Home vs Work vs Public?  Ever wondered what happens when you choose one of these selections the first time you connect to a new network?

Vista is clever.  We all know that.  In this case, Vista has the ability to automatically configure security and other settings based on the type of network to which the computer is connected. This new feature makes computing more secure and easier for users because they no longer have to be aware of the type of network that they are connected to and configure security settings to prevent unwanted access. A related feature for developers makes it easier to enhance applications by automatically adjusting settings and behaviors for changes in network conditions and for different network types.

The use of the icons, along with a useful description means that even the most non-IT savvy people among us can make an informed decision and choose the setting that is correct for their current situation.

There is also another one, that you don't get the choice of becoming part of, and that is the Domain network.  You can see this one the 2nd image above.  All the settings for this type of network are received from Group Policy, and although, the first time I connected to this network, I was presented with the usual dialog box, after this point, Vista knows I'm on a Domain network and the settings are automatically pushed to my machine.

The Cable Guy, also known as Joseph Davies, has written an excellent article going into a bit more depth around the topic, so if you are interested, I'd definitely have a look.  He's also included some information that would be relevant to developers around Network Awareness API's.

Read it here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0906.mspx

Following on the theme around licensing, I thought I’d take the opportunity to explain, in detail, for anyone who doesn’t already know, how to license Windows Server Operations Systems in a Virtual Environment.  Now, I’m not a licensing expert, but I’ve been through this enough times to understand it, and articulate it correctly, however, if something doesn’t make sense, add a comment!  It’s important to note, that everything I discuss below, is relevant for Microsoft and non-Microsoft virtualisation environments.

So, let’s start…

Windows Server 2008 Standard

So, say we’ve bought a copy of Windows Server 2008 Standard, and we install it on the Physical box below.

If we’re not bothered about Virtualisation, this is a very simple licensing scenario indeed – all I’ve done is installed (and thus assigned) this Windows Server 2008 Standard license to this physical box.  Easy peasy.  From here, I could enable any of the roles of the OS, such as AD, DNS, DHCP etc, and have a great time doing it.  If need be, I could downgrade this OS to a previous version of Windows Server (but I’m not going to go through this process today).  There are a couple of very important things that we need to get out in the open early on here, as it’s relevant throughout this post.

- First important thing to note is, if I’ve bought this Windows Server 2008 OS on a piece of hardware, through an OEM channel, that license lives and dies with the hardware, so there’s no moving this license to another physical host.

- Second important thing to note is, if I’ve bought this license through a volume licensing program, and I want to re-assign this license to another physical host, I can do this, but, I can’t re-assign it again for another 90 days.

Now, as you know, Windows Server 2008 contains Hyper-V, so, if we enable this role, we can start running virtual machines on that particular host, but, what we do have to think about, is how we license those virtualised Windows Server guest OS’s running on that Windows Server 2008 Standard Host.

So, in this example on the left, we’ve decided to virtualise 1 guest server OS on our Windows Server 2008 Standard Host.  We’ll say, for arguments sake, that this is a Windows Server guest OS.  Now, with Windows Server 2008 Standard, I get 1 free running virtual instance on that particular host.

What that means is, when I assign a Windows Server 2008 Standard license to a physical box, I get the added benefit of not only being able to install the Windows Server 2008 OS on the physical hardware (and thus enable the Hyper-V Role), but I also get 1 free Windows Server guest OS, which can be Windows Server 2008 Standard or Downgraded

Read that last paragraph, then read it again to make sure you’ve got it.

I used a keyword in that paragraph.  That keyword was ‘assign’.  The reason I use the word ‘assign’ rather than ‘install’, is because this licensing is Virtualisation agnostic, which means I can ‘assign’ a Windows Server 2008 Standard license to a physical VMware ESX or Citrix XenServer (or A.N.Other!) host, and for free, run 1 instance of Windows Server 2008 Standard (or downgraded) in a VM on those platforms.  If you want to run 2 instances of Windows Server Standard on those platforms, assign a 2nd Windows Server 2008 Standard license to that physical host, and that will give you another, and so on.

