Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Published: January 2009

At Microsoft, server virtualization has become a primary way to address data-center power consumption, to address space issues, and to rationalize server utilization. To optimize deployment and management of thousands of virtual machines, Microsoft Information Technology (Microsoft IT) has developed standards and best practices for configuring host servers, storage, and network infrastructure.

Microsoft IT has adopted a very aggressive approach for implementing virtualization on the Windows Server® 2008 operating system with Hyper-V� technology.

This case study describes the standards and best practices that Microsoft IT developed for configuring host computers, storage, and network infrastructure. This case study provides IT professionals and technical decision makers working in large enterprises with the information they need to plan and deploy server virtualization by using Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.

Note: This case study assumes that readers have a good understanding of server virtualization and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Readers who do not have this prerequisite knowledge should refer to Virtualization with Hyper-V, located at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv.aspx.

WHITEPAPER:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/B/6/8B6BB81E-BAD4-45D1-8E1E-FEFFB6084A7D/0616HyperVHostInfrastructureTCS.doc

VIDEO/POWERPOINT:
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032399927&Culture=en-US

TECHNET:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc974012.aspx

Upgrading Your Windows Media Player Online Experiences

For the past decade Windows Media technologies have been used for delivery of video and audio content over the Internet and within enterprise networks. The Windows Media-based ecosystem core advantages – low cost and scalable streaming servers, industry approved DRM protection, and high quality audio and video delivery – have ensured its continued popularity in the ever competing marketplace.

As the Internet has continued to evolve, we have seen higher demands placed on not just the core delivery of media content, but also on the quality of the user experience. This has in turn led to an evolution of web media players into Rich Interactive Applications (RIA). Microsoft Silverlight, a technology based on the eXtensible Application Markup Language (XAML) and .NET, provides a powerful development platform for building these modern, rich, interactive media experiences on the Web.

One of Silverlight’s core features is its support for the Windows Media ecosystem. Silverlight envelops the core technologies that make up Windows Media: the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) file specification, Windows Media Video (WMV) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) codecs, Windows Media Services (WMS) streaming, and Windows Media Digital Rights Management (WM DRM). In addition, Silverlight also embraces Windows Media-related technologies such as the SMPTE VC-1 video codec (based on WMV9) and PlayReady Digital Rights Management (DRM), an evolution of Windows Media DRM (WMDRM) 10.

With a strong emphasis on backwards compatibility, Silverlight is the logical choice for content providers, web application developers, designers and service providers with existing Windows Media infrastructures who wish to create rich, interactive media experiences on the Web. New capabilities such as support for cross-platform experiences, adaptive streaming for the highest quality delivery with the lowest cost of ownership, and protected advertising-based scenarios provide additional incentive to upgrade to Silverlight.

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=98bde5f5-d331-4337-9ce3-4c46867bc1b0

The Security Compliance Management Toolkit series builds on previous Solution Accelerators to provide you with expanded best practices and additional automation tools to help configure and deploy security settings for the following operating systems and applications: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP Professional SP3, and 2007 Microsoft Office SP1.

After deploying the security settings, you can verify the accuracy of the setting policies and monitor policy changes by applying one or more of 26 Configuration Packs using the desired configuration management (DCM) feature of Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1. This series includes the following toolkits:

• Windows Server 2008 Security Compliance Management Toolkit
• Windows Server 2003 Security Compliance Management Toolkit
• Windows Vista Security Compliance Management Toolkit
• Windows XP Security Compliance Management Toolkit
• 2007 Microsoft Office Security Compliance Management Toolkit

Note: The GPOAccelerator tool is included with each toolkit download package.

Toolkit Components
Each of the Security Compliance Management Toolkits includes the following components:

• Security guide. Each toolkit includes an updated version of a previously released security guides for either Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, or 2007 Microsoft Office. The guidance provides you with best practices and automated tools to help you plan and deploy your security baselines.
• Attack Surface Reference workbook. A resource that lists the changes introduced as server roles are installed on computers running Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008, for the toolkits specific to these operating systems.
• Security Baseline Settings workbook. A resource that lists all of the prescribed settings for each of the preconfigured security baselines that the security guides recommend.
• Security Baseline XML. XML files that allow your organization to consume the data defined in the security baseline settings workbooks.
• GPOAccelerator tool. A tool that you can use to create all the Group Policy objects (GPOs) you need to deploy your chosen security configuration. This release also supports Windows Server 2003, and creating security configurations on machines not joined to a domain.
• INF Files. INF files for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008.
• Baseline Compliance Management Overview. The overview discusses best practices on how to monitor security baselines for Windows operating systems and Office applications.
• DCM Configuration Pack User Guide. A step-by-step prescriptive user guide about how to use the Configurations Packs with the DCM feature in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1.
• DCM Configuration Packs. The toolkit series includes 26 Configuration Packs.

