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This case study shows the power of utilizing Windows in your heterogonous environment. IIS 7.0 and 7.5 are designed to be successful and fast with many workloads, including php. Take a look at this case study!
Also if you want to learn more about using IIS and PHP take a look here: http://php.iis.net/
What problem did you set out to solve? I was looking for an easy way to centralize the management of experimental projects with my team members.
Are you piloting or deploying the products? I'm piloting the projects for now, although if they proceed successfully, I'll deploy them.
Products used in the project: Windows Server 2008 R2 (Datacenter and Web edition), Windows 7, Windows XP
Project description: I was setting to make a network status portal for a small group of users which enables them to submit tickets through a simple form if they notice a network problem- they can also view the status of different parts of the website and network, see previous and upcoming (planned) outages and view emergency contact info. The project uses IIS7 on a Windows Server 2008 machine with a simple installation of the WordPress content management system and a custom designed theme for the CMS.
Did you solve the problem: I did, and made users of my network very happy when the results and the flexibility and transparency of the project were announced. Thanks, Matt!
Are you going to save money? How much over how many years: I think that the project will save money by letting users get an inside glimpse of network issues themselves instead of having being told what's wrong and when it will be fixed over the phone or through repeated emails. Looking at the big picture, we can focus more on fixing the network with our small team instead of being hounded by users whenever an issue that affects them occurs!
What do you think about the IT Pro Momentum program: I really liked the IT Pro Momentum program because it allowed us to coordinate our resources with Microsoft in one place and provided an easy way for me and me counterpart to document the status of the project and serve as a central area for all things "Network Status Site" as well as any other projects we embark on.
We just launched Bytes by TechNet for IT Professionals a 22 part interview series of Microsoft Influencers and Community talking about the major Microsoft product and technologies in a small tidbits of fun and consumable audio (5-7min) and video formats. The interviews were recorded at Tech-Ed in New Orleans last week.
The program is live on TechNet with the interview done by Keith Combs and Jennelle Crothers, to be followed by a great line up of guests through November. We will be releasing these interviews weekly on TechNet.com (at the Bytes special program landing page) and additional syndication channels including Facebook, Community channels, MS learning, etc.
Also episode went live, Chris Henley speaks with Tony Safoian, Sr. CEO at SADA Systems around Online Services based on Tony's specialty of working with online implementations with his customers. They talk about the strategic value of online space, some challenges and concerns to move towards the online infrastructure, success and experiences with the customers moving to an online environment including reduce costs savings and improving the strategic value of their IT initiatives. Tony stated that Cloud makes it so that IT has the opportunity to be a strategic efficiency center of an organization as opposed to a cost center.
If you have read my blog for the last few years you are probably thinking, Matt has really lost it, to go through all the training again. Well I kinda have lost it, but that is what Goofy is all about losing yourself. For those of you new to the blog, maybe wondering what in the heck am I talking about. We will start with this email, I just got:
2011 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge Dear Matthew, Congratulations! You are now registered for 2011 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.disneyworldmarathon.com
2011 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge
Dear Matthew,
Congratulations! You are now registered for 2011 Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.disneyworldmarathon.com
So what exactly is Goofy Race and a Half Challenge. It is running a 1/2 marathon on Saturday, followed by running a full marathon on Sunday.
Yes that is right, and this will be my 2nd goofy. I plan on following Hal Higdons Marathon Training Schedule: Intermediate II: http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/inter2.html
It worked in the past and I plan on it helping me through this again. If you want to see want I went through, I blogged my training schedule from last year and will do it again this year: http://blogs.technet.com/search/SearchResults.aspx?q=goofy&PageIndex=1 I most likely will incorporate Galloway into my training runs to help with joints and capsulitis, and will be wearing shoes (sorry Jimmy). Here is my recap from 2009: http://blogs.technet.com/b/matthewms/archive/2009/01/20/goofy-challenge-results-and-recap.aspx
If you are running the Goofy let me know and I look forward to sharing my training with you!
Have a Goofy day!
On August 14, 2010, join SharePoint architects, developers, and other professionals that work with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010 for SharePoint Saturday Columbus event.
SharePoint Saturday is an educational, informative & lively day filled with sessions from respected SharePoint professionals & MVPs, covering a wide variety of SharePoint-orientated topics. SharePoint Saturday is FREE, open to the public and is your local chance to immerse yourself in SharePoint!
If you want to speak at the SharePoint Saturday, they are accepting submissions from new speakers, veteran presenters, local community members, those from afar, and everyone else in between. To submit your session for consideration, please fill out the speaker submission form and return it to SPSColumbus@live.com before July 10, 2010.
