Microsoft System Center Capacity Planner 2006 (Beta) helps size and plan deployments of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 by providing you with the tools and guidance to deploy efficiently while planning for the future by allowing for "what-if" analyses
/Gill
Saturday, October 22, 2005
SyncToy v1.0 for Windows XP
Microsoft has released a tool called SyncToy. Written for WinXP and W23K. It keeps any two pairs of folders in sync.
Microsoft Seeks to Mobilize With Exchange SP2
Microsoft Seeks to Mobilize With Exchange SP2 By Clint Boulton
Microsoft is offering upgrades to Exchange Server 2003 with a new software pack that stresses better mobile messaging, improved spam blockers, and increased e-mail and mailbox storage capacity.
New mobile messaging tools in the Exchange Server Service Pack 2 (SP2) will help hardware partners and content providers deliver a device that "meets the demands of the end user for a rich mobile messaging experience."
For example, new direct push technology eliminates the need for SMS to notify and ensure a mobile device automatically retrieves new e-mail from an Exchange server. SP2 uses an HTTP connection to push new e-mail messages to the device.
The new version also provides greater control over mobile device security, including policy settings that let a user unlock a device with a password; local wipe, which dictates how many incorrect log-on attempts are permitted before your data might be at risk; and remote wipe, which allows administrators to remotely delete information from lost or stolen mobile devices.
Such features are big because research firms say business users are increasingly taking their work with them on the road in the form of handheld computers and smartphones. Such policies help to ensure that corporate data and applications are not compromised when devices are lost or get into the wrong hands.
Some partners have already announced plans to deliver devices that support SP2. Palm's Treo and Motorola's Q Windows Mobile 5.0 devices will be available in early 2006 and will include the MS Windows 5.0 Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) and support for SP2. Also, DataViz' mobile Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync-enabled client, RoadSync, will offer support for key mobility features of SP2, including Direct Push and Remote Wipe on Symbian OS.
Customers are hip to the benefits of the new mobile technologies in SP2, too. HP is planing a companywide rollout of SP2 in the near future, Microsoft said.
On the security front, Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 adds Sender ID support and updates the Exchange Instant Message Filter to help businesses thwart spam, spoofing schemes and phishing.
Sender ID helps prevent unwanted mailbox phishing and spoofing schemes by verifying the IP address of the e-mail sender against the purported owner of the sending domain.
The result of the Sender ID check is used as input to the Exchange Intelligent Message Filter, which is based on the same SmartScreen filtering technology now used in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, MSN Internet Software and Services, and Hotmail.
To fortify the Exchange mailbox in the face of the growing glut of data that users are creating, Exchange Server 2003 SP2 Standard Edition will increase the mailbox storage size limit to 75 gigabytes.
A new offline address book offers significantly improved performance when Outlook clients are operating in cached mode. Users can also now force clients into cached mode to help improve performance and increase the number of active users per server.
Customers who already have Exchange Server 2003 can download SP2 for free.
The release comes as Microsoft is prepping for its largest launch of the year: the Nov. 7 release of SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006.
Microsoft is offering upgrades to Exchange Server 2003 with a new software pack that stresses better mobile messaging, improved spam blockers, and increased e-mail and mailbox storage capacity.
New mobile messaging tools in the Exchange Server Service Pack 2 (SP2) will help hardware partners and content providers deliver a device that "meets the demands of the end user for a rich mobile messaging experience."
For example, new direct push technology eliminates the need for SMS to notify and ensure a mobile device automatically retrieves new e-mail from an Exchange server. SP2 uses an HTTP connection to push new e-mail messages to the device.
The new version also provides greater control over mobile device security, including policy settings that let a user unlock a device with a password; local wipe, which dictates how many incorrect log-on attempts are permitted before your data might be at risk; and remote wipe, which allows administrators to remotely delete information from lost or stolen mobile devices.
Such features are big because research firms say business users are increasingly taking their work with them on the road in the form of handheld computers and smartphones. Such policies help to ensure that corporate data and applications are not compromised when devices are lost or get into the wrong hands.
Some partners have already announced plans to deliver devices that support SP2. Palm's Treo and Motorola's Q Windows Mobile 5.0 devices will be available in early 2006 and will include the MS Windows 5.0 Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) and support for SP2. Also, DataViz' mobile Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync-enabled client, RoadSync, will offer support for key mobility features of SP2, including Direct Push and Remote Wipe on Symbian OS.
