• Microsoft’s new TMG firewall (ISA Server successor) is now available
• Microsoft System Center Service Manager Vision and Planned Capabilities Whitepaper – 12 pages. Interesting stuff!
• Operations Manager 2007 R2 Beta Available! New: cross-platform monitoring, service-level tracking, new monitor templates
• Update Rollup 5 for Exchange 2007 SP1 is now released – Only bug fixes.
• New version: Active Directory Change Reporter – I blogged about this free tool a while back. New: support for Windows Server 2008, reporting of AD object security changes, several critical performance and reliability improvements.
• Filling up Active Directory (AD) with some test data – This script can be useful, if you have to run some tests.
• Microsoft Exploring Windows 8 Exclusively 64-Bit Scenario – I heard the same story already for Windows 7.
• The free Microsoft Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0 is now available – Helps to keep offline VMs up-to-date.
• Microsoft warns of new Windows attacks – This Conficker.a worm seems to be a serious threat. Check your firewall!
• The “Big Four” Cloud Offerings – This post compares Amazon AWS, Google App Engine, Microsoft Azure, Salesforce.
• Vista SP2 RC in February, RTM in April 2009

Internet Information Services (IIS) have some interesting new features in Windows Server 2008 R2, which justifies the new version number, i.e. IIS 7.5. Most noteworthy  is that you can now run ASP.Net applications on Server Core. Of course, it will reduce security if you install .NET on Server Core, but IIS without .NET doesn’t make much sense either. The performance-related improvements are not very exciting in my opinion. However, support for 256 logical processor cores makes Windows an interesting server OS for cloud computing.

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Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008 R2 support a new forest functional level. I am not sure if all of the features described here require the R2 functional level. I will try to find out more about this issue soon. The better PowerShell support is probably the most important enhancement. However, my favorite new feature is the new Recycle Bin.

Powershell Cmdlets

They replace the current Active Directory command line tools. There are about 85 Active Directory-related PowerShell cmdlets

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This is the first post in my series about the new features in Windows Server 2008 R2. As in my series about the new features of Windows 7, I will update the articles when I learn about new features. I will discuss some of the new features in more detail soon.

Essentially, the term “virtualization” covers three different technologies in Windows Server 2008 R2: Server Virtualization, Desktop Virtualization, and Presentation Virtualization. Server Virtualization is based on Hyper-V 2.0, which will get quite a few interesting new features. The virtualization technology behind Desktop virtualization, i.e., Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), is also Hyper-V.

This is probably the most important new feature in Windows Server 2008 R2. Presentation Virtualization is nothing but the good old Terminal Server. Technically, I find it a bit odd to use the term “virtualization” in this context, but from a marketer’s point of view, it probably makes a lot of sense. Note that Microsoft renamed the “Terminal Services” as “Remote Desktop Services” in Windows Server 2008 R2.

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There are quite a few enhancements in Windows 7 that directly address the work of system administrators. In particular, OS deployment will be improved. However, there is no wow feature like the new imaging capabilities of Windows Vista. Also noteworthy is the support of VHD files. This demonstrates that virtualization technology is moving more and more from the server to the desktop. The new PowerShell features are certainly nice, too. It has yet to be seen which of these will also be available on Vista and XP.

VHD image management and deployment

• Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files can be deployed using Windows Deployment Services
• VHD files can be managed using DISM (see below)
• Boot from a VHD file: This feature allows the reuse of the same master image for virtual desktops (VDI) and physical desktops

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• GFI released LANguard 9. GFI LANguard allows you to scan, detect, assess and rectify vulnerabilities in your network.
• MaxPowerSoft released Active Directory Reports 4.1.1.1 Quite a few new features!
• Free Microsoft eBook – “Windows Server 2008 Networking and Network Access Protection (NAP)
• Microsoft’s Exchange Online (starting from $10 per user per month) and SharePoint Online ($7.25 per user) are available.
• Microsoft Live OneCare will be replaced with a new free anti-malware solution (code-name Morro). In my view, malware protection is an essential part of an operating system.
• Update Rollup 5 for Exchange Server 2007 SP1 is almost out-the-door

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The most significant network-related enhancements are about the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Some of these will only be relevant when you connect to Windows Server 2008 R2. It seems as if the Remote Desktop Services is one of Microsoft’s answers to the cloud hype. There are also quite a few improvements regarding wireless, which makes sense considering how important wireless networking has become. Note that I will discuss some of the features here in upcoming series about Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows Connect Now (WCN) (improved)

WCN supports now Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), an industry standard that simplifies WLAN setup.

