[5th Nov 2010 - Updated the title of the blog - from "Windows Azure Monitoring MP ..." to "Windows Azure Application Monitoring MP ..."]

We are pleased to announce the availability of the Release Candidate (RC) of the Monitoring Management Pack (MP) for Windows Azure Applications (version 6.1.7686.0), which can be immediately deployed by customers running System Center Operations Manager 2007 and Operations Manager 2007 R2.

As more customers adopt Windows Azure to develop and deploy application, we know that integrating the management of those applications into their existing console is an important requirement. This management pack enables Operations Manager customers to monitor the availability and performance of applications that are running on Windows Azure.

Customers should head to the MP page on Microsoft Pinpoint to find more information on the MP, as well as download the bits (due to replication times, some customers may have to wait up to 24 hours from this notice before being able to download the bits).  Customers who download the MP will be supported by Microsoft in their production deployments.

To answer some immediate questions on the management pack and its capabilities:

Q. What does the Windows Azure Application MP do?
A. The Windows Azure Application MP includes the following capabilities:

• Discovery of Windows Azure applications.
• Status of each role instance.
• Collection and monitoring performance information.
• Collection and monitoring of Windows events.
• Collection and monitoring of the .NET Framework trace messages from each role instance.
• Grooming of performance, event, and the .NET Framework trace data from Windows Azure storage account.
• Change the number of role instances.

Q. Why is the Windows Azure Application Management Pack a Release Candidate (RC) and not RTW?
A. We have released this as an RC as we work to implement new monitoring scenarios in the cloud.

Q. When will the RTW version of the Azure Application Management Pack be available?
A. We expect to make it available in H1 CY2011

Q. Is this MP supported in production deployments?
A. Yes the Release Candidate of the Azure Application Management Pack will be supported for customers using it in production deployments.

Sacha Dawes
Sr. Product Planner
System Center Product Management

Good morning everyone.  Well, TechEd EMEA in Berlin is only 2 weeks away now, and the team are working hard on delivery some great new Opalis content.

If you are coming to Berlin, we would love to meet you, and see you in Opalis sessions.  Speaking of Opalis session, here is a run down of the sessions that will feature Opalis:

• MGT22-HOL - Technical Introduction and Overview of Opalis. This is a hands on lab for people who have never used Opalis before and want to understand how things work and what is possible.
• MGT15-HOL - Creating the Dynamic Datacenter.  This is a Hands on Lab that allows you to work with the soon to be released Opalis 6.3 and the new System Center Integration Packs.  This is an advanced lab, requiring some previous experience with Opalis (i.e. MGT22-HOL at a minimum).
• MGT201 - Management in the Datacenter.  This is the Management Track Datacenter keynote, led by Ryan O’Hara featuring some very cool demo’s.
• MGT202 - System Center Client Management - What's Now and Future.  This is the Management Track Client keynote, led by Garth Fort and yes Opalis features!
• MGT207 - Opalis - Introduction and Technical Overview.  In this session myself and Jim Pitts will take you from zero to 100 in an hour, from understanding what Opalis is to an awesome demo by Jim featuring some very new Opalis 6.3 capability.  We also have a special Partner guest who will be showcasing how they are building integration to their storage solutions with Opalis.
• MGT304 - System Center Service Manager – A Deep Dive on How to Automate ITIL or MOF.  Service Manager and Opalis provide an incredibly powerful solution set!  Sean Christensen and Travis Wright. What else could you want?
• MGT321-IS - Extending and Customizing Opalis and Microsoft System Center Service Manager.  Jim Pitts and Travis Wright get deep into Service Manager and Opalis and talk about how to integrate Service Manager and Opalis.  This will be a great session.
• MGT320-IS - Microsoft System Center Integration - Enabling the Dynamic Datacenter and Getting Ready for the Cloud.  You don’t want to miss this interactive session!  The entire System Center Technical Product Management Team - Adam Hall, Brjann Brekkan, Jason Buffington, Jeff Wettlaufer, Kenon Owens and Sean Christensen together on stage! 
• In addition, we have some great booths set up in the lounge where you can come talk to us and ask those questions that you have stored up for us!