Also if you would like have your company to be a part of the inaugural SharePoint Saturday event in Columbus, Ohio, and help sponsor the event, please email the organizers at SPSColumbus@Live.com. They have many different sponsorship opportunities available.
Welcome to the next generation of productivity!
Starting today, Office 2010 is available in 240 countries, 10 languages, and over 35,000 retail stores worldwide. This includes,Office 2010, Visio 2010, Project 2010, and Office Web Apps Learn more here: Make It Great
Today we announced the launch of the TechNet Subscription Standard and the new TechNet Subscriptions name So why did we introduce a new supplement to TechNet Subscription Professional? We heard from customers, partners, and the field that we needed a subscription offering that would reduce cost barriers and better enable IT Professionals focused on desktop environments. TechNet Standard is the response to that feedback.
TechNet Subscriptions is at the forefront of offering a great tool for your tool belt for all of you worldwide. The picture in the post gives you a little detail behind the new offerings. To sum it up:
Get a great comparison here: Compare TechNet Subscription Offerings
The prices for the new subscriptions are listed below and you can learn more or buy one here: Purchase a TechNet Subscription Today
TechNet Subscription
Microsoft TechNet Subscription Standard
Microsoft TechNet Subscription Professional
Microsoft TechNet Subscription Professional with Media
Note: Prices listed are Estimated Retail Prices in US dollars for a one-year subscription and do not include applicable taxes. Not in the United States? Select your country.
Usually when I get to Cleveland, and around launches, I try to sit down and chat with Dan Hanson (Great Lakes Geek) about Technology. Well here is part 1 of 3 of our chats together when I was in Cleveland right before TechEd. Well we sat down and chatted about the book, and Windows Server 2008 R2, check it out here:
Great Lakes Geek Podcasts - Matt Hester
Ah June has arrived and with it: Microsoft TechEd North America 2010! as you get ready to migrate to New Orleans to see some great sessions at TechEd, let me recommend, IMHO will be one the best sessions at TechEd for all you Windows Server administrators:
WSV201: 10 Hot Topics Every IT Admin Needs to Know about Windows Server 2008 R2
Which will be 4:30 PM - 5:45 PM on Monday June 7th in Auditorium C (Mezz Level). The speakers for this fantastic session are Chris Henley and yours truly (Matt Hester). :-) As you can tell from my co-presenter Chris: Ten Days until Tech ED 2010 (and I can’t wait), and this post we both are extremely excited about the opportunity. More importantly we hope you attend, have fun and most importantly take something away of value from the session! If by chance you are attending and have bought our book,Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Instant Reference thank you! Also if you can handle the extra 1.4 pounds in your luggage, bring it and we would love to sign it for you!
For those of who cannot make it, you most likely getting ready to migrate your servers to Windows Server 2008 R2, to help you out a little bit on your migration take a look at this quick screencast:
To learn more about the migration tools take a look here:
Getting your Servers to Windows Server 2008 R2
One of the exciting things I have gotten to do for the last few months is be a part of new online radio show with my brother in arms, Keith Combs. The show is called IT Investigators. We get to talk to folks like yourself running their business on Microsoft technologies, as well as learn about other cool technologies. We will show how business can take advantage of the powerful new technologies available to you.
Checkout the first podcasts and subscribe to the show here:
Microsoft Small and Midsize Business Pressroom: Point and Click
It has been a fun process, and we even have our own press release to learn more about the show:
Introducing “Point and Click,” Our IT Advisors for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
I hope you download and enjoy the show, let us know what you think!
So this should come as no surprise to many of the book of the month is a Disney World book!. Just trying to get you ready for your summer vacation plans. The book I chose is a great book to give you an alternative view to EPCOT. The book: Imagineering Field Guide to Epcot at Walt Disney World by the Imagineers provided a great new view to EPCOT, and gave some great nuggets of information as I walked through the park. Like where to find the talking trash cans, and the overall design guidelines for EPCOT.
It was like having a personal guided tour by an imagineer in your hip pocket. The book was laid out in an easy to follow pattern, stepping you through book going from Future World (East Central, and West) as well as the World Showcase and what the design goals of the rides, attractions, buildings and shows to help tell the story but to also keep you immersed in the world of Disney. There are so many little details, that can go unnoticed or the use of old school movie tricks, liked forced perspective (that is why the Eiffel tower seems to be so tall!). It provided me with a new out look on the parks and something I will be able to share with my kids when we go back to Disney. Which I am looking forward to!