So, those bright sparks among you are going to say, well, if I not only assign the Windows Server 2008 Standard license to a physical host, but choose to install it on the physical host too (instead of A.N.Other Virtualisation platform), and then I create a Windows Server 2008 Standard (or downgraded) VM, am I not effectively getting 2 OS’s for the price of 1?  Well, yes, and no.

The reason I say yes is, because you are getting 2 fully featured versions of Windows Server 2008 Standard – one for use on the actual physical host, and one for use in the VM.  However, here’s the caveat.  If you are using your maximum ‘free allowance’ of Windows Server VMs on a host (1 in this case), you must use the host machine to purely manage the virtual machines running on it, and nothing else.

So, in the example directly above, that physical box, with Windows Server 2008 Standard & Hyper-V running on it, can only be used to support the VM(s) above it, and not be providing other infrastructure features into the environment, such as Active Directory, Domain Controller, Web Server etc.  It should be used purely for Hyper-V and managing the VMs running on it.

So, imagine this scenario:

In this scenario, we’re looking to run 3 Virtual Machines, which, for arguments sake, are Windows Server guests.  To do this, using Windows Server 2008 Standard licensing, we’d assign 3 licenses to the physical box, which would not only give us the OS for the physical host, but the 3 guest OS’s we desire.  If we wanted to move these VMs to another host, we’d have to reassign the Windows Server 2008 Standard licenses to the chosen host, however we wouldn’t be able to move it for another 90 days.  Now, Windows Server 2008 Standard retails at about $999 I believe, so, this scenario will set us back just under $3000, and will go up by $999 for each guest Windows Server OS we want to consolidate.  This pricing does not change whether you have 1 CPU, 2 CPUs or 4 CPUs in the physical box.  So, a license of Windows Server 2008 Standard on a 1 CPU Dual Core System, is the same price as one on a Quad CPU Quad Core System.

If I was consolidating Linux guest’s onto this platform, perhaps open-source rather than commercial distributions, then the guest OS’s would effectively be free.

From a licensing perspective, using Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition is the least beneficial and flexible when compared with Enterprise and Datacenter editions when it comes to Virtualisation.

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise

So, hopefully you’ve got the gist from reading the bit above.  Now, licensing Enterprise is very similar indeed, however, this time, instead of getting 1 free running instances, you receive 4 free running instances when you assign a Windows Server 2008 Enterprise license to a physical host.

So, in this scenario, we’ve simply assigned the Windows Server 2008 Enterprise license to the physical box, and we receive 4 free running instances of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, or downgraded, in virtual machines.  We could have 100 virtualised Windows Servers on this particular box, but the license gives you 4 free running instances at one time.

So, if you assign this license to an ESX or XenServer host – no problems, you receive 4 free running Windows Server instances.  If you assign and install it, you’re getting a Hyper-V platform for free, and the 4 free running instances.  Same rule as above applies – If you are using your maximum ‘free allowance’ of Windows Server VMs on a host (4 in this case), you must use the host machine to purely manage the virtual machines running on it, and nothing else.

This licensing is cumulative too, so if you want to assign 2 licenses of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise to the physical host, for 8 free running instances, just do it!  Or assign 3 licenses for 12 free!  It just keeps going, but remember, you can’t reassign Windows Server licenses from physical host to physical host more than once every 90 days.  Another key area to be aware of is when you are using migration technologies, like Quick Migration on Hyper-V, VMotion on VMware’s platform, or XenMotion on the Citrix platform to name but a few.  So, take this scenario:

In this example, we’ve assigned a Windows Server 2008 Enterprise license to both physical nodes, and we’re using our maximum 4 free running instances on both nodes.  All is great :-)

We encounter a situation (Manual, DRS etc) where we need to migrate a virtual machine from one node to another.  Technically, not a problem, however a move is going to put us out of compliance from a licensing perspective, because what we may find is that we’re running more than 4 guests on one of the nodes and less than 4 on the other.  On the node that’s running less than it’s maximum of 4, there’s no problem.  It’s just we’re incorrectly licensed on the node that’s now running more than 4.

