Exchange 2010 SP1 gives Multi-Tenant support

Posted on October 21, 2011 by BassQ

Exchange 2010 SP1 has built-in multi-tenant support, which helps service providers to host multiple organizations in a single Active Directory environment. There are few features which are available only in hosting mode and few others which are not available, compared to a normal deployment of Exchange 2010 SP1. 2010 SP1 will form part of the suite of multi-tenant capable products that will replace the Hosted Messaging and Collaboration solution.

Few points to note about installing 2010 SP1 in hosting mode:

The installation can only be done in command line.
You need to use /InstallWindowsComponents while running the setup to install all windows components required for Exchange. This will not install the pre-requirements only the windows components! Always install the pre-requirements first.
You need to use /Hosting switch while running the setup to install Exchange in hosting mode.
2010 SP1 is required.
Exchange Management Console will not be installed.

Exchange 2010 SP1 doesn’t support the following features in Hosting mode (from Technet):

Exchange Management Console
Public Folders
Unified Messaging Server role
GalSync
Federation
Business-to-Business features such as cross-premises message tracking and calendar sharing
IRM
Outlook 2003 support (EnableLegacyOutlook)
Edge Transport Server role
Same forest upgrade from Exchange 2007
Resource forest
Parent-child domains
Discontiguous namespace
Disjoint namespace

Here is based on the blogs zerohoursleep and howexchangeworks how its done! This step-by-step tutorial that will guide you to installing your first Exchange 2010 SP1 multi-tenant organization to a fully operational mode.

Lab setup

For this lab I am using 2 servers running Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 one of them acting as a domain controller for the lab domain lab.com and the other will be running all roles of Microsoft Exchange 2010 SP1 CAS,HUB and Mailbox.

Of course in a live environment exchange roles will be most probably split among multiple servers but the concept is pretty much the same.

I will assume that the Domain Controller is already installed and that the exchange server to be has already Windows 2008 R2 installed with all the required patches to deploy Exchange 2010 SP1.

Installing Exchange 2010 SP1 in hosting (or multi-tenant) mode

Installing Exchange prerequisites on Windows 2008R2

I am used to this script to automate installation of the prerequisites since I find it very clean.
We will start by running the powershell administrator “right click -> run as administrator” and allow the script execution using

Set-ExecutionPolicy unrestricted

Running the script will then offer you a menu, in my case I need to select option 6 since all roles will be installed on the same server and restart the machine after.

Installing Exchange

As you may already know Exchange 2010 multi-tenant can only be installed using the command line by adding the /hosting parameter, we will initiate the installation by running

setup.com /m:install /r:m,ca,ht /installwindowscomponents /hosting /on:ExchLab

Let me first explain the above command

/m stands for /mode and we are running the installation mode
/r stands for /roles and we want to install the m (mailbox) ca (client access) ht (hub transport) roles. Of course you will need to change this if you don’t want to install all roles
/hosting is required to tell the setup to run the hosting installation
/on stands for /OrganizationName and you will define here the name of your Exchange organization. I called mine ExchLab

We will now wait for the installation to finish

A few differences with Exchange not hosted

The first thing I have noticed after the installation is differences in Active Directory Users and Computers like the presence of a brand new Organizational Unit “Microsoft Exchange Hosted Organizations”

And the addition of new Exchange Security groups (plus the absence of the UM one)

Now of course the absence of the Exchange Management Console should have been first however this I was expecting since it is all over the place so I was expecting this.

Continue reading →

XenDesktop 5.5 is Here!

Posted on August 25, 2011 by BassQ

Citrix is announcing the immediate availability of XenDesktop 5.5.

Citrix continues to innovate in the desktop virtualization space and build on the on the market leading trajectory established with first with XenDesktop 4.0 — the industry’s first VDI offering to provide integrated app and desktop delivery in a single product – and extended with XenDesktop 5.0 — focused on simplification and scalability for the administrator to deploy and manage virtual desktops. With the release of XenDesktop 5.5, Citrix takes it up a notch yet again and sets the new standard for desktop virtualization — including the ability to deliver personal VDI desktops, provide an unparalleled user experience with more than 150 new HDX features and enhancements, deliver “headquarters-like” experience across the WAN to remote workers and branch offices and new Citrix Receivers for Windows and MacOS. Whew! That was a long sentence :-)

You can read about all of the news here.

