Nick MacKechnie

How Microsoft IT Implemented Disaster Recovery in the Datacenter

Nick MacKechnie — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:07:20 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of How Microsoft IT Implemented Disaster Recovery in the Datacenter, which discusses DR consolidation and centralization within Microsoft, plus best practices for any large organization.

Microsoft builds disaster recovery (DR) into its applications and systems. Recently, Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) improved DR planning by consolidating and centralizing its DR efforts. The new plan focuses on the critical processes and applications, ensuring minimal downtime and data loss in the event of an outage.

Video

Products & Technologies

· Exchange Server 2010

· SQL Server 2008 R2

· Windows Server 2008 R2

How Microsoft IT Deployed BitLocker Administration and Monitoring at Microsoft

Nick MacKechnie — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:04:53 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of How Microsoft IT Deployed BitLocker Administration and Monitoring at Microsoft, which discusses the provisioning, monitoring and key recovery benefits of MBAM.

In Microsoft IT deployed Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) which builds on BitLocker in Windows 7. MBAM offers an enterprise solution for BitLocker provisioning, monitoring, and key recovery. MBAM also helps to simplify BitLocker provisioning and deployments, improve compliance and reporting, and reduce support costs.

Video

Products & Technologies

· BitLocker

· MBAM

· Windows 7

· Windows Server 2008 R2

Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 – Service Pack 2 Released

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:52:59 GMT

This update fixes critical issues. For detailed information about this update, please visit the Microsoft Web site.

Applies to: Office 2011, Office 2011 Home and Business Edition, Word 2011, Excel 2011, PowerPoint 2011, Outlook 2011, Office for Mac Standard 2011 Edition, Microsoft Office for Mac Home & Student 2011, and Microsoft Office for Mac Academic 2011.

Supported operating systems: Apple Macintosh, Mac OS X

Operating System Versions: Mac OS X version 10.5.8 or a later version of Mac OS
Note To verify that your computer meets these minimum requirements, on the Apple menu, click About This Mac.
Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 (14.1.0): You can download this update for free from the Microsoft Web Site.
Note To verify that you have installed this update, you can open any Microsoft Office 2011 application to check the version number. For example, open Word, and then on the Word menu, click About Word. In the dialog box, compare the version number next to Latest Installed Update.

Download this service pack from here.

Security Compliance Manager 2.5 now available for download!

Nick MacKechnie — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 23:20:28 GMT

Security Compliance Manager 2.5 (SCM 2.5) is now available for download! SCM 2.5 is a free tool from the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team that enables you to quickly configure and manage both desktops and servers using Group Policy and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. In addition to key features from the previous version, SCM 2.5 offers new Exchange Server 2007 and 2010 baselines!

Additional SCM 2.5 client product baselines are included in the download, including Windows 7 SP1, Windows Vista SP2, Windows XP SP3, Office 2010 SP1, and Internet Explorer 8.

SCM 2.5 includes the following NEW baselines include:

·Exchange Server 2007 SP3 Security Baseline

·Exchange Server 2010 SP2 Security Baseline

SCM 2.5 includes Windows and Office client product baselines that deliver on Computer, Domain, and User scenarios:

· Windows 7 SP1 (4 Baselines; includes a BitLocker scenario)

· Windows Vista SP2 (3 Baselines)

· Windows XP SP3 (3 Baselines)

· Internet Explorer 8 (2 Baselines)

· Internet Explorer 9 (2 Baselines)

· Office 2010 SP1 (2 Baselines)

· Office 2007 SP2 (4 Baselines)

SCM 2 provides ready-to-deploy policies and DCM configuration packs that are tested and fully supported. Our product baselines are based on Microsoft security guide recommendations and industry best practices, allowing you to manage configuration drift, address compliance requirements, and reduce security threats.

Easily configure Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office applications, and Internet Explorer with industry leading knowledge and fully supported tools.

Key features in SCM 2.5 include:

· Gold master support: Create a snapshot of a reference machine or import an existing Group Policy to quickly build Configuration Manager DCM packs.

· Configure stand-alone machines: Deploy your configurations to non-domain joined computers using the new GPO Pack feature.

· Server and client baselines: Customize and deploy one of our 64 pre-built DCM packs or group policies that cover multiple operating systems, server workloads and client applications.

· Updated security guides: Take advantage of the deep security expertise and best practices in the updated security guides, and the attack surface reference workbooks to help reduce the security risks that you consider to be the most important.

· Address regulatory and standards requirements. SCM configuration baselines are integrated into the System Center 2012 Service Manager Process Pack for IT GRC to provide oversight and auditor-ready reporting of your compliance activities.

Next steps:

· Download SCM 2.5 from the Microsoft Download Center.

· Help spread the word: tell your friends about Security Compliance Manager 2.5.

· Thoughts? Favourite features? Feedback? Tell it to the dev team.

Want more information on a specific feature? Interested in speaking with the development team? Please contact Venkat Ganti.

Screenshots

Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 Released

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:27:19 GMT

The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 provides storage (disks) over a TCP/IP network. It turns a computer running Windows Server into a storage device which provides shared block storage. You can use Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 to perform a variety of storage-related tasks, including the following:

Provide shared storage for Hyper-V to enable high availability and live migration
Consolidate storage for multiple application servers (i.e. Microsoft SQL Server or Hyper-V)
Provide shared storage for applications hosted on a Windows failover cluster
Enable diskless computers to boot remotely from a single operating system image using iSCSI

The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 is an economical solution suited for a development or test environment and a small, medium, or branch office production environment. It enables storage consolidation and sharing on a Windows Server by implementing the iSCSI (Internet Small Computer Systems Interface) protocol, which supports SCSI-block access to a storage device over a TCP/IP network. For details on how to manage iSCSI targets, see

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg232606(WS.10).aspx
This download package includes the following items:
Root:

x64:
- iSCSItarget_public.msi: Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 service component for Windows Server 2008 R2.
- iSCSITargetClient_public.msi: Virtual Disk Service (VDS) provider, Volume Snapshot Service (VSS) provider, and high-performance computing (HPC) providers to support diskless boot in HPC clusters.
x86:
- iSCSITargetClient_public.msi: VDS provider, VSS provider, and HPC providers to support diskless boot in HPC clusters.
Documentation:
- iSCSItarget_Gstart_R2.doc: Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 Getting Started Guide
- iSCSI_33_relnotes.doc: Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 Release Notes
Autorun.inf: Automatically starts Index.htm to display install options
Index.html: Main menu page for installing software.
Bkgd-page-servers-dynagrid.jpg: Used by Index.html.
Copyright.jpg: Used by Index.html.
Wsr2logo.bmp: Used by Index.html.

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=19867

NEW Windows Server "8" Beta Component Architecture poster is available !!

Nick MacKechnie — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 22:15:25 GMT

The new “Windows Server “8” Beta Component Architecture Poster” on the download center - http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29189

This poster provides a visual reference for understanding key Hyper-V technologies in Windows Server “8” Beta. This Hyper-V poster focuses on Hyper-V Replica, networking, virtual machine mobility (live migration), storage, failover clustering, and scalability.

The posterguy blog can be used to access all available architecture posters - http://blogs.technet.com/b/theposterguy/.

Here is a quick summary of previous posters – links below:

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-v Component Architecture with Service Pack 1
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=2688

Hyper-v Component Architecture
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=3501

Windows Server 2008 R2 component posters
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=7002

Windows Server 2008 Component Posters
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=17881

Deploying FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint

Nick MacKechnie — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:14:38 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Deploying FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, which discusses the migration from SharePoint search to FAST Search Server.

FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint quickly and reliably returns highly relevant results across thousands of sites and documents. FAST also enables applications to take advantage of its capabilities to deliver business value through productivity gains and simplified data and taxonomy management.
Technical White Paper

How Microsoft Reduced Bandwidth Utilization Using Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 BranchCache

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:58:47 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of How Microsoft Reduced Bandwidth Utilization Using Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 BranchCache, which discusses the time and financial savings when leveraging Windows Server 2008 R2 BranchCache.

In conjunction with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7, Microsoft IT leverages BranchCache which caches local copies of content from Web and file servers to enhance performance and reduce bandwidth utilization on Wide Area Networks (WAN), eliminating the need for clients on a WAN having to go over slower links to get access to files. This functionality saves employees time and productivity while at the same time saving money on bandwidth costs.