Customers are hip to the benefits of the new mobile technologies in SP2, too. HP is planing a companywide rollout of SP2 in the near future, Microsoft said.
On the security front, Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 adds Sender ID support and updates the Exchange Instant Message Filter to help businesses thwart spam, spoofing schemes and phishing.
Sender ID helps prevent unwanted mailbox phishing and spoofing schemes by verifying the IP address of the e-mail sender against the purported owner of the sending domain.
The result of the Sender ID check is used as input to the Exchange Intelligent Message Filter, which is based on the same SmartScreen filtering technology now used in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, MSN Internet Software and Services, and Hotmail.
To fortify the Exchange mailbox in the face of the growing glut of data that users are creating, Exchange Server 2003 SP2 Standard Edition will increase the mailbox storage size limit to 75 gigabytes.
A new offline address book offers significantly improved performance when Outlook clients are operating in cached mode. Users can also now force clients into cached mode to help improve performance and increase the number of active users per server.
Customers who already have Exchange Server 2003 can download SP2 for free.
The release comes as Microsoft is prepping for its largest launch of the year: the Nov. 7 release of SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Thursday, October 06, 2005
SQL 2005 Webcasts for Oct 2005
Twenty-four new webcasts are scheduled for October, covering such topics as SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services, SQL Server 2005: Facts and Features, A Primer to Proper SQL Server Development and more.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 1 of 6) (Level 200)
Monday, October 03, 20059:00 AM Pacific TimeThis six-part series presents a comprehensive introduction to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services for developers. In the first webcast, we provide an overview of Reporting Services.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 2 of 6) (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 05, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time This second webcast looks in depth at techniques for delivering canned reports to end users, including URL access, subscriptions, and the Web service.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 3 of 6) (Level 200)
Friday, October 07, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time This third webcast focuses on the Report Builder, a tool for ad hoc reporting.
MSDN Webcast: A Primer to Proper SQL Server Development (Part 8 of 10): Data Loading and Aging Strategies (Level 200)
Friday, October 07, 200510:00 AM Pacific TimePart eight in our series on Microsoft SQL Server 2005 development shows you how to use batch strategies to make data loading and aging more efficient.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 4 of 6) (Level 200)
Monday, October 10, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time In this fourth webcast, we examine some more advanced ideas surrounding report design. Learn how to create tabular reports, matrix reports, linked reports, charts, and sub-reports.
TechNet Webcast: Minimize Blocking with New Snapshot-Based Isolation Levels in SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
Monday, October 10, 20051:00 PM Pacific TimeAre deadlocks giving you grief? Tune into this webcast and learn how you can increase the availability of your applications to your end users.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 5 of 6) (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 12, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time This fifth webcast focuses on SQL Server Reporting Services extensibility. We demonstrate a custom data source for SQL Server Reporting Services that reads data that is not accessible through SQL queries.
SQL Server 2005: Facts and Features (200-300)
Wednesday, October 12, 200510:30 AM Central TimeLearn about the three fundamental advancements SQL Server 2005 brings to the Market: Enterprise Data Management, Developer Productivity, and Business Intelligence.
SQL Server 2005: Facts and Features
Wednesday, October 12, 200512:00 PM Eastern Time Learn about the three fundamental advancements SQL Server 2005 brings to the Market: Enterprise Data Management, Developer Productivity, and Business Intelligence.
TechNet Webcast: An Introduction to How SQL Server 2005 Can Help You Deliver Highly Available Database Systems (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 12, 20051:00 PM Pacific TimeThis webcast discusses the various features in SQL Server 2005 that can help you deliver high availability: Failover Clustering, Database Mirroring, Peer-to-Peer Replication, Database Snapshots, Snapshot Isolation, and Online Index Operations.
