- A conference cynic gets a TechEd boost
- Win a Kindle from Concentrated Tech
- Education key to fighting social engineering
- $25,000 question: Is the Microsoft Architecture credential worth the cost?
- Calcs, iCalcs and Chml: Integrity Control in Windows
- A Windows user's first time with a Mac
- Is the Mac ready for the enterprise?
- Getting into the Groove: mentioned on Microsoft blog site
- Microsoft turns Server 2008 RTM into Server 2008 SP1
- XP vs. Vista: Readers respond
June 15, 2008 | Comments: (0)
A conference cynic gets a TechEd boost
I can remember my first conference. It was wonderful! So many sessions, so much to learn, exhibitions of different new products, meeting speakers and having them sign their books ... . It was an exciting time for a tech geek like myself.
So, what has changed? Well, over the years I've become a speaker myself. I've written more books, had plenty of drinks and long conversations with the other speakers, seen all the new products, and frankly, other people's sessions tend to bore me. Maybe I went through a slump where technology itself bored me a bit too. Have you felt this way?
This past week has changed all of that. TechEd 2008 in Orlando was a whole new world in my eyes. I sat in on a session by Doug Spindler called "Why IT Pros Will Want to Deploy Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 NOW!," which was an excellent presentation that helped to demonstrate the revisions in the Vista/Server 08 combination of network performance enhancements (i.e., Receive Window Auto-Tuning, Receive Side Scaling, Compound TCP, the use of the SMB2 protocol, and more) as well as the benefits of using IPv6. Doug exposed some of the myths surrounding IPv6 like "IPv6 is experimental," "My network won't run IPv6," and "IPv6 causes Vista to run slower." I can honestly say I left Doug's session feeling like I had been schooled thoroughly, which is something I haven't felt in a long time. Then I sat in on Mark Russinovich's session called "The Case of the Unexplained," where he examines different problems that he has encountered personally (or that have been encountered by other internals gurus like David Solomon) and shows how using the tools provided by the Sysinternals site (www.microsoft.com/sysinternals, or you can try the brand new Live Sysinternals site here) can help to show you what is causing the problem and how to fix it.
I had some personal success too that I hate to brag about, but I had my own session "Tricks of the Vista Masters" (based upon the well-known, internationally selling book Tricks of the Windows Vista Masters). The session was filled to the brim; people even had to be turned away. Did it go well? Well, I'll let a few other journalists rave about the session. Martjin Brant from Bink.nu attended and spoke well of it, as did David Methvin from InformationWeek. It must have done well enough because they asked if I would do it again on Friday as the last session, and 30 more people showed up to see it.
Along with the session I had a blast visiting the kiosk machines Microsoft has set up for learning the latest technology. I learned some great features of Hyper-V from Dan Stolts and Mike Sterling, both from Microsoft. Dan gave me an excellent illustration that explains what happens when you turn on Hyper-V. He said it's like lifting up your operating system and putting that Hyper-V layer underneath so that now you can add more virtual system that can be closer to the metal (or have direct access to your hardware rather than going through another OS to reach it). Stay tuned for more in Hyper-V with interviews with Dan and Mike in the future.
As for vendo, there were plenty of them. Microsoft hosts a night for exhibitors where food and wine is free for all and the booths stay open until 9 p.m. My own booth ClipTraining, along with all the others, were hopping with activity from all the people asking how the new offers worked and determining if they could use these in their business. One company we plan on discussing in a later post that caught my attention was Prowess. They had some impressive virtualization software deployment with products like SmartDeploy 2008 and VM Express.
To top the entire event off, Microsoft bought out Universal Studios for the night and we all had the pleasure of eating (the turkey legs were excellent), drinking, and playing for free.
So between the sessions, the kiosks, the vendors, and the high-energy fun, my joy in attending conferences has returned. Well, at least my joy in attending TechEd is at its peak. Next year is Los Angeles! Looking forward to it already.
And for those of you who weren't able to attend, you might enjoy the new video site Edge.technet.com, which has a ton of great videos from the show (including some footage of yours truly and an interview coming up in the weeks ahead).
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on June 15, 2008 07:43 PM
June 02, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Win a Kindle from Concentrated Tech
You would have to be living under a rock to not know about the Amazon Kindle... and yet I finally got the chance to play with one last week. Oddly enough, it wasn't at all what I expected (in other words, it wasn't another LCD eBook device).
Amazon's Kindle is a simple device with a surprisingly crisp display. Released at the end of last year, InfoWorld did a review of it at that time. There is no backlight. It's not an LCD screen. It actually uses "tiny little bubbles filled with black or white (well, off-white) ink. They’re electrically charged and can be turned to display either side on command, creating a flat, crisp display that reflects light... Once turned to the desired position, the little bubbles stay put, meaning the display uses no power unless you’re turning pages."
A couple of gurus in the world of technical writing and speaking (Don Jones and Greg Shields) have decided to join forces under Concentrated Technology. And they are giving away an Amazon Kindle to those that respond to their blog. You can see that the first entry is a huge explanation on why the Kindle is such a great device (although it is quite expensive if you check it out on Amazon ... so a free one would be nice).
They mention that "Technical books are a bit out of scope for the device; the heavy and detailed formatting of most IT books simply doesn’t translate well to the Kindle." So, I did some research to see if any of my own books are Kindle-worthy. Apparently one is! My Tricks of the Vista Masters book is in Kindle format. Makes me want to get a Kindle and the book just to see how it comes out in mini-bubble format.
Perhaps I'll try to win the Kindle myself. Unless one of my readers beats me to it.
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on June 2, 2008 09:25 AM
May 28, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Education key to fighting social engineering
It's 8:30 am. The night before was the Wild Wednesday conference party where drinks were free until the wee hours of the morning. For all intents and purposes, the conference attendees should all be sleeping late. But here I stand in a room packed with people (yawning people) to hear Cisco expert Todd Lammle speak on the subject of social engineering.
For those of you unfamiliar with this term, it's been defined as "the art of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information." Technology often takes the blame when an individual or organization falls victim to a social-engineering scheme that results in valuable information being stolen or systems being otherwise compromised. Just ask Microsoft: The company is often slammed for security shortcomings in its products, even though it has added effective new tools in Vista: User Account Control, Windows Defender, and the Security Center.
Yet, perhaps Microsoft alone isn't responsible for all the world's security woes. Kevin Mitnick, who popularized the term "social engineering" in his book "The Art of Deception," argues that the weakest link in any network is neither your virus protection nor your firewall; it's your people. People trust easily and will dole out information they consider irrelevant to others. Utilized properly, that information becomes the key to unlocking your entire network.
Mr. Lammle gave a variety of examples showing how a person (or shall we say criminal) can trick your users into divulging information. Beyond the online techniques we know so well, such as phishing scams and Trojan horses, there's masquerading. We ordinarily trust people who say who they are. So, when the receptionist gets a call from someone saying, "Hi, I'm with your network engineering department," she may believe that person and divulge information she shouldn't.
If that person also does a little cursory research and asks a few employees some questions, the line would be more like "Hi, I am Jack with your network engineering department. My supervisor Roy Bannion said Mr. Johnson, the CEO, wants us to help users with their login procedures." At this point the person has given all the right names and the receptionist has no reason not to trust the person. Once the perpetrator has access, your network is theirs.
The most surprising part of the discussion (more so than even the number of people in attendance given the early hour) was when Mr. Lammle asked the audience, "So, what methods do you have in place to educate your users about these threats?" There was silence. Mr. Lammle followed up with, "OK, that's typical. Now after listening to this session, what methods do you hope to implement going forward?"
There was more silence.
Why waste so much time and money trying to protect a network if we aren't educating our users? If they continue to click the link that says, "Click here for the latest nude picture of Anna Kournikova" (which is a real virus from 2001 called the "Anna Kournikova Virus", a VB worm), what does this say about our plan to protect the network? If a simple liar can call in and get information and use it against you, shame on them. If you've done nothing to try and stop them, shame on you!
One of the key elements to protecting your people from social engineering is to make it both a part of new employee training and continuing employee education. Quick training sessions, short screencasts on the subject; whatever it takes to make the point. YouTube has some interesting training videos that try to make the process fun and informative. Here is one example produced by Citi.
You should have a procedure in place that prevents certain information from being given out to strangers. Network administrators should provide consistent reminders to users to keep them on their toes. Stronger passwords should be enforced as well. You might even want to test your people from time to time by using an agency that specializes in social engineering attacks (ethical hackers that perform penetration testing). The risk here, however, is that people can turn around and use that knowledge maliciously. So, you might want to perform your own in-house tests.
Back to Microsoft, then. The company is clearly aware of the social engineering problem. The company is not only continually strengthening the security of its wares to fight back, it's offering guidance to help address the weakest link: users' lack of awareness. To that end, the company released a 30-page whitepaper a while back that most admins would do well to download (for free) and read.
Education is your only defense. So ... what plans do you have to protect yourself and your company from social engineering?
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on May 28, 2008 03:00 AM
April 30, 2008 | Comments: (0)
$25,000 question: Is the Microsoft Architecture credential worth the cost?
You've heard of a Microsoft Certified Professional. Perhaps at one time you've even dreamed of being a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). You took one exam after another at a Microsoft testing center to reach this honored and prestigious pinnacle, then battled your way to prove to your employers (or future employers) that you had what it takes to administrate their Microsoft-oriented network.
With the arrival of Windows Server 2008 comes a new lineup of exams -- and the end of a certification era. The MCSE status is no longer found in the lineup of possible acronyms one can add to the end of a name and onto a business card. (So as not to offend any of my fellow certified readers, allow me to put my letters on the table right now: MCSE [NT, 2K, 2K3], MCT, A+, Network+, iNET+, CIW Master, CCNA, CNA, and most recently MCITP: Messaging.)
With the change in the program, there are now exams that provide you with an MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) title, or one tier up, MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional) or MCPD (Microsoft Certified Professional Developer). But the ultimate level on the exam pyramid is MSA (Microsoft Architect).
The MCTS certifications each focus on "one key Microsoft product or technology" but not on a particular job role skill, according to Microsoft. There are currently 19 Technology Specialist certification options available, ranging from SQL Server 2005 to Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure Configuration. Earning one typically entails passing one to three exams.
The Professional Series credentials are focused on single-job-role skills, including design, project management, operations management, and planning. Like the MCTS, you'll typically need to pass as many as three exams for one of these Professional credentials; you'll also need one or more pre-requisites from the Technology Series.
At the top of the heap, there's the MCA program. The credential is geared toward IT pros with at least ten years of advanced IT industry experience and three or more years of experience as a practicing architect. The MCA title comes in two flavors: one for technology-based architecture skills, which includes training and certification; and one for broad architecture skills (which entails certification only).
The technology-based MCA program covers one of two technology fields currently: Messaging (Exchange Server) or Database (SQL Server). Earning this credential requires participating in four in-depth training programs, successfully completing weekly written and lab-based exams, and passing a rigorous Review Board interview conducted by Microsoft experts and MCAs.
There's also two sub-categories for the broad-architecture MCA program: Infrastructure or Solutions. MCA: Infrastructure is for admins who focus on areas such as the physical network, security, storage, network operating systems, application platforms, desktop operating systems, messaging, management, or operations. The Solutions credential is for those who concentrate on areas including integration, workflow, and applications.
Attaining the broad MCA certification requires passing a test before a review board conducted by MS pros and MCAs.
You might be wondering what costs are involved in pursuing this certification, which is certainly the most extensive and expensive title Microsoft has ever offered.
Costs for the technology-specific MCA certification program total $25,000, paid in full before you begin. Costs for the MCA: Solutions or Infrastructure certifications is $10,000, paid in two $5,000 increments. It's clear that this is not a simple question-and-answer-type certification automated and replicated across the globe. And it isn't meant to be. If the difficulty and time involved doesn't keep the numbers down, the price tag for certification certainly will.
Some have wondered whether the new certification is worth the effort and what the program is really like. Being that the total number of MCAs is just more than 100, it is difficult to find feedback on the subject. However, Richard Godfrey, the CEO of iPrinciples, spoke with Jeremy Smith regarding the experience.
One question asked was, "How has it helped you in your career? And do you think the high cost justifies the value?"
Godfrey said, "I think it has helped rather than hindered, but I don't think it has changed my opportunities for fame or fortune -- and to be honest, I never expected it to. I do think employers and people buying consultancy services should look at the MCA certification as just one of a number of indicators of capability.
"The peer-review process is expensive but very necessary at this level. I don’t look at the cost as 'expensive' despite it being a large amount of money (this is definitely not a profit centre for Microsoft!), but I do think people need to look at their own individual cost/benefit analysis -- just because you don’t sit the MCA certification doesn’t mean you aren't a great Architect!"
So is the MCA certification for you? Are you contemplating this or other certifications? Let me know; perhaps I can help!
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on April 30, 2008 03:00 AM
April 10, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Calcs, iCalcs and Chml: Integrity Control in Windows
Last week, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, I enjoyed the privilege of both attending and speaking at the TechMentor Conference, which focuses on the systems administrator or IT manager seeking real-world, in-depth technical training.
While attending a session given by Mark Minasi, famous technology writer and speaker, I was quite impressed with a discussion on Windows Integrity Control and a cool new tool that Mark developed called Chml that is free to download from his site.
Most admins understand ACLs but Windows Integrity Control lies above those and hence is more powerful. With ACLs we are looking at a discretionary access model. With WICs we have a more mandatory access model. And this may be somewhat of a scary thought because it means there are certain items that may have a higher WIC level than your account (even as an admin, which is given a rating of 3000 or "high") because the system level runs at a rating of 4000. This prevents you from deleting items like your OS files (which we can all appreciate is a good thing) but can leave you open to having some malicious app infiltrate your system that you cannot delete if it has a system rating level.
Now, you might try to use Cacls to see these levels on a file but you will learn that our dearly loved cmd line tool has been "deprecated" (an odd word, wouldn't you agree). You will be instructed to use iCalcs (which Minasi jokes must mean it was developed by Apple... just a joke mind you). ICacls will show you mandatory labels that exist. If you don't see a label, it's because you probably created the file and the file has a mandatory rating of 'medium' and so that wont show up.
However, Mr. Minasi has created a tool that allows you to change the WIC level of files. It's a free download that includes demos and such and can be found here.
So, if you are interested in learning more about the hidden secrets behind the OS, iCalcs and Chml may be right up your alley.
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on April 10, 2008 04:35 PM
April 03, 2008 | Comments: (0)
A Windows user's first time with a Mac
I'm a longtime user of Windows, but I recently got a chance to test out a new iMac, courtesy of Apple. While I plan to remain a loyal user of Vista, I did find there was a lot to like about this machine. (As I wrote in another post, I'd even say it has enterprise potential.)
The entire system feels like something out of "The Jetsons." Everything I plugged in -- printer, camera, USB keychain, network connection -- just worked, and it all worked immediately. Applications slide open so beautifully and smoothly that you smile just opening an app for the first time. The dock at the bottom of the screen (aka the taskbar in Windows) has impressive icons and is easy to use.
On a more technical note, applications I use often, such as VMWare (Fusion for the Mac), actually worked faster and smoother on the Mac. Other applications, however, I sorely missed. I use Camtasia Studio pretty often, but a Mac version doesn't exist. There are work-arounds, but they don't always cut it. And in the enterprise, it's hard to convince users that they should try a work-around instead of what they've been happy doing for years.
One interesting lesson I've learned about the Apple of late may be a real eye-opener for Windows admins: The company doesn't license its software. You don't, for example, buy OS X and install it on whatever system you choose. Now, this is a smart move on Apple's part in that it ensures quality and a good experience for end-users from the start. How many times have people complained about Windows when the problem wasn't the OS but rather the machine they installed it on, one with parts from who knows where with minimal system requirements?
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on April 3, 2008 03:00 AM
April 03, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Is the Mac ready for the enterprise?
Not long ago, Apple sent me a beautiful new iMac to play with and test in the hopes I would "convert" to the Apple world -- or at least be more aware about what's happening there. For a Windows pro like myself (that is, the author of this Enterprise Windows blog and the book "Tricks of the Vista Masters"), it may be too late. But I sure am tempted after two weeks of playing with this system.
