| Volume 11, Issue 20: September 9, 2009 | | Note from the Editor Greetings, and welcome to TechNet Flash. With just over a month till the official release of Windows 7, it's time to momentarily divert attention away from the features, usability and performance of the new client OS – the user community is already touting that for you – and focus more on the set of resources that will help you rationalize the desktop and do more with less. Yes, a well-planned migration can help you reduce costs. It all starts with a good evaluation, and then using the best practices for configuration and deployment. The Springboard team has put together a special trial just for IT pros. If you haven't yet got your hands on the Windows 7 RTM, download the new 90-day Trial of Windows 7 Enterprise to test and evaluate the final version of Windows 7 Enterprise. Then the Springboard Series for Windows 7 enables you to test your hardware, software, and deployment strategies and get deployment guidance, step-by-step tutorials, and more. We recently covered these, but it's worth mentioning again these key resources: the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator, the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows 7 RC, and the IPD guide for Windows Deployment Services. OK, I can't resist a little nod to the great features. Quickly check them out with the TechNet Video: Windows 7 Feature Overview. And here are some new deployment webcasts and videos: Then the fun begins with the run-up to the official launch. We'll kick it off with the New Efficiency Virtual Event. On September 29 in San Francisco, Microsoft's Steve Ballmer and top technology leaders across industries will debate the role of IT in helping companies drive business growth during these tough economic times. Catch it live online starting at 9:00 A.M. Pacific Time. Increasing productivity and innovation could ultimately put a company in better stead to capture market share and rebound faster than cost-cutting alone. Get a close look at how real companies are justifying IT investments across the desktop, server, the network, and beyond. Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Now Available Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is the stand-alone hypervisor that enables organizations to improve server utilization and reduce costs. Download the Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and test out the new features such as live migration and expanded processor and memory support for host systems. If your organization is looking to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server, or consolidate servers in general, this might be the solution. The learning curve is minimal since it allows IT professionals to leverage existing patching, provisioning, management and support tools and processes, plus their individual skills and the collective knowledge of Microsoft tools. Thanks for reading, Mitch Irsfeld Editor, TechNet Flash Subscribe to the TechNet Flash Feed blog for news updates as they happen, often several times a day. Or, to get the TechNet Flash Feed, plus news of new webcasts, videos and new TechNet Magazine content, all in one place, get the TechNet Widget for your desktop. |
Your Featured Content | | Let us know what interests you and we'll deliver your featured content here in the next edition of TechNet Flash. |
New Videos for IT Pros | | 9 minutes, 56 seconds
Learn how to build media that will automatically migrate computers from Windows XP to Windows 7 with user data, custom applications, and drivers. This demonstration will walk you through the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) Deployment Workbench and how it works. | | | 9 minutes, 33 seconds
Explore the user experience for migrating the Windows XP computer to Windows 7 and how brief – or "lite touch" – interaction is required up front to automate the entire process of data migration, OS installation, driver and application customization, and domain join. |
Featured Downloads | | This is important because once all of the client access servers in your organization have been upgrade to Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2, you can deploy Exchange Server 2010. Enhancements include a VSS plug-in for Windows Server Backup to support Exchange backups, new Exchange auditing events and audit log repository, the dynamic AD schema update and validation feature, a more efficient way to manage public folder quotas, and several new cmdlet parameters. | | | Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 (WSUS 3.0 SP2) delivers updates to corporate environments from Microsoft Update. Some of the features and improvements include integration with Windows Server 2008 R2, support for the BranchCache feature in Windows Server 2008 R2, support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 clients, and Compliance Report. Additionally, Windows Update Agent (WUA) offers a collection of performance enhancements, user experience improvements, and bug fixes. |
Scripting for IT Pros Hey Scripting Guy...
Support and Troubleshooting How-tos Hotfixes Knowledge Base Articles
IT Management | | For a limited time, get Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2008 Workgroup Edition (with Software Assurance and upgrade to Essentials 2010) at 37% off when purchasing through an Open License with Software Assurance or Open Value Agreement. | | | After completing this lab, you will be better able to build a balanced and optimized portfolio, focus resources on projects that further the most important organizational goals, and ensure investment effectiveness and business value through close investment oversight. | To stay updated on the next installment for IT Managers, visit the IT Management Hub.
Upcoming Webcasts | | September 10, 2009, 10:00 A.M. Pacific Time
In this webcast, we provide examples of Windows PowerShell being used to perform common administration tasks in Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager. | | | October 1, 2009, 1:00 P.M. Pacific Time
Attend this webcast to learn how Microsoft Forefront provides a strong identity and access solution that can give your business the tools it needs to ensure that internal and external regulations and mandates are being followed while providing a secure and efficient collaboration experience for people. |
Identity and Security | | This version of Forefront Security for Exchange Server provides fast and effective detection of malware and spam, blocks out-of-policy content, and integrates with Forefront Online Protection for Exchange to offer the defense-in-depth benefits of hosted and on-premise filtering in a single solution. Download the release candidate today. | | | September 29, 2009, 1:00 PM Pacific Time
In this webcast, we walk you through the best practices and technologies that are available to secure Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and Windows SharePoint Services and to extend access to employees on the go, partners, vendors, and even customers. |
On Demand | | Attend this webcast to lean how using the Microsoft Desktop Optimization pack with the Windows 7 operating system can simplify application deployment and desktop management while reducing IT costs. | | | Register for this webcast and learn about Office Communications Server 2007 (OCS) R2 architecture, supported deployment topologies, and deployment best practices. |
Virtual Labs | | After completing this lab, you will be better able to use policy-based management, data collector, resource governor, plan freezing, and transparent data encryption in SQL Server 2008. | | | After completing this lab, you will be better able to add disks to DPM using the DPM Management Shell, use the DPM Console to create protection groups, use the DPM Management Shell to create protection groups, and recover SQL databases in a variety of ways. |
Received TechNet Flash from a Friend? The TechNet Flash is full of pointers to in-depth technical information that we encourage subscribers to forward to friends and co-workers. If you've received this issue from someone via e-mail and would like to receive the free TechNet Flash newsletter biweekly, all you have to do is register.
| |  | _________________  | | Training and Books Windows Internals Classes from David Solomon Expert Seminars September 28 - October 2, 2009 San Francisco, CA October 19 & 21, online Explore the internals of key Windows kernel components and mechanisms with the Sysinternals tools in David Solomon Expert Seminars' hands-on Windows OS Internals class. This knowledge will help you troubleshoot difficult system problems as well as understand the true meaning behind key system performance counters. | | National and Global Events Microsoft Tech·Ed Europe 2009 November 9 - 13, 2009 Berlin, Germany Tech·Ed Europe 2009 delivers the stuff of which great careers are built. Join us in Berlin and see some of our top speakers including Mark Russinovich, David Chappell, Rafal Lukawiecki, John Craddock, and more. Register before 30 September 2009 for a €300 discount. Register for the 2009 PASS Summit November 2 - 5, 2009 Seattle, WA Registration is open and the early bird discount is available until September 15, 2009. (This discount applies to new registrations only.) | | TechNet Plus Direct | • | Full library of Microsoft software for evaluation without limits | | • | Immediate access through subscriber downloads | | • | Two Professional Support incidents | | • | Access to beta software before public beta releases | | • | Exclusive tools and utilities | | | | | | | | Personalize Your Flash Let us know your technology interests. When you personalize your Flash experience, additional content for your selected topics can be found in every edition in Your Featured Content. | | | © 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics, Expression, Forefront, Hyper-V, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Silverlight, SoftGrid, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Windows, Windows Mobile, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. To cancel your subscription to this newsletter, reply to this message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject line. You can also unsubscribe at the Microsoft.com Web site. You can manage all your Microsoft.com communication preferences at this site. Legal Information. This newsletter was sent by the Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington, USA 98052 | | | | |
