Management Updates

We are proud to announce public availability of the latest addition to the Microsoft System Center family of management products. System Center Capacity Planner 2006 (Beta Refresh) delivers state of the art easy-to-use modeling technology to bring unprecedented functionality and flexibility to the process of performance analysis and planning of system deployments of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Operations Manager 2005 by providing the IT professional with the tools and guidance required to architect a deployment in the most efficient manner, while facilitating future planning by allowing for "what-if" analysis. Customers and System Integrators can create green-field deployment plans for Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Operations Manager 2005. Capacity Planner prescribes a System Architecture Model based on best practices, and explains the model in terms of topology, hardware configuration and software configuration. Simulation is run on the System Architecture Model to provide rich reports on utilization and end-to-end latency. A graphical editing surface allows customization of the model and experimentation with what-if scenarios to alleviate performance bottlenecks and improve end-user experience. A hardware editor allows creation and customization of computer systems at the level of processor and storage devices.

 

New in the Beta Refresh Release

The following enhancements were made to the product.

This Beta is for evaluation use only and is shared to enable our customers and partners to become more familiar with the product and provide valuable feedback to ensure we deliver a winning product to the market. We look forward to receive valuable feedback on this new product. We encourage you to download the product, work with it, and openly share your thoughts with us.

The Beta Refresh is available for download at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=B68C06A5-8949-4A3F-9685-21228DBE8A0E&displaylang=en

Please provide feedback at: http://forums.microsoft.com/msdn/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=128

To learn more about System Center Capacity Planner 2006 you can visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/systemcenter/evaluation/capacity/default.mspx

Sincerely, The System Center Capacity Planner Product Team

 

Rescue Data Like a Hero With System Center Data Protection Manager

On Sept. 27, Microsoft’s entry into the backup and recovery market begins with the launch of System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM), a new server software application that provides rapid and reliable disk-based recovery, efficient and near continuous protection, and operational simplicity. Download the evaluation version of DPM today. http://www.microsoft.com/dpm.