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Note: This blog post is a Windows Server 2012 R2 update on a previous version focused on Windows Server 2012 . 1. Introduction With the release of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, I am frequently asked about how older versions of Windows will behave when connecting to or from these new...

This week at TechEd 2011 I will be delivering a presentation about “Windows Server 2008 R2 File Services Consolidation - Technology Update”. If you’re attending the conference in Atlanta-GA, this is session WSV317 on Wednesday at 10:15 AM, plus a repeat on Thursday also at 10:15...

SMB Signing Overview Server Message Block (SMB) is the file protocol most commonly used by Windows. SMB Signing is a feature through which communications using SMB can be digitally signed at the packet level. Digitally signing the packets enables the recipient of the packets to confirm their point...

Ned Pyle, a Senior Escalation Support Engineer with the Directory Services team at Microsoft, has just started a new blog series focusing on DFS Replication. Here’s how he introduces it: Hello folks, Ned here again to kick off a new five-part series on DFSR. With the release of Windows...

Overview This blog post covers a few different ways to consolidate multiple SMB file servers and keep exposing the consolidated file shares under the old share paths. Scenario Let’s say you currently have 3 file servers named file1.contoso.local, file2.contoso.local and file3.contoso...

Introduction This blog post covers the changes in the list of Roles, Role Services and Features from Windows Server 2008 (with Service Pack 2) to Windows Server 2008 R2 (used the latest RC build available to me). To create the tables and lists below, I installed both operating systems, used the...

Introduction The Distributed File System Namespaces (DFS-N) service is a role service of the File Service role for Windows Server. For a basic description of DFS-N, start with http://blogs.technet.com/josebda/archive/2009/03/10/the-basics-of-the-windows-server-2008-distributed-file-system-dfs.aspx...

Microsoft released the File Server Migration Toolkit version 1.2 (FSMT 1.2), which will help you migrate file shares from computers running Windows NT 4.0 Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2003 Server, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Storage Server 2008 to computers running Windows 2003 Server, Windows...

Introduction Whenever you’re deploying Windows Server DFS-Namespaces, you will need to figure out how many servers will be required. Since I moved to the role of DFS-N PM, I noticed that the specific information on how many namespace servers you need is something that isn’t clearly posted anywhere...

The most common administration activities related to DFS-Namespaces can be performed using the “DFS Management” MMC. This will show up under “Administrative Tools” after you add the DFS role service in Server Manager. You can also add just the MMC for remote management of a DFS...

Overview In this blog post, we’ll cover the basics of the Distributed File System (DFS) in Windows Server 2008, which offers users simplified access to a set of file shares and helps administrators easily maintain the file server infrastructure behind those file shares, including options for load...

If you are building a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V server from scratch, you will need a few updates to get the latest fixes in your server. One of these is the KB950050 update, which brings the Hyper-V code from the beta version to the released (RTM) version. That Hyper-V RTM update is on Windows...

P.P.S.: This previously unsupported scenario is now fine with Windows Server "8" Beta and SMB 2.2. See http://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2012/03/06/windows-server-quot-8-quot-beta-test-cases-for-hyper-v-over-smb.aspx P.S.: After writing this blog post, I found that the specific scenario...

Hyper-V is here! As you can confirm on the press release linked below, the final release of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V was just announced. You can download the final version (number 18016) immediately from the Microsoft download web site. This version will also go to Windows Update on July 8th...

Heads up for an upcoming webcast on the new file service features in Windows Server 2008 by Drew McDaniel, a Senior Program Manager with the Microsoft Storage Solutions Division (SSD). Here's a short description: "The Windows Server 2008 operating system contains a lot of changes to core file services...

I spent last week in Orlando, Florida, working at the Microsoft booth in the Storage Networking World. I delivered one of the demos there and my demo included the following technologies: Windows Unified Data Storage Server 2003 iSCSI Software Target Windows Server 2008 Core Install Windows...

1. Windows Server 2008 Storage Explorer 1A. Goal Making sure the devices are properly discovered. 1B1. Setup for FC FC Network: Make sure hosts, switches and SAN are properly connected. SAN: Configure device (including configuration of WWNs), create/unmask LUNs. Host: Load/configure...

Introduction I learning about the Windows Logo Programs and Logo Tests in the Windows Logo Kit 1.1, as I prepare to participate in the upcoming Windows Server 2008 LogoFest next week in Redmond. This is my attempt to share my findings and help accellerate anyone trying to use the WLK, with the...

I just wanted to share that the good team working on Windows Server Clustering and High Availability is re-energizing their blog. With the significant improvements in Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering and the RTM and launch upon us, timing could not be better... Be sure to check them at http...

I’m getting ready to work at the Microsoft booth at the Storage Network World next week in Dallas, TX and one of the items we’re showing is the improvements in Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering, this time using the recently released RC0 (Release Candidate 0). I recorded a short (17-minute) demonstration...

I have been experimenting with Windows Server 2008 for a while now and I recently did a number of comparisons between the Core and Full versions of the new OS. This time I am looking at Services configured in a default installation and I also included Windows Server 2003 R2 in the mix, since there were...

Windows Server 2008 is just around the corner. The Beta 3 bits are publicly available, “release to manufacturing” should happen by the end of the year and the launch event date has been announced: February 27th, 2008. There are plenty of new things to investigate. The installation process is completely...

Everyone that is experimenting with Windows Server 2008 is excited about the Server Core installation, which is a minimal install of the Server that can run specific roles (like DNS, Active Directory or File Server) with a much smaller footprint and attack surface. A Core install is indeed much smaller...

As mentioned in a previous blog post , one of the main highlights of Windows Server 2008 is Componentization. Replacing the old "Add/Remove Windows Components" is the new Server Manager, which manages installation and removal of Roles and Features (the new way components are grouped). I just installed...

One of the most important changes in Windows Server 2008 is improved componentization. This allows you to only install certain portions of the OS you specifically selected. These portions are grouped into roles, role services and features. To manage this, there is a completely new MMC-based tool called...