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=5534bee1-3cad-4bf0-b92b-a8e545573a3e

The Microsoft SharePoint Administration Toolkit contains functionality to help manage Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services version 3.0.

This toolkit contains the ability to diagnose performance issues, perform bulk operations on site collections, an Stsadm operation to update alert e-mails after the URL for a Web application has been changed, and a User Profile Replication Engine tool.

New Features:

• The SharePoint Diagnostics tool provides administrators with a unified interface for troubleshooting SharePoint Server performance issues. Use the tool to collect data from performance counters, ULS log files, IIS log files, event logs, and WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation), and then display and analyze the data in snapshots and custom reports.
• The setup program is updated to work gracefully with User Access Control. You no longer need to manually run as administrator.

See the following documentation on TechNet regarding use of the toolkit:

• SharePoint Administration Toolkit: SPDiag Tool (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=141204)
• Information for farm administrators about Batch Site Manager, User Profile Replication Engine, and the updatealert operation for the Stsadm command-line tool can be found in SharePoint Administration Toolkit (Office SharePoint Server) and SharePoint Administration Toolkit (Windows SharePoint Services).

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=412a9ef1-3358-4420-b820-0ca3f4641651

Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) enables IT administrators to remotely manage roles and features in Windows Server 2008 from a computer that is running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1). It includes support for remote management of computers that are running either a Server Core installation option or a full installation option of Windows Server 2008. It provides similar functionality to the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack.

System Requirements:

• RSAT can be installed on 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the following configurations:
  • Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1
  • Windows Vista Enterprise with SP1
  • Windows Vista Business with SP1
• RSAT can be used to manage 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008.
• RSAT should not be installed on a computer that is running the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack or the Windows 2000 Server Administration Tools Pack. Please remove all Administration Tools Pack versions from the computer before you install RSAT.
• Only one copy of RSAT can be installed on a computer at one time. Before you install a new package, remove any existing versions of RSAT. This includes any copies that are in different languages.

Windows Server 2008 Administration Tools

• Active Directory Certificate Services Tools
• Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Tools
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Tools
• DHCP Server Tools
• DNS Server Tools
• File Services Tools
• Network Policy and Access Services Tools
• Terminal Services Tools
• Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Services Tools

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=9ff6e897-23ce-4a36-b7fc-d52065de9960

INSTRUCTIONS:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/941314

The VMMCA is a diagnostic tool that you can use to scan important configuration settings for computers that either are serving or might serve VMM roles or other VMM functions. The VMMCA scans the hardware and software configurations of the computers that you specify, evaluates them against a set of predefined rules, and then provides you with error messages and warnings for any configurations that are not optimal for the VMM role or function that you specified for the computer.

NOTE:  The VMMCA does not duplicate or replace the prerequisite checks performed during the setup of VMM 2008 components.

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=02d83950-c03d-454e-803b-96d1c1d5be24

BLOG:
For more information & step-by-step instructions on how to install and configure VMMCA, check out the SCVMM blog at:
http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/archive/2009/01/05/scvmm-2008-installation-step-by-step.aspx

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 RC and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 RC is now available to general public for download.

SP2 Release Candidate (RC) Standalone for computers that have Windows Server 2008 SP1 or Windows Vista SP1 installed and want to update to Service Pack 2:

Five Language SP2 Standalone: for computers with one or more of the following five languages: English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish only (other languages installed on your computer will not work).

