The new version of KMS for Server 2003 is now available for download.  As stated on the site, KMS version 1.1 for Windows Server 2003 provides:

• A single KMS host which supports volume license editions of both Windows Vista RTM/SP1 and Windows Server 2008
• Running KMS version 1.1 in a Windows Server 2003 virtual machine

X86 (EN-US) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=82964

X64 (EN-US) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83041

KMS on Server 2003 and 2008 should each behave the same way.  In fact, if you want to use both Server 2003 and Server 2008 to host KMS, the clients can move between the hosts transparently to the end user.  The "rules" for number of activations to start activating servers (5) and clients (25) are the same across both platforms, and you should use the same key to activate KMS regardless of whether it is running on 2003 or 2008.

You can apply this as an update to KMS 1.0 on Server 2003 (you do not have to uninstall KMS 1.0 first, according to the documentation).

The same MOM management pack that applied to KMS 1.0 applies to KMS 1.1.

As with KMS 1.0 for Server 2003, there is no SLUI and you still need to use a 2003 key and activate the OS on the machine where you are installing the Key Management Service, as a contrast to 2008 where once the key has been entered to make the machine a KMS and the KMS has been activated, the machine hosting KMS does not require its own key and activation.

Yesterday I promised the stand alone update would be coming soon.  I just checked and the 32-bit version is now available on the Microsoft Volume License Services website (MVLS).  I am expecting the 64-bit version to follow soon.  I'll amend this post when I confirm it is online as well.

If you want to make sure you have the correct download, look for "Patch" in the title of the ISO.  This ensures it is the update to apply SP1 to an existing RTM machine, not a slipstreamed version of the OS install DVD.

I am told this will work for all versions of Vista.  If you find otherwise, please let me know and I will update this post.  I run Enterprise on my laptop so I don't have anything handy to test it on Ultimate.

I've been holding back all morning to post anything until the download links actually became available.  It looks like the new pages are being published and have started replicating out to the globe.

This updates the Windows Hypervisor technology to the latest public release candidate build.  I'll be posting more details about RC as time allows later today.  :-)

http://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v

KB with x64 install - here

KB with x86 install - here

Release notes

In order to make installation and distribution a simpler process, the Server 2008 DVD available for download contains all four versions (Web, Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter) with both full and core installations available.  Over the last two weeks I have received the same question from several Universities - is there any way to provide media that only contains Standard Edition?  There are many educational institutions where a single entity on campus maintains licenses for many or all departments across campus and in order to prevent installation of the wrong version they would like to separate the installation media.

To resolve this issue, I'll demonstrate how to create a DVD that only contains Standard Edition.  We will use tools from the Windows Automated Installation Kit.  The same set of tools we used for Vista to build custom media.  If there is someone on campus who is already familiar with the tools this should be a simple undertaking and would not require ongoing maintenance once complete.  Download URL for WAIK below.

Prereq: WAIK.

Start by creating two folders somewhere convenient.  I am going to use the root of the system drive on my MDT server.  Name the folders whatever you would like.  You can delete both folders when we are done.  I am going to use media and wim.

Copy the contents of your Server 2008 DVD to the first folder.  You can include all contents from the DVD, or if you would like you can copy only setup.exe and the \Sources folder and all its contents.

Next, open this new folder and then your new copy of the \Sources folder.  Locate the install.wim file.  Move this file to the second folder you created so we can work on it without the risk of disturbing other files.

We need to discover the index numbers for the images we are going to extract.  We can do that by calling imagex.exe and the /info command line option.

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\amd64>imagex.exe /info c:\wim\install.wim

ImageX Tool for Windows
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1981-2005. All rights reserved.

WIM Information:
----------------
GUID:        {10ac2e8d-9bdd-479e-85e9-742a4425d67f}
Image Count: 6
Compression: LZX
Part Number: 1/1
Attributes:  0xc
             Integrity info
             Relative path junction

Available Image Choices:
------------------------
<WIM>
  <TOTALBYTES>2329127899</TOTALBYTES>
  <IMAGE INDEX="1">
    <NAME>Windows Longhorn SERVERSTANDARD</NAME>
    <DESCRIPTION>Windows Longhorn SERVERSTANDARD</DESCRIPTION>
    <FLAGS>SERVERSTANDARD</FLAGS>

From the output, we can see that Standard Edition, Full Install, is index 1.  Let's start by extracting that image.  Imagex.exe has a command line option for this operation, the /export string.  To ensure the new image still works with setup.exe, we also need to issue the /flags option and give the image a name.  Without the /flags option, setup.exe will not accept the new wim.

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\amd64>imagex /export c:\wim\install.wim 1 c:\wim\export.wim /flags "Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (Full Installation)"

ImageX Tool for Windows
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1981-2005. All rights reserved.

Exporting: [c:\wim\install.wim, 1] ->
           [c:\wim\export.wim]

Progress: 100%

Successfully exported image #1.

We now have everything we need to build the new DVD image.  First, rename the old wim file to install.bak, just to be sure it is still around in case something goes wrong and we need to come back to it.  Next, rename the new wim file to install.wim.  Copy the new file to \Sources in the first folder you created.  If prompted, you will want to "copy and replace".

See new wim file in image below.  Feel free to clean up the extra catalog files.

Now we call one of my favorite tools, oscdimg.exe.  It is a command line tool to build a bootable ISO file for Windows media.  To build the new media we just run oscdimg with the command line options to use the first folder and a location for the new ISO file.

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools>oscdimg -l"Server 2008 Standard Edition" -h -m -n -bc:\media\boot\etfsboot.com c:\media c:\wim\Standard.ISO

OSCDIMG 2.45 CD-ROM and DVD-ROM Premastering Utility
Copyright (C) Microsoft, 1993-2000.  All rights reserved.
For Microsoft internal use only.

Scanning source tree complete (796 files in 246 directories)

Computing directory information complete

Image file is 2337925120 bytes

Writing 796 files in 246 directories to c:\wim\Standard.ISO

100% complete

Final image file is 2337925120 bytes

WARNING: This image contains filenames and/or directory names that are
         NOT COMPATIBLE with Windows NT 3.51.  If compatibility with
         Windows NT 3.51 is required, use the -nt switch rather than
         the -n switch.

Done.

There you have it, a new ISO file with only Server 2008 Standard Edition.  To test the media, I often map it to a virtual machine and do a test boot before I burn it off to a real disc (and risk a coaster).  The screenshot below indicates that our results are success.  Because there is only one image, you will not be prompted to select a version before installation begins.

You could take this one step further and also include the Standard Edition Server Core install.  This is more complicated but I will give you all the steps necessary.  The gist is to apply the Server Core image to a folder and then append it to your wim and set metadata before you run oscdimg.  The command line strings are:

Apply to a folder

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\amd64>imagex /apply c:\wim\install.wim 4 c:\wim\mount

ImageX Tool for Windows
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1981-2005. All rights reserved.

Progress: 0%
[INFO] c:\wim\mount\$RECYCLE.BIN. [Restore Sec. Descriptor: (seq. 25) -> SACL is
going away (acecount==1)] (GLE = 0)

[INFO] c:\wim\mount\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\LocalLow. [Restore Sec. Descriptor: (seq. 25) -> SACL is going away (acecount==1)] (GLE = 0)

Progress: 1%

[INFO] c:\wim\mount\Windows\System32config\systemprofile\AppData\LocalLow\desktop.ini. [Restore Sec. Descriptor: (seq. 25) -> SACL is going away (acecount==1)] (GLE = 0)

Progress: 2%
Progress: 3%
Progress: 4%
Progress: 5%
(etc)

Append to file

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\amd64>imagex /append c:\wim\mount c:\wim\install.wim "Windows Longhorn SERVERSTANDARDCORE" /flags SERVERSTANDARD

ImageX Tool for Windows
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1981-2005. All rights reserved.

Files/folders excluded from image capture by default:

\WINDOWS\CSC
\RECYCLER
\System Volume Information
\pagefile.sys
\hiberfil.sys
\$ntfs.log

Progress: 100%

Successfully imaged c:\wim\mount\

Set metadata

C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\amd64>imagex /flags SERVERSTANDARD /info c:\wim\install.wim 2 "Windows Server 2008 Standard (Core Installation)" "This option installs a minimal installation of Windows Server without the standard Windowsuser interface, and with a subset of server roles that can be managed from a command prompt, reducing management requirements and attack surface."

ImageX Tool for Windows
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1981-2005. All rights reserved.

Successfully set image name: [Windows Server 2008 Standard (Core Installation)]
Successfully set image description: [This option installs a minimal installation
of Windows Server without the standard Windows user interface, and with a subse
t of server roles that can be managed from a command prompt, reducing management
requirements and attack surface.]
Successfully set image flags: [SERVERSTANDARD]

Once this is done, copy the WIM file to \Sources and run the same oscdimg command as before.  You may want to give the ISO a different name if you are creating both with and without Core.  See results in the screenshot below.  You now have bootable installation media that contains Standard full and core, with no other versions.

If you would like to isolate other versions, such as Web, Enterprise, or Datacenter, the operation would be very much the same.  You just need to find the index number using imagex.exe /info and export those wim files.