Personal VDI desktops and reducing cost

The Citrix focus on end user experience and reducing costs of virtual desktop deployments was the driving force behind the RingCube acquisition and today’s announcement of the availability of the personal vDisk technology as a feature of XenDesktop 5.5.

If you haven’t heard about it, the new personal vDisk technology enables IT to realize the cost saving and management of pooled virtual desktops, while providing personalization capabilities for profiles, data and applications that is typically found in a dedicated VDI deployment model. Since we announced the acquisition of RingCube two weeks ago, my inbox has exploded with requests for more information regarding pricing, packaging and availability. I am pleased to confirm today that the personal vDisk technology will be included in all editions of XenDesktop at no additional charge. The personal vDisk technology is available today as an “Early Access” feature for customers with Software Assurance to use in their labs and proof of concepts to get familiar with the technology. In less then two weeks since the closing of this acquisition, we have delivered on the first release that is integrated with XenDesktop. Using XenDesktop Studio, administrators can quickly create and deploy virtual desktops that take advantage of the personal vDisk technology. The combination of the user acceptance of the personal VDI desktop and the IT cost savings allow organizations to deploy virtual desktops to a wider based of end users – truly creating a win-win situation.

You get additional technical information on the personal vDisk here.

New! XenApp 6.5 Available Now!

Posted on August 25, 2011 by BassQ

These are exciting times for desktop virtualization. The industry is growing and Citrix is leading the charge. The XenDesktop product line is getting plenty of well-deserved attention, but today Citrix is also announcing exciting new enhancements for XenApp 6.5. Whether included as a component of XenDesktop Enterprise and Platinum or deployed as a standalone product, XenApp has long been recognized as the de-facto standard in on-demand app delivery. Now with turbo-charged app launches and a seamless multimedia experience over any network, XenApp 6.5 makes the user experience better than ever.

Instant App Access

The XenApp 6.5 feature generating the most excitement among customers is Instant App Access. Gone are the days when users would have to wait several seconds for the creation of an ICA session before their application launched. By creating an ICA session immediately upon user log-in to Citrix Receiver, Session Pre-Launch dramatically reduces overall application launch times. Since the ICA session is created even before the user clicks the application icon, the only remaining time to wait is for the application launch itself. Depending on the application, this can be nearly instantaneous.

Similar technology allows an ICA session to linger after users close their last published app so that the next application launch is just as instantaneous. While these features do consume a license, the time periods for lingering or pre-launch are configurable by the IT admin.

Seamless multimedia experience with HDX

With only a few exceptions, all of the HDX enhancements seen in XenDesktop 5.5 are also applicable for XenApp 6.5. For example, significant updates to HDX MediaStream for Flash mean that Adobe® Flash® content can be rendered locally over more network conditions than before. This dynamically takes advantage of computing resources at the end point, resulting in even higher server scalability and a great user experience even at up to 300ms round-trip latency.

Multi-Stream ICA

IT administrators now have the option of delivering XenApp ICA traffic over up to four TCP/IP streams. Now instead of prioritizing the entire ICA pipeline over HTTP traffic, this feature enables more granular control for Quality of Service (QoS) routing. Now customers can provide superior audio/visual quality for apps delivered over the WAN for example without disrupting other HTTP traffic.

Any Device, Anywhere with Citrix Receiver

XenApp 6.5 takes advantage of new Citrix Receiver enhancements for extreme multi-tasking, faster Windows app performance and advanced Linux device support. Customers can now deliver self-service apps to more than one billion devices, including PCs, Macs, tablets, smartphones, and thin clients – and all major device operating platforms, including new environments like iOS, Android, and Google ChromeOS. Add it all up and we’re talking about over 1 Billion devices.

