One of the most important things of a Windows Vista deployment is managing change. The end users will at the end of the day have a new operating system with a massive amount of new features they will have to discover in order to take full advantage of the productivity increases they bring. But how do...

Well here we are again, you've already decided that you are going to migrate to Vista, you now know how to address/plan for Application Compatibility, so at this moment in time it would be a good time to take a look at the hardware that you are targeting for install. If you have a configuration management...

It's been decided, good choice, you are going to deploy Windows Vista in your environment. Now you have to make sure that all those applications that you have running around in your infrastructure work within Vista. But before you keep on reading I just have to make sure your expectations are set correctly...

Being involved with deployment projects recently I have found that deploying Vista in the enterprise is not a hard task. The biggest question that I'm often  asked is: "Where do I start?" There are countless resources in web sites ready for you to consume, however it is quite difficult...

This year at TechEd 2007 in Barcelona , a consultant from MCS Ireland will be delivering the following session: Title : Core IO Best Practices: HSBC Steps to a managed infrastructure Level 300 In this session we will review the capabilities gained per stage of the Core IO model, by examining the real...

It's here, the wait is over, it has arrived, it's been RTM (Released to Manufacturing). SMS = SCCP now! Why don't you just stop what you are doing and try out this FANTASTIC new release in the System Centre Family. Evaluate System Center Configuration Manager 2007 today You can start right away with...

A role is logical grouping of a set of components based on user scenarios, typical server workloads and dependencies. There are no roles installed by default. The available roles in Server 2008 are: Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) ...

One of the significant changes you will find in the new version of Windows Server is the new setup mechanism. This table shows what changes from Server 2003 to 2008: Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 •Windows Server 2003 setup • Post-Setup security updates • Manage...

Microsoft has supported fault-tolerant and high-availability clustering for many years, but with Compute Cluster Server, Microsoft brings the supercomputing power of high-performance computing (HPC) to the personal and workgroup level. The solution entails a cluster of servers that includes a single...

The new offering from the System Center line is already on the connect site for you to download and try. Formerly code-named "service desk" System Center Service Manager will include: •Deep integration with existing Microsoft technologies from System Center, Windows, Office, and Visual Studio product...

Isn't it great when we get new features for free for our already implemented products? Well guess what, there are many new and FANTASTIC features, some of these are: Volume Shadow Services <- snapshot backups with no downtime! Hardware assisted Virtualization Offline-VHD mounting Integration of the...

The release candidate of WHS is now available through the connect site. Be sure to download it and start testing and developing add-ins. If you think you are up to the challenge go to the Code2Fame website and see the FANTASTIC prizes you can win. Home Server is a great release, it helps you get your...

The new command line shell and scripting language helps you get greater control, automation and therefore productivity. It will be included in Windows Server 2008 (you can already get the beta 3 ) But what is really the business with PowerShell? Here are all the resources you'll need to get up and running...

When doing a post mortem analysis of a system failure we usually find that it is not really the technology side of the equation that failed but the human side. Recent studies have shown that 80% of application downtime is caused by human error, either by misconfiguration, the application being built...

It has now become official, the codename longhorn days are now over. The new server operating system is called Windows Server 2008 it will give your enterprise more control, increased protection and greater flexibility. With great new features like: Windows Server 2008 Server Manager Server core Installation...

Hp has delivered 3 management packs that take advantage of System Center Operations Manager's new features and Microsoft's System Definition Model (SDM). The management packs are: HP StorageWorks Management Pack for Systems Center Operations Manager 2007 HP Management Pack for Systems Center Operations...

Bold statement from the SQL Server Group announcing the next version of Microsoft's SQL Server 2005. It is based on the following tenets: Mission Critical Platform For All Beyond Relational Redefining Pervasive Insight Dynamic Development for Data Management Solutions These are all...

There was a post sometime ago regarding Virtual Labs, there are just so many new ones that I thought a refresh was in order. You can find System Centre Solutions , Enterprise Search , Business Intelligence and some Windows Vista ones that have been updated. There are many other new ones, others that...

Remember the 4 stages in the Infrastructure Optimization Model ? These guides, Moving from Basic to Standardized and Standardized to Rationalized will give you the guidance to need to move from those stages to the next one respectively. These guides are absolutely FANTASTIC and will definitely give you...

With full Vista Support, the integration of asset intelligence for license reporting, software consolidation and upgrade planning, a hotfix rollup of course and x64 architecture support. SMS Sp3 comes through with a bundle of new capabilities. Download it Here and unleash the power of SMS with over 400...

Do you have SMS 2003 in your infrastructure? Are you patching through SMS 2003? Are you using the Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates for Patching? Have you upgraded to ITMU Revision 3? If you have answered yes to the first 3 questions and no to the last one, you should migrate to this version right...

Have you ever received this message when trying to run a report that will have tons of information? Response object error 'ASP 0251 : 80004005' Response Buffer Limit Exceeded /smsreporting_mat/Report.asp, line 0 Execution of the ASP page caused the Response Buffer to exceed its configured limit. The...

Care to know all of the new stuff that is included in the group policy settings? There is a very comprehensive gp settings spreadsheet for download here .

The new and redesigned network monitor is here. "Microsoft Network Monitor 3" with Vista as a Supported Operating system, both in 32 and 64 bit editions. To learn more about Netmon you can download it from Here and if you have further questions you can see the developer's team blog Here