Winrox - Architecture of Acceleration(TM) : Windows Server 2008 R2

Hyper-V Rollup fixes Clock_WatchDog_Timeout and MEMORY_MANAGEMENT stop errors with newer Intel CPUs

jeffl — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 06:51:07 GMT

Some more recent Hyper-V processor performance updates released by Intel were not anticipated by Windows Server 2008 R2 and require the following updates. People who were experiencing this problem may have used workarounds to disable ACPI functionality...(read more)

Server Core Windows 2008 - Installing terminal services in administration mode for remote administration

jeffl — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:07:00 GMT

The following command can be run at the Server Core command prompt to install terminal services in application mode for remote administration. cscript c:\windows\System32\SCRegedit.wsf /ar 0 Jeff Loucks Available Technology Subscribe in a reader...(read more)

Hyper-V: Disk2vhd Free Physical Disk Conversion tool

jeffl — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:46:00 GMT

Well dual boot just went obsolete. At least installing to two different directories it did. Now you can achieve true isolation. Mark Rusinovich wizard extraordinaire and the Microsoft Sysinternals team launched a great new tool. Disk2VHD excerpted from the Sysinternals site:

Download Disk2vhd (704 KB)

Introduction

Disk2vhd is a utility that creates VHD (Virtual Hard Disk - Microsoft’s Virtual Machine disk format) versions of physical disks for use in Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs). The difference between Disk2vhd and other physical-to-virtual tools is that you can run Disk2vhd on a system that’s online. Disk2vhd uses Windows’ Volume Snapshot capability, introduced in Windows XP, to create consistent point-in-time snapshots of the volumes you want to include in a conversion. You can even have Disk2vhd create the VHDs on local volumes, even ones being converted (though performance is better when the VHD is on a disk different than ones being converted).

The Disk2vhd user interface lists the volumes present on the system:

It will create one VHD for each disk on which selected volumes reside. It preserves the partitioning information of the disk, but only copies the data contents for volumes on the disk that are selected. This enables you to capture just system volumes and exclude data volumes, for example.

Note: Virtual PC supports a maximum virtual disk size of 127GB. If you create a VHD from a larger disk it will not be accessible from a Virtual PC VM.

To use VHDs produced by Disk2vhd, create a VM with the desired characteristics and add the VHDs to the VM’s configuration as IDE disks. On first boot, a VM booting a captured copy of Windows will detect the VM’s hardware and automatically install drivers, if present in the image. If the required drivers are not present, install them via the Virtual PC or Hyper-V integration components. You can also attach to VHDs using the Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 Disk Management or Diskpart utilities.

Note: do not attach to VHDs on the same system on which you created them if you plan on booting from them. If you do so, Windows will assign the VHD a new disk signature to avoid a collision with the signature of the VHD’s source disk. Windows references disks in the boot configuration database (BCD) by disk signature, so when that happens Windows booted in a VM will fail to locate the boot disk.

Disk2vhd runs Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and higher, including x64 systems.

Thanks Dieter Rauscher for the heads up,

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology

Windows Server 2008 R2 Branch Office: Features to Empower the Cloud

jeffl — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:53:00 GMT

If you are involved at all with Microsoft on a professional level, you could not miss the fact that Microsoft is lugging the Juggernaut that it is toward Cloud computing. Branch Office is a logical intermediary step in the strategy since technology that Microsoft develops here will be leveraged to connect to a platform in the cloud like Windows Azure.

Over the remainder of the month I am going to deep dive on new features of Windows Server 2008 R2 and Win7 as they relate to Branch Offices. I will talk about strategies for mitigating common problems and provide an in depth look at these new features. This is an introductory article on the series.

Microsoft is leveraging some of the peer-2-peer technologies we have seen evolve for allegedly legal and illegal software and music distribution through tools like Kazaa and also through initiative like IBM's Peer to Peer Remote Copy or the European Unions P2P-Next. I first saw this type of software leveraged commercially by a gaming company about 2 years ago and Microsoft is putting it into commercial application in one of its applications of Branch Cache. The use of peer-2-peer technologies is not only a revolutionary step forward but also an acknowledgment that resources that pass through Internet are constrained and the more you can share locally with other users the less you strain that resource.

These are only a few of the ground breaking tools we have seen emerge with this new release generation and I hope you will subscribe to my blog to keep up to date on how the technologies we see in Branch Office are going to shape the future if consumers and business act the way Microsoft and others in the industry predict.

