Windows Server 2008 Licensing Information

As too many students asking me for the licensing information on WIndows Server 2008, I suggest all of you to take a look at the following link first:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/client-licensing.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/licensing-faq.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc303695.aspx

For licensing questions, I suggest contacting Microsoft Licensing Center for detailed explanation.

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/contact-us.aspx

For licensing questions, please call 1-800-426-9400 (select option 4), Monday through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. (PST) to speak directly to a Microsoft licensing specialist.

Worldwide customers can use the Guide to Worldwide Microsoft Licensing Sites http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/index/worldwide.asp to find contact information in their locations.

“Respond to all (known and unknown) client computers” setting behaviour

If you select “Respond to all (known and unknown) client computers”, and check the box “For unknown clients, notify administrator and respond after approval”, the result is:

When PXE booting a client, it will wait for you to approve it. Click Pending Devices in the WDS console, right-click the pending devices in the right pane and click Approve. The client computer continues with the network boot operation and a computer account object is created in AD DS to represent the physical device. Press F12 on the client and boot into a boot image. Before loading install images, you will be prompted to enter a domain user account name and password. This domain user account does not need to belong to a domain administrator groups.

Configuring When DHCP is on the Same Server

Configuring When DHCP is on the Same Server

And here are some procedures:

To configure Windows Deployment Services to run on the same computer as Microsoft DHCP

To configure Windows Deployment Services to run on the same computer as non-Microsoft DHCP

WDS documentation link:

WDS in Windows Server 2003:

• WDS 2003 Step by Step Guide - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=66145
• Deploying and Managing the Windows Deployment Services Update on Windows Server 2003 - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81031

WDS in Windows Server 2008

You can download this content at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=89381, or you can browse it using the following links:

• WDS 2008 Step by Step Guide - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=84628 
• Deployment content - http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81873
• Technical Reference content - http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/80e4c10d-bb4b-4337-81dd-aa98fe6db7351033.mspx?mfr=true 

Good articles on WDS Automating Setup and Sample Unattend Files

I found two useful articles from MS on WDS:

Automating Setup

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc730695(WS.10).aspx

Sample Unattend Files

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732280(WS.10).aspx#Combined

Image group in Windows Deployment

An image group is a collection of .wim files that share common file resources and security. Servicing an image within an image group (such as applying a hotfix or a service pack or updating files) requires exclusive access to the entire image group. File resources are shared across the image group (single-instanced) even though the metadata of each image resides in a separate physical .wim file. Image groups contain two file types:

l  Res.rwm. Contains the file streams for images as defined in Install.wim, Install2.wim, and WinXP.wim. Note that each image group has its own Res.rwm file.

l  Install.wim. Contains image metadata that describes the content of an operating system image. The actual file resources for the image reside in Res.rwm.

Each image group will have a Res.rwm file created when the first image is added to the image group. All resources for all files reside in Res.rwm. The Res.rwm file is a .wim file that is renamed to differentiate the resource-only .wim file from the metadata .wim files and to speed up image enumeration. Because image enumeration only works on .wim files, the Res.rwm file will be skipped.

The .wim file format uses single-instancing technology, so the disk storage requirements for images within an image group are significantly reduced.

Problem on installing Windows Server 2008 on Dell Poweredge machine

Just saw a soluton on installation problem when installing WIndows Server 2008 on Dell Poweeedge machine:

When you find the installation process stop and display the following error:

"windows could not update the computer's boot configuration"

 Try:
First, if your Installation and Maintenance DVD isn't version 5.4, get that ISO and make your new DVD.
Second, when you use that disk to prepare your array for Windows 2008, do not install a utility partition!
Third, the installation that the disk does left you with a splash screen and it never moved beyond that, so I hit F11 on bootup and chose to boot from the Windows 2008 DVD.
Fourth, please also check the BIOS settings and see if the boot hard disk has been set to the proper hard disk. Besides, you can try turning off all the boot devices from the BIOS except for the CD/DVD and the hard drive and see how it goes. It is reported that similar issues may occur when some boot devices interfere the installation.

Windows 7 RC download link.

Finally, it arrived on Technet download:

You can download the Windows 7 RC build from the Microsoft sites without a TechNet or MSDN subscription here.

