This question seems to be coming up more often these days: Is PowerShell a requirement for the installation of SQL Server 2008 Express Edition?

Well, it depends on the Edition of SQL Server 2008 Express you are wanting to install.

• SQL Server 2008 Express – No. Has no GUI or PowerShell, only the SQL Server Engine and SQLCMD (replacement for OSQL and ISQL tools). Download.
• SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools - Yes – In the edition “with Tools”, a management GUI (similar to SQL Server Management Studio) and PowerShell scripting are included. Download.
• SQL Server 2008 Express with Advanced Options – Yes – In the edition “advanced option”,  a management GUI (similar to SQL Server Management Studio) and PowerShell scripting are included, as are Reporting Services and Full Text Search. Download.
• SQL Server 2008 Workgroup Edition, SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition, SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition, SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition, SQL Server 2008 Evaluation Edition – Yes.

Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 und Windows Installer 4.5 are a requirement for all editions. To download PowerShell, visit this the PowerShell 1.0 download page.

The existing Support Statement on the Visual Basic version 6 runtime for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 has been updated to include Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

So, the VB 6 runtime will continue to be shipped with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, exactly the same way it was with Windows Vista and Windows 2008 Server. Beyond that, there no plans to ship or support the VB6 runtime on future Operating Systems.

The Microsoft Internet Information Services Team has released the beta for the Dynamic IP Restrictions Extension for IIS 7. The tool provides IT Professionals and Hosters a configurable module that helps block Denial of Service attacks or cracking of passwords.
It supports IIS 7/7.5 on Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7.

It determines which IP addresses to temporarily block by detecting a pattern that could be conducive to such attacks. This module can be configured such that the analysis and blocking could be done at the Web Server or the Web Site level. Blocking of IP addresses is based on number of concurrent requests or on number of requests over a period of time. The requests can be logged, and you can determine the response that can be returned by IIS (403, 404 or drop the connection)
IIS Manager can display the current list of blocked IP addresses. IPV4 and IPV6 are both fully supported.

The Dynamic IP Restrictions for IIS 7.0 tool provides the same functionality that exists in IIS 7.0 built-in IPv4 and Domain Restrictions. Because of that the Dynamic IP Restrictions is provided as a replacement for IPv4 and Domain Restrictions.

To download to tool and get further information, visit the Microsoft IIS Website

Microsoft Switzerland now has a new page to show the TechNet Events/Seminars.

http://www.microsoft.com/switzerland/server/de/events/default.mspx

You now have an overview all off the Swiss TechNet events, including the Content, Session Description, Date and Venue. On each link from this page, you can get detailed information about each event, including detailed information and the Live-ID enabled registration link.

I hope to meet you are more of the TechNet events.

The Microsoft SQL Server 2008 System Views Map shows the key system views included in SQL Server 2008, and the relationships between them. The map is similar to the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 version and includes updates for the new and updated the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 features such as resource governor, extended events, full-text search, and others.

Download it from here as PDF or XPS. If you want to print it out, either have a big printer, or go to a printing store.