One way to counter this, is to assign 2 Windows Server 2008 Enterprise licenses to each node, giving us a free allocation (or, breathing space) of 8 free running Windows Server VMs on each node.  Whether we choose to use all 8 on each node is up to us, but if we do, we could get into a similar situation as we found before if we’re not careful.  If it’s only a very temporary situation, i.e. you’ve moved all VMs onto physical host 2 for a short window whilst host 1 is patched, then you should be fine – Microsoft’s licensing is based on a trust model and understands the importance of temporary maintenance etc.

In the same way Windows Server 2008 Standard was licensed per box, so is Enterprise, so again, this pricing does not change whether you have 1 CPU, 2 CPUs or 4 CPUs in the physical box.  So, a license of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise on a 1 CPU Dual Core System, is the same price as one on a Quad CPU Quad Core System.  The retail price of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise is $3999, which, if you think about 4 free VMs per license, it works out at about $1000 per VM, so roughly the same price as Windows Server 2008 Standard, yet you get the Enterprise features like Clustering etc, inside the VMs.

Also remember, that any of these VMs can be downgraded to older Windows Server versions, such as 2003, or 2000.  2000 SP4 is the earliest supported version on Hyper-V, and runs great! :-)

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter

OK, so, we’re on the home straight here – just Datacenter edition to go!  Stay with me!

Hopefully you understand what I’ve been talking about so far, because it’s very important when devising solutions based on Microsoft server technologies, regardless of the Virtualisation platform.  I wouldn’t want to be a customer, who’s paid good money to embrace VMware’s technologies (for example), and been told incorrect information about Windows licenses running on those ESX hosts, which has resulted in the customer buying more licenses that necessary.  Not good.  It’s therefore critically important that both customers, and partners understand and can articulate this information.

So, what’s the deal with Datacenter edition, and is it too ‘big’ for my business?  Well, let’s dip into a little history first – In previous versions of Windows Server, i.e. 2003, you could only buy Datacenter edition on hardware.  There was no other channel, bar OEM, that organisations could get hold of Datacenter, so, in many cases, it would have been restricted to the larger organisations who were buying whopping hardware.  That’s changed for 2008.

Update - As Mike rightly points out in the comments section "Windows Server 2003 Datacenter became available through normal channels in October 2006 - the same day these virtualization rights were introduced. You still get the rights with Windows Server 2003 and 2008 and can use the downgrade rights for earlier versions of the OS"

For the first time, Datacenter edition of Windows Server is available through regular Volume Licensing channels, so it’s instantly more mainstream and accessible for many more people, but, why would you want it?  Well, if you take Windows Server 2008 Datacenter as an OS, it’s our most scalable version of the Windows Server 2008 versions, supporting the highest number of procs/cores, but feature wise, it’s pretty much the same as Enterprise.  Where it changes massively, is when you bring in Virtualisation.

The Hyper-V bits themselves are identical to those in Enterprise, scaling up to 1TB RAM in the physical box, 24 cores with the latest Intel 6-core chips, 64GB RAM per VM etc etc.  It’s the Virtualisation licensing that’s pretty darn different than Enterprise.  Here’s the scenario:

Imagine we want to achieve a 16:1 consolidation ratio, so, 16 VMs (in this case, Windows Servers) running on 1 pretty powerful box.  Seems pretty achievable I’d say, but what’s the most cost effective way of licensing it?  Well, so far we have Standard edition, which gives us 1 free VM per assigned license, so we’d need 16 licenses @ $999 each, so we’re talking around $16k.  We don’t have much flexibility using Standard edition, plus we can’t use any Failover Clustering, so we’re putting quite a few eggs in one basket here!  What are the alternatives?

We have Enterprise edition, which, as I detailed above, provides 4 free running instances per assigned license, so, for 16 VMs, we’d need 4 Enterprise licenses assigned to this box.  4 Enterprise licenses @ $3999 per license weighs in at $16k, so pretty similar to Standard edition really, but with greater scalability and features under the hood.  Final option?  Datacenter Edition.

Now, first important point, Datacenter edition is licenses per physical processor, not per box, like Enterprise/Standard are.  So, in our scenario, imagine the box on the left has 2 physical procs, each with quad cores.

So, in this case, we’d need to assign 2 Datacenter licenses to the box on the left, as it has 2 physical processors.  Datacenter licenses go for $2999 per processor.  That would mean that this scenario would cost us just under $6k.  But what are we getting for our money?  I haven’t mentioned any ‘free’ virtual machines yet….

