It is that time of the year, time again for myself, Rick, Damir and now Pierre to head down to the mothership to upgrade our skills. Keeping your skills up to date is one of the bigger challenges an IT Pro faces. Over the next week and a half we'll be attending sessions, taking in some hands-on labs and even writing a few certification exams. One my agenda I have a few different tracks I am taking and exams I am writing and I am inviting you along.
Well I can't fly you down and sneak you in the door you can learn some of the same things I am with the TechNet Virtual Labs. So what is on my agenda...
Well I need to update my certifications. I received my MCSE in Windows 2000 and upgraded it to 2003 when those exams came available. There are two options for me to upgrade to 2008....
Server Administrator, which focuses on the day to day operations and management, requires a 2003 MCSE to pass 70-649 and 70-646
Enterprise Administrator, which adds skills focused on design, requires a 2003 MCSE to pass 70-649 as well as 70-647 and one of either 70-620 or 70-624.
I chose the Enterprise Administrator path and have scheduled 70-620 and 70-649 and have been reading up on the requirements and focusing on certain areas. I've used the following materials to get ready and think I am.
Exam 70-620 is all about configuring Windows Vista. Having used Vista for the past two years it should be a no-brainer but I downloaded the Windows Vista 30 Day Trial VHD so I could experiment without blowing up my day to day machine. There are quite a few Vista Virtual Labs available and I got down and dirty with a few of them, namely
Windows Vista System Image Manager
Managing Windows Vista Using the New Management Technologies
Customizing Microsoft Windows PE for Vista Deployments
That combined with my experience using the OS has me confident I will pass the exam.
Exam 70-649 is an upgrade exam that combines to core skills required to implement and manage a 2008 server. It covers AD, Network and Application configuration. I've spent a little more time on this as it is a new release and most of my experience was with betas and I wanted to ensure I was doing things the RTM way :) Again I downloaded the trial of Server 2008 and started plugging away. I did find some Server 2008 Virtual Labs as well. Now some of these I have built my own versions of and you saw during the Heroes Happen Here events like
Remotely Managing Server Core
Securing Branch Office User Accounts
But others like...
Network Access Protection with IPSec Environment
Deploying SSTP Remote Access
Managing Active Directory - Directory Services
all taught me a few things I thought I knew! Will I pass them both? I think so and I will be sure to let you know when I return. While we are gone things are going to be awfuly quiet here on the Canitpro blog but hopefully I've given you enough to keep you busy for the next 10 days! If I didn't there is a whole lot more covering SQL to ForeFront to System Center over at the TechNet Virtual Labs portal!
Just to be clear - this is an unsolicited blog post on this .local discussion. For those of you who do not know me - I come from an Enterprise background and not from a small business background. I opened my mouth on the .local discussion a while back and it's now the inside joke that I'm the anti-".local" guy (quiet Calvin!). I have in no way expressed an opinion on going one way or the other. :-)
SBS 2008 and EBS 2008 launch timeframes were announced at the Worldwide Partner Conference earlier this month. A number of you have already been involved in trying them out with our public previews or private Beta Programs over the last while. You can still get the bits now and try them out yourself from www.multiplyyourpower.com.
Mitch Garvis has been working in the SBS space and has been involved in both the EBS 2008 and SBS 2008 beta process. He sent me this post on .local and I thought it would be a nice thing to share with the broader community.
Do you think going .local vs. a sub domain makes a difference? My thoughts - do what's right for you and your clients. Mitch raises some interesting points in this post - well worth a discussion over pints sometime.
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P.S. feel like letting your writing side show a little? Drop the team a note with the EMAIL contact button (top left) to let us know - we're ALWAYS looking for Canadian IT Professionals who want to connect and share their stories here on the blog.
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 | | Mitch Garvis (Toronto) |
I get it, and I do not get it… but mostly I just don’t get it.
A little over two years ago Rick Claus (IT Pro Advisor at Microsoft Canada) and I had a discussion about .local domain naming in Small Business Server. Until that point I had used this default naming for all of my client’s domains (companyname.local) but Rick’s arguments convinced me that it was not a best practice, and since then I have recommended a different practice – such as local.companyname.com. It does not have the same limitations with regard to future growth. It was one of my early steps along the transition path from SBSer to IT Professional.
A few months ago when I installed an early beta of SBS 2008 (codenamed Cougar) I was pleased to see that although the .local option was still there, it was no longer ‘strongly recommended’ with pop-up warnings and such.