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology

Powershell Short Cuts

jeffl — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:03:00 GMT

Up Arrow

Moves backward through the command history, beginning with the last command typed and working back towards the first command typed.

For example, if the last command you typed was clear-host (as in our sample command history) then pressing the Up arrow key one time will display clear-host at the command prompt; you can then run this command by pressing ENTER. Pressing the Up arrow key a second time will display the command get-childitem *.dll. Pressing the key a third time displays cd c:\windows, and so on.

Down Arrow

Moves forward through the command history. Continuing with the Up arrow example, suppose you backed your way through the command history (starting with the latest command and moving backwards towards the first command) until get-process –name “Notepad” was displayed at the command prompt. If you now press the Down arrow key you’ll move forward through the command history and get-history will be displayed. Press the Down arrow key a second time and cd c:\windows will be displayed.

PgUp

Displays the first command in the command history. In our example, that causes cd c:\scripts to be displayed at the command prompt.

PgDn

Displays the last command in the command history. In our example, that’s the clear-host command.

Left Arrow

Moves the cursor one character to the left on the command line. For example, if the cursor is under the\ in command cd c:\scripts, pressing the Left arrow key will move the cursor under the :.

Right Arrow

Moves the cursor one character to the right on the command line. For example, if the cursor is under the : in cd c:\scripts, pressing the Right arrow key will move the cursor under the \.

Home

Moves the cursor to the beginning of the command line.

End

Moves the cursor to the end of the command line.

Control + Left Arrow

Moves the cursor one “word” to the left on the command line. For example, suppose the command line is displaying the command get-process –name “Notepad”; in addition, suppose that the cursor is under any of the characters in the “word” get-process. (In this case, “words” are strings of characters delineated by blank spaces.) Holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the Left arrow key will cause the cursor to move beneath the g in get-process.

Control + Right Arrow

Move the cursor one “word” to the right on the command line. For example, suppose the command line is displaying the command get-process –name “Notepad”; in addition, suppose that the cursor is under any of the characters in the “word” –name. (In this case, “words” are strings of characters delineated by blank spaces.) Holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the Right arrow key will cause the cursor to move beneath the “ in “Notepad”.

Control + c

Cancels the current command. If you are partway through typing a command and then press Ctrl+c Windows PowerShell will ignore everything you’ve typed on the line and present you with a new “blank” command line.

F2

Creates a new command line from the partial contents of your last command line. For example, suppose your previous command was get-process –name “Notepad”. If you press F2, PowerShell will respond with the following request:

GRAPHIC – Enter char to copy up to:

If you type “ (representing the first quotation mark) PowerShell will insert the text from your previous command, up to (but not including) the double quote mark:

get-process –name

Note that PowerShell will always go the first instance of a character. If you type an e in the dialog box PowerShell will begin “typing” until it encounters the first e in get-process. Therefore, all that will be displayed on your screen is the following:

To cancel when asked to enter a character, press Enter without entering anything.

F3

Displays your previous command. This is equivalent to pressing the Up arrow key once. However, while you can press Up arrow multiple times to continue cycling through your command history, pressing F3 additional times has no effect: only your last command will be displayed.

F4

Beginning from the current cursor position, F4 deletes characters up to the specified character. For example, suppose the command get-process –name “Notepad” is displayed, and the cursor is beneath the c in process. If you press F4, the following dialog box appears:

GRAPHIC: Enter char to delete up to:

If you press – PowerShell will begin deleting characters from the command prompt and continue deleting characters until it encounters a – character. In this case, that means the following (nonsensical) command will be displayed:

get-pro-name "Notepad"

If you enter a character (say, z) which does not appear in the command string then all the remaining characters in the string will be deleted:

get-pro

This also occurs if you simply press ENTER when the dialog box appears.

To cancel this operation, press Ctrl+Z.

F5

Like the Up arrow key, F5 moves you backward through the command history.

F7

Displays a “dialog box” that allows you to select a command from your command history:

GRAPHIC: history

Scroll through the dialog box using the Up and Down arrow keys; when you find a command you want to execute press ENTER. Alternatively, locate the desired command and then press the right arrow key; that will “type” the command at the command prompt but will not execute that command. To then execute the command, you must press ENTER.

To dismiss the dialog box without selecting a command, press Escape.

F8

Moves backwards through the command history, but only displays commands matching text you type at the command prompt. For example, suppose you type set and then press F8. In that case (and using our sample command history) PowerShell will only display the command set-executionpolicy. Why? Because that’s the only command in the history that matches the string set.

Now, type cd and press F8. This time around, PowerShell will display the command cd c:\windows. Press F8 a second time and the command cd c:\scripts will be displayed. That’s because, in this case, we have two commands that match the string cd.

Enables you to run a specific command from the command history. When you press F9 PowerShell prompts you to enter a command number, corresponding to the numbers displayed in the history “dialog box” (see F7):

GRAPHIC: Enter command number:

To run a command, type the appropriate number and press ENTER. Using our sample history, typing 5 and pressing ENTER runs the command get-process.

To cancel this operation, press Escape.

Hope that helps,

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology

Tip of the Month: Hotkey for "Run as administrator" Windows Vista, 7, 2008

jeffl — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:29:00 GMT

Here is an example of how to use the hotkey for Run as administrator.

Press the Windows key.
Type cmd
Press CTRL + Shift + Enter

Voila, the command prompt opens as administrator.

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology

Hyper-V: Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2 from Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V

jeffl — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:56:00 GMT

In the following post I will describe three methods for upgrading from Windows Server R2 from Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V. The methods described here are covered in MS Support KB 957256. After listing the methods I will describe why I prefer one of the methods.

Before you upgrade.

The upgrade process is not complex however you need to be careful. An important first step is to bring all of your virtual machines into a single state. You should review each virtual machine and establish a clean VM to be migrated. This VM must be in a shut down state. Your snapshots leading up to the current state must be merged since snapshots are not fully compatible.

Method 1

Perform an in-place upgrade of the parent partition from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2008 R2.

Note During the upgrade, the compatibility report will inform you that you must remove the Hyper-V role by using Server Manager before you continue with the upgrade. This is not necessary. However, before you continue with the upgrade, note the following:

All virtual machines must be shut down before the upgrade. The Saved States feature is incompatible between Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. If the parent partition is upgraded with any virtual machines in a saved state, you must right-click the virtual machine, and then click Discard saved state to turn on the virtual machine.
Because the Snapshot functionality uses the Saved States feature, Snapshots are not fully compatible between Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Virtual machines will start successfully to the snapshot that was applied when the virtual machine was shut down before the upgrade. This is denoted in Hyper-V Manager by the green arrow under the snapshot that points to Now.

To turn on the virtual machine with any other snapshot, follow these steps:

Note The following steps assume that you have to continue using all snapshots configured for the virtual machine. If you no longer require snapshots, you can delete your snapshots by using Hyper-V Manager, and then shut down the virtual machine for the data to merge with the parent virtual hard disk.
1. Using Hyper- V Manager, right-click the snapshot that you want to apply, and then click Take Snapshot and Apply. This action will take a new snapshot from the currently applied snapshot. This new snapshot will now be compatible with Windows Server 2008 R2. If you select this option, any changes that you may have made to the state of the virtual machine since the last start will be saved.
2. After the new snapshot is taken, the virtual machine will go into a saved state. Right-click the virtual machine, and then click Delete saved state.
3. Turn on the virtual machine.
4. When the virtual machine has started, repeat these steps until there is a single snapshot remaining.
5. When you have reached the last snapshot, take a new snapshot to capture the current state of the virtual machine to have a Windows Server 2008 R2-compatible snapshot.
After the upgrade, update the Integration Services. To do this, open the Virtual Machine Connection window, and then click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk on the Action menu.

Note On a Windows Server 2008 R2-based computer, the Integration Services for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will be listed in Programs and Features as "KB955484".

Method 2

Migrate to another server: Export a virtual machine from a Windows Server 2008 server that has Hyper-V enabled, and then import it to a server that has Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V enabled.

Note The virtual machine must be shut down before you export it. If you exported the virtual machine with a saved state, you cannot restore the virtual machine on Windows Server 2008 R2. To start the virtual machine after you import it to Windows Server 2008 R2, you must discard the saved state before you can turn on the virtual machine.

If the virtual machine has snapshots, these snapshots must be merged before the export or you must use the steps from Method 1 to recover and re-create the snapshots.

After you import the virtual machine, update the Integration Services. To do this, open the Virtual Machine Connection window, and then click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk on the Action menu.

Note On a Windows Server 2008 R2-based computer, the Integration Services for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will be listed in Programs and Features as "KB955484".

Method 3

Backup and Restore to new server: To use backup software that uses the Hyper-V VSS Writer, back up a virtual machine that is running on Windows Server 2008, and then restore it to Windows Server 2008 R2.