TechNet Webcast: Level Database Mirroring: Why, When and How? (Level 300)
Thursday, October 13, 20058:00 AM Pacific TimeIn this webcast, you will learn how to use Database Mirroring as a solution within the broader range of SQL Server 2005 high availability options such as Log Shipping, Clustering, and Replication. You will examine various deployment scenarios, and the considerations and best practices associated with each. Finally, you will learn about the best practices that are based on the experiences gained by internal testing.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 6 of 6) (Level 200)
Friday, October 14, 20059:00 AM Pacific TimeIn this sixth and final webcast, we concentrate on security and manageability, beginning with a look at the Reporting Services security model, the sources of security information, and the security roles associated with reports and servers.
MSDN Webcast: A Primer to Proper SQL Server Development (Part 9 of 10): Profiling for Better Performance (Level 200)
Friday, October 14, 200510:00 AM Pacific Time This webcast, part nine in our series on proper Microsoft SQL Server 2005 development, focuses on the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Profiler and its capabilities.
TechNet Webcast: Optimize Your SQL Server Environment for Availability with Storage Foundation for Windows (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 19, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time Join this webcast to learn how to use VERITAS Storage Foundation High Availability for Windows to optimize your SQL Server environment.
TechNet Webcast: How You Can Achieve Greater Availability with Failover Clustering Across Multiple Sites (Level 300)
Wednesday, October 19, 200511:30 AM Pacific Time In this webcast, learn how to turn a server cluster into a geographically-dispersed cluster whose nodes reside in different physical sites.
An Overview of SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services and Analysis Services
Wednesday, October 19, 200512:00 PM Eastern TimeDiscover how you can finally offer a unified and integrated view of all your business data in your enterprise reporting environment. See some of the best reasons to get excited about SQL Server 2005.
TechNet Webcast: Disaster Recovery Best Practices for SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
Thursday, October 20, 20059:30 AM Pacific Time This webcast presents a variety of best practices around maximizing SQL Server uptime and availability, while minimizing service disruption to your customers, using Quest's SQL LiteSpeed.
TechNet Webcast: Minimize Blocking Through Snapshot-based Isolation Levels (Level 200)
Friday, October 21, 20058:00 AM Pacific TimeJoin this webcast to learn how these new isolations eliminate blocking, including deadlocks between readers/writers. You will also learn how isolations provide a transactional consistent snapshot of a database at transactional and statement levels. This webcast will focus on basic concepts, managing row versions, and troubleshooting.
TechNet Webcast: Building Highly Available Database Systems that Scale with Peer-to-Peer Replication (Level 200)
Tuesday, October 25, 200511:30 AM Pacific TimeThis webcast provides an overview for how you can use Peer-to-Peer Replication in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to create geographically dispersed redundant copies of a database to improve both scalability and availability for database applications.
SQL Server 2005: Facts and Features
Wednesday, October 26, 200512:00 PM Eastern Time Learn about the three fundamental advancements SQL Server 2005 brings to the Market: Enterprise Data Management, Developer Productivity, and Business Intelligence.
MSDN Webcast: A Primer to Proper SQL Server Development (Part 10 of 10): Most Common Roadblocks to Scalability and Reliability (Level 200)
Friday, October 28, 200510:00 AM Pacific TimeThis is the final webcast in our ten-part series on proper Microsoft SQL Server 2005 development techniques.
TechNet Webcast: A Technical Overview of SQL 2005 High Availability Features (Level 200)
Monday, October 31, 20058:00 AM Pacific Time This webcast examines some of the features of Microsoft SQL Server 2005-the next release of the SQL Server product-that can help you overcome some of these barriers. This webcast reviews several specific areas: database server failure or disaster, user or application error, data access concurrency limitations, and database mirroring and clustering.
TechNet Webcast: Optimize Performance with Maximum Uptime by Creating and Maintaining Indexes Online with SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
Monday, October 31, 20059:30 AM Pacific TimeSee how in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 you can create indexes online using data definition language operations such as CREATE/ALTER/DROP index which can be executed concurrently with Data Manipulation Language operations.
TechNet Webcast: How to Increase Availability Using Database Mirroring in SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
Monday, October 31, 20051:00 PM Pacific Time This webcast provides guidance and offers considerations for operational deployments of database mirroring in Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
/Gill
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 1 of 6) (Level 200)
Monday, October 03, 20059:00 AM Pacific TimeThis six-part series presents a comprehensive introduction to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services for developers. In the first webcast, we provide an overview of Reporting Services.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 2 of 6) (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 05, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time This second webcast looks in depth at techniques for delivering canned reports to end users, including URL access, subscriptions, and the Web service.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 3 of 6) (Level 200)
Friday, October 07, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time This third webcast focuses on the Report Builder, a tool for ad hoc reporting.
