Will Craddock's Technology Adventure in Ireland : Microsoft

Licensing Change Notification: Access Windows Server 2003 in Hyper-V hosted on Windows Server 2008 without Windows Server 2008 CALs

will.craddock — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:57:29 GMT

This is a reposting of a blog posting from Eric Ligman regarding the Friday announcement of changes to the licensing of widows CAL’s in Virtualization scenarios.

Today we are announcing an exciting change in our licensing policy regarding Windows Server 2008 CALs to better support clients looking to take advantage of the Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V technology to host a Windows Server 2003 environment.

Why? Simple… A number of trends, including consolidation and high availability, are driving more deployments and evaluations of Hyper-V. Based on feedback from our customers, we are updating our licensing policies to address these new scenarios enabled by virtualization.

Prior to this change, if your physical server environment was running Windows Server 2003, you need matching version CALs for all users (i.e. Windows Server 2003 CALs). However, if you move your physical Windows Server 2003 Operating System Environments (OSE) to run as virtual machines hosted by Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Windows Server 2008 CALs are required. This is per the current use rights. With this change in our licensing policy that we are announcing today, Windows Server 2008 CALs are no longer required if you are using Windows Server 2008 solely as a virtualization host. The only exception to this is if you are running Windows Server 2008 virtual machines, which would require Windows Server 2008 CALs.

With the change, no Windows Server 2008 CALs are required if Windows Server 2008 is being used only to:

run hardware virtualization software
provide hardware virtualization services
run software to manage and service operating system environments on the licensed server

To help demonstrate the effect of the licensing change, I have included three scenarios below and the resulting requirements:

Scenario 1: Customer deploying Windows Server 2008 workloads
- There is no change in licensing or CAL requirements.
- This is irrespective of whether the customer deploys Windows Server 2008 workloads (other than Hyper-V in a physical or virtual environment.
Scenario 2: Customer only deploys Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V to consolidate Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008 CALs are no longer required
- Customer will still need CALs for the appropriate Windows Server edition (Windows Server 2003 in this example)
Scenario 3: Customer deploys Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V to consolidate Windows Server 2003 but also has Windows Server 2008 deployments
- Windows Server 2008 CAL requirements will apply for the Windows Server 2008 deployment
- A CAL for a particular version of Windows Server allows the user/device to access all instances of that version of Windows Server (and prior versions) across the organization

Here is one question I wanted to be sure and answer for you up front, since I anticipate it might come up:

Q: Is Software Assurance a prerequisite for taking advantage of the new licensing rules?
A: No. Any Volume Licensing customer may take advantage of these new rules, whether they have Software Assurance on their licenses or not.

If you would like more in depth information on this change, please read the updated Volume Licensing Brief that we are posting on this.

Microsoft Virtualization Webcasts

will.craddock — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:10:52 GMT

Microsoft will be hosting a series of 300 level webcasts over the coming 10 weeks on the Microsoft Virtualization Solution, from the Desktop to the Datacenter. If you have any interest at all in virtualization (and if you’re an IT Pro how could you not!) then these sessions will be of great value to you.

All of the sessions can be viewed at

http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/windowsserver2008.aspx?tab=webcasts&id=42531

You can sign up to participate in the LiveMeeting's or download the content for review at your own leisure anytime after the meetings.

On the same page you can click on the Virtual Labs link to try Windows Server 2008 and experience how it will affect your daily routine. These virtual labs give you a chance to test drive the new features of Windows Server 2008, which include improvements to management, network protection, and Terminal Services. Sign up for a free 90-minute block of time, download a manual, and step through a lab today.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta Available too!

will.craddock — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:55:42 GMT

With all the news about the release of the first public look at Windows 7 something might have slipped past you and that was the release of Windows Server 2008 R2. As you might imagine there are quite a few upgrades and improvements and there is a great four page document that covers the Top 10 IT Pro Tasks Made Easier with Server 2008 R2 as well as a PowerPoint that gives a Windows Server 2008 R2 Overview and finally a Windows Server 2008 R2 Reviewers Guide that covers off everything new and different.

