Microsoft Higher Education - Mid-Atlantic

New blog site - this one is being retired

Kevin Dean — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:19:00 GMT

Greetings - thanks for stopping by!

Please see my current blog - http://blogs.technet.com/kdean

Thanks,

Kevin

Tech Ed Higher Education Networking Event - June 11

Kevin Dean — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:32:23 GMT

Please contact me oryour respective Account Technology Specialist if you are attendingTechEd IT Pro week. We are hosting our 5th annual higher educationcustomer networking event (code for a party).

TechEd is the premier annual customerconference from Microsoft. For two weeks in June, customers get technicaltraining, information, and resources to help build, deploy, secure, mobilize,and manage solutions based on the full range of existing and upcoming Microsoftproducts. Attendees experience a sense of community and excitementunparalleled the rest of the year. Higher Education EnterpriseSales fosters that sense of community with a customer gathering each year.

Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) Released

Kevin Dean — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:51:46 GMT

Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT)has been released!

Today we released the Remote Server Administration Tools(RSAT) to the web. RSAT is the collection of Windows Server 2008management tools which enable IT professionals to manage their Windows Serverinfrastructure from their PCs running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1. This email outlines the list of components which make up RSAT, a link tothe downloads, and frequently asked questions. Please download and useRSAT today!

Where to Install:

· Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista with SP1(x86): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9FF6E897-23CE-4A36-B7FC-D52065DE9960

· Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista withSP1(x64): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=D647A60B-63FD-4AC5-9243-BD3C497D2BC5

RSAT is available to all customers as part of supplementalMicrosoft Software License Terms to Windows Vista licenses.

What Is Included in RSAT?

This is the list of Windows Server2008 administration tools which are included in RSAT:

Role Administration Tools:

· Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Tools

· Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Tools

· Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Tools

· DHCP Server Service Tools

· DNS Server Service Tools

· Shared Folders Tools

· Network Policy and Access Services Tools

· Terminal Services Tools

· Uniiversal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Services Tools

Feature Administration Tools:

· BitLocker Drive Encryption Tools

· Failover Clustering Tools

· Group Policy Management Tools

· Network Load Balancing Tools

· SMTP Server Tools

· Storage Manager for SANs Tools

· Windows System Resource Manager Tools

The tools in the following listare fully supported managing Windows Server 2003 servers as well:

· Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Tools

· Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Tools

· Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Tools

· DHCP Server Tools

· DNS Server Tools

· Group Policy Management Tools

· Network Load Balancing Tools

· Terminal Services Tools

· Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Services Tools

RSAT Questions andAnswers:

Q. Why is Microsoft making RSAT available?

A. Many IT professionals manage their servers from their own desktops. RSAT enablesIT professionals to use the updated Windows Server 2008 management tools tomanage their servers remotely from their own computers.

Q. Which operating systems does RSAT manage?

A. All RSAT tools manage Windows Server 2008 servers. Certain RSAT tools alsomanage servers running Windows Server 2003.

Q. Is RSAT the next version of ADMINPAK.MSI?

A. Yes. As ADMINPAK.MSI provides IT professionals the ability to remotely managetheir Windows Server 2003 servers, RSAT provides updated functionality forWindows Server management from computers running Windows Vista with ServicePack 1. All RSAT tools support the management of servers running Windows Server2008; some of these tools also support the management of servers runningWindows Server 2003, and thus can be considered a replacement for ADMINPAK.MSI.

Q. Will RSAT run on the version of Windows Vista with no service packs installed?

A. No. RSAT requires Windows Vista with Service Pack 1.

Q. Will RSAT include Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) for Windows Vista withSP1?

A. Yes.

Q: Will the GPMC provided by RSAT allow me to manage Group Policy preference itemsfrom a computer running Windows Vista with SP1?

A. Yes.

Volume Activation of Windows Server 2008

Kevin Dean — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:49:31 GMT

KMS version 1.1 for Windows Server 2003 provides thefollowing key features:

· A single KMS host which supports volume licenseeditions of both Windows Vista RTM/SP1 and Windows Server 2008

· Running KMS version 1.1 in a Windows Server 2003virtual machine.

KMS v1.1 for Windows Server 2003 is now available on theMicrosoft Download Center at:

X86 (EN-US) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=82964

X64 (EN-US) - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83041

Other languages will be available by March 31, 2008

For more information on Volume Activation 2.0, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/technet/volumeactivation/

Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, & Visual Studio 2008 Launch

Kevin Dean — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 02:27:00 GMT

I’m excited to announce that we have officially launched Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. This launch represents a major milestone on the road to Dynamic IT,Microsoft’s initiative to help customers optimize their people,processes, and technology and in turn, position IT as a strategic asset for the business.

There will be several “regional” launch events over the next couple months. The following link provides more information about these upcoming events in your area:

http://www.microsoft.com/heroeshappenhere/events/default.mspx

System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1 RTM

Kevin Dean — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 02:27:00 GMT

SystemCenter Operations Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 is now available:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ede38d83-32d1-46fb-8b6d-78fa1dcb3e85&DisplayLang=en

Operations Manager 2007 SP1 addresses critical customer-initiatedissues, including improved deployment, performance, reporting, and enhanced support.

Highlighting some of the key new features and enhancements:

New capability to export Operations Manager 2007 diagrams to Microsoft Visio VDX file format.
New ability to publish reports to multiple locations, such as Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Web sites.
Improved performance and reliability across the product, such as when working with alerts, overrides, and searches.
Enhanced “advanced search” by improved the ability to search across monitors and rules by their overrides.
Simplifying the creation of new management packs by allowing users to copy views from existing management packs to an unsealed management pack.
New ability view performance data through the Operations Manager Web console, and setup filters for desired performance counters to ease searching and navigation.
New discoveries and views added to the Audit Collection Services (ACS), along with new monitors and alerts to track the health of ACS collectors.
Enhanced backup and recovery with the introduction of an easier-to-use Secure Storage Backup Wizard.
… and much, much more!!

A comprehensive list on what’s included with Service Pack 1 can be found by visiting the What’s New in Ops Mgr 2007 SP1 and What’s Fixed in Ops Mgr 2007 SP1 resources.

Windows Server 2008 released to manufacturing (RTM)

Kevin Dean — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:13:00 GMT

On Monday February 4^th, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 was Released to Manufacturing (RTM). You will find a document attached with numerous links to resources related to Windows Server 2008 that you may find useful.

Press Release: As Windows Server 2008 RTMs, Customers and Partners Adopting with Help of New Tools, Training

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2008/feb08/02-04WS2008.mspx

Windows Internet Explorer 7 to be distributed via WSUS February 12,2008

Kevin Dean — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:44:40 GMT

On February 12, 2008 Microsoftwill release the Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and Availabilityupdate to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) marked as an Update Rolluppackage. Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and Availability Update is acomplete installation package that will upgrade machines running InternetExplorer 6 to Windows Internet Explorer 7. Microsoft Knowledge Base article 940767 contains moreinformation on the Windows Internet Explorer 7 Installation and AvailabilityUpdate.

Description of the WindowsInternet Explorer 7 Installation and Availability Update

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940767/

Customers who have configuredWSUS to "auto-approve" Update Rollup packages – which is notthe default configuration – will automatically upgrade machines runningInternet Explorer 6 to Windows Internet Explorer 7 after February 12, 2008 andconsequently, may want to read KB 946202 to manage how and when this update is installed.

Windows Internet Explorer 7 tobe distributed via WSUS February 12, 2008; May require administrator action tomanage the rollout

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946202/en-us

Customers will need to take actionif:

· They use WSUS to manage updates in their organization.

· They have Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)-based computers orWindows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computers that have InternetExplorer 6 installed.

· They do not want to upgrade Internet Explorer 6 machines toWindows Internet Explorer 7 at this time.

· They have configured WSUS to auto-approve Update Rollups forinstallation.

This information onlyapplies to distribution via WSUS. Most territories already receiveInternet Explorer 7 through automatic update. Also, the InternetExplorer 7 Blocker Toolkit only applies to distribution via automaticupdate so customers who use WSUS and have previously deployed the blockertoolkit will want to read KB 946202.

“Postponingthe Windows Internet Explorer 7 Deployment

If you have configured WSUS toautomatically approve Update Rollups, but you do not want to automaticallyinstall Windows Internet Explorer 7 via WSUS when it is released on February12, 2008, you will need to disable this auto-approval rule before February 12,2008. Once the rule is disabled, you can synchronize the Windows InternetExplorer 7 package to your WSUS server by using the steps outlined below. Oncethe Windows Internet Explorer 7 package has been synchronized to the server, itwill not be automatically approved when you switch your auto-approval rule backon.”

