Windows Server 2008 R2

Microsoft shines a light on efficiency in Windows Server 2008 R2

While Windows Server 2008 R2 has certainly gotten its fair share of attention over the past year, it’s hard to argue that it still hasn’t been somewhat overshadowed by the hype surrounding Windows 7. After all, even Microsoft has dubbed it “Windows 7 Server” on occasion.

The new server OS is getting it’s due this week, however, at Tech-Ed Europe 2009 in Berlin. During the opening keynote, for example, R2 was featured prominently. Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet wrote a piece about this very subject, with details on some of the new R2 features Microsoft is touting.

Some of these enhancements underscore the fact that Windows is continuing to become greener and greener, which is evident by the operating system’s increased efficiency and power consumption improvements. Since this is one area that can have a direct (and potentially immediate) effect on the bottom line, it’s no surprise that Microsoft is shining a light on it this week.
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Admins rejoice! Windows 2008 R2 will support Exchange 2007 after all

Who says peer pressure is a bad thing?

Over the summer it was reported that Windows Server 2008 R2 would be out in October — without native support for Exchange Server 2007. Needless to say, this decision had many customers calling for Microsoft’s heads mildly dismayed.

Well guess what? The people have prevailed.
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Windows Management Framework brings PowerShell 2.0 to the masses

Just days after the official release of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft has now made its new Windows Management Framework (WMF) available as well. The major component here is PowerShell 2.0, which is supported out-of-the-box for the two new operating systems. The download also includes WinRM 2.0 and BITS 4.0.

As Microsoft’s Lee Holmes said in a recent blog post, the Windows Management Framework provides “a consistent management interface across the various flavors of Windows.” What he means is that in addition to Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, PowerShell 2.0 remoting can now also be used to manage machines running Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008.
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The Windows Report — Gearing up for R2 and Windows 7

General availability for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 is just around the corner, and while most organizations won’t upgrade to both at the same time, there are some compelling reasons to run them together.

This month, IT author, speaker and consultant Greg Shields calls in to discuss some of the best reasons to use the two new operarting systems as a tandem, and shares some of his favorite Windows 2008 R2 features.

News Roundup: AD turns heads, Exchange hits RTM

Lots going on in the world of Windows this month, as you might expect. Here’s a roundup of some of the top news from this past week:

1. Forget Live Migration; AD is king in R2
   While most of the attention around Windows Server 2008 R2 has been given to Hyper-V enhancements and brand new features like Direct Access, when it comes right down to it, Active Directory is still No. 1 on the priority list for admins.
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Group Policy management gets a boost with MDOP 2009 R2

Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 aren’t the only new releases Microsoft has on tap this month. The new Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2009 R2 (usually pronounced emm-DOP) will be out by late October, with enhancements for Group Policy and application virtualization.

The new pack will include Windows 7 support for nearly all of its components, including Advanced Group Policy Management 4.0 (AGPM), which will also support Windows Server 2008 R2.
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Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 arrives a little early

Microsoft released Deployment Toolkit 2010 (MDT) earlier today, somewhat sooner than expected. The set is designed to ease the burden on those getting ready to deploy Windows 7 and/or Windows Server 2008 R2.

The release candidate for MDT 2010 was made available in August, and the official release was expected soon after the October 22 launch of the company’s latest desktop and server operating systems. Continued »

More on the Active Directory Recycle Bin in R2

In this month’s episode of The Windows Report, IT author and consultant Don Jones explained why admins shouldn’t expect Windows Server 2008 R2’s new AD Recycle Bin feature to replace third-party backup tools.

Click the Play button below to hear the rest of our conversation with Don, with details on exactly how the new feature works, and why the term “recycle bin” might be a little misleading.

 

 Micosoft MVP Don Jones breaks down the AD Recycle Bin: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Windows Report — Will AD have your back in R2?

August is all about Active Directory on The Windows Report.

First, we talk with IT author and consultant Don Jones to find out if the new AD Recycle Bin feature in Windows 2008 R2 is really all it’s cracked up to be. Then Microsoft MVP Gary Olsen returns to demonstrate how to perform a quick Active Directory replication health check.

No Exchange 2007 on Windows 2008 R2 – but why?

UPDATE! (11/05/2009)

It looks like the people have spoken and Microsoft has done an about-face on this issue.

ORIGINAL POST (08/12/2009)

News broke a couple weeks ago that Exchange Server 2007 will not be supported on Windows Server 2008 R2 (and by “broke” I mean the Microsoft Exchange Team casually snuck it into a blog about an SP1 update). This means that while R2 will support Exchange 2007 DCs, organizations migrating to the new server OS will also have to upgrade to Exchange Server 2010.

Upon hearing the news, one tech expert’s immediate reaction was, “Well that’s not going to be a very popular decision!”

So what’s the reason behind this? Continued »