I found plenty to like about the Mac platform, which you can read about right here. But there's a real question that's often tossed around: Is the Mac ready for the enterprise? More specifically, would it make sense for a Windows shop to consider moving to the Apple platform? In my opinion, you should consider three factors: training costs, hardware costs, and integration with servers.
Training costs: This may be a difficult sell. Users going from XP to Vista are crying because the Start button is round now. How ready are they for a Mac, which comes with a whole new OS, a new look, and new names for programs? For longtime Windows users, I wouldn't say that the Mac OS is easy to learn. Intriguing? Absolutely, but it took me a while to match up in my mind what I normally use (Outlook, for example) and its counterpart (like Entourage). Some users may not be able to catch up to speed as smoothly, and that can be frustrating.
Users certainly will need training to feel comfortable. For individuals, Apple has stores set up with Genius Bars where you can learn tons of stuff for practically nothing. I believe it's $100 for the annual subscription. On the enterprise level, though, with tens, hundreds, or thousands of users, that may not cut it.
Still, many users will embrace the new OS because, frankly, it's beautiful. It has such a cool futuristic feel, in much the same way the iPhone wins people's hearts because it's sleek and feature-rich.
Hardware costs: I haven't done all the price comparisons or priced out discount systems with Apple, so I cannot fully say the Mac is going to be a more expensive change. However, Mac Minis are in the $500 to $600 range (and you have to add a monitor, keyboard, and mouse), and you may need to purchase additional software to get it enterprise-ready. Thus, I expect the cost will be a bit more per system than deploying Windows boxes. However, these systems hold their value longer.
That is something many Windows admins don't consider. A PC loses value from day one, whereas a Mac retains value and doesn't require a tremendous amount of effort for upgrades. Torquato Tasso, a well-known Web developer with iSite5 said, "An average Mac notebook or desktop can upgrade to Leopard with no problems at all, nor do they need any hardware changes." Moreover, the upgrade cost him a little more than $100 for the software. What a huge difference for those of us upgrading from XP to Vista: We need much better hardware, and the cost of the OS is off the charts. Additionally, Mac users happily went to Leopard with smiles, whereas Windows users are on the verge of a full riot over Vista.
Integration with servers: For me to fully endorse Macs in the enterprise, they have to be controllable. That implies being able to connect them to a directory to manage them through policies. Many enterprise environments are using Microsoft servers with Active Directory and Group Policy. You can utilize an Apple server, too, for a variety of reasons ... but that is a different discussion altogether.
So how does the Mac fare in this regard? On the matter of connecting with Active Directory and offering identity management, file-server access, and so forth: No problem. On the matter of Group Policy control through AD on its own: It doesn't work without help. Now, you can implement an Apple server, which allows you to control your Macs -- but not with Group Policy. If you want the Group Policy side (and most Windows admins do), you need to look for third-party solutions that install on your Windows Servers.
However, here is where Centrify and other GP-related products come to the rescue. You can control Mac through Group Policy. No, not quite like you can on an XP or Vista box -- but enough to say the Mac is ready for the enterprise.
All told, I give Apple and the iMac my thumbs-up. I've been impressed with the machine from day one. And even though I've had to learn a lot, it's been fun. In fact, I think that's what I've enjoyed the most. It's just like when I was a kid playing the Hitchhiker's Guide text-based game on my neighbor's Apple.
I'm a Windows guy through and through. Still, I think it's OK to acknowledge that Apple is worth investigating going forward. There's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, right?
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on April 3, 2008 03:00 AM
March 27, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Getting into the Groove: mentioned on Microsoft blog site
With our discussion on Groove yesterday we caught the attention of Abbott Lowell, Senior Product Manager on the Office Groove Team, Microsoft Corporation.
He complemented our review and also revised our thinking a bit on using a DataBridge server on-site. He wrote:
"One small correction: It is possible to deploy Groove DataBridge on-site, while still using Groove Enterprise Services for the Manager and Relay components."
"For example, an organization using Groove Enterprise Services might opt to deploy the DataBridge in house for its Archive Service (to create workspace archives). While the DataBridge is only available as an on-site server, the DataBridge can be part of a domain that is running on Groove Server or Groove Enterprise Services.
Thanks again for a great article. --abbott"
In addition, he mentioned our article on the Groove Team MSDN Blog site, which you can read here. If you want more information on Groove, that is the place to go!
Keep in mind that next week we will review the different flavors of Groove Server available... so stay tuned!
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on March 27, 2008 01:01 PM
February 20, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft turns Server 2008 RTM into Server 2008 SP1
A Service Pack 1 release has become known in the Windows industry as the time to finally implement Microsoft technology in the real world. You hear people say it all the time: "I'll wait until SP1 before I even consider it," avoiding what some call the "teething troubles." Regardless of the reviews, the features, and the reassurances from Microsoft, some won't budge without an SP release.
And so several Microsoft releases that have been on the market for a reasonable period of time are receiving that SP1 update. Strangely, though, Windows Server 2008 is actually being released as Server 2008 SP1. But before I digress into that discussion, let's give you the lowdown on the latest service packs for the Windows enterprise.
Exchange 2007 SP1: Released Nov. 29 last year, this service pack really does finish off the product where the obvious holes existed before. For example, it offers another high-availability feature called Standby Continuous Replication. Improvements to the Exchange Management Console include public folder management and configuration for POP/IMAP access. The move-mailbox command now includes import-export to PST folders. There is a host of other features with SP1, so if you've been waiting to move to Exchange 2007, wait no longer. For more information, see the Microsoft Web site.
Vista SP1: Released on Feb. 4, this SP includes obvious application and device compatibility fixes and drivers. Security fixes and improvements to the quality of Vista are included. One security improvement is that third-party software makers are now able to replace the dashboard within the Security Center with their own. BitLocker enhancements are also included so that you can encrypt other drive volumes. You'll note that the enhancements may not dramatically affect your day-to-day life, but the service pack should help your system's performance and reliability -- and that may help you to make the decision to move to Vista if you are on the fence. For more information, see Microsoft TechNet.
Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP1: Released Feb. 7, this upgrade offers support for Windows Server 2008 and SQL 2008, improvements for local publishing, detailed reports that can be opened in Excel, and more. So if you utilize this tool in your enterprise to manage Windows patches, this is exciting news. If you haven't used WSUS before, you can learn quite a bit about it from the WSUS Team Blog.
Server 2008 SP1: The RTM just went out, and Server 2008 is really impressive. However, you might be thinking, "Um, doesn't it have to be out for a while before you can say SP1 is available?" True, but being that Vista and Server 2008 have the same architectural base, the idea is that an SP1 for Vista is an SP1 for Server. Hence, Microsoft has labeled the RTM version as Server 2008 SP1. Wow. On the one hand, it's a transparent decision. On the other, I've got to praise the advertising gurus in Redmond. That's impressive, and most likely effective, marketing strategy on their part.
So here is the question for readers: Have you installed any of these products with their SP1 enhancements? Are you impressed? Does it supply missing pieces to your enterprise world? Or are you an "I'll wait until SP2" kind of person?
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on February 20, 2008 03:00 AM
January 31, 2008 | Comments: (0)
I've been called plenty of names in my time, but never so many and from so many different people, as I have in response to my post titled "Save XP? Why bother?" Apparently a lot of folks needed a target for their pent-up Vista-induced anger, so I hope they feel a bit better.
One sentiment rang uniformly throughout the majority of readers' comments (amid the anger, and name calling ... and mild profanity): Many of you are content with what XP offers and pleased with its current functionality for your organization. You're not impressed with the features that Vista brings to the table, nor are you pleased with the tremendous expense for Vista, for new hardware, and for more training.
In fact, there were several comments that really showed insight into the problem, and I know for a fact that persons from Microsoft read through these. Allow me to share some of the sentiments of your fellow readers:
Keith Dunlap said, "Personally, I would be looking at $2,000-3000 in software and peripheral hardware upgrades simply to support Vista. For now (and perhaps the next 3-4 years) I'll stick with XP. XP and my current applications do everything I need them to do."
Stephen Smith said, "Everything is moved around for no good reason and hard to find. Security is useless since you have to turn off UAC to do anything or be driven crazy."
JCWarren showed a great deal of insight into the situation. I won't reprint all that he said but this point caught my attention: "Vista has been out in the wild for over a year and IT administrators still do not have the tools to manage their Active Directory domains with Vista. References to how long it took XP to get up to a certain level of supportability (legitimately SP2) are irrelevant in that Microsoft should have learned from that experience and not expect IT pros to wait years for Vista to be enterprise ready. (At the WinConnections conference in Fall 2006 I informed the MS reps that I felt this lack of tools to be unacceptable and received applause from my IT peers in attendance)."
SThompson said, in a humorous and sarcastic tone: "Your idea to just go out and buy new equipment is great. I'll lay off 6 or 7 people from the workforce and wait a year, then I will use the savings from their wages to pay for all the new equipment. Isn't that the American way?"
On the positive side, I had a few respondents that were eager to move to Vista, or who have already made the move and found the experience to be without incident:
PCWizard said: "I run an IT department at a small government agency and I would like to say that I agree with the author, for the most part. I won't go into arguing with all of the negative commenter's, but we have been implementing Vista and Office 2007 since they became available and, while we have experienced a few problems, on the whole we have not experienced *any* of the nightmare scenarios that most are describing."
"Because we are the government, we do not have large budgets for hardware, so we make up for it by planning ahead - we began to buy machines that would be Vista capable as much as three years ago, adding memory or DVD drives to them when they became cost-effective and just recently adding graphics cards to the last bunch. Vista runs great on all of them - would XP run faster? Perhaps, but most of the small problems were obliterated with Vista SP1."
"And we like all of the security features *a lot* and we use almost all of them to keep confidential information private and to keep our systems from being hacked. Sure, Vista has its glitches, but we just checked our logs and none of our IT support people have had a crash with Vista in more than 6 months..... I don't have time to say more, but the author deserves a break -- most of his comments are dead on...."
Al Smith wrote: "Virtually every OS issue we see are caused by bad drivers. I don't care whether it's Linux or Windows (Apple controls the hardware and the OS but even with that ideal environment, they have their share of Leopard issues). To Microsoft's benefit (and perhaps to their detriment), people have become attached to well-working WinXP systems running the software they enjoy using, with quite modest hardware. Still not convinced? I guess another way of looking at it is, once XP is no longer supported and your company is forced to migrate to Vista, you'll finally have a PC on your corporate desktop that is reasonably modern and contains hardware that, for many serious users, is what they should be running today, anyhow."
As for me, I don't plan to weigh in on the Save XP campaign a second time. I may continue to extol the many virtues of Vista from time to time, perhaps compare Vista vs. Macs or Linux (that should elicit some interesting responses) but the primary purpose of this particular blog is to focus on Enterprise Windows. Look forward to future posts that relate to Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server, PerformancePoint 2007 and Groove Server 2007 for starters.
In addition, I will post items that may assist with some of the many issues you've raised regarding your frustration with Vista. UAC tips, using the Software Deployment Kit (SDK) and Application Compatibility Toolkit and especially the Standard User Analyzer (tools that have received little or no press, but are excellent for enterprise deployments of Vista), and the utilization of Group Policy to help admins with both Vista and XP machines in their environment.
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on January 31, 2008 01:08 PM
January 27, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Bill Gates: An Impatient Optimist AND the Unified Messaging Server
I want to discuss two topics today. The first is the new direction for Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The second is an overview of the Unified Messaging Server.
First off, Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world -- and one of the most generous. Nobody is obligated (other than by their own consciences, which many no longer have) to give a dime to others. True, it seems to be human nature to help a person in need -- but obligation comes from within, and Bill and Melinda Gates have that inner quality in spades. On Friday, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland he announced the pledge of $306 million in grants to countries that need assistance to develop better farming. Gates said, "If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers, most of whom are women."