I have since installed later betas and had not given it much thought until a few days ago I was working on a test box and realized that my domain name was swmi.local. I know I had not opted for that, and decided to create a new virtual SBS box to see what that was about. Lo and behold the product team has decided to go the other way, and not even give you the option of choosing your own Internet routable domain name.
I get it: Windows Small Business Server is meant to be easy. Installation and management are supposed to be easy enough so that a non-IT Pro can do it. When I was first introduced to SBS in 2003 the example was of a dentist setting up his server for his small practice, and though dentists are generally intelligent, they are not IT Professionals.
Of course SBS (moreso SBS 2003 than 2008) is a more complicated environment than many would like to believe, and the focus seemed to shift quickly to the Small Business IT Consultant who (usually) know and understand the inner workings of SBS and who could be trusted to take care of the servers and networks of their clients.
Of course the argument has been made that because these Small Business IT Consultants were not (generally) MCSEs and MCSAs with an in-depth understanding of DNS, it should be made as simple for them as possible… and because of security concerns many (SBSers) have argued with me that the non-routable DNS naming was an advantage, and that most of their clients never ran into that issue; most had never installed a Transition Pack.
By removing the option, DNS naming in SBS is easier than ever to understand for the average Small Biz IT Guy.
…and I don’t get it: As a big proponent for Small Business Server I have also been an outspoken advocate of letting SBSers use SBS as a way to learn the enterprise technology and then they have the option of being a better informed IT Professional in the SBS space, but also should they choose to dabble in the enterprise space they have the basis on which to grow. Forcing the .local domain names is just one more way that the product group is molly-coddling the low-end guy and making it comfortable for him to coast where he is rather than possibly grow.
Microsoft makes a big deal of touting that the components in Small Business server are full and un-crippled versions of the enterprise products, allowing SMBs to afford the same technologies as their larger competitors and if not leveling the playing field then at least making it a fairer fight.
To be fair: It should be noted that the OOBE tool in SBS allows you to create an answer file, which can then be modified to get around this limitation. However that is just a long way around and an assurance that in three years the next SBSer who comes to look at your network will have one more thing he will not understand. ‘dot com? Nobody said anything about dot com! Where is my comfortable dot local?’
Ok, I exaggerate on that one but let’s be honest… who does it hurt to give us the option of using a TLD (Top Level Domain) if we choose to?
<Mitch lowers and shakes his head as he turns to step down off his soap box>
On Tuesday, July 22nd, Tim Rains (Group Product Manager, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing) will be in Edmonton for an open talk on security and the changes in the threat landscape.
What? Open Discussion on Security and Threat Landscape
Who? Tim Rains (Group Product Manager, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing)
When? Tuesday, July 22, 2008 – 6 PM to 9 PM
Where? Brewsters Oliver Square (11620 104th Avenue, Edmonton, AB)
The space available for this event is extremely limited so please make sure to navigate to the following address and register ASAP!
https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=130051
On Thursday, July 24th, Tim Rains (Group Product Manager, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing) will be in Calgary to deliver two security-focused presentations that will help your mitigate the threats posed against your critical infrastructure.
What? Microsoft Security Intelligence Report & Security Strategy Briefing
Who? Tim Rains (Group Product Manager, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing)
When? Thursday, July 24, 2008 – 9 AM to 12 PM
Where? Calgary Chamber of Commerce (100 6th Avenue SW, Calgary, AB)
The space available for this event is extremely limited so please make sure to navigate to the following address and register ASAP!
https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=130020
About the Presentations
Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (http://www.microsoft.com/sir/)
The Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) provides an in-depth perspective on the changing threat landscape including software vulnerability disclosures and exploits, malicious software (malware), and potentially unwanted software. Each individual report focuses on data and trends observed in either the first or second half of each calendar year and uses historical data to provide context. The purpose of the SIR is to keep Microsoft’s customers informed of the major trends in the threat landscape and to provide valuable insights and security guidance designed to help customers improve their security posture in the face of these threats.
Security Strategy Briefing
Security is a large concern of most Enterprises. This session will outline Microsoft’s security strategy, including our assessment of today’s threat environment, and where we are investing going forward. Discussion will include Microsoft’s proactive and reactive strategies, and the relationship of security investments to Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing initiatives. The session will also lead an interactive discussion around Microsoft security strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats from the customer perspective.
Recommended Audiences: Technology Executives, IT Managers, IT Professionals, Business Executives, CIO, IT Directors, Microsoft Partners, Business Decision Maker
About Tim Rains
Tim Rains is a Group Product Manager in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group. Tim and his team of product managers support the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC), the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) and many product teams across Microsoft. Among other things, Tim’s team manages production of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR). Tim has worked in several roles at Microsoft including the Senior Public Relations Manager of Security Response at Microsoft, Senior Product Manager of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, Program Manager of the Windows Network Diagnostics team, Technical Lead on the Product Support Services (PSS) Security team and Technical Lead on the Windows Server Networking team.
Tim earned a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) at Seattle University and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree at the University of Alberta. Tim also holds several technical certifications including CISSP, MCSE, MCSA, including a Computer Systems Technology diploma from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Hello folks,
I wanted to take a few minutes and introduce myself. My name Pierre Roman and I'm joining the IT Pro Advisor team.
For the past three years I have been a Senior Technical Account Manager for Microsoft Enterprise Services. As such, my role was to become a trusted business advisor to the Microsoft Premier Support customers and the single point of contact for all operational issues. “One throat to choke” if you will….
I strived to provide valuable guidance around operations and optimization of their IT infrastructure. I gained an understanding of my customers’ IT organizations' impact on overall business, their IT goals, and their pain points. That knowledge was used to suggest changes and adjustments to ensure their operational success.
Now, my focus shifts. It’s now all about you. Your experiences, your stories, and especially your successes. So, let's talk....
On a personal note, I am extremely happy, excited and even a little scared to be joining a team of such dedicated professionals.
In my spare time I enjoy spending time my 10 and 12 year old girls (Sydney and Kelsey) and my wife Andrea. I also love the game of hockey… Our national past time. I play at least twice a week and I coach both my daughter’s hockey teams. I’m so thankful that they are both more disciplined on the ice then their old man.
for those I have not met yet, here's what I look like. so if we run into each other... stop me and we can chat.
I look forward to connect with you soon.
Cheers!
Marco is currently an IT system analyst for one of Canada's leading telecommunications companies. He has been working in the IT industry for over 10 years. He recently received a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award for his contributions to the Windows PowerShell community. His personal blog is at http://marcoshaw.blogspot.com, where he covers all kinds of PowerShell related topics. He is also the Assistant Community Director of the new PowerShell Community site at http://www.powershellcommunity.org.
1. What does being an MVP mean to you?
Being recognized by others as having a solid background of knowledge and experience with a particular Microsoft product.
2. If you could ask Steve Ballmer one question about Microsoft, what would it be?
When Microsoft employees provide an exceptional level of support to the community, what’s the best way to make sure their manager is aware, and have the feedback documented?
3. What do you think the best software ever written was?
I’m particularly fond of PowerShell for obvious reasons. PowerShell is relatively new and being integrated more and more into Microsoft’s server product line. Now, PowerShell is part of Microsoft’s Common Engineering Criteria 2009 which provides guidelines for all of Microsoft’s server product line, so we should be seeing more and more PowerShell.
4. If you were the manager of Admin Frameworks, what would you change?
Set a standard for how Windows PowerShell should be supported or integrated into the Microsoft server product line.
5. What are the best features/improvements of Admin Frameworks?
I think the openness of the APIs for this category is great for developers. Developers can easily extend Windows PowerShell, and also Microsoft Management Console 3.0.
6. What was the last book you read?
Cover to cover? That would be “Windows PowerShell for Absolute Beginners”. Although basic, I like to try to read everything out there related to PowerShell to be able to provide my opinion on good books especially for beginners.
7. What music CD do you recommend?
Justin Timberlake’s latest from 2007.
8. What makes you a great MVP?
Demonstrating to others, that I will try to go the extra mile to help them answer a question or solve a problem. In some cases, I’ll even try to load another software program or setup a new virtual machine to try to help others.
9. What is in your computer bag?
My laptop, a TechNet magazine, and my notebook to write down any MVP related things I might be up to.
10. What is the best thing that has happened since you have become an MVP?
Opportunities to write for MS Press and TechNet magazine.
11. What is your motto?
One should never feel stupid when asking a question. Unless it was just answered, and one wasn’t paying attention.
12. Who is your hero?
My kids who don’t seem to be afraid of anything and are more than willing to leap over tall buildings, not considering how the landing might be…
13. What does success mean to you?
Helping others, like they’ve helped me, to do things better, more efficiently.
Every once in a while we end up getting hardware to take a look for and try out. The latest gadget to cross our path was the Samsung ACE Mobile 6 device from Bell. I asked Paul Laberge on our team to take it for a spin and share his impressions. Check out his blog post on the Canadian Developers Blog to find out more.
I am a little stoked right now. I've just finished up reading all the announcements on Hyper-V that RTM'ed today and I thought I should share some of that excitement with you - in small relevant chunks.
- You can get it from Windows Update starting on July 8th. Existing Windows Server 2008 systems configured with Windows Update will see it as a download.(Exact package name&number to follow).
- Note: Windows Update scales out and staggers updates so it might not be there FOR YOU exactly on the 8th, but should appear soon thereafter.
- You can get all the key information on Hyper-V (our hypervisor based server consolidation solution) from www.microsoft.com/hyper-v.
- Build Number 6.0.6001.18016
- Get the final bits as of 3PM EST (noon PST) from the Microsoft Download Centre. If links are not live - be patient as they take time to propagate.
- Guest Operating Systems that are supported as of RTM are
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2000
- Windows Vista
- Windows XP
- Novel SUSE Enterprise Linux
- (more on the way)
- Upgrade Scenarios - no changes required to existing system infrastructure. you can keep all of your existing RC machines (RC0, RC1 etc).
- Saved States and Online Snapshots (since they contain saved states) are NOT supported. They need to be discarded BEFORE going RTM (or prior to resuming the machine)
- Integration Components need to be installed on all old machines. No uninstall required - just close off "new hardware detected" windows and then choose action - insert integration services setup disk from remote management window
- There are a number of case studies from TAP customers who have been using Hyper-V RC in their production environments.
- Coolest factoid for me? TechNet and MSDN are run from Hyper-V web servers.
- Even cooler? How about virtualizing www.microsoft.com? a 16 VM cluster is handing 25% of the load (25% of 15,000 requests per second, 1.2 billion page views per month, and 280M worldwide unique users per month) right now with more to come. Details over on the Windows Server Division Blog.
- Very cool process called SVVP (Server Virtualization Validation Program) has spun up (announced last February) which allows any hypervisor vendor to validate their solution of running Windows Server in their virtualization offering.
- This means that if a product (i.e: server applications like Exchange) is supported to run on a SVVP validated solution, it will get the same level of support regardless of the SVVP validated virtualization offering.
- Look for more clarification on this in upcoming blog posts.
- As mentioned above - support for Applications like SQL, Exchange and SharePoint - product teams are producing support statements - you can hear about them here once they are public.
- Cool tool to help you determine what you can do with your environment: MAP (Microsoft Assessment and Planning) It will be updated to include information on server consolidation / virtualization with Hyper-V.
- I've been asked on a number of occasions on how to do Bitlocker on the Virtualization Host system (parent partition) to help with stolen hardware scenarios that might come up in Branch Office deployments (lots of branches in Canada)... I noticed in the new fray that we're published a whitepaper on it and it is now available for the public.
Tons more stuff on virtualization on the way - keep your RSS feeds updating and keep in the loop - wicked crazy stuff is on the way.
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[Cross post from http://blogs.technet.com/cdnitmanagers/archive/2008/06/23/windows-client-roadmap.aspx]
Today a letter from Bill Veghte, Senior VP of Windows at Microsoft, has gone out to all Windows customers about the “end of sales” date (June 30) for Windows XP and what that means as well as an update about Vista and Windows 7. You can read the full letter here. I’ve outlined some of the key points below:
About Windows XP:
- Support will continue until April 2014.
- Windows XP will still be available for those that need it through downgrade rights.
- Windows XP Home and Windows XP Starter will be available for customers interested in buying a low-end PC (also called a Netbook or NetTop).
- System Builders may continue to purchase Windows XP until January 31, 2009.
About Windows Vista:
- Significant security advances built into Vista have had the following results:
- half the number of critical vulnerabilities in Vista as Windows XP SP2 had in the same time period
- 60% less likelihood of being infected with malware compared with Windows XP SP2
- IE 7, included with Vista, stops about 1 million phishing attempts every week
- Architectural changes which improved system security and resilience led to compatibility issues. However, this is a continual focus and today the following is true:
- Vista supports about 77000 components and devices – twice as many as at launch
- 98 of the top 100 applications for Windows sold at retail stores in the US last year are compatible
- there are updates for more than 125 popular PC games to enable them to work with Vista, all available through Windows Update
- Service Pack 1 includes no new features, but hundreds of small updates allowing for files to copy up to 50% quicker, large folders to decompress 71% faster and improved system diagnostics to make Vista easier for IT organizations to support, among other things.
