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Green compliance

Many companies have been working to reduce their carbon emissions over recent years. Ignoring the environmental benefits, being green makes excellent business sense in terms of reducing costs and meeting customer expectations. However, until now the drive has been purely optional. Starting next year, this will no longer be the case, as new legislation is being introduced that is intended to make carbon reduction a priority. Under the terms of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) around 10,000 large organisations will need to buy carbon allowances to cover their carbon emissions. At the end of each year, the companies in the scheme will receive either a bonus or a penalty based on how well they have performed. Currently, the scheme will affect only larger organisations - roughly speaking, those companies with an annual electricity bill of more than £500,000 a year in the UK.

We have written a short article to discuss what you can do to make a difference, including understanding your carbon footprint, growing in a green way, and changing the way you work

Read the full article: Green compliance

Windows Vista Deployment - Best Practices from the Microsoft UK IT Manager

Great article from Asif – who is also a genuinely nice guy……

In today's world, technical growth is inevitable. While it brings added functionality and improved productivity, it should be managed with careful consideration for the accompanying business or cultural change that will ensue. We have recently deployed Windows Vista and I'd like to tell you how we did it. Microsoft IT acts as our first and best customer by running beta versions of software before launch. I'm sure you can imagine both the challenges and benefits of this. We take it in our stride and the business culture is supportive so that we can release enterprise-ready products which have been tried and tested in real life scenarios. In case you are wondering, we do maintain our SLAs to the Sales & Marketing business units at Microsoft during these periods.

Before embarking on an internal deployment, please encourage your staff to familiarise themselves with http://www.microsoft.com/desktopdeployment. The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit is a great resource for developing a business case, planning deployment, sourcing scripts and tools, and sharing best practices via the Business Desktop Solution Accelerator (BDD).

BDD was created to give customers and partners best practices for the deployment of a new operating system. It includes: application compatibility, hardware / software inventory, standard OS image creation, user state / data migration (USMT), security, deployment, training (staff and helpdesk), operations readiness, light / zero touch deployments and business case complete with project template.
Globally we maintain a database of all internal line-of-business (LOB) applications. I would encourage all IT departments to produce a similar database complete with developers / business owners as this was critical to the success of our deployment. To complement our LOB list we also used the Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit in conjunction with Systems Management Server 2003 to help capture and identify additional applications residing on client desktops, and so providing Microsoft IT with a comprehensive view of the hardware and software in our environment. From speaking with customers and from personal experience, it's clear an optimised mature infrastructure is important when embarking on the deployment of any new technology. And the desktop operating system is no exception.

It is also important to decide which core applications will be included in the standard corporate image. This will, of course, vary per customer. But for us, the full suite of Microsoft Office 2007, IT Connection Manager (VPN), Windows Mobile Device Centre and Fast Help (online IT support gadget) are a few examples that we included in our core image. To help build versions of our corporate image, we leveraged the Windows Imaging (WIM) technology as this provided us with a file-based image where drivers can be easily slip-streamed to help maintain the image over time. To build and maintain our image we used the Windows Automatic Installation Kit (WAIK) and Distributed File System Replication (DFSR2). The WIM was deployed into the field by three methods giving employees a choice of deployment process:

- Windows Server 2003, Windows Deployment Services (WDS), whereby employees could PXE (network) boot to start the installation
- XPsp2 user initiated upgrade from a web-based product repository
- DVD for some remote locations with bandwidth limitations.

To capture staff's desktop settings and data we leveraged the functionality of both the Easy File Transfer Wizard and the User State Migration Tool. Either will do the trick for any customer deployment and USMT is easily configurable via XML. While on the subject, staff benefited from training on Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, both online and in the form of Microsoft IT-delivered, Everyday Productivity Education (EPE) instructor-led courses. Though EPE courses are not always required, it is common practice for IT to deliver courses with the aim to give productivity hours back to the business. The Windows Vista EPE guides are available for download and are a great tool to encourage adoption. Comprehensive training was also provided to the Global Helpdesk teams to ensure operational support was available from day one.

Since the initial deployment using Windows Deployment Services we have tested many methods and found that a combination of employee self-installation with light IT assistance works well in our environment. Many employees at Microsoft are happy to rebuild their machines on a regular basis, while some prefer to have IT support on hand to assist. To accommodate the latter, installation fairs were held in some locations, servicing multiple employees with a small number of IT staff. To hear more about our installation-fair approach, please see the interview on the Partner TV Channel.