Enhanced Desktop Experience

Previously provided as an add-on pack for XenApp 6.0, support for an enhanced desktop experience is now included as an integrated feature of XenApp 6.5. IT can transform the typical server desktop published by XenApp. This feature enables support for themes, installs accessory apps, and allows for the display of high-res wallpapers. With a Windows-7 like Start Menu and taskbar, users can enjoy the look and feel of a Windows 7 desktop, while IT can benefit from the server density and locked down image management of a hosted shared desktop

Desktop Director

When end-users need support help with their XenApp delivered apps, help desk support staffs can use the popular Desktop Director console that now includes the integrated capability to assist users with applications delivered by XenApp and with desktops delivered by XenDesktop.

Dynamic Data Center Provisioning

Now XenApp 6.5 deployments can be scaled in record time by creating “controller” or “worker” roles in a XenApp server farm. Because workers in the farm need to sync much less data, fewer overall database transactions are required. Plus, these new roles make the process of joining a large number of servers to a XenApp farm faster and easier.

These are just a few of the new features in XenApp 6.5. For a full list of all features and a comparison to previous versions, you can refer to the new comparative feature matrix.

For a free interactive overview of XenApp 6.5 be sure to check out this new online course.

System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0 SP1 released

Posted on August 14, 2011 by BassQ

Are your datacenter costs rising? Does your current infrastructure make it difficult to scale up or down quickly to respond to the changing needs of your organization? To meet these challenges, you need a more cost-effective, agile way to provide IT services—quickly, efficiently, and on demand.

System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0 SP1 is a free, partner-extensible solution that allows you to dynamically pool, allocate, and manage datacenter resources. Using the Self-Service Portal, you can reduce IT costs, while increasing agility for your organization. The Self-Service Portal works with products and technologies you know and trust, like Windows Server and the System Center product suite. This solution delivers:

Automated web portals and a workload provisioning engine that integrates with System Center.
Tested guidance and best practices to help configure and deploy private cloud infrastructures.
Guidance to help partners easily extend functionality.
Localization in three languages: Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.

Download the System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0 SP1 today.

Self-Service Portal Technology Partners

The Self-Service Portal includes powerful extensibility features for Microsoft technology partners. Independent software and hardware vendors can customize different virtual machine actions (create, delete, stop, start, shut down, connect, pause, and so on) to take advantage of the unique characteristics of their infrastructure.

Citrix Integration Pack for Self-Service Portal

The integration pack integrates Essentials for Hyper-V with System Center by automatically provisioning the storage whenever a virtual machine is commissioned though the Self-Service Portal.
Learn more >

Compellent Solution Pack for Self-Service Portal

Utilizing Windows PowerShell® with the Compellent Storage Center SAN, Compellent’s Solution Pack enables the integration and support for self-service provisioning of data storage resources with Virtual Machine Manager and Windows Server Hyper-V™ through the Self-Service Portal.
Learn more >

F5 Solution for Self-Service Portal

The F5 solution for Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal adds the option for traffic management by the BIG-IP application delivery controller (ADC) within the service role section of a user request. Executing this option automatically configures the BIG-IP for the request of VMs as they come online.
Learn more >

HP Services Using the Self-Service Portal

Accelerate your journey to the private cloud with HP’s Converged Infrastructure and HP Technology Consulting services. Begin with a short assessment, then continue to implementation based on HP’s deep experience in the datacenter. HP uses pre-developed scripts, portals, and cmdlets to integrate into your environment and build a self-service infrastructure.
Learn more >

Intel Cloud Builder Guide: Cloud Design and Deployment on Intel Platforms

The Intel reference architecture will assist organizations that require their cloud data and assets to reside on premises and those that need to support a new business domain with a separate IT infrastructure that is scalable and flexible.
Learn more >

NetApp ApplianceWatch PRO 2.1.1

Accelerate virtual machine provisioning, and increase storage efficiencies in private cloud implementations managed by the Self-Service Portal with the integration scripts and PowerShell cmdlets included in ApplianceWatch PRO 2.1.1 that enable rapid provisioning of space-efficient VMs using NetApp FlexClone technology.
Learn more >

VKernel Chargeback with Hyper-V

VKernel Chargeback with Hyper-V enables private clouds to automatically map virtualization costs to applications and customers by reporting on allocated costs and by measuring and expensing the actual consumption of server and storage resources by cloud customers.
Learn more >

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 is out

Posted on August 14, 2011 by BassQ

What’s New in SQL Server 2008 R2 SP 1 ?

Dynamic Management Views for increased supportability:

sys.dm_exec_query_stats DMV is extended with additional columns to improve supportabilities over troubleshooting long-running queries. New DMVs and XEvents on select performance counters are introduced to monitor OS configurations and resource conditions related to the SQL Server instance.

ForceSeek for improved querying performance :

Syntax for FORCESEEK index hint has been modified to take optional parameters allowing it to control the access method on the index even further. Using old style syntax for FORCESEEK remains unmodified and works as before. In addition to that, a new query hint, FORCESCAN has been added. It complements the FORCESEEK hint allowing specifying ‘scan’ as the access method to the index. No changes to applications are necessary if you do not plan to use this new functionality.

Data-tier Application Component Framework (DAC Fx) for improved database upgrades:

The new Data-tier Application (DAC) Framework v1.1 and DAC upgrade wizard enable the new in-place upgrade service for database schema management. The new in-place upgrade service will upgrade the schema for an existing database in SQL Azure and the versions of SQL Server supported by DAC. A DAC is an entity that contains all of the database objects and instance objects used by an application. A DAC provides a single unit for authoring, deploying, and managing the data-tier objects. For more information, see Designing and Implementing Data-tier Applications.

Disk space control for PowerPivot:

This update introduces two new configuration settings that let you determine how long cached data stays in the system. In the new Disk Cache section on the PowerPivot configuration page, you can specify how long an inactive database remains in memory before it is unloaded. You can also limit how long a cached file is kept on disk before it is deleted.

Fixed various issues:

This update fixes many knowledge base issues that are listed in this Master KB article.
Link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2463333

For a detailed list of new features and improvements that are included in SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1, review the What’s New Section in Release Notes.
Link: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9764593

Now Sp1 is officially released, you can download the service pack from the Download Center:
Download: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26727

If you’re looking for SP1 for SQL Server Express:
Download: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26729

And the updated feature packs can be found here:
Download: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26728

The build number is 10.50.2500. SELECT @@VERSION will now yield something like this:

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (SP1) – 10.50.2500.0 (X64)
Jun 17 2011 00:54:03
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation
Developer Edition (64-bit) on Windows NT 6.1 (Build 7601: Service Pack 1)

Firefox 4 final release on March 22!

Posted on March 20, 2011 by BassQ

After twelve betas, one release candidate and a year of development, Mozilla plans to release the final version of Firefox 4 on March 22 around 7AM PDT.

Tech blog ConceivablyTech spotted the date on Mozilla’s official release schedule yesterday and a message to developers from Mozilla senior engineering director Damon Sicore indicated the first and only Firefox 4 release candidate would likely ship as the final version of the browser. Firefox 4 RC1 was made available on March 9.

”As of now, there are no known issues that would stop us from shipping RC1 as final…March 22nd is the day we would ship. Both IT and Marketing have indicated that March 22nd is an acceptable final launch date. If at any time we discover issues that would block final release, we would issue an RC2 as soon as possible, reset the ship date, and communicate to everyone,” he said.

Despite Mr Sicore’s mention of the possibility of a second release candidate, Mozilla planning notes indicate the company would most likely push Firefox 4 out the door on March 22 and follow-up with an incremental update to fix any minor issues.

”Several issues have been identified as potential ridealongs, meaning we might do a 4.0.1 release,” the notes said.

The final version of Firefox 4 was originally scheduled to ship in November 2010, but repeated delays saw the release schedule revised on more than one occasion. Given that rather chequered history, it remains to be seen if Firefox 4 will actually ship on March 22 as planned.

Based on the Gecko 2.0 engine, Firefox 4 will bring an updated user interface, new ways to organize tabs, a revamped add-on manager, support for HTML5 video standards, multitouch support on Windows 7 and a range of performance and security enhancements.

Mozilla has indicated a desire to move to a faster release schedule following Firefox 4, with mozilla.org co-founder and Mozilla CTO Brendan Eich telling developers users could be running the fifth version of Firefox just months after Firefox 4 is released.

Internet Explorer 9 is here!

Posted on March 20, 2011 by BassQ

Microsoft has launched the much anticipated IE9.

To start experiencing a more beautiful web with IE9 and to visit a small set of the top 250 web-sites globally that have created a more beautiful experiences for all of us with IE9, go to http://beautyoftheweb.com/experience.

Internet Explorer 9 has now been downloaded 2.35 million times in the first 24 hours since its Monday night release. That is over 27 downloads every second, or over 240 downloads every 9 seconds. Wow!.

They want to thank everyone around the world for downloading IE9 and the enthusiastic reception. 2.3 million downloads in 24 hours is over double the 1 million downloads we saw of the IE9 Beta and four times that of the IE9 RC over the same time period.

In case you missed it, check out the collection of videos from the SxSW launch event. Ze Frank’s demo of Star.ME is one not to be missed!

You can see all of the demos and the complete launch event by clicking play below. And to download Internet Explorer 9 for yourself, visit http://www.beautyoftheweb.com.

Ze Frank’s demo of Star.ME is one not to be missed!

You can see all of the demos and the complete launch event by clicking play below. And to download Internet Explorer 9 for yourself, visit http://www.beautyoftheweb.com.

Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 1

Posted on March 20, 2011 by BassQ

Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 4.6 Service Pack 1 provides the latest updates to App-V 4.6

Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 1 (App-V 4.6 SP1) updates App-V 4.6 with the latest security and stability enhancements to help keep computers running App-V up-to-date, reliable, and more secure. The goal of this service pack is to increase the overall quality of the existing product features while maintaining a high level of compatibility with previous releases. ‘
Feature Summary:

Streamlined application sequencing – Improvements to the App-V 4.6 SP1 Sequencer make packaging applications for App-V easier and faster.
Support for using a read-only cache on RDS – App-V 4.6 SP1 now supports using a shared, read-only cache in both VDI and RDS environments.
Support for sequencing Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 – App-V 4.6 SP1 now supports sequencing the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0.
Customer Feedback and Hotfix Rollup – App-V 4.6 SP1 also includes a rollup up of fixes to address issues found since the Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 release.

Download details Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 1

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932) and download

Posted on February 18, 2011 by BassQ

Service Pack 1 is now available on Technet for subscribers.

Consumer end-users can find general information about Windows 7 SP1 at the following Microsoft website:

http://windows.microsoft.com/windows7sp1

Public downloads will be here

Windows 7 Service Pack 1

To obtain Windows 7 SP1, visit the following Microsoft website:

http://windows.microsoft.com/installwindows7sp1 (http://windows.microsoft.com/installwindows7sp1)

Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1

To obtain Windows 2008 R2 SP1, visit the following Microsoft website:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=199583

The following documentation for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 is provided here.

Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1.doc 213KB Download

Hotfixes and Security Updates included in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1.xls 465KB Download

Installing Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1.doc 94KB Download

Release Notes for Windows 7 with Service Pack 1.doc 87KB Download

Release Notes for Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1.doc 87KB Download

MS KB Information about Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2

How to configure Citrix IMA to use a specified network Interface

Posted on February 6, 2011 by BassQ

source: http://www.doctor-citrix.com/

The purpose of these settings is to set up a specific NIC for IMA use when You have multi homed XenApp Servers.
Registry Values to Set;

Purpose(s) is specify if the server has several NICs or not;
Registry Hive : HKLM\Software\Citrix\IMA
Value : MultipleNICMySelf
Type : REG_DWORD
Data : 1 (1 = This Server has several NICs)

Purpose(s) is to specify the NIC to dedicate;
Registry Hive : HKLM\Software\Citrix\IMA
Value : NICToUse
Type : REG_SZ
Data : Mac adress of the desired NIC (example : 00-C0-4F-74-68-E5 )

If one of the previously specified reg values is set on any server you’llo have to set the following reg value to ALL SERVERS within the Farm.

Purpose(s) is to specify that IMA will try to communicate with all remote server NICs
Registry Hive : HKLM\Software\Citrix\IMA
Value : MultipleNICOtherServer
Type : REG_DWORD
Data : 1

15 great information recources for Application Virtualization from Microsoft

Posted on January 2, 2011 by BassQ

Source; http://www.marcoblijenberg.nl/
Let’s start sharing some great information on Microsoft Application Virtualization alias APP-V or the old name softgrid.
Below is an overview of links with all kind of great information on APP-V.

