technical solutions and commentary

The Exchange Team on their blog revealed that Public Folders will be supported in the next version of Exchange after 2007. They also provide some guidance around when to use SharePoint or Public Folders. The entire blog post is here.

Microsoft has a community web site where visitors find and share information about software which runs on Windows Vista. You can browse the extensive listing of applications, see comments from the community on compatibility and, see what apps are certified for Vista or are Vista Ready. Be sure to share your own experiences with application testing.

http://www.appreadiness.com/

Released March 24, 2008: Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) enables IT administrators to remotely manage roles and features in Windows Server 2008 from a computer running Windows Vista with SP1. It includes support for remote management of computers running either a Server Core installation or the full installation option of Windows Server 2008. It provides similar functionality to Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack.

• Download the RSAT x86 version
• Download the RSAY x64 version

With the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP availability from the OEM ending this summer, there are a lot if IT departments looking more closely at deploying Vista. Honestly, when you take a close look at Vista you realize that there is not one BIG reason to deploy Vista, but there are hundreds of small reasons that add up and make a compelling reason to deploy Vista.

So where do IT Professionals begin when it comes to Windows Vista testing and deployment? Experienced IT Pro’s will answer, “Microsoft TechNet, of course.” That is now only part of the answer however. In the last few months Microsoft TechNet as added the “Springboard Series” to the TechCenter which provides easy to find, focused information around Vista. Springboard provides the right level of information based upon where you are at in your Vista evaluation and deployment.

The site breaks down into 4 sections, which align with how IT environments will typically approach a new set of technologies.

• DISCOVER: Windows XP is good enough. Why should I care?
• EXPLORE: How do I learn what’s in it for me and if it’s worth the effort?
• PILOT: Will it work in our environment; how do I prepare?
• DEPLOY: What best practices can we get to minimize our risk?

To get started visit the Springboard on Microsoft TechNet

How do you automate the deployments of software updates to offline Virtual Machine Images? This white paper provides guidance and script samples for integrating System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and Virtual Machine Manager 2007 to provide automated software updates for virtual machines stored in a VMM library (offline).

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c5abb19e-15b1-4692-b465-393584c592a0&DisplayLang=en

It used to be that server administrators would install Windows Server manually using the CD or DVD and then spend several hours configuring the server. With the release of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and the new Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, server administrators can now use the same tools that desktop administrators have been using for years to automate deployments.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc194391.aspx

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2008 is the successor to the Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 Toolkit. MDT unifies the tools and processes required for desktop and server deployment into a common deployment console and collection of guidance. This version (4.0) adds integration with recently released Microsoft deployment technologies to create a single path for image creation and automated installation. MDT’s 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.

The MDT update released on March 20, 2008 adds support for Vista Service Pack 1. Download this toolkit from Microsoft Downloads here.

One would assume that software with the name “Update” in the title would be for notifying a user and/or auto installing updates to applications which are already installed on a machine. The Apple Software Update program is an option during the install of iTunes, QuickTime, and other Apple software. The installation program option checkbox is entitled “Automatically update QuickTime and other Apple software.” From this description you might think that you need to have software from Apple installed on the machine for it to prompt you for installing the updated version. With Apple that is no longer the case.

Apple is now using the ‘Apple Software Update’ to offer NEW applications to end users. On the consumer side, this would not seem to be a big deal. A user can decide to install the Safari Web Browser even if they never had it installed on the machine before, when prompted through Apple Software Update. However, how does this “feature” affect corporate security policies and standard PC configurations? Obviously if a corporation has standardized on a single Web browser other than Safari, and users are receiving these ‘prompts’ to install unauthorized software on the PC this could be a problem. Users who do opt to install this additional software may be breaking company policy and be exposing the platform to additional security vulnerabilities. In a pure security definition of the term, Apple has turned their update software into a Trojan, prompting users to install new applications onto their PC.

There are reasons why company IT departments use technology such as WSUS (Windows Server Update Services), Configuration Manager, or other desktop management applications for controlling the testing, deployment, and reporting of software updates. Apple’s approach to pushing out updates directly to the end users PC and offering additional applications, even if they are free, bypasses this IT control. While fine for consumers, this approach for corporate PC’s is a bad idea. Now IT departments will have to develop policies to deal with this type of new software distribution while still allowing “updates” to applications which are approved and already installed on the PC.

The best method to prepare Windows XP and Windows Vista Images is to use Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (or the Business Desktop Deployment 2007 Toolkit). I have had customers ask a lot of question in regard to installing Windows Keys in the images and then activating them after the desktop image is deployed. These toolkits cover the best method to do this. If a Desktop Specialist is building images for Windows and not using these tools, I am almost certain that time is being wasted and best practices are not being used.

In one of the deployment scenarios I ran into a company has several lab PC’s spread throughout the organization at different sites. The workstations are kept in a workgroup for the training and are regularly re-imaged with Windows Vista to prep for the next set of classes, etc. The machines are all identical.

The desired solution is to add the MAK key to the Windows Sysprep Image. This can be done, however the machines will still require Activation. If the machines do not have direct Internet connectivity, as may lab machines do not, the VMAT too is ideal to handle the machine activation. A benefit of using VAMT is the ability to save the Activation information, so when the machines are re-imaged the same activation ID can be pushed back to the machine - given there are no hardware changes.

Download the Volume Activation 2.0 Technical Guidance.

Download the VAMT Tool.

With the release of Windows Server 2008 and the coming RTM of the Windows Hyper-V product, a VMWare employee created a blog post explaining how VMWare can ’save’ the organization money per VM over Windows Server by using their RAM over commitment feature which is not in Windows Hyper-V. What is interesting are the inflated server costs used in the post and the the perceived value of RAM in a server. The complete post is found here - http://blogs.vmware.com/virtualreality/2008/03/cheap-hyperviso.html

Now before you completely buy into what the writer from WMWare is saying, make sure you read the post from a Microsoft writer addressing the scenario. In the reply post more realistic server configurations, technical best practices, and more accurate hardware and software costs. Take a look at the reply post from James O’Neill at - http://blogs.technet.com/jamesone/archive/2008/03/13/expensive-hypervisors-a-bad-idea-even-if-you-can-afford-them.aspx 

Log story short =

• $270 per VM (hardware and software costs) for Microsoft with physical RAM assigned per host.
• $1,268 for per VM for VMware (hardware and software costs) with RAM over committed by nearly 5 times. (This does not include support costs either at + $261 per VM for the server scenario they provide in their own post.)
• Another way to look at it. Spend nearly $5000.00 per physical host to save $500.00 in RAM.

Read the posts your self and come up with your own conclusion.