I recently had the opportunity to talk with Vijay Tewari, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft for Virtualization about Hyper-V R2, both versions. We chatted about about LM, Clustering, SCONFIG (including ability to configure clustering on Hyper-V Server 2008 R2) and BOOT FROM VHD!
Click on the image to download the 5 minute audio file from my public Skydrive.
For more information see: http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Jeff Woolsey, Principal Group Program Manager for Virtualization at Microsoft about Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and the free version (Hyper-V server), including LM, Frankencluser, Sconfig, Core Parking, and more. Click on the image to download the 13 minute audio podcast from my public Skydrive.
For more information see http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/
I recently had an opportunity for a 7.5 minute discussion at TR9 with Bryon Surace, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft for Virtualization about Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 features including LM and licensing. Click on the image below to hear the audio podcast from Skydrive.
It just gets harder and harder to filter e-mail and get things done. I took a step today you can make to avoid declaring e-mail bankruptcy: make Calendar view your default in outlook.
This helps me keep focused on the big “rocks” I have “planted” on my calendar in order to get stuff done.
There is a new free-as-in-beer utility in Win7 that will make your life easier, both in supporting your end users, and in getting support from Microsoft. It is the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR).
From the website:
“The Problem Steps Recorder in the Windows 7 operating system is a feature that enables users to record their interactions with an application and provide a detailed screen-by-screen view with accompanying information. Learn how the recording can be used to quickly identify problems and help reduce time spent with the help desk.”
HINT: Need to document the procedures for something? Perform the proc under PSR, then grab all yours steps from the zip file :-)
Update: a reader asked:
“Does the PSR exist in Windows Server 2008 R2 if we are using it as a Terminal Server?”
Yes: PSR is included with Windows Server 2008 R2. It also works if you run PSR on the local machine and record steps taking place inside the RDP window.
Enjoy, leave feedack if you like PSR.
If you are one of those customers that doesn’t manage desktops, and are interested in VDI, here are the Sept by Step guides on TN:
Technical Library
Microsoft Download Center
Deploying Virtual Desktop Pools by Using Remote Desktop Web Access Step-by-Step Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147906)
Deploying Virtual Desktop Pools by Using Remote Desktop Web Access Step-by-Step Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147907)
Deploying Personal Virtual Desktops by Using Remote Desktop Web Access Step-by-Step Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147909)
Deploying Personal Virtual Desktops by Using Remote Desktop Web Access Step-by-Step Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=147908)
Deploying Personal Virtual Desktops by Using RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Step-by-Step Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154801)
Deploying Personal Virtual Desktops by Using RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Step-by-Step Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154800)
Deploying a Virtual Desktop Pool by Using RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Step-by-Step Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154802)
Deploying a Virtual Desktop Pool by Using RemoteApp and Desktop Connection Step-by-Step Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=154803)
There is also good information on the Remote Desktop Services team blog at: http://blogs.msdn.com/rds/default.aspx
Check out the Insider’s Guide to Microsoft’s Hyper-V.
Truth in advertising for once, you can’t get a whole lot more *insider* than these guys, and the book includes much PowerShell goodness.
Hyper-V + PowerShell = Salty Goodness.
Ex. see the free-as-in-beer PowerShell Library for Hyper-V Management.
Matt’s new video on TN Edge shows R2 bare metal install to LM in about an hour…
Salty goodness. From the site:
“In this one-off video, Matt McSpirit, Partner Technology Specialist at Microsoft UK, walks through a bare-metal installation of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (RC) on 2 physical nodes, hooks them up to an iSCSI SAN, configures the SAN storage, and then, from a Windows 7 (RC) laptop, validates, and builds a Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (RC) Cluster. The end result? A Highly Available, Live Migratable, Virtual Machine!”
I guess, just follow the jhiggins twitter feed…
TechNet and MSDN have recently added ads to some pages up on the top right rail and in the page footer, like this:
They ads are “highly targeted” and not on every page, for example, no ads on the library pages at this time.
What do you think of them? Good? Bad? Leave feedback. We’d like to hear what you think.
Jeff's blog post explains what's new in R2 Hyper-V.
Kudos to the Hyper-V team for rolling out R2, and some of my favorites, like sconfig (http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2009/07/07/windows-server-2008-r2-core-introducing-sconfig.aspx) SCONFIG and Live Migration: http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2009/05/06/microsoft-hyper-v-server-2008-r2-release-candidate-free-live-migration-ha-anyone.aspx
Today PressPass announces that we have released the Hyper-V Linux Drivers as open source mover at the Linux Driver Project, which is way more significant than free-as-in-beer.
· Microsoft PressPass: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/Jul09/07-20LinuxQA.mspx
· Channel 9 Video Link: http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/NicFill/Microsoft-Contributes-Code-to-the-Linux-Kernel/
Job I would not want – the person who must make the potentially career-limiting-decision each and every day about which image will go on the Bing homepage.
Kudos to you, whoever you are. Job well done. Everyday. Keep it up.
Bill Gates is offering you the Feynman lecture series “The Character of Physical Law” for free-as-in-beer (Silverlight required, but no sign-in!). In the intro, Gates explains:
“More than 20 years after first seeing them, these are still some of the best science lectures I’ve heard. Feynman worked hard during his life to popularize science, so I’m sure he’d be thrilled that now anyone, anywhere in the world, can just click a button and experience his lectures.”
This is your opportunity to access some life-changing lectures presented in a game-changing way.
Welcome to the future of learning. Thank you Mr. Gates!
The online lecture includes “pop-up video”-type enhanced text:
The full lecture text transcript is also available:
Did I mention you can annotate??!!
Mark this down: http://www.microsoft.com/video/en/us/search?phrase=office%20casual
Doug and pals (some human, some sock puppets…so far) explain how to get things done in Office.
