Microsoft has rolled out updates to six Internet Information Services (IIS) Extensions. Three are still in beta while three are released to the Web (RTW). Here’s the rundown:
And in addition to the WebsiteSpark announcement, which we covered yesterday, We added other enhancements to the overall Microsoft Web Platform, including the Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 RTW, which provides developers with a simplified, ‘one click’ installation of technologies in the Web stack – including IIS Extensions.
Also, the Windows Web Application Gallery provides access to more than 20 popular, free, and ready to install Web apps to build Web sites and Web applications that run on Windows.
More to come,
Mitch
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The Solution Accelerators team has announced the availability of the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Virtualization updated for Windows Server 2008 R2, which can help customers start their planning and deployment process for virtualization using the Microsoft portfolio. Find detailed documentation and simple flowcharts. Detailed guides are available for designing virtual deployments.
In addition, the Infrastructure and Planning Guide for System Center has been updated for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2.
This is reminder to tune in to The New Efficiency event on September 29, from 9-10:30 AM Pacific Time to see how the soon-to-be released software is already meeting cost and productivity challenges for some early adopters. With Windows 7, Windows Server R2 and Exchange 2010 starting to get adoption, top industry leaders and Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer will debate the role of IT during this economic reset. Can cost savings, productivity and innovation come together to drive business growth? Get a closer look at how real companies are justifying IT investments across desktop, server, network and beyond. Sign up here.
Small Web developers and designers now have a great new resource in WebsiteSpark, our new program providing software, support and, coming soon, a marketplace to help you grow your business. Web companies with 10 or fewer employees can qualify for the web platform software, professional support and training, and business opportunities through a marketplace that connects an ecosystem of customers, hosters, and complementary partners. Businesses may participate in the program for three years with no cost obligations other than a $100 program fee, payable upon exit.
Also new is the RTM of the Web Platform Installer 2.0, which provides even more features such as the IIS SEO Toolkit, and the Windows Web Application Gallery, now with over 20 ASP.NET and PHP applications. Beginning now and through 2009 all of this will be localized in nine languages.
The Sysinternals team recently rolled out two updates:
Process Monitor v2.7This update to Process Monitor, a system monitoring utility, adds a new option to the process tree dialog that direct it to show just the timeline for displayed events, uses kernel-based thread profiling on Vista and higher for better performance, and includes a number of minor fixes and enhancements.
ProcDump v1.5ProcDump now includes a new switch that enables the creation of a process dump upon process termination, which can help with troubleshooting unexpected process termination. It also fixes a bug where the -ma switch wouldn’t generate a full dump when combined with -r, the Windows 7-specific process reflection switch.
Be sure to check out Sysinternals Live, a service that enables 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.
The Solution Accelerators team has just released a version of its Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) toolkit for IBM server virtualization hardware, including the IBM System x and BladeCenter, to help customers deploy Hyper-V virtualization more quickly in those environments.
As with the generic version of the MAP toolkit, the IBM version helps you identify what clients, servers and network devices are in your IT environment and performs hardware compatibility analysis, virtualization readiness planning, and generates actionable proposals for migration major Microsoft technologies. You can also calculate potential savings with the virtualization ROI calculator.
Download the MAP Toolkit for IBM version
Download the MAP Toolkit for Hyper-V (generic version)
Microsoft has launched a new site for IT pros, Because it’s everbody’s business, focusing on how Microsoft customers can leverage the latest products and technologies to control IT costs while maintaining agility and flexibility. There you will find resources, discussions and information on the products and projects that can help you cut costs as you manage, deploy, modernize, help secure, automate, collaborate, communicate, consolidate, virtualize and optimize.
The site covers projects to improve communications and collaboration, consolidate and virtualize, update the desktop and server, make better decisions and improve business processes. You find resources around products such as Forefront, SharePoint, SQL Server 2008, Systems Center, Unified Communications, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.
Speaking of Windows 7, here’s reminder to bookmark our Windows 7 list of compatible applications. This is an ever expanding list of applications, along with their exact version numbers, that have been approved (by their developers) for running correctly and as expected on Windows 7.
Support is now available for running Operations Manager 2007 SP1 and Operations Manager 2007 R2 on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. See the Knowledge Base article for management pack availability, known issues, and updates.
Extended Support for Windows 2000 Server will end on July 13, 2010. At this time, Windows 2000 Server will no longer be publicly supported. You will be able to continue using Self-Help Online Support.
Also on July 13, 2010, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2 (at a supported service pack level) will move from Mainstream Support to Extended Support. That means Microsoft will continue to provide security updates and paid support and customers will continue to have access to all security updates and Self-Help Online Support options. Non-security hot fixes developed during the Extended Support phase will be provided only to customers who enroll in Extended Hotfix Support.
Microsoft will not have a SP3 release for Windows Server 2003.
For more on the Microsoft Support Lifecycle, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy page.
Microsoft yesterday announced that a limited number of invitation-only participants received access to lightweight versions of Microsoft Office applications via the Web as part of the Microsoft Office Web Apps Technical Preview program. Individually, Office Web Apps include Word Web App, Excel Web App, PowerPoint Web App and OneNote Web App.
Office Web Apps enable users to access, share and work on Office documents from virtually anywhere with an Internet connection. Office Web Apps will be delivered on Windows Live SkyDrive and Office 2010 volume licensing business customers will be able to get Office Web Apps through volume license agreements and via subscription offering through Microsoft Online Services.
After the early Technical Preview program, which is designed to collect customer feedback prior to the broad release of the service, Microsoft will continue to update the Office Web Apps, leading up to the broadly available beta and the official launch next year. The applications are not yet feature complete. The full feature set for Office Web Apps, which will include further integration with Microsoft Office 2010, will be available in the first half of 2010.
Sign up for early notification about the Office 2010 and Office Web Apps Beta here.
Microsoft yesterday announced that Microsoft Project 2010 beta will become available for testing later this fall, but you can now pre-register for the Microsoft Project 2010 beta.
Microsoft will release three editions of Microsoft Project: Microsoft Project Standard 2010, Microsoft Project Professional 2010 and Microsoft Project Server 2010. To whet your appetite for the beta, here are some the key enhancements:
· Unified project and portfolio management with a common user interface and experience across the project life cycle; improved workflow controls that can be customized; better demand management to capture all types of work requests across an organization; and powerful reporting and business intelligence capabilities
· Improved productivity with effective collaboration built on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010; enhanced collaboration and reporting; integration with Microsoft Outlook 2007 and 2010; and simplified time reporting
· Enhanced user experience with the familiar Microsoft Office Fluent user interface and new intuitive design; user-controlled scheduling for greater flexibility when creating simple or detailed project plans; the addition of a new timeline view for sequential overview of project schedules; and new Web-based project editing
· Integration across related Microsoft technologies for connected and familiar work management on the PC, mobile phone and browser; better interoperability with third-party systems from updates to the Project Server Interface; 64-bit compatibility for performance improvement; and removal of ActiveX dependency for improved security and ease of deployment across an organization
Microsoft Project 2010 will be generally available in the first half of 2010.
The System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 and 2008 R2 Microsoft Product Support Reporting Tool is now available to gather critical system and logging information used in troubleshooting support issues. Download the MPS Reporting Tool here.
Use the MPS Reporting Tool to gather detailed system status and configuration information from the Virtual Machine Manager server of Virtual Machine Manager 2008 or 2008 R2 server as well as from all managed virtual machine hosts, library servers, and physical to virtual conversion (P2V) source computers. This version of the MPS Reporting Tool collects gathers data to help Microsoft Support Professionals diagnose error conditions experienced in Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2. The Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) version of the MPS Reporting Tool gathers the following diagnostic data for the VMM server, the virtual machine hosts and library servers that the VMM server manages, and physical to virtual conversion (P2V) source computers:
It’s still in beta but the new Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for DirectAccess delivers guidance on some very cool new ways of connecting remotely. Download this guide to design a DirectAccess infrastructure. It’s an easy-to-follow, four-step process and provides a straightforward explanation of the infrastructure required for clients to be connected from the Internet to resources on the corporate network, whether or not the organization has begun deploying IPv6.