Video |

Products & Technologies

· BranchCache

· Windows 7

· Windows 7 SP1

· Windows Server 2008

· Windows Server 2008 R2

How Microsoft Deployed System Center Operations Manager 2012

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:57:08 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of How Microsoft Deployed System Center Operations Manager 2012 which discusses the improved benefits of deploying System Center Operations Manager 2012.

Microsoft IT uses System Center Operations Manager 2012 to provide the monitoring of their datacenter, to delivering flexible and cost effective enterprise-class monitoring and diagnostics. Operations Manager 2012 reduces the total cost of ownership by leveraging commodity hardware, with standard configurations to monitor heterogeneous environments to ensure the availability of business-critical applications.

Video |

Products & Technologies

· System Center Operations Manager 2012

· System Center Suite

· VMM 2012

· SCCM 2012

· DPM 2012

· SCOM 2012

PST Capture

Nick MacKechnie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:49:32 GMT

On 30 Jan 2012, the PST Capture became available as a free download.

PST Capture helps you search your network to discover and then import .pst files across your environment - all from a straightforward admin-driven tool. PST Capture will help reduce risk while increasing productivity for your users by importing .pst files into Exchange Online or Exchange Server 2010 - directly into users' primary mailboxes or archives.

If you are looking at managing PST files better or even removing them from the messaging environment, this is the tool for you.

For more information on the tool, the technical documentation can be found here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh781036.aspx

The download link is at:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=28767

How Microsoft IT Centralized Disaster Recovery

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:28:41 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of How Microsoft IT Centralized Disaster Recovery which discusses how Microsoft IT plans and deploys its disaster recovery program.

Microsoft IT developed their solution for Disaster Recovery (DR) in the datacenter. This will give a good overview of how we created our DR strategy, the architecture, program management behind it, some of best practices/lessons learned and governance which drives our day to day operations.
Article

Deploying Active Directory Rights Management Services at Microsoft

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:27:39 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Deploying Active Directory Rights Management Services at Microsoft which discusses how Microsoft IT implemented Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) so that publishers could use Microsoft Office applications to restrict access to confidential data.

At Microsoft, sensitive business information in e-mail and business documents was at risk of exposure to unauthorized users. Microsoft IT implemented AD DS so that authors could use Microsoft Office and SharePoint Server to restrict access to confidential data.
Technical White Paper

Products & Technologies

· Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1

· Active Directory Domain Services and Active Directory Rights Management Services

· Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008

· Microsoft Office 2010

· Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010

· Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

· Windows Mobile 6.x

Improving Desktop Performance with the Risk and Health Assessment Program for Windows Desktop

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:25:53 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Improving Desktop Performance with the Risk and Health Assessment Program for Windows Desktop, which discusses how through a cooperative Windows Desktop Risk Assessment Program engagement with Premier Field Engineering, Microsoft IT completed a comprehensive assessment on internal Windows 7 desktops and found ways to substantially reduce system boot times and improve end user productivity.

For Premier customers, Microsoft offers a variety of risk and health assessment tools and programs to help you maximize your Microsoft investment, reduce business risks and gain critical insights into the health of your environment. Today, the programs include Windows Desktop, SQL Server, Active Directory, SharePoint Server and Exchange Server. Learn how Microsoft IT is leveraging these programs to improve the health of its environment.
Technical Case Study | IT Pro Webcast

Products & Technologies

· Risk and Health Assessment Program for Windows Desktop

· Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)

· Windows Vista (32-bit)

· Windows XP

Microsoft IT Uses AppLocker to Help Secure Windows 7 Clients

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:24:13 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Microsoft IT Uses AppLocker to Help Secure Windows 7 Clients, which discusses Microsoft IT deployed AppLocker, an application control feature available in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to reduce security risks, increase legal compliance and reduced operational costs.

AppLocker is a feature of Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 that maintains legal and security obligations to prevent the execution of unwanted applications on domain-joined devices. Unauthorized Peer 2 Peer (P2P) applications within the Microsoft infrastructure are strictly prohibited by the Microsoft Information Security General Use Standard. Microsoft is currently blocking Unauthorized P2P on the network edge/proxy. This Group Policy setting extends the protection to machines on the corporate network.
Technical Case Study

Office 365 adds 22 Additional Markets, New Features and Continues Record Growth Rate

Nick MacKechnie — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:01:25 GMT

Office 365 is proud to announce trial availability for customers in 22 additional markets (full list below), including Turkey, South Africa, Taiwan and Argentina. We also recently launched full commerce capabilities in Brazil, Russia and South Korea. So whether you are a customer doing business from the Arctic Circle or Cape of Good Hope to Cape Horn, you now have the ability to use Office 365 to power your business from the cloud.

Customers in these markets are in good company as just five months after its release, Office 365 is being adopted eight times faster than its predecessor. More than 90 percent of Office 365 customers are small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, while over 40% of the Top 100 Brands (according to Interbrand) use Office 365 or related cloud productivity services from Microsoft.

In addition to expanding our geographic reach, we’ve added more than 30 new updates to Office 365, many of them a direct response to customer feedback. You can find all information our new ‘Feature Updates’ Wiki in the Office 365 community. Here are a few key updates:

Support for SharePoint Business Connectivity Services - Businesses can now connect critical line-of-business applications, such as CRM or SAP software, in a familiar SharePoint interface.
Windows Phone 7.5 Support - End users can access and update documents in SharePoint Online from anywhere using their Windows Phone.
Self-Serve Password Reset - IT Admins gain easier security resets with our a Password Reset Tool.
Lync for Mac - Mac users continue to gain features including full Lync client for instant messaging chats, and presence information in Office applications. They can now also host voice and video conferences with just like their PC based counterparts.
Office Web App Preview in Outlook Web Access (OWA) – Users can now display Office document attachments in Outlook Web Access for easier on the go edit and review.

For a full list of Office 365 updates, click here.

Among the companies that have recently chosen Office 365 are the leading fashion magazine Group Marie-Claire, which encourages a mobile work environment. “With the service, we have the added benefit of working together with familiar tools on almost any device, and can make quicker decisions when needed,” says Philippe Chapier, IT Manager for Group Marie-Claire.

Global brand Campbell Soup Company also will also standardize on Office 365 as a way to improve collaboration among its core business groups. Joe Spagnoletti, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Campbell Soup Company shared. “We’re betting on the cloud—and Office 365—as we prepare to build a highly collaborative workplace where employees across our global offices can all work together and communicate in seamless fashion.”

Do you have a new favorite feature or are excited to be a part of our new geographic expansion? Share your story now on Twitter or Facebook.

source

Recommended Windows Hotfix for Database Availability Groups running Windows Server 2008 R2

Nick MacKechnie — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 01:28:25 GMT

Hi All,

Microsoft has released the following Knowledge Base (KB) article and accompanying software hotfix regarding an issue in Windows Server 2008 R2 failover clusters:

KB2550886 - A transient communication failure causes a Windows Server 2008 R2 failover cluster to stop working

This hotfix is strongly recommended for all databases availability groups that are stretched across multiple datacenters. For DAGs that are not stretched across multiple datacenters, this hotfix is good to have, as well. The article describes a race condition and cluster database deadlock issue that can occur when a Windows Failover cluster encounters a transient communication failure. There is a race condition within the reconnection logic of cluster nodes that manifests itself when the cluster has communication failures. When this occurs, it will cause the cluster database to hang, resulting in quorum loss in the failover cluster.

Microsoft has encountered scenarios in which a transient network failure occurs (a failure of network communications for about 60 seconds) and as a result, the entire cluster is deadlocked and all databases are within the DAG are dismounted. Since it is not very easy to determine which cluster node is actually deadlocked, if a failover cluster deadlocks as a result of the reconnect logic race, the only available course of action is to restart all members within the entire cluster to resolve the deadlock condition.

MORE INFO…

Generally, this bug manifests when there is asymmetric latency (for example, where half of the DAG members have latency of 1 ms, while the other half of the DAG members have 30 ms latency) for two cluster nodes that discover a broken connection between the pair. If the first node detects a connection loss well before the second node, a race condition can occur:

· The first node will initiate a reconnect of the stream between the two nodes. This will cause the second node to add the new stream to its data.

· Adding the new stream tears down the old stream and sets its failure handler to ignore. In the failure case, the old stream is the failed stream that has not been detected yet.