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition, when assigned to a host, allows an unlimited number of free running Windows Server guest OS’s on that host.  So, for our scenario, where we want a 16:1 ratio, assigning 2 Datacenter licenses to that box (for a total of just under $6k) gives us what we need, and more.  I could double, triple or even quadruple (and more!) the number of Windows Server Guest OS’s on that box, and still only ever pay $6k.  This would only change if I upped the number of physical procs in the machine. So, $6k Datacenter, vs. $16k for Standard/Enterprise.  Double the ratio to 32:1 and Datacenter is still $6k, but Enterprise & Standard are now coming in at around $32k – in fact, Standard would probably have hit it’s limit by that point, depending on how ‘big’ the VMs are  (Standard edition supports 32GB RAM in the host).

The great thing to mention about Datacenter Edition (aside from the great Virtualisation licensing benefits!) is that it really eases the licensing headache around migration of virtual machines between hosts.  If you have a 3 node cluster, each with Datacenter licenses assigned, it will never matter how many Windows Server VMs you’re running on each physical node.  You can have 20 VMs on one, 10 on another, and 35 on another, and never have to worry about being incorrectly licensed from a Windows Server perspective.  Excellent.

To summarise:

If these were the requirements of a project, on the top right, the first thing to note is, Standard Edition is pretty much out.  It doesn’t have the clustering element to it, so it would have to be Windows Server 2008 Enterprise of Datacenter.  I’m using Hyper-V as my virtualisation technology here, as I’m getting it as part of my license anyway, but if there was a requirement for a VMware or Citrix (or A.N.Other) deployment, then you’d factor those costs on top.  So, Enterprise and Datacenter licensing assigned to the physical hosts will give me the features I need in terms high availability, and migration with minimal downtime.

So, do I choose Enterprise, or Datacenter for my licensing?  Well, I think these results speak for themselves – I’d save $30k on these 3 nodes alone by using Datacenter.  I could double my CPUs in each node too, up to 4 CPUs in each node, and it would still only come to $36k using Datacenter, so it would still be cheaper than Enterprise, and I get the added flexibility that Datacenter brings, plus, and this is a key point, future scale-up growth at no cost.  I wouldn’t get this with Enterprise.  For every 4 VMs I wanted to scale up, I’d be paying an extra $4k per license with Enterprise.  Datacenter really is a compelling choice from a licensing, and a cost saving perspective.

Summary

Well, phew, we made it!  Hopefully that’s made sense – if it hasn’t, that’s what the comment box is for on this post!  Let me know!  Hopefully this has given you clarity around licensing the different versions of Windows Server in virtual environments, and also some of the caveats you need to be aware of, like not being able to move OEM licenses around, or re-assigning licenses to hosts more than once every 90 days.  You should also remember that the keyword is assign, not install.  Microsoft would be naive to think that just because someone has bought Windows Server 2008 licenses, that they will always use Hyper-V as their virtualisation platform.  Using the word ‘assign’, clears this up; simply assign a Windows Server license to a physical box, and you get the free VM rights.  Whether you choose to utilise the added benefit of a free virtualisation layer in the form of Hyper-V on that system, is entirely up to you…

We had the first of our 'Ask the Expert' sessions this morning (you can still register for the others, here!) and there were a load of great questions - some even had us stumped!

One of the questions that we were asked was around upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista Business, but on different architecture, so from x86 (32-bit) to x64 (64-bit).  Initially, I thought this couldn't be done, and would require a clean wipe, and a reinstall with the full Vista version rather than the upgrade version.  I was a little bit wrong...

This KB Article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932795/en-us details the ways you can upgrade from x86 to x64, in a number of different scenarios.  In response to the actual question, to go from x86 XP to x64 Vista Business, you need to do the following, but before this, there are a few pre-requisites:

You need to have purchased the Windows Vista Upgrade (Or Full version) - in this case, we'll be using Vista Business 32-bit Upgrade.  You will then have to access the 64-bit version (unless you are running Ultimate, as this ships in the box) from here.

