Quote of the Month

“If you have a fight with a customer and you win…you lose….you lose the customer”
–Ray Kroc, founder of the McDonald’s empire

Microsoft stuns Linux world, submits source code for kernel

Network World – In an historic move, Microsoft on Monday submitted driver source code for inclusion in the Linux kernel under a GPