Kurt Shintaku's Blog

A pretty big day for Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2.  The all-important Service Pack which provides support for all the 2012/2013 products has been released along with better integration for BHOLD Role-based Access Controls (RBAC) & Management.

We are pleased to announce that Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) 2010 R2 is now available for download.  FIM 2010 R2 SP1 provides a number of improvements as well as additional platform support for the latest Microsoft platforms.  These improvements and platform support updates are summarized below:

• The FIM client now supports Windows 8 and Outlook 2013
• Enhanced configuration options for customers with dynamic groups
• Updates to the Extensible Connectivity MA Framework
• FIM connectors have been updated to support Active Directory 2012, SQL Server 2012, Exchange 2013, Sun 7.x and Oracle 11
• FIM reporting now supports System Center Service Manager 2012
• The Microsoft BHOLD Suite has a simplified provisioning configuration

In SP1 the following additional platforms are now supported for the BHOLD, FIM Sync, FIM Service, FIM Portal and FIM Certificate Management components:

• Windows Server 2012
• SQL Server 2012
• SharePoint Foundation 2013
• Visual Studio 2012

…

Read more at the announcement post:

• RELEASE: Announcing Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 Service Pack 1
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2013/01/31/announcing-forefront-identity-manager-2010-r2-service-pack-1.aspx

Microsoft has a series of quarterly industry magazines that are published to discuss business & technology matters of that industry.  They are free and available digitally or for delivery.

• Speak Magazine
  Microsoft Technology In Retail, Consumer Industries, and Hospitality
  http://www.onwindows.com/Retail-and-Hospitality/PrintedMagazine.aspx
• Finance on Windows magazine
  Microsoft Technology in Banking, Cappital Markets and Insurance
  http://www.onwindows.com/Financial-Services/PrintedMagazine.aspx
• Prime Magazine
  Microsoft Technology in Discrete and Process Manufacturing
  http://www.onwindows.com/Manufacturing/PrintedMagazine.aspx
• Touch Magazine
  Microsoft Technology in Government, Healthcare, Education and Public Safety & National Security
  http://www.onwindows.com/Public-Sector/PrintedMagazine.aspx

On Wednesday January 30, 2013, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was a guest on the Colbert Report.

In particular, he discussed eliminating Polio and being less ‘cool’ than Steve Jobs.

Watch it here:

• Colbert Report: Bill Gates
  Microsoft’s founder talks about polio eradication, information technology and the decline in childhood deaths worldwide.
  http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/423362/january-30-2013/bill-gates

Recently, a customer asked about Microsoft’s participation in building smart cities.  We have a fair amount of documentation around the Microsoft Environment folks that deal with this matter in tandem with Cisco & IBM.

• WHITEPAPER: The Smart City: Using IT to Make Cities More Livable (Microsoft Corporation)
  http://www.microsoft.com/global/sv-se/offentlig-sektor/PublishingImages/The%20Smart%20City_Using%20IT%20to%20Make%20Cities%20More%20Livable.pdf
• WHITEPAPER: The Central Role of Cloud Computing In Making Cities Energy-Smart (Microsoft Corporation)
  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5960
• WHITEPAPER: Energy-Smart Buildings: Demonstrating how information technology can cut energy use and costs of real estate portfolios (Accenture for Microsoft Corporation)
  http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/8/8/4885BBB9-2675-42CB-9CF2-F11B69C3C2FB/energy-smart-buildings-whitepaper-1.pdf

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SITE: Microsoft Environment – How Microsoft reduces the impact of our operations and products and drives responsible environmental leadership.
http://www.microsoft.com/environment/

Windows Embedded 8 Industry is the trusted platform for building differentiated devices that are part of an Intelligent System.

It is a fixed platform solution based on Windows 8 that provides the capabilities devices in Retail, Financial Services and Hospitality Industries require.

What’s New in Windows Embedded 8 Industry

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Rich Line of Business Experiences
Delight your customers with smooth, responsive, immersive experiences powered by Line of Business Applications, Multi-Touch, Internet Explorer 10 and more.

Connected and Efficient
Deliver a solution that utilizes the latest enhancements in power management and connectivity to stay up and running, and allow you to connect to the things that matter most inside and outside the four walls.

Trusted Platform
Deliver a targeted device experience with enhanced lockdown capabilities to meet the line of business needs and ensure the intended high-quality user experience of your customers.

Intelligent Systems Ready
Create a device that can be secured, managed and connect to IT systems to extend intelligence through the business process.

Secure
Utilize Windows 8 technologies to protect the device, data, and network to keep business running smoothly.

BETA: Windows Embedded 8 Industry – Release Preview
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/evaluate/windows-embedded-8-industry.aspx

This 25 page document goes through all the features of Windows Server Hyper-V and highlights what’s changed between 2008 R2 and 2012.

The following tables compare selected features of Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V.

The tables include comments about each version’s performance, as well as a notation about how well each feature is supported.

• WHITEPAPER: Feature Comparison- Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Windows
  http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/C/A/2CA38362-37ED-4112-86A8-FDF14D5D4C9B/WS%202012%20Feature%20Comparison_Hyper-V.pdf

We are pleased to announce our first beta release of the SQL Server 2012 Baselines for Security Compliance Manager (SCM). These baselines include Microsoft best practice recommendations that can help you secure and monitor your database servers. This beta release includes baselines for 5 SQL Server 2012 roles, PowerShell-based tools to facilitate compliance scanning and reporting, and a security guide that provides additional advice on managing the security of SQL Server 2012.

We invite you to participate in the beta review program that includes the following SQL Server 2012 baselines for Security Compliance Manager:

• SQL2012 Analysis Services-Beta
• SQL2012 Database Engine Services-Beta
• SQL2012 Integration Services-Beta
• SQL2012 Replication-Beta
• SQL2012 Reporting Services-Beta

To download the beta release of SQL Server 2012 Baselines for Security Compliance Manager join the review program on Microsoft Connect: (https://connect.microsoft.com/site715/InvitationUse.aspx?ProgramID=7896&InvitationID=SQLB-YTPC-T9YJ )

SCM is a free tool from the Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team designed to help you quickly configure and manage the security of your computers, whether there are located on-premises, in a traditional data center, or in a private cloud, using Group Policy and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. To learn more about the current version of the application, SCM 3.0, see the Microsoft Security Compliance Manager page in the TechNet Library at: (http://microsoft.com/scm).

Please send any questions or comments to the Solution Accelerators Security Team: secwish aht microsoft dawt com

Upgrading your System Center 2012 implementation to Service Pack 1?   I received some information from our Technology Specialist, Justin Stanton that may help.

The first thing to know is that SP1 for System Center 2012 is not a complete reinstall nor is it a single installer. It is, in fact, a set of separate installers for each component in the suite.  (i.e. SP1 for Configuration Manager 2012, SP1 for Service Manager 2012, etc.). 

• If you have an MSDN subscription, you can download each installer separately, just search for System Center SP1.
• If you have a Volume License Agreement, you can visit the Licensing Service Center to download the products here.

It is however very important to understand the order in which components should be upgraded since some have dependencies on others. 

• Upgrade order for System Center 2012 SP1
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj628203.aspx
  (Again, be sure to read bottom of the article for details on ‘Understanding the Upgrade Sequence’)

Here’s a few additional references that might be useful.

• Here’s a video on doing an IN-PLACE upgrade to SP1 for Configuration Manager 2012.
  http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/TechNet+Radio/TechNet-Radio-Upgrading-System-Center-2012-Configuration-Manager-to-Service-Pack-1
• Here’s the write up how Microsoft did an IN-PLACE upgrade to SP1 for Service Manager 2012.
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/wincat/archive/2013/01/22/upgrading-to-system-center-2012-sp1-service-manager-scsm-at-microsoft.aspx

More is coming from the Partner & Solutions Blog regarding upgrading Operations Manager so stay tuned.

Learn how Windows Server 2012, Hyper-V, and System Center 2012 SP1 can help you build, deploy, and manage a private cloud architecture with two new courses from Microsoft Virtual Academy:

• System Center 2012 SP1 Updates 
  System Center is a comprehensive management platform that enables you to more easily and efficiently manage your IT environments, including your server infrastructure and client devices. With System Center 2012 SP1, you get the most cost effective and flexible platform for managing your traditional datacenters, private and public clouds, and client computers and devices. System Center 2012 is the only unified management platform where you can manage multiple hypervisors, physical resources, and applications in a single offering.In this course you will learn about the broad vision and goals for SP1, as well as see the improvements across the individual components, including App Controller (SCAP), Configuration Manager (SCCM), Data Protection Manager (DPM), Endpoint Protection (SCEP), Operations Manager (SCOM), Orchestrator (SCO), Service Manager (SCSM) and Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM).
• System Center SP1 for VMware Professionals
  This course focuses on how using the Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V and System Center 2012 SP1 can help you build, deploy, and manage private cloud architecture. After completing these two modules, you will have learned about a number of the key features Microsoft uses to build and support the virtualized and physical resources that are part of your private cloud infrastructure. This course will specifically show the competitive advantages Microsoft has over the technologies and products from VMware. We will illustrate how using Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V and System Center 2012 as part of your private cloud infrastructure will benefit both your organization, and you as the IT Professional.

TRAINING: Free System Center 2012 SP1 training from MVA
http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/tracks/System-Center-2012-Service-Pack-1-Updates

Interested in a Surface for Windows 8 Pro?  (More info available here; also the datasheet is available here)

There’s going to be a line for folks looking to get one on launch day at the Microsoft Store & we’ll likely sell out again on day 1 just as we did with Surface for Windows RT… but you can reserve one and ensure you get one on launch day!

HOW?
Walk into your local Microsoft Store and request a reservation.  When you do, you’ll need to select what model you want to purchase ($899/64GB or $999/128GB SSD model) provide some contact information and all that (no credit card required) and they’ll give you a $0 receipt and a glossy reservation card. 

Below is the card from Century City:

You’ll notice the white box in the bottom right hand corner:  That’s where you place in line would go.  That’s because there’s only a limited number of reservations that they’re taking & each card in numbered.  When I say limited, the total number of reservations available isn’t something I’m allowed to post but it’s REALLY SMALL… so I’d get in there if I were you.

THEN WHAT?
The day of the launch – Feburary 9th – come on in to the store (last time there was a requirement that you do so by 12 Noon; don’t know about this time) and you’ll be guaranteed a unit.  Even if they’ve sold out and are turning away customers, they’ll still have one reserved for you in the back.

WHAT ABOUT ONLINE?  (http://surface.microsoft.com)
If you recall, online orders for the $499 model of Surface for Windows RT sold out in one day.  And online orders have not been announced yet, so I’d get on this if you’re near a store.