Probably the biggest changes, or at least the most important ones in my mind being a virtualization guy, are those related to Hyper-V 2.0. I get asked every week about QuickMigration vs. VMotion and the associated downtime with with a Quick Migration vs. a VMotion migration. Well Hyper-V 2.0 now supports Live Migration which provides seemless migration of VMs between hosts in a cluster with no loss of connectivity, no downtime! Finally I can answer that question, now all I need is the hardware to demo it!

There is also some great new features for the mobile worker and those in the branch office. With Windows Server 2008 R2 we will be introducing Branch Side Caching, BranchCache reduces the bandwidth consumed by users for intranet based HTTP and SMB traffic and improves end user experience by serving frequently accessed content from within the branch office network. BranchCache is a part of the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 Client and works with security technology such as SSL and IPSEC.

DirectAccess is a new feature in Windows® 7 and Windows Server® 2008 R2 that gives users the experience of being seamlessly connected to their corporate network any time they have Internet access. Think RPC over HTTPS for Outlook for all corporate applications. This is truly moving towards the fully connected mobile user, securely working from anywhere with an internet connection.

Oh I almost forgot, for those of you using Microsoft Hyper-V Server, there is an R2 version of that as well that adds the same support and new features as above but also adds Windows Server Failover Clustering to the mix allowing you to add high availability and Live Migration capabilities to your free Hyper-V Server deployments!

You can grad the Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta here and be sure to also check out the Virtualization Team Blog for more.

Credit to my friend Rodney Buike, IT Pro Advisor in Canada for some of the info in this post.

Windows 7

will.craddock — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:40:05 GMT

The public beta for Windows 7 is available today! I have included some information and links for those looking to test the new windows OS in a NON-PRODUCTION environment.

The Beta is your chance to help us with feedback that targets the fundamentals—the “quality bar” that we are setting for Windows 7 on security, reliability and performance. If you are interested in getting even more involved, the Windows Feedback Program is your chance to directly influence future versions of the Windows operating system. This program is limited to the first 500 IT professionals to sign up, so don’t delay!

A major focus of Windows 7, from an IT professional perspective, has been to improve overall PC manageability, security, and end user and IT productivity—especially given the more mobile and distributed work environments that we see today. You will find key advancements that will impact you and your end users every day—such as accessing information and network resources across the enterprise; implementing security and compliance policies, and automating the management of physical and virtual PCs. For a more in-depth view of Windows 7 and how it will impact your day-to-day work, take a look at the feature articles on the Springboard Series, "First Look at Windows 7 for IT Professionals," and "Ten Things IT Professionals Should Know About Windows 7.” Or, for even more background on the fundamentals, visit the Engineering Windows 7 blog.

Visit the Springboard Series for Windows 7 to register for the Windows 7 Beta^—and access rich content including video walkthroughs—in your local blogs, newsletters, and websites.

* This is a limited Beta program available to the first 2.5 million people who download the bits. This limit does not apply to TechNet/MSDN subscribers.

February 12^th Virtual Roundtable with Mark Russinovich

Please join Mark Russinovich and a panel of subject matter experts on Thursday, February 12^th at 11:00AM Pacific Time for a live discussion of what's in store for IT pros with Windows® 7. Learn about the evolution of features like Group Policy, BitLocker™ To Go, DirectAccess, BranchCache™, and Software Restriction then get tips on troubleshooting, deployment, and application compatibility. Bring your questions—Mark and the panel will answer as many as they can during the hour-long event, then publish the rest in a Q&A after the event.

Visit https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard to add the event to your calendar.

One thing of note, I had this conversation with Dave Northey this morning and it is an important one to have. While the download for this and every other OS is provided as an ISO, that does not mean you need to burn a DVD to install it. I recommend going to a bootable USB key for 2 reasons. It is faster to install from (15 minutes for Windows 7 last night on my Tablet) and it is more environmentally friendly as those DVD’s don’t end up in the landfill.

For those that don’t know how to make a bootable USB key, here is the recipe:

Creating a bootable USB device:

Start\run\diskpart.exe

DISKPART> list disk

Select the USB device from the list and substitute the disk number below

when necessary

DISKPART> select disk 1

DISKPART> clean

DISKPART> create partition primary

DISKPART> select partition 1

DISKPART> active

DISKPART> format fs=fat32

DISKPART> assign

DISKPART> exit

xcopy X:\*.* /s/e/f Y:\

where X:\ is your mounted image or physical DVD and Y:\ is your USB device

Now all you need to do is plug the device into your target box's USB slot and boot it. This may require hitting F12 to load the one-time boot menu and selecting the USB Key.

cheers

Will

Home Server, the IT Pro’s best friend

will.craddock — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:11:38 GMT

During my interview process with Microsoft I endured a number interviews and in every single one I was asked the same question “What is your favorite Microsoft product?” Much to every persons chagrin I answered Windows Home Server. In my opinion this one of the best products Microsoft has released in the last 5 years and it has been completely under marketed.

Why you might ask would an enterprise server person think so highly of a little 10 user home server…well the simple fact is as an IT Pro I support my family, friends and acquaintances for any and all computer related problems. A home server in any of these homes saves me calls, trips over and in the worst case provides me with a way to remote in and resolve the issue. The reality is that there is more than 1 computer in a very large number of houses today and that just increases the complexity of file sharing, managing all the pictures, music, videos, etc and the every popular possibility of a hard drive failure or worse.

Your music, photos, videos and other media are part of your life - but they're scattered over multiple computers, disk drives, CDs, DVDs, and MP3 players...Macs and iPods too. The Home Server centralizes all your files, from all your home computers, in one place so you can grab them anywhere you have an internet connection and share how you want.

There has been a number of companies with hardware offerings with the Microsoft Home Server as the OS and you do have the option of building one yourself. I personally really like the HP Home Servers and they just got a whole bunch better with 2 new releases.

Grab your files

Get more from your digital life
The HP MediaSmart Server is your new entertainment hub. It automatically centralizes your digital media and enables you to enjoy it from anywhere you have an internet connection!

The HP Media Collector lets you consolidate your Windows PC media files and libraries (including iTunes® music libraries and playlists) on the server. You can even remotely stream your music and photos from your server to any Internet-connected computer for access while you are at home or away.

You can extend your digital media experiences by conveniently streaming your favorite music, videos, and photos from your HP MediaSmart Server to PCs, Macs, gaming consoles (Xbox 360 and PlayStation®3), and TVs on your home network.(*) Now you can quickly and easily enjoy them on the big-screen.

* Digital Media Receiver (UPnP) required for streaming to home stereo system or TV

Share your files

Centralize your digital life
By bringing all your family's photo, music and video libraries together, from all the computers in your house, the HP MediaSmart Server provides you with a media solution for both PCs and Macs.

Forget files scattered across multiple computers and devices in your home. Your whole family can quickly access them from any internet-connected PC or Mac on your network.

Free your photos and music
Streamline the way you manage and publish your photos to photo sharing sites such as Snapfish and Picasa Web Albums. You can even upload to your favorite social media site such as Facebook using any Internet-connected computer.

Enjoy your music collection from anywhere in your home or across the world from any internet connected PC or Mac.

Protect your files

Easily backup and protect your digital memories
What's the point of keeping your media together if you can't keep them safe? The HP MediaSmart Server backs up your files easily and automatically - you don't even have to think about it.

The server automatically backs up and protects the content on your computers, whether they run Windows XP or Vista and even Macintosh computers running Mac OS X Leopard using Apple's Time Machine.

Search and Rescue
Recovering lost files or even an entire hard disk is no problem, even in the event of a hardware or software failure. In addition, you can designate folders to be automatically copied onto multiple hard drives, or to an online backup service such as Amazon S3, for additional layers of redundant protection. That way you can know your content is stored.

A Solution for PC and Mac Households

The HP MediaSmart Server automatically backs up both Windows PCs running Microsoft's Windows Home Server Backup and Apple Macs using Apple's Time Machine software.

The initial configuration of the HP MediaSmart Server requires a Windows-based system, but after installing the Control Center for Mac OS, you can:

Use Mac OS X Time Machine™ to backup files to the server
Access shared folders on the server using the Control Center
Access the HP Photo Publisher to publish photos on the HP MediaSmart Server or a number of popular photo sharing sites
Serve up iTunes music-any computer on the network that runs iTunes can access an iTunes shared library on the HP MediaSmart Server

One of the great things about home server is the community that has build up around it. There are a number of great blog sites dedicated to the product, Microsoft has a series of MVP’s specifically around Home Server (including a friend of mine from back in Canada in Graham Jones who runs the Vancouver Technology User Group). There are also a large number of add-on's for the Home Server that have been developed for the community.

If you have not looked at this product, I suggest you do so. There is a 120 day free trial version you can order and test or you can download a copy from TechNet if you are a subscriber. I have tested it in the past running as virtual machine on my home testing server. You can even install the home server client on a domain joined machine to allow you to access the shared music, photos, etc at home and to allow you to make a back up of your documents, etc. Powerful stuff for every home.

Microsoft Home Server Reviewers Guide

Windows Home Server Getting Started Guide

Windows 7 Available through TechNet and MSDN

will.craddock — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:02:47 GMT

Interest in Windows 7 is high to say the least. Since PDC when the first public pre-beta views of the new Windows OS were released there has been endless blog postings and screenshots of the product. Well now you too can participate in the lead up to one of the most highly anticipated releases in Microsoft’s history.

Over the last few moths I have been evangelizing the value of a TechNet subscription (or MSDN is you are a developer). Well, the value has again been proven as you can download the Beta release of Windows 7 today!

I will say it again, a TechNet Plus subscription provides amazing value in being able to evaluate MS software without any time restrictions. Plus, you also get a couple of free support incidents worth the price of the subscription.

Windows 7 is available on Subscriber Downloads right now!! Not only that, you can also download Windows Server 2008 R2 beta as well so that you can test out both the client and server piece of the next version of Windows. In case you're wondering, yes, it is downloading to my machine as I write this post.

I'll keep you informed on more details and links on Windows 7 as they become available. In the meantime, if you are a TechNet Plus subscriber, download it, install it on a test machine (don't use it in production, please) and let me know what you think by posting a comment on the blog or sending me an email at wilbour.craddock@microsoft.com.

CES on This Week in Vegas

will.craddock — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:00:05 GMT

This is a big week for the geek in me, the Consumer Electronics Show is on in Vegas this week. This is the ultimate candy shop for all things electronic, including the newest releases of laptops, TV's, audio equipment, automotive technology, gadgets and anything else that requires a battery or power of some type! The show has in the past included an opening keynote address from Bill Gates, that has included some infamous predictions, statements and demos….but this year the Microsoft presentation will be handed by Steve Ballmer. Can’t wait to see what the news will be, how it will be presented and received.

Instead of going over the thousands of new items that are being introduced, I will point you to the ultimate bloggers for all things gadget and technical….Engadget. Check their site or subscribe to the RSS feed as I do to keep up on fact, fiction and rumours on a daily basis. This is a very active feed, and one with some cool information….expect 20-30 posts a day at least!

Consider it a public service announcement :)

cheers

-W

Fix it for me blog on Microsoft TechNet

will.craddock — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:58:45 GMT

I just happened to find this new blog posting in the TechNet Blogs feed:

Have you ever come across a Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article or been presented with a Windows Error Reporting (WER) solution and asked yourself, why can't Microsoft just fix this for me? Today KB articles and WER solutions provide you with a list of steps that can be followed to resolve your issue. However, tomorrow looks much different and we hope it helps you resolve any issues you have with our products faster and easier.

Our team's purpose is to automate the steps in Microsoft KB articles and Windows Error Reporting (WER) solutions so you can click a button and have the issue resolved.

I was hoping that maybe they came out with some cool new technology that let you run a script to fix these issues, but alas, it’s just a standard Windows Installer MSI file that modifies the registry or runs a script or whatever. But it’s still incredibly useful for non-techies who don’t need to know or care about the Registry.

Check out the the FixIt4Me blog to see what solutions for common problems are listed and hopefully the feed provide you help whenever a new article is published.

-W

EVENT: Microsoft Management Summit 2009: April 27-May 1, 2009, Las Vegas ,NV

will.craddock — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 02:11:59 GMT

I wanted alert you of an upcoming technical conference Microsoft is presenting to factor in to your training and travel plans for mid 2009. The Microsoft Management Summit is a must attend for system administrators and senior technical staff as it brings together the technical minds within Microsoft and our Partner and Customer communities to learn and share experiences specific to the management of complex IT networks.

Come join us at the Microsoft Management Summit 2009 and learn about the latest IT Management Solutions from Microsoft

The Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) is the premier event of the year for IT Professionals, offering deep technical information and training on the latest IT management solutions from Microsoft.

In this tenth-anniversary year, MMS 2009 will be bigger and better than ever. In addition to executive keynotes, Microsoft experts and industry leaders will present more than 100 technical sessions, all packed with demos. MMS 2009 will feature more than 9,000 Hands-on Lab places during the week, most led by experts providing a guided tour of the latest technologies.

Registration for MMS 2009 is now open!

Early-bird Rates Currently Available

There's no time like the present to come learn how the latest IT management products, solutions and technologies from Microsoft can help reduce costs and maximize availability for your organization.
This year's content will focus on how integrated management solutions can help minimize the cost of planning, deploying and operating IT Services while maximizing their availability within your organization. IT Professionals and Technical Decision Makers—like you—can take advantage of the increased number of Hands-on Labs and breakout sessions at MMS 2009, with extended session and lab hours during the week.

Register today for MMS 2009 and get ready to:

•	Learn about the latest IT management solutions from Microsoft and Partners in more than 120 breakout sessions.
•	Test-drive new products and technologies in the Hands-on Labs, offering over 9,000 lab places, most led by expert instructors!
•	Meet face-to-face with Microsoft and Industry experts, and your peers—in the Expo Hall and at networking events throughout the week.

Learn from the Experts

The sessions at MMS 2009 will again be presented by the top experts in Windows IT

Management. Staff from the Microsoft product teams representing the System Center, Windows Server, Windows Client, Security and Solution Accelerator teams will be covering the latest releases, updates and solutions available for IT Management.
In addition, many industry experts and consultants will be presenting the latest best practices and real-world tips and tricks they have developed on customer sites. This includes topics presented by the internal Microsoft IT team, who are typically the first to deploy and manage all Microsoft IT solutions in a live environment.
Finally, you will also be able to hear from your peers – other members of the IT community who have advice, real world lessons and powerful shortcuts to share. Customers actively using Microsoft products to manage their IT environment will be presenting real-world case studies based on their own experiences.

Hands-on Labs

Hands-on Labs, always one of the most popular offerings at MMS each year, return with even more topics in 2009. A wide range of both self-paced and instructor-led lab topics will be provided, allowing attendees to try out a variety of products, solutions and technologies live. Lab topics will cover scenarios such as deployment, upgrade, configuration and administration across a wide range of environments.
This year new lab topics are being added to demonstrate how to integrate multiple products to implement solution scenarios such as "Data Protection and Disaster Recovery" and "End-Point Security Management". In addition new labs topics will explain how to manage a variety of heterogeneous platforms and applications in your environment.

Bring Your Questions to MMS 2009!

Join us at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas for a week of deep technical information and tips on how to run your IT infrastructure at maximum efficiency—knowledge you'll get nowhere else!
Learn more about session content, Hands-on Lab topics, and Registration options at http://mms-2009.com/.

cheers

Wilbour

TRAINING: TechNet Plus Subscribers only – Windows Server 2008 Network & Admin Courses

will.craddock — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:23:32 GMT

I have blogged in the past about the benefits of having a TechNet subscription, here are a couple of more of the benefits. Currently the following courses are available to TechNet Plus Subscribers:

Course 6690: Exploring the Fundamentals of Network Infrastructure in Windows Server 2008
This 2-hour online course is a part of the eLearning Collection 6420: Fundamentals of a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure and Application Platform. It provides you with an overview of network infrastructure in Windows Server 2008. Topics covered in the course include:

A conceptual introduction to the physical network infrastructure
Introduction to the organization of logical networks
Introduction to Active Directory
Introduction to server roles and features

Course 6694: Fundamentals of Administering Windows Server 2008
This 2-hour online course is a part of the eLearning Collection 6420: Fundamentals of a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure and Application Platform. It provides you with the knowledge and skills required to administer Windows Server 2008. Topics covered in the course include:

Introduction to administrative tools in Windows Server 2008
Introduction to performance monitoring tools in Windows Server 2008
Procedures to perform server administration

Course 6698: Fundamentals of Implementing Network Load Balancing and Virtualization
This 2-hour online course is a part of the eLearning Collection 6420: Fundamentals of a Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure and Application Platform. It provides you with the knowledge and skills required to implement network load balancing and virtualization in Windows Server 2008. Topics covered in the course include:

Various methods to implement server scalability and availability
Implementation of Windows network load balancing
Introduction to server virtualization
Implementation of server virtualization
The courses above are all part of a Microsoft E-Learning course collection designed to help you build your knowledge to design, deploy & secure your environment.

Individuals with Microsoft Technet Plus Subscriptions may access these courses at:
http://technet.microsoft.com/subscriptions/manage

TechNet Edge

will.craddock — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 13:57:00 GMT

There is a lot of hype about web 2.0 for the last few years. Facebook, MySpace, MS Live Space and others have changed the way people interact and communicate. I am an active participant, as are many of you….it is not a geek thing anymore….it is a people thing…my wife who can’t install an application without phoning me is an active participant! There are many Facebook groups dedicated to Microsoft technologies and employees. It is not surprising to then see this extend to how we as IT Pro's can gather and share our experiences.

I subsribe to the RSS feed for the site to keep up as new info is presented and thought this morning that I should ensure others know of this site. What made me think of it was the following feed:

Sometimes you just want to evaluate a new technology, or run through the set up or configuration of a new product, but you just don't have a spare machine available, or the time to build up a new virtual environment.

In this video Melanie gives us a quick tour of TechNet Virtual Labs, which give you the opportunity to run through hundreds of different labs on Microsoft technologies without having to install or download anything - all the labs spin up virtual machines hosted by Microsoft.

cost: free
cool factor: 10

Any of you who have ventured to the developer communities run under the Microsoft Evangelism Team at the Redmond offices have seen how Microsoft and developers have taken hold of this. Channel 8, 9, 10, Mix and other communities have emerged over the last few years under the guidance of Jeff Sandquist. Jeff’s group added a new community to their growing “city” this year with the addition of EDGE. An important note on Jeff is that he is Canadian, and for me of great importance is that fact he is from Estevan, Saskatchewan…just down the road from my home town.

As Jeff has dubbed it "TechNet Edge is a place where IT professionals go to get the inside scoop on the latest and greatest technologies. You can do stuff like watch screen casts, check out interviews with people who develop the products, connect with your peers and speak what’s on your mind. It is part of the Evangelism Network and follows its doctrine, so you know we keep it real."