Exchange 2007 new recipient / users not appear in GAL

The reason is Offline Address Book not being updated. By default, Exchange generates the Offline Address Book once a day at 5AM.
Besides, an Outlook 2007 client picks up the GAL entries using web distribution from the web based oab virtual directory. The OAB data is delivered to the directory every 8 hours by default.

To change this to 30 minutes, for example, use the following command:
Get-OABVirtualDirectory | Set-OabVirtualDirectory -PollInterval 30

To force a complete OAB update, you can use the following commands:

get-offlineaddressbook | update-offlineaddressbook

update-filedistributionservice %CAS server name%

Run the update-filedistributionservice command for each CAS server.
Of course Outlook 2007 cached-mode users still have to download the OAB again if they want the new information or simply wait 24 hours for it to happen automatically.

In Outlook:

- On the client go to Outlook 2003/2007 | Tools | Send/Receive | Download Address Book….
- Uncheck Download changes since last Send/Receive
- Make sure Download Full Details is checked
- Click OK, wait for the download to complete (depending on your bandwidth and size of OAL, this may be close to instant, or it may take a few minutes)
- Check if the user appears in the GAL

Windows 7 RC release in May?

Many internet blogs and websites stated Win7 RC will come out on May. Let's see!

IE 8 Release!

Download here:

http://www.microsoft.com/ie8

or

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx

Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager of the Internet Explorer, will be announcing the availability of Windows Internet Explorer 8 at MIX09 in his keynote address on March 19.  You can watch the keynote and other happenings live at MIX09 by visiting: http://live.visitmix.com/Default.aspx

Background

Internet Explorer 8 takes a big step forward in browser innovation focused on the way people use the web today. Faster, easier, safer and more reliable than ever before, Internet Explorer 8 is the best version of Internet Explorer we’ve released to date. For example, through Accelerators and Web Slices we are optimizing the browser experience by removing repetitive, time consuming actions, and Internet Explorer 8 offers protections against malware that are far superior to the protections in other browsers.

 Some new features in Internet Explorer 8 include:

·         Accelerators. Accelerators give people easy access to the online services they care about most from any page they visit and allow users to browse faster by eliminating most of the clicks required to access desired content and services.

·         Web Slices. With Web Slices, people can see the information they want to see most often without going away from the page they are on. Appearing in the Favorite bar, users can identify Web Slices with updates when in bold and they can see a rich Web Slice visualization of their content with access back to the source Web page.

·         Instant Search Box. The enhanced Instant Search Box in Internet Explorer 8 is more helpful, making it easier for people to find content of interest and increasing the relevancy of search results. As users type a search term, they can see real-time search suggestions, including images and rich text, from their chosen search provider.

·         Smart Address Bar. Provides matches as the user types across History and Favorites searching against all parts of the URL string (and the page title) instead of just the beginning. Allows mistyped entries to be removed from the Address Bar.

·         Enhanced Tabbed Browsing.  Tabs are grouped and color-coded so people can quickly discern which are related. It is easy to group or ungroup tabs or reopen closed tabs.

·         Performance improvements. We’ve reduced the time that people must wait when starting the browser, opening a “new tab” and loading a page.

·         SmartScreen Filter. Built upon the Microsoft Phishing Filter, the SmartScreen Filter helps protect against a broader set of phishing threats and helps protect from sites that attempt to download malicious software. The SmartScreen Filter is now easier to use with enhanced user interface and warning messages to reduce users’ click-through to confirmed sites.

·         Domain Highlighting. Internet Explorer 8 highlights the domain name of the URL string in the Address Bar in bold text, making it easier for people to tell which site they are on and aid them in identifying phishing sites and other deceptive sites. The domain name is in black, standing out from other characters in the URL, which are gray.

·         Cross-Site Scripting filter. Helps protect users and systems from attacks that can lead to information disclosure, cookie stealing, account/identity theft or otherwise masquerading as the user without permission.

• InPrivate. InPrivate helps to protect people’s data and privacy from being retained locally on the PC they are using. This protects against third parties who might be in a position to track their online activities.  The consumer has the ability to use either of the features (InPrivate Browsing or InPrivate Filtering) independently.
  • InPrivate Browsing. When activated, InPrivate Browsing helps ensure that History, temporary Internet files and cookies are not recorded on a PC after browsing. When in InPrivate Browsing, toolbars and extensions are automatically disabled and browsing History is automatically deleted when the browser is closed.
  • InPrivate Filtering. InPrivate Filtering helps protect privacy by enabling the consumer to block content coming from third parties that are in a position to track and aggregate their online behavior. Users are provided with notice, choice and control of which third parties to allow and which ones to block.

