WSUAN’s Network Connection

DirectAccess presentation at the Seattle Windows Networking Users Group

On Wednesday, I presented DirectAccess to the Seattle Windows Networking User Group. This was essentially an updated version of the DirectAccess information that I presented at the TechNet Firestarter Event. Thanks to copious amounts of Mountain Dew and pizza, it was a good presentation with lots of great questions and discussion.

Here is my slide deck.

See the TechNet DirectAccess Web site for much more information about DirectAccess. 

Joe Davies
Principal Technical Writer
Windows Server Networking Documentation Team

Networking topics updated in October 2009 based on your feedback

In this blog post, I described how you can provide us with ratings and comments for our topics on TechNet and MSDN through the Click to Rate and Give Feedback facility.

In October 2009, the following Windows networking topics have been updated based on your comments:

·          Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution

Updated to fix broken links.

·         File and Printer Sharing in Windows Vista

Updated with a new section titled “Computers Running Windows XP Do Not Appear in the Network Map,” which contains a link to the Link-Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) Responder download for Windows XP.

·         Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Overview

Updated with instructions on how to view the Association tab for a wireless network.

·         IPv6 Features in the Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP

Updated to fix broken links.

·         Netsh Commands for Routing

Updated to indicate that the netsh routing context is only available with Windows Server and the Routing and Remote Access service and is not available in client versions of Windows.

If you see something that needs to be corrected or clarified, please let us know by describing the specific problems and the changes that need to be made through Click to Rate and Give Feedback.

Thank you for providing the feedback and thanks to my teammate Dave Bishop for the help in making and publishing these changes.

Joe Davies
Principal Technical Writer
The Windows Server Networking Documentation Team

Spotlight on Wireless Hosted Network in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

Hello, Windows Networking Developer folks and interested parties!

The wireless Hosted Network is a new WLAN feature supported on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the Wireless LAN Service installed. This feature implements two major functions:

·         The virtualization of a physical wireless adapter into more than one virtual wireless adapter sometimes referred to as Virtual Wi-Fi.

·         A software-based wireless access point (AP), sometimes referred to as a SoftAP, that uses a designated virtual wireless adapter.

With this feature, a Windows-based computer can use a single physical wireless adapter to connect as a client to a hardware access point (AP), while at the same time acting as a software AP allowing other wireless-capable devices to connect to it. This feature requires that a Hosted Network–capable wireless adapter is installed in the local computer. The driver for the wireless adapter must implement the wireless LAN device driver model defined by Microsoft for use on Windows 7.

A wireless Hosted Network sample that demonstrates the use of wireless Hosted Network functions is included with the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK). The latest version of the Windows SDK is available from the Download Center.

By default, the wireless Hosted Network sample source code is installed in the following directory:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0\Samples\NetDs\Wlan

The wireless Hosted Network sample is located under the following folder:

WirelessHostedNetwork

The Wireless Hosted Network sample can be compiled on the Windows SDK for Windows 7. The Wireless Hosted Network sample can be run on Windows 7 and on Windows Server 2008 R2 with the Wireless LAN Service installed.

Some links:

·         About the Wireless Hosted Network

·         Using Wireless Hosted Network and Internet Connection Sharing

·         Wireless Hosted Network Sample

·         Netsh Commands for WLAN in Windows Server 2008 R2

We’d love to hear your feedback on this documentation and code sample, so please send e-mail to wsddocfb@microsoft.com (with “wifi” in the e-mail subject header) if you have any comments, suggestions, criticisms, or encouragement!

The Windows Networking Developer Documentation Team

The Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) Guide for DirectAccess is now available

The Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) Guide for DirectAccess is now publically available. In a previous blog post, I reported on the beta version.

This new IPD guide provides actionable guidance for designing a DirectAccess infrastructure using Windows Server 2008 R2. The guide’s easy-to-follow, four-step process gives a straightforward explanation of the infrastructure required for DirectAccess clients to be connected from the Internet to resources on the corporate network, whether or not the organization has begun deploying IPv6. 