After you restore the virtual machine, update the Integration Services. To do this, open the Virtual Machine Connection window, and then click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk on the Action menu.

Note On a Windows Server 2008 R2-based computer, the Integration Services for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will be listed in Programs and Features as "KB955484".

My Preference

Although Method 3 might take the longest it provides a number of safe guards.

It ensures you have a proper backup strategy.
It tests your backup strategy with little or no consequense.
You have a fall back position to the original server which is not altered during the process.
It simplifies the process of cleaning up the snapshots since the backup sees only one consistent state of the VM.
In any other of the three methods you should have a complete back up.

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology

Best Kept Secret - VHD Native Support in Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7

jeffl — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:31:00 GMT

Have you seen this? WOW.

Native support for VHD disks offers huge potential. Think about creating Dual and Tripple boot systems with everything containted in one file per OS. Think about Back up to VHD... think about mounting VHDs for native read write in an OS and then sharing them with a Virtualized OS. This about syspreping an imaged OS for use across your network!

Think about it and tell me you are not trying to reattach your jaw,,,

Big Secret... now you know.

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology

Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2

jeffl — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:21:00 GMT

Windows Server 2008 R2 is the newest Windows Server operating system from Microsoft. Designed to help organizations reduce operating costs and increase efficiencies, Windows Server 2008 R2 provides enhanced management control over resources across the enterprise. It is designed to provide better energy efficiency and performance by reducing power consumption and lowering overhead costs. It also helps provide improved branch office capabilities, exciting new remote access experiences, streamlined server management, and expands the Microsoft virtualization strategy for both client and server computers.

Powerful Hardware and Scaling Features
Windows Server 2008 R2 was designed to perform as well or better for the same hardware base as Windows Server 2008. In addition, R2 is the first Windows Server operating system to move solely to a 64-bit architecture.

Windows Server 2008 R2 also has several CPU-specific enhancements. First, this version expands CPU support to enable customers to run with up to 256 logical processors. R2 also supports Second Level Translation (SLAT), which enables R2 to take advantage of the Enhanced Page Tables feature found in the latest AMD CPUs as well as the similar Nested Page Tables feature found in Intel’s latest processors. The combination enables R2 servers to run with much improved memory management.

Components of Windows Server 2008 R2 have received hardware boosts as well. Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 can now access up to 32 logical CPUs on host computers—twice Hyper-V’s initial number of supported CPUs. This capability not only takes advantage of new multicore systems, it also means greater virtual machine consolidation ratios per physical host.

Reduced Power Consumption
Windows Server 2008 introduced a 'balanced' power policy, which monitors the utilization level of the processors on the server and dynamically adjusts the processor performance states to limit power to the needs of the workload. Windows Server 2008 R2 enhances this power saving feature by adding Core Parking and expanding on power-oriented Group Policy settings.

Active Directory Domain Services Group Policy in Windows Server 2008 already gave administrators a certain amount of control over power management on client PCs. These capabilities are enhanced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows® 7 to provide even more precise control in more deployment scenarios for even greater potential savings.

Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 also holds the much-anticipated update to Microsoft’s virtualization technology, Hyper-V. The new Hyper-V was designed to augment both existing virtual machine management as well as to address specific IT challenges, especially around server migration.

Hyper-V is an enabling technology for one of Windows Server 2008 R2’s marquee features, Live Migration. With Hyper-V version 1.0, Windows Server 2008 was capable of Quick Migration, which could move VMs between physical hosts with only a few seconds of down-time. Still, those few seconds were enough to cause difficulties in certain scenarios, especially those including client connections to VM-hosted servers. With Live Migration, moves between physical targets happen in milliseconds, which means migration operations become invisible to connected users.

Customers employing System Center Virtual Machine Manager for Hyper-V will also enjoy additional management and orchestration scenarios, including a new VM-oriented Performance and Resource Optimization feature and updated support for managing failover clusters.

The new Hyper-V also has core performance enhancements, including the previously mentioned ability to take advantage of up to 64 logical processors and ramp up CPU performance with host support for Second Level Translation (SLAT). Finally, VMs can also add and remove VHD disks without requiring a reboot and also boot from VHD as well.

Reduce Desktop Costs with VDI
Much of the interest in virtualization solutions is in the server world. However, equally exciting advances are being made in presentation virtualization, where processing happens on a server optimized for capacity and availability while graphics, keyboard, mouse, and other user I/O functions are handled at the user’s desktop.

