For more information and to add the event to your calendar visit: www.TheNewEfficiency.com.
Ballmer and company will talk in-depth on how companies across the globe are reacting to new economic and technology trends, including:
Windows Server 20008 R2 contains exciting new features that directly address all of these trends. IT professionals will quickly see the benefits of Windows Server 2008 R2's new capabilities, but mapping these new capabilities to tangible business goals will be at the heart of next week's business value discussion. Don't miss it.
Oliver Rist
Product Manager
Windows Server Marketing
Wow – do we have a bunch of announcements for you! If you care about Web sites, read on. From really cool media scenarios, to making it easy getting started on the Microsoft Web Platform, to advanced tweaks to your Web site – we have something for all walks of life to check out. Let’s cut to the chase.
Today, Microsoft announced updates to six important IIS Extensions:
· IIS Application Request Routing 2.0 RC adds support to enhance disk based cache and cache proxy for content delivery networks while increasing Web application reliability and scalability through rule-based routing and load balancing of HTTP server requests.
· IIS Search Engine Optimization Toolkit Beta2 helps Web developers, hosting providers, and Web server administrators to improve their Web site’s relevance in search results by recommending how to make the site content more search engine-friendly.
· IIS URL Rewriter 2.0 adds support for outbound response rewriting while enabling Web administrators to create powerful rules to implement URLs that are easier for users to remember and easier for search engines to find.
· IIS Web Deployment Tool RTW simplifies the migration, management, and deployment of IIS Web servers, Web applications, and Web sites.
· IIS Database Manager RTW allows you to easily manage your local and remote databases from within IIS Manager.
· Coming soon, IIS Media Services 3.0 RTW, an integrated HTTP-based media delivery platform, combines all IIS media extensions - including IIS Live Smooth Streaming - and delivers true HD (720p+) streaming for users and real-time logging to measure media investments.
Microsoft also announced three significant enhancements to the overall Microsoft Web Platform:
· The new Microsoft® WebsiteSpark™ program makes it easy for Web professionals to get the software and support needed and a marketplace to grow their business on the Microsoft Web Platform.
· The Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 RTW provides developers with a simplified, ‘one click’ installation of technologies in the Web stack – including IIS Extensions, amplifying ease of use and reducing complexity.
· The Windows Web Application Gallery provides access to over 20 popular, free, and ready to install Web apps to build Web sites and Web applications that run on Windows.
If you can’t decide where to start, first get the new Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 RTW – this is your one-stop shop to get everything for the Microsoft Web Platform. From IIS Extensions to the Windows App Gallery, there is sure to be something useful for your Web site endeavors.
Eric Rezabek
Senior Product Manager
IIS/Web
Hello everyone,
Today, I’m very excited to announce that Microsoft has acquired the technology assets of Interactive Supercomputing (ISC), a company that specializes in bringing the power of parallel computing to the desktop and making high performance computing more accessible to end users. This move represents our ongoing commitment to parallel computing and high performance computing (HPC) and will bring together complementary technologies that will help simplify the complexity and difficulty of expressing problems that can be parallelized. ISC’s products and technology enable faster prototyping, iteration, and deployment of large-scale parallel solutions, which is well aligned with our vision of making high performance computing and parallel computing easier, both on the desktop and in the cluster.
Bill Blake, CEO of ISC, is bringing over a team of industry leading experts on parallel and high performance computing that will join the Microsoft team at the New England Research & Development Center in Cambridge, MA. He and I are both excited to start working together on the next generation of technology for researchers, analysts, and engineers, as well as those who have yet to be exposed to the benefits of parallel computing and HPC technologies or may have thought they were out of reach.
We have recently begun plans to integrate ISC technologies into future versions of Microsoft products and will provide more information over the coming months on where and how that integration will occur. Beginning immediately, Microsoft will provide support for ISC’s current Star-P customers and we are committed to continually listening to customer needs as we develop the next generation of HPC and parallel computing technologies. I’m looking forward to the opportunities our two combined groups have to greatly improve the capability, performance, and accessibility of parallel computing and HPC technologies.
You can find more information on HPC and parallel computing at Microsoft in these links and stay up to date on integration news and updates at Microsoft Pathways, our acquisition information site.
My name is Crissy House and I am the Windows Server Operations Manager here at Microsoft. I handle a lot of our customer and partner questions and wanted to provide an update on upcoming support lifecycle changes for Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 and help clarify some misperceptions of a Service Pack 3 for Windows Server 2003.
Windows 2000 Server
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"*
Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2
Also on July 13, 2010, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2 (at a supported service pack level) will move from the Mainstream Support phase to the Extended Support phase. During the Extended Support phase:
Please note: If you'd like to enroll in EHS, customers must already have a Premier Support contract. In addition, customers must enroll in EHS within the first 90 days of the Extended Support phase. Program and per fix fees may also apply. Customers with Software Assurance can enroll in EHS at any time.
Service Pack 3 for Windows Server 2003
We have received inquiries from our customers and partners on whether or not there will be a need for a Service Pack 3 for Windows Server 2003. Microsoft will not have a SP3 release for Windows Server 2003.
To Summarize...
*Self-Help Online Support is available throughout a product's lifecycle and for a minimum of 12 months after the product reaches the end of its support. Microsoft online Knowledge Base articles, FAQs, troubleshooting tools, and other resources, are provided to help customers resolve common issues.
Where can I get more information?
Today, in support of the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 joint launch, the Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team is pleased to announce the beta release of the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for DirectAccess that offers Microsoft customers and partners the best practice to streamline the planning and design process of a DirectAccess infrastructure.
DirectAccess is one of the key features shipped with the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems this year. This feature of Windows offers users the ability to access corporate resources (such as e-mail servers, shared folders, or intranet Web sites) securely without connecting to a virtual private network (VPN).
Where do I go to get the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide (beta) for DirectAccess?
Baldwin Ng (Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators)