Windows Home Server
Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 Public Beta readiness update
Just got the mail from Microsoft Connect asking to get ready for the Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 Public Beta.
Here is what the mail reads-
We’re getting ready for Power Pack 1 Public Beta, are you? We request your participation in a quick three-question survey to help us understand how many people will participate in the beta. The survey can be found at the link below or by browsing the Windows Home Server connect site Survey section.
https://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer/Survey/Survey.aspx?SurveyID=6314
Thank you to over 2000 people who have already downloaded the Windows Home Server Evaluation Edition in advance of the public beta. There is still time to download it and complete installation, so act now!
Also, please download and review the Power Pack 1 Release Documentation available on the Windows Home Server connect site or at the link below. It will help you to get prepared for the upcoming beta and learn more about what is included in Power Pack 1.
https://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=12532
The Windows Home Server team
E-mail: whsbeta@microsoft.com
Just downloaded the Release documentation it contains information about the features and enhancements in Windows Home Server Power Pack 1.
Here are some of the features and enhancements that has been discussed-
- Windows Home Server Connector Enhancements.
- Home Server Data Backup (New Feature).
- Remote Access Enhancements.
- Home Computer Backup Enhancements.
- Server Storage and Shared Folders Enhancements.
- Media Sharing Enhancements.
- Miscellaneous Enhancements.
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RODC Windows 2008 Compatibility Pack released
If you are going to be utilising RODC in mixed environment (XP and 2003 ), then you need to download the Windows 2008 RODC Compatibility Pack. The Product Group and Dev Team, have been working exceedingly hard to get this released. It addresses the following issues as described by Product Group.
"To provide support for mixed mode operations (Win2003 & Win2008) in domains involving Win2008 DCs, all the features are made available for downlevel clients (XP and Win2003) also. However, since XP and Win2003 were not developed to support the additional checks and flags introduced in RODC, some of the features fail to work with downlevel clients are interacting with RODC. This is more apparent in Demilitarized (DMZ) networked branch offices . In this kind of setup, the clients are restricted access ONLY to RODCs and not other write-able DCs, outside the network."
So the download is available now from HERE - Enjoy !
Source- Jane Lewis’s weblog
Microsoft ® Windows Server ™ 2003 Performance Advisor
Microsoft ® Windows Server ™ 2003 Performance Advisor is the latest version of Server Performance Advisor, which is a simple but robust tool that helps you diagnose the root causes of performance problems in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 deployment. Server Performance Advisor collects performance data and generates comprehensive diagnostic reports that give you the data to easily analyze problems and develop corrective actions
Microsoft ® Windows Server ™ 2003 Performance Advisor provides several specialized reports, including a System Overview (focusing on CPU usage, Memory usage, busy files, busy TCP clients, top CPU consumers) and reports for server roles such as Active Directory, Internet Information System (IIS), DNS, Terminal Services, SQL, print spooler, and others.
Windows Server 2008 Multilingual User Interface Language Packs
Multilingual User Interface Language Packs (Windows Server® Language Packs) enable a multilingual user interface in a Windows Server® 2008 environment. Adding one or more language packs to a Windows Server® 2008 image enables one or more languages in the installed Windows Server® operating system, allowing corporations to deploy the same Windows Server® 2008 image worldwide while still providing localized user interfaces.
32-bit (x86) Language Packs
• Group 1 (English, German, Japanese, French, Spanish)
• Group 2 (Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil))• Group 3 (Italian, Russian, Portuguese (Portugal), Dutch, Swedish)
• Group 4 (Polish, Turkish, Czech, Hungarian)
• Group 5 (Arabic, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hebrew, Greek, Thai, Ukrainian, Romanian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian Latin, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian)
amd64 (x64) Language Packs
• Group 1 (English, German, Japanese, French, Spanish)
• Group 2 (Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil))
• Group 3 (Italian, Russian, Portuguese (Portugal), Dutch, Swedish)
• Group 4 (Polish, Turkish, Czech, Hungarian)
• Group 5 (Arabic, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hebrew, Greek, Thai, Ukrainian, Romanian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian Latin, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian)
Itanium (ia64) Language Packs
• Group 1 (English, German, Japanese, French)
• Group 2 (Chinese Simplified, Korean)
Windows Server 2008 & Windows Vista SP1 RTM
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is being released to manufacturing on Monday 4 Feb and will start being available to customers in March, starting with Microsoft Volume Licensing customers.
Windows Server 2008 is also being released to manufacturing on the same date and will be available to new customers on March 1. Microsoft Volume Licensing customers with active Microsoft Software Assurance coverage or an Enterprise Agreement will be able to download the new Server software toward the end of February as part of the joint Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008 Heroes Happen Here launch event
According to Microsoft, Windows Vista has hundreds of new features, the most significant of which include an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems.Wndows Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology, making it easier to share files, password settings, and digital media between computers and devices. For developers, Vista introduces version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for developers to write high-quality applications than with the traditional Windows API. The Windows Communication Foundation feature which supports web services is aimed at improving networking and application integration for business and corporate users.
source- Windows Vista Blog
Windows Server 2008 RC2 Confirmed?
A few days ago I was reading an article over at the Realtime Windows Server Community (noticed it via ActiveWin) where they were wondering whether Microsoft would release an RC2 build of Server 2008 prior to RTM. Well, thanks to the new Windows Server 2008 RC1 with Hyper-V Beta which is available publicly here, Microsoft may have inadvertently already answered that exact question. Since the Server 2008 build included with the Hyper-V Beta is a newer compile (6001.17119) than the originally released Server 2008 RC1 (6001.17051), Microsoft have included an updated EULA which directly mentions RC2: 
Of course this doesn’t guarantee that Microsoft will definitely release an RC2 build however it probably is a pretty good indication of things to come.
News Source: WinBeta
Try Windows Home Server for 120 days
Microsoft is offering a 4 month trial of Windows Home Server for evaluation purposes. The Windows Home Server 120-Day Evaluation Kit includes a Windows Home Server Installation DVD, a Windows Home Server Connector CD and a Home Computer Restore CD. A backup is recommended prior to installation as the setup process for server installation will erase any existing data. Microsoft provides the minimum specifications, which aren’t very high at all, and minimum requirements on the website below. The software giant also notes that a wireless connection between Windows Home Server and the network is not supported, although home computers connected wirelessly to the wireless router can access the Home Server.
Link: Order Now
News source: Microsoft
Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 available for download
Microsoft has reached another milestone with the initial Release Candidate (RC0) of the highly anticipated Windows Server 2008 operating system, now available for download.
Packed with new features, Windows Server 2008 provides customers with the most versatile and reliable Windows platform yet. Technological advancements, such as server and presentation virtualization capabilities, Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0, Server Core, PowerShell, Network Access Protection, Server Manager, and enhanced networking and clustering technologies provide customers with a security-enhanced, easy-to-manage platform. All of these feature improvements provide customers with the most integrated Windows solution to date. For example, IIS 7.0, Microsoft’s platform for developing and reliably hosting Web applications and services, is experiencing strong customer momentum, with more than 13 hosting companies offering IIS 7.0 and more than 1,200 customers who have deployed it via the GoLive license.
To download or to obtain the product key if U have already got the Windows Server 2008 RC0 DVD visit here-http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/audsel.mspx
Source- Microsoft Press release