· When the connection break is detected on the second node, the second node will initiate a reconnect sequence of its own. If the connection break is detected in the proper race window, the failed stream's failure handler will be set to ignore, and the reconnect process will not initiate a reconnect. It will, however, issue a pause for the send queue, which stops messages from being sent between the nodes. When the messages are stopped, this prevents GUM from operating correctly and forces a cluster restart.

If this issue does occur, the consequences are very bad for DAGs. As a result, we recommend that you deploy this hotfix to all of your Mailbox servers that are members of a DAG, especially if the DAG is stretched across datacenters. This hotfix can also benefit environments running Exchange 2007 Single Copy Clusters and Cluster Continuous Replication environments.

In addition to fixing the issue described above, KB2550886 also includes other important Windows Server 2008 R2 hotfixes that are also recommended for DAGs:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2549472 - Cluster node cannot rejoin the cluster after the node is restarted or removed from the cluster in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2549448 - Cluster service still uses the default time-out value after you configure the regroup time-out setting in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2552040 - A Windows Server 2008 R2 failover cluster loses quorum when an asymmetric communication fail

Nick.

System Center App Controller 2012 Beta

Nick MacKechnie — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:38:14 GMT

System Center App Controller 2012 beta provides a common self-service experience across private and public clouds that can help you empower application owners to easily build, configure, deploy, and manage new services.

System Center App Controller 2012 beta provides a common self-service experience across private and public clouds that can help you:

Easily configure, deploy, and manage services through a highly intuitive service-centric interface, while using a library of standard templates
Create, manage, and move services using a web-based interface that presents a customized view of resources based on your role in the organization
View private and public cloud services in a single view and get granular control of application components at each layer

System Center App Controller 2012 delivers the following benefits:

Self-service Application Management Across Private and Public Clouds
Using System Center App Controller 2012, datacenter administrators can flexibly delegate a customized, role-based view of your private cloud services (deployed on Virtual Machine Manager based infrastructure) and Windows Azure services, thus allowing you to easily manage them yourself. App Controller 2012 also enables you to move applications and components fluidly within public and private cloud environments.
Easy Deployment and Operations for Your Application Services Through a Highly Intuitive Service-centric Interface
App Controller 2012 enables you to design, build, configure, and deploy services using a library of delegated templates with predefined configuration values. Your datacenter administrators can assign to you the required authority to deploy applications, confident in the knowledge that these predefined service templates will be compliant with company IT standards and policies.
Visibility and Control with Unified Console Across Private and Public Cloud Resources and Applications
App Controller 2012 offers consolidated views of your private and public cloud services, including the virtual machines that represent those services. It also empowers you with granular control and visibility into application components, along with the ability to track on-going jobs and maintain a detailed history of changes.

Resource	Link
App Controller Beta download	http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=27843
App Controller Beta public announcement	http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2011/10/27/announcing-new-system-center-2012-pre-releases-delivering-self-service-application-management-with-the-microsoft-private-cloud.aspx
Public demo walk through of the App Controller Beta	http://blogs.technet.com/b/adhall/archive/2011/10/31/app-controller-demo-taking-a-walk-through-the-key-capabilities.aspx or the source is on TechNet Edge http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/system-center-app-controller-2012-capability-walkthrough.aspx
Using App Controller with non-IE browsers	http://blogs.technet.com/b/adhall/archive/2011/10/31/will-app-controller-run-in-browsers-other-than-ie8-and-ie9.aspx
Get involved in the Private Cloud evaluation program	http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2011/10/27/announcing-private-cloud-community-evaluation-program.aspx
App Controller – all the useful links	http://blogs.technet.com/b/adhall/archive/2011/10/27/app-controller-all-the-useful-resources.aspx
App Controller Beta FAQ	http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/8/A/68A81649-6ECB-4B7B-89E4-D29188103633/System%20Center%20App%20Controller%202012%20FAQ.pdf
App Controller Beta datasheet	http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/F/5/6F51FE0C-3254-4DC7-B1C6-D9CFA9DE396D/SC_AppController_Datasheet.pdf
App Controller homepage	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/system-center/app-controller-2012.aspx
App Controller Forums	http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/appcontroller
App Controller online help	http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/appcontroller
App Controller release notes	http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/appcontroller/gg696040.aspx