- We’ve helped OEM partners shorten the time it takes to startup/shutdown Vista and extend battery life by improving driver quality.
- We continue to collect feedback from customers and work with partners to improve compatibility and remove barriers that prevent people from taking advantage of Vista.
About Windows 7:
- This is the working name for the next release of Microsoft Windows.
- It will be delivered approximately 3 years after the general availability launch date of Windows Vista (which was January 2007).
- It will be built off the same core infrastructure as Windows Vista, so there will be less compatibility issues and a straightforward migration process.
While none of this information is new, Bill’s letter is part of the continued effort to engage in open and continuous communication between Microsoft and Microsoft customers. If you have any questions or comments about the Windows roadmap and what it means to your organization, leave them below and our team will answer them.
Just in case you missed it - Windows Home Server has an Release Candidate 4 edition of PowerPack. Three big things in it for me - x64 home client connector software (a must for my x64 Vista boxes) file corruption bug fix (something that never affected me - even with 15000 photos stored, edited and rotated on server) and speedier filecopy to and from WHS from clients. Like Graham, I've been using earlier RC editions of this powerpack and it's been smooth sailing for upgrades and testing.
Graham has been doing a lot with WHS in the online and offline communities - I like his post below for it's frankness and to the point remarks. :) Keep 'em coming Graham!
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P.S. feel like letting your writing side show a little? Drop the team a note with the EMAIL contact button (top left) to let the team know - we're ALWAYS looking for Canadian IT Professionals who want to connect and share their stories here on the blog.
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| | Graham Jones (Surrey, British Columbia) |
The Peanut Gallery
The long awaited public beta for WHS PP1 was recently announced. It is interesting to read the newsgroup/blog comments about the release. As is often typical, a lot of people want to be critical rather than complement Microsoft on their approach in being very diligent before releasing to the public. First of all we should note that the official release is PP1 RC4. Very few products go through so many RC cycles; a testament to how careful Microsoft have been. If it apparently takes “too long” to fix something in the “uninformed opinion” of the technical community then there is criticism and if something is released that breaks in short order then there is also criticism. To the “nay sayers” I say, “please make up your mind” or better still “simply stop complaining from the peanut gallery”. People’s energy would be better spent on testing the public beta so that we can get to the RTM release as quickly as possible as requested by Microsoft.
Private Betas
I have been part of the MVP beta program for WHS for quite some time now and as an MVP I am obliged to operate under NDA. Why do we operate under NDA? We can be privy to information, which if it became public knowledge in the wrong way could be very damaging to Microsoft, plus we may have access to some Microsoft Intellectual Property . This is not always a question of being “secretive” for the sake of secrecy. It is simply good business sense. Without the full knowledge of the facts there are those who have nothing better to do than “pillory” Microsoft. I am quite sure there are times that Microsoft would like to be more “transparent” and they constantly face the “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” dilemma. I even read the other day some people complaining about the “private” betas. Get real people! What do you realistically expect Microsoft to do? There is little point in releasing anything on a wider basis before there is a high degree of confidence.
Why are MVP’s usually involved in private betas? The answer is very simple. As a group they provide consistently high quality and rapid feedback to Microsoft, which is in part why they are MVP’s. A limited number of highly effective people from outside Microsoft, in addition to their “dogfooders” and NDA partners, is much more efficient. It is not a question of thinking that there aren’t people in the general technical community who don’t have the technical skills or interest to contribute. Those who are keenly interested get to contribute via the much wider public betas and ultimately their input is just as important because the more eyeballs on the product the better when it comes to confidence in the RTM release. These people would have to operate under NDA for private betas and that is not practical. Some of these people may ultimately become MVP’s.
The File Corruption “Bug”
The file corruption “bug” has certainly garnered a lot of negative publicity and has unfortunately “tainted” what I believe is one of the best products that Microsoft has produced in recent times. The bug was so obscure that it took Microsoft a lot of time and effort to even reproduce it. It is impossible to fix something if you can’t first understand it! They had people working over the Xmas period investigating it. I don’t think that you can be more serious about it than that. In my own case, and in the case of many other MVP’s, I have been diligently trying to “bust” it without success. I have deliberately ignored the precautions suggested by Microsoft, ie. don’t edit files directly on WHS. The only person that I have spoken to who claims to have had the problem was someone at the WHS Booth at EnergizeIT. I think that I would have had a better chance of winning the lottery! This in no way is intended to minimize the importance of the issue because even if only one person is affected that is one too many. I have read comments that the product was “broken” and therefore not touchable. That is a ridiculous stance to take because there was an easy workaround until there was a fix, by not editing files directly on the server. The workaround may have created some minor inconvenience but considering the other benefits of the product it is not too onerous. The other option of only using a single HD is a much less attractive option in my opinion since you lose the benefit of Shared Folder duplication. All other aspects of the product have worked just fine since RTM in my experience.