MSDN Webcast: A Primer to Proper SQL Server Development (Part 8 of 10): Data Loading and Aging Strategies (Level 200)
Friday, October 07, 200510:00 AM Pacific TimePart eight in our series on Microsoft SQL Server 2005 development shows you how to use batch strategies to make data loading and aging more efficient.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 4 of 6) (Level 200)
Monday, October 10, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time In this fourth webcast, we examine some more advanced ideas surrounding report design. Learn how to create tabular reports, matrix reports, linked reports, charts, and sub-reports.
TechNet Webcast: Minimize Blocking with New Snapshot-Based Isolation Levels in SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
Monday, October 10, 20051:00 PM Pacific TimeAre deadlocks giving you grief? Tune into this webcast and learn how you can increase the availability of your applications to your end users.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 5 of 6) (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 12, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time This fifth webcast focuses on SQL Server Reporting Services extensibility. We demonstrate a custom data source for SQL Server Reporting Services that reads data that is not accessible through SQL queries.
SQL Server 2005: Facts and Features (200-300)
Wednesday, October 12, 200510:30 AM Central TimeLearn about the three fundamental advancements SQL Server 2005 brings to the Market: Enterprise Data Management, Developer Productivity, and Business Intelligence.
SQL Server 2005: Facts and Features
Wednesday, October 12, 200512:00 PM Eastern Time Learn about the three fundamental advancements SQL Server 2005 brings to the Market: Enterprise Data Management, Developer Productivity, and Business Intelligence.
TechNet Webcast: An Introduction to How SQL Server 2005 Can Help You Deliver Highly Available Database Systems (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 12, 20051:00 PM Pacific TimeThis webcast discusses the various features in SQL Server 2005 that can help you deliver high availability: Failover Clustering, Database Mirroring, Peer-to-Peer Replication, Database Snapshots, Snapshot Isolation, and Online Index Operations.
TechNet Webcast: Level Database Mirroring: Why, When and How? (Level 300)
Thursday, October 13, 20058:00 AM Pacific TimeIn this webcast, you will learn how to use Database Mirroring as a solution within the broader range of SQL Server 2005 high availability options such as Log Shipping, Clustering, and Replication. You will examine various deployment scenarios, and the considerations and best practices associated with each. Finally, you will learn about the best practices that are based on the experiences gained by internal testing.
MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 6 of 6) (Level 200)
Friday, October 14, 20059:00 AM Pacific TimeIn this sixth and final webcast, we concentrate on security and manageability, beginning with a look at the Reporting Services security model, the sources of security information, and the security roles associated with reports and servers.
MSDN Webcast: A Primer to Proper SQL Server Development (Part 9 of 10): Profiling for Better Performance (Level 200)
Friday, October 14, 200510:00 AM Pacific Time This webcast, part nine in our series on proper Microsoft SQL Server 2005 development, focuses on the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Profiler and its capabilities.
TechNet Webcast: Optimize Your SQL Server Environment for Availability with Storage Foundation for Windows (Level 200)
Wednesday, October 19, 20059:00 AM Pacific Time Join this webcast to learn how to use VERITAS Storage Foundation High Availability for Windows to optimize your SQL Server environment.
TechNet Webcast: How You Can Achieve Greater Availability with Failover Clustering Across Multiple Sites (Level 300)
Wednesday, October 19, 200511:30 AM Pacific Time In this webcast, learn how to turn a server cluster into a geographically-dispersed cluster whose nodes reside in different physical sites.
An Overview of SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services and Analysis Services
Wednesday, October 19, 200512:00 PM Eastern TimeDiscover how you can finally offer a unified and integrated view of all your business data in your enterprise reporting environment. See some of the best reasons to get excited about SQL Server 2005.
TechNet Webcast: Disaster Recovery Best Practices for SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
Thursday, October 20, 20059:30 AM Pacific Time This webcast presents a variety of best practices around maximizing SQL Server uptime and availability, while minimizing service disruption to your customers, using Quest's SQL LiteSpeed.