The Virtualization team has announced the MMC snap-in to manage Hyper-V from Vista SP1 is now available for download.  This is a nice compliment to the recent release of RSAT!

Vista x64 Edition: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=450931F5-EBEC-4C0B-95BD-E3BA19D296B1&displaylang=en

Vista x86 Edition: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=BC3D09CC-3752-4934-B84C-905E78BE50A1&displaylang=en

Windows Virtualization Team Blog : Hyper-V manager mmc now available!

Thanks to Paul for following up to the comments thread.

The Volume Activation Management Tool 1.1 is now available for download from Microsoft downloads:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=12044dd8-1b2c-4da4-a530-80f26f0f9a99&DisplayLang=en

This 1.1 version of the tool will allow you to manage Server 2008 Multiple Activation Keys (MAK) to view the activation status of remote machines and push keys to them, trigger their activation, or even proxy the push/pull of installation/configuration ids to activate nodes that do not have routes to Microsoft.com.

Last week a windows admin asked if I knew what the permissions should be for the root level share of home directories or redirected folders.  It has been a few years since I looked this up and I wanted to be certain I had all necessary ACLs, so I committed to researching the question and posting what I found to my blog.

I knew this KB article existed but it is not terribly easy to find since you have to search for "folder redirection" instead of "home directory".  This includes the full description for the root ACL.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/274443

These are the two steps I was most interested in finding:

2.  Set Share Permissions for the Everyone group to Full Control.

3.  Use the following settings for NTFS Permissions:

• CREATOR OWNER - Full Control (Apply onto: Subfolders and Files Only)
• System - Full Control (Apply onto: This Folder, Subfolders and Files)
• Domain Admins - Full Control (Apply onto: This Folder, Subfolders and Files)
• Everyone - Create Folder/Append Data (Apply onto: This Folder Only)
• Everyone - List Folder/Read Data (Apply onto: This Folder Only)
• Everyone - Read Attributes (Apply onto: This Folder Only)
• Everyone - Traverse Folder/Execute File (Apply onto: This Folder Only)

Pay attention when configuring the home directory or folder redirection policies.  If you enable the setting to give the user exclusive access to the folder, you will override the inherited permissions and need to reset the ACL.

Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista for x86-based Systems

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9ff6e897-23ce-4a36-b7fc-d52065de9960&DisplayLang=en

Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d647a60b-63fd-4ac5-9243-bd3c497d2bc5&DisplayLang=en

This provides administrative tools, including GPMC, for Vista SP1.

Reducing overhead goes beyond just infrastructure tools, there are also ways to reduce the amount of time you put in to things like managing meetings and documentation.  I've found this to be a best practice that others might be able to use.  If you have OneNote and Outlook, you have all the prerequisites.

With OneNote installed and assuming you have opened it at least once, you have a task tray icon that is watching for keyboard shortcuts.  A simple method to launch a new OneNote window is:

Window+N

This is convenient for jotting quick notes.  It has the "always on top" property so you can move around in other applications like LiveMeeting, Outlook, or RDP windows (even full screen) and take notes.  This is good for documenting while building new servers as well.

Should you type something that requires follow up, click on the "Task" button and flag it.

The flags coordinate with the to-do bar in Outlook.  So these items will automatically show up on your to-do bar along with flagged Email.  I categories to-do items Franklin-Covey style using categories and then sort by date.  This integrates nicely.  When I mark the items complete in Outlook they also mark complete in OneNote.

I like to organize my meeting notes instead of having them all in the same OneNote notebook.  I speed up this process by adding the "Move Page To" button to the OneNote toolbar.  You will find it under small down arrow in "Add or Remove Buttons" and then "Edit.  You can drag and drop the button from the "Customize" window to your toolbar.

Several months ago I wrote about how to assign custom priorities on the To-Do bar.  I've given up on this process of assigning unique priority to each item since I flag so many Emails daily, but I still categorize by priority.  Unfortunately I haven't found a method of assigning category from within OneNote.

I categorize new OneNote to-do items from Outlook.  I do the same thing for items I flagged from my phone just because I don't bother to categorize from my phone (you can, I just don't).

To do this I just right click items under the blank category header.  In most cases I just throw the entire blank category in to "have to get done" since I need to at least look at these items even if they are going to get moved down to "want to get done".

There are a lot of steps here because I wanted to outline exactly how I setup my environment, not just what I do after it has been setup.  For my personal routine, I added one key combination to open a note, one click to flag each item, and four clicks to file away the note, but I eliminated a pretty considerable amount of time.  Prior to this I wrote everything in a pocket sized notebook that I carried around with me and then entered tasks in to Outlook manually when I got back to my desk.  Hopefully there are at least one or two tips here that you find adoptable to your daily habits and help reduce admin time.