Let’s just suppose that if the file corruption “bug” hadn’t come to light for a long time, people would have an entirely different attitude. We are fortunate that indeed it did shortly after RTM. Microsoft have worked very hard and diligently to try and solve it. We can all wish that it had taken less time to fix but you can easily understand Microsoft’s desire to test, test and test again. I do believe that it has been fixed but nobody is going to make assumptions without an extensive public beta program. In fact, WHS had a very extensive public beta prior to RTM in part because of the novel aspects of the product. One could even argue that it was ill luck that the problem was not discovered then or even through internal testing. It demonstrates the very obscurity of the issue. Had it been discovered prior to RTM it may have delayed things but the last 6 months would have been very different! There would have been the inevitable comments about more missed deadlines. What do you want, a product that works or something that you can complain about?
There are those in the “peanut gallery” who would argue that it should never have happened in the first place. It would be nice to think that software development has advanced to the point that we are producing “perfect” software and that extensive testing would reveal all of the major problems. What is not readily appreciated is the complexity of what is behind the storage system for WHS and the lofty objectives that go with that. WHS is often compared to NAS which is usually based upon RAID. Although it does backup the desktop it is not NAS. It does an automatic daily image backup and, if necessary, an easy restore. Further it does not have RAID’s limitations when it comes to adding additional backup storage. As part of testing I have added and removed both internal and external (USB and eSATA) HD’s of a wide variety of sizes without incident. I have not had to even think about backing up my 5 home PC’s for the past 9 months which for me is well worth the “price of admission” on its own!
DB Backup and Restore
The other complaint is the removal of the WHS DB Backup feature from PP1, it having been announced at CES in January. Like others I am disappointed to see this go but I do understand why. Certainly Microsoft need to be more astute when it comes to making announcements. A “feature” is not a feature until it is delivered. The technical community constantly forgets the “Home” in Windows Home Server. I have reminded people about this multiple times on various newsgroups and blogs. It is intended to be a consumer product. Therefore it must be very easy to use and require no technical knowledge. DB backup and restore was part of the early PP1 private betas. Although I didn’t personally have any problems some important issues were reported. So why was it dropped from PP1? The answer is very simple. At this point Microsoft could not guarantee that it would work under all foreseeable circumstances ie. it needs to be “bullet proof”. Do we need another file corruption bug issue? Like a hole in the head. To take on “bullet proofing” DB backup and restore would have significantly delayed PP1 which was already much later than hoped. Barring some unforeseen showstopper, it is not that it cannot necessarily be tackled in the future. It is simply not the right time or circumstances. Interestingly, those complaining are likely the people who could probably easily take care of it themselves by other means. For example, a manual approach is described starting on page 23 of the Microsoft white paper, WHS Home Computer Backup. This white paper is well worth a read to get a feel of the backup system as a whole.
The Upside
Apart from addressing the “infamous” bug, Microsoft has taken the opportunity to add many new features and improve others via PP1 making an already good product even better. Let’s try and focus on the upside for a change. Some of the highlights can be found at We Got Served.
Cheers
Graham J.
David Elfassy began his career in IT in the early 90's; delivering Microsoft Official Curriculum, specializing in Microsoft Exchange Server since 1997. He worked as project lead on many migrations and implementations of Microsoft infrastructure technologies for governmental and corporate organizations. Migrate, migrate, migrate… Always helping organizations migrate to the new versions of Microsoft Exchange Server.
He has also been working closely with Microsoft Learning teams on various marketing and certification projects; particularly working on curriculum development for multiple arms of Microsoft Corp.
David is a co-owner and senior technical adviser for two Microsoft Gold Certified Partners: Netlogon Technologies (specializing in large enterprise consulting) and Kalleo (specializing in small business network management); overseeing teams of consultants and network technicians.
What does being an MVP mean to you?
Since I started in IT, my MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer) certification has been the most valuable and defining of my career. I’ve worked hard to attain and maintain my MCT. The MVP designation has been a surprising and welcomed award, that has come as the result of evangelizing the technologies I am the most passionate about.