What is DirectAccess? Introduced in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, DirectAccess allows remote users to securely access enterprise shares, Web sites, and applications without connecting to a virtual private network (VPN). It establishes bi-directional connectivity with a user’s enterprise network every time a user’s DirectAccess-enabled portable computer connects to the Internet, even before the user logs on. Users never have to think about connecting to the enterprise network and IT administrators can manage remote computers outside the office, even when the computers are not connected to the VPN.
Here are two overviews:
DirectAccess Executive OverviewTechnical Overview of DirectAccess
With all the recent new downloads for preview versions of our upcoming software taking most of the news cycles, I felt it was time catch up on some of the great new documents that were made available within the last couple weeks.
For quick reference of supported and unsupported upgrade paths for upcoming operating system releases:
Guidance for creating create high-quality Windows applications with a consistent look and feel:
Get up to speed on online services for enterprises:
Less than a month after the release candidate was unveiled, Microsoft has released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010, the recommended process and toolset for automating desktop and server deployment.
Download Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 here.
MDT 2010 is a Solution Accelerator that supports 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. It reduces deployment time by offering standardized desktop and server images, along with improved security and ongoing configuration management. By leveraging System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate and Windows deployment tools, it provides automated Zero Touch Installation deployments. For those without a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure, MDT leverages Windows deployment tools for Lite Touch Installation deployments.
New enhancements in MDT 2010 include the ability to:
MDT 2010 supports installations on x64 or x86 hosts.
The September 2009 Security Bulletin is now available. This bulletin summary replaces the bulletin advance notification originally issued September 3, 2009. For more information about the bulletin advance notification service, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification.
Brought to you by the Springboard Series, this special 90-day trial of Windows 7 Enterprise is now available to help you test and evaluate the final released to manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7 Enterprise. Designed specifically for IT professionals, this 90-day trial is offered in English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese.
Get it here and test your hardware, software, and deployment strategies today—and get deployment guidance, step-by-step tutorials, and more with the Springboard Series for Windows 7.
Note: If you already have Windows 7 through MSDN, TechNet, or Software Assurance, you do not need to download this trial.
Microsoft just announced the Windows Cache Extension for PHP Beta, a PHP accelerator that is used to increase the speed of PHP applications running on Windows and Windows Server. Once the Windows Cache Extension for PHP is enabled and loaded by the PHP engine, PHP applications can take advantage of the functionality without any code modifications. Windows Cache Extension for PHP Beta can be installed with the Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 RC and works with IIS 7.5, 7.0, 6.0, and 5.1. Download the New Windows Cache Extension for PHP Beta and check out Using Windows Cache Extension for PHP for more information.
That’s right. We’re kicking off the Virtual Launch Event for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Microsoft Forefront, and Microsoft System Center on September 29, 2009. Join us on at 9 AM (PST) for the start of The New Efficiency. We’ll be hosting a live-streamed discussion with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and top technology leaders on the evolving role of IT in today’s business climate. The full Virtual Launch Event site goes live on September 29, but visit us in the meantime to add the event to your Outlook calendar, evaluate the new product lineup and even submit a question for Steve Ballmer to address during his discussion.
If you are looking to get ahead, stand out in the crowd, pursue a new career in IT, move from one job role to another, or become indispensible in your existing role, Microsoft Certifications can help. Earning a certification not only helps you stay current on the latest developments in Microsoft technologies and platforms; it also enables you to demonstrate your skills.
To make it easier, you can now take advantage of a new set of discounts that Microsoft is providing on select Microsoft Certification exams. Visit Microsoft Learning’s Certification Exam Offer website to find out how to begin and to see whether the exam you’re interested in is 15%, 20% or 25% off. This offer is available worldwide while supplies last, and you have to register, schedule and purchase your discounted exam by December 31, 2009.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is the stand-alone hyper-visor that enables organizations to improve server utilization and reduce costs. Download the Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and test out the new features such as live migration and expanded processor and memory support for host systems.
If your organization is looking to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server, or consolidate servers in general, this might be the solution. The learning curve is minimal since it allows IT professionals to leverage existing patching, provisioning, management and support tools and processes, plus their individual skills and the collective knowledge of Microsoft tools.