Windows Server Longhorn Beta 3 is Available!

htsblog — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 20:22:00 GMT

Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 3 was just released and is now available as a free download! This is the first public beta of Longhorn and I highly recommend you take a look at it. Once the final version of Longhorn has released it will complete version one of the Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI).

There are a number of new features and updates that will greatly benefit hosters. A subset of these include:

· IIS 7.0 – Completely re-written from the ground up IIS 7.0 includes delegated administration for improved security and greater scalability. It supports true application x-copy deployment and allows you to deploy farms of stateless front-end web servers by storing the configuration in a centrally accessible location.

· Terminal Services – The Terminal Services gateway in Longhorn allows secure, seamless remote connections without the need for a VPN. Using the updated RDP client it supports tunneling over HTTPS. This allows you to place terminal servers behind a firewall and only open port 443 to allow access. If you’ve already deployed Outlook over RPC/HTTPS you can use the same infrastructure to support RDP/HTTPS.

· Server Core – This is a new feature of Windows Server Longhorn. Server Core reduces the attack surface with a minimum number of installation options. The interface is command line only which further reduces the components required for operation. Server Core is ideal for Domain Controllers, DNS, DHCP and File servers.

· Clustering – Clustering can now be implemented more rapidly and with less effort than in previous versions of Windows Server. In addition to a new user interface, clusters can now be on different subnets! This should greatly ease the pain of setting up and managing geo-clusters and provide new options for hosters who offer business continuity services.

· Windows Server Virtualization – This feature will be released 180 days after Longhorn RTM. It takes virtualization to the next level and supports 64 bit guest OS’s, up to 8 CPU’s are available per guest, it provides the ability to take a live snapshots of a guest OS, offers dynamic resource addition (NIC, Memory, CPU, Disk) and live migration of guest OS’s from one Longhorn physical server to another Longhorn physical server.

If you’re looking for self-paced training the following e-Learning courses were just released and are available at http://www.microsoft.com/learning/longhorn/:

· Introducing Security and Policy Management in Microsoft® Windows Server® Codename "Longhorn" (Beta 3)

· Introducing Branch Office Management in Microsoft® Windows Server® Codename "Longhorn" (Beta 3)

· Introducing Centralized Application Access in Microsoft® Windows Server® Codename "Longhorn" (Beta 3)

· Introducing Server Management in Microsoft® Windows Server® Codename "Longhorn" (Beta 3)

The following webcasts will also be available in May! If you can’t make the live webcast, most webcasts are recorded and are available on-demand several days after the initial broadcast.

TechNet Webcast: What Is New in Windows Server "Longhorn" (Level 300)

TechNet Webcast: Overview of Server Manager and PowerShell in Windows Server "Longhorn" (Level 300)

TechNet Webcast: Cluster Validation in Windows Server "Longhorn" (Level 300)

TechNet Webcast: Internet Information Services 7.0 in Windows Server "Longhorn" (Level 300)

TechNet Webcast: Windows Server "Longhorn": Advancing Network Security (Level 300)

TechNet Webcast: Windows Server "Longhorn": Server Virtualization Solution Scenario (Level 300)

TechNet Webcast: Windows Server "Longhorn": Branch Office Solution Scenario (Level 300)

TechNet Webcast: Windows Server "Longhorn": Centralizing Application Access with Terminal Services (Level 300)

And finally, to learn much more and download Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 3 check out this site: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver/longhorn/default.mspx

Microsoft Hosting Partner Technical Advisor Blog! : Longhorn

Windows Server Longhorn Beta 3 is Available!