Microsoft TechNet Ireland Blog

Free Books to Download

will.craddock — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:39:53 GMT

A couple of free eBooks are available, written by MVP’s. This again amplifies the value that Microsoft MVP’s to the general IT Pro community.

First up is an eBook from Canadian Mitch Tulloch, a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional and lead author of the just-published (and hot-selling) Windows 7 Resource Kit (Microsoft Press, 2010; ISBN: 9780735627000; 1760 pages). Mitch has created a short 11 page eBook called “What You Can Do Before You Call Tech Support.” Here are the opening paragraphs:

Your sound card has stopped working, your computer seems sluggish, the network is down, your hard drive is clicking, you can’t view a website, your monitor is hard to read, your new webcam isn’t working, your favourite program won’t run, and a funny burning smell is coming from your computer. What can you do on your own to try to troubleshoot the issue before you pick up the phone to call tech support?

If you’re running Windows 7, quite a lot. Microsoft has included a lot of self-support tools in Windows 7 that you can try using before you seek the help of others, and we’ll examine these in a moment. Then there are the tools you were born with—your five senses (see, hear, smell, taste, touch) and most importantly your brain. And by brain I’m including your memory, experience, and capacity for logical reasoning. Finally, there is ancient and sacred lore passed on in secret from Master to Disciple over the millennia. We’ll see shortly how your brain, your senses, and the secrets of the Wise Ones can be very helpful for troubleshooting computer problems. But first let’s look at what troubleshooting tools are built into Windows 7.

You can download the eBook in XPS format here and in PDF format here. Enjoy!

The next book is written by Jaap Wesselius , a Microsoft MVP’s for Exchange Server from the Netherlands. With only 5 chapters, you might think it is light on content but each chapter has quite a few subchapters so don’t think the book is light. It’s not.

CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Exchange Server 2010
CHAPTER 2: Installing Exchange Server 2010
CHAPTER 3: Exchange Server 2010 Coexistence
CHAPTER 4: Managing Exchange Server 2010
CHAPTER 5: High Availability in Exchange Server 2010

Section 1.6 Exchange Server 2010 Server Roles, for instance, is particularly interesting in explaining the roles – especially for folks like me that still have the old 2003 architecture & server roles in mind.

Section 2.1 Installing the Exchange Server 2010 Prerequisites, reads like a to do list which is particularly useful if you’re new to the new “Exchange Server 2007+” world.

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.red-gate.com/specials/Exchange/esa_exchange2010.htm

cheers

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Windows XP and Windows 7 Migration and Coexistence

will.craddock — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:51:09 GMT

Keith Combs, Senior IT Pro Advisor in the US wrote a fantastic blog post on Windows XP, Windows 7 and Coexistence. Instead of duplicating the information, I am just pointing people to this very detailed overview.

http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/archive/2009/10/27/windows-xp-and-windows-7-migration-and-coexistence.aspx

cheers

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Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool

will.craddock — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:29:20 GMT

When talking to customers and partners about Windows 7, XP Mode and Hyper-V the question that always came back is what hardware is required for the technology. Windows Virtual PC and Hyper-V requires processors capable of hardware-assisted virtualization with AMD-V™, Intel® VT or VIA® VT turned on in the BIOS.

The Microsoft® Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool detection tool helps you check if the computer processor supports hardware virtualization. The tool also checks if this feature is enabled on the processor.

For more information about Windows Virtual PC, please visit the Windows Virtual PC website and for more information on Hyper-V, please visit the Hyper-V website.

DOWNLOAD

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Deploying Windows 7 from an Infrastructure Architect’s Perspective

will.craddock — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:10:22 GMT

October 28, 2009 at 11:00am – 12:30pm PST (18:00 to 19:30 Dublin)

Title: Deploying Windows 7 from an Infrastructure Architect’s Perspective

Presenter: Doug Klokow

Abstract:

We’ll discuss 5 key areas centered on deploying Windows 7: Developing business justification – Evaluate the capabilities provided by Windows 7 and develop a plan for how to realize business value from these solutions; Where are you today – Explore the differences of preparing for Windows 7 based on your current desktop operating system; Application readiness – Explore the tools and resources available to gain insight into your readiness to deploy Windows 7, Internet Explorer 8, and/or Office 2007/2010; Deployment readiness – Explore the tools and resources available to create a design and deployment solution for your enterprise; Training your employees – Discuss available resources for training your IT Staff and End Users.

SPEAKER BIOS

Doug Klokow

Part of Microsoft Consulting Services for 9 years focused on client desktop deployment solutions. He is part of the Virtual Deployment Practice that is focused on driving early customer deployment on Microsoft client technologies and is also supporting Microsoft’s Desktop Virtualization capabilities and service offerings.

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Penton Media’s “Win7, WinSvr2008 R2, Exchange 2010 Virtual Event”, Oct 27th

will.craddock — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:37:39 GMT

On Tuesday, Oct 27, Paul Thurrott, Michael Otey, Paul Robichaux, Jeff James, and key Microsoft leaders gather for a lively discussion of how to make the most of the new releases!

They will discuss how Windows® 7, Windows Server®2008 R2 and Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 are designed to help simplify IT infrastructure management, save costs, and get more from systems with solutions that are interoperable.

an overview of everything that Windows® 7 has to offer

a deep-dive into enterprise-oriented features such as AppLocker, Branche Cache, DirectAccess, federated search, and BitLocker to Go

a complete coverage of all of the new features and functionality brought by Windows® Server 2008 R2, including Hyper-V virtualization with live migration and PowerShell 2.0

an in-depth presentation of the rich user experience, the many deployment options, and information protection and control capabilities offered by Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010

a clear understanding of the ways Windows® 7, Windows® Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 work better together

PEOPLE - This is a FREE virtual event! Did you see the list of speakers? (See list to the right) It’s practically a who’s who of the Microsoft ecosystem.

In the keynote and three technical sessions participants will discover exactly what's in it for their business and will receive technical resources to get the most out of the new features and capabilities. This event is presented in an interactive, real-life simulation, with a lifelike visual environment, networking and interactive tools, staffed sponsor booths, and educational chats to complement each conference session.

REGISTRATION: Penton Media’s “Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange 2010 Virtual Event

Agenda:

Are You Ready for the New Efficiency?

Time

Session

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. ET (2:30 to 3:30 Dublin)
Keynote: Get Your Business Ready for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Exchange Server 2010
Joint keynote presentation featuring Windows IT Pro analysts and key Microsoft executives.
Speakers
Paul Thurrott, Michael Otey, Paul Robichaux, Mark Russinovich, Ward Ralston, and Michele Crockett

11:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. ET (3:30 to 3:45 Dublin)
Networking Break

11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. ET (3:45 to 4:45 Dublin)
Premier Sponsor Technical Session I Premier Sponsor Technical Session II Premier Sponsor Technical Session III

12:45 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET (4:45 to 5:00 Dublin)
Networking Break

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET (5:00 to 6:00 Dublin)

The Business Case for Windows 7

In this session, industry expert Paul Thurrott will deliver an overview of everything that Windows 7 has to offer, from the new user interface tweaks and touch interfaces to the performance, reliability, and security improvements that make Windows 7 perfect for all kinds of PCs, including low-end netbooks. Paul will also provide a deep-dive into business- and enterprise-oriented features such as AppLocker, Branche Cache, DirectAccess, federated search, and BitLocker to Go.
Speaker
Paul Thurrott, industry analyst on Microsoft technologies and mastermind behind the SuperSite for Windows, WinInfo Daily UPDATE, and Windows IT Pro Magazine UPDATE.

2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. ET (6:00 to 6:15 Dublin)
Networking Break

2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. ET (6:15 to 7:15 Dublin)
What's in R2 for You? Get the Most from Your Windows Server 2008 R2 Deployment

While its name suggests a far more modest release, Windows Server 2008 R2 is in fact a major server release on part with its predecessor, and it's going to bring a host of new features and functionality. Key among these are Hyper-V virtualization with live migration, PowerShell 2.0, a new remotable Server Manager, improvements to IIS, and all the scalability, reliability, and security improvements you'd expect from a Server release. We'll cover all of these changes as well as the ways in which Windows Server 2008 R2 works better with Windows 7.
Speaker
Michael Otey, senior technical director for Windows IT Pro, SQL Server Magazine, and System iNetwork, and author of various books including the SQL Server Developer's Guide from Osborne-McGraw-Hill.

3:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET (7:15 to 7:30 Dublin)
Networking Break

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET (7:30 to 8:30 Dublin)
Building Your Messaging Platform with Exchange Server 2010

This session will explore Exchange Server 2010 as a messaging platform that can be deployed on premises or as an online service and offers a rich user experience, many deployment options, and information protection and control capabilities. IT pros will learn how Exchange Server 2010 deployed with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 provides high availability, security of critical business information, and easier administration.
Speaker
Paul Robichaux, long-time contributing editor to Windows IT Pro, author of Exchange & Outlook UPDATE newsletter published by Windows IT Pro, Microsoft Exchange Server MVP, trainer and consultant.

4:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. ET (8:45 to 9:45 Dublin)
RU Ready for 7, R2, and 2010? Panel Discussion and Q & A
This session will be a free-ranging roundtable discussion among Windows IT Pro experts and Microsoft representatives with interactive Q & A session with listeners.
Speakers
Michele Crockett, Editorial & Custom Strategy Director, Windows IT Pro will moderate this session, which will be joined by Paul Thurrott, Michael Otey, Paul Robichaux, and representatives from Microsoft product groups.

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Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool

will.craddock — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:14:14 GMT

How do I install Windows 7 on my Netbook? This is a question we got many times over the delivery at the Community Launch for Windows 7 across Ireland.

Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool (WUDT) helps customers who have PCs without optical disk drives (such as small notebook PCs) to upgrade to Windows 7. (See http://www.microsoftstore.com/win7usb)

The WUDT is a free downloadable from Microsoft Store and the Microsoft Download Center. Windows 7 customers who purchase an electronic software distribution (ESD) edition of Windows from the Microsoft Store can create bootable USB devices (thumb drives or external hard drives) or DVD backup media by downloading the ESD edition (an ISO image) and then running the WUDT.

DOWNLOAD: Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool
http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool

cheers

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Direct Access: The Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide

will.craddock — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:07:19 GMT

This IPD guide provides actionable guidance for designing a DirectAccess infrastructure. The guide’s easy-to-follow, four-step process gives a straightforward explanation of the infrastructure required for clients to be connected from the Internet to resources on the corporate network, whether or not the organization has begun deploying IPv6.

The guide covers four key steps in the design process for DirectAccess:

Aligning the project scope with the business requirements.
Determining whether IPv6, Teredo, 6to4, and IP-HTTPS connectivity will be supported for Internet-based clients.
Assessing the need for IPv6/IPv4 network address translation service and ISATAP for internal communication.
Determining the number and placement of servers, the certificate services requirements, and location of CRL distribution points.

Download the IPD Guide for DirectAccess at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=164151.

Infrastructure Planning and Design streamlines the planning process by:

Defining the technical decision flow through the planning process.
Listing the decisions to be made and the commonly available options and considerations.

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Exchange 2007 and Windows Server 2008 R2

will.craddock — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:04:12 GMT

Can you run Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2008 R2? I was out with a number of partners this past week and this question came up a few times so I thought I would share the official response from the Exchange Product Group.

Since we announced the release of Exchange Server 2007 SP2, we've received a few questions about running Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2008 R2. We wanted to provide some additional information on how we made the decision to support Exchange Server 2007 SP2 on Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 but not Windows Server 2008 R2. This decision is not one we took lightly and was informed by customer feedback.

Two primary technical points drove our decision to not support Windows Server 2008 R2. First, Windows Server 2008 R2, while an incremental OS upgrade, creates significant testing requirements for Exchange 2007. Because the Exchange 2007 SP2 engineering preceded the Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM, Exchange 2007 SP2 would have had to be delayed significantly to align testing schedules. Second, because upgrading the server OS underneath an existing Exchange server is not supported, the feedback we have received is that the primary need is to support Windows Server 2008 R2 domain controllers in an existing Exchange 2007 deployment, which we have done.

In reviewing the specific work items to support Windows Server 2008 R2, we determined that while significant testing time would be required this work would only ensure the minimum level of compatibility, and it still might not allow Exchange to take advantage of new Windows 2008 R2 features. Additionally, this work would be at the expense of delivering the capabilities customers have told us they want in Exchange 2010. So, based on this reality we decided to focus on the compatibility between Exchange 2007 SP2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 domain controllers and the releasing of Exchange 2010 as close to Windows 2008 R2's release as possible. We felt that thoroughly validating the combination of Exchange 2010 on Windows Server 2008 R2 allowed us to focus on delivering great solutions which would be fully tested and would support the features of Windows Server 2008 R2.

We recognize that there are some downstream impacts to this decision related to administration only installs. The technical problem for us is that an administration install of Exchange is almost identical to a full Exchange server installation.

This is a hard trade-off to make, but we believe it is the right one and a good balance between serving existing customers and driving innovation.

Hope that this sheds some light on the subject!

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Service Pack 2 for Configuration Manager 2007

will.craddock — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:56:15 GMT

Service Pack 2 for Configuration Manager 2007 delivers new platform support for Windows 7 client, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2. In addition, Service Pack 2 delivers continued innovation with Intel vPro technology, support for Branch Cache enabled environments, and continued development for 64 bit architectures.

Feature Summary

New Operating System Support

Windows 7
Windows Vista Sp2
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 SP2

New Features in Out of Band Management
In addition to providing feature parity with SP1 and AMT firmware versions 3.2.1, 4.0 and 5.0, the following new features are supported:

Wireless management with up to 8 wireless profiles
End point access control: 802.1x support
Audit logging
Support for different power states
Power control options at the collection level
Data storage
Scheduling configuration for in-band provisioning

Asset Intelligence Certificate Requirement Removal
Configuration Manager Service Pack 1 introduced Asset Intelligence v1.5. This version allowed customers to configure an online synchronization to ensure that their catalog was up to date with the latest Microsoft inventory for both hardware and applications. This initial release required a certificate. With Service Pack 2, the requirement to have the certificate has been removed, so any customer can configure their Asset Intelligence capabilities to connect online and update their catalog. Software Assurance is not required for this functionality.

64-bit Architecture Development
Service Pack 2 will also continue to deliver new support for x64 architectures, including the following:

X64 support for Operations Manager 2007 Client Agent
Update to Management Packs for 64-bit operating systems - SP2 will ship 64-bit performance counters (the management pack is a separate release)
Remote control support added for x64 XP and x64 Server 2003

Improved Client Policy Evaluation

Faster policy processing
More efficient software distribution configured to run at user logon

Branch Cache Support
Support for scenarios where Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 Client are present and Branch Cache is enabled

Download

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Resources for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7

will.craddock — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:53:22 GMT

Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2 eBook

Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2 is a deep-dive work, that'll get you up to speed on how R2's new features and capabilities work, including Hyper-V and RDS virtualization, management, IIS and the new Web application platform and, of course, all the synergistic goodness between Windows Server and Windows 7. Free for a click, so don't miss out.

Download

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows® 7 enables IT administrators to manage roles and features that are installed on computers that are running Windows Server® 2008 R2, Windows Server® 2008, or Windows Server® 2003, from a remote computer that is running Windows 7.

Download

Windows 7 Product Guide

The Windows 7 Product Guide provides a detailed look at the many new and improved features in Windows 7. The guide is designed as an accurate source of information that can help you to understand how Windows 7 Simplifies Everyday Tasks, Works the Way You Want, and Makes New Things Possible. The guide is also designed to provide IT Professionals with information about how to Make People Productive Anywhere, Manage Risk Through Enhanced Security and Control, and Reduce Costs by Streamlining PC Management. This is not a help and how to guide. Rather, it provides an overview of the many exciting features in Windows 7 and pointers to more information. The Windows 7 Product Guide is available in both XPS and PDF formats.

Download

Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance

Microsoft’s eBook Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine combine selected chapters written by industry experts Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jerry Honeycutt, Ed Wilson, and the Windows 7 Team with select Windows 7 articles from TechNet Magazine. Sample topics include: Deployment Platform, Planning Deployment, Testing Application Compatability, and 8 Common Issues in Windows 7 Migrations.

Download

How to Build a Windows 7 Image

This step-by-step guide explains how to install a custom image by using an operating system image that includes your customizations and applications. The guidance is designed specifically for small and medium business that may not have prior experience with Windows deployment or do not have an enterprise deployment infrastructure.

Download

Deploying Windows 7 with MDT 2010

Aidan Finn, a Dublin based Virtualization MVP who presented with us on the Windows 7 Community Launch Tour has released a white paper on deploying Windows 7 using MDT for business environments.

Download

Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.5

The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.5 helps customers understand their application compatibility situation by identifying which applications are compatible with the Windows 7 RC and Windows Vista® operating system and which require further testing. ACT helps customers lower their costs for application compatibility testing, prioritize their applications, and deploy Windows more quickly.
You can use the ACT features to:

Verify an application's compatibility with a new version of the Windows operating system, or a Windows Update, including determining your risk assessment.
Become involved in the ACT Community, including sharing your risk assessment with other ACT users.
Test your Web applications and Web sites for compatibility with new releases and security updates to the Windows® Internet Explorer® Internet browser.

Download

Windows 7 Walkthrough: BitLocker and BitLocker to Go

In Windows 7, core BitLocker Drive Encryption functionality is enhanced to deliver an improved experience for IT professionals and end users—from simple enhancements such as the ability to right-click on a drive to enable BitLocker protection to the automatic creation of the required hidden boot partition. Learn about these enhancements and the new BitLocker To Go, which gives system administrators control over how removable storage devices can be used and the strength of protection required.

Download

Windows 7 Walkthrough: AppLocker

AppLocker is a flexible, easily administered mechanism that enables IT professionals to specify exactly what is allowed to run on user desktops. It provides the flexibility to allow users to run the applications, installation programs, and scripts they need to be productive. Learn how you can realize the security, operational, and compliance benefits of application standardization by using AppLocker.

Download

Implementing an End-User Data Centralization Solution

The objective of this white paper is to show through a case study how to use different Microsoft products and technologies to put in place a comprehensive solution satisfying the needs of a mid-sized organization around users’ file data management. The study was conducted by the Quality Assurance group of the Storage Solutions Division (SSD) at Microsoft, a division that focuses on enabling customers of all sizes to store, manage, and reliably access their file data."

Download

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TechEd Europe Special Offer

endaf — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:17:37 GMT

TechEd Europe is Microsoft’s biggest and best technical conference in Europe happening in 2009..and this year it takes place in Berlin from the 9^th to the 13^th November. The same week as the Berlin Wall Festival :) (20 years since the wall came down). At the conference, you’ll see speakers like Mark Russinovich, John Craddock, Mark Minasi, Rafal Lukawiecki and Bob Beauchemin.

Learn more here.

TechNet Ireland has got a special deal for the first five readers of this blog to email endaf@microsoft.com, expressing their interest in attending TechEd. You’ll get a special promotional price point of €1595 for the conference ticket. Act fast, if this offer appeals to you!!

Event: WebsiteSpark Launch, 20th October – let’s celebrate!

endaf — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:17:00 GMT

It’s the anniversary of Microsoft’s BizSpark program and Microsoft Ireland are also launching a new initiative, WebsiteSpark, aimed primarily at web based businesses.

In the last year, over 300 companies in Ireland and Northern Ireland have benefited from business and development support from the BizSpark program. Come help us celebrate the success and growth of these organizations! You’ll also learn about the latest addition to the Spark family: WebsiteSpark.

WebsiteSpark is Microsoft’s new program to help small web design and development shops by providing them with three things essential to their success at no upfront cost:

1. Visibility through a marketplace and well as connections through marketing and business networking programs

2. Support of all kinds, from tech support and training to a network of other development shops, hosting partners, developers and designers, and

3. Tools to build products for your customers: Windows Server and IIS, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Expression and more.

More information on WebsiteSpark can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/web/websitespark/

See you at the Guinness Storehouse on October 20th for drinks, networking and a toast to sparking the economy.

What:
This events is completely free and open to anyone who wants to attend. Come along and meet new people, and make new contacts and have some fun too. The BizSpark and WebsiteSpark programs are run by Microsoft to help Startup companies with support, technology and networks.

When & Where:
From 7:00PM at The Guinness Storehouse • Dublin. See full address here and directions here.

Dress code, for people who care about such things, is whatever you like.

RSVP:
This event is absolutely free – and given the short notice of this post, you are welcome to turn up this evening without registering. Thanks, and we’ll see you there!

BranchCache Deployment Guide

will.craddock — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:13:09 GMT

One of the Better Together technologies of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 that we have been highlighting on the Windows 7 Community Launch Tour is BranchCache. Microsoft has release a deployment Guide for Branch Cache to help you deploy this technology within your organization.

This deployment guide provides instructions on deploying BranchCache in both distributed cache mode and hosted cache mode, and allows you to deploy Hypertext Transfer protocol (HHTP), Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), and Server Message Block (SMB)-based content servers that are Web servers, application servers, and file servers, respectively.

BranchCache is a wide area network (WAN) bandwidth optimization technology that is included in some editions of the Windows Server® 2008 R2 and Windows® 7 operating systems. To optimize WAN bandwidth, BranchCache copies content from your main office content servers and caches the content at branch office locations, allowing client computers at branch offices to access the content locally rather than over the WAN. This deployment guide provides instructions on deploying BranchCache in both distributed cache mode and hosted cache mode, and allows you to deploy Hypertext Transfer protocol (HHTP), Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), and Server Message Block (SMB)-based content servers that are Web servers, application servers, and file servers, respectively.

Download details: BranchCache Deployment Guide

cheers

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Security Bulletins for the Regular IT Guy - Oct 09

will.craddock — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:06:16 GMT

Good morning, it is patch Wednesday as it is here in Ireland as opposed to Patch Tuesday in the US! This is one of the biggest updates in terms of the quantity of patches across a number of products. Every month my friends back in the Microsoft IT Pro group in Canada release podcast explaining the updates in everyday English so you know what the updates are when evaluating them for deployment.

Podcast Participants: Pierre Roman and Rick Claus.

Additional Technical Show Notes:

Recorded in my backyard on Thanksgiving Weekend in Canada. Clear skies, but darn cold.
Beverage of choice for this edition: leftover Mooshead “Cracked Canoe” ale (http://www.crackedcanoe.com/) from my Thanksgiving festivities.

PodSafe music from PodSafe Music Network @ http://music.podshow.com/. Artist: Derek K Miller, song - “You’re the Big Sky - rock guitar instrumental”

Direct Download:

Subscribe to the podcast: (so you don't miss an episode)

Disclaimer: This podcast was produced with the best information available to us at the time of recording. Your primary source for all things Security Bulletin related should always be the Microsoft Security Response Center blog.

Bulletins discussed for October 13th, 2009:

cheers

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Exchange 2010 RTM’d, start your learning now!

will.craddock — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:51:44 GMT

Exchange Server 2010 was released to manufacture this week, marking another updated release in the Microsoft product line with another wave to come in the spring. This is an important release in what is already considered the industry leader for corporate communications. As we start off the last leg of the Windows 7 Community Launch this week in Belfast and finally Dublin, I thought it would be good to provide links to the preconfigured virtual labs that are available to download to quickly get up to speed on the features as well as an outline of the changes. My colleague Patrick Herlihy will be providing an overview of Exchange 2010 as part of our launch activities.

Labs:

Configuring Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging and OCS 2007 R2 Integration Virtual Lab: Download

Transitioning from Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2010 (Beta) Virtual Lab: Download

Exchange Server 2010 (Beta) HA and Storage Scenarios Virtual Lab: Download

Configuring Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging Virtual Lab: Download

Exchange Server 2010 (Beta) Setup and Deployment Virtual Lab: Download

So What's New

Microsoft Exchange 2010 helps you achieve new levels of reliability and performance by delivering features that simplify your administration, protect your communications, and delight your users by meeting their demands for greater business mobility. With new deployment and storage options, enhanced inbox management capabilities and e-mail archiving built-in, Exchange 2010 helps you lower costs and enhance business outcomes.

Flexible and Reliable

With Exchange, choose from on-premises deployment with Exchange Server 2010, a Microsoft hosted service with Exchange Online, or a seamless mix of both. Microsoft's commitment to Software plus Services ensures you can decide on your timeline for taking advantage of the flexibility and power of both without interrupting or changing your users' experience.

Learn More about Exchange Online

Exchange 2010 offers a simplified approach to high availability and disaster recovery coupled with enhanced maintenance tools to help you achieve new levels of reliability to deliver business continuity. Building on previous investments in Continuous Replication technologies in Exchange 2007, these investments:

Remove the need to deploy complex and costly clustering and third-party data replication products for full-scale Exchange redundancy
Automate mailbox database replication and failover with as few as two servers or across geographically dispersed datacenters
Maintain availability and fast recovery with up to 16 Exchange-managed replicas of each mailbox database
Limit user disruption during mailbox moves between e-mail servers, allowing you to perform migration and maintenance activities on your schedule, even during business hours
Guard against lost e-mail due to Transport Server upgrades or failures, through new built-in redundancy capabilities designed to intelligently redirect mail flow through another available route

Learn More about High Availability and Disaster Recovery

Lowering the burden on your help desk and yourself is a key way in which you can accomplish more and reduce costs. This motivated investments in new self-service capabilities aimed at enabling users to perform common tasks without having to call the help desk. With this functionality you can:

Allow users to update their contact information and track delivery receipt information for e-mail messages, for example, without IT assistance
Offer an easy-to-use Web-based interface for common help desk tasks
Utilize the new Exchange Roles-based Access Control model to empower specialist users to perform specific tasks – like giving compliance officers the ability to conduct multi-mailbox searches – without requiring administrative control

Learn More about Administration

Anywhere Access

Enhancements in the latest release of Exchange provide your users access to all of their communications from a single location while making it easier for them to collaborate with each other and their business partners. These enhancements include the ability to:

Offer your users a premium Outlook experience across the desktop, Web, and mobile devices, including OWA support for browsers like Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox
Unify access to e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, and text messages enabling your users to choose the best way to communicate no matter where they are
Add native support for virtually every mobile device, including a premium experience with Windows Mobile, through Exchange ActiveSync
Share free/busy information with external business partners for fast and efficient scheduling, choosing the level of detail you wish to share

Exchange 2010 adds new productivity features that help your users easily organize and prioritize the communications in their inboxes. Your users will experience:

An enhanced conversation view that streamlines inbox navigation by automatically organizing message threads based on the natural conversation flow between communicating parties
MailTips that inform your users, before they click send, about message details that could lead to undeliverable or mis-sent e-mails, like accidentally sending confidential information to external recipients, reducing inbox clutter, extra steps, and help desk calls

Learn More about Outlook Web Access

Learn More about Mobile Devices

With Exchange 2010, you can replace your traditional voice mail system with a unified solution integrated into the core of your communications platform. This new system will enable your users to receive their voice mail messages right in their inboxes, and manage those voice mail messages just as they do e-mail, with familiar tools like Outlook and Outlook Web Access. You will benefit from the cost-savings of voice mail systems consolidation and replacement and provide your users features like:

Text transcription of voice mail messages, allowing users to quickly triage messages without having to play the audio file
The power of a personalized auto attendant for their voice mail
Tools to create call answering and routing rules for individuals or groups of callers based on Caller ID and contact information ensuring that every caller gets the experience your users intend
Phone-based access to their whole inbox – including e-mail, calendar, and contacts – in nearly 30 languages with Outlook Voice Access

Learn more about Voice Mail with Unified Messaging

Protection and Compliance

Exchange 2010 delivers new, integrated e-mail archiving functionality–including granular multi-mailbox search, item-level retention policies and instant legal hold–making it easier to address compliance and discovery issues. Administrators get centralized control of all archives while users get direct access to their archived mail, including a familiar archive experience that does not disrupt the way they manage their inboxes every day. With these new features you can:

Easily move unwieldy Outlook Data Files (PSTs) from the PC back to Exchange for more efficient control and legal discovery
Simplify the classification of e-mail with new centrally definable Retention Policies that can be applied to individual e-mail messages or folders
Conduct cross-mailbox searches through an easy-to-use Web-based interface, or through Roles-based access control, empowering your HR or compliance officers to execute targeted searches

Learn More about Archiving and Retention

Exchange 2010 also expands Information Protection and Control support, making it easier to encrypt, moderate and block sensitive or inappropriate e-mail based on specific sender, receiver and content attributes. Key functionality enables you to:

Combine Exchange 2010 and Active Directory Rights Management Services (ADRMS) so that you and your users can apply Information Rights Management protection automatically to restrict access and use of information within a message–wherever it is sent.
Enable partners and customers to read and reply to IRM-protected mail–even if they do not have Active Directory Rights Management Services (ADRMS) on premise
Enable managers to review mail and either approve or block transmission

Learn More about Information Protection and Control

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