UK SBSC : Virtualization

Free Workshop: Competing with VMware vSphere: Understanding the Virtualisation Opportunity with the Microsoft R2 Wave

UK SBSC — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:29:56 GMT

With the launch of vSphere, VMware have introduced a number of new features and capabilities, yet at the same time, in addition to their Standard and Enterprise versions, they’ve introduced a number of new product SKUs, including the Essentials range, for the SMB, Advanced, and also Enterprise Plus, each with differing features, upgrade paths, and price points. However, with the upcoming R2 Wave of Microsoft Virtualisation technologies, namely, Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 and System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 to name but a few, the opportunity for Partners around the Microsoft virtualisation technologies has never been stronger. We’re well aware that the majority of VMware Partners, are also Microsoft Partners, so this session aims to provide you with a detailed comparative breakdown of the technologies from the two vendors, so you, the Partner, can go away and articulate the values of both to your customers, and provide them with the solution that fits best.

Join Matt McSpirit, Partner Technology Specialist at Microsoft UK, and Mike Peers, Channel Development Manager at Microsoft UK, at this informal, workshop-style session, which will take an in-depth, discussion-based look at the different SKUs, features, and technologies on either side of the virtualisation fence. You’ll also get to see some of the Microsoft technologies first hand, with detailed technology demonstrations.

Places are limited, so don’t miss out – register now!

Intended Audience: Pre-Sales, Technical, Architect

Click on the links to register:

Citrix iForum 2009 - Edinburgh

UK SBSC — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:13:43 GMT

Reducing costs, improving efficiencies and increasing performance is a challenge for any business…but Microsoft and Citrix can help.

Citrix and Microsoft have decades of experience working together to provide customers a range of solutions which deliver choice, flexibility and cost savings. Our joint solutions to dynamically deliver desktop service and applications to uses wherever they are is based on tight integration of Citrix solutions with Window Server 2008, Hyper-V server virtualisation and terminal services / presentation virtualisation, and with the System Center management tools especially Virtual Machine Manager.

Microsoft is proud to be a platinum sponsor at this year’s Citrix iForum 2009 event taking place in Edinburgh 15^th – 17^th June at the International Conference Centre – so register your place today and take advantage of the early bird discount that has been extended until the 30^th April http://www.citrixiforumedinburgh.com/?VOUCHER_CODE=MSFT1

Virtualboy TV Goes live

UK SBSC — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:11:37 GMT

Interested in seeing Microsoft virtualisation technologies in action?

Need to understand the Microsoft virtualisation platform?

Virtualboy TV is an IT-Pro oriented Virtualisation TV Channel, with ‘Technical Overview Videos’ discussing, in detail, the solutions, along with in-depth ‘Demo Videos’, showcasing Installations, Configurations & Management of the Virtualisation Technologies, from Desktop through to Datacenter.

Visit: http://www.virtualboytv.com

Free EBook on Microsoft Virtualisation

UK SBSC — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:08:06 GMT

SBSC PAL (Partner Area Lead), Vijay Singh Riyait, has highlighted on his blog that Microsoft have made available an EBook on Microsoft Virtualisation - and what's more it's free! The book is written by Mitch Tulloch and covers the following areas:

Microsoft’s Virtualization Solution

Server Virtualization—Hyper-V

Managing Virtualization—VMM 2008

Application Virtualization—App-V

Presentation Virtualization—Terminal Services

Desktop Virtualization—MED-V and VDI

User State Virtualization

Building a Virtualization Infrastructure

Download it here.

» Free EBook on Microsoft Virtualisation

Virtualisation Training - Partner Readiness January Update

UK SBSC — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:09:14 GMT

Here's an update from the Partner Readiness team at Microsoft on Virtualisation training...

