Windows Server Division WebLog

Hi, Manlio Vecchiet here. I'm director of product management on the Windows Server marketing team, focused on Windows Server networking, terminal services and VDI. I'm in Barcelona right now attending Microsoft TechEd EMEA conference. Whether you are one of the many IT Pros that have successfully deployed Terminal Services over the past decade, or whether your company is considering virtualization technologies to implement a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), or even if you are new to the concept of a centralized, remote desktop - this will matter to you. Today we are introducing Windows Server 2008 Remote Desktop Services – the next generation of server tools and platform that allow you to accelerate and extend centralized desktop and application deployments to any device. So, what exactly is ‘Remote Desktop Services’? Read More...

Microsoft’s Network Access Protection (NAP) solution was cited as a leader (the top category) in a recent independent report, “The Forrester Wave: Network Access Control, Q3 2008.” Microsoft was one of the many network access control (NAC) vendors invited Read More...

Excerpt from the post on the SBS blog by group program manager Dean Paron: On behalf of the SBS team, I am extremely pleased to announce that Windows Small Business Server 2008 software has been finalized! Today both SBS Standard and Premium are being Read More...

With Windows Server 2008 being released only 6 months ago, i'm sure it’s natural for people to wonder “what’s next?” As I have been combing through various blogs this weekend, I found it exciting to see so much interest and speculation over the next version Read More...

We've blogged about the use of Windows Server within branch offices several times here and here. Many of them kicked off with the introduction of Windows Server 2003 R2. Today Citrix announced Branch Repeater, which they say is a new line of branch office appliances. Here's a description I received from Citrix: Citrix Branch Repeater debuts with the ability to stage, cache, or pre-position content at the branch using technologies such as Microsoft Windows file services and Microsoft Distributed File System (DFS). These technologies allow Citrix Branch Repeater to pre-position XenApp “Portable Application” installation files for rapid update and delivery to branch employees. The Citrix Branch Repeater also uses Microsoft ISA Server 2006 Web caching to accelerate delivery of web content to the branch. But the repeater goes much further. It can accelerate all TCP-based network traffic to and from the branch using Citrix WANScaler technology. And through integration with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, local branch services are consolidated and delivered locally for optimal performance and availability. In essence, Citrix Branch Repeater does three things that can help you provide better services to your remote or branch offices: (1) it stages streamed apps closer to the branch-based employees by using Citrix XenApp; it consolidates Windows-based branch services; and accelerates WAN app delivery. There are three models to choose from: Citrix Branch Repeater 100 - 1 Mbit appliance, $5,500 list Citrix Branch Repeater 200 - 2 Mbit, $7,500 list Citrix Branch Repeater 300 - 10 Mbit, $11,500 list Patrick Read More...

Good news. Today we opened up the Public Preview for Windows Essential Server Solutions - Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 . Visit here to find out how to download and evaluate the Release Candidate 0 versions of both. EBS Read More...

Greetings from Dallas at the SMB Summit , where 400+ channel partners are gearing up for Windows Essential Server Solutions . Small Business Server 2008 is the topic du jour, tomorrow is all about Essential Business Server 2008 for midsized companies. Read More...

The team behind Windows Essential Business Server 2008 for midsized companies (part of the newly announced Windows Essential Server Solutions family and formerly known as "Centro") has launched a team blog here . Group Program Manager Eric Watson provides Read More...

In the course of talking to many Microsoft partners and customers, the Windows Small Business Server team has learned that there are sometimes misperceptions about the product, in many cases based on experiences with the earlier versions of SBS. In hopes Read More...

Today we announced Windows Essential Business Server as the official name for Windows Server codename "Centro," our upcoming IT solution designed for mid-sized organizations. We unveiled details about the product, available here , as well as an initial Read More...

FYI next week on Tuesday, June 12 th we will begin releasing Windows Server 2003 SP2 through Automatic Updates (AU.) To ensure more control over when and how SP2 is deployed, users will need to click on the AU “Updates are ready to install” balloon notification, Read More...

Based on customer feedback and requests, we have improved the Windows Update, Automatic Update and WSUS user install experience with Windows Server 2003 SP2. The experience is now more like that with Windows XP SP2 , meaning Windows Update End User License Read More...

Good news for the many IT pros that support branch office systems. Today Microsoft and Packeteer jointly announced a new Windows-based branch office box: the Packeteer iShaper. iShaper builds on an ongoing partnership between MS and Packeteer, combining Read More...

Windows Home Server has reached the Beta 2 milestone! While previous releases have been tested by 1000+ Microsoft employees and some of our hardware and software partners, we are now starting to invite a broader group of external testers to participate Read More...

Check out the new Windows Server virtualization calculator to get an estimate on the number of OS licenses needed, and the costs, to virtualize different datacenter configurations. The calculator is pre-populated with the US dollar Open agreement Estimated Read More...