If your company recently went through a series of layoffs, you’re probably faced with the problem of how to redistribute the workload to effectively maintain the same quality of work while avoiding stoppages. You need and action play and the
Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) team can help. The MOF team has released its first in a new series of MOF Action Plans. The MOF Action Plan- Redistributing the Workload document describes how to consider and reconfigure key responsibilities and work distribution, based on key principles and best practices from MOF 4.0 core content.
More to come,
Mitch
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Windows Server User Research wants to understand how you manage servers and what needs to improve in our software. Help them out and receive a retail Microsoft software or hardware item for participating. If your company has at least 500 PCs and offices in North America, contact us for visit qualification requirements. Email itvisits@microsoft.com.
If you’re a regular user of the Windows Sysinternals system utilities, there is some significant news around Process Monitor. First off, the venerable Filemon and Regmon utilities will be replaced by the more advanced and scalable Process Monitor. They will be removed from the site on September 1, 2009.
The Windows Sysinternals team also recently unveiled Process Monitor v2.5, which adds a number of enhancements, including new by-extension and by-directory views in the File Summary dialog, a new Network Summary view, quick filtering in all the summary views, additional IOCTL and error result decoding, and a number of bug fixes.
Want to better understand and use Microsoft security release information, processes, communications, and tools? Download the new Microsoft Security Update Guide for IT professionals, designed to help you manage organizational risk and develop a repeatable, effective deployment mechanism for security updates. In this Guide, you will find a convenient glossary of terms, an overview of the Microsoft Security Bulletin process, and a stage-by-stage review of Microsoft Security Updates.
Also on the security front, you can now download the Microsoft Office Visualization Tool (OffVis), a free tool designed to help combat file format-based software vulnerabilities and exploits. OffVis enables you to better understand and deconstruct Microsoft Office-based attacks. As a result, security vendors can build deeper, more precise malware detection signatures and develop new techniques for analyzing malware.
Not to be forgotten in the well-deserved excitement around the RTM milestone for Windows 7, the simultaneous Windows Server 2008 R2 release to manufacturing goes hand-in-hand with Windows 7, especially for IT professionals. Get the skinny on how this is great news for IT pros over on the Windows Server Division blog.
With the Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM comes the Microsoft Hyper V Server 2008 R2. The Virtualization Team blog has the highlights.
If you’re still testing the Windows Server 2008 R2 RC build, you’ll be able to switch over to the RTM build during the second half of August, 2009. For Windows Server 2008 R2, click here for the low-down on system requirements and installation guidelines and IT pro testing guidelines; and for the updated reviewers guide and other technical content be sure to visit the Windows Server 2008 R2 resources page.
For those evaluating Windows Server 2008 R2 for the first time, check out the Resources page for content on R2’s key new features, including Hyper-V with Live Migration, the new File Classification Infrastructure, the updates to IIS 7.5 and the new “better together” features you can access by combining Windows Server 2008 R2 with Windows 7.
The answer to that question is “sooner than you might think.” The Windows Team Blog has posted details on when customers will be able to download the RTM (Release to Manufacturing) bits, and the availability depends on who you are.
For instance, independent software vendors and independent hardware vendors will be able to complete their testing on the final version of Windows 7 by accessing the Windows 7 RTM via Microsoft Connect or their MSDN subscription beginning August 6, 2009. Developers will be also be able to access the RTM bits through their MSDN subscription on August 6, 2009.
Volume License (VL) customers with an existing Software Assurance (SA) license will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 7, 2009 via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). The rest of the languages for Windows 7 RTM should be available within a couple of weeks following the English release.
For IT professionals who are not part of the VL program, if you have a TechNet subscription, you will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6, 2009 and the remaining languages by October 1, 2009. Evaluation versions of Windows 7 Professional for IT professionals will be made available via the Springboard Series shortly after RTM.
Microsoft Gold/Certified Partners will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English through the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Portal on August 16, 2009. The remaining languages will become available to download by October 1, 2009.
Microsoft Action Pack subscribers will be about to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 23, 2009, with the remaining languages available by October 1, 2009.
And finally, for consumers, retail stores will begin offering Windows 7--and it will start shipping on new PCs--on October 22.
For a quick view of the supported and unsupported upgrade paths for Windows 7 SKUs, download the Windows 7 Upgrade Paths document which outlines possible upgrade scenarios from older versions of Windows.
For a Web version of this document, see Windows 7 Upgrade Paths in the Windows Client TechCenter Library. For a complete view of Windows 7 resources, articles, demos, and guidance, please visit the Springboard Series for Windows 7 on the Windows Client TechCenter.
Microsoft announced today that it has contributed 20,000 lines of code to the Linux kernel community. The code contribution, a Linux device driver, will be published on CodePlex, and will be immediately available to the Linux Community and customers, enabling any distribution of the Linux operating system to be virtualized on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008.
This is significant for a couple reasons: The Hyper-V Linux device drivers enable Linux machines to run as virtual machines on top of Hyper-V. Without this driver code, Linux can run on top of Windows, but without the same high performance levels. Second, this marks the first time Microsoft is directly contributing code to the Linux kernel. Microsoft has made the long term commitment to update and maintain this code over time as the next versions of the Linux kernel are released.
For more, check out the Channel 9 video, the Virtualization Team Blog -- Microsoft and Red Hat Cooperative Technical Support, and the Microsoft Open Source site.
Windows Home Server is getting ready for Windows 7. The Windows Home Server team has announced the Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 Beta which provides backup and restore of computers running Windows 7, Windows 7 Libraries integration, enhancements for Windows Media Center, and better support for netbook computers. With the Power Pack 3, Windows Home Server can perform a full image-based backup of Windows 7-based computers, allowing for a complete computer recovery in the case of a hard drive failure, or restoration of a single file or folder in the event of accidental deletion or loss.
To download the Power Pack 3 Beta, you will need to sign up as a beta participant of the Windows Home Server program on Microsoft Connect. For details on all the Power Pack 3 Beta, check out the Windows Home Server Team Blog.
The following guides in the Infrastructure Planning and Design series have been updated to reflect new features and capabilities available in Windows Server 2008 R2:
These guides outline the critical design elements that are crucial to a successful implementation. Following the steps in these guides will result in a design that is sized, configured, and appropriately placed to deliver the stated business benefits, while also considering the performance, capacity, and fault tolerance of the system.
Download the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guides here.
This beta brings together many remote access technologies, including DirectAccess, SSL VPN, Remote Desktop, Web publishing, etc. under one user/admin experience. That means you can provide access to every type of user from virtually every location while your users get a simple and straightforward experience that adapts to the level of security of device they are using.
Evaluate the Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 (UAG) Beta
Find technical resources at the Intelligent Application Gateway TechCenter
Learn how Forefront UAG extends the benefits of DirectAccess
Build an original, consumer-oriented client application that runs natively on Windows 7 and enter the Code7 Windows 7 Developer Contest to be eligible for prizes, including a trip to PDC09 in Los Angeles and a grand prize of $17,777.
Download the free Windows 7 SDK and build an application that addresses one or more of the following category topics:
The application must utilize at least one of the following Windows 7 technology features; however more weight in judging will be given to entries that utilize multiple features:
Then you must create and submit a video in which you describe and demonstrate your application.
Contest ends on October 10, 2009. Entries received by 11:59 p.m. PT on August 15, 2009, will be eligible to win an “Early Bird” prize. Finalists will be chosen from seven geographic regions.
The Windows 7 Team blog has posted a great update which describes what happens once Windows 7 hits that all-important milestone, Release to Manufacturing (RTM). See the blog post to read about the nuances of RTM, but here’s the gist of what to expect once it’s attained (still anticipating the latter half of July):
First, TechNet and MSDN subscribers will be offered the final version of Windows 7 to download a few weeks after the RTM announcement. Then, those of you who are volume license customers will be able to get Windows 7 on September 1. And finally, the retail versions of Windows 7 will be in stores October 22, the same time as it becomes available on new PCs. If you preordered Windows 7 through the Microsoft Store, you can expect delivery around October 22.
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Now it’s your chance to develop a Microsoft Surface application and win you own Microsoft Surface Developer unit. The Microsoft Surface Developer Challenge isn’t about retro-fitting existing applications for Microsoft Surface. The challenge starts and ends with touch. To enter, first join the Microsoft Surface Quick Start Program and download the Microsoft Surface SDK 1.0 SP1. When you’ve designed your application, create a short video highlight of your application in action. Then upload your video to the Microsoft Surface Facebook fan page and complete your entry.