I look forward to meeting you there!

   Adam Hall 
   Sr. Technical Product Manager, Opalis   
  

Hey guys, we just wanted to get you a heads up that the TechNet landing page for the Configuration Manager VHD Test Drive program has updated, so the VMs should now be a little easier to find.  You can find the link here.

Jeff Wettlaufer
Sr Technical Product Manager
System Center, Management and Security Division

Hello everyone, recently the Beta 2 of MED-V was released, and we wanted to make sure everyone on this blog was aware of it.  Originally announced on the MDOP blog, and the Windows for your Business Blogs, MED-V is an incredibly cool Desktop Virtualization technology that builds on System Center Configuration Manager.  For situations where App-V does not resolve your application compatibility challenges, MED-V may in fact be a solution.  App-V is an application to application compatibility solution, but may not remediate an app to OS issue.  This is where MED-V becomes interesting.  MED-V is a desktop virtualization technology that allows an app to be isolated from the host (Windows 7 ) OS.  In addition, MED-V provides:

• No dedicated MED-V infrastructure to deploy - MED-V 2.0 workspaces are deployed and managed using  System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 or higher
• Streamlined sign-on to the MED-V workspace - Users can save their passwords for seamless sign-on to the MED-V workspace
• Automatic application publishing – New applications deployed to MED-V workspaces, including App-V virtual applications, are available to the Windows 7 host automatically
• My Documents and Desktop redirection - Legacy applications work just like locally installed applications when it comes to opening, saving and printing documents
• USB device/SmartCard support - USB devices, including thumb drives and Smartcard readers can be shared between the host and applications running in the MED-V workspace
• New Internet Explorer redirection options - IT administrators can redirect legacy web applications using wildcards (http://*.example.com), sites (http://www.example.com/hr), at the page-level (http://www.example.com/hr/benefits.asp) or by specifying a port (http://vpn.example.com:1234) 
• Automated guest hibernation at shutdown – The MED-V workspace is seamlessly suspended when the user logs off or shuts down the Windows 7 host

Some resources for you:

• The MED-V 2.0 public beta can be downloaded from Microsoft Connect
• The MDOP Blog is here
• The Windows for your Business blog is here
• Configuration Manager 2007 R3 is now available for eval here

Jeff Wettlaufer
Sr Technical Product Manager
System Center, Management and Security Division

Today we are pleased to announce the release and availability of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3! Organizations of all sizes use System Center Configuration Manager for better insight and control of their servers, PCs and devices across physical, virtual and distributed environments. Now, R3 brings a complete set of power management tools for more Green IT, mobile device management capabilities, as well as other enhancements.

Below is a quick summary of what’s new with R3. Go here to download the evaluation software – it will be available at around 2 p.m. Pacific time.

Centralized Power Management

Configuration Manager R3 lets IT organizations centrally manage the power settings of Windows 7, Vista and XP computers, helping reduce energy consumption and costs. You can plan and apply a power management policy for high and low PC usage periods, monitor user activity to avoid any productivity interruptions and correct non-compliance. Detailed reports of trends and settings help you make smart power management choices, and also validate Green IT projects with summaries of power, money and CO2 savings. Learn more here.

Mobile Device Management

Configuration Manager R3 includes licenses for the popular System Center Mobile Device Manager, so you can run comprehensive asset inventories, deploy software, manage settings and enforce password policies for Windows phones.

Enhanced Scalability and Performance

Configuration Manager R3 is more scalable than ever, increasing the number of supported clients to 300,000 per hierarchy. R3 is also more efficient in the way it communicates with Active Directory, helping you discover user or machine changes more quickly and allowing custom queries to define user, system or group attributes.

Finally, it is worth noting that, just like Configuration Manager R2, R3 will be the foundation for the upcoming Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010. By bringing endpoint security into overall endpoint management, you can reduce costs and inefficiencies, and also improve security and compliance.

We encourage you to take a close look at Configuration Manager R3 today!