Windows Server 2008 R2 contains enhanced Virtual Desktop Integration (VDI) technology, which extends the functionality of Terminal Services to deliver certain business programs to their employee’s remote desktops. With VDI, programs that Remote Desktop Services sends to a computer are now available on the Start menu right alongside programs that are locally installed. This approach provides improved desktop virtualization and better application virtualization.

Desktop virtualization will benefit from features including improved personalization management, a near-invisible integration of virtualized desktops and applications in Windows 7, better audio and graphics performance, a seriously cool Web access update and more. VDI provides more efficient use of virtualized resources and better integration with local peripheral hardware as well as powerful new virtual management features.

Easier and More Efficient Server Management
Although increasing the capabilities of your server operating system is always a good thing, the perceived downside has always been additional complexity and workload for day-to-day server managers. Windows Server 2008 R2 specifically addresses this problem with lots of work evident across all of its management-oriented consoles. Features in these tools include:

Improved data center power consumption and management, as evidenced earlier

Improved remote administration, including a remotely-installable Server Manager

Improved identity management features via the updated and simplified Active Directory Domain Services and Active Directory Federated Services

Windows Server 2008 R2 also improves on the popular PowerShell feature introduced in Windows Server 2008. PowerShell 2.0 significantly enhances the earlier version with the inclusion of more than 240 new pre-built cmdlets as well as a new graphical user interface (GUI) that adds professional-level development features for creating new cmdlets. The new GUI includes colored syntaxing, new production script debugging capabilities, and new testing tools.

Managing Data, Not just Managing Storage
Managing storage isn’t just about managing disks. Storage volume is increasing at a 51% compounded annual growth rate between 2008 and 2012, according to IDC. To keep pace and stay competitive, organizations must begin managing data, not just disks. Windows Server 2008 R2 gives IT administrators the tools for precisely this kind of initiative with the new File Classification Infrastructure (FCI). This new features builds an extensible and automated classification mechanism on top of existing shared file architectures; this enables IT administrators to direct specific actions for specific files based on entirely customizable classification. FCI is also extensible to partners, which means Windows Server 2008 R2 users can expect to see additional capabilities around FCI from ISVs in the near future.

Ubiquitous Remote Access
Today’s mobile workforce is increasing the demand on IT to provide remote access to corporate resources. However, managing remote computers is an ongoing challenge, with low wide area network (WAN) bandwidth and sporadic connection and re-connection processes interfering with lengthier desktop management tasks such as Group Policy changes and up-to-date patching.

Windows Server 2008 R2 introduces a new type of connectivity called DirectAccess—a powerful way for remote users to seamlessly access corporate resources without requiring a traditional VPN connection and client software. Using technologies that shipped in Windows Server 2008, Microsoft has added simple management wizards that enable administrators to configure SSTP and IPv6 across both R2 and Windows 7 clients to enable the basic DirectAccess connection, and then augment that connection with additional R2 management and security tools, including management policies and NAP.

With DirectAccess, every user is considered remote all of the time. Users are no longer required to distinguish between local and remote connections. DirectAccess handles all of these distinctions in the background. IT professionals retain precise access control and full perimeter security, helping to ease both desktop security and management headaches on both sides of the connection.

Improved Branch Office Performance and Management
Many branch office IT architectures have relatively low bandwidth. Slow WAN links impact the productivity of branch office employees waiting to access content from the main office, and costs for branch office bandwidth allocation can amount to as much as 33 percent of overall corporate IT spending. To address this challenge, Windows Server 2008 R2 introduces a feature called BranchCache, which reduces WAN utilization and improves the responsiveness of network applications.

With BranchCache, clients who request access to data on the organization's network are sent directions to the file on the local (branch office) network if the file has ever been requested there before. If the file is stored locally, those clients get immediate high-speed access. Such files can be stored either on a local BranchCache server for larger branch offices or simply on local Windows 7 PCs.

Simplified Management for SMBs
With Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft is focusing more attention at the SMB and mid-market customer. This new focus provides these customers with a rich landscape of Microsoft product offerings, from Small Business Server up to Windows Essential Business Server and now Windows Server 2008 Standard. All SKUs are being outfitted with new management tools to make SMB IT pro life easier.