If you would like more information about deployment at Microsoft or 'How Microsoft does IT' please visit http://www.microsoft.com/ITShowcase or ask your Microsoft representative to book an 'IT Showcase' for your company.
Good Luck on your deployments,

Asif

Asif Jinnah

Field Area IT Manager - UK

Ballmer fan club

I just read this review from Martin Veitch who interviewed Steve Ballmer at our event last week. I was glad to hear that he endeared the audience, as he does each year to the Microsoft employees at our internal conference:

A lot of CEOs have the sense of humour of a newt but I warmed to Steve Ballmer. He didn’t mind being asked if we would appear with Jerry Seinfeld in an advert, or my feigning to believe that the sitcom star had died. Neither did he mind -- after suggesting that any Microsoft bid for VMware would alert regulators -- my quip that he must already know them pretty well. And anyway, how many other CEOs will make chimp noises (on my suggesting that VMware is the 800-pound gorilla of virtualisation), or stand on a stage and repeat ‘IT pros’ several times on request?

Full review: CIO News View: The day I joshed with Steve Ballmer - CIO UK Magazine

Virtualisation, virtualisation, virtualisation……….."IT Pros, IT Pros IT Pros.....and I say I love IT Pros!"

Sorry that it seems as though I dropped off the planet…my world has been all things Virtualisation for the last week. Here is what’s been going on:

1) TechNet Changing Technologies event

Steve Ballmer came over to present at a TechNet event for IT managers yesterday in London and announced Hyper-V Server. Hyper-V Server is a dedicated stand-alone product, which contains only the Windows Hypervisor, Windows Server driver model and virtualisation components i.e. you don’t need Windows Server 2008 OS. It is recommended to do these simpler roles:

Test and Development

Basic Server Consolidation

Branch Office Consolidation

Hosted Desktop Virtualization (VDI)

You can download a free trial

Steve was asked to do an IT Pro version of the ‘I love Developers’ chant and finished the session with "IT Pros, IT Pros IT Pros.....and I say I love IT Pros!" – one attendee captured Steve’s speech, Q&A and ‘I Love IT Pros’ chant, you watch it here (37:45 mins in)

2) VM08, London

We decided to be present at this conference only a few weeks ago and geez are we happy we did!

Before I go on, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to James for being the man in the know and setting all the kit up so that we could show what I am about to talk about.

And also a huge thanks to Clive, Andrew, Mike and Matt for all their efforts

I can easily say that if you judge the success of a show by the number of people that you speak to, then this show was off the richter scale. It was great to speak to so many IT professionals that were there to find out more about Virtualisation and where to go with it from the 40 or so vendors, education sessions and keynote

A few observations from me:

1) Although Virtualisation isn’t new, there are a lot of organisations that are just starting to looking into it

2) Virtualisation is becoming complex in itself because of all the different areas and where you can take it……desktop, applications, server…..

3) We still have a huge job to do to get our message out there – some people didn’t know Microsoft had anything to offer when it came to Virtualisation

4) We have an even bigger job to do to convey the breadth of not only our Virtualisation, but management story. Key products that came up over the 2 days were:

- Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V
- Microsoft Terminal Services
- Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V)
- Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V, formerly Kidaro) 
- Microsoft System Center 

In particular on the System Centre front, there were 2 main products that sparked interest:

System Center Virtual Machine Manager

• Support for VMs Running on Windows Server 2008
• Multi-Vendor Virtualization Platform Support
• Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO)
• Host Cluster Support for “High Availability” Virtual Machines

Download the beta

System Center Data Protection Manager
Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2007 provides advanced disk-to-disk-to-tape protection for infrastructures that depend on Microsoft virtualization technology. DPM can protect virtual machines without hibernation downtime. Using shadow copy-based block-level protection of your virtual disks, DPM delivers fast backup and very efficient retention that does not consume inordinate disk space.

DPM’s agent model supports protecting all virtual machines within a single host with only one agent on the host platform, or agents within each virtual instance, for a range of protection and recovery options. And, unlike other backup technologies from alternative virtualization vendors, DPM also protects physical servers running Windows Server, SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange, or SharePoint products and technologies.

System Center Operations Manager
Easy-to-use monitoring environment for thousands of servers, applications and clients, providing a complete view of the health of your IT environment and enabling rapid response to disruptive events.  Computing environments contain many different components: client and server machines, operating systems, databases, mail servers, and much more. To deal with this diversity, Operations Manager relies on management packs (MPs). Each MP encapsulates knowledge about how to manage a particular component. By installing the appropriate MPs, an organization can exploit the knowledge of their creators to manage its environment more effectively.

Operations Manager relies on an agent that runs on each machine it manages, and so every machine—physical or virtual—has one. From the perspective of an operator at the Operations Manager console, both virtual and physical machines look and are managed in the same way, applying the same user interface and the same MPs. Operations Manager also includes specific MPs for managing virtualization technologies. The MP for Virtual Server, for example, allows an operator to enumerate the VMs that are running on a particular physical machine, monitor the state of those VMs, and more.

System Center Configuration Manager
Vastly simplifies system deployment, task automation, compliance management and policy-based security management, making businesses much more agile.

Configuration Manager treats a VM provided by Virtual Server as if it were a physical machine. Software can be installed on this machine, updated as needed, and appear as part of the asset inventory maintained by Configuration Manager. Similarly, this tool works with applications running on a terminal server just like any others.

5) Last point (I promise)…we had Citrix on the stand with us and there were lots of questions as to why. The key is what our partnership delivers, and that is an improved customer experience with desktop and application virtualisation

Reminder: Springboard Series Virtual Roundtable (LIVE) today

Wednesday, September 24^th – 9:00 AM Pacific Time

Join Mark Russinovich and a panel of Microsoft MVPs and real customer IT pros as they discuss “top of mind” performance issues, common “misconfigurations,” and tips on how to optimise Windows Vista and improve overall system performance.

Topics
Boot times, applets, disk performance, battery life, changes in SP1, creating a baseline, tools and resources

Register now: https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard

www.microsoft.com/springboard

Announcing the Microsoft Project Server 2007 IT Professionals TechNet webcast series

Starting October 1^st, 2008, Michael Jordan (Lead Architect – MCS EPM Global Practice | WW COE for EPM) will present a series of Project Server 2007 webcast on TechNet targeted at IT Professionals. 

These 60 minutes webcasts will present in details key aspects to consider when you evaluate, plan, deploy, and operate Project Server 2007 specifically:

• Solution Overview and System Elements
• Solution Elements and Data Flow
• Workload Scenarios and Reference Architecture
• Network Communication
• Server Administration
• Maintenance and Monitoring
• Deployment into a SharePoint Server Intranet Farm
• Disaster Recovery
• Virtualization

Each TechNet webcast is recorded for later viewing which should be through the same registration URL. For a listing of all EPM webcasts on TechNet check the following: http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/epm.aspx

Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 - Solution Overview and System Elements
In this webcast, we introduce the Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 solution and the main product components. We describe key concepts such as high availability and scalability, which should be taken into account when planning and deploying Project Server 2007. This introductory webcast is part of a webcast series targeted at IT professionals. In the series, we present in detail key aspects to consider when you evaluate, plan, deploy, and operate Project Server 2007. We discuss the main considerations when planning for high-availability deployments—when to scale up and out, points of failure, and software/hardware boundaries.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008, 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time

Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 - Solution Elements and Data Flow
In this webcast, we describe the elements of the Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 solution (Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007, Application Server, Microsoft SQL Server), and we cover Data Flow components and key areas for scalability. This webcast is part of a webcast series targeted at IT professionals. In the series, we present in detail key aspects to consider when you evaluate, plan, deploy, and operate Project Server 2007. We discuss the main considerations when planning for high-availability deployments—when to scale up and out, points of failure, and software/hardware boundaries.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time

Michael Jordan’s Biography

Michael Jordan is the Lead Architect for Microsoft Services’ EPM Global Practice and member of the World Wide Center of Excellence. Michael has been with Microsoft for 8 years serving in technical roles from Application Development, Systems Engineering, SQL Database and Project Management. He has been working with EPM for the last 4 years architecting, troubleshooting and implementing large deployments at priority customer sites. As a member of the EPM Global Practice he performs a role as an extension to the Product Group by providing field feedback, spec reviews, product guidance and running customer programs for marketing initiatives.

Key Resources:

Enterprise Project Management
EPM Connect: The Business Exchange for EPM Solutions and Services
EPM University: Online, instructor-led, deep dive technical training on EPM
EPM Solution Office online EPM Home Page

Project Desktop
Easier with Project:  Project Desktop Home Page
Microsoft Project on Office Online

IT Professionals
Project TechCenter on TechNet
Project Portfolio TechCenter on TechNet

Developers
Project Developer Home Page

IT Pro Top licensing FAQs - August

Q) What are my licences converted to when I buy the Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Transition Pack?
A) The transition pack converts your Windows Small Business Server licences into standard licences for the server components in the edition of Windows Small Business Server that you have (standard or premium). For example, if you already have Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard Edition with one pack of 20 extra Client Access Licences (CALs), the transition pack SKUs would convert your licences to 1 Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition licence and 1 Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition licence, with 20 Windows Server 2003 CALs and 20 Exchange Server 2003 CALs, respectively.

Note CAL packs only include Windows Server 2003 CALs and Exchange Server 2003 CALs, regardless of whether you buy the premium or standard editions. The Premium Transition Pack, however, includes standalone licences for SQL Server.

Q) How do I downgrade?
A) As an end user you have the right to downgrade as set out in your Software Licence Terms.

Example: You’re buying a new computer system and it needs to run the same operating system as your existing 10 systems — Windows XP Professional. Pre-installed Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate both include downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional.

You need to source your own media which should be a legally licensed version (bought as either boxed or pre-installed software, or through a Volume Licensing agreement). You don’t need to have one set of Windows XP Professional media for each PC you are downgrading because you have legitimate full operating system licences for Windows Vista Business/Ultimate, which gives you the right to downgrade. You can then run Windows XP Professional until you are ready to upgrade the system to Windows Vista Business/Ultimate—when you would already be licensed.

When you downgrade Windows Vista Business and Ultimate as set out in your Software Licence Terms and you use both Windows XP media and the associated product key that was previously activated you need to activate via the phone only, 0800 0188 354, Once confirmed that you have a valid Vista Business or Ultimate licence, the Customer Service Representative will help you activate your software.

Q) Can I reimage a PC using Volume Licensing media instead of the pre-installed Microsoft Windows desktop operating system media?
A) Yes. Volume Licensing customers can use their Volume Licensing media to reimage their pre-installed Windows desktop operating system provided that it is the same version and product as shown on the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) label that came with the PC. For more information, click here.

Q) What are the licensing options for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007?
A) You can choose to buy either the Microsoft Exchange Enterprise Client Access Licence (CAL) or the Exchange Standard CAL. The Exchange Enterprise CAL is sold as an add-on to the Exchange Standard CAL. We will continue to offer two server editions: Exchange Server Enterprise Edition and Exchange Server Standard Edition. Either CAL can be run against either server edition.

For more information, click here.

Q) How does the “Server + Client Access Licence (CAL)” licensing model for Microsoft SQL Server work?
A) Under this model, you need a separate server licence for each server on which your software is installed, plus either a user CAL (for each user accessing the server) or a device CAL (for each device accessing the server).

You need a SQL Server CAL for a user or device (for example, a personal computer, workstation, terminal, personal digital assistant, or mobile phone) to access or use the services or functionality of either edition of SQL Server. For more information on the requirements for devices that use SQL Server functionality without directly accessing the database, please click here.

For more information on SQL licensing in general, click here.

Windows vs Walls

When I was attending our internal conference in July, the moment that really stood out for me was when one of our senior execs stood up and said “we draw a line in the sand”. His comments were related to Windows  Vista.

We all know the differences in opinions that this product has produced….one could call it the marmite effect…..BUT what has been frustrating for us is that some of the negative opinions have not been based on fact. That is why I am so pleased that Microsoft has now come out with a (pardon my language) kick-ass response. Campaign is not the word, this is a new confidence/way of life/belief in Windows and what technology does for people

They also have a special recruit – watch the video

Read the mission statement of Windows vs Walls

First AD user group meeting with superstar John Craddock!

As mentioned in my post yesterday, the Active Directory user group is now running and they have announced their first meeting. What I am most impressed with is that they have managed to secure John Craddock and Sally Storey, so we worth making the time to attend!

When: 23rd October 2008
Where: Microsoft's London offices in Cardinal Place.

The internationally recognised Active Directory expert John Craddock ably assisted by Sally Storey will be talking about Active Directory on Windows Server 2008 and Read Only Domain Controllers (RODC's), the session will be full of demonstrations and attendee interaction.

Registration
Please register by emailing your details to registration@adug.co.uk with London ADUG Meeting in the subject line. Subscription to adug.co.uk is mandatory for admission to the meeting. Logistics will follow in a confirmation email.

Microsoft upcoming community events

As always, we have some excellent upcoming user group meetings. These sessions really give you the opportunity to talk to fellow technology enthusiasts and discuss the warts and all aspects of products.

The other really positive is that communities in the UK really seem to be striving. Existing groups are seeing strong attendance, and there are quite a few new groups being added to look out for, including Active Directory and SOA

Upcoming events:

PowerShell UG Meeting – 23^rd September, TVP Reading
Sessions to cover the PowerShell library for Hyper-V and using PowerShell with Exchange 2003

Microsoft Virtualisation UG Meeting, 24th September, London
The purpose of this group is to provide a common ground for anyone to discuss current and upcoming Microsoft virtualisation technologies. As this is our first meeting the intention is to present a roadmap of Microsoft virtualization technologies, finally we will have a open discussion on what you would like out of this user group.

SharePoint UG Meeting, 25th September, London
The SharePoint User Group hosts active forums and has regular meetings to discuss issues with fellow members. Whether you are a SharePoint developer or user, or are thinking of implementing a Microsoft SharePoint solution, come and join the fun!

MS learning offers and freebies

TechNet Free Book Giveaway
Win your very own copy of the SQL Server 2008 Administrators Pocket Consultant worth £21.99 from Microsoft Press.

Free book content - Learn how to manage shared desktops and protect Internet Explorer in Windows Vista
Get 2 free sample chapters from MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-622): Supporting & Troubleshooting Applications on a Windows Vista Client for Enterprise Support Technicians.

New Title: Supporting and Troubleshooting Applications on a Windows Vista Client (Training Kit)
Learn how to install and deploy Windows Vista to the enterprise with MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-622): Supporting & Troubleshooting Applications on a Windows Vista Client for Enterprise Support Technicians

Free offer for a limited time—Clinic 5091: Introduction to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging

In this online clinic, you learn about the new unified messaging features in Exchange Server 2007. You also learn how telephony and unified messaging can be integrated in Exchange Server 2007

 

The Microsoft Launch Event for IT Managers and Executives with Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft

1 October 2008
12:15pm – 5pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Complex

Register Now

At the upcoming launch event, ‘Technologies to Change Your Business’, we will not only be  introducing the latest in the line up of Server technologies from Microsoft, Hyper-V and SQL Server 2008. We’ll more importantly showcase customers who are taking these products and using them as the catalyst for significant change in their business. Additionally, we will be showcasing some of the emerging technologies to come from Microsoft Research.

Agenda
12:15 Registration and Lunch
13:00 Introduction – Martin Veitch, CIO Magazine
13:15 Opening Keynote by Steve Ballmer: Microsoft's Vision for Software Delivered as a Service
14:00 Taking Virtualisation to the Next Level: Achieving a Dynamic IT Infrastructure.
           Bruce Lynn, Microsoft
14:40 Virtualisation vNext: Customer Case Study and Q&A
15:00 Break
15:30 Planning for the next wave of Technologies: Chris Ingle, IDC
16:00 From Database to Data Platform. Delivering New Value to the Business.
          Keith Burns and Andrew Fryer, Microsoft
16:30 Deriving New Value from Data and SQL Server 2008: Customer Case Study and Q&A
16:50 Summary
17:00 Close

Join us for an afternoon of innovation, debate and insight as we launch the next wave of technologies to help you deliver new value to your organisation.

Register now here or register by Phone: 0870 166 6624

GreenIT and Virtualisation

Watch this short Silverlight video to find out how virtualisation compliments green IT practices that can lead to more-efficient energy use and cost savings.

Easing the Path to Virtualization

There was a great intro to the US newsletter that I wanted to share:

Microsoft recently updated its software licensing terms for 41 server applications, and updated its technical support policy for 31 server applications so that customers can receive technical support when deploying those applications on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Microsoft Hyper-V Server, or any validated third-party virtualization platform.
With the new licensing terms, Microsoft is waiving its previous 90-day reassignment rule, allowing customers to reassign licenses from one server to another within a server farm as frequently as needed. For scenarios around how the licensing terms might work for you, check out the Virtualization Team blog.
With the new support policies, customers get the same level of product support in a virtualized environment that they are accustomed to with non-virtual environments. To enable this support policy, Microsoft launched the Server Virtualization Validation Program in June 2008. The program is open to any software vendor to test and validate its virtualization software to run Windows Server 2008 and previous versions of Windows Server. More information is available on the Microsoft Support Web site.

Video: Tricks of the Windows Vista Masters

Check out this Video where J. Peter Bruzzese talks about where the secrets came from for his latest book, and shares a couple of his favourites.