IT pros involved with planning cloud projects for this year or next have a new training resource. Earlier this week, Microsoft launched a new virtual training portal aimed at IT professionals who want to learn new skills and enhance existing ones for cloud computing environments. We went live at the Microsoft Management Summit 2011 in Las Read more
Like I said in a recent post, you’re probably already running the basic foundation for a private cloud. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do. IT Pros looking to delve into private cloud computing this year, should prepare with these 6 steps: Improve data quality in your identity infrastructure – audit existing users Read more
Worried about having to implement lots of new software to build your private cloud? You may not have to. Enterprises that have standardized on Windows Server 2008 R2 are, like as not, already running all the building blocks they need to configure a private cloud. And that foundation will extend as your cloud computing ambitions grow. Read more
If you’re looking to get started implementing a Microsoft private cloud infrastructure, the Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track program can offer invaluable help by delivering pre-validated reference architectures. The Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track solutions are currently being offered by 6 Microsoft hardware partners, who cover a broad swath of the Windows Server hardware market. Hit the Read more
We have finished version 3 of Windows HPC Server! The verbose, official, and approved name is Windows HPC Server 2008 R2 Suite signaling that we are leveraging Windows Server 2008 R2 as our core operating system but make no mistake, this is the big v3 release, our most ambitious release. It’s like the third stage Read more
In an interesting piece by Ryan Nichols at Computerworld yesterday: Cloud computing by the numbers: What do all the statistics mean, Nichols summarizes some recent research findings on the market potential of cloud computing, quoting impressive market forecasts from sources such as Gartner ($150 billion by 2013), Merrill Lynch ($160 billion by 2011),and AMI Partners Read more
Building on our commitment to provide customers with the right technologies to virtualize their IT environments, today we’re announcing that the public beta of Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 will be released by the end of July. We’ve posted on the contents of SP1 before, but the beta release Read more
Hi everyone. Good news: Active Directory Federation Services 2.0(AD FS 2.0) has been finalized and is now available for download! AD FS 2.0 is a role in Windows Server that simplifies access and single sign-on to both on-premises and cloud-based applications. Using “claims-based” identity technology, it helps enable secure business collaboration and productivity within the Read more
Next week on Tuesday and Wednesday be sure to visit the Microsoft News Center to view the Microsoft Management Summit executive keynotes live on the web! Don’t miss this opportunity to see our top executives discuss the latest IT Management news, strategies, and solutions from Microsoft, and how to apply them in your organization. · Read more
Intel’s announcement yesterday of its new Xeon 7500 server CPU platform (previously known as the Nehalem EX) is generating a good deal of optimism, especially when its contrasted with new features in Windows Server 2008 R2 that take advantage of all that these new silicon marvels have to offer. The new platform’s potential in the Read more
Microsoft is announcing today the formation of a new organization within the Server & Tools Business that combines the Windows Server & Solutions group and the Windows Azure group, into a single organization called the Server & Cloud Division (SCD). This change reflects the alignment of our resources with our strategy, and represents a Read more