Note This does not apply to Windows Vista because WindowsInternet Explorer 7 is a component of Windows Vista

2007 Microsoft Office Security Guide

Kevin Dean — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 06:50:00 GMT

With hundreds of security and privacy settings, the 2007 Microsoft® Office release is the most secure version of Microsoft Office ever. To help you quickly and easily deploy security configurations for Office across your organization, the Solution Accelerators-Security and Compliance team has released the 2007 Microsoft Office Security Guide.

This Solution Accelerator provides IT Pro customers with best practices and automated tools to help strengthen the security of computers running the 2007 Office release on Windows Vista^TM and Windows® XP SP2.

Based on extensive, real-world experience from customers, government agencies, and Microsoft security experts, the 2007 Microsoft Office Security Guide lets you choose from two thoroughly tested, baseline security configurations.

You can easily tailor the configuration you choose, modifying security settings to accommodate your unique needs. And the included GPOAccelerator is a powerful tool that will help you automatically deploy Group Policy security settings across your organization-in minutes, instead of hours or days.

Benefits:
Comprehensive. The guide includes information on hundreds of security settings in the 2007 Office release, with recommendations for configuring each setting.

Saves time. Customers using Microsoft Security Guides and tools have reported up to an 80% reduction in their time to deployment.

More reliable. The GPOAccelerator eliminates most manual steps in the deployment process-so you get more reliable results.

Easy to deploy. The guide makes it easy to deploy 2007 Office security settings across domain-based environments.

Thoroughly tested. All recommendations are tested in our labs, and verified by customers and partners under real-world conditions.

Integrated Solution. The 2007 Office Security Guide is designed to work with other Windows Vista Solution Accelerators such as the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment tool, Business Desktop Deployment, Windows Vista Security Guide, and Windows Vista Service Lifecycle Management.

The 2007 Microsoft Office Security Guide is now available! To learn more about the guide, click here.

SQL Server 2008 - Community Technology Preview

Kevin Dean — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:38:00 GMT

Some exciting news in the develoipment of SQL Server 2008!

Microsoft hit an important milestone for SQL Server 2008 with the announcement of the upcoming November Community Technology Preview (CTP). And this CTP is packed with new features, including compatibility with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and new capabilities such as Resource Governor, Backup Compression and Transparent Data Encryption. This CTP also has new business intelligence enhancements including Design Alerts, block computation, and Enhanced Report Designer including new visualizations. In addition, this is the first CTP to help customers store and consume any type of data including new Filestream data types for unstructured data, and to provide support for spatial data for location intelligence. Register with the CTP program to take part in the preview.

Unified Tools and Guidance for Desktop and Server Deployment Automation

Kevin Dean — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:43:00 GMT

Download it today!

We are pleased to announce the official release of the Microsoft Deployment Solution Accelerator! Microsoft Deployment, the next version of Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007. Microsoft Deployment, the fourth generation deployment accelerator, enables deployment of servers and desktops. Its tools and end-to-end guidance reduce deployment time, standardize desktop and server images, limit service disruptions, reduce post-deployment help desk costs and improve security and ongoing configuration management.

Microsoft Deployment adds integration with recently released deployment technologies to create a single path for image creation and deployment, including:

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Operating System Deployment
System Center Operations Manager
Windows Automated Installation Kit
Windows Deployment Services with new multicast technology
Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0
User State Migration Tool 3.0.1
2007 Office system
Windows Server 2008 Server Manager for automated server role definition
Systems Management Server 2003 with the Operating System Deployment Feature Pack

This release marks the first in a series of three Microsoft Deployment releases planned between now and Summer 2008. It focuses on integration with new deployment features in Configuration Manager 2007 as well as features and guidance to support server deployment. Future updates to Microsoft Deployment will add further support for Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista SP1, and System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 releases.

Microsoft Deployment is available as a free download on the Microsoft Download Center.

Related Resources

Microsoft Deployment Team Blog

System Center Configuration Manager on Microsoft TechNet

System Center Configuration Manager evaluation software on Microsoft TechNet

Windows Server 2008 on Microsoft TechNet

Please Join us for a Higher Education Webinar on Unified Communications

Kevin Dean — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:56:00 GMT

Thursday November 15th, 2007 at 2:30 PM EST

For institutions that want to extend their existing investments in Microsoft infrastructure and enhance collaborative capabilities.