Virtualisation Sales

Virtualisation Sales Training with Mike Peers & Matt McSpirit

Introduction - http://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uk/partners/virtualisation/Introduction.wmv
Overview - http://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uk/partners/virtualisation/Overview2.wmv
Analysis Tools - http://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uk/partners/virtualisation/AnalysisTools.wmv
Solution Overview - http://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uk/partners/virtualisation/SolutionsOverview.wmv
Licensing Overview - http://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uk/partners/virtualisation/Licensing.wmv
Resources - http://wm.microsoft.com/ms/uk/partners/virtualisation/Resources.wmv

Virtualisation Partner Academy Live Session – Partner Learning Center: https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/search_adv.aspx?ssid=141FE6CFBD3C4A7F811FD87D5BF27623

Virtualisation Learning Path: http://www.microsoft.com/uk/partner/learningpaths/default.aspx?id=microsoftvirtualisation

Hyper-V & System Center VMM Technical

44CO098 - Server Virtualisation using Microsoft Server Hyper-V & System Center - One Day Overview

This hands-on course trains Microsoft partners to design, implement and consolidate their physical infrastructure into a flexible and dynamic Microsoft virtual datacenter, which consist Microsoft Windows 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext. At the end of the course the attendees will be able to successfully install and administer Hyper-V with Microsoft SCVMM vNext. They will have the ability to consolidate, deploy and troubleshoot the virtual machines and the Microsoft virtual environments. £200 per delegate

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/search_adv.aspx?ssid=6F485605F9224A7396B59C11783C41E6&site=UK&lang=en-uk

London - 26^th January
Birmingham - 16^th February
London - 9^th March

44CO099 - Set Up, Migrate, and Maintain a Virtual Environment using Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center - Two Day Technical Deep Dive

This deep hands-on course trains Microsoft partners to design, implement and consolidate their physical infrastructure into a flexible and dynamic Microsoft Dynamic Datacenter, which consist Microsoft Windows 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008. This training course focuses on backup, recovery secure and monitoring of critical business applications inside the virtual machines. „Deep-dive” covers high availability, scripting and data protection of Microsoft virtual environment. At the end of the course the attendees will be able to successfully install and secure MS Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and manage it with Hyper-V Manager, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 and PowerShell. With Microsoft System Center Operations Manager they will be able to monitor the Microsoft virtualization products. They will have the ability to use Windows Backup and System Center Data Protection Manager for backup and recovery the virtual machines and the hypervisor. £200 per delegate

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/search_adv.aspx?ssid=E97CFD81678847898551EB4531686A20&site=UK&lang=en-uk

London- 27^th January
Birmingham - 17^th February
London - 10^th March

44CO100 - Design, Implement, and Migrate a Virtual Environment using Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center - VMWare Experts

This migration course trains Microsoft/Vmware partners to consolidate the physical or virtual Vmware infrastructure into a flexible, dynamic and low cost Microsoft virtual datacenter, which consist Microsoft Windows 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext. With TCO/ROI calculation and design concepts they will be able to proof Microsoft customers and partners the real savings with Microsoft virtual datacenter solutions. They will learn how to transfer, migrate and convert the existing physical or existing VMware environment. At the end of the course the attendees will have deep knowledge about Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext. With Microsoft System Center Operations Manager they will be able to monitor the Microsoft virtualization and VMware VI3 products. They will have the ability to setup System Center Data Protection Manager for backup and recovery and update the virtual machines, Hyper-V and SCVMM.

£200 per delegate

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/search_adv.aspx?ssid=119C241BD597444B8DF5E86D871FD154&site=UK&lang=en-uk

London - 29^th January
Birmingham - 19^th February
London - 12^th March

System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Overview – (Webinar)

This session will help attendees to understand the benefits of VMM 2008 for their customers and understand how VMM 2008 can be implemented in both Microsoft and VMware environments.

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?publisher=12&delivery=252892#

Virtualisation TechNet Page: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/virtualization/default.aspx

Virtualisation Learning Manager (TechNet): http://learning.microsoft.com/Manager/Catalog.aspx?clang=en-US&dtype=Table&Sort=PublicationDateDescending&page=1&search=virtualization

Virtualisation Partner Academy Live Session – Partner Learning Center: https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/search_adv.aspx?ssid=141FE6CFBD3C4A7F811FD87D5BF27623

Microsoft Learning: http://www.microsoft.com/Learning/

New Microsoft Virtualisation courses in London and Birmingham during 2009

UK SBSC — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:17:17 GMT

New one- and two-day hands-on technical training courses are taking place in London and Birmingham between January and March 2009. Courses range from general overview of Microsoft Virtualisation Solutions through to more detailed in-depth technical training. To learn more about the courses and / or to register go here. [Remember you need to be signed in to view the course details.]

5W/50 Training Program Updates

UK SBSC — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:52:08 GMT

The 5W/50 Webcast series is focused on SBSC partners in the SMB space and cover business readiness, sales, technical and product related topics. To view the topics and dates for the webcasts, go to the 5W/50 Portal at http://www.mssmallbiz.com/training.