After you get hold of the editions, x86 and x64, follow these steps:

1. Back up all the data and the settings by using Windows XP Backup.
   Note You can also use Windows Easy Transfer. This back up program is available on the Windows Vista DVD. However, you must use the version that is on the 32-bit Windows Vista DVD if you want to use Windows Easy Transfer to back up a 32-bit version of Windows.
2. Insert the 64-bit version of Windows Vista into the system DVD drive, and then restart the computer.
3. Start Windows Vista Setup from the DVD when you are prompted.  Note You must start Windows Vista Setup by starting the computer from the Windows Vista 64-bit DVD. The installation package will not run on a 32-bit operating system.
4. When you are prompted during Windows Vista Setup, remember to select Custom as the installation type.
5. After installation is complete, you can restore the data from its backup location.

OK, so that was pretty straightforward - if you want any further info on 32-bit upgrades on their own, you can read this KB Article here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932616/en-us

It works!

OK, it's not native USB support, but, this piece of equipment will allow you to access USB devices from within your virtual machines, running on Hyper-V, Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 etc

There is an argument as to why you really need to give your servers access to any USB devices, but, I guess it's nice to have the option.

"AnywhereUSB is a network-enabled USB hub. It is the first remote networking solution to utilize RealPort® USB, Digi's patented USB Over IP® technology, making it easy to connect USB devices anywhere on a wired or wireless LAN, while eliminating the need for locally-attached host PCs."

Sounds useful to me, and at just over 300 EURO, it's not ridiculously expensive, and chances are, you may only need 1...

If the video guides I produced a month or so back weren’t enough for you, then these R2 Remote Desktop Services step-by-step guides should do the trick!

What's New in Remote Desktop Services

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131925

Installing Remote Desktop Session Host Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147293

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147292

Deploying Remote Desktop Web Access with Remote Desktop Connection Broker Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131928

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=131927

Deploying RemoteApp Programs to the Start Menu by Using RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154799

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154798

Deploying Personal Virtual Desktops by Using RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154800

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154801

Deploying Virtual Desktop Pools by Using RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154803

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154802

Deploying Personal Virtual Desktops by Using Remote Desktop Web Access Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147908

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147909

Deploying Virtual Desktop Pools by Using Remote Desktop Web Access Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147907

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147906

Deploying Remote Desktop Gateway Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=142251

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=142250

Deploying Remote Desktop Licensing Step-by-Step Guide

Word document download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=128418

Web version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=141175

Verdict: Tricky.

I’ve just got back from sitting the 70-659 TS exam, on WS 2008 R2, Server Virtualization, and thankfully, I passed!  To anyone thinking of sitting the exam, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s really difficult, but it’s the little aspects of the technology, like the features and functionality you don’t necessarily use very often, that may catch you out.

If we take a look at the skills being measured, from here: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-659#tab2

Skills Being Measured

Installing and Configuring Host and Parent Settings

• Add the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 2008 R2.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: installing and configuring Hyper-V on Server Core, verifying BIOS settings (i.e. DEP), adding the Hyper-V role using Virtual Machine Manager, configuring Hyper-V Server R2, identifying hardware requirements
• Enable remote management.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: deploying Virtual Machine Manager Agent, configuring firewall rules, configuring Virtual Network Manager settings
• Configure virtual networks and VLAN security.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Media Access Control (MAC) address pools, configuring network locations, configuring VLAN tags, configuring VLAN security, configuring virtual networks
• Configure storage.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Multi Path Input Output (MPIO), executing the mpiocpl.exe command, dynamic I/O redirection, iSCSI initiator, executing the iscsicli.exe command

Configuring Child Settings

• Configure child resources.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring disks, networks, CPU, and memory
• Configure child storage.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Dynamic VM storage, creating differencing disks, configuring pass-through disks, taking snapshots, managing GUIDs, managing logical unit numbers (LUNs), editing VHDs, copying physical disks to VHDs
• Configure child network adapters.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: creating synthetic and emulated network adapters, configuring MAC spoofing, configuring VLAN ID, configuring Jumbo frame, configuring TCP Offloading Engine (TOE)
• Create and deploy virtual machines.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: creating, cloning, deploying, and saving virtual machines using Virtual Machine Manager; creating virtual machines using Hyper-V Manager, configuring Self-Service Portal, scripting and deploying virtual machines using Windows PowerShell

