Yesterday I published a new screencast to the new TechNet Edge site at http://edge.technet.com. Here's the blurb below that I put with it.
Its interesting that people seem to think that Vista under performs in every area of the system which is quite an incorrect perception. In this demo I show how Vista outperforms Windows XP and I show the under the covers process traces of just how it achieves it.
Demo environment consists of two images. One Vista SP1 and the other Windows XP SP2 both on the same HDD IO and communicating across my home wireless network to a Windows Server 2008 box on my main LAN. Once the two images get going latency gets introduced and things start to slow down....except Vista doesn't slow down :). Watch and see!
http://edge.technet.com/Media/Windows-Vista-SP1-outperforms-Windows-XP-SP2-in-file-copy/
An extra special offer for readers of my blog....
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Subscribe to a new TechNet Plus Direct subscription at http://www.microsoft.com.au/technetplus with the special subscription offer code of TLNW08 (valid only in Australia as far as I know) and receive a 40% discount off the marked price. Yes you heard it here first. Going once!...going twice! :) Its not $1200 like it used to be - the RRP is $512. And its 40% off that....so thats around $307??
What do you get?
Imagine being able to download just about any Microsoft product ISO directly off the web along with the product keys. No messy CD subscriptions or anything - its all on demand. Theres Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Exchange 2007, Office 2007 and early access to stuff like service packs etc. Run it all up in your own test environment!
Thats not all! Want more?? (Im sounding like the "set of steak knives guy now...)
Full-version software licensed for evaluation purposes, includes Microsoft operating systems, and Office System software. Beta software. Get pre-release versions of Microsoft software to keep up to date on the latest technologies. Subscriber Download access allowing you to customize subscription content to meet your needs. No need to wait for discs - all resources and evaluation software are available immediately after release. Two (2) complimentary technical support incidents and a 20% discount on additional phone support incidents you purchase. Unlimited Managed Newsgroup Support. Post your technical questions in over 100 public newsgroups and Microsoft ensures a response from an expert in the newsgroup by next business day. Access to Online Concierge Chat service for live help from a Microsoft Online Assistant, who will help you pinpoint technical content on your subscription media, the Microsoft Knowledge Base, and other Microsoft online resources. The TechNet Library containing the Microsoft Knowledge Base, security updates, service packs resource kits, utilities, technical training, and product documentation to keep your systems and IT skills up to date. Enjoy! (Im all marketed out now....)
Recently on the Windows Server 2008 tour I ran into a very odd issue for me. I couldn't drink any sort of alcoholic drinks. If I tried to, Id feel decidedly sick. The next day after Id be laid up in bed I was that ill. Anyone that knows me will know that this was somewhat of a major tragedy for me! The strange thing was that I couldn't pin it down to anything. One week I was ok - the next week not.
Various people gave me various diagnosis.
Our tour coordinator Patsy Bingham was the worst. She said that I probably had a liver issue! She started off with those ominous stories..."I had a friend once who had to give it up forever....". AAARGGGHHHH!!!! NOOOO!!!! Then Jeff Alexander and the rest of the DPE team joined in....sad times indeed...someone even said they had a friend that had to give up for six months...<tears>
So rather than actually do the right thing and see a doctor I consulted my wife about it who suggested that I go on the liver cleansing diet. In sheer desperation I agreed to the idea - though after the tour was done! Did I mention I tried the Internet self diagnosis thing??...Horrific stories there.
In the meantime I racked my brain as to what actually could be the reason.....and found it! I get hayfever pretty badly at times. During this tour I started on a new type of hayfever medication called Sudafed PE. It actually works really well on me but Ive found that if I take it and have alcohol at any time during that week I feel really really ill. Needless to say that Ive stopped using it and am happily...blissfully...back to normal....so here I sit in the Qantas Club lounge drafting this blog post, having a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon while waiting for a flight again. Ahh...its the simple things!
Lets get one thing out the way first. Heres an early peek at one of the bag options we are looking at....everyone likes a new bag.
Ok now thats done. This year I am responsible for this one track so whats this WOW track and whats it all about?
For sometime people have been saying that they are sick of PowerPoint based presentations. Personally I hate them too. I like to see how it works and what I have to do to get it working.