Are you a student? Visit Channel 8
Do you architect or create software solutions? Check out Channel 9
Power User? Channel 10 (some great stuff here on Jeff's use of technology at home)
Love the Web? Mix Online or Silverlight or IIS.net or ASP.net
and now, are you an IT Pro? Come on over to TechNet Edge

All of these our sites do have some similarities. These community sites are a place to hang and use a lot of media. Through social media, they introduce you to the people behind the scenes at Microsoft, highlight what people are doing with Technology in the industry and finally hopefully show you some new things via screencasts.

The communities take advantage of some cutting edge technology in the AJAX interface and Silverlight streaming media. Again, an opportunity the let your creative juices flow and see how these technologies can be implemented in your environment. As an architect, I am constantly looking at technology and it's implementation to see how the organization I work for can move forward and Jeff's group consistently points me in the right direction to keep me informed and energized.

Sign in with a Live account, create a profile and join the community! As a starting point, post an introduction in The Perimeter’s Who Are You thread. If you see an Avatar on the home page with a bald guy in a red shirt, click on it as that is me…wcraddock. Send me message, check out information about the people who have joined….you may be surprised to find people from Kenya, Europe, Japan, the US and Canada already there. Some of them are Microsoft employees and the balance are IT Pro’s like you from around the world who share a common interest and experience.

TechNet Subscription Discounts

will.craddock — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:01:59 GMT

In my role here at Microsoft I make presentations to customers and partners alike every day of the week. One of the things that strikes me in these is the limited number of people who are taking advantage of TechNet Plus subscriptions.

In my last number of roles within different organizations I have always ensured I had budget allocated to have a TechNet subscription, in fact I had a personal TechNet and MSDN subscription for the last year. The reason is simple....value. For a very insignificant price I have access to full versions of Microsoft software for the desktop and server for me to test with. In today's virtualized world, having access to Exchange, Server 2008, OCS, SharePoint, etc to install into a lab and test with no time bombs associated is invaluable. You also have access to Office 2007, Vista in its various versions to test with these server technologies. I am a person who learns by doing, and for the less than the price of Office 2007 I am able to install, play and learn with all the technology I can consume. That is value.

I came across the following discounts today and wanted to spread the information regarding them. TechNet Plus is ordered online through the TechNet site and are payable in US Dollars. Subscription is either online only or with media at differing prices and are good for 1 calendar year from date of purchase, so please take a look and find what is right for you.

These are 3 different discount offerings that I have seen are below:

15% off New TechNet Plus Subscriptions – Code: TMSAM15
$100 discount New TechNet Plus Direct Subscriptions (essentially 15% off) – Code: TMSAM03
$70 discount off new TechNet Plus subscriptions – Code: TNPV07

Check out what the TechNet Plus subscription gives you:

Full-version software for evaluation - without time limits – including Microsoft operating systems, servers, and Office System software.
Pre-release versions of Microsoft operating systems, servers and business applications.
Complete access to a technical information library including knowledge base articles, resource kits, technical training, and security updates.
Two (2) technical support calls and a 20% discount on additional phone support incidents to help you quickly resolve mission-critical technical issues.
Unlimited managed newsgroup support and online concierge chat to provide the extra assistance you need to be successful.
A free subscription to TechNet Magazine with hands-on information for the IT Professional.

Free copy of Windows Server 2008 STD interest you?

will.craddock — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:27:57 GMT

Learn it, Earn it: FREE Windows Server 2008 Software When You Take Any of Our Three Featured Training Courses

Looking to improve your skill-set in a tough economic environment? You can learn all about Windows Server 2008’s powerful new management tools and security enhancements, plus come away with the skills you need to configure, maintain and troubleshoot Microsoft’s new server OS. The best part? You’ll also get to take home a FREE fully-licensed copy of Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition complete with 5 CALs.

Act fast because this offer expires December 31, 2008 (while supplies last).

For more information on this offer or to find a participating Microsoft Certified Partner for Learning Solutions near you, visit:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ws08/offer/default.mspx

If you prefer to learn on your own, you can also save 30% on select Windows Server 2008 Microsoft Press Books for a limited time by visiting:

http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/editorial/22/CRPeRef/default.mspx