New and upcoming presentations include:

21st November: Virtualizing The Desktop and How to Sell it in SMB
5th December: Migrating from SBS 2003 to SBS 2008 on the Same Server Using Microsoft Virtualization Technologies
12th December: Maximizing Service Delivery Profits During Economic Downturns

If you miss any then listen again on demand. Go to http://www.mssmallbiz.com/training.

Training: WESS & Windows Server 2008 for OEM & System Builders

UK SBSC — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:35:40 GMT

Here's an update on what Windows Essential Server Solutions (WESS) and Windows Server 2008 training opportunities and resources there are for OEM & System Builder partners:

Windows Server 2008 Product and Sales Overview

Introduces the participant to features and benefits of Windows Server 2008 and core Value Proposition for All OEMs. Includes a high-level look at system requirements and installation options.

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1800057&page=/plc/search.aspx

MSDN Webcast: Windows Server 2008 for Embedded Systems (Level 100)

Windows Server 2008 for Embedded Systems provides new functionality that will be of value to appliance original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) including a smaller footprint, virtualization capabilities, and new management and security functionality. Attend this webcast to learn about the new features, SKUs, and pricing for Windows Server 2008 for Embedded Systems.

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1794571&page=/plc/search.aspx#

Essentials of the OEM Pre-Installation Tool Kit (OPK Tools) for SBS2008 and EBS2008

This course will take you through the business value of using the OPK Tools where they fit with SBS and EBS2008. Why you should be using them and most importantly when you should be using them. We will also cover the essentials of using the powerful “Answer File” with SBS and EBS 2008. This single component adds a tremendous value to both the building of multiple SBS and EBS Servers for sale to customers and to installing the SBS and EBS 2008 servers for clients. We will explore when to use the Answer File for building servers and when to use it for migrations from current versions of SBS to the new products.

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1823453&page=/plc/search.aspx

The OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK) and Deployment Methodologies for Microsoft Small Business Server 2008

https://training.partner.microsoft.com/plc/details.aspx?systemid=1822617&page=/plc/search.aspx#

SBS TechNet Page

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/sbs/default.aspx

Windows Server 2008 TechNet Page

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/windowsserver/2008/default.aspx

Microsoft Learning

http://www.microsoft.com/Learning/

Citrix Access Essentials webinars

UK SBSC — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:28:33 GMT

Citrix Systems have recently joined us on the WESS launch SBSC User Group tour.

Following some great interest from SBSC partners in Edinburgh last week, Sally Ross from Citrix has asked me to post her invitation out to all SBSC partner to invite you to some webinars they are holding in December. The purpose of the webinars are to tell you more about Citrix Access Essentials (CAE) and in order to entice you along they are offering 10 free Internal Use Licences for you to use in-house too!

The dates of those webinars are:

Option 1 - Monday 8th at 10:00
Option 2 - Friday 12th at 10:00

Registrations should be made through the following website http://www.citrixchanneltraining.com.

At the Edinburgh meeting, and also at future WESS launch user group meetings, Citrix have provided / will provide copies of the CAE v2.0 evaluation CD. If you are not attending a future WESS launch user group session and would like to receive one, please contact Sally directly. Sally would also be keen to hear any feedback that you might have.

Following the user group meeting in Edinburgh, a few SBSC partners have decided that they would like to become CAE certified, which Citrix are delighted with. For those of you who aren't ready to make the training commitment yet you do not need to be certified to sell CAE, just registered (although, to be eligible for all the benefits you will need to be certified). For more information please refer to their accreditation website at http://www.citrix-channel.com Select Country, Partner Programs, Product Authorization, Citrix Access Essentials.

Alternatively you can contact one of the following Citrix Distribution partners who the product is sold and supported through as they will be happy to help you.

Ingram Micro        0870 405 3956

IQ-Sys                   01753 898369

Interchange          08451 556555

ETC                       08451 557766

DNS                       01189 711511

To learn more about Citrix go here.

SBS Hyper-V document on Technical Library

UK SBSC — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:00:29 GMT

We are pleased to announce that the following document is now available in the Windows Small Business Server Technical Library: Using Hyper-V with Windows Small Business Server 2008. This document provides an overview of the use of virtualization in a SBS 2008 environment, and discusses scenarios in which SBS 2008 supports the Hyper-V technology.