People also want to see how stuff works together rather than in isolation - and this track delivers that starts with nothing, builds the base infrastructure and finally ends with applications deployed that you can use at the event!
Essentially the WOW track merges what an attendee experiences in technology at TechEd and what they want to learn about. What they see on the showcase floor and how they can interact with it has a dedicated sequential and solution oriented session that starts by showcasing the building of an enterprise class infrastructure from scenario based planning to execution. Real life examples including integrating a new acquisition, deployment of new SOE etc are included. Delegates additionally see live data on network performance, server utilisation status and other key performance indicators for the Tech Ed network. Delegates will see equipment and network data in showcase server room on big plasmas on the exhibition floor that they are interacting live with.
This is my early track thoughts - there's four sessions that need to be added on the end to show the developer side of things.
1. Hardware configuration
2. Base Server deployment and configuration (Windows Server 2008)
3. SQL Server cluster configuration and testing (SQL 2008)
4. Management tools (SCCM, MOM)
5. Security services (FCS, ISA)
6. Client application configuration and sequencing (Softgrid for client and TS)
7. Client deployment and configuration (Vista and BDD)
8. Terminal Services configuration, client delivery and scalability learnings
9. Provisioning your identities with ILMv2 (and dealing with acquisitions!)
10. Federating your identities with third party webservices
11. Implementing RFID with BizTalk server
12. The next four are all Mr Coates...:)
So what do you think? Is that something you would want to see?
So just a quick reminder that the TechNet Update for Melbourne is tomorrow. Sydney is this week too on Thursday!
Session 1 - Windows Vista Service Pack 1 – Updates and Improvements!
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) along with work from Microsoft’s hardware and software partners, brings improvements that address many of the key pieces of customer feedback, especially in the areas of compatibility, performance and reliability. SP1 also improves some management, deployment and support features. This session will cover what’s new, what has changed and the benefits that Windows Vista brings to your organization.
Session 2 - How Windows Vista makes desktop deployment easier!
Deploying desktop operating system can be challenging, time consuming and at times difficult! Find out how Windows Vista with Service Pack 1, together with Microsoft management technologies and the new Microsoft Deployment framework helps you address the desktop deployment challenges. This session will cover technologies such as the new Windows Automated Installation Kit, Application Compatibility Toolkit v5, Single Image deployments all leveraging the Microsoft System Centre management technologies.
Melbourne Registration
Tuesday 29th April 9am-11am (Registration from 8.30am)
Microsoft Melbourne Office
Entrance is around the corner from the PWC entrance.
Level 5, 4 Freshwater Place
PWC Building, Southbank Southbank Victoria 3006
Sydney Registration
Thursday 1st May 9am-11am (Registration from 8.30am)
Microsoft Head Office
Directions: Dehli rd or Epping rd are the main streets for driving into the corporate park
Go to the registration desk past the elevators on the ground floor. Parking available outside reception and also in the visitors carpark located at the rear of the building (Signs will direct you to the B1 carpark).
1 Epping Road
North Ryde North Ryde New South Wales 2113
Catering will be provided.
Yep its true. NTBackup is gone....at least as you know it! You can have it back again with a download but its only so that you can read data from tapes or media you already have that you created previously. Its been replaced with Windows Server backup. This does pretty much what the old one did with one omission....it no longer supports tape units. Personally when I was an IT Pro working for a systems integrator - I hated tape units. They were an absolute pain in the neck and generally unreliable. That said we still do implement the tape drivers in the OS, just not the tape support in Windows Server backup. Instead we now support optical media and support hard disk based backup. Some people actually liked tape though and even used Ntbackup to perform their daily backups- though in the vast majority of cases these were very small business customers.
Though here's some of the rationale why it makes sense:
1. The vast majority of customers, especially those with large data backup sizes above what small business typically backs up, used third party backup tools like Veritas Backup Exec or Commvault. It makes sense - these tools gave significantly better functionality and granularity than what we provided. These third party tools still support tape units in Windows Server 2008 even though we don't.
2. Ntbackup was never designed as an enterprise backup tool. I remember the days when ARCserve and Backup Exec started doing brick level backup of Exchange....and Ntbackup just couldnt...
3. Trends toward Optical and Disk backup are increasing and while people are still reliant on tape - many would rather not be. For small business optical and disk based backup suits quite well. Disk is relatively cheap, easier to maintain and store - especially removable disks - and with very high capacities! Backup and restore windows are quite a bit faster too.
If you have needs beyond the scope of Windows Server backup - use the third party tools. In many cases these companies have worked directly with us to make sure their product works well with any new advancements we made in file systems or snapshot support. Ours is intended to be an entry level product. Dont assume it will do more than that.
In my session today I spoke of the GP Preferences Client Side Extensions (CSE). These are required for the new preferences capabilities in Windows Server 2008. Good news is that they have recently released to microsoft.com downloads. More information is listed under support article KB943729
Enjoy!
i-mate Australia is running an online experience to help launch their new Ultimate range and provide a comprehensive view of the features and capabilities of these new products.
On the 31st March five people will be sent to a beautiful Byron Bay villa to work remotely for five days with the i-mate Ultimate 9502 & 8502. We will be filming their experiences and posting this with Blog diaries on the Ultimate Escape web page.
The five participants will experience the benefits of working out of the office, in a very pleasant environment.
What’s in it for the participants?
1. Receive an i-mate ultimate 9502 or 8502.
2. Spend 5 days working in a beautiful Byron Bay villa
3. Work with likeminded people
4. Promote yourself and/or your business through the Ultimate Escape web site
5. Make a difference by showing that work is something you do, not a place you go.
To enter simply email apply@theultimateescape.com with details, links, resume, projects, videos, photos or anything else to convince us you’re the right person for the job.
The Ultimate Escape will be hosted by technology evangelist Alex Zaharov-Reutt.
For more information about this exciting adventure, please visit www.theultimateescape.com
So what are you waiting for? Let’s go!
From the team at i-mate Australia.
People think Im joking when I say to them that they need to protect the users from themselves.
A couple of weeks ago I was travelling through Seattle and while waiting in the lounge there I 
saw this sad situation. Yes its an abandoned laptop. Its owner has taken off upstairs for a drink - unfortunately he also left his screen unlocked for anyone to access. Want a turn anyone?? :)
Unfortunately its something that's all too common - laptops abandoned in airports and public places.
What can you do to prevent this?
1. EDUCATE YOUR USERS! I've said it before. Nothing replaces a good user education. They need to be told just how serious it is to leave a machine like this and what the data theft implications are aside from physical theft of the machine itself. (Note: BitLocker cant protect the user in this situation)
2. Reinforce through policy. How many years has screensaver timeout policy been in the product? Set a reasonable screen save timeout that forces them to logon again once it activates. Its just good layered security that minimises (though doesn't eliminate) risk.
Any of you have good stories to share on this? :)
I saw this article today on Windows Vista SP1 and went wow! I did know it was coming along as I do know the journalist writing the article but I didn't see it before now. For those of you attending the WAVE launch in Sydney and Melbourne I showed you some of the benchmark data but this article provides the full detail on just what happened under the covers to highlight the changes. Well done James on the article!
Highlights:
- Vista to XP filecopy improves by 86%
- Lag behaviour (system unresponsiveness) has reduced during the file copy
- Overall the system is more responsive (with benchmark data to prove it)
Check it out!
http://apcmag.com/8373/vista_sp1_up_to_86_faster
Orin Thomas (Windows IT Pro online writer, MS Press book author and Melbourne Security Interchange group lead) sent this to me today and asked me to talk about it.
Apparently Steve Riley is due to present at the Melbourne Security Interchange Group (previously Melbourne Infrastructure Admins Group) on the 3rd April at 5:30pm. This will of course be a free event. RSVP to orin at windowsitpro.com and register for future events at http://www.aususergroups.com/miag
Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 Security Guide This guide shows you how to further harden your Windows Server 2008 infrastructure based on the role of the server. A must have for new deployments!
Infrastructure Planning Guides These are a series of guides in how to configure various functions in Windows Server 2008 and applications that link into various aspects of the OS.
SharePoint
SharePoint Capacity Planning Tool
The SharePoint Capacity Planning Tool gives customers a head start on planning new SharePoint installations by helping them answer questions about necessary hardware and user capacity.
SharePoint Monitoring Toolkit
The SharePoint Monitoring Toolkit enables customers to quickly and easily take advantage of powerful new management and monitoring features in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.
Upgrade Toolkit for Windows SharePoint Services Sites and Templates
Customers who have created sites based on the Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 application templates can use this toolkit to upgrade them to work on Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.
SharePoint Cross-site Configurator
This Solution Accelerator helps customers centralize and automate the deployment of configuration settings in SharePoint across multiple Web Farms.
External Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint.
This software helps administrators quickly deploy a SharePoint-based solution for collaborating across the Internet.
Another city done! This time no catastophic failures in any sessions. Melbourne had a great buzz about it too - feedback again has been excellent across the event and shows the content is relevant and meeting the needs of what IT professionals are looking for. Thankyou to all that have attended so far and I hope that youve gotten a lot out of it.
One surprise for the Melbourne event was the handout of Windows Vista Ultimate Edition with SP1 built in. For those of you who attended in Sydney you'll be getting your copies of Vista Ultimate SP1 shortly! Sorry we couldnt get them to you at the event!
As Ive mentioned in both events so far - please do take the time to tell me (and the rest of the team) whether you felt the event format was better based heavily on demos. Please tell me what you really think! :)
Yesterday marked the start of the Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 - Sydney was the beginning.
The was plenty of buzz at the event with Deeps running around with a video camera interviewing people, there was a Twitter feed and a Flickr feed too.
The Windows Server track rocked - we totally changed the format of the way events usually are done by us - we focused on demos....lots of demos and only used PowerPoint when there was something that couldnt be conveyed in a demo. I kicked it off with an Active Directory migration to Windows Server 2008 from a Windows Server 2003 domain, followed with Server Deployment using WDS and WAIK and finished with Policy changes including GP Preferences.
Philip Duff continued on with an awesome Windows Server Virtualisation session that included live clustering across iSCSI.
Amit Pawar followed him with a live demonstration of a Terminal Server being configured, including TS Gateway and Remote Apps and even included Softgrid - and then he connected to it live over the internet with his 3G connection!
I followed him again and used the same demo environment from the previous two sessions and did a session on Branch Office which included a demo of RODC promotion into the domain (actually this was the only demo that I had fail - and I think I know why it happened too!) and showed a DFS Namespace and DFS-Replication partnership being setup and had a discussion into the core changes of SMB 1.0 and SMB 2.0 that enables faster file transfers and less interruptions. Actually on that one - watch out closely for the APC article that will discuss the Vista SP1 Performance changes. James Bannan has done a fabulous job on getting you the data to understand just how much faster it is!
Jorke Odolphi finished up the track with IIS 7.0 and showed you just how easy it is to get PHP running on a Windows Server!! :)
So now its onto Melbourne - if you havent registered be quick its nearly full - and so are the other cities. The feedback has been excellent! As one customer said to me in an email "...it was a day well spent!..."
BTW - For those of you who attended and saw my spectacular failure of the RODC demo saying that the forest was at Windows 2000 Forest Functional mode when Id set it to Windows Server 2008 - I have a sneaking suspicion that I hadnt run the adprep /rodcprep against that domain!! Doh!! Will check it in Melbourne :)
Update 3/3/08: Im in Melbourne and Ive just booted up the images....the message that was on the screens referred to the forest functional mode not the domain functional mode. To introduce RODC's into an environment the forest must be at Server 2003 forest functional and mine was indeed at Windows 2000 forest functional.
I've had a few questions on this now. "Is the copy of Windows Server to be given away at the Australian launch a full copy?"
As part of the Australian Windows Server launch (you know the "Heroes Happen Here" thing - yeah I know the name is a bit crap...) we have been saying that we intend to give away Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition worth $2500 (in our valuation). 
I thought it was time-bombed or a not for resale copy (NFR) but I've since found that the copy is full packaged product (FPP) which means you can indeed use it in production and just buy the CAL's needed to connect to it. Yes that's right - its a full copy of Enterprise edition which means its worth the money we valued it at.
If I was an IT Manager I'd send my whole team along! For the $200 ticket cost, getting a full copy of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (along with the 4 free virtual instances) per attendee represents a great ROI - even if you don't plan to use it for another year or so. And that's without the deep training you'll get from attending!
Come one come all!!