SQL Server 2012 RC News

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:57:59 GMT

Just to share with you a summary that I built with the news, publicly available, about SQL Server 2012 RC:

Official Release Information

SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate is now Available!

http://blogs.technet.com/b/dataplatforminsider/archive/2011/11/17/sql-server-2012-release-candidate-is-now-available.aspx

Requirements & Specifications

Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2012

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ms143506(v=SQL.110).aspx

Product Specifications for SQL Server 2012

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143287(v=SQL.110).aspx

What’s New

What's New in SQL Server 2012 RC 0

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/3783.aspx

What's New in SQL Server Installation

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb500459(v=SQL.110).aspx

SQL Server 2012 : Changes to system objects in RC0

http://sqlblog.com/blogs/aaron_bertrand/archive/2011/11/18/sql-server-2012-changes-to-system-objects-in-rc0.aspx

Analysis Services

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/analysisservices/archive/2011/11/17/announcing-microsoft-sql-server-2012-release-candidate-0-rc0.aspx

What’s New In Power View

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/robertbruckner/archive/2011/11/17/what-s-new-in-power-view.aspx

Power View (SSRS)

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh213579(SQL.110).aspx

What’s New in SSIS for SQL Server 2012 RC0

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mattm/archive/2011/11/17/what-s-new-in-ssis-for-sql-server-2012-rc0.aspx

The Pivot Transform – Now with UI!

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mattm/archive/2011/11/17/the-pivot-transform-now-with-ui.aspx

Downloads

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC0) - ISO

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28145

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Semantic Language Statistics RC0

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28148

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 RC0 End User License Agreements and Privacy Statement

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28146

SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit Web Installer Preview

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=27721

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 PowerPivot® for Microsoft® Excel® 2010 Release Candidate 0 (RC0)

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28150

SQL Server 2012 RC0 and PowerPivot V2 RC0

http://www.cubido.at/blogs/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=1481

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Express RC0

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28151

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 RC0 Master Data Services Add-in For Microsoft® Excel®

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28149

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC0) Manageability Tool Kit

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28147

Samples

SQL Server Samples Readme

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/sql-server-samples-readme.aspx

BI Features

Install SQL Server 2012 BI Features

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh231681(v=SQL.110).aspx

Checklists for Installing BI Features

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh231668(v=SQL.110).aspx

ColumnStore

SQL Server Columnstore Index FAQ

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/sql-server-columnstore-index-faq.aspx

Columnstore Indexes

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg492088(v=SQL.110).aspx

SQL Server Columnstore Performance Tuning

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/sql-server-columnstore-performance-tuning.aspx

SSIS Manageability & Automation

SSIS and PowerShell in SQL Server 2012

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mattm/archive/2011/11/17/ssis-and-powershell-in-sql-server-2012.aspx

A Glimpse of the SSIS Catalog Managed Object Model

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mattm/archive/2011/07/26/overview-of-the-ssis-mom.aspx

SSIS T-SQL API Overview

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mattm/archive/2011/08/12/ssis-t-sql-api-overview.aspx

Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.IntegrationServices Namespace

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.sqlserver.management.integrationservices(v=sql.110).aspx

Contained Databases

Contained Databases

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/hh534404.aspx

White-Papers (CTP3)

New Spatial Features in SQL Server Code-Named “Denali” Community Technology Preview 3

http://sqlcat.com/sqlcat/b/whitepapers/archive/2011/08/08/new-spatial-features-in-sql-server-code-named-denali-community-technology-preview-3.aspx

Extracting and Loading SharePoint Data in SQL Server Integration Services

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh368261.aspx

Issues

Solving security issue in PowerPivot for SharePoint and Power View

http://sqlblog.com/blogs/marco_russo/archive/2011/11/19/solving-security-issue-in-powerpivot-for-sharepoint-and-power-view.aspx

Information & Documentation

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 RC 0 Release Notes – Very Important to read before starting any Installation

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/microsoft-sql-server-2012-rc-0-release-notes.aspx

Books Online for SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC 0)

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms130214(v=sql.110).aspx

Tutorials for SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC 0)

