Password polices are an essential part of any security strategy. Most users tend to use too weak passwords because they are easier to memorize, thereby, endangering your whole network. In a Windows 2000/2003 domain you can only enforce one password and lockout policy for all users. Windows Server 2008 enables you now to use multiple password policies. In my view, this is a very interesting new feature.

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I wanted to try Forefront Client Security (FSC), Microsoft’s new desktop antivirus software for the enterprise, already for quite some time. Today, I thought I could just have a quick look at it even though I am still busy exploring Windows Server 2008.

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Some weeks ago, I summarized an article from Paul Thurrott discussing the ten most important features of Windows Server 2008. Today, I found an article at BetaNews also listing the top 10 WS2K8 features. However, both lists only share two features. One is Server Core and the other is Windows PowerShell.

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Some time ago, I listed eight ways to elevate a Vista application, i.e. to run it with administrator privileges. Now, I found the ninth way and I think it has one significant advantage over the others.

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Today, I played a little with the new features of Windows Firewall. If you are familiar with the desktop firewall in Windows Vista, you already know the most important new features. There are, however, some server-related peculiarities.

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Whenever you read about the new features of Windows Server 2008, Server Manager is often at the beginning of the list. At first, I thought, it is only a collection of administration tools, but when I played with Server Manager today, I found out that it is more than that.

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I hope that I didn’t put off too many of my readers with my somewhat negative post about Windows PowerShell yesterday. It is not that I dislike PowerShell, it is just that I can’t imagine using it often as a shell. But, this is certainly a matter of taste. Jeffrey Snover replied to my post in the Microsoft Windows PowerShell team blog putting forward an important argument for using PowerShell as a shell.

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An InformationWeek article discusses a new study that provides information on what IT managers think about Vista’s improved security. Only half of the 300 respondents are impressed by Vista’s new security features, it seems. Even more interesting is that only 14% “are eager to use UAC”.

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Actually, you could also say, it is an introduction into Windows Powershell from Microsoft. When I skimmed over the document, I came once again to the conclusion that Powershell is not really a shell, but just another scripting language.

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Computerworld has an interesting article about a new feature of Windows Server 2008: Dynamic Partitioning. A hardware partitionable server can have isolated hardware partitions comprising CPU, memory and I/O. Each of these segments runs its own Windows instance. It allows you to add, replace and remove hardware without rebooting Windows. This not only improves fault tolerance, but also scalability.

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Update: I am currently testing Windows Server 2008 in detail. Please, check out the complete list of my Windows Server 2008 reviews. Also read about the latest rumors concerning the release date for Windows Server 2008.
Update2: Rumors about the release date of Windows Server 2008.

Windows Server 2008 gets more and more media coverage these days since its release date is getting closer. This post summarizes some interesting information I found today.

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Some days ago, I wrote about the 10 most important new features of Windows Server 2008. Today, I just stumbled across a white paper from Microsoft with the title Changes in Functionality from Windows Server 2003 with SP1 to Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn”. The word file has 272 pages and goes pretty much into details. Since it was updated at the end of April, it probably is related to Beta 3.

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After summarizing all pros and cons for MAK and KMS activation, I am still undecided as to which option is better. I am curious to know which solution you would prefer. I would also like to know why you decided for one or the other solution. You can leave your thoughts as a comment in this post. If you don’t have the time for this, you can just take part in the opinion poll. If you’re unsure, then one of two these posts might be of help:

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It seems as if Microsoft’s new server OS will be named Windows Server 2008. Some reported that Microsoft used this name at the Winhec press site, but they removed it, already. However, on a French Technet page they are still using “Windows Server 2008″. Update: They just removed it from both sites, but it is official now, anyway. This probably means that we won’t see the final before 2008. Last week, I introduced Windows Server 2008 Server Core. Today, I will show you how to do some basic configuration. It will give you an idea how you can manage Server Core.

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Sometime ago, I reviewed WinDirStat, a free tool that helps you find files and folders occupying large space on your disk. JDiskReport can be used for the same purpose. However, it works in a different way.

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