Microsoft announced today that Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010 have reached the technical preview engineering milestone. Sign up here to be considered for the Technical Preview Program.
While the Technical Preview program is limited and invitation only, the SharePoint team is offering a sneak peak at SharePoint 2010. Public Beta availability will be made available later this year. For more information on the upcoming release, see the SharePoint 2010 frequently asked questions and follow the Microsoft SharePoint Team Blog.
Microsoft today rolled out Silverlight 3 and Expression 3, which together form a highly collaborative development and design environment that simplifies the process of delivering engaging user experiences.
New features in Silverlight 3 and Expression 3 include:
· Expression SketchFlow, which provides development teams rapid prototyping
· The ability to add out-of-browser, connected and disconnected scenarios for cross-platform applications.
· IIS Smooth Streaming, which enables HDTV-quality (1080p) video experiences with rich interactivity for both on-demand and live video
· New features and controls that increase development team productivity, including 3-D and hardware graphics acceleration
Check out the announcements made today at the See the Light interactive virtual launch experience.
For those who didn’t sign up in advance last week for notification on the availability of the MDT 2010 Beta 2, just click here to get the toolkit. If you are already a member, click here. MDT 2010 is the next version of Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, a Solution Accelerator for operating system and application deployment. MDT 2010 will support deployment of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in addition to deployment of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP.
For details on the MDT 2010 Beta 2, see the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit Team Blog.
The Data Platform Insider reports that Microsoft is updating the branding for SQL Services and SQL Data Services to Microsoft SQL Azure, and Microsoft SQL Azure Database, respectively. Expect more news and updates related to the Software + Services strategy next week at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans. For those of you not attending in person, all the news and information can be found at http://www.digitalwpc.com/ starting next Monday, July 13. Check back for daily updates.
The Microsoft Online Services team has targeted the next Service Update for Microsoft Online Services to be available by mid-July. The Service Update for July 2009 began deployment into production data centers yesterday.
The Service Update for July 2009 will include the following features:
· Migration support for hosted Exchange mailboxes
· An increase for SharePoint Online file uploads from 50MB to 250MB
· An increase in Live Meeting attendees from 15 to 250 attendees
· Microsoft Online Services trials for India
· Quick Trials—with user actions required to set up a trial account reduced by 75 percent
· Worldwide user provisioning
For more on the release deployment status and information on planned downtime, check the Microsoft Online Service team blog.
· ProcDump v1.0 -- This new command-line utility is aimed at capturing process dumps of otherwise difficult to isolate and reproduce CPU spikes. It also serves as a general process dump creation utility and can also monitor and generate process dumps when a process has a hung window or unhandled exception.
· Windows Internals 5th Edition Released --The 5th Edition of Windows Internals, the official book on the architecture and internals of the Windows operating system, is now available. This release is 25% larger than the 4th Edition and is updated to cover Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Visit the official book page and watch Mark and David’s Channel 9 interview on the book.
Also, a reminder that the Sysinternals Live service allows you to execute Sysinternals tools directly from the Web without hunting for and manually downloading them. Simply enter a tool’s Sysinternals Live path into Windows Explorer or a command prompt as http://live.sysinternals.com/<toolname> or \\live.sysinternals.com\tools\<toolname>. You can view the entire Sysinternals Live tools directory in a browser at http://live.sysinternals.com.
If your organization uses Windows Server Update Services, Internet Explorer 8 will be made available as an update rollup starting August 25, 2009. If you have WSUS configured to auto-approve update rollup packages, IE8 will install automatically on computers running IE6 or IE7. If you auto-approve update rollups but want more control over when and how IE8 is deployed, read this IEBlog post for more prescriptive guidance.
If you are ready to deploy Internet Explorer 8 today, check out the Internet Explorer TechNet Center.
It’s true. New Accelerators for Internet Explorer 8, found at the Internet Explorer 8 Add-ons Gallery, can actually saves you time and clicks, so you get things done more quickly. To showcase how this is possible, the Windows Experience Blog is featuring a video, Accelerators in IE8 Help Save Time!, which documents the testing of common tasks people actually do in four browsers: Safari 4.0, Chrome 2.0 beta, Firefox 3.5 beta 99 and Internet Explorer 8.