Sockets) and Memory (2TB) with the introduction of the new Datacenter Edition.
Roger Breu | Technology Solution Professional DataPlatform | Microsoft Schweiz GmbH
The latest version of Core Configurator built and designed for Windows Server 2008 R2 Core edition is now available on http://www.codeplex.com/CoreConfig
It is completely open source so it can be amended to fit your requirements, this version has been a year in the making and has been written in Powershell with a reference to Winforms so that a GUI format is displayed.
The primary focus of this project is to get feedback and contributions back from the community to make this a tool the best/ free tool everyone will want in their toolkit.
Core Configuration tasks include:
http://www.codeplex.com/CoreConfig
The Windows 7 Application Compatibility List was updated a few days ago. 5’500 application are now listed, both 32 and 64 bit.
Read more about the list and get the Excel File download:
http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/springboard/archive/2009/11/17/new-windows-7-application-compatibility-list-for-it-professionals.aspx
At the PASS summit, the Editions of SQL Server 2008 R2 were announced. Pricing was also announced.
The November Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 is now also available
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/R2-editions.aspx
You want to learn PowerShell, but have the time of don’t know where to start?
Not to be missed! TODAY (3 November 2009) at the free PowerShell Script Club by the Swiss IT Pro User Group
Language: English
When: Tuesday - 3. November 200 17:45 - 21:00
Small Apéro 17:45 - 18:15 Uhr and from 20:15 Where? Digicomp Academy AG (Zürich) Limmatstrasse 50 CH-8005 Zürich Tel. +41 44 447 21 21
Marc van Orsouw is a Dutch but living in Switzerland and is a PowerShell MVP for the last 4 years in a row, he is best known for his blog thePowerShellGuy.com and his utilities for PowerShell as PowerTab d the PowerShell WMI explorer.
Come with your colleagues and friends!
“Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2" from Microsoft Press is available as a free download. Authors are Charlie Russel and Craig Zucker.
Download from here (PDF 11MB, 182 pages)
http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/C/0/5C0BD0AB-040D-4C56-A60B-661001012DDA/Windows_Server_2008_R2_e-book.pdf
SQL Server 2008 R2 will be a BI-refresh (“Madison Overview”/”Gemini Overview”) and comes out as a Minor-Release (SQL Server Version 10.50). But there are several interesting features and topics which are interesting for DBAs. In this post I’ll list some options you can already test out in the actual August CTP. Additional enhancements will ship with the next CTP which will be available somewhere around middle of November 2009.
The „SysPrep“-feature will also be available for standalone installations, where you can pre deploy your binaries and finish the configuration after the rollout. The „Advanced” Tab on the Setup Landing Page gives you the opportunity to prepare an Image of a SQL Server instance. Instance-ID, Root-Directory, and Features can be selected and pre deployed, but it is also possible to add or remove features by completing the setup. The services and their configuration settings (Security Settings, Paths) will be also configured within the completing procedure. You’ll find additional information on
How To Install SQL Server 2008 R2 Using SysPrep
SQL Server SysPrep is supported for Database Engine and Reporting Services in a Stand-Alone installation for all editions. Management Tools and Shared Services like Browser Service or SQL Server Writer will be automatically deployed during the initial setup. Failover Cluster can be prepared and configured with “Advanced Cluster Preparation/Completion” as it was with SQL Server 2008.
SQL Server 2008 R2 has the ability to compress Unicode datatypes like NCHAR and NVARCHAR and brings you huge space savings for a large number of application databases which work with Unicode datatypes. The Simple Compression Scheme for Unicode Data (SCSU, Standard Compression Scheme http://unicode.org/reports/tr6/ ) has a compression ratio of 50% for English and the most European Languages! Unicode Compression will be enabled as part of ROW or PAGE compression. If you already use the data-compression-feature, it is necessary to rebuild the indexes of the compressed table. But if you add new datasets or change an existing the Unicode compression will be enabled automatically.
There are some interesting information regarding Unicode compression and SAP in the blog post of Juergen Thomas: http://blogs.msdn.com/saponsqlserver/archive/2009/09/16/sql-server-2008-r2-ucs2-compression-what-is-it-impact-on-sap-systems.aspx
In Books online you’ll also find additional information on Unicode Compression Implementation.
SQL Server 2008 R2 introduces new management tools to help improve IT efficiency and productivity. Investments in application and multi-server management will help organizations proactively manage database environments efficiently at scale through centralized visibility into resource utilization. Such investments can help streamline consolidation and upgrade initiatives across the application lifecycle—all with tools that make it fast and easy. The Application- and Multiservermanagement Whitepaper explains the new terms and the configuration. The basic idea is to give DBAs the opportunity to deploy databases (data-tier applications) in a standardized way. The next CTP will bring more advantages in this topic. This blog keeps you updated.
There are no advantages or changes planned in the area of High-Availability and Datatypes.
Before you test SQL Server 2008 R2, please be prepared that the physical database version number will be updated (SQL Server 2008 RTM/SP1 655). This means, that it’s not possible to restore a SQL Server 2008 R2 database back to a SQL Server 2008 RTM/SP1 instance (backup/restore or detach/attach). Compatibility level remains “100”, whereas “90” for SQL 2005 and “80” for SQL 2000 are still supported.
You can get your database version number with following query:
SELECT DATABASEPROPERTY ('YourDBName','Version') GO
Get the SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP from http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/R2.aspx.
Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple.
Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times.
(*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security Essentials. Learn more about genuine )
Microsoft announced yesterday the availability of 2 new betas for System Center products
System Center Essentials 2010
SCE 2010 is designed specifically for mid-sized organizations and delivers a unified physical and virtual IT management experience.
It enables you to better secure, update, monitor, and troubleshoot from a single console, so you can efficiently and proactively manage your IT environment:
System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 There are lots of reasons to be excited about DPM 2010. Here are a few:
The Microsoft Surface device has been available in Switzerland since 1 September 2009.
You may have seen it at our various events, but for those who have not see it in action yet, there is a quick 30 second video summary on the Surface blog
Everything you want to know about the latest Web Technologies.
27th October 2009, Swissôtel Zürich
This conference will show you in one day, the newest technology advances for Software and Web Developers, Web Architects, Web- and Interactive Designers, and now also Hosting Providers
One of the highlights of the event is the presentation of the Best of Swiss Silverlight Awards in the morning, plus the unique Podium discussion during lunch. With 2 parallel tracks, a Designer and Developer track in the morning, and a Developer and Hosting Provider Track in the afternoon, followed by a Networking-Apéro.
Shape ‘09 offers you the platform the see the most important technologies for the Internet, plus ideas and practical implementations and then you can network and discuss your ideas with your colleagues.
Register Today!
Version 4 of the much loved Toolkit for MOSS 2007 has been released.
Some of the new or improved functionality included in v4:
Further information about the Toolkit can be found on the Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog or directly on TechNet.