Managing and Monitoring Virtual Environments

• Solve performance and resource issues.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO), monitoring the environment by using System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, configuring event triggers, allocating resources by using Virtual Machine Manager, monitoring performance and diagnosing issues by using Performance Monitor or Resource Monitor
• Configure delegation of rights.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: creating user policies for Self Service Portal, creating and managing templates, managing and replicating libraries in Virtual Machine Manager
• Create roles and configure authorization rights.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: creating roles and delegating rights using Authorization Manager (AzMan), delegating rights manually
• Manage non-Hyper-V-aware virtualization hosts.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: managing ESX/VI3 VMware hosts by using Virtual Machine Manager, managing Virtual Server 2005 R2 hosts using Virtual Machine Manager

Ensuring High Availability and Recoverability

• Manage snapshots.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: taking, reverting, merging, deleting, and applying snapshots; configuring storage locations
• Manage backups.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: managing online and offline backups by using DPM, Windows Server Backup, or Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
• Perform non-clustered migrations.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: performing a SAN migration of child partitions, performing a network migration of child partitions
• Configure quick and live migrations.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring network and storage for clustered Hyper-V setup, enabling Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV), configuring dynamic I/0 redirection

Performing Migration

• Perform physical-to-virtual (P2V) migration.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Virtual Machine Manager Intelligent Placement, performing online and offline migrations
• Perform virtual-to-virtual (V2V) migration.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring Virtual Machine Manager Intelligent Placement, performing online and offline migrations
• Perform import/export migration.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: migrating virtual machines between Hyper-V hosts using the Export/Import feature in Hyper-V

Configuring Remote Desktop (RD) Role Services Infrastructure

• Configure RD session host.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring session host settings, network-level authentication settings, license settings; restricting users to single remote session; allowing time zone redirection; configuring resource redirection, configuring encryption, configuring multi-monitor support
• Configure RD licensing.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: activating and deactivating Remote Desktop License Service, installing and revoking client access licenses (CALs), reporting on CAL usage
• Configure RD Connection Broker.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: installing the RD Connection Broker, configuring DNS for Connection Broker, configuring Connection Broker farms, integrating with RD Virtualization Host role service
• Configure RD Gateway.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring RD Gateway, integrating RD Gateway with network access protection (NAP), configuring authentication authorization
• Configure RD Web Access.
  • This objective may include but is not limited to: configuring RD Web Access, configuring authentication options (forms, single sign-on), configuring per-user RemoteApp program filtering, configuring public and private computer options

My Advice

The majority of the pieces of information above, are focused on the core features and functionality around the products, Hyper-V, SCVMM and RDS, however, in my particular exam, there were a number of questions around lesser features, which may, if you’re like me, be less frequently used, and these are the ones that will catch you out if you’re not au fait with them.  If there’s any on the list above that you think “hmm, I don’t know that 100%!”, I would advise you to read up on it, or it will catch you out!

So, specifically for me, I wouldn’t say I'm a frequent user of CMD tools, like scconfig, icsicli etc, but I would recommend you brushing up on the relevant information around these commands, and having a good old play with a test box if you can get your hands on one.  You could do this virtually between 2 VMs if need be.

It’s important to understand the subtleties between the different types of networks that Hyper-V provides, and how these can be configured around isolation.  Understanding the 2 different types of VM NIC, along with IDE/SCSI controllers inside VMs is also important.  You also need to know your storage, and by that, I don’t just mean iSCSI/Fiber, but more specifically around VHDs, Pass Through Disks and so on.

A relatively high proportion of my exam was focused on VMM, which included looking at delegated administration, through to the usage and configuration of the self-service portal, again, features that I personally don’t use all the time, hence you become rusty around those areas over time, so sharpen up!  Also, I don’t tend to use VMM to manage VMware infrastructures, yet, as it lists above, it’s a core piece of SCVMM, so even if you can’t try it out, I would definitely recommend brushing up your reading around that!

Sticking with the management theme, because I use SCVMM the majority of the time, and that provides me with pretty much all I need from a control and administration perspective, I’ve never actually used Authorization Manager, or AzMan, which is more specific to Hyper-V.  If you’re in the same boat, I’d strongly consider reading up on it.  Again, I’ll reiterate what I said earlier – it’s the little things that will catch you out!