While this is the only book I purchased while I was in Disney, I will be buying the other Field Guides for the other parks, these are great books!
I really got interested in the backstage and how Disney tells the story after I took a tour of the Magic Kingdom. Deb and I took the Keys to the Kingdom tour. It was about a 5 hour walking tour that showcased Disney in a new light for me. It is a great tour and I highly recommend this to anyone headed to Disney. A quick point of order, you have to be 16 or older to take the tour, so no young ones allowed.
The amount of new details and perspective I now notice and pick up on as I walk through the parks, is nothing short of amazing. As I wrap this post, I will leave you with a bit of trivia, and insight I had never noticed until my last visit to Disney.
Bonus question: In the Magic Kingdom, there is a statue with a man sitting with Minnie Mouse, who is the man? 10 point extra credit, where is this statue, trust me this really surprised me.
Have a great weekend!
Thank you so much for coming to the launch event in Detroit, I hope everyone had fun and learned something new in Office 2010 or SharePoint 2010. I had several questions from the event and here they are:
Q: What type of database did I use for the PowerPivot Demo (relational or a cube)? A: The database that I used to show the PowerPivot demos was just a sample relation database with about 4 million rows in it.
Q:Where can we learn more about the bibliography feature in Word 2010? A: . In Microsoft Word 2010, you can automatically generate a bibliography based on the source information that you provide for the document. Each time that you create a new source, the source information is saved on your computer, so that you can find and use any source you have created. You can choose the bibliography style that you want, and you can add new bibliography styles. To start working with the bibliography, you want to go to the references ribbon, in there you can then use the citations and bibliography to help create your sources.
Q: Is Business Contact Manager still in Outlook 2010? A: Yes, the BCM is alive and well in Outlook 2010, you can learn more about it here: Outlook 2010 with Business Contact Manager. It is available in Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010.
Q: What video formats can you insert in PowerPoint 2010? A: You can insert Windows media (.asf), Windows video (.avi), QuickTime, MP4 video, movie file (MPEG), MPEG-2 TS video, Windows Media Video File (.wmv) and Adobe flash files.
Q: What features are enabled with SQL Server 2008 R2 and SharePoint that I will miss with another version of SQL? A: There are a few benefits to running SQL R2 with SharePoint 2010, you can read about all of them here: SQL Server 2008 R2 and SharePoint 2010 Products: Better Together Some of the key components are: Microsoft PowerPivot for SharePoint, Database Mirroring, and Remote Blob Storage, just to name a few enhancements.
Q: Will there be an upgrade checker for SharePoint 2010? A: While there is not an upgrade checker for SharePoint 2010 to move to the next version of SharePoint after 2010, I am sure there will be, it might be added in a service pack. For example we added the –preupgradechecker to SharePoint 2007 with SP2. So I would imagine as we get closer to next version of SharePoint, there will be a tool to help go to the next platform. To learn more about the current upgrade checker you can run on SharePoint 2007 take a look here: Run the pre-upgrade checker
Q: Is there a print to one note add-in? A: During one of the breaks I was asked about support for print to OneNote and seemed to go away with Windows 7. It looks like there needed to be a 64 bit update and I was able to find the information about the new add-in here: OneNote Print Driver – A 64 Bit Solution
Q: Is there any security guidance for Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010? A: There has been some great guidance published to help with Office and SharePoint, take a look at the links below to help you security guidance:
Q: Are there any known issues with BITS and disk fragmentation? A: I could not find any, known issues if anyone knows of any please comment and let me know.
Q: Is there a technology guarantee for Visio 2010, like there is for Office 2010? A: Yes, although not sure how much longer it will be for: Visio 2010 Release Dates.
Q: Can I mass convert files to Office 2010? A: Yes, you will want to use the Office Migration Planning Manager (OMPM) to help you with mass file migrations, you can get the OMPM here: Office Migration Planning Manager (OMPM) overview for Office 2010
Q: Is the Office Code Compatibility Inspector (OCCI) available for Project? A: Unfortunately it does not directly run in Project 2010. However, it does support, running in Microsoft Excel 2010, Microsoft PowerPoint 2010, Microsoft Word 2010, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 to troubleshoot and resolve issues with your Microsoft Visual Basic for Application (VBA) Macros and add-ins. Depending on how your Macros where created ,you may be able to look at the macro in Visual Studio to see if you can fix to learn more about the OCCI here: Microsoft Office Code Compatibility Inspector user's guide
Q: What is Folksononmy in SharePoint 2010? A: In brief, taxonomy is the hierarchical structure of terms/metadata that are part of the information architecture that is defined by the organization/corporation. Folksononmy is that defined by users. This will usually supplement taxonomy.Here is one of the links, very basic but will get you started : http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/B/0/EB0212B9-D40D-4A82-88C1-36A99891367C/FINALSharePoint2010ECMDatasheet.docx
Also look at the slides from Jamie Valez located here on SharePoint and social computing: http://www.sharepointsaturday.org/dc/Pages/speakerdecks.aspx
Here is another great free ebook that talks about it: http://www.aiim.org/forms/8-reasons.aspx
Q: What is the maximum size for an Access 2010 database? A: The size is still 2GB.
