PerformancePoint Server, Microsoft Datacenters Feel the Pinch

News continues to trickle out about which products/teams took hits as part of Microsoft’s 5,000-person layoff announced last week.

It looks like Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services (GFS) team is, indeed, among those taking a hit.

At the end of last year, Microsoft began slowing work on its Chicago datacenter. Now it has postponed work on its planned $500 millionDes Moines datacenter, as well.

On the Office side of the house, the PerformancePoint Server team is being realigned. Microsoft is folding PerformancePoint capabilities into SharePoint Server 14, the next version of SharePoint that is expected to ship later this year or early next.

Microsoft is planning to announce officially the PerformancePoint news on January 27, a spokesperson said.

Microsoft is adding the scorecarding, dashboard and analytics features that are part of PerformancePoint Server 2007 to SharePoint Server. These features will be renamed “PerformancePoint Services for SharePoint” and will be available to customers through the Enterprise CAL (Client-Access License) version of SharePoint Server.

More from the spokesperson:

“Additionally, in the summer of 2009, we will release ‘Service Pack 3′ for PerformancePoint Server 2007, which will include updates to the Planning module. From there we will focus our development on the new monitoring and analytic capabilities in ‘PerformancePoint Services for SharePoint’ and will not offer standalone versions of PerformancePoint Server.”

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1843

Antivirus Beta for Windows 7

Kaspersky releases Antivirus beta for Windows 7. The prototype is based on a new antivirus engine which provides complete antivirus protection from all types of Internet threats.

The new version of Kaspersky Anti-Virus is designed to secure computers running under Windows 7. The beta test version of Microsoft Windows 7 operating system was released at the beginning of January 2009.

"We knew the release of the new version of Windows would be a huge event for the IT community, which is why we were prepared for it," said Alexey Kalgin, Director Product Marketing, Corporate Business Division, Kaspersky Lab. "Our company has always made support for Microsoft's new operating systems a top priority. For example Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows Vista was released simultaneously with the operating system's official launch. When Windows Server 2008 was released, Kaspersky Anti-Virus was the only antivirus product on the market certified by Microsoft. Users can now see for themselves how our antivirus protection technologies perform on the new platform."

This new version includes real-time scanner, firewall and anti-spam protection. The product is optimised for multi-core systems and will be available for both 32bit and 64bit versions of Windows 7.

Download: Kaspersky Antivirus Beta for Windows 7

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 Released

list of Windows Server 2008 administration tools which are included in Win7 RSAT Client:

Server Administration Tools:

• Server Manager

Role Administration Tools:

• Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) 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
• Hyper-V Tools
• Terminal Services Tools

Feature Administration Tools:

• BitLocker Password Recovery Viewer
• Failover Clustering Tools
• Group Policy Management Tools
• Network Load Balancing Tools
• SMTP Server Tools
• Storage Explorer Tools
• Storage Manager for SANs Tools
• Windows System Resource Manager Tools

Microsoft released tools last week for its Windows 7 Beta that let system administrators perform remote management of Windows servers from their desktop PCs. The Windows 7 Remote Server Administration Tools, currently available as a beta, support "Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003," according to a description at the Microsoft Download Center page.

The tools let IT professionals configure roles and features remotely. They support both x86 and x64 hardware, but need to run with particular versions of Windows 7. Microsoft describes those versions as the Business Edition, Enterprise Edition and Ultimate Edition of Windows 7, which haven't been released yet. Windows 7 (Build 7000) is currently available only as a beta, but it's similar to the Ultimate Edition, according to Microsoft.

"The Windows 7 Beta will be only available in one edition, which is roughly equivalent the Ultimate edition of Windows Vista," explained Brandon LeBlanc, a Window 7 team blogger.

Adding the tools involves first removing similar remote management tools used with Windows Vista Service Pack 1, including "all versions of Administration Tools Pack," according to Microsoft's instructions. Just one copy of the tools can be installed on an IT pro's computer at a time.

The tools add a number of management features to the desktop, including Server Manager, Active Directory tools, DHCP server tools, DNS server tools and Hyper-V tools. The tools enable password recovery, group policy management and network load balancing.

Source:http://rcpmag.com/news/article.aspx?editorialsid=10510 & http://blogs.technet.com/askds/archive/2009/01/10/remote-server-administration-tools-rsat-available-for-windows-7-beta.aspx

Troubleshoot Terminal Server Errors

Terminal server is a term given to a specialized computer which combines multiple communication channels together. Since these channels are bidirectional, this digs out a way for two unlike models: Multiple entities connecting to a single resource, and a single entity connecting to multiple resources. Both of these models are widely used.

Irrespective of what it's all about; physical and virtual resources, all can be offered through a terminal server: centralized computing can offer multiple users access to a remote virtual operating system. Server administrators generally use terminal servers to terminate physical connections to their customers.

Common errors that most server users complain about are inability to establish new console session, black screen while connecting to TS, client log on failure etc. Your technical operations are getting more complex. Although your technical support worker are focusing on driving business growth but too much time gets spent on routine administration and maintenance.

Well! You can now find efficient solutions for such nasty server errors at remote server support resources. You can avail solutions for your terminal server here at the most reasonable rates along with round the clock availability.

If you are serious about taking your small business to heights, you must know the art of taking complexities out of IT management and support along with maintaining quality of your services. And you can do this easily with the help of online technical support vendors. They have got the expert team of Cisco Certified System technicians and professional computer experts who work the way you want. They help you incorporate latest technologies any where across your organization.

With remote server support centers, you can avail offer personalized support solutions for maintaining your server operations with your strategic business priorities. Good technical support resources deliver a wide spectrum of software and hardware support and technical tips for advanced server platforms and associated technologies.

System engineers working with server support centers offers your business timely support and reliable advice on all technical issues; whether it's about terminal server or any other server product, problem analysis, resolution and software defect identification.

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1173192

Small Business OS: Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003

Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 presents the most intuitive interface by far among the products in this story. Small-business end users, consultants, in-house IT experts, and VARs responsible for installing and maintaining systems will all appreciate how easy it is to navigate this OS. We also found the Web-based e-mail client Outlook Web Access unparalleled in the number and quality of features offered. And SBS 2003's integration and synchronization features for mobile devices were both impressive and unique.

Using Microsoft's remote-access feature, we felt as if we were sitting at our workplace desktop; there was simply no learning process needed. Such features are handy both for in-house IT managers working from their own workstations within a company and for administrators or VARs that manage systems remotely.

The IT-oriented set will be pleased with the many configuration wizards, which make even the most complex server installation and configuration tasks straightforward. Many server hardware manufacturers are offering the system preinstalled—a benefit for VARs, which can just perform minimal customization at their customers' sites.

SBS 2003 is the first server OS that transparently integrates Exchange, without requiring a separate purchase and dedicated configuration. With this product, Microsoft has set the standard for small business server operating systems.

Net Integration Technologies NITIX Autonomic Linux Server OS earns an honorable mention as an extremely integrated solution that is innovative and secure. This is a good choice for small businesses that want to deploy a comparatively simple infrastructure without ongoing reliance on VARs or highly qualified IT staff for maintenance and management.

Source:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1436660,00.asp