Tag: Technology

Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview Now Available

Tonight Microsoft has made available the public preview release of Windows Server 2012 R2. With this release, Microsoft is laying out its vision for what it calls the Cloud OS.

The Cloud OS is the platform that Microsoft is building with the release of Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, SQL Server 2014 and Windows Azure. The four key tenets of the Cloud OS are:

      • Transform the Datacenter
      • Enable modern business applications
      • Empower people-centric IT
      • Unlock insights on any data

New to Windows Server 2012 R2 are such features as:

        • Storage Tiering within Storage Spaces
        • Software-defined networking
        • Virtual IP Address management
        • Windows Powershell 4.0
        • Windows Server Essentials Experience

To get started with the Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview, go to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dn205286.aspx

Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012 Resources

Today, Microsoft have released the Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 release candidate (or Release Preview) builds to the public for testing and feedback.

I’ve compiled a list of the downloads that Microsoft has made available. If anyone has anything to add, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list.

Windows 8 Release Preview – http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview

Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate – http://www.tomontech.com/2012/05/windows-server-2012-release-candidate-now-available/

Windows Assessement and Deployment Kit – http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29929

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8 – http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28972

Test Lab Guides for Windows Server “8” Beta

Microsoft have released a series of guides to build Test Labs to check out various new features in Windows Server “8.” I’ve included a list below to some of the guides.

Test Lab Guide: Base Test Lab Guide for Windows Server “8” Beta – This Microsoft Test Lab Guide (TLG) provides you with step-by-step instructions to create the Windows Base Configuration test lab, using computers running Windows 8 Consumer Preview or Windows Server “8” Beta.

Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate High Availability Printing in Windows Server “8” Beta – This paper contains an introduction to Windows Server “8” Beta Printing and step-by-step instructions for extending the Test Lab Guide Base Configuration to demonstrate High Availability Printing.

Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server “8” Beta – This paper contains an introduction to Windows Server “8” Beta Remote Desktop Services Desktop Virtualization and step-by-step instructions for extending the Windows Server “8” Beta Test Lab Guide Base Configuration to demonstrate Remote Desktop Services Desktop Virtualization.

Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate ADDS Simplified Administration in Windows Server “8” Beta – This Microsoft Test Lab Guide (TLG) introduces Active Directory Domain Services Simplified Administration and provides step-by-step demonstration of new AD DS Administration features in Windows Server “8” Beta.

Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate DirectAccess Single Server Setup with Mixed IPv4 and IPv6 in Windows Server “8” Beta – This paper contains an introduction to Unified Remote Access and step-by-step instructions for extending the Windows Server “8” Beta Base Configuration test lab to demonstrate DirectAccess deployment in a single server deployment with a mixed environment of IPv4 and IPv6
Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate DirectAccess Simplified Setup in an IPv4-only Test Environment in Windows Server “8” Beta – This paper contains an introduction to Windows Server “8” Beta Remote Access and step-by-step instructions for extending the Windows Server “8” Beta Base Configuration test labto demonstrate Remote Access deployment using the Getting Started Wizard.
Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate Remote Desktop Services Desktop Virtualization in Windows Server “8” Beta – This paper contains an introduction to Windows Server “8” Beta Remote Desktop Services Desktop Virtualization and step-by-step instructions for extending the Windows Server “8” Beta Test Lab Guide Base Configuration to demonstrate Remote Desktop Services Desktop Virtualization
Test Lab Guide: Demonstrating DHCP Failover in Windows Server “8” Beta – This paper contains an introduction to Windows Server “8” Beta DHCP Failover, and step-by-step instructions for extending the Windows Server “8” Beta Base Configuration test labto demonstrate DHCP Failover setup.
Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate Virtualized Domain Controller (VDC) in Windows Server “8” Beta – This Microsoft Test Lab Guide (TLG) introduces Active Directory Domain Services Virtualized Domain Controllers and provides step-by-step demonstration of this new feature in Windows Server “8” Beta.
Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate Windows Server “8” Beta Print and Document Services – Introduction to Windows Server “8” Beta Printing
Test Lab Guide: Deploying RD Licensing – Use this test lab guide to install Remote Desktop Services client access licenses (RDS CALs) for Windows Server “8” Beta.
Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate IP Address Management (IPAM) in Windows Server “8” Beta – This paper contains an introduction to Windows Server “8” Beta IP Address Management (IPAM), and step-by-step instructions for extending the Windows Server “8” Beta Base Configuration test lab to demonstrate IPAM setup.
Test Lab Guide: Demonstrate DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) in Windows Server “8” Beta – This paper contains an introduction to Windows Server “8” Beta DNSSEC and step-by-step instructions for extending the Windows Server “8” Beta Base Configuration test lab to demonstrate DNSSEC operation.