Obviously snapshots are an important consideration in a Hyper-V environment (and one that can sometimes bite you in the backside if you’re not careful!), so I would say ensure you understand the subtleties around snapshots, and also backup.  You may never use things like SAN Migration, but again, it’s important to know the details around it.

In my role, it’s rare that I need to perform any kind of P2V, and in fact, I’m yet to perform one with SCVMM 2008 R2, but I wish I had before I sat the exam!  Again, it’s the little details, like Service Pack levels, FAT disks, Minimum RAM etc that can catch you out, but also, and more specifically for Offline P2V, troubleshooting drivers etc, which I would recommend brushing up on.  If you’ve never done a P2V, you don’t technically need a Physical machine to test it on – you can use a current VM, and do it from that if you like.  P2V aside, it’s also important to have a play with the Export/Import side of things.

Final part, and something that came as a bit of a surprise to me, was the RDS bits.  If you’ve watched any of my RDS videos, you’ll have a good idea about what the different components with RDS look like, and have a reasonable idea of how they work together, and are installed/configured, but I’d recommend having a deeper look at the bits above, especially things like the RD Gateway, with it’s RAP/CAP options  There’s some good information on TechNet about the RDS side of things.

If you’re thinking about sitting the exam, best of luck!

One of the new capabilities of Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows 7, is Core Parking.

As we move closer to the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, and combine this with the innovation in CPU technologies that Intel and AMD are producing, it’s clear that CPU’s are getting more powerful, more capable, more-core-heavy (6 and 8 core chips are either here, or imminent) and more efficient, yet we need to ensure that the OS that is running on these CPU’s can take advantage of these CPU improvements.  I’m pleased to say that the R2/7 wave of technologies are right on the money.

As you can see from the diagram, it shows a single quad-core processor, but this could equally be a 6 or 8 core processor.  You can see that 3 of the 4 cores on this chip are ‘inactive’, or ‘parked’.  This means that those cores aren’t using as much power, and thus, the overall power consumption of that server is decreased.  Now, I’m not going to say that this is going to change the world and cut your electricity bills buy 2/3rd’s, but every little helps in a very green-focused climate.  Best thing about it is, it’s just there, in the OS, managed by the Kernel.

So, as an example, if I’ve got a number of VMs, running on a host, and those VM’s resource needs, from a CPU perspective, could easily be handled by fewer cores than I have in my box, the OS will ‘move’ processing for those VMs onto the fewer cores, and ‘park’ the spare ones, giving some power back to the server.  Again, the amount won’t be huge, but over a period of months, it will add up to be a noticeable difference I’m sure, however at the end of the day, it’s an OS capability, so you’re not buying the power related features.

Don’t worry though – resuming from ‘parked’ isn’t like resuming your laptop from sleep – this is practically instant resuming!

It doesn’t just stop there – Windows Server 2008 R2 also provides reduced processor power consumption by adjusting processor speed:

Windows Server 2008 R2 has the ability to adjust the ACPI “P-states” of processors and subsequently adjust server power consumption. ACPI “P-states” are the processor performance states within the ACPI specification. Depending on the processor architecture, Windows Server 2008 R2 can adjust the “P-states” of individual processors and provide very fine control over power consumption.

There’s a nice example of that here.

How can you see Core Parking?  Well, if you open up Resource Monitor, click on the CPU tab, adjust your view appropriately, and viola, check out the parking on that!

This is a 16 core (4 x quad core) box, running 5 (pretty idle) VMs, but still, only 2 of my 16 cores are active at this point in time, and you have to have a minimum of 1, so that isn’t bad!  It might not always be the same 2 – it will fluctuate from time to time, but still, it gives you a good idea that something is happening, and that little something will save you money, and improve your green credentials, and, like a hell of a lot of other things, it’s just out of the box with Windows Server 2008 R2, regardless of Hyper-V virtualisation.

Top stuff.

It's back.

Back in June, it was announced that Microsoft would no longer be including the ability to save to PDF from within the 2007 Microsoft Office System, which was a shame, because many users out there, as Steve Marsh mentions, would find it incredibly useful.