TechNet Webcast: Minimize Blocking Through Snapshot-based Isolation Levels (Level 200)
Friday, October 21, 20058:00 AM Pacific TimeJoin this webcast to learn how these new isolations eliminate blocking, including deadlocks between readers/writers. You will also learn how isolations provide a transactional consistent snapshot of a database at transactional and statement levels. This webcast will focus on basic concepts, managing row versions, and troubleshooting.
TechNet Webcast: Building Highly Available Database Systems that Scale with Peer-to-Peer Replication (Level 200)
Tuesday, October 25, 200511:30 AM Pacific TimeThis webcast provides an overview for how you can use Peer-to-Peer Replication in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to create geographically dispersed redundant copies of a database to improve both scalability and availability for database applications.
SQL Server 2005: Facts and Features
Wednesday, October 26, 200512:00 PM Eastern Time Learn about the three fundamental advancements SQL Server 2005 brings to the Market: Enterprise Data Management, Developer Productivity, and Business Intelligence.
MSDN Webcast: A Primer to Proper SQL Server Development (Part 10 of 10): Most Common Roadblocks to Scalability and Reliability (Level 200)
Friday, October 28, 200510:00 AM Pacific TimeThis is the final webcast in our ten-part series on proper Microsoft SQL Server 2005 development techniques.
TechNet Webcast: A Technical Overview of SQL 2005 High Availability Features (Level 200)
Monday, October 31, 20058:00 AM Pacific Time This webcast examines some of the features of Microsoft SQL Server 2005-the next release of the SQL Server product-that can help you overcome some of these barriers. This webcast reviews several specific areas: database server failure or disaster, user or application error, data access concurrency limitations, and database mirroring and clustering.
TechNet Webcast: Optimize Performance with Maximum Uptime by Creating and Maintaining Indexes Online with SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
Monday, October 31, 20059:30 AM Pacific TimeSee how in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 you can create indexes online using data definition language operations such as CREATE/ALTER/DROP index which can be executed concurrently with Data Manipulation Language operations.
TechNet Webcast: How to Increase Availability Using Database Mirroring in SQL Server 2005 (Level 200)
Monday, October 31, 20051:00 PM Pacific Time This webcast provides guidance and offers considerations for operational deployments of database mirroring in Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
/Gill
Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
Deployment of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool in an enterprise environment http://support.microsoft.com/kb/891716/
Sunday, October 02, 2005
ADModify.NET 2.1 Released!
ADModify.NET 2.1 Released!
Here is a list of the added functionality:
- Added MAPI user enable/disable (requires Exchange 2003 SP2)
- Fixed bug in variable parser to allow literal /% and /' strings
- Fixed killmail code to include all attributes listed in KB 307350
- Added "Update Email address on General Tab" option for both cmd and gui versions, for updating the mail attribute when a primary SMTP address is added
- Added wildcard search ability when removing email addresses
- Added "do not remove primary" option when removing addresses
- Added Wireless OMA/UIS/UTD options in GUI Some of the requested changes did not make it into this build as they would have pushed the release date back even further.
Rest assured that these options are still being considered as additions to the tool. Any issues or feedback with the 2.1 release, please email
admodify@microsoft.com.
http://www.gotdotnet.com/workspaces/workspace.aspx?id=f5cbbfa9-e46b-4a7a-8ed8-3e44523f32e2
Here is a list of the added functionality:
- Added MAPI user enable/disable (requires Exchange 2003 SP2)
- Fixed bug in variable parser to allow literal /% and /' strings
- Fixed killmail code to include all attributes listed in KB 307350
- Added "Update Email address on General Tab" option for both cmd and gui versions, for updating the mail attribute when a primary SMTP address is added
- Added wildcard search ability when removing email addresses
- Added "do not remove primary" option when removing addresses
- Added Wireless OMA/UIS/UTD options in GUI Some of the requested changes did not make it into this build as they would have pushed the release date back even further.
Rest assured that these options are still being considered as additions to the tool. Any issues or feedback with the 2.1 release, please email
admodify@microsoft.com.
http://www.gotdotnet.com/workspaces/workspace.aspx?id=f5cbbfa9-e46b-4a7a-8ed8-3e44523f32e2
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Office 2003 SP2 And Outlook 2003 Junk Mail Filter Update Available
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