Popular question this week - I would like to install Vista Enterprise SP1 but I am unable to find it on the volume license website for download.  Can you assist?

There is a trick to locating it, just remember that Vista Enterprise is only available as a Software Assurance benefit.  The volume license option for Vista Business with SA actually includes "w/VisEnterprise" in the name.  So to download it, rather than looking under the Windows section, scroll down and look under Software Assurance.

Look for this logo -

Expand it to find -

Note that the "upgrade" you seen here does not upgrade from RTM to SP1, rather an upgrade from XP, or Vista Business, just like there was a Vista Enterprise upgrade disk for Vista RTM.  The SP1 stand alone update should be hitting the site soon so you can in place upgrade existing Vista machines.

Linking to a post I just spotted, you can order a bracelet with 2GB of storage pumped with info about how Novell and Microsoft are working together to provide value to customers.  There are also a couple of whitepapers for those interested.

http://blogs.msdn.com/dotnetinterop/archive/2008/03/05/novell-and-microsoft-offer-interop-resources-for-windows-linux.aspx

As posted by Robert McMurray -

http://blogs.msdn.com/robert_mcmurray/archive/2008/03/12/webdav-extension-for-windows-server-2008-rtm-is-released.aspx

I just signed up for this webcast.  Looks interesting so I thought I would share.

Reserve your place today

Vista SP1 is now available from MVLS, the download center, and from Windows Update.  As a trusted IT admin in Education what should you communicate to your constituents?  Here is some fodder.

What changes in Vista SP1?

Microsoft has published a website devoted to this topic - http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-GB/help/ea7577b8-813f-47a5-ba05-2f5b2e436b281033.mspx

As you might expect, there is a focus on performance and remediation of any issues that have come up since Vista was released.  A short list from the site is below.

• Faster copying or extracting files from a compressed mode.
• Better use of network bandwidth when browsing file shares over a network.
• Improved performance from Windows ReadyBoost in reducing the time it takes for Windows to wake up from Hibernate and Standby power modes.
• Better power consumption when your computer screen is idle for a long time.
• Improved logon experience when using a corporate computer, such as a laptop, outside of the corporate network.
• Faster opening of large image files.

How do I install SP1 for Vista?

Microsoft has also published a site devoted to this topic - http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-GB/help/133c8953-c9cd-4fa5-8883-03e91bb6f2021033.mspx

There are best practices to keep in mind any time you make a major change to your computer.  There is a good list of those practices available on the site, which I am copy/pasting here.

• Back up important files. Because this is a significant update to the Windows operating system, it is a good idea to back up your personal files before beginning the installation.
• Make sure you have enough free disk space. Installing SP1 can require a substantial amount of free disk space, up to 4.5 gigabytes (GB) in some cases, though much of that space will be free again after the installation. If you need to create free disk space on your computer, see Strategies for freeing disk space.
• Update any device drivers as necessary. You can do this by using Windows Update, or by going to the device manufacturer's website. For more information, see Repair or update a driver.
• If you have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to your computer, disconnect the connecting serial cable before installing SP1. The installation automatically attempts to detect devices connected to serial ports, and UPS equipment can cause problems with the detection process. It's fine to leave your computer connected to a UPS for power.
• If you are using a laptop computer, connect it to an AC electrical outlet and don’t unplug or restart the computer during installation.
• Close all open programs. Note that if your antivirus program is on, it might slow the installation by scanning each file that is part of the installation.

When you are ready to install, you can either download and install SP1 or let Windows Update install it for you.  Step by step directions for both processes, as well as the process to uninstall SP1 should go wrong, are included at the SP1 install site given in the URL above.  [This would be a good time to provide guidance on any services you have setup locally like WSUS]

When should I install SP1 for Vista?

This is an opportunity to stand out as a trusted advisor.  Keep in mind that SP1 went through massive testing programs prior to release, but given that each and every environment is different and unique there is nothing wrong with you testing SP1 with your unique set of applications and hardware before recommending it to your constituents.  With that in mind...

We have tested SP1 on our (current set / most popular set) of desktops and laptops as well as working with (most of your applications / x critical application / student information system / digital curriculum) and feel comfortable making a recommendation to install when you are ready.

...

For your own preparation and getting up to speed on the tools/resources at your disposal for SP1, see the following TechNet site.  This site includes a link to the tool for blocking SP1 from being installed over Windows Update, if you find compatibility issues or need to reserve more time for testing.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/bb738089.aspx