App-V general information

APP-V Techcenter, your starting point when you need more information about APP-V| Microsoft Technet
APP-V whitepapers, part of APP-V Techcenter | Microsoft Technet
Tech forum with all App-V related information, not only limited to APP-V | Appvirtguru.com
App-V information, clear overview on APP-V components | app-vsupport.com
App-V FAQ overview | http://blog.stealthpuppy.com/appv-faqs

App-V learning resources

Some App-V learning video’s | Blogcastrepository
Application Virtualization (App-V) Video Series | Microsoft Technet
TechNet Virtual Labs: System Center | Microsoft Technet
App-V certification, there’s no “stand alone” APP-V certification. Skills being measured are based on MDOP | Microsoft Learning

App-V sequencing & recipes

Application Virtualization message-board, not only limited to App-V | Appdeploy.com
The Microsoft App-V Sequencing Recipe Forum | Microsoft Technet
Stealthpuppy recipe/sequence resources | App-V recipes
TMUrgent recipe/sequence resources | App-V recipes

App-V related blogs

App-V team blog | Microsoft Technet Blog
The Official Microsoft Virtual World Blog | http://blogs.technet.com/virtualworld/
The Official Microsoft MDOP(where App-V for Desktop is part of) blog | http://blogs.technet.com/mdop/
Kirx.org | http://www.kirx.org/app-v/app-v-en.html
Aaron Parker’s Stealthpuppy on application virtualization and more | http://blog.stealthpuppy.com/
Confessions of a Guru | tmurgent.com
Kevin Kaminski’s blog at MyITforum| myitforum.com
Application Distribution Blog by Nicke Källen, Microsoft MVP on App-V | Viridisit website
German App-V website maintained by Microsoft employee Sebastian Gernert | blogs.msdn.com/sgern
Independent App-V Blog | http://www.softgridblog.com/
DesktopControl Blog |http://www.desktopcontrol.info/

App-V Tools

App-V Best Practice Analyzer | Microsoft Download Center
App-V ADM Templates, also check-out the ADM add-ons from Login Consultants| Microsoft Downloads
App-V Resource Kit tool, you will need this when using Dynamic Suite Composition | Microsoft Technet
Great resource with tools and instant apps for your demo’s | virtualapp.net
The App-V tools from Login Consultants, you need to register before you can download the tools | Login Consultants Tools
Application Virtualization Central, with tools, training videos and much more | tmurgent.com
Download sequenced applications free | http://www.instantapp.net/

App-V troubleshooting

General troubleshooting App-V | Microsoft Technet Blogs
The Microsoft Online Help for Application Virtualization | Microsoft Technet

Tweak Windows Server 2008 R2 into Windows 7 Look and Feel

Posted on November 22, 2010 by BassQ

Use Themes on Windows Server 2008 R2;

Like Windows 7 its also possible to use the Aero theme including 3d flip or at least the Windows 7 Basic theme without transparency nor 3d flip on Windows Server 2008 R2. Note that following this tutorial and installing the “Desktop Experience” Feature also installs Windows Mail, Windows Media Player, Video for Windows (AVI support), Windows Photo Gallery, Windows SideShow, Windows Defender, Disk Cleanup, Sync Center, Sound Recorder and Character Map.

Continue reading →

Visual tour: 25 years of Windows

Posted on November 21, 2010 by BassQ

Twenty-five years ago, on Nov. 20, 1985, Microsoft introduced its first version of Windows to the world. Not many people outside the technical press or the tech industry took notice. Product launch events that cost hundreds of millions of dollars were still years away.

What’s changed in Windows in the last 25 years? Plenty. In this image gallery, we take a look at the various faces of Windows over the past couple of decades and clue you in to what happened at every stage of the operating system’s development.

1985: Windows 1.0

Windows 1.0

Windows started in 1981 as a project called Interface Manager and experienced a series of delays getting out of the gate. When it was finally released in late 1985 as Windows 1.0, it made a ripple, not a splash. It had to be run on top of DOS, few applications were written for it, and application windows couldn’t be overlapped (they had to be tiled).

