Windows Server 2012, for many IT pros, is far more relevant than Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 or even Office 2013.
The new server OS just shipped and we want a hands-on look. Did you beta test Windows Server 2012? Are you using the finished version? Care to share your thoughts in a Redmond magazine article?
If so, e-mail me at [email protected] and I'll be in touch.
Posted by Doug Barney on 10/10/20129 comments
Can you skip Windows 7 and migrate straight to 8 from XP? Here's what some readers think:
I think that you'll have a smoother experience by upgrading to each OS once it fits your business needs. The bigger question is why are we upgrading? What problems does it solve/create? Are there alternatives? How will applications work? Do they need to be upgraded? Does the upgrade require new hardware? How much user training is required? Etc.
-Craig
In your opinion piece on Gartner's recommendation that IT not skip Win 7, you said this:
'Ever since I've known Microsoft it has told IT not to skip operating systems, that skipping one level only makes moving to the next harder. Of course it doesn't hurt that Microsoft gets paid for each step along the way.'
Sorry, but that's flat-out wrong. Microsoft enterprise licenses have included downgrade rights pretty much always. A Win 8 license allows an enterprise to install Win 7 today and Win 8 next year without paying Microsoft 'for each step along the way.'
Just plain sloppy, and straight-up Microsoft-bashing. You're better than that.
Disclosure 1: I work for Microsoft.
2: I am not an authorized spokesman for the company.
3: I recall recently reading that current EAs were modified by Microsoft to include downgrade rights from Win 8 to Win 7 but I do not have a handy reference to cite.
-Jason
In this case, where the two OSes are very similar, I can see no structural reason to not skip Windows 7 and go straight to 8. However, I do agree that changes in Windows 8 make testing and evaluating essential. Apart from the interface change there seem to be some AD Domain networking related quirks in Windows 8 that weren't there in 7, and I am not sure that program compatibility is exactly the same between the two either. Of course end user training must be considered given the significant change in the interface. Some wish to downplay that part but experience has taught me that changes much smaller than this one are enough to create havoc.
-Andre
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Posted by Doug Barney on 10/05/20120 comments
I've been writing this newsletter for seven years and can't remember a Patch Tuesday with only one "critical" fix (although last month's patch beat that with 0 critical updates). But that is what Microsoft is planning to do next Tuesday.
The critical fix is for a remote execution flaw in Windows Server and Office. Hackers gain entry through a malicious file that is either viewed or opened. Not exactly original.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 10/05/20120 comments
Paul Allen is two things we aren't: he's a billionaire and Microsoft co-founder. For those reasons I'm paying attention to what Allen has to say about Windows 8. And what he says is surprisingly like what you all told me when I wrote a Win 8 review based entirely on the experiences of Redmond Report readers.
Allen generally likes the new OS, whereas my readers were entirely mixed. But he has the exact same concerns about the schizophrenic interface that jumps between the iPad-like UI to the more familiar traditional Windows interface.
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Posted on 10/05/20121 comments
A rapper named Machine Gun Kelly (he probably was born this way) was invited to perform at Microsoft's new store in Atlanta.
Microsoft should have done some research. A simple Google or even Bing search would have revealed the guy is an attention-seeking nut. Seems Machine Gun has a habit of getting arrested during publicity stunts (he needs a few more stunts as I had never heard of the guy).
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Posted by Doug Barney on 10/05/20123 comments
F5 has a networking device with one of the coolest names in the business. While Cisco might name a network WAN tool Cisco BPX/IGX/IP WAN Software, F5's core product is BIG-IP.
Big-IP is a suite of networking products focused on application delivery. Now there is a related tool, the Microsoft Virtualization Gateway, that moves virtual machines (VMs) to Windows Server 2012 where they can run under Hyper-V.
The tool can be standalone, work with Hyper-V and can be added to the BIG-IP application delivery controller suite.
However, you can't just rush out and buy the gateway -- you'll have to wait until Windows Server 2012 and System Center 2012 first service packs ship.
Posted by Doug Barney on 10/03/20120 comments
A growing number of shops are building private clouds on top of Windows Server. Yet like all datacenter platforms, IT pros must ensure uptime of private clouds. As a Master Consultant at Hewlett-Packard Co., Bruce Mackenzie-Low provides third-level support for applications running on Windows and specializes in clustering and crash-dump analysis. Ahead of his
Live! 360
worshop, Bruce answers some questions on how to keep your private cloud up and running.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 10/03/20120 comments
IT vets sometimes pay Gartner thousands of dollars for its advice, and vendors pay multiples of this to work with Gartner (in hopes to get the huge research house on their side). I don't think this puts Gartner in the pockets of vendors necessarily, which, if the case, would be a good reason not to believe it. But I don't generally believe Gartner because it is so often wrong.
Ever since I've known Microsoft it has told IT not to skip operating systems, that skipping one level only makes moving to the next harder. Of course it doesn't hurt that Microsoft gets paid for each step along the way.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 10/03/201213 comments
With the opening of two new stores near New York City last week, Microsoft now has 25 physical locations up and running.
Most notably is that one of these stores now resides three doors down from an Apple store. While Microsoft said this was inadvertent, it did say that choosing locations that are in close proximity to direct competitors has been a practice of the company.
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Posted by Chris Paoli on 10/01/20122 comments
Windows Server 2008 is about four years old, which would normally mean next year it would enter "extended support." This would mean that free incident support would end and the warranty would expire (but you would still get patches).
Instead, mainstream support is prolonged for an extra year and a half -- all the way 'til January 2015.
The timing of Windows Server 2012 is behind the support extension, Microsoft explains in a blog. "The Microsoft policy provides a minimum of five years of Mainstream Support or two years of Mainstream Support after the successor product ships, whichever is longer."
Don't expect the same leeway with XP. Support for that is still set for April 2014.
Posted by Doug Barney on 09/28/20120 comments
If you want to run Exchange 2010 on Windows Server 2012, you'll need Service Pack 3, which may not arrive until the first half of next year.
I'm sure Windows Server 2012 product managers (all 100 of them, if I were to guess) aren't happy with the wait. That means Windows Server 2012 must be quite a bit different than Windows Server 2008. It also means these product managers are going to have a hard time selling their new server to shops with Exchange, which is nearly every Microsoft shop I know of.
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Posted by Doug Barney on 09/28/201213 comments