What you will learn:

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 bring forth a new strategy from Microsoft: Unified Communications. Institutions that have already invested in Microsoft Infrastructure and Microsoft Information Worker solutions are now presented with a bridging technology that leverages the best in Multimedia Communications with comprehensive collaboration applications that are tightly integrated throughout the entire Microsoft computing experience.

With Microsoft Unified Communications, your constituents can continue to use the software based messaging applications that they are accustomed to in addition to providing your institution with a platform that will accommodate future software based communications applications . All without the costly investments in proprietary infrastructure. Enhance campus wide collaboration, IM, VoIP, Video Conferencing, and Mobility.

Microsoft Office integration for collaboration and communications at the application level.
Extend communications applications to mobile users.
Reduce support costs for End Of Life Voicemail Applications.
Provide voice access to Microsoft Exchange features.
Support distance learning initiatives with OCS.
Provide support for archiving and retrieval of IM for compliance.
PBX Integration and investment protection.
Enable a migration strategy from a hardware centric communications model to software based communications.

To register:

Attendee URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/baltimore/join?id=R57225&role=attend&pw=qGb%29r%27p29

Audio: Toll free: +1 (888) 942-8686 Participant code: 6347388

Please email: info@enablingtechcorp.com with any questions regarding OCS or this educational webinar

Microsoft SharePoint Conference 2008

Kevin Dean — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:01:05 GMT

Microsoft OfficeSharePoint Conference 2008 March 3 - 6

Microsoftwill host its largest ever Microsoft Office SharePoint Conference at the WashingtonState Trade and Convention Center in Seattle, WA. The four-day conferencewill be attended by an audience of over 3,000 business and IT professionals.

Theconference will provide the best information, demos, and material on thecurrent release of Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies.

EarlyBird Special

Ifyou’re one of the first 1,000 people to register you’llautomatically receive a $300 discount off the regular registration cost of$1,100! This discount is strictly limited to the first 1,000 registrants– act quickly and save over 25%!

This is an all access pass that covers your full attendance at the conference.It includes all evening events, daily conference meals,attendance to all sessions and to the exhibit hall.

Visit http://www.mssharepointconference.com/pages/default.aspxto find out more information

Document Workflow in MOSS 2007

Kevin Dean — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:12:00 GMT

I ran across this info and thought it would be of interest -

For those of you who are interested in a free training resource, Robert Shelton just published: SharePoint Document Workflow for Developers and it's available for free download from his blog www.sheltonblog.com (Top Left Link). The series is focused on empowering Visual Studio Developers with the ability to build custom document workflows using ASP.NET Forms on the MOSS 2007 platform.

The series promotes the advanced features of Visual Studio and MOSS 2007, and is filled with:

- Step-by-step “How-to” examples

- Source code for each workshop

- Examples of how to send a Task to a user from MOSS 2007

- References to books, blogs, websites that might be helpful

Robert wrote the workshops after trying to figure out how to build Custom Workflow Forms in ASP.NET and was not able to find enough resources on the web or in the current set of books on the market. If he had this problem, then you may as well.

Excel 2007 Hotfix Package released

Kevin Dean — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:55:40 GMT

I wanted to be sure you are aware that Microsoft has recently addressed anissue in Excel 2007 and Excel Services in Office SharePoint Server 2007 throughthe following hotfixes:

1. Excel 2007 hotfix package: October 3,2007 (KB 943075)

2. Excel Services in Office SharePointServer 2007 hotfix package: October 3, 2007 (KB 943076)

The hotfixes are available to downloadat the links above and will be included in the Microsoft Office 2007 ServicePack 1 (SP1) and in an upcoming Public Update (release dates are currentlyunavailable). We encourage you to install these updates as soon aspossible.

Who is affected?

All customers and users of Excel 2007and Excel Services in Office SharePoint Server 2007 are affected. Versionsprior to Excel 2007 are not affected.

What is the issue?

The Excel team was made aware of anissue with the display of calculation result numbers within the ranges of65534.99999999995 to 65535 and 65535.99999999995 to 65536. (Try entering =850*77.1 into a cell.) Investigation into these reports determined thatmany calculations resulting in a number within these ranges actually displayedthe incorrect value 100,000. This is not due to a calculation error but a flawwith the display of this calculation. The hotfixes as described in KB 943075 and KB 943076 will address thisissue.