I currently have two virtualization projects going. One is to convert 3 physical server to hyper-v and one is to convert 3 physical servers to KVM. Unfortunately p2v on a domain controller is not only not recommended, it doesn’t work well. Also there is no supported upgrade path from server foundation to anything but standard. I have foundation and enterprise. So I am firing up a new enterprise vm and then will manually mount the vhd from foundation backup to grab the files. It’ll be a permissions nightmare for a bit but i’m used to that..:) Once i get my AD domain migrated then it is time for Astaro. Then i decom two boxes saving myself 200 watts of continuous draw. The draw goes down to about 60 watts. Keep watching for the KVM conversion. That one is going to be easier.
Category: Microsoft
Microsoft is pushing Windows 8 and the new Metro UI extremely hard. If you want to see Metro look at a Windows phone 7 equipped phone. Anybody developing for Windows xp-Win7 you best take Microsoft serious…MS wants Metro to be the new standard and they aren’t afraid to shove Win7 and below quickly into the garbage heap.
In a move that took many by surprise, Microsoft dropped support for new Windows Desktop Gadgets.
Once hailed (or at least marketed) as a key new feature in Windows Vista, Desktop Gadgets are going the way of the dodo. In their stead? Windows 8 Metro, of course.
Microsoft’s official death certificate for Windows Gadgets hawks, “With Windows Developer Preview, developers can create rich app experiences where customers focus on their important tasks. Apps are at the center of the Windows Developer Preview experience and are alive with activity and vibrant content. Users immerse themselves in your full-screen app while Windows gracefully gets out of the way.”
Well, yes, that’s certainly the case if you’re talking about the Metro tiled “Mr. Hyde” interface in Windows 8 Developer Preview. The old-fashioned “Dr. Jekyll” desktop view still supports Gadgets, at least in the current incarnation of Windows 8. To see for yourself, if you have a copy of the Developer Preview handy, right-click on an empty spot on the Windows 8 dekstop and choose Gadgets, then Get More Gadgets Online — precisely the same way one would get Gadgets in Windows 7. Except now you can’t submit more Gadgets for inclusion in the Microsoft-managed collection.
via The rise and fall of the Windows Desktop Gadget | Microsoft windows – InfoWorld.
This isn’t even a beta so if it breaks..burps..acts up..etc etc this is not the completed product. The core is basically done which is why developers are getting this. ECC’s testing of this begins immediately after I finish downloading the file. Watch this space for ongoing updates. I am going to install this on my core solo 1.6 ghz 2 gig ram laptop. If it runs ok on that it’ll run on anything that currently can run Vista.
While “clouds” on the internet are a terrible idea they do have their place INSIDE the building. I am currently building and researching exactly this type of internal cloud. In my shop I have two servers. At idle(which is where most of them spend their time) they draw nearly 135 watts from my electrical system. That’s nuts. I have ordered a new server that i am going to put both of my servers onto as virtualized machines. My idle power shold be cut at least in half. Here are the specs of the baseline host I am going to be building from:
Dell Poweredge T110
Ram: Upgraded to 8 gigabytes
Network: at least two network interfaces
Hard disk: 2 x 2 Tterabyte SATA drives
RAID: Linux softwar RAID 1 or H200 hardware raid card depending on client needs(i am going to use Linux software raid)
processor: Intel XEON x3430
Applications:
Windows server standard
Zimbra
Astaro
Untangle
others as determined by client needs.
Hypervisors Undergoing Evaluation:
1. Microsoft Hyper-V
2. KVM
3. Citrix XEN
Cost of hypervisor software: Zero
This is just the bare minimum that ECC will specify for business clients going forward. ECC is currently building the baseline for operational testing in house. Once testing is completed an announcement of release will follow. ECC will be migration all clients to this internal baseline cloud over time.
Listen to the podcast either at the linked article or download the mp3 here.
Rumor has it that Windows 8 – the first version of Windows for ARM as well as x86 and billed as Microsoft’s answer for the PC to iOS and the iPad – will actually ship early: next April. That’s quicker than anybody had expected. Plus, Microsoft is putting people in position for a big consumer push for Windows 8, hoping to take the brand battle to Apple.
What’s more, Microsoft just floated Office 365, combining Office-like web apps with a multi-tenant version of the company’s popular Notes killer Exchange server.
via Ballmer’s breaking point: Is Windows 8 already too late? • The Register.
Click below to play now
The Microsoft Partner Conference is always a good source of information. This makes things intriguing for Win8. If it truly runs on vista class machines then it’ll run on my 5 year old notebook(which currently run win7) just fine.
Worried that you’ll have to buy a new PC in order to be able to run Windows 8? Don’t! Microsoft has said that the Windows 8 system requirements will be the same, or perhaps even lower, than those of Windows 7.Speaking at the 2011 Worldwide Partner Conference, Tami Reller, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Windows division, had this to say:“In both of our Windows 8 previews, we talked about continuing with the important trend that we started with Windows 7, keeping system requirements either flat or reducing them over time. Windows 8 will be able to run on a wide range of machines because it will have the same requirements or lower.”So if Windows 8 has the same system requirements that Windows 7 had, that should mean that Windows 8 will also run on systems that currently have Windows Vista installed on them.As a reminder, here are the Windows 7 system requirements:1GHz CPU1GB RAM 32-bit or 2GB RAM 64-bit16 GB hard disk space 32-bit or 20 GB 64-bitDirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
via Windows 8 will run on all Windows 7 PCs and Vista PCs too | ZDNet.
That’s just the LEGAL way to get at it. There’s very little stopping the illegal ones as well.
Thanks to the Patriot Act, US spooks no longer have to waste their time having to crack into European company servers to steal their secrets. They can show up in Redmond with a court order. The company in question would never know that the US government is spying on them.
Microsoft has admitted to Zdnet that this is a bit of a problem for its newly released cloud based plans
Gordon Frazer, managing director of Microsoft UK said that regardless of where cloud data was in the world, Vole had to hand over information to the spooks.
Frazer explained that, as Microsoft is a U.S.-headquartered company, it has to comply with the United States, as well as any other location where one of its subsidiary companies is based.
He said that “customers would be informed wherever possible”, but unfortunately he can’t guarantee that, as the spooks are almost certain to ask for a gagging order.
To be fair to Vole, the same problem applies to Google, Oracle, Apple, Amazon or HP based cloud services.
I am seeing more and more infections on client computers using this rootkit. The common vector i see if either flash or IE ActiveX exploits. It is nearly time to just block flash at the firewall as well as ActiveX.
‘Indestructible’ rootkit enslaves 4.5m PCs in 3 months • The Register.
I had some folks I know telling me MS wasn’t going to release Win8 in 2012. Everything I have seen though form public to ms partner materials has strongly hinted at 2012 for the next windows stack..server 8 windows8. Most likely office 2012 as well. Right from the MS CEO:
so what do you do if you are on anything form xp on up? wait to upgrade until windows 8 comes out…or for my clients wait for me to test the betas and give you an idea of the hardware requirements…which i will do as soon as the partners betas get released.
Microsoft’s Ballmer says next-gen Windows systems due in 2012 | ZDNet.