If you could ask Steve Ballmer one question about Microsoft, what would it be?
Who answers steveb@microsoft.com and what’s your real email address?
What do you think the best software ever written was?
Well… Exchange Server, of course J Actually, I was really impressed a few years ago by a company called Keystone that developed a really revolutionary method for viewing satellite and map information. Following a “murder and execution”, you now know it as Google Earth…
If you were the manager of Exchange Server, what would you change?
The Exchange product group is under some pretty solid leadership right now. You can see how Exchange has grown in scale, functionality and market share over the past decade. This has been a good time to specialize in messaging J However, it is unfortunate that a lot of this growth has come on the back of SMB’s. Exchange server is a product that has way too many features not fit for small orgs. Network generalists and beginners to Exchange are not using the full potential of Exchange 2007, due to its increased complexity. PowerShell is great, but small org admins need GUI for most of their management tasks. If I managed Exchange, I would certainly create a top level team in charge of ensuring relevance and usability for small business.
What are the best features/improvements of Exchange Server?
Well Exchange 2007 (or SP1 at least) leaves all its predecessors in the dust. The new Continuous Replication technologies increase availability
What music CD do you recommend?
I’m a big movie buff and Quentin Tarantino fan. The music he finds for his movies always fits the bill perfectly… In the late 90’s, a compilation of movie songs, many of which from Tarantino movies, was released. It’s called “This is Cult Fiction”.
What makes you a great MVP?
What’s a great MVP?
Well… I like to share my Exchange knowledge with people who get excited by the same geeky stuff that gets me going.
What is in your computer bag?
My Toshiba R400 Tablet, Zune 30GB, 3 120GB USB disks (filled with virtual machines), USB hub, a solar powered universal charger, a spare Smartphone, a couple of smartcards and my passport.
What is the best thing that has happened since you have become an MVP?
Attending some great sessions about XXXX (damn NDA!) at the MVP Summit. The Exchange product group was very open and willing to share their thoughts about upcoming products. I was truly impressed by their frank and candid attitude.
What is your motto?
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Who is your hero?
George W.! No just kidding… There’s a thin line between “hero” and “zero” ;)
I’ve got many… I’ve been inspired by many. Though I guess some of my modern day heroes would have to be the men and women who dedicate their lives to humanitarian organizations such as “Doctors without borders”. A product of a small group of French doctors in the 70’s, this organization is very impressive in its reach and effectiveness.
What does success mean to you?
Being fortunate enough to spend time with my wife and children, without having to worry about getting to work on time. Getting to work on my own schedule and enjoying every minute of it!
The digital lifestyle has been one that most readers of this blog have probably been living for quite a while. We all seem to be up on the latest gadgets, tweaks and using technology in every part of our lives. About a year ago we saw this video at an internal Microsoft event and I see they released it publicly a while ago. I thought I'd show it to you and ask what is it about the digital lifestyle that you love, hate, want or need.
Video: Your Digital Lifestyle
For me personally I can't live without my Windows Mobile phone. When I first moved to the GTA the first thing I bought was a GPS to help me find my way. I still use it occasionally but since I usually walk once I get downtown TO I rely on Live Maps on my phone to get me where I need to go. That along with my email and the phone functions of course keep me on track.
When travelling I can't go anywhere without my Zune. I am thrilled that they will be available in Canada as of June 13th, not so much as I need to by another device but the subscription option in Zune Marketplace is something I got hooked on when I got to try it for a few weeks. For the cost of a CD you get 30 days of unlimited downloads and listening of anything in the market. As long as you keep your subscription up to date you can continue to download and listen to the music.
The last big part of my digital lifestyle is my Live Space. Living 2200KM from where I grew up my Live Space is how I let everyone at home know what is going on. It has got to the point where if I don't post there on a regular basis my parents will phone to see if everything is alright :)
Of course there are things like Media Centre and Xbox 360 that I frequent, more so now that it is in my home office, but I can go a few days or weeks even without using either. The rest, well that is part of my life now and I am not sure how I got along with out it.
P.S. The song in the video is called "Girl From Mars" and it is a cover performed by Magenta Lane.
This is part two of a two part discussion of technology in use at a local school board here in the Ottawa region. As I mentioned in the previous post - I love discovering how technology is being used to help support the delivery of education.
While I was at a virtualization conference put on by IDC a while back, I met James Proulx, Director of IT at the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (OCDSBEO). He suggested that I stop by to see what the CDSBEO is doing to simplify their environment and speed up the deployment of applications to their HighSchools and administrative staff. At our first meeting, I met with his team and we talked about what their plans were for the coming year and what they were doing to simplify application deployment and start exploring server consolidation. That was back in September 2007.