Wireless device installation (improved)

• A new a device wizard allows you to connect wireless devices such as printers or network attached storage
• Drivers are downloaded automatically if necessary

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The fundamental security-related improvements were introduced with Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista. The new security features in Windows 7 can be considered as fine-tuning. I am a bit disappointed that there are only minor changes to UAC. Most interesting, from a system administrator’s point view, is the new AppLocker, which allows you to restrict program execution and the multiple active firewall profiles, which would solve problems with laptops that are used at home and in the corporate network.

User Account Control (UAC)

Windows 7 has two new UAC settings:

• Program-based changes only: Don’t notify when the user installs software or changes settings
• Notify only: The user is only notified through a balloon message, but doesn’t have to confirm a prompt

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In this article of my Windows 7 feature series, I will blog about the changes in applications that are delivered with Windows and I will also write about functional enhancements. The most notable new application certainly is Internet Explorer 8 and the most important functional change is the new MinWin kernel. The better power management is also quite important. Vista has been criticized for shortening the battery life in laptops; this is significantly shorter than in Windows XP. The improvements sound interesting, but reality will show if Windows 7 is improved here.

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When I first had the idea to compile a list of all the new Windows 7 features, I thought that one or two posts would be enough. Well, obviously I underestimated the number of new features in Windows 7. There will be five articles in this series: User Interface, Applications and Functions, Security, Networking, and, last but not least, Administration. Of course, the last three posts are the best ones from an administrator’s point of view. I am also planning to publish another list of Windows Server 2008 R2 features.

This Windows 7 features list is mostly a summary of Microsoft’s Windows reviewer’s guide, which was only available for a couple of days. Perhaps this is a hint that they are already planning to drop features. It is also possible that new features will be added to the final version. Furthermore, it is quite likely that I didn’t include all known features.

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How do you pronounce Azure? Ashure … Azyouwere ?? Funny video

• Private cloud computing for large companies – Next is cloud computing for SMBs, then cloud computing on mobile phones.
• Larry Ellison about cloud computing: “Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about.” I think I am an idiot, too.
• Microsoft Office Web Applications FAQ – Big mistake: Silverlight is not required.
• White paper: Microsoft Office SharePoint Online – 24 pages
• White paper: Microsoft Exchange Online Standard – 19 pages
• Windows Server 2008 R2 will be 64-bit only. Think about what this means for terminal services! Good point by Brian Madden
• Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 have been released.

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Revo Uninstaller is a powerful alternative to the Windows Add or Remove Programs control panel applet. It comes with all the necessary tools to clean a system that has been overloaded with tons of useless applications. There is also a portable version, so you can launch it without installing it if you have to clean out a user’s PC of junk. These are the Revo Uninstaller tools, which I will describe below: Uninstaller, Hunter Mode, Junk Files Cleaner, Windows Tools, Auto Run Manager, Browser Cleaner, MS Office Cleaner, Windows Cleaner, Evidence Remover, and Unrecoverable Delete.

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As admin you are probably used to hackers trying to gain access to your servers. Usually you will just try to keep them out of your network without bothering to figure out who is attempting to hack your servers. However, in some cases it is necessary to track down the person behind an attack. Typically, you only have the IP address from which the attack originated. That’s where IPNetInfo comes in. This free stand-alone tool retrieves all available information about an IP address from the Internet.

There are several organizations which provide such information on the Web. But the advantage of IPNetInfo is that it can query all of them, which can save you some time. These are the organizations to which IPNetInfo sends requests: ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC and AfriNIC.

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Windows 7 might come out much earlier than many expected (including me). If what several new sites have published during the last few days is true, then Windows 7 might even show up during the 2009 holiday season. It is obvious why Microsoft is pushing Windows 7. Vista still has a bad reputation (which is unjustified in my view), and Microsoft hopes that all of the Vista bashing will be history soon. However, I doubt somehow that those organizations who want to skip Vista will be much happier with Windows 7. Nevertheless, the reaction of the media to Windows 7 is quite positive thus far. Could that change?

Even though Infoworld tries to keep the Windows-slapping business alive, I somehow doubt that the media will bash Windows 7 because their readers are already tired of this topic. Perhaps more important is that the user experience of Windows 7 will be better. The most significant improvement in Vista is the new security model. It was also one of the main reasons why the Vista-bashing wave started rolling in. It caused numerous compatibility issues, which resulted in user frustration – the perfect breeding ground for the anti-Vista meme virus. Since Microsoft did most of the dirty work in Vista, they can focus again on new end-user-related features, which makes the media happy because they have something to write about.

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This article reviews Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK) a free tool set that allows you to remove a forgotten administrator password and has many other recovery features for Windows.

Last year, I wrote a short article that explains what you can do if you forgot your password. Some of those who commented on the article recommended the Trinity Rescue Kit (TRK), a free Linux-based recovery solution. However, TRK can do much more than just reset passwords. Like MSDaRT, which I reviewed some days ago, it can be helpful to recover a Windows installation in offline mode.

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