In the last article in my review of Amazon’s AWS Management Console, I described how an Instance (virtual machine) has to be configured before it can be launched. Today, I will discuss EC2 volumes (virtual disks) and volume snapshots.

EC2 volumes

One of the features I like most about virtualization is that new virtual disks can be added so easily. If you are working in the cloud this is even more fun. The difference between cloud computing and common virtualization is that you don’t have to worry about the available physical disk capacity with the former. You need another 100 Terabyte? Just create a new Elastic Block Storage (EBS) volume with a mouse click. Of course, you have to pay for the provisioned storage. 1TB costs $100 per month. This is not really cheap. Flexibility and scalability have their price. Volumes can be easily attached to an Instance. This works similar to other virtualization solutions. Volumes can be attached only to running Instances, though. Once the volume is attached, you have to add the drive with the Windows Disk Management applet and format the volume. You can detach a volume while the Instance is running. If you re-attach a formatted volume, you only have to reactivate it with Windows Disk Management.

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In the last post in my review of Amazon’s AWS Management Console, I introduced Amazon’s new cloud management tool, the AWS Management Console. Today, I will discuss how Instances (virtual machines) can be configured and launched.

EC2 Key Pairs

Before you can launch an Instance, you have to set up a few things. First of all, you have to create an EC2 key pair, which can be done with just a mouse click with the AWS Management Console. The key pair is required to connect to the Instance because EC2 will encrypt the default Administrator password of Windows Instances with it. For Linux Instances, the key pair is used to establish an SSH connection.

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• Email disclaimers FREE with GFI MailEssentials
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Some months ago, I shared my first impressions about Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). On the one hand I was fascinated by the new technical possibilities of cloud computing, on the other hand I was quite disappointed by Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) simplistic command line interface. As if they heard my complaints, Amazon released the beta version of its AWS Management Console a few weeks later. Ever since, I have been very anxious to have a look at this new cloud management tool.

Cloud computing for Windows admins

I think, the new user interface will make Amazon’s cloud more attractive for Windows shops. Even if cloud computing is not an option for your organization at the moment, it can’t be wrong for an IT pro to stay in the touch with the latest developments in the cloud computing field. The AWS Management Console now makes it easy for every admin who has experience with virtualization solutions to get started with cloud computing.

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• Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 released!
• New WSUS 3.0 SP2 guides – Check the links in the Get Started section:
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In order to get full management of a Windows 7 environment, or to take advantage of the new features in Active Directory Domain Services like Applocker or the AD Recycle Bin, you need to upgrade the functional level of the forest and domain to Server 2008 R2.

There are a few upgrade paths available – it is possible to perform an in-place upgrade of Windows Server to Server 2008 R2, but you need to verify that the path you have planned is supported. Here’s a list of supported in-place upgrade paths. However, performing a live upgrade of a domain controller is a gutsy move, so a side-by-side migration is the less dangerous (and recommended) path.

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Submitted by Edward Lansink – Blog: GFI Tech blog

GFI WebMonitor Freeware is a freeware web filtering and web security solution for ISA Server, ideal for SMBs. It lets administrators monitor what websites users are currently browsing and what files are being downloaded in real-time. Through user and site bandwidth monitoring features, the administrator has the ability to track download and upload traffic and the number of URL hits over time.

GFI WebMonitor Freeware

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• System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2008 R2 RTMs
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Every once in a while you need to repartition your hard drive; the tools shipped with Windows are sufficient for most of these occasions. Sometimes, however, even Diskpart lacks important features — especially if you have to deal with mixed partition types. Moreover, although there is specialized software for Windows, it is usually not free.

There are various partition tools for Linux. One of these is GParted. If you think that GParted is only capable of dealing with Linux file systems, you may be surprised to read that every option that it offers is also available for NTFS. GParted can detect, read, create, grow, shrink, move, copy, check and label almost every file system. The screenshot below gives you an overview of all supported file systems and functions.

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Using keyboard shortcuts allow you to work more efficiently. Windows has quite a few hotkeys, and it obviously doesn’t make sense to memorize them all. But I recommend skimming over the all available shortcut keys and choosing the ones that seem to be useful for you. I just copied the list from Windows 7 help.

The advantage of the list here is that you can perform a full text search over all keyboard shortcuts without having to expand all sections first. The first section contains all new shortcuts in Windows 7. I have stolen this list from Technet. The article there is about the beta version, but I suppose not much has changed since then.

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It’s summertime in the northern hemisphere, and the high outdoor temperatures can make your computers sweat as well. SpeedFan is a free tool that allows you to monitor the temperature of various hardware components and take measures if certain limits are reached. The latter feature is also useful for servers.

SpeedFan monitors the temperature of processor cores, GPUs (Graphical Processing Units), and hard disks. It can also measure motherboard voltages and the speed (in RPM) of your CPU fan, chassis fan, and power fan.

Measuring the voltages and fan speed didn’t work on my Dell laptop using Vista x64, even though, SpeedFan officially supports 64-bit systems with signed drivers. Monitoring the hard disk temperature only worked after I started the tool as administrator.

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• Exchange 2010 RC now also publicly available for download
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• Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008 R2 / Exchange Server 2010 Launch Events (U.S.) You can get a free copy of Windows 7 at these events.
• Windows 7 VHD Native Boot without any Hosting Operation System
• Microsoft: ‘Massive disruptions’ if Word injunction not lifted Perhaps you better get a copy of Office now.