The guide covers four key steps in the design process for DirectAccess:

1. Aligning the project scope with the business requirements.
2. Determining whether IPv6, Teredo, 6to4, and IP-HTTPS connectivity will be supported for Internet-based clients.
3. Assessing the need for IPv6/IPv4 translators and IPv6/IPv4 DNS gateways and ISATAP for internal communication.
4. Determining the number and placement of servers, the certificate services requirements, and location of certificate revocation list (CRL) distribution points. 

Birds do it, Bees do it: Why IT Pros should do it too!

In a previous, long ago post, I told you I would talk about: “Birds do it, Bees do it: Why IT Pros should do it too!” You’ve waited long enough and I know the suspense is killing you by now. So, what do the birds and the bees do that you should do too?  The answer is – they migrate! Birds migrate to warmer climes, killer bees (more genteelly referred to as Africanized bees) are migrating north, and you need to migrate your old Windows operating systems to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2! I won’t go into all the ways migration can benefit many creatures, including you, but I will point you to “What's New in Windows Server” to see all the cool things our new operating systems can do once you migrate to them.

And to make it easier for you to drop the old and migrate to the new, we’ve written a number of useful migration guides to get you from here to there without having to fly thousands of miles with only geomagnetism to help you find your way:

·         Active Directory Domain Services and DNS Server Migration Guide

·         DHCP Server Migration Guide

·         File Services Migration Guide

·         IP Configuration Migration Guide

·         Local User and Group Migration Guide

·         Print Services Migration Guide

·         Windows Server Migration Tools Installation, Access, and Removal

·         BranchCache Migration Guide

Check these guides out if you are getting excited about moving up to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, and let us know if they helped you get from point A to point B.

Corey Plett
Technical Writer
The Windows Networking Documentation Team

The BranchCache Deployment Guide is published

I mentioned in my last blog post, “Spotlight on BranchCache,” that I have a BranchCache deployment guide and a design guide in progress – well the good news is that the BranchCache Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 is now completed and published on the Web and in the Microsoft Download Center.

You can view the BranchCache Deployment Guide on the Web in HTML format in the Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Technical Library at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=166639.

I also want to thank our customer Bagnoli Marco for suggesting that I always post links that lead directly to the download page for my papers. I appreciate the feedback, and Bagnoli, this link to the download details page in the Microsoft Download Center is for you. :>

BranchCache Deployment Guide download details at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=166656.

Thanks, and I hope you all find the paper useful in deploying BranchCache.

James McIllece

Senior Technical Writer

The Windows Server User Assistance Networking team

DirectAccess Deployment Guide is now available!

The DirectAccess Deployment Guide is now available.

This guide provides checklists and step-by-step procedures for deploying DirectAccess servers and DirectAccess client settings. Use this guide to answer the “How” questions a deployment team might ask before implementing a DirectAccess design. 

Early version of the DirectAccess Troubleshooting Guide is now available

An early version of the DirectAccess Troubleshooting Guide is now available. This version was designed to describe the following:

·         The troubleshooting tools to use when diagnosing DirectAccess problems.

·         A step-by-step methodology for troubleshooting DirectAccess connections.

A later update to this guide will add content on how to solve specific problems with DirectAccess.

Take a look and let me know if you have any feedback. You can comment on this blog post or use the Click to Rate and Give Feedback link on each topic.

Enjoy!

Joe Davies
Principal Technical Writer
Windows Server Networking Documentation Team

From SneakerNet to Windows Server: An interview with Senior Technical Writer Dave Bishop

I recently talked with my teammate and office neighbor Dave Bishop about his background as an IT administrator and trainer and his passion as a technical writer of networking technologies in Windows.

Click here, and then click on the musical note graphic to open, download, and then play the audio file.

Enjoy!

Joe Davies
Principal Technical Writer
Windows Server Networking Documentation Team

Networking topics updated in September 2009 based on your feedback

In this blog post, I described how you can provide us with ratings and comments for our topics on TechNet and MSDN through the Click to Rate and Give Feedback box.

In September 2009, the following Windows networking topics have been updated based on your comments:

·          What Is NAT?

Updated for a technical error.

·         Enable or Disable Sharing and Discovery

Updated to reflect features in Windows Server 2008.

If you see something that needs to be corrected or clarified, please let us know by describing the specific problems and the changes that need to be made in the Click to Rate and Give Feedback box.

Thank you for providing the feedback and thanks to my teammates Dave Bishop, Jeff Gollnick, and Scott Somohano for making and publishing these changes.

Joe Davies
Principal Technical Writer
The Windows Server Networking Documentation Team

TechNet Firestarter Event: DirectAccess and RAS Features

Beta version of the Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) Guide for DirectAccess is now available

The beta version of the Infrastructure Planning and Design (IPD) Guide for DirectAccess is now available through the Microsoft Connect Web site (requires Windows Live ID and registration).

This new guide provides actionable, best practices guidance to design your DirectAccess infrastructure. The guide’s easy-to-follow, four-step process gives a straightforward explanation of the infrastructure required for clients to be connected from the Internet to resources on the intranet, whether or not the organization has begun deploying IPv6.

The IPD Guide for DirectAccess covers four key steps in the design process for DirectAccess:

1.    Aligning the project scope with the business requirements.

2.    Determining whether IPv6, Teredo, 6to4, and IP-HTTPS connectivity will be supported for Internet-based clients.

3.    Assessing the need for IPv6 transition technologies including NAT-PT and ISATAP for internal communication.

4.    Determining the number and placement of servers, the certificate services requirements, and location of CRL distribution points.

Take a look!

Spotlight on BranchCache

Hi there --

Just wanted to let everyone know that with the imminent release of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, there is new documentation published (and some that is soon to be published) about BranchCache, which is a new WAN optimization feature in some editions of these products.

You can find out everything you need to know about BranchCache at the Windows Server 2008 R2 Technical Library topic, BranchCache for Windows Server 2008 R2, at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd996634(WS.10).aspx.

In addition to the content already published and described at the page above, a BranchCache deployment guide and design guide are in progress.

Here is a brief overview of BranchCache:

BranchCache is a wide area network (WAN) bandwidth optimization technology that is included in the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 operating systems.

To optimize WAN bandwidth, BranchCache copies content from your main office content servers and caches the content at branch office locations, allowing client computers at branch offices to access the content locally rather than over the WAN.

At branch offices, content is cached either on servers that are running the BranchCache feature of Windows Server 2008 R2 or, when no server is available in the branch office, on computers running Windows 7. After a client computer requests and receives content from the main office and the content is cached at the branch office, other computers at the same branch office can obtain the content locally rather than contacting the main office over the WAN link.

BranchCache helps improve content query response times for clients and servers in branch offices, and can also help improve network performance by reducing traffic over WAN links.

James McIllece

Senior Technical Writer

The Windows Server User Assistance Networking team

"Understanding IPv6 Transition Technologies" presentation at the Seattle Windows Networking Users Group

Lured by free pizza (and the chance to lay a firm technical foundation for an upcoming presentation on DirectAccess), I once again assailed the Seattle Windows Networking User Group with a fusillade of technical information, this time on the purpose and protocol details of the IPv6 transition technologies in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (ISATAP, 6to4, Teredo, and IP-HTTPS).

Here is my Understanding IPv6 Transition Technologies presentation. For the supporting text, see the IPv6 Transition Technologies white paper or chapters 11 through 14 of the Understanding IPv6, 2nd Edition book from Microsoft Press. For information on IP-HTTPS, see the IP over HTTPS (IP-HTTPS) Tunneling Protocol Specification. 

Joe Davies
Principal Technical Writer
Windows Server Networking Documentation Team

Deploying VPN Connections by Using PowerShell and Group Policy is now available!