Active Directory’s new Active Directory Administration Center is one example—all those disparate management GUIs now hosted in a single interface and all based on PowerShell. Additionally, there are the Best Practice Analyzers, which Microsoft has extended to every server role to keep all your server configs in sync with the latest know-how. And last but not least, there’s the Windows Server Backup utility. Long a second-class citizen, this in-the-box backup app has been significantly upgraded to include more granular support for designing backup jobs, including support for system state operations; and, it’s been optimized to run both faster and to use less disk space.

There’s also the new Windows Server Backup utility. Microsoft has significantly upgraded this in-the-box backup application to include more granular support for designing backup jobs, including support for system state operations. And it’s been optimized to run faster and to use less disk space.

The Strongest Web and Application Server To Date
Windows Server 2008 R2 includes many updates that make it the best Windows Server application platform yet, but one of the most important is the new Internet Information Services 7.5 (IIS 7.5).

The updated Web server includes features that streamline management by extending IIS Manager, implementing the IIS PowerShell Provider and taking advantage of .NET on Server Core. IIS 7.5 also integrates new support and troubleshooting features, including configuration logging and a dedicated Best Practice Analyzer. Last, we’ve integrated several of the most popular optional extensions associated with Windows Server 2008, including URLScan 3.0 (now known as the Request Filter Module).

SOURCE: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/top-reasons.aspx

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology

Windows Server 2008 R2 Upgrade Paths

jeffl — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:01:00 GMT

Supported Upgrade Scenarios

From Windows Server 2003 (SP2, R2)	Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2
Datacenter	Datacenter
Enterprise	Enterprise, Datacenter
Standard	Standard, Enterprise

From Windows Server 2008 (RTM, SP2)	Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2
Datacenter	Datacenter
Datacenter Core	Datacenter Core
Enterprise	Enterprise, Datacenter
Enterprise Core	Enterprise Core, Datacenter Core
Foundation (SP2 only)	Standard
Standard	Standard, Enterprise
Standard Core	Standard Core, Enterprise Core
Web	Standard, Web
Web Core	Standard Core, Web Core

From Windows Server 2008 (RC, IDS, RTM)	Upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2
Datacenter	Datacenter
Datacenter Core	Datacenter Core
Enterprise	Enterprise, Datacenter
Enterprise Core	Enterprise Core, Datacenter Core
Foundation	Standard, Foundation
Standard	Standard, Enterprise
Standard Core	Standard Core, Enterprise Core
Web	Standard, Web
Web Core	Standard Core, Web Core

Unsupported Upgrade Scenarios

Upgrades to Windows Server 2008 R2 from the following operating systems are not supported:
- Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Vista Starter, or Windows 7
- Windows NT Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003 RTM, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 Web, Windows Server 2008 R2 M3, or Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta
- Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based Systems, Windows Server 2003 x64, Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems, Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based Systems
Cross-architecture in-place upgrades (for example, x86 to x64) are not supported.
Cross-language in-place upgrades (for example, en-us to de-de) are not supported.
Cross-edition upgrades (for example, the Windows Server 2008 Foundation SKU to the Windows Server 2008 Datacenter SKU) are not supported.
Cross-build type in-place upgrades (for example, fre to chk) are not supported.

Beta and Release Candidate Support

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta to Windows Server 2008 R2 RC In-Place Upgrade is supported.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta to Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM In-Place Upgrade is not supported.

Windows Server 2008 R2 RC to Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM In-Place Upgrade is supported.

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/migration-paths.aspx

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 Download Location

jeffl — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:10:00 GMT

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 Download Location:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7d2f6ad7-656b-4313-a005-4e344e43997d&displaylang=en

Brief Description
Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows® 7 enables IT administrators to manage roles and features that are installed on computers that are running Windows Server® 2008 R2, Windows Server® 2008, or Windows Server® 2003, from a remote computer that is running Windows 7.

System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7; Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 R2

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 can be installed on computers that are running the Enterprise, Professional, or Ultimate editions of Windows 7.

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 runs on both x86- and x64-based editions of Windows 7, and can be used to manage roles and features that are running on either the Server Core or full installation options of the x64-based Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. Remote management is also supported for some roles and features that run on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003.

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 should not be installed on a computer that is running the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack or Windows 2000 Server® Administration Tools Pack. Remove all versions of Administration Tools Pack or Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista SP1 from the computer before you install Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7.

Only one copy at a time of Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 can be installed on a computer. Before you install a new package, remove any existing copies of Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7. This includes any copies that are in different languages.

For detailed information about the tools available in Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7, and the supported operating systems at which they can be targeted, see Knowledge Base article 958830.

It was hard to find so I hope this makes it easier for you.

Jeff Loucks
Available Technology