For example, Doug explains TwInBox. Twitter in your Inbox? Without even having to subscribe? “oh good golly.”
Doug and AB, separated at birth?
The short (4 minute) Hyper-V Architecture Demonstration Video is live on Microsoft Showcase (not to be confused with my old group Microsoft IT Showcase). Hyper-V PM Ben Armstrong (who blogs at http://blogs.msdn.com/Virtual_PC_Guy/ ) explains the architecture of Hyper-V.
Want to see more videos like this? Or have suggestions for other videos? Leave feedback here or on MSN Video. Thanks in advance.
Felipe’s video chatting about Hyper-V is #3 over on MSN Videos (click on the images to go to the vids).
There is also a good chat with Ian McDonald and Jeff Woolsey,
and an installation video:
Some old friends from Hawaii recently posted these youtube videos of a scene from the Kabuki play Chushingura. We learned the play first in Japanese (the English translation wasn’t finished yet), then we did the English language world tour of this play back in 1979. In hindsight, I see that it was a really big deal for a young gaijin to play Enya Hangan.
I took the responsibility seriously. After Hangan begins his seppuku, his retainer Yuranosuke makes a loooong dramatic entrance. Matagoro sensei told me…
…”From the time the knife enters your side, until the after Yuranosuke speaks, you do not breath. You hold your breath. You will know you are doing it correctly when you notice after the show that your urine has changed color. “
Sensei was a Living National Treasure, a master teacher, and a life changing influence on me.
Most Americans have forgotten, or never learned that Paul Revere’s famous coded signal
“one if by land, two if by sea…”
referred to lights that were to be posted in the Old North Church, an Anglican church, when the British Army was moving to round up rebels and their sympathizers.
The rebels know they are on short lists to be “disappeared”, the question is – when? Revere, credited by the CIA as the creator of the first patriot intelligence network, chooses to use an “enemy” asset (the church) to warn the rebels. Brilliant.
Due to opsec rules I cannot at this time divulge why I might be bringing this up at this time, however, a bunch of us inside Microsoft IT Pro content development have been talking for awhile about crowdsourcing, web 2.0, community and many other of the trendy buzz-words all the cool kids are using these days.
Like I said, or, more precisely, didn’t say, but hinted, we are working on something big in this area for IT Pros. Watch this space, coming soon, and the password is,,,
The Fixit blog has an RSS feed at http://blogs.technet.com/fixit4me/rss.xml. Their blog tagline
“Automated solutions that are easy, intuitive, and available when and where you need them.”
tells you everything except that it is now the number 1 most trafficked blog on TechNet blogs – tell you something about the usefulness to IT Pros? Check it out,
way>SlicedBread trust me
Did I mention the offer a free-as-in-beer sidebar gadget? Install our Vista sidebar gadget.
Or watch the video demo
Or the Video interview with DM Lori Brownell over on Ch 10
Salty goodness all around. I love this company.
Yesterday was Day Zero for the Video Active X control vulnerability reported in Security Advisory 972890. Luckily, this only affects XP and Windows Server 2003 users, so those who are on current OS versions are protected. Unfortunately, many, many of you (those running IE on XP or WS2K3) need to go to KB972890 NOW. No, really, go now. Run, do not walk. There are confirmed reports of websites running malicious code against this exploit.
Luckily, the KB has one of those nifty new FixIt buttons. Easy peasey.
The Free-as-in-beer Microsoft Hohm beta is an online app you can use to save energy and money. The more info you input on your home energy use the more accurate and relevant suggestions for energy conservation you get.
Sign up and start saving now. It's free: www.microsoft-hohm.com
Blog: http://blog.microsoft-hohm.com
Feedback: www.getsatisfaction.com/microsoft_hohm
Twitterstream: http://twitter.com/microsofthohm
“Lack of access to an Arabic keyboard or lack of familiarity with one are two of the most common problems preventing Arabic users from communicating in their own language.
Microsoft Maren is a Windows extension that comes to the rescue, allowing you to type Arabic in Roman characters (Romanized Arabic, Arabizi, Arabish or Franco-Arabic) and have it converted on the fly to Arabic script.”
Get the inside scoop on the Maren blog.
Did I mention lately? “I love this company”
According to the Washington Post yesterday there is a new kind of click fraud waiting to take out your unsuspecting users of internet search.
Slashdot says:
“The Trojan, dubbed FFsearcher by SecureWorks, was among the pieces of malware installed by sites hacked with the Nine-Ball mass compromise, which attacked some 40,000 Web sites this month. The Trojan takes advantage of Google's "AdSense for Search" API, which allows Web sites to embed Google search results alongside the usual Google AdSense ads. (SecureWorks' writeup indicates that Yahoo search is targeted too, but the researchers saw no evidence if the malware redirecting Yahoo searches.) While most search hijackers give themselves away on the victim's machine by redirecting the browser through some no-name search engine, FFsearcher "...converts every search a victim makes through Google.com, so that each query is invisibly redirected through the attackers' own Web sites, via Google's Custom Search API. Meanwhile, the Trojan manipulates the victim's PC and browser so that the victim never actually sees the attacker-controlled Web site that is hijacking the search, but instead sees the search results as though they were returned directly from Google.com (and with Google.com in the victim browser's address bar, not the address of the attacker controlled site). Adding to the stealth is the fact that search results themselves aren't altered by the attackers, who are merely going after the referral payments should victims click on any of the displayed ads. What's more, the attackers aren't diverting clicks or ad revenue away from advertisers or publishers, as in traditional click fraud: They are simply forcing Google to pay commissions that it wouldn't otherwise have to pay."
Apparently one way the victim can identify the hijacked results is the lack of the total number of pages that contain the word or phrase for which the victim is searching.