Still, the OS allowed for multitasking of Windows apps (not DOS ones) and, even though few knew it at the time, it would eventually become the foundation for the Microsoft empire.

Windows 1.0 shipped with a handful of apps, including the Notepad text editor, a rudimentary calendar and the long-lived graphics painting program Paint. The operating system required MS-DOS Version 2.0, 256KB of memory and a graphics adapter. It could be run either from a hard disk or on two floppy disks running simultaneously — in other words, you couldn’t swap the disks in and out of a single drive.

from: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9196998/Visual_tour_25_years_of_Windows?taxonomyId=125&pageNumber=1

some Screenshots courtesy of Microsoft or GUIdebook!.

Continue reading →

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Download the 180-Day Trial

Posted on November 19, 2010 by BassQ

Lync™ Server 2010 let your users in a new connected experience transforming communication into an interaction that is more collaborative, engaging, and accessible from virtually any location with internet connectivity. A single interface unites voice, IM, audio-, video-, and web-conferencing into a richer, more contextual offering, and a single identity makes it easier and more efficient for users to find contacts, check their availability, and connect with them. Lync Server 2010 works consistently with Microsoft Office, enriching the experience of familiar applications like Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft SharePoint, and more.

Need more information? See the product details page.

To evaluate Microsoft Lync Server 2010, you will also need to download the client software, Microsoft Lync 2010 (available after registration).

Other Microsoft Lync Downloads;

Microsoft is going for “Desktop as a service” ?

Posted on November 17, 2010 by BassQ

Leaked information about Windows 8 has been fairly sparse over the last few months, but some interesting PowerPoint slides reveal plans for the successor to Windows 7, codenamed Windows 8. It appears that Microsoft is looking to take Windows from a desktop application and expand it to “Desktop as a service” (DaaS). The slides reveal “Windows Next”, an internal saying for Microsoft employees who are referring to the next major operating system, and turning it into virtual / cloud based desktop.

It only makes sense that Microsoft includes Windows with other virtualization technologies like Virtual desktop (VDI), application virtualization (App-V, MED-V, remote apps and more), Remote desktop, data virtualization, hardware virtualization (Hyper-V), plus a number of other available virtual services.

Windows8-slide-virtual

Desktop as a Service isn’t an entirely new thing, but focusing an entire operating system on it is. With DaaS, Windows 8 could be easily deployed throughout an entire company with total hardware and application compatibility. This also opens the possibility of opening a Windows App Store in the next major version, where companies would host and run applications on ‘the cloud’, allowing for quicker security patch updates, greater compatibility and faster deployment through an entire infrastructure.

It will be interesting to see what “Windows Next” brings to both businesses and consumers with OS virtualization. Deploying and maintaining a single service would be cost effective for larger businesses, just the push Microsoft might be looking for to help companies finally make the switch from Windows XP and Vista.

Windows8-slide-next

Source; http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-8-slides-hint-of-desktop-as-a-service

Weblog.BassQ.nl

A Great Collection Of Information

Author Archives: BassQ

Exchange 2010 SP1 gives Multi-Tenant support

Few points to note about installing 2010 SP1 in hosting mode:

Lab setup

Installing Exchange 2010 SP1 in hosting (or multi-tenant) mode

Installing Exchange prerequisites on Windows 2008R2

Installing Exchange

A few differences with Exchange not hosted

XenDesktop 5.5 is Here!

New! XenApp 6.5 Available Now!

System Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0 SP1 released

Self-Service Portal Technology Partners

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 is out

Firefox 4 final release on March 22!

Internet Explorer 9 is here!

Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6 Service Pack 1

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (KB976932) and download

Windows 7 Service Pack 1

Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1

How to configure Citrix IMA to use a specified network Interface

15 great information recources for Application Virtualization from Microsoft

Tweak Windows Server 2008 R2 into Windows 7 Look and Feel

Use Themes on Windows Server 2008 R2;

Visual tour: 25 years of Windows

1985: Windows 1.0

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Download the 180-Day Trial

Microsoft is going for “Desktop as a service” ?