Bill will be leaving Microsoft in July of this year to focus full time on his efforts to change the world. He says he is an optimist, but an impatient one and he plans on making a difference through more than just technology but through system innovation and "Creative Capitalism: an approach where governments, businesses, and nonprofits work together to stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or gain recognition, doing work that eases the world's inequities."
Some may wonder: What is the payoff for Bill? Where does he benefit from all of this? He responds with a quote from Adam Smith, the father of capitalism, "How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortunes of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it."
I'd say, regardless of my view of Microsoft, its products, its domination over the market, I wish Bill well on his life adjustment to pursue further this vision of optimism.
You can read the transcript here or watch the Webcast here.
The Unified Messaging Server Role
The Unified Messaging Server Role is new functionality introduced in Exchange Server 2007 offering the concept of a Universal Inbox, which brings together your e-mail, voicemail and fax into a single inbox. This means you may access your voicemail, fax, and e-mail from one location, using multiple access interfaces (your phone with e-mail-to-voice thanks to Outlook Voice Access; e-mail through your Outlook client and/or Web browser through Outlook Web access).
For this to work properly you are going to need an IP-PBX or VoIP gateway (if you have a legacy PBX). If you plan on using Unified Messaging with Exchange 2007, it is recommended that you seek out the assistance of a UM specialist. It requires a significant amount of telephony knowledge, in addition to the Exchange knowledge you need for configuration. Most of the settings you will be asked for may already be in place if you have a telephony admin/team and currently use a voicemail system.
The only portion that requires pure-Exchange know-how is the setup of the AutoAttendant, which is pretty much your Exchange Phone Operator. The AutoAttendant uses speech recognition to transfer callers to the appropriate extensions/people, although you can also configure it to accept non-verbal input (for example, "Press 1 for more options").
Posted by J. Peter Bruzzese on January 27, 2008 10:23 AM
December 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
An Enterprise Windows Christmas Wish
On the night before Christmas, I sat down to think of a special list of gifts I'd like that Santa can't deliver--that is, unless Steve Ballmer is playing Santa. It's a modest list, really--I'm not greedy, and I'm not looking for, say, an XBox 360 Halo 3 special edition and a lifetime subscription to XBox Live or anything. It's more in the "peace on Earth, goodwill toward men" category, on a smaller scale.
All I want for Christmas is a faster Vista. I know, I've whined here a lot about Vista. It's not like it's even a blip on the enterprise radar yet, anyway.
But I'd personally rather see Vista succeed than fail. I've run desktop Linux, and I've got nothing against Ubuntu or SuSE or Fedora or Red Hat's enterprise offerings--they're pretty adequate for me to handle basic information worker daily tasks like email and word processing and some IM.
But there's a reason why I'm writing an Enterprise Windows blog and not an Enterprise Linux Desktop blog. Windows XP, despite its many failings, is vastly more friendly to the unwashed masses and the various support people I can hire off the street. That's my humble, experience-based opinon, and not drawn from any sort of hard data, mind you. And I say that as someone who, on a single desk, runs Windows Vista, Mac OS X, and a Linux desktop (openSuSE at the moment, and I'm kind of fond of it as well) side-by-side.
Maybe it's personal bias from years of working with end-users of one sort or another. But I feel like I can predict well enough what's going to happen with Windows installs. MacOS X is a lovely UI on top of Unix, and I use it nearly as much as I do Windows, but I don't feel as good about its application choices for enterprise work as I do Windows. And Linux....okay, Evolution's nice. Domino on Linux is nice. OpenOffice is great. But still, I don't think I can sell a mass deployment to a CFO yet based on a Linux/OpenOffice/Evolution or Domino/Firefox desktop.
Unfortunately, Vista isn't as ready for the enterprise as XP is, and that's not getting solved very quickly. I can get Linux to do very well on a fraction of the memory it takes Vista to clear its throat with--even though I lose most of the benefits of my video card because of driver support.
So, please Mr. Ballmer: get a Vista SP2 out in 2008 that makes Vista less of a pig. And don't forget a quick cycle on Windows Server 2008's SP1 too. We've been good, really.
Oh, and while you're at it, bury the Linux IP hatchet, will you? And as for the XBox Live account...
Posted by Sean Gallagher on December 26, 2007 03:00 AM
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