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh231699(v=sql.110).aspx

Developer Reference for SQL Server 2012

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd206988(v=SQL.110).aspx

Forums

Forums SQL Server (Pre-release)

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserverprerelease

Product Information (www.microsoft.com/sqlserver)

Mission Critical Confidence - Overview

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/SQL-Server-2012-mission-critical-confidence.aspx

High Availability

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/mission-critical/SQL-Server-2012-high-availability.aspx

Security & Compliance

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/mission-critical/SQL-Server-2012-security-and-compliance.aspx

Breakthrough Insight - Overview

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/SQL-Server-2012-breakthrough-insight.aspx

SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/business-intelligence/SQL-Server-2012-analysis-services.aspx

SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Information Management

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/business-intelligence/SQL-Server-2012-enterprise-information-management.aspx

SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/business-intelligence/SQL-Server-2012-reporting-services.aspx

Cloud On Your Terms - Overview

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/SQL-Server-2012-cloud-on-your-terms.aspx

SQL Server 2012 Cloud-Ready Information Platform

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/cloud-computing/SQL-Server-2012-cloud-ready-information-and-intelligence-platform.aspx

SQL Server 2012 Programmability

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/cloud-computing/SQL-Server-2012-programmability.aspx

Licensing & Editions

SQL Server 2012 Licensing Datasheet

http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/5/D/A5D112E1-78FF-491F-9364-F1BC6FAE7D57/SQL_Server_2012_Licensing_Datasheet_Nov2011.pdf

SQL Server 2012 Licensing

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/sql2012-licensing.aspx

SQL Server 2012 Editions

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/sql2012-editions.aspx

Resources Centers

Technet SQL Server 2012 Resource Center

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/denali_resource_center.aspx

Learning Center Resources

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/learning-center/resources.aspx

Codeplex

Microsoft SQL Server Community Samples: Integration Services

http://sqlsrvintegrationsrv.codeplex.com/

Microsoft SQL Server Database Product Samples

http://msftdbprodsamples.codeplex.com/

SQL Server Wallpaper

http://twitpic.com/7d7y08 - 1024 x 768

http://twitpic.com/7d7x8d - 1280 x 800

http://twitpic.com/7d7wiy - 1400 x 900

http://twitpic.com/7d7vwh - 1680 x 1050

Using Windows 7 Professional on a Slate PC Getting Started

Nick MacKechnie — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:10:18 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Using Windows 7 Professional on a Slate PC Getting Started which discusses how Windows 7 Professional on a slate PC keeps you productive, entertained, and connected.

Using Windows® 7 Professional on a slate PC keeps you productive, entertained, and connected, no matter where you are. Whether you are working on a Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® presentation, communicating on Microsoft Lync™, or browsing the web, the control is at your fingertips with a single device

Using Windows 7 Professional on a Slate PC Get Started

Deploying and Managing PKI inside Microsoft

Nick MacKechnie — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:08:02 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Deploying and Managing PKI inside Microsoft which discusses how Microsoft IT implemented an infrastructure for encrypted communications, security-enhanced remote authentication, and software validation.

Microsoft IT installed a public key infrastructure to implement a security-enhanced communications and remote authentication infrastructure. This enabled the use of S/MIME signatures and encryption, helped secure Web connections by using Secure Sockets Layer or Transport Layer Security, helped ensure the confidentiality of stored data by using Encrypting File System, helped ensure the confidentiality and integrity of transmitted data by using IPsec, and enabled strong network user authentication by using smart cards.
Technical White Paper

Microsoft IT Deploys Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:16:58 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Microsoft IT Deploys Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring which discusses how Microsoft IT deployed Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring. By taking a staged and well-planned approach, they were able to transition BitLocker Drive Encryption management to the Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring infrastructure, resulting in several important benefits.

Microsoft IT deployed Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) which builds on BitLocker in Windows 7. MBAM offers an enterprise solution for BitLocker provisioning, monitoring, and key recovery. MBAM also helps to simplify BitLocker provisioning and deployments, improve compliance and reporting, and reduce support costs.
Technical Case Study

· The newest version of Windows Intune: More features and even better PC management.

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 22:05:49 GMT

The newest version of Windows Intune is now available. Sign up for a FREE 30-day trial and test it out on up to 25 PCs!