For a comprehensive look at the features in Internet Explorer 8, please see the fact sheet available here:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/newsroom/windows/factsheets/IE8FS.mspx

Get the facts: About Office 2007 File Format

• By installing “Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats”, Office 2000-2003 can open, edit, and save documents, workbooks, and presentations in the new file formats of Office 2007.
• .docx, .xlsx, .pptx is XML-based file format with compression of ZIP technology.
• Open XML already is an international open standard.  It’s certified by ISO (as ISO 29500) and ECMA (as ECMA-376)
• Open XML is platform independent and easily coexists with other document file formats, including Open Document Format (ODF).
• Open XML has important features supporting long-term document retention, preservation, and accessibility.

Free Hard Drive / Hard Disk wipe tool

Many students and friends keep asking me for a free hard drive wipe tool, I found this one may be useful for yours.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/copywipe.php

CopyWipe™ is a utility for copying or securely overwriting (wiping/erasing) entire hard drives. CopyWipe can ease and expedite the transition to a new hard drive by copying the entire contents of one drive to another. CopyWipe can also help prevent confidential or private data from being recovered, by securely wiping the contents of a drive. A number of options are provided for wiping, most of which exceed governmental standards (such as DoD 5220.22-M, NAVSO P-5239-26, etc.); this allows the user to choose an optimal balance between security and duration of the wiping operation.

Windows 7 Wallpaper?

http://www.tech-exclusive.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/seven_shine_logo_1152_864.jpg

Read more from here:
http://www.tech-exclusive.com/2008/10/30/download-free-wallpapers-of-windows-7/

I'm a PC!

MVP "I'm a PC" Video

A good atricle about the performance between Hyper-V, ESX and XenServer

If you want to know the performance difference on Hyper-V, ESX and XenServer,

I suggest you to read the following article:

http://virtualizationreview.com/features/article.aspx?editorialsid=2641#share

It compare the performance of difference Virtualization solution.

How many farms plan to deploy virtualization?

Info from Yankee Group
Read my attachment for detailed information.

Exchange 2007 server global message size limits in a mix Exchange 2003/2007 environment.

If you setup your first Exchange 2007 server        , global message size limits are configured as follows:

                                   Outgoing message size :                      10240 KB

                                   Incoming message size :                      10240 KB

                                   Maximum number of recipients :      5000

                        The settings can be configured with Exchange 2003 Exchange System Manager. However, it cannot be changed by Exchange 2007 Exchange Management Console or the Exchange Management Shell directly.

                        In order to change these without Exchange 2003 Management Tools, you can use ADSI Edit to change the following values.

delivContLength               Valid input for this parameter is 0 to 2097151 KB.

submissionContLength    Valid input for this parameter is 0 to 2097151 KB.

msExchRecipLimit          Valid input for this parameter is 0 to 2147483647 recipients.

                        Brief steps in modifying the global message size limits:

                        1.     In Windows 2003 server CD, under the folder “SUPPORT”, “TOOLS”, extract the files “adsiedit.msc” and “adsiedit.dll” from the file “SUPPORT.CAB”.

                        2.     Copy the above the two file to “C:\WINDOWS\System32”.

                        3.     Click “Start”, “Run” and enter “regsvr32 adsiedit.dll”.

                        4.     Double click on “adsiedit.msc”.

                        5.     Expand “CN=Configuration,DC=easypass.com,DC=com”, “CN=Services”, “CN=Microsoft Exchange”, “CN=EP”, “CN=Global Settings”.

                        6.     Right click “CN=Message Delivery” and select “Properties”.

                        7.     Select the desired entry and click “Edit” to change the value.

        You may need to wait some time before the configured settings become effective.

Tip: Work Faster with New Hotkey Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows 7 beta 1

Tip: Burn a Disc Image from an ISO or IMG file in Windows 7

Burning disc image feature is one of my long awaiting feature in Windows! Finally, it come true in Windows 7! :

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