My 30 day quest has come to an end.  I have been studying Windows Server 2012 now for 30 nights strait.  I can safely say I have a much better understanding on what is in this new release.  I covered all of the major topics, but I cannot say I covered everything that is new in the product.   It’s time for me to take a break from studying and spend some time with my family (and Halo 4 just released!).

For my last night, I have a view random topic I want to cover.

With all the new features in 2012 you are going to have to learn about constrained delegation.  I know constrained delegation is going to byte most of us.  So if you are doing multiple hop remote delegation and it is not working, review the section on Constrained delegation.  Chkdsk now only takes seconds to run.  And DNSSEC does some cool signing of stuff.

Here are the links I used to learn these topics:

Overview of DNSSEC

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200221.aspx

Constrained delegation is now supported across domains and forest

http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh831747.aspx

NTFS Health and Chkdsk

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831536.aspx

I hope you enjoy learning Windows Sever 2012 as much as I did. 

Bruce

PS.   If you would like to learn “What’s new in Exchange 2013” my friend and colleague Sachin Shah is doing a similar blog series.  You can find his blog below:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/sachinshah/archive/2012/11/03/learn-exchange-2013-with-me_2100_-_2d00_-whats-new-with-exchange-2013.aspx

Almost done, Night 29 of my 30 day quest to learn Windows Server 2012! Tonight I am looking at two features Virtual Smart Cards and BitLocker.   The Virtual Smart Card is going to be a great for me.  I will no longer have to carry my smart card with me to VPN in.   Using the TPM chip in my laptop I am able to have Virtual Smart Card.

These are the new features I learned about in Bitlocker:

• BitLocker provisioning – Bitlocker can be enabled prior to the Install Windows 8
• Used Disk Space Only encryption – This make for quicker encryption
• Standard User PIN and password change – Now a standard user can change their pin, No admin access required
• Network Unlock – If you are on your corporate network BitLocker will  automatically unlock the system volume during boot, Require PIN off the network but not on it

Here are the links I used to study up on these topics.

What's New in Smart Cards

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh849637.aspx

Virtual smart cards emulate the functionality of traditional smart cards, but use the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip available on many organizations’ computers rather than requiring the use of a separate physical smart card and reader. Virtual smart cards involve technical, functional, security, and cost differences with conventional smart cards.

Understanding and Evaluating Virtual Smart Cards

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29076

What's New in BitLocker

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831412.aspx

Understand and Troubleshoot BitLocker in Windows Server "8" Beta

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29032

BitLocker Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831507.aspx

Bruce

Wow Night 28!  Only two more nights left of my quest to learn Windows Server 2012 in 30 days.  Tonight I am looking at Powershell Web Access. PowerShell Web Access will allow you to use a secured Web site like a PowerShell command windows to run PowerShell command on server where you have been granted rights.  And it can use just about any browser to pull this off.  You can use the lab link below if you would like to configure PowerShell Web Access. The video covers this lightly but is worth watching for the rest of the Multi-Server Management Capabilities

These are the links I used to study about PowerShell Web Access:

Deploy Windows PowerShell Web Access

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831611.aspx#BKMK_install

Windows PowerShell Web Access is a new feature in Windows Server® 2012 that acts as a Windows PowerShell gateway, providing a web-based Windows PowerShell console that is targeted at a remote computer. It enables IT Pros to run Windows PowerShell commands and scripts from a Windows PowerShell console in a web browser, with no Windows PowerShell, remote management software, or browser plug-in installation necessary on the client device.

Use the Web-based Windows PowerShell Console

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831417.aspx

Managing Windows Server 2012 with Server Manager and Windows PowerShell 3.0

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9806469

In this lab, you will learn how the Server Manager and Windows PowerShell framework in Windows Server 2012 delivers an enhanced, multi-server management experience. You will learn to perform tasks such as multi-server management. You will also explore new Windows PowerShell capabilities including new cmdlets and the Windows PowerShell gateway.

Inside Windows Server 2012 Multi-Server Management Capabilities

http://northamerica.msteched.com/topic/details/2012/WSV306#fbid=Yesz_YUD4Lk

Bruce

Hi it is Bruce again!  Night 27.  Some of you might be wondering why I am doing a blog on Server Manager.  Well, in Windows Server 2012 it is all new!  The Server Manager is designed to be your primary console.  Microsoft has designed this new console to be for all servers you are managing.  Here is a short list of things you can do with from the new console:

• Restart multiple servers at the same time
• Start Services on multiple servers at the same time
• Install Roles and Features
• Configure and Manager Properties
• View and Configure Performance 
• View and Configure Events
• View Task Details and Notifications
• Run Best Practices Analyzer
• Dashboard to get an overview of all the servers you are managing
• Grouping of servers for easier management
• And much more ..

Below are the links I used to learn this topic.  The first link is a must watch video.  It really covers the power of this new console.

Using the Windows Server 2012 Server Manager for Remote and Multi-Server Management (Video)

http://northamerica.msteched.com/topic/details/2012/WSV335#fbid=Yesz_YUD4Lk

Windows Server 2012 - Server Manager Troubleshooting Guide, Part I: Overview

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/13443.windows-server-2012-server-manager-troubleshooting-guide-part-i-overview.aspx

Windows Server 2012 - Server Manager Troubleshooting Guide, Part II: Troubleshoot Manageability Status Errors in Server Manager

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/13444.windows-server-2012-server-manager-troubleshooting-guide-part-ii-troubleshoot-manageability-status-errors-in-server-manager.aspx

Windows Server 2012 - Server Manager Troubleshooting Guide, Part III: Common Events and Errors in Server Manager

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/13445.windows-server-2012-server-manager-troubleshooting-guide-part-iii-common-events-and-errors-in-server-manager.aspx

Manage Multiple, Remote Servers with Server Manager

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831456.aspx

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28972

Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012 (dsforum2wiki)

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/2202.remote-server-administration-tools-rsat-for-windows-vista-windows-7-windows-8-windows-server-2008-windows-server-2008-r2-and-windows-server-2012-dsforum2wiki.aspx

Night 26 and I’m still studying. Tonight I am looking at Hyper-V Features that have not already covered. Microsoft has really packed a lot of new features into Hyper-V. Just look below at what has been added:

• Automation - PowerShell includes more than 160 cmdlets to manage Hyper-V
• Offloaded Data Transfer - provide near-instantaneous copying of large amounts of data
• Resource Metering – Provides us with a way to track usage to implement advanced billing strategies
• Support for Large Sector Disks – Support for 4096-byte sectors drive (4KB)
• Virtual Fibre Channel – Allow us to connect to Fibre Channel storage from within a virtual machine
• Virtual Hard Disk Format - much larger storage capacity - 64TB,
• Virtual Switch - a layer 2 virtual network switch
• Simplified Import - new Import wizard that provides a simpler, improved way to import or copy virtual machines

These are the link I used to study about Hyper-V Features”

Simplified Import Overview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831535.aspx

Hyper-V Virtual Switch Overview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831452.aspx

Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disk Format Overview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831446.aspx

Hyper-V Virtual Fibre Channel Overview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831413.aspx

Hyper-V Support for Large Sector Disks Overview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831459.aspx

Hyper-V Offloaded Data Transfer Overview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831375.aspx

Hyper-V Resource Metering Overview

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831661.aspx

What's New in Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, Part 1 (Video)

http://northamerica.msteched.com/topic/details/2012/VIR308#fbid=6Bsslue7jST

What's New in Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, Part 2 (Video)

http://northamerica.msteched.com/topic/details/2012/VIR309#fbid=6Bsslue7jST