Q: Where can I learn more about PowerShell in SharePoint? A: You can learn more some here: Windows PowerShell in the SharePoint Management Shell
Q: What are the different versions of Office 2010? A: There are 5 different versions and they are listed below, and what each package includes:
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 — only available via volume licensing Includes:
Microsoft Office Professional 2010 Includes:
Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 Includes:
Microsoft Office Standard 2010 — only available via volume licensing Includes:
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 — licensed for noncommercial use Includes:
***Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010 are also available but are not part of the suites.
Q: Where can I learn more about Outlook 2010 offline folders? A: There is some great information here: Changes in Outlook 2010 . You will also notice, when you take a look at this site, there is also links for the other products in office 2010.
Thank you for everyone who attended my sessions at the New Horizons SpecTECHular in Dayton and Cincinnati. As promised, I had several resources I wanted to share with everyone after the event on some of the topics we discussed during the event.
Windows 7 XP Mode resources:
Ribbon Hero:
This is a great tool to help you and your users learn the ribbon. It is officially unsupported add-in but I have been using with no issue since the beta. If you are unfamiliar with the tool, it turns learning the ribbon into a point achieving game. The tool can also be used on Office 2007 and Office 2010. Check it out here:
http://www.officelabs.com/ribbonhero
Office Casual
This is a great blog with some nice little screen casts of Office 2010: http://blogs.office.com/b/office_casual/
Libraries, USB Drives and Windows 7
Is there some more information on Document Libraries USB drives in windows 7, is a question I hear a lot. One thing about document libraries first is that you can include up to 50 folders in one library, to include. However, there is a really nice tip here on USB drives and libraries: Understanding the Libraries Feature in Windows 7. Tip for using USB thumb drives(or Blackberrys!) with libraries. Most thumbdrives show up as removable storage and not as hard drives on the computer, which means they cannot be added to libraries. However, you can use the Disk Management tools to add it! Right Click the drive in the drive management snap in and select “Change Drive Letter and Paths” add a path. Then add that path to the library.
If you need a great book to read I recommend this: Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Instant Reference
You may have wondered where I have been, well between Office 2010 Launch events and normal travel schedule I have been busy. However, in between all of that I was able to sneak away for a week to Disney World to celebrate our 15 year anniversary, and btw we where without kids, including:
I have to tell you, I thought I would go through email withdrawal, however I was able to suffer through it. Having EPCOT nearby and the ability to sample different cultures via adult beverages provided the much needed relief. Seriously it was fantastic to be unplugged and more importantly having other folks just looking to be a kid again really helps your mindset. Not to mention just everyone being nice to each other.
Now I know what your thinking, everyone is nice when they are on vacation, but there is something special about Disney that truly makes it a magical place. This year the main theme through the parks is what will you celebrate, naturally ours was our anniversary. Disney gave us this nice red button to wear as we went through the parks, there where various other buttons for birthdays, first time visit, wedding, and for many other things people wanted to celebrate.
The first day we were there, as we were walking through the park, we hear a random, Happy Anniversary. Even though we had put the button on we had forgotten about them. We did have to be up at 4am to catch our flight. As we were walking through the park, the congratulations continued more important Deb and I started to pay it forward, and it was such a great time, and we met folks from all over, including a person who now works at Disney, who graduated in the same year and at the same high school, after all it is truly a small world. I have never had a more relaxing and enjoyable trip.
As you may have recall I read a book a while back How Full is Your Bucket and really this is in full force and it felt great. Whether it was taking pictures for complete stranger, saying congratulations to whatever some one was celebrating, or even just chatting with Disney Cast Members (we even got a nice Sheppard's pie recipe, from the UK). The lesson, is simple why should we have to have button to be nice to one another.
On a side note, I was thinking about posting a Disney travel tip of the month (regular post). Would anyone be interested?