• ISO for Windows Server 2008 x86/x64/ia64 and Windows Vista x86/x64
• x86 for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista x86
• x64 for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista x64
• IA64 for Windows Server 2008 ia64

The service pack is delivered as a single release for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. There will be a single 32-bit standalone installer (302 MB to 390 MB) for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. However, there will be two 64-bit standalone installers, including one which covers x64 architectures (508 MB to 622 MB) and one for Itanium 64-bit (384 MB to 396 MB)

TECH CENTER LINK:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dd262148.aspx

Microsoft is pleased to announce the 5th annual Microsoft Project Conference being held September 14-17, 2009 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ. Join us to celebrate the successes of Microsoft Project and to see what’s coming, as we exclusively unveil the powerful capabilities included in the next release. At this year’s conference, you will learn how Project is helping customers today to save money, enhance efficiency and drive growth, as well as obtain unique insights into how the next release will continue to support your business tomorrow.

Project Conference 2009 is the global event to attend. It’s sure to be one of the most exciting and valuable Project Conferences yet with high-impact keynotes, 75+ in-depth breakout sessions, hands on labs, demonstrations and many opportunities to connect and collaborate with your peers, industry practitioners, certified partners and the Microsoft Project team. In the current economic climate, it’s vital to keep both your individual skills and organizational capabilities moving forward – don’t miss the opportunity!

• Monday, September 14
  6:00pm – 9:00pm: Opening Welcome Reception
• Tuesday, September 15
  9:00am – 5:00pm: Keynote Sessions and Breakout Sessions
  6:00pm – 9:00pm: Evening Rodeo Dinner at Corona Ranch
• Wednesday, September 16
  9:00am – 5:00pm: Keynote Sessions and Breakout Sessions
• Thursday, September 17
  9:00am – 2:00pm: Keynote Sessions and Breakout Sessions

LINK: 
http://msprojectconference.com/

For those of you with Samsung i760s on Verizon Wireless:
(This technically will work with many different phones but may require a different Service Code depending on the model)

———————

HOW TO CHANGE THE CODEC USED TO TRANSMIT & RECEIVE YOUR VOICE:

By default the codec used is Enhanced Variable Rate CODEC (EVRC). I believe the bandwidth on EVRC is 8kbs. By switching to the 13kbs Vocoder, call quality is theoretically better.
As taken from “Wirelessadvisor”:

The 13kbps Vocoder catches more of the nuances of a person’s speech and generally sounds a good bit better, but when there are errors in the bit stream it makes people sound robotic. The 8kbps EVRC codec is more efficient, but loses a lot of the nuances of speech. It is better at handling bit errors so it doesn’t make people sound so robotic or create the drastic shifts in tone that the 13kbps one does, but it does introduce the digital hiss that you hear in the background (it sounds like running water digitized at a very low bit rate) and when things get bad it drops frames (rather than creating such a dramatic shift in the speakers tone).

That being said, it appears that EVRC handles/keeps calls better in low-signal areas.

In case you wanted to change to the 13k Vocoder:

1. Dial **772
2. Enter the Service Code 000000 (six 0’s) and tap OK
3. Push the directional pad down until you see a screen that says:

SVC Mode NAM1
End of BASIC NAM
EXIT

4. Push the directional pad right so that "Exit" becomes "More"
5. Press the action button (middle of directional pad) to enter the additional settings menu.
6. Press down 1 time to get to the screen that says:

SVC Mode NAM1
Orig. SVC OPT
EVRC

7. The default is set to EVRC. To change to 13k Vocoder press right on the d-pad once.
8. Then press the action button once to save the change.
9. Finally, press the left soft key "Exit" to exit the service menu.

Securing Sensitive Data in an Insecure Economy
Thursday, March 12, 2009 11:00AM–2:00PM, Manhattan Beach, CA

If you are charged with safeguarding sensitive information, please join RSA and Microsoft to discuss technologies and best practices that enable companies to discover, protect and securely share sensitive information.

Learn how RSA® Data Loss Prevention Suite (DLP) and Microsoft’s Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) can help you protect sensitive data while minimizing the resources required to implement, manage, and maintain the system. Accelerate your business with the knowledge that your information remains an asset and never becomes a liability.

Seminar topics for discussion will include:

• Microsoft’s DLP Partnership with RSA
• DLP 101—Challenges, Strategies, and Solutions
• Building Your DLP Implementation Plan Around Best Practices
• Securing Data in SharePoint

Date/Time:
March 12, 2009
11 AM – 2 PM
(Lunch will be served)

Location:
Manhattan Beach, CA

Registration:
Please contact me, if you are a customer of mine, for registration information to this seminar.