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple

I’ve arrived in New York City for the 2011 Microsoft Imagine Cup. For those of you just joining us, the Microsoft Imagine Cup is the premier student technology competition. I tend to tell people that it’s the Olympics of technology.

At the Imagine Cup, the top students from around the world come together to compete against each other in categories such as Software Design, Game Design, Embedded Development, and the Windows Phone 7 challenge just to name a few.

I’ll be here covering five teams and their progress throughout the Worldwide Finals. My teams are as follows:

The Imagine Cup Worldwide Finals begin this Friday, July 8th and end Wednesday, July 13th.

For more on Imagine Cup please visit www.imaginecup.com, or search for #ImagineCup on Twitter. You can also follow me on Twitter, @tziegmann, to follow along this week as well.

Imagine Cup 2011–IT Challenge–Sinescu Ionut (Romania)

Ionut SinescuOne of the best things about the Microsoft Imagine Cup is the variety of competition categories that span all of Microsoft’s technologies. One such category is the IT Challenge.

The IT Challenge tests competitor’s skills and knowledge about everything IT. Competitors are given a case study on an organization and have to write a document telling the judges exactly how they would meet this organization’s needs. If they do well and move on to the final round, the competition heats up.

From the Microsoft Imagine Cup website:

“This lab will challenge you to build servers, server images, and configurations on a Hyper-V host server to prove your practical knowledge and experience with the technologies.  You will be asked to setup, install, and demonstrate knowledge and expertise around Windows 2008 R2, Exchange 2010, Windows 7, Office 2010, System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2, System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, TMG 2010, SQL 2008 R2, Office Communications Server 2007 R2, etc. You will be given 24 hours to complete the hands-on lab challenge.” 

One such competitor is Sinescu Ionut, a student at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Romania. Sinescu will be competing against five other students in what Sincescu calls “a one man show” of information technology excellence.

For more on Sinescu, feel free to check out his blog (in Romanian), or visit him on Facebook.

Microsoft software now available to ASU students for free

Hello my fellow Sun Devils! This post is specifically for you.

As an ASU student you can get access to over 300 different pieces of Microsoft software for free. Yes, FREE! You’ll have access to such pieces of Microsoft goodness like Windows 7, the entire Expression suite,  and Visual Studio.

All you need to do is be an active ASU student enrolled in a science, technology, education, or math class. (STEM classes for short as they are commonly referred to within the education community.) For a complete list of qualifying courses, click here.

To access the Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance (MSDNAA, for short), you’ll need to follow these steps.

1. Go to the ASU MyApps portal (http://myapps.asu.edu) and login with your ASURITE

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2. In the search box, type in “MSDNAA” (no quotes) and click Search.

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3. Click the “Download from 3rd party” button to login to the MSDNAA portal

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4. Once on the MSDNAA Portal, you can either use the drop-down menu to select the software you are looking for or use the search box to navigate the portal.

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5. Once you have chosen a piece of software, you’ll need to add it to your cart. Click the “Add to Cart” button. If you have multiple pieces of software you want to download, add them to your cart first, and then download them all at the same time. You’ll be prompted with a usage guideline agreement. Read the agreement and click the “I accept” button if you agree to guidelines.

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6. When you are ready to Checkout and download your software, click the “Check Out” button

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7. Fill out your name and e-mail address on the next page, and then click “Next”

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8.  You’ll be shown an confirmation page. To download your software, click the “Download” button

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9. You’ll be taken to a details page. Click the “Download” button. It will ask you to download a small file to your computer. Download this file to your computer. This is how the software will be downloaded. Open the file, and choose a location to download the software.

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10. Click Continue. Your software will download, and you can monitor the progress at the bottom of the download window.

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That’s all there is to it.

Getting Ready for Warsaw

Next week in Warsaw, Poland, Microsoft is holding the 2010 international Imagine Cup World Finals. I’ve been invited to attend and write about the competition as a member of the Microsoft Student Insiders program. (Full disclosure: Microsoft’s PR firm, Waggener-Edstrom, is covering the expenses associated with this trip.)

The Imagine Cup is a competition in which students create software that can be used to potentially change the world for the better. Each year the competition is held there is a theme, and this year’s theme is “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems.”

Based on this theme, Microsoft has chosen the United Nations Eight Millennium Development Goals as the set of tough problems that students have the opportunity to help solve. For a list of the goals, visit the Imagine Cup website.

Students compete in one of five categories. Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Design, Digital Media, and the IT Challenge. The top finalists in these categories will be in Poland next week competing for the top prizes in each of their competitions.

I’ll be there along with the finalists reporting on the competitions and taking in the sights and sounds of Poland. Follow along here on the blog, on Twitter by searching for the hashtag #ImagineCup or myself @tziegmann.