Well, it's time to rejoice, as it's back, as a free download, and it is available now.  According to the download webpage, "This download allows you to export and save to the PDF and XPS formats in eight 2007 Microsoft Office programs. It also allows you to send as e-mail attachment in the PDF and XPS formats in a subset of these programs. Specific features vary by program"

It works with the following programs:

• Microsoft Office Access 2007
• Microsoft Office Excel 2007
• Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007
• Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
• Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
• Microsoft Office Publisher 2007
• Microsoft Office Visio 2007
• Microsoft Office Word 2007

And for all those interested....here it is:

For more information on the 2007 Microsoft Office System, head on over and see Steve Marsh, or the Office Rocker!

Final Action: Download the 2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS

Am I good to you?  I think so too!

James has found a load of events that are taking place in the UK, including events on Vista, Exchange, SQL and Virtualisation, so I thought I'd take it one step further to not only provide you with the information now, but information for the future too, with RSS feeds that you can subscribe to!

• Microsoft UK Events - Windows Vista
• Microsoft UK Events - Microsoft Office 2007 System
• Microsoft UK Events - Virtualisation

Highlights include:

09 November 2006, Bristol: Windows Vista System Integrity Technologies and Internet Explorer 7 Security Features

Windows Vista will ship with several new system integrity technologies, including code integrity, secure start-up, service hardening, mandatory integrity control and Internet Explorer protected mode. In this session, Steve Lamb explores how these technologies work to thwart malware's attempts to take over your computer.

21 November 2006, West Yorkshire: Virtualisation Unplugged

This interactive session will focus on how you can use Microsoft's virtualisation products to solve real-life problems. We will explore the capabilities and scenarios surrounding these products and demonstrate how they can work for you. Virtual machine technology enables multiple operating systems to run concurrently on a single host, and the new features in the latest release give you more opportunities than ever.

28 November, Edinburgh: Office 2007 Developer Features - Client

The Office 2007 Client applications provide a rich foundation for building critical business applications quickly and easily.  See how the new technologies in Office 2007 give you, the developer, a huge head start in solving the business problems of your organisation.  This session will show how the client applications of the Office System can be connected together and extended with a minimum of effort for maximum results. This session includes an overview of how to extend the Ribbon, Custom Task Panes, XML file formats, Outlook integration, and Client Tools (VSTO).

Have fun!

If you are thinking of adopting, deploying, or testing Windows Server 2008, these guides should prove very useful indeed:

The Windows Server 2008 Reviewers Guide provides a comprehensive technical overview of the innovative features and functions that make Windows Server 2008 the next-generation Microsoft Windows Server operating system and successor to Microsoft Windows Server 2003. This guide also provides information about the benefits Windows Server 2008 offers diverse users, as well as information about different scenarios.

This document supports the release of Windows Server 2008

Included in This Document

• Introduction to Windows Server 2008
• Server Virtualisation
• Centralized Application Access
• Branch Office
• Security and Policy Enforcement
• Web and Applications Platform
• Server Management
• High Availability
• Better Together—Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista

Download it from here: Reviewers_Guide.doc

The Windows Server 2008 Security Guide provides the following benefits:

• Fast, easy deployment - Customers using the guide’s best practices, predefined templates, and automated tools have reduced the time required to deploy security configurations by up to 80 percent.  And by using the Windows Server 2008 Security Guide together with the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2008, customers can automate the secure installation of their entire Windows Server 2008 infrastructure.
• More reliable - Automated tools and templates eliminate many manual steps—giving customers faster, more reliable results.
• Comprehensive - The guide includes information on hundreds of Windows Server 2008 security settings with recommendations for each setting.  The guide also explains in detail how to further harden server roles—a key feature of Windows Server 2008—such as Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), Web, and Terminal Services.
• Thoroughly tested - All security recommendations are fully tested in Microsoft labs, and verified by customers and partners under real-world conditions.
• Free - The Windows Server 2008 Security Guide and the GPOAccelerator are available as free downloads from the Microsoft Download Center. This Solution Accelerator includes the guidance, settings, templates, and the automated tool.

You can find more information here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc264463.aspx and download the guide, here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=fb8b981f-227c-4af6-a44b-b115696a80ac&displaylang=en