Confessions of an IT Geek

What's new in Windows Server 2008 Active Directory

Recently I had the opportunity to present to the North Texas PC Users Group on the topic of what is new in Windows Server 2008 Active Directory. I am posting the presentation here. Note that there a few slides that have changed primarily due to the fact that I am not posting the videos due to the size and I also removed some of the diagrams that I pulled from my book due to the copyrights issues. Enjoy.

Exchange 2003 ESM on Vista and Exchange 2007 Virtualization

Microsoft has released a couple of exciting new items related to Exchange. First is the release of a Vista compatible version of the Exchange System Manager for managing Exchange Server 2003.

Second, Microsoft has released some guidelines around virtualization support for Exchange Server 2007. Initially as you may know, MS was not supporting virtualization of Exchange except for testing. Now MS is supporting it assume that the hypervisor platform has been certified in the Microsoft Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP). Of course at this point the only certified hypervisor is Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 but the program shows that other hypervisors are planning to be test. But no don't expect that VMWare will be in the mix anytime soon.

Read through the support policies for virtual Exchange servers carefully. There is a lot of information here. Some highlights though.

• Supported only on Hyper-V
• Guest VM must run Windows Server 2008 and Exchange 2007 SP1
• Must used fixed size VHDs
• No support for the UM server role

Active Directory for Dummies 2nd Edition

I am very proud to say that my second book was published this week. Active Directory for Dummies 2nd Edition is a completely updated version of the book from 2000 that now covers Active Directory in Windows Server 2008.  The book should be shortly available from the online vendors and then in the bookstores around the 2nd week of August. My hope is (other the book making a lot of sales) is that this book will prove to be a useful source of information for anyone that wants to learn about Active Directory either from scratch or is needing an update on what is new in AD 2008.

As I stated in the book, my intention is to continue to maintain this blog as a continuing aggregate source of information on Active Directory (as well as other topics). If you have purchased the book and wish to make comments and suggestions for future updates (I already have a list I have created<g>) please comment to this post and let me know.

New Version of ADMT is out

Microsoft has released the latest version of the Active Directory Migration Tool (v3.1). ADMT is a decent tool for doing both migration and AD restructures when your environment isn't too complicated. Here is a link to a document that discusses how to use this tool in these scenarios. Also if you are interested in migration of passwords between forests there is a Password Export Server that is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. This tool work in conjunction with ADMT.

While free tools are great, they do have their limitations. For more complicated migrations, my personal preference for AD (and Exchange) migration tools is the Quest migration tools.

The Road Ahead...

Bill Gates released a book called "The Road Ahead" a few years back as a look into the future of technology. But my immediate road ahead is related to what I wanted to do in updating my Microsoft certifications. Like many MS IT folks I currently hold a MCSE in Windows Server 2003 and I need to update this to Windows Server 2008. So what is path?

Well first there is no MCSE 2008.. In fact there are no MCSEs anymore. MS has dropped this title in the 2008 wave instead now you have Microsoft Certified Technology Specialists (MCTS) which appears to be product centric in that you get MCTS on specific products like Exchange, OCS, etc. With WIndows Server 2008 there is three different MCTSs focued on three areas: Network Infrastructure, Active Directory and Application Infrastructure. Fortunately as a MCSE 2003 you can get these three separate MCTS certifications with a single exam (70-649 - Upgrading your MCSE on Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 Technology Specialist).

The next step is to get to the next certification level - Microsoft Certified Information Technology Professional (MCITP). Unlike the MCTS, this certification is more job function focused. So the rough equivalent of having a MCSE 2003 is achieving the MCITP: Server Administrator or MCITP Enterprise Administrator. My plan is to get the Enterprise Administrator cert. This will require, in addition to passing the 70-649 exam, taking the 70-646 - Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator exam and the 70-647 - Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator exam.

So the gist of this is that it takes three exams for a current MCSE 2003 to get the 2008 equilvalent certification (MCITP: Enterprise Administrator). Not too bad although this is one more exam than what was required to get from MCSE 2000 to MCSE 2003. But now on top of this you have other certification areas to explore if you work with other MS products. Take MS Exchange Server for example. This product has its own MCTS cert as well as the MCITP:Enterprise Messaging Administrator certification.

Now if don't think this is enough, the next level until recently was the Microsoft Architect certification. But recently annouced at TechEd is the Microsoft Certified Master credential. This cert comes in three varieties: Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2007 and SQL Server 2008. Although these certifications sound great, they are rather expensive to actually achieve in that travel and training costs are invovled that can easily exceed $10,000. So it will be interesting to see where these certifications go.

TechEd 2008 (Not!)

Well I am unhappy to say that I was not able to get out to Orlando this year for TechEd. Blame it on the economy and current business environment. I suspect a lot of folks didn't get to attend for the same reasons. But alas not all is lost. The online coverage typically is good. The best place is to go to the TechEd Online site. But there is also stuff on the Channel 10 and TechNet Edge sites (links on the right side). Not a whole lot of IT content just yet other than Bob Muglia's keynote but hopefully that will change as the week progresses.

Updated TCP/IP Guide

Microsoft recently updated their TCP/IP fundamentals guide. This is a fairly extensive document that covers IPv4 and IPv6 as well as DHCP, DNS, VPN, and IPv6 transition strategies. If you are looking for more background about how IP functions, this is a good resource.

Automating Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Installs

Here is a link to a recent good post on the MS Exchange team's blog that discusses a set of scripts that were created to automate the install of Exchange 2007 SP1. Its a fairly detailed post and includes a link to the script files.

Blu-Ray vs. HD DL Movies

This is a subject that I have really gone back and forth with in my mind. Since HD-DVD made a graceful exit from the HD scene, I finally went out and got me a Blu-Ray player (Sharp BD-HP20U). The quality of the picture in my home theatre (more on what I have setup later) is great although I am needing to recalibrate the projector.

But things I am not happy with include:

• The performance of the unit in booting up and performing the initial read is poor compared with DVD.
• The idea that you have to periodically update the firmware seems a bit much for the typical person to deal with.

So comparing this with the available HD movie download options is going to make the next year or so interesting. The question is if Blu-Ray sales really pick up because HD-DVD disappeared or if the availability of hi-def downloads keep Blu-ray sales at bay. One good option for downloads is the availability of the new AppleTV appliance which no longer requires a connected computer to function. Here is a good comparison of the two. Other than on demand downloads over my cable service, XBox Live has a decent list of movies and TV shows for viewing. The intriguing idea is the rumor about NetFlix integration with XBox and PS3. That could really boost things for the download market.

New Active Directory KB articles

Here is a link to the AD team blog that lists the most recent MS knowledge base articles related to AD. Some good stuff in here including the remote server admin tools for AD and Hyper-v for Vista SP1.