Nick MacKechnie

Windows Management Framework is here!

2009-11-09T02:05:08Z

Hi All,

Windows Management Framework, which includes Windows PowerShell 2.0, WinRM 2.0, and BITS 4.0, was officially released to the world this morning. By providing a consistent management interface across the various flavours of Windows, we are making our platform that much more attractive to deploy. IT Professionals can now easily manage their Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 machines through PowerShell remoting – that’s a huge win!

You can download the packages here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=151321

Nick.

New Microsoft Operational Framework Implementation Guide—Now Available for Beta Review

2009-11-05T00:34:45Z

Hi All,

The MOF team is extending the MOF 4.0 core content with the release of additional guides, action plans, and supporting content. We’re pleased to announce the Beta release of the latest guide, Getting Started with MOF 4.0: An Implementation Guide.

Download this Beta release today on Connect: https://connect.microsoft.com/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?SiteID=14&DownloadID=15056.

The Getting Started with MOF 4.0 guide is the first step to a more efficient MOF implementation. The guide provides role- and situation-specific guidance, focused on helping users understand where to apply MOF and how to get the most from its recommendations.

This new extension of the MOF core content speaks to three targeted audiences—the CIO/IT director, IT managers, and individual contributors. Tailoring the content to specific roles clarifies responsibilities and leads to improved service delivery in your organization. The guide includes a list of prioritized action items that address both proactive and reactive issues. Ultimately, this guide serves as the primary resource for implementing MOF within your organization.

Tell us what you think! Test-drive our Beta guide and send your feedback to MOF@microsoft.com. What are your thoughts on the guide? What other scenarios would you like us to address? We appreciate the input and will work to make each guide as helpful and useful as possible.

Tell your peers about MOF 4.0! Please forward this to anyone who wants to learn more about Microsoft Operations Framework.

More information about MOF 4.0: Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) 4.0 incorporates the core requirements of industry best practices and frameworks into one free, easy-to-understand set of guidance. MOF 4.0 delivers practical guidance for everyday IT practices and activities, helping IT professionals establish and implement reliable, cost-effective IT services. It integrates community-generated processes; governance, risk, and compliance activities; management reviews; and Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) best practices. MOF 4.0 is a framework that provides guidance across the IT service lifecycle.

Join the MOF Beta: Additional MOF content is periodically available for open Beta download. For more information on current Beta releases, visit the Connect MOF program page.

Join the Microsoft Operations Framework Beta today: https://connect.microsoft.com/InvitationUse.aspx?ProgramID=1880&InvitationID=SAMI-HWK9-XB3Y&SiteID=14

Already a member? Bookmark this link for direct access to the Beta program: https://connect.microsoft.com/content/content.aspx?ContentID=10313&SiteID=14

Related Resources: Check out all the MOF team has to offer! For additional resources, including our latest companion guides, action plans, and case studies, visit the MOF page on TechNet: http://www.Microsoft.com/MOF.

We appreciate your comments and feedback. Please send mail to MOF@microsoft.com.

Already using MOF 4.0? We’d like to hear about your experiences. Send mail to the MOF team: MOF@microsoft.com.

Nick.

DirectAccess Early Adopter’s Guide & Resources

2009-11-03T20:46:29Z

Hi All,

Today’s employees are more mobile than ever and they expect to have access to intranet resources wherever they travel. Providing this level of connectivity in a secure, manageable, and seamless way has been difficult until now. The Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 operating systems support a new feature called DirectAccess that enables seamless remote access to intranet resources. Unlike traditional virtual private networks (VPNs), which require user intervention to initiate a connection to an intranet, DirectAccess allows any application on the client computer to have complete access to intranet resources while allowing the IT administrator to specify which resources or even client-side applications that are restricted for remote access.

Users will enjoy seamless connections to intranet resources without being bothered by long waits while VPNs try to connect or reconnect. Your organization will benefit because remote computers can be managed as if they were local–using the same management and update servers–to ensure they are always up-to-date and in compliance with security and system health policies. Security administrators can define more detailed access control policies for remote access than are possible with current VPN solutions and rest easier knowing that those same policies can provide continuous protection to the remote computer from threats on the potentially hostile network known as the Internet.

DirectAccess allows remote users to connect directly to intranet servers, which means organizations can reduce costs and simplify their network edge by reducing the number of application-specific front-end servers that are currently deployed.

DirectAccess marks the beginning of the shift to thin-edge networking and a continuation of policy-based security. By implementing DirectAccess, your organization is deploying the foundation for connectivity and security that will carry it into the future.

This document introduces DirectAccess concepts, defines new terms, explains requirements for installation, discusses how to design a DirectAccess deployment architecture, and then steps you through installation for Windows Server® 2008 R2 Release Candidate (RC). The main body of the document is divided into the following sections, which should provide a foundational understanding of DirectAccess:

· Introduction to DirectAccess

· Connectivity

· IPsec

· Determination of On-Intranet or Off-Intranet

· Requirements and Prerequisites

· Additional Deployment Options and Considerations

· Designing a DirectAccess Solution

· DirectAccess Monitoring

· Integrating DirectAccess with Server and Domain Isolation

· References

· Troubleshooting

The appendices contain the information that you need to install and deploy DirectAccess. The appendices include the following:

· Appendix A – Installation Overview

· Appendix B – DirectAccess Setup Wizard Instructions

· Appendix C – Scripted DirectAccess Single Server Installation Instructions

· Appendix D – Scripted and Group Policy DirectAccess Client Installation Instructions

· Appendix E – Tips for Scripting

· Appendix F – DirectAccessConfig.xsd

Additional Resources

Technical Overview of DirectAccess in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2- http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=64966E88-1377-4D1A-BE86-AB77014495F4&displaylang=en

Windows 7 Enterprise & Direct Access - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/windows-7/features.aspx#directaccess

Direct Access Demo - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/videos/windows-7/default.aspx#Introduction

Nick.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 eBooks

2009-10-26T12:31:07Z

Hi All,

Your may be interested in the following free Windows eBooks:

Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=EE2A1D38-88A9-43B3-95BC-7E962F0B6030&displaylang=en

Download the New eBook: Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and Microsoft® TechNet Magazine. Looking for guidance specific to Windows 7 deployment? Check out what the industry's leading experts have to say in this free Microsoft Press eBook with selected chapters from the Windows 7 Resource Kit on Deployment Platforms, Planning, Testing Application Compatibility.

Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2 eBook

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/C/0/5C0BD0AB-040D-4C56-A60B-661001012DDA/Windows_Server_2008_R2_e-book.pdf

Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2 is a deep-dive e-book, that will get you up to speed on how R2's new features and capabilities work, including Hyper-V and RDS virtualization, management, IIS and the new Web application platform and, of course, all the synergistic goodness between Windows Server and Windows 7. Free for a click, so don't miss out.

Nick

Microsoft Online Training Clinics

2009-10-25T21:31:04Z

Hi All,

I wanted to make you aware of several FREE Online Training Clinics that Microsoft is currently offering. These online training clinics serve as great resources to become familiar with our latest products and technologies. Most of the clinics can be completed in 1-2 hours and can be taken at your own pace. Some of the available free training include:

Windows:

· Clinic 10088: What's New in Windows 7 for Information Workers

· Clinic 10077: What's New in Windows 7 for IT Professionals

· Clinic 6336: Exploring Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008

· Clinic 5937: Introducing Branch Office Management in Windows Server 2008

· Clinic 5939: Introducing Server Management in Windows Server 2008

SQL:

· Collection 6187: What’s New in Microsoft SQL Server 2008

· Clinic 10258: SQL Server 2008: Upgrade and Application Compatibility

· Clinic 6258: New Features Of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

· Clinic 6189: What's New in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 for Business Intelligence

Exchange:

· Clinic 6900: Introduction to Exchange Server 2010

· Clinic 6901: Exchange Server 2010 in an Enterprise

· Collection 6899: Exploring Features of Exchange Server 2010

Development:

· Collection 6261: Developing Rich Experiences using Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 & Visual Studio 2008

· Clinic 6262: Introducing Windows Workflow Foundation using .Net Framework 3.5 & Visual Studio 2008

· Clinic 6263: Introducing Windows Presentation Foundation using .Net Framework 3.5 & Visual Studio 2008

Security:

· Clinic 2801: Microsoft Security Guidance Training I

· Clinic 2802: Microsoft Security Guidance Training II

· Clinic 5936: Introducing Security and Policy Management in Windows Server 2008

· Clinic 6080: Deploying Microsoft Forefront Server Security Products

· Clinic 6079: Managing and Troubleshooting Operations in Microsoft Forefront Client Security

Sharepoint:

· Clinic 5046: Inside Look at Building and Developing Solutions with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

· Clinic 5045: Inside Look at Developing with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

Additional technologies:

· Clinic 6334: Exploring Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008

· Clinic 10052: Introduction to Enhancements in Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2

· Clinic 6335: Exploring Microsoft Application Virtualization

· Collection 6333: Exploring Microsoft Virtualization Technologies

· Course 4698: Getting Started with Microsoft Office Groove 2007

And there are several more learning clinics available! To view all our free training clinics, please access the link below:

http://learning.microsoft.com/Manager/Catalog.aspx?view=free

Nick

Wake up and Win - Windows 7 PC's on October 22nd!

2009-10-18T22:51:01Z

Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and New Zealand’s most famous Number 7 – Richie McCaw, invite you to help celebrate the launch of Windows 7 and HP’s all new range of Windows 7 PC’s. Be part of the moment when Windows 7 becomes available in New Zealand and have a chance to win a new Hewlett Packard Windows 7 PC, one will be given away every 10 minutes between 7 and 8:15am.

Queen Elizabeth Square, Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand

22nd October 2009, 7am – 8.15am

MC Frankie Stevens and music by the Auckland Samba Band.

Scareware and Malvertising

2009-10-18T21:18:21Z

Hi All,

Scareware, also known as rogue security software, is a fake ad for security software. It is designed to trick consumers and business users into downloading malicious software to their computers.

Rogue security software might report a virus, when the machine is actually clean. The software might also fail to report viruses when the computer is infected. This malicious software can also:

Lure users into fraudulent transactions when upgrading to a “paid version” of the original free software
Use social engineering to steal personal information
Launch pop-up windows with false alerts
Slow the computer and corrupt files
Disable Windows updates or updates to legitimate antivirus software
Prevent the computer from accessing antivirus vendor sites

Examples:

Microsoft is addressing malvertising by filing civil lawsuits against companies who allegedly create these fake ads:

http://microsoftontheissues.com/cs/blogs/mscorp/archive/2009/09/17/bad-ad-going-after-the-malvertising-threat.aspx

How can you improve Mobile Security?

Join this session to learn how Windows Mobile, combined with System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, provides a comprehensive solution for mobile device security and management.

IT Manager Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Improving Mobile Security and Management

http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/msecmobility.aspx?tab=Webcasts&seriesid=85&webcastid=4534

Security Compliance Management Toolkit Series

The Security Compliance Management Toolkit Series gives you best practices and automated tools to help strengthen the security of clients and servers running Windows XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Office 2007. This free Solution Accelerator lets you fine-tune deployments of Windows operating systems and applications quickly and reliably, balancing needs for security and functionality.

The Solution Accelerator provides the following:

Prescriptive, tested, end-to-end security guidance for Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 SP2, and 2007 Microsoft Office SP1.
Automated tools like the GPOAccelerator to help you configure and deploy recommended security settings.
Configuration Packs for you to use with the desired configuration management (DCM) feature of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1. You can also remediate security baseline issues with this functionality.
Reporting functionality you can use to notify auditors that the computers in your environment are in compliance with best practices and the security recommendations for these Windows operating systems and Office applications.

Please visit this link to download the Security Compliance Management Toolkit:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/2/4/B24D224D-054A-46A2-BB30-925B943F00E1/Security%20Compliance%20Management%20Toolkit%20-%20All.zip

Nick.

Office 2004 Mainstream Support Has Been Extended

2009-10-13T23:24:47Z

Hi All

A few months ago we received questions about the scheduled Mainstream Support retirement date for Office 2004 for Mac. While most customers have upgraded to Office 2008 for Mac, some have remained on Office 2004 in order to take advantage of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), which is supported in Office 2004, but did not make it into Office 2008.

For more details, check out the blog post by Mike Tedesco.

The date has been extended to 2012 specifically to ensure continuous cross-platform compatibility for Office 2004 customers reliant on VBA until support for VBA is released in the next version of Office for Mac. This extension does not change the 5-year support policy for other Office for Mac products, including future versions. Nor does it affect any other Microsoft products, including Office on the Windows platform. With the additional support, we will continue delivering all the types of support associated with Mainstream Support, including security updates and non-security bug fixes.

Nick

Microsoft Learning Snacks: Windows Server 2008

2009-10-13T23:06:16Z

Hi All,

Learning Snacks are short, interactive presentations about popular topics created by Microsoft Learning experts. Each Snack is delivered by using innovative Silverlight technology and includes various media, such as animations and recorded demos. At the end of each free presentation, you can view more Snacks, learn more about the topic, or visit a related web site.

Windows Server 2008
	Introducing Branch Office Server in Windows Server 2008 (4 minutes) This Snack describes the benefits that Windows Server 2008 provides for installing and maintaining a branch office network. It demonstrates the installation of a branch office network by using the new server core option. It also lists the benefits of Active Directory read-only domain controllers (RODCs) and BitLocker Drive Encryption.
	Implementing Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008 (6 minutes) This Snack describes the new options available in Windows Server 2008 for installing and configuring Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and auditing changes to it. It lists the features of read-only domain controllers (RODCs) and describes how to perform a non-authoritative or an authoritative restore of AD DS data.
	Implementing Network Access Protection in Windows Server 2008 (7 minutes) This Snack describes the benefits of implementing Network Access Protection (NAP) in Windows Server 2008. It describes how to configure network and health policies for various types of clients. It identifies the options for configuring Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) enforcement for NAP and demonstrates the steps for testing a NAP implementation with DHCP enforcement.
	Implementing Windows Server 2008 Security (4 minutes) This Snack examines and lists the features of Group Policy settings in Windows Server 2008. It demonstrates the steps for implementing Group Policy settings and the process of upgrading them. It also explains the purpose of security templates that can be imported into Group Policy settings.

For other Windows Server 2008 Learning Snacks, please visit:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training/format-learning-snacks.aspx

Nick.

Free Exchange Server 2010 Training Resources

2009-10-05T23:34:54Z

Hi All,

Get a head start and become the go-to messaging person within your organization. Microsoft Learning has developed some great, free resources on Exchange Server 2010, including Silverlight Learning Snacks on Unified Messaging, High Availability and Storage, eLearning Clinics highlighting the new features in Exchange 2010, and finally, a PrePress preview of the upcoming MS Press Administrator's Companion Book. Additionally, check back here later this month for discounts on new Exchange 2010 Certification Exams.

Here are the links to all of this free content:

Free Silverlight Learning Snacks:

- Unified Messaging in Exchange 2010

- High Availability and Storage in Exchange 2010

Free PrePress Chapter Downloads:

- Free Chapters from Exchange 2010 Administrator’s Pocket Consultant

Chapter 1: Exchange Server Administration Overview AND Chapter 6: Mailbox Administration

Free eLearning Clinics:

- Collection 6899: Exploring Features in Exchange 2010 (2-hours)

- Collection 6900: Introduction to Exchange 2010 (1-hour)

- Collection 6901: Exchange Server 2010 in an Enterprise (1-hour)

Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2010 Learning Portal:

- www.microsoft.com/learning/exchange

Nick

Beta Exam Registration RSS Feed

2009-09-25T05:11:37Z

Are you interested in taking Microsoft Beta Exams?

You can subscribe to this feed to get up to the minute notifications about upcoming Microsoft Beta Exams.

By participating in beta exams, you have the opportunity to provide the Microsoft Certification program with feedback about exam content, which is integral to development of exams in their released version. Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta; we recommend that you register immediately. Beta exams have limited availability and are operated under a first-come-first-served basis. Once all beta slots are filled, no additional seats will be offered.

We depend on the contributions of experienced IT professionals and developers as we continually improve exam content and maintain the value of Microsoft certifications.

http://blogs.technet.com/betaexams/rss.xml

Nick.

Operations Manager 2007 SP1 and R2 now officially support Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7

2009-09-23T03:43:07Z

Hi All,

Support is now available for running Operations Manager 2007 SP1 and Operations Manager 2007 R2 on the following operating systems:

· Windows Server 2008 R2

· Windows 7

The official support statement is posted here under Knowledge Base article 974722. The supported configuration guides for R2 and SP1 will be updated shortly as well. The following table lists the Operations Manager roles and components that are supported on these operating systems.

OS	OpsMgr server roles	OpsMgr Agent	OpsMgr Operations Console
Windows Server 2008 R2	Yes	Yes	Yes
Windows 7	No	Yes	Yes

The updated Windows Server Operating System Management Pack (version 6.0.6667.0), which includes support for Windows Server 2008 R2, is available on the System Center Operations Manager 2007 Catalog web site at this time as well! There are currently over 20 MP updates or new releases that are in the pipeline for months ahead to support this OS and when those management packs become available you can get them on the System Center Operations Manager 2007 Catalog web site and from the Operations Manager 2007 R2 Operations console.

Note: No support for Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 will be provided with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005.

Nick.

Microsoft Announces Update to Support Policy for Daylight-Saving Time or Time Zone Changes

2009-09-02T23:45:40Z

Policy Revision Provides Time and Date Updates for Microsoft Customers

As part of Microsoft’s continued focus on customer satisfaction, we are announcing a revision to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy regarding the availability of Daylight Saving Time (DST) or Time Zone (TZ) updates during the Extended Support phase.

DST or TZ updates are important because unless they are applied, the time zone setting for a computer’s clock and calendar, as well as the recorded and reported timestamps may be incorrect. This change to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy will enable all Microsoft customers to obtain these broadly distributed DST or TZ updates and help ensure their computer’s time information is accurate.

There are currently two kinds of updates for DST or TZ:

The general distribution DST or TZ releases that are intended for broad consumption and made available via Microsoft and/or Windows Update two times every calendar year
Out-of-cycle DST or TZ hotfixes

Previously, both types of DST or TZ updates were made available at no charge only for products in the Mainstream Support phase. However, to obtain any of these updates for products in the Extended Support phase, customers had to purchase and enroll in the DST Extended Hotfix Support program.

As per the revised DST policy, Microsoft has decided to make the following changes for products that entered the Extended Support phase after January 1, 2009:

General distribution of DST or TZ releases for products in the Extended Support phase will now be available at no-charge and be made available via Microsoft Update and/or Windows Update. These general distribution updates will be provided twice a year on the northern hemisphere’s fall and winter.

Customers who require DST or TZ updates outside of the general distribution of DST or TZ releases will need to enroll in an Extended Hotfix Support program to obtain a DST or TZ hotfix and pay any applicable hotfix fees.

The Microsoft Support Lifecycle (MSL) policy provides transparent, predictable information regarding the support lifecycle of Microsoft products. More information is available on the MSL Web site: http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle.

Nick.

Office Communication Server – Federation makes sense!

2009-09-02T03:39:35Z

Hi All,

Now that Office Communication Server R2 is out, there are a heap of customers piloting and indeed deploying OCS. I thought I’d share a few thoughts around why you should consider federating with your business partners and other IM service providers. I work in the support part of our organisation, and for me, encouraging my customers to federate with Microsoft makes perfect sense both from a business partner (being able to engage directly with your account team) perspective as well enabling us to support our customers better.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider federation:

· The ability to see if business partners are online, their presence, availability

· Share information easily via Instant Messaging – share documents, URLS, quick questions/responses/escalations

· Ability for 3^rd parties to see application/environmental issues via shared desktops which should drive down response/incident resolution times

· Reduce phone costs by calling peer to peer instead of traditional POTS

· Ability to quickly and easily setup a conference call/Live meeting session for collaboration

· Ability to manage IM, audit, monitor and manage IM traffic

· Ability to build virtual teams across organisations or with 3^rd parties with a common goal – e.g.: Universities or companies working on joint projects or teams that are geographically separated.

Federation is an important goal for the Office Communications Server team and they are excited to announce several changes to public IM federation between Office Communications Server and public IM networks, effective July 1, 2009:

· The Live Communications Sever Public IM Connectivity (LCS PIC) license will be renamed Office Communications Server Public IM Connectivity (OCS PIC) license.

· Customers with Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Standard CAL or Office Communications Server 2007/Live Communications Server 2005 SP1 Standard CAL with Software Assurance will no longer require an additional license to federate with Windows Live. (A license will still be required for federation with AOL & Yahoo!.)

· With Windows Live federation, customers will be able to add Windows Live contacts to their Office Communicator contact list, view presence and send and receive instant messages.

Microsoft will continue to work with our partners to enable more options that allow you to communicate seamlessly with customers, partners, friends and family on different networks. For more information on public IM connectivity with Office Communications Server, please go to http://www.microsoft.com/communicationsserver/en/us/public-im-connectivity.aspx.

Our Unified Communications Product team are also on Twitter http://twitter.com/ucteam.

Federation provides your organization with the ability to communicate with other organizations Access Edge Server to share IM and presence. You can also federate with an audio conferencing provider using either of the two following methods. The process of configuring federation with an organization or an audio conferencing provider is identical. For a list of supported ACPs, see http://r.office.microsoft.com/r/rlidOCS?clid=1033&p1=ACP.

If you have enabled federation on the Access Edge Server, access by federated partners, including audio conferencing providers (ACPs), is controlled using one of the following methods:

Allow automatic discovery of federated partners. This is the default option during initial configuration of an Access Edge Server because it balances security with ease of configuration and management. For example, when you enable automatic discovery of federated partners on your Access Edge Server, Office Communications Server 2007 allows any federated domain to send communications with you and automatically evaluates incoming traffic from federation partners and limits or blocks that traffic based on trust level, amount of traffic, and administrator settings.
Allow discovery of federated partners, but grant a higher level of trust to specific domains or Access Edge Servers that you specify on the Allow list. For example, if you want to grant a higher level of trust to partners using the SIP domain contoso.com and fabrikam.com, you would add these two domains on the Allow tab. Restricting discovery in this way establishes a higher level of trust for connections with the domains or Access Edge Servers that you add to your Allow list, but still provides the ease of management that is possible by discovering other federation partners that are not listed on the Allow tab.
Do not allow discovery of federation partners and limit access of federated partners to only the domains or Access Edge Servers for which you want to enable connections. Connections with federated partners are then allowed only with the specific domains or Access Edge Servers you add to the Allow tab. This method offers the highest level of security, but does not offer ease of management. For example, if an FQDN of an Access Edge Server changes, you must manually change the FQDN of the server in the Allow list.

How Federated Traffic Is Evaluated When Using Automatic Discovery

If you choose to use automatic discovery of federated partners, the Access Edge Server automatically evaluates incoming federated traffic in the following way:

If a federated party has sent requests to more than 1000 URIs (valid or invalid) in the local domain, the connection first placed on the Watch list. Any additional requests are then blocked by the Access Edge Server. If the Access Edge Server detects suspicious traffic on a connection, it will limit the federation partner to a low message rate of 1 message per second. The Access Edge Server detects suspicious traffic by calculating the ratio of successful to failed responses. The Access Edge server also limits legitimate federated partner connections (unless added to the allow list) to 20 messages/sec.

If you know that you will have more than 1000 requests sent by a legitimate federated partner or a volume of over 20 messages per second sent to your organization, to allow these volumes, you must add the federated partner to the Allow tab.

After configuring federation, you can use Office Communications Server 2007 administrative tools to monitor and manage federated partner access on an ongoing basis. For more information, see the

Introduction to Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Administration Guide.
Enabling discovery of federated partners

If you did not enable discovery of federated partners when you configured your Access Edge Server, you can use the Computer Management snap-in to do so. If you already selected this option during setup, you do not need to perform this step.

To enable discovery of federated partners

1. Log on to the Access Edge Server as a member of the RCT Local Administrators group or a group with equivalent user rights.

2. Open Computer Management. Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click Computer Management.

3. In the console tree, expand Services and Applications, right-click Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, and then click Properties.

4. On the Access Methods tab, select the Allow discovery of federated partners check box.

Add a Trusted Federated Partner

Use the following procedure to add a trusted federated partner domain and optionally the FQDN of its Access Edge Server, use the following procedure.

To add a trusted federated partners

1. Log on to the Access Edge Server as a member of the RTC Local Administrators group or a group with equivalent user rights.

2. Open Computer Management. Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click Computer Management.

3. On the Allow tab, click Add.

4. In the Add Federated Partner dialog box, do the following:

In the Federated partner domain name box, type the domain of each federated partner domain.
In the Federated partner Access Edge Server box, optionally type the FQDN of each Access Edge Server that you want to add to your Allow list. Remember if you configure the FQDN of a partner's Access Edge Server and the FQDN changes, you must manually update your configuration for this partner.
Click OK.

5. Repeat this procedure for each federated partner you want to add to your Allow list, and then click OK.

For more information, please check out this link - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb663635.aspx

Office Communications Server 2007 R2 gives organisations the features and tools they need to streamline communications while increasing operational control, all without expensive infrastructure and network upgrades.

Find more information about Office Communications Server 2007 R2 by accessing our catalog of technical resources, documents, and experts.

Product Documentation

Review product information on everything from new features to migration and deployment.

Learning Resources

Take advantage of our learning offerings including webcasts, training courses and virtual labs.

Support Options

Need technical support? Microsoft can answer your questions. Find information about troubleshooting issues or ask an expert.

Try It

Trial Software

Try a fully functional version of Office Communications Server 2007 R2 in your own environment.

Virtual Hard Drive

The Microsoft VHD Test Drive Program provides customers with an enhanced server-based software evaluation experience that’s faster, better supported, and more flexible. You can now access the entire catalog of pre-configured Microsoft and partner products and solutions in the VHD format and start evaluating and testing today.

Unified Communications Hosted Trial

Experience the end-user features of Microsoft’s unified communications technologies without installing any hardware or software. Microsoft’s UC Hosted Trial allows you to sign up for a free five day trial of Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Exchange Server 2007.

Virtual Labs

Experience Office Communications Server and discover how you can streamline communications for your users, experience the flexibility and control you need to manage your communications infrastructure, and provide an extensible platform for communications-enabled business processes.

Nick.

Announcing the release of the Microsoft Project and Project Server 2007 August Cumulative Update

2009-09-01T00:50:17Z

Hi All,

We are happy to the announce the release of the August 2009 Cumulative Update (August CU). Cumulative Update (CU) are scheduled every two months, so the next releases will be at the end of October, December, etc. Please note that the August CU does not contain all the fixes from Service Pack 2 (SP2) which was released on 28/04 (more SP2 info here) so you need to install both SP2 and August CU to have all the latest updates (in either order).

Please refer to this TechNet article for deployment guidance: Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)

After applying the August CU, the database version should be: 12.0.6514.5000 (see article above for instructions on how to verify the installation).

Knowledge Base Articles and Downloads

Title	ID	KB Url Download URL
Office 2007 Cumulative Update for August 2009	974982	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/974982
Description of the Project 2007 hotfix package (Project.msp): August 25, 2009	973930	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973930 http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=973930
Description of the Project Server 2007 hotfix package (Pjsrvapp.msp, Pjsrvwfe.msp): August 25, 2009	973937	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973937 http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=973937
Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (Sts.msp): August 25, 2009	973410	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973410 http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=973410
Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 Cumulative Update Server Hotfix Package (Coreserver.msp): August 25, 2009	973409	http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973409 http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=973409

Related links:

Deploy cumulative updates (Project Server 2007)	http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd239177.aspx
Checklist for deploying Project Server 2007 updates	http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd630729.aspx
Announcing Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Microsoft Project 2007 and Microsoft Project Server 2007	http://blogs.msdn.com/chrisfie/archive/2009/04/28/announcing-service-pack-2-sp2-for-microsoft-project-2007-and-microsoft-project-server-2007.aspx
Announcing Service Pack 2 for Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0	http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2009/04/28/announcing-service-pack-2-for-office-sharepoint-server-2007-and-windows-sharepoint-services-3-0.aspx
Project Server TechCenter (TechNet)	http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/projectserver/default.aspx

Nick.