· Sign up for Windows Intune today!

Windows Intune brings together Windows cloud services for PC management, endpoint protection, and a Windows 7 upgrade subscription. With its simple web-based console, it can help you manage and secure virtually all your users’ PCs through the cloud—whether they’re working onsite, at home, in a remote office, or on the road. All you need is an Internet connection and the Windows Intune client installed on each PC you wish to manage.

The October 17^{th (US Pacific Time)} release of Windows Intune is packed with exciting new features—such as the ability to distribute third-party software, manage Microsoft and non-Microsoft licenses, and get better control of remote PCs. It’s also easier to use, with context-driven menus, improved navigation, and color-coded alerts that you can sort according to your own parameters.

Next steps:

Learn more about what’s new!

· Read:

o What’s New in Windows Intune

o Windows Intune at a Glance

o Windows Intune Product Guide

o Deploying Software and Third-Party Updates with Windows Intune

o Getting Started Guide

o Frequently Asked Questions

o Windows Intune Springboard Series

o Calculate your ROI

· Watch:

o Windows Intune Overview Video

o Software Deployment Video

o Software license management Video

o Windows Intune Policy enhancements Video

o Remote Task Video

· Interact:

o Check out the forum

o Sign up for the Windows Intune Newsletter

· If you’re not using Windows Intune yet, this is the perfect time to sign up for a free 30-day trial! View the complete Windows Intune Getting Started Guide to learn how to get the most from your trial.*

· If you’re already a Windows Intune pro, don’t worry—the architecture hasn’t changed at all. It just offers many new features and is a lot easier to use. Learn more about how you’ll get this next release.

Optimizing Branch Office Servers by Using Windows Server® 2008 R2 with Hyper-V

Nick MacKechnie — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:58:51 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Optimizing Branch Office Servers by Using Windows Server® 2008 R2 with Hyper-V which discusses how Microsoft IT uses Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V to provide a secure, future-proof platform on which to provide key services to users.

Microsoft Information Technology (IT) used Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V to virtualize all of the enterprise's branch-office servers. This enabled Microsoft IT to extend virtualization's benefits to a variety of site types, from small offices to large, complex branches, thereby improving services, reducing costs, and expanding infrastructure-consolidation efforts.
Article | Technical Case Study

Developing a Strategy to Simplify Planning and Improve Performance and Reliability Article

Nick MacKechnie — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:57:13 GMT

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Developing a Strategy to Simplify Planning and Improve Performance and Reliability, which discusses MSITs "Get Current" strategy which increases adherence to standards within MSIT production environments.

MSIT developed a "Get Current" strategy to increase adherence to standards within MSIT production environments. By using Microsoft technology, MSIT was able to develop a platform that could be used by all levels of IT leadership to measure and publish compliance and also allowed the creation of predictable planning roadmaps toward achieving business excellence through the optimization of the IT environment and its services.

Article | TDM Webcast

New SharePoint 2010 Courseware: Business Intelligence and Business Composites

Nick MacKechnie — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:51:50 GMT

We are pleased to announce that TechNet has published two new Training Courses for Implementing SharePoint Solutions. Each of these courses contains 5-6 modules representing 2 days of instructor led training, including video lessons and hands on labs.

SharePoint Server 2010 Business Intelligence Training

View the course: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/hh126809

Learn how you can lay a deep foundation for your SharePoint Server 2010 Business Intelligence (BI) skills in this training course. This course teaches how to use SharePoint Server 2010 as your BI platform and covers the following topics: Business Intelligence Overview, Excel Services, PerformancePoint Services, Visio Services, Reporting Services Integration with SharePoint 2010, and PowerPivot for SharePoint Server 2010. The content is cross referenced with available Advanced IT Pro training (Ignite) per module.

SharePoint Server 2010 Business Composites Training

View the course: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/hh126810

Learn how you can lay a deep foundation for your SharePoint Server 2010 Business Composites skills in this training course. This course covers a SharePoint Server 2010 Composites overview and all of these aspects for SharePoint Server 2010: Access Services, InfoPath Forms Services, Workflows in SharePoint 2010, Business Connectivity Services, and SharePoint BI and Composites Service Application Configuration.