This document helps you understand and configure Hyper-V for your Windows SBS 2008 environment. This information is presented in the following sections:

See the Virtualisation Opportunity with Microsoft

UK SBSC — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:40:39 GMT

Virtualisation is set to revolutionise your customers' IT. By delivering dynamic resources that hold unlimited capacity and are available to users anywhere at anytime, you can dramatically improve clients' IT infrastructures. Crucially, this also offers a significant opportunity to improve your business, with both new sales and ongoing consultancy and support.

Listening to partners on the SBSC user group tour, it seems apparent that everyone is familiar with Microsoft's virtualisation offering. I therefore wanted to take the opportunity to direct you to our virtualisation content on the Microsoft partner portal. At Microsoft, virtualisation is a means to ensure people and computers get the resources they need, the moment they need them. Our virtualisation offering includes new Microsoft Hyper-V technology in: server, desktop, application and presentation solutions, complemented by a suite of essential management tools.

What's more, the partner portal offers you the sales and training resources you need to start selling Microsoft Virtualisation Solutions. New sales and training resources include overview videos, sales and deployment information and a new Learning Path providing step-by-step training. Go here to access it or visit: http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization

Microsoft Virtualisation Unplugged Tour

UK SBSC — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:28:42 GMT

Virtualisation has gained much attention across organisations looking to address these challenges, improving the efficiency of their IT operations and enhancing their responsiveness to changing conditions. Originally focused on consolidating resources in the data center, virtualisation now has applications across the IT spectrum, driving down costs and improving agility. Microsoft provides a comprehensive, end-to-end toolset for creating, provisioning, managing, and securing both virtual infrastructure and physical infrastructure.

"Virtualisation Unplugged" will replicate the format of the successful "Exchange Unplugged" which is a Microsoft + Partner per event model. These events will set out to drive awareness and educate about on the Microsoft Virtualisation strategy and give them the information they need to go back to the office to make this actionable.

Agenda:

08:45 Registration
09:30 Keynote – The Importance of Green IT
10:00 Building your Virtualised Environment with Hyper-V
11:00 Break
11:15 Managing your Virtualised Environment with System Center
12:45 Lunch
13:30 Partner Presentation – “Why Microsoft Virtualisation?”
14:00 Virtualising your Desktops (VDI) and Applications (MDOP)
15:00 Break
15:15 What’s new in Terminal Services 2008?
16:00 Ask the Experts
16:30 Close

This event is aimed at IT Pros, so some of you SBSC partners might be interested. Go here to register.

Virtualization in Essential Business Server - 3 common scenarios

UK SBSC — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:06:10 GMT

I just posted about the Windows Essential Server team in Redmond running a special session for partners on SBS 08 and Virtualization. They have also run a session for partners covering the intended support details for running Windows Essential Business Server 2008 in a virtual environment. You can view the webcast by going here. (Note: You’ll need to be a registered partner).

The team have also shared some of the details of the scenarios, and some of the common benefits of running these configurations. There are 3 common scenarios which are summarised below but I recommend you visit the Essential Business Server Team Blog for the details.

Scenario One: Fully Virtualized EBS

Scenario Two: Two Physical Servers Virtualizing EBS

Scenario Three: EBS Management, Messaging and Security Physical – Premium Server Hyper-V Parent

The Essential Business Server Team Blog : Virtualization in EBS - 3 common scenarios

Small Business Server 2008 and Virtualization

UK SBSC — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:57:14 GMT

Earlier this week the Windows Essential Server Solutions team in Redmond released the official Small Business Server 2008 virtualization scenarios - one of the key pieces in the lead-up to the November 12th worldwide launch.The team ran a special session for partners covering the intended support details for running Windows Small Business Server 2008 in a virtual environment. You can view the webcast by going here. (Note: You’ll need to be a registered partner to view the content.

They also shared some of the details of the scenarios, and some of the common benefits of running these configurations. In summary for Small Business Server 2008, there are three options, all of which are covered in detail here on The Official SBS Blog.

Scenario 1 - Virtualizing the SBS Standard Server:

Scenario Two - Virtualizing the SBS Standard and Premium Servers

Scenario Three - Keeping SBS Standard Physical and using Premium as a Virtualization parent