I was in touch on an off throughout the year and finally made it back to see how their year had gone. I stopped by for a coffee to talk a couple of weeks ago and met with Ken Konick, James Vandine and Brian Whalen - three systems analysts with the board. This time - we focused in on their use of x64 Virtual Server 2005 R2 for consolidation, System Centre Virtual Machine Manager for management and Windows Server 2008 x64 (both full and core installs) as Hyper-V server virtualization solutions.
PLEASE NOTE: as stated in the podcast - Hyper-V is still pre-release and is supported on a best effort basis until it is final LATER THIS SUMMER. Don't worry I told them that part....
At the time of recording - they were not aware that SC-VMM V2 was in Beta and that they could manage ALL their host systems with one console - let's just say they started downloading when I headed out back to Ottawa. :)
Have a listen - you can download the short 15 minute podcast here.
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When you talk to many folks in the industry about the role of an architect in an organization, very often the conversation switches to a development focus. Things like "architects are the folks that design the applications our developers write" or "architects ensure the developed applications meet company standards", and so on. The reality is that there are many different types of architects out there - enterprise architects, solutions architects, infrastructure architects and many more. In fact, Microsoft has recognized architects as a category of individuals within the ICT industry and has certifications available for messaging architects, solutions architects, database architects, and also infrastructure architects.
As technical professionals you may be interested in looking into what it means to be an architect and if this is a growth path for you and your career. Last year another team within Microsoft Canada that we work very closely with held a Web Cast series for aspiring architects that was attended by over 1200 individuals and covered a number of strategies that can help developers and IT professionals to transition to the architect roles. The Aspiring Architect Series 2008 builds on last year’s content and covers a number of topics that are important for architects to understand.
Check out in the 2007 Aspiring Architect Webcast Series to see what was covered, and then plan to attend one or more of the sessions of the 2008 Aspiring Architect Webcast Series:
June 16th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Introduction to the aspiring architect Web Cast series
June 17th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Services Oriented Architecture and Enterprise Service Bus – Beyond the hype
June 18th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – TOGAF and Zachman, a real-world perspective
June 19th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Services Oriented Architecture (Web Cast in French)
June 20th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Interoperability (Web Cast in French)
June 23rd , 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Realizing dynamic systems
June 24th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Web 2.0, beyond the hype
June 25th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Architecting for the user experience
June 26th, 2008 – 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Conclusion and next steps
We are hopeful that you will find the upcoming series to be a very useful investment of your time.
Yesterday the SQL Server team reached a key milestone with the release of SQL Server 2008 RC0. SQL Server 2008 provides a comprehensive data platform that is secure, reliable, manageable, and scalable for your mission critical applications. With it, developers can create new applications that can store and consume any type of data on any device, enabling your users to make informed decisions with relevant insights. There are way too many new and improved features of SQL Server 2008 to mention in a blog post, so to find out more on SQL Server 2008 check out the
If you are a TechNet subscriber you can download the following SQL Server 2008 RC0 editions from the TechNet site today:
- SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition RC0
- SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition RC0
- SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition RC0
- SQL Server 2008 Web Edition RC0
- SQL Server 2008 Workgroup Edition RC0
If you don't have a TechNet Plus subscription today, get yours today by going to the TechNet Subscription site and enter promo code TWEB08A to receive a 20% discount. Hurry, the code expires on June 30, 2008. A trial of SQL Server 2008 RC0 can also be downloaded from here, though not all editions are available, as they are on the TechNet site.
Once you have SQL Server 2008 RC0 downloaded, or if you are already working on a project to implement SQL Server 2008 in a pilot phase in your organization, please email me using the email link at the top left of the blog or directly at damirb@microsoft.com and I can get you access to additional resources to help with your implementation, free email-based technical support, as well as a free TechNet Plus subscription when your project is at a pilot stage in your organization.
Jean-Philippe Breton is the Infrastructure and Desktop Deployment Team Leader for Alphamosaik, a Microsoft Gold Certified partner located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He and his team recently lead a 10,000 seat deployment of Vista with SP1 for a major Canadian transportation company with offices around the globe. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Jean-Philippe about how tools like the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit simplified the deployment and some things learned along the way.
Jean-Philippe on Vista deployment
Be sure to check out http://edge.technet.com for more videos like this as well as much more!
