Plumbing & Wiring in a Microsoft World

DPM 2007 SP1 brings Hyper-V Support

infoz — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:52:27 GMT

DPM SP1 has been released just in time for the Christmas break, and is available for download in both x86 and x64 versions:

DPM 2007 sp1 x86 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=125991

DPM 2007 sp1 x64 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=125992

By leveraging the VSS writer built into the Windows platform, DPM 2007 SP1 can deliver host-based backups of guest operating systems running on Hyper-V with zero downtime, as well as 'traditional style' guest-based backups for more granular backups at the workload level, as well as coverage for any physical servers that may remain in your environment.

Find out what's new in SP1. [RH]

Deployment and MDOP - Training for Technical Professionals

infoz — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:29:00 GMT

Looks like the folks at the Partner Academy have come up with a winning format for some technical training: an in-depth multi-week asynchronous delivery, as described below:

Register now! This Partner Academy class is specifically designed for technical audiences and covers the technical and business aspects of optimizing the desktop with Windows Vista and the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack including its architecture, configuration, deployment, and ongoing management. You will get valuable hands-on experience as well as a business value perspective.

The registration link in the Partner Learning Center is:

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=252533

[RH]

Upgrading Active Directory to Windows Server 2008

infoz — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:11:00 GMT

There's a whole host of information out there for people looking to upgrade their AD environments to Windows 2008 from Windows 2003 or even 2000. Rather than do the hard work of pulling this guidance together myself, I'd like to point out the following Technet blog posting as a great place to start. Courtesy of Joey Snow:

http://blogs.technet.com/jsnow/archive/2008/03/27/upgrading-active-directory-to-windows-server-2008.aspx [RH]

Windows Server 08 Failover Clustering Guide

infoz — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 07:35:59 GMT

A lot of people have been asking me for some quick guidance on how to build failover clusters with Windows Server 2008, especially as this is one of the key technologies for enabling high availability for mission-critical services. Both hardware and software considerations are summed up quite nicely in this 22-page document: Step-by-Step Guide for Configuring a Two-Node File Server Failover Cluster in Windows Server 2008. [RH]

Hyper-V Server Consolidation Assessment Tool

infoz — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:51:07 GMT

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) toolkit version 3.1 has now been released and can be downloaded from here. This updated version includes reporting on how to consolidate Windows workloads using Hyper-V, our new virtualisation platform. We even offer guidance on how to best place your virtual machines in your shiny new Hyper-V environment! [RH]

Hyper-V goes RTM!

infoz — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:36:00 GMT

Well, we've been waiting for this one for a little while, and here it is...KB950050. Get the details from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/virtualization-consolidation.aspx

and download from here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F3AB3D4B-63C8-4424-A738-BADED34D24ED&displaylang=en

[RH]

System Center Essentials 2007 SP1 is here!

infoz — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:01:00 GMT

Well, it's been a while in the baking, but SP1 for System Center Essentials 2007 has finally arrived, bringing with it a host of improvements to performance, GUI stability and memory consumption (decreased by up to 70%...yes that's right 70%!). Check out the SCE SP1 page for further details on the new and improved functionality and download SP1 today - it's going to make your SCE install fly! [RH]

Which way to go with Windows Server 2008? Use the MAP!

infoz — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:03:45 GMT

Just a quick note to highlight some of the great work done by the Solution Accelerator team, with the delivery of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning toolkit. This free of charge, downloadable utility provides customers and partners with a quick and easy way to assess their existing IT assets and advises on their suitability for a range of potential infrastructure upgrades including:

Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 - reports detailing hardware suitability and main server roles
Server utilisation reports with advice on how to consolidate and place workloads with our server technologies (Virtual Server 2005 R2 with Hyper-V to follow)
Assessment of the technology environment for the implementation of Microsoft Application Virtualisation (SoftGrid)
Upgrade of desktop systems to Windows Vista SP1 and / or Office 2007

The three phase process involves a hardware inventory, compatibility analysis and readiness reporting, delivering a series of business-ready proposals as well as more comprehensive reports should you wish to dig a little deeper into the underlying data.

So, to find out more, download the Microsoft Assessment and Planning toolkit today and get stared by analysing the suitability of your environment for upgrade to the latest and greatest server, desktop and virtualisation technologies.

NB - please note that this tool will not run on an X64 instance of Windows, as I have found out to my cost :-( ...but hey, that's what x86 VMs are for, no? [RH]

Daylight Saving Changes Guide - Australia

infoz — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:35:34 GMT

Check out the latest guidance on preparing your Microsoft solutions for the forthcoming daylight savings changes with the downloadable Australia Daylight Saving Planning Guide. Also includes links to all the necessary software updates. [RH]

Windows Server 2008 and Vista SP1 Released to Manufacturing

infoz — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:10:00 GMT

Monday, 04 Feb 2008 - Microsoft released to manufacturing the following products:

Windows Server 2008 - This long awaited product will be generally available on 01 March 2008. Check out the launch coming to a city near you in February and March.

Check out the Australian Windows Server 2008 site for all the information you would want - http://www.microsoft.com/australia/servers/ws2008/

Windows Vista SP 1 - Addresses many of the key issues that our customers have identified with Windows Vista of the last year, both directly and through programs like the Customer Experience Improvement program. With SP1, we have made great progress in performance, reliability and compatibility. [CM]