The TechNet Australia Blog : Windows Server

Windows Server 2008 R2 : New Power Management Features

Deeps — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:52:55 GMT

Windows Server 2008 R2 (i.e. "Windows 7 Server") introduced significant advancements in Server Power Management capabilities. You may never win a Nobel prize for building an application that plays well with Server Power Management policies nor by configuring a power-optimized data-center, but you'll gain lots of respect for returning real green cash savings for your customers. We think that makes lots of of sense for both Developers and IT Professionals.

Gain insight into new and future power management features and learn more about Windows system Power Management via additional resources listed at MSDN Code Gallery.

Download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM today

Deeps — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:26:53 GMT

Couple of ways to get your hands on Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM or play around with it.

180 day Evaluation version
Evaluate Windows Server 2008 R2 free for 180 days. Web, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter and Itanium images are available for English, German, Japanese, French, Spanish and Chinese languages (Itanium is only available for English, German, Japanese and French).

Virtual hard Drive (VHD) Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise and Server Core
The Microsoft VHD file format specifies a virtual machine hard disk that can reside on a native host file system encapsulated within a single file. The format is used by Virtual PC 2007, Virtual Server 2005 R2 and Hyper-V and all future versions of Microsoft Windows Server that includes hypervisor-based virtualization technology.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Core Server VHD files are now available for download.

Test Drives (Windows Server 2008)
Try out Windows Server 2008 in a virtual environment by following step-by-step guides that walk you through specific scenarios around running applications from anywhere, high availability, server management, and security and policy enforcement. (Windows Server 2008 R2 Test Drives will be released Q4 CY2009)

Virtual Labs
In these TechNet Virtual Labs, you'll have the opportunity to test-drive new and improved features and functionality in the Windows Server 2008 release, including management, network protection, and improvements to Terminal Services. Each lab takes approximately 45-60 minutes to complete. (Windows Server 2008 R2 labs will be released Q4 CY2009)

TechNet Plus and MSDN subscribers can also get access to RTM.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 has been Released to Manufacturing

Deeps — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:31:46 GMT

Build 7600 is the official build for Windows 7 RTM and its ready! Thanks to those of you who have been involved from the Beta testing period, its been quite a ride!!

This RTM code will be delivered to partners in the next few days so they can start planning their product lines for the General Availability launch on October 22.

We can’t forget Windows Server 2008 R2 which also RTM’d today. Evaluation software will be available in the first half of August and full product available to customers with Software Assurance in the second half of August.

To get your hands on Windows 7 on August 6 make sure you subscribe to TechNet Plus.

Read all about it here.

Live Meeting – Beyond the Compete Microsoft vs VMware

Deeps — Mon, 25 May 2009 09:06:42 GMT

Event Overview
This session will focus on the key technologies within the Microsoft Product Family that address very real needs that any organisations adopting VWWare Technology has. We will focus on discussing how to manage VMWare and Hyper-V side by side.

Technologies covered include System Center Virtual Machine Manager, Windows Server 2008 R2

Beyond the compete - Microsoft vs VMware
Language(s): English.
Product(s): Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager,Windows Server 2008 R2.
Audience(s): IT Manager,IT Professional.
Duration: 90 Minutes
Start Date: Friday, 26 June 2009 11:00 AM Australia (East)

Speaker details
Amit Pawar has been with Microsoft Australia for nearly nine years in various roles from Support Engineer, Consultant to currently being the Technology Specialist for Windows Server and Virtualisation. Amit has been involved with many successful proof of concepts, pilots and production deployment of Microsoft virtualisation technologies in both enterprise and small medium business customers in Australia.

Click here to Register

Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate ready for download

Deeps — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:32:23 GMT

If you haven’t used all your bandwidth downloading all Windows 7 RC, Hyper-V 2008 R2 RC and Office 2007 SP2 then you should definitely download the recently launched Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate.

Here are the top 10 IT Pro tasks made easier by Windows Server 2008 R2
#1 Migrating VMs Without Service Interruption
Live Migration leverages Windows Clustering Services and the Cluster Shared Volumes technology to transfer VMs in milliseconds. That means no dropped connections and a much more dynamic data center management environment. We’ve also added Live Migration features to System Center Virtual Machine Manager, including the ability to perform migrations based on policy. It’s a brave new virtual world.

#2 Branch File Access Performance Up; WAN Costs Down
Administrators can use BranchCache to track file access requests at the branch office, and the files can be cached there. Files can be retrieved from other branch office client PCs (a peer-to-peer caching model, known as distributed mode) or from a dedicated BranchCache server at the remote site (also called hosted mode). A central BranchCache server keeps track of both existing file requests and file updates to ensure all requests receive only the most current content.

#3 Self-adjusting Server and Data Center Power Management
First, there’s an exciting new feature called Core Parking. When this feature is enabled, Windows Server 2008 R2 will constantly monitor the various workloads running across multi-core server systems. If certain processor cores are under-utilized or unnecessary, Core Parking can set just those cores into sleep mode, thus saving significant power. If workloads suddenly increase, R2 can spin up dormant cores in a matter of milliseconds. So a server with 64 logical cores can drop to just a 4-core machine during low-utilization times and rev back up to full CPU power as soon as workloads increase.

In addition, Windows Server 2008 R2 enables administrators to design active power policies that can cause servers to ‘throttle-down’ during off-hours by using DMTF-compliant remote management interfaces.

#4 Remote Server Management
Windows Server 2008 R2 addresses this challenge with a Server Manager that can be installed on workstations and pointed at servers from afar. In addition, Server Manager has new management consoles devoted specifically to remote management tasks across all server roles.

#5 Squeeze the Most From Your Hardware
First, because it takes advantage of the last two years of 64-bit server CPU manufacturing, Windows Server 2008 R2 is the first Microsoft server operating system to take only the 64-bit road. Your 32-bit applications will continue to run flawlessly on R2, but the 64-bit operating system is much better designed to take advantage of those high-end server CPUs from AMD and Intel.

And more of them, too—with Windows Server 2008 R2 scaling up to address as many as 256 logical processors in a single server, and Hyper-V in R2 is able to use more than 32 logical processors in a single VM. That’s twice the CPU support of Hyper-V 1.0! R2 can also take advantage of advanced CPU features, including Second Level Translation for much-improved memory management. It all adds up to more server muscle for your data center dollar. When combined with the consolidation power of Hyper-V, it means R2 can make a significant dent in your annual IT spend.

#6 Do Better At Managing Virtual Data Centers
The new Hyper-V™ sports numerous improvements over the old, including support for both 32- and 64-bit VMs, larger memory support (up to 64GB per VM), pass through disk access, and new hardware sharing architectures for resources like disk, networking, and video. But Hyper-V™ hasn’t left managers out in the cold—it includes new consoles for Live Migration and high-availability clusters, support for WMI management extensibility, and day-to-day tools to make life easier such as Virtual Machine snapshots. And last (but definitely not least), Hyper-V™ also sports a host of new support from PowerShell 2.0 with a slew of new dedicated cmdlets.

#7 Create Customized and Automated Management Tools
PowerShell v2 carries improvements across the board with improved remote management via WS-Management, better security with features like constrained runspaces, extended scripting functionality, and even improved script portability via XML. You’ll find a new Graphical PowerShell that adds pro developer-class IDE features, including colored syntaxing and better debugging tools for building your own cmdlets. And lets not forget about the over 240 new cmdlets that ship with R2 right out of the box.

#8 Use Virtualization to Ease Desktop Management
The new Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in Windows Server 2008 R2 figures largely in this vision, and builds on the solid presentation virtualization foundation we built into Windows Server 2008’s Terminal Services. With the advent of Window Server 2008 R2, this is now called Remote Desktop Services under which VDI encompases a centralized desktop delivery architecture that allows customers to centralize the storage, execution, and management of a Windows® desktop or application in the data center. This capability gives desktop and application administrators a whole new toolkit for better enablement of flexible work scenarios, including work-from-home and hot-desking as well as increased data security, compliance, and more efficient management of the desktop operating system and applications.

#9 Broaden Remote Access Adoption While Making it Easier to Manage
DirectAccess (DA) is a comprehensive anywhere access solution that enables organizations to provide always-on, secure connectivity to on-premise and remote users alike. It improves security and lowers total cost of ownership (TCO). DA eliminates the need to connect explicitly with the corporate network while roaming and provides organizations with the next generation of policy-based, secure connectivity. To end users, the concept of remote computing goes away because DA and Windows 7 combine to present them with an always-on connection to their corporate network whether they’re attached to a local, remote or even public network.

#10 Take Your Web and Application Serving To The Next Level
Overworked server administrators will appreciate the updated Web server, which includes features that streamline management by extending the functionality of IIS Manager to include new configuration modules, by implementing a new Windows PowerShell Provider and task-based cmdlets for IIS, and by offering support for .NET on Server Core—that means not just more application flexibility with ASP.NET now available on Server Core, but remote administration through IIS Manager and Server Manager as well. IIS 7.5 also integrates new support and troubleshooting features, including configuration logging and a dedicated Best Practice Analyzer, and integrates many of the more popular extensions for IIS, including updated versions of Secure FTP and WebDAV.

What's New in Active Directory for Windows Server 2008 R2 Live Meeting 15th May

Deeps — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:45:16 GMT

Register for our next Live Meeting event which is on Friday 15th May at 11am.

Event Overview
Windows Server 2008 R2 delivers some highly anticipated features for Active Directory administrators. This session will provide an overview of the new features and also drill down on some of their aspects, which would enable you to better understand and evaluate their value. You will take away an understanding of AD Recycle Bin (easing recovery), Managed Service Accounts (easing Service Account lifecycle management), Authentication Assurance (enabling applications to authorize per two factor authentication), Offline Domain Join (easing large scale data center deployments), and the suite of manageability enhancing features like AD Power Shell, AD Best Practice Analyzer and AD Administrative Center.

Speaker – Philip Duff, Infrastructure Technical Specialist

Click here to register

Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista SP2 Release Candidates ready for download

Deeps — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:25:52 GMT

Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RC is prerelease code offered to the public through our Customer Preview Program. Please see the Windows Server SP2/Windows Vista SP2 Customer Preview Program page on TechNet/MSDN for additional details, documentation, and forums.

Windows Vista SP2 TechNet
Windows Server 2008 SP2 TechNet

Windows Server 2008 SP2 RC and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RC apply to people, organizations, and technical enthusiasts who are comfortable evaluating prerelease software. This prerelease software is provided for testing only. Installation of Service Pack 2 RC will result in Microsoft collecting information about the installation process, even if the installation is not completed. We do not recommend installing this software on primary or mission-critical systems. We recommend that you have a backup of your data before you install any prerelease software.

SP2 is an update to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers and partners. By providing these fixes integrated into a single service pack, Microsoft provides a single high-quality update that minimizes deployment and testing complexity for customers. In addition to all previously released updates, SP2 will contain changes focused on addressing reliability and performance issues, supporting new kinds of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP2 will also continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage large installations of Windows Server 2008.

Service Pack 1 is a prerequisite for installing Service Pack 2. Please make sure that your system is running Service Pack 1 before you install Service Pack 2. Windows Server 2008 SP2 Release Candidate and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Release Candidate - Five Language Standalone version can be installed on systems with any of the following language versions: English, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish.

Support for Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista SP2 Beta can be received by visiting the Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 TechNet forum.

Windows Server downgrade Fulfillment site launches

Deeps — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:58:11 GMT

The Windows Server Fufillment site is designed to provide a one-stop shop for FPP and OEM customers who need to downgrade to Windows Server 2003 R2 to order a downgrade kit that contains both the media and product key of Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition.

You can obtain downgrade media and product keys from the Windows Server Fulfillment website via the existing Downgrade Rights page on MS.com. This page has also been fleshed out to provide education regarding Windows Sever licensing.

Another thing to get your hands on – Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta

Deeps — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:38:00 GMT

I blogged about the actual announcement of this a while ago and now Windows Server 2008 R2 is ready for download. As mentioned before Windows Server 2008 R2 is the next version of the Windows Server OS. This includes all the cool new Hyper V features. Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 includes three core areas of improvement for creating dynamic virtual data centers.

Check out the following resources for more info:

10 Cool Things to do with Windows PowerShell

Deeps — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 07:48:38 GMT

This demo shows some of the neat things you can do with PowerShell with regards to server administration. There are 10 demos you can run through ranging from simple queries for services to enumerating information in Active Directory. Some of the scripts use lists of computers, some prompt for a computername. Each script shows a different thing you can do with PowerShell to quickly create administration scripts.

Length: 12 minutes 28 seconds

You can also download the WMV here

There is also a good Introduction to Windows PowerShell Virtual Lab where you will learn to carry out system administration tasks as well as learn the capabilities of the Windows PowerShell console.

We also have the Windows PowerShell 2.0 CTP (Community Tech Preview) for those who want to try out the latest and greatest.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Announcement

Deeps — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:49:36 GMT

Another important announcement at PDC is Windows Server 2008 R2 which will be the next version of the Windows Server operating system. Windows Server 2008 R2 is the first Windows OS platform to go 64-bit only. I'm particularly excited about Live Migration and DirectAccess features. The below is from the Windows Server Division Blog, there are four core technology pillars:

First, there’s virtualization. R2 represents our most pervasive move into virtualization yet, including R2’s undisputed marquee feature, Live Migration. Think physical host migrations of running VMs happening in milliseconds—no service or user connection interruptions. With Live Migration, data centers can truly go virtual and largely divorce management considerations between software and hardware, and all managed from inside a single OS frame.

R2’s virtualization also extends to a new Hyper-V for Windows Server 2008 R2 (think much better management, beefier resources for VMs and more). And potentially more exciting, Terminal Services is updating its remote applications feature to include a true Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Think desktops and applications wrapped in virtualized packages, managed centrally and deployed to Windows 7 desktop with such tight integration most users will be unable to tell the difference between centrally hosted apps and those installed locally. (And don’t worry, a Web Access feature will let Windows XP and Windows Vista users in on the fun, too.)

Our second area of core concentration is streamlined management. R2 contains a host of new server role-specific management UIs. Even better, these are all built on PowerShell 2.0, which hosts a bunch of improvements of its own. For one, you’ll find over 240 new cmdlets inside the R2 box with more coming from other Microsoft platform products. There’s also a new Graphical PowerShell UI that adds developer-oriented features so you can more easily create your own cmdlets, including syntax coloring and better debugging tools. Add to that a new Active Directory Domain Services management console, enhanced Group Policy functions and a remote-capable Server Manager, and IT administrators have a lot to look forward to with R2.

Our Web concentration largely represents updates to IIS 7.0. The Web server is better than ever with new PowerShell management support, bennies gained from new failover clustering updates, and a number of popular IIS Extensions that have been rolled up into this release, including WebDAV and an updated Administration Pack to name just two. New reporting capabilities, better deployment options and more flexible deployment options with support for technologies like SilverLight and PHP—it’s a brave new IIS world in R2.

Last and definitely my favorite is the enterprise workloads pillar. Yes, this covers the heavy-iron features I love so much, like failover clustering, new reliability features and updates to enterprise storage (more iSCSI enhancements, management and more). But it also covers the end-to-end network experience for enterprise users—and that means a very cool Better Together story with Windows 7. Live Migration is getting a lot of spotlight attention, but I think DirectAccess is might be the sleeper feature of R2 and Windows 7. With DA, remote computing essentially becomes invisible for end-users. Using technologies like SSTP and IPv6 combined with way-easy management UIs in Windows Server 2008 R2, admins can build remote computing policies that let users plug into any network, anywhere and see their local network resources—completely secure, no clunky VPN required. As long as there’s an outward network connection, DA takes care of everything in the background and automatically. Awesome. And that’s just one R2-Windows 7 synergy out of many.

For more information check out the Windows Server 2008 R2 Reviewers Guide

A tour of Hyper-V in 10 minutes

Deeps — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:51:35 GMT

Jeffa has released a Screencast on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008. A nice little tour all in 10 minutes and 57 seconds. Check it out below:

Sydney Windows Infrastructure Group – July 15th

Deeps — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:57:00 GMT

From Derrick Buckley, User Group Lead for SWIG:

Hi All,

See you all at SWIG on Tuesday for great talks, prizes and free food and drink.....

We have a great talk on preparing for your Windows 2008 MCITP exam with Ken Schaefer

Ken’s Bio - Ken Schaefer is a systems engineer consultant for global systems integrator Avanade. Avanade is a joint partnership between Microsoft and Accenture and focuses on enterprise projects across the Microsoft product stack.

Ken has worked with IIS for around 10 years, and been a Microsoft MVP for IIS since 2003. He has presented at numerous Microsoft Tech.Ed events across the US, Australia and Asia, written articles for Microsoft TechNet and spent countless hours talking about IIS at other events, user group meetings and roadshows. He was lead author for Professional IIS 7 (Wrox/Wiley) and co-author of Securing IIS 6.0 (Syngress Press)

He is currently an MCITP (Win2k8 EA), MCSE+Security, MCDBA, MCTS and holds a Masters in Business and Technology from UNSW. Ken blogs about IIS at http://adopenstatic.com/blog

Our second talk is now confirmed and Amit Pawar has agreed to give us a talk on the new Windows Hyper V technology. Amit Pawar is a Technology Solutions Professional specialising in Windows Server technologies. As a technical specialist, his role involves being able to explain and demonstrate the features and benefits of the Windows Server platform as a infrastructure platform to customers and partners. In the past 7 years Amit has worked in a varied roles within Microsoft Australia ranging from Microsoft Consulting Services to Product Support Services.

We also have a Demo from Chris Mohan on File Server Resource Manager for Windows 2008. Have a look at Chris’s blog - http://www.chris-mohan.com/ The demo will be recorded and entered into the Microsoft Demo competition....best of luck Chris!

See you on Tuesday
Derrick Buckley

Tue 15th July 2008 6pm
Healey Room, Ground Floor
50 Bridge St Sydney
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=-33.863395~151.211249&style=r&lvl=14&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&where1=50%20Bridge%20St%2C%20Sydney&encType=1

Windows Server Hyper-V is available for Download

Deeps — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:31:00 GMT

Hyper-V has been released to manufacturing and ready for download here. It will also be available through Windows Update soon.

I was also reading a good story about BMW Dealerships going Virtual across the world with upgrade plans to Windows Server 2008 64-bit and Hyper-V.

Dont forget to check out our Virtualization coverage at TechEd Australia this year.

Silverlight Snack Player

Deeps — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:55:29 GMT

For those who dont have that much time on your hands you may want to try out our new MS Learning Silverlight Snack Player. I like it short and sweet and these "snacks" are around 15-20 minutes long which contain demos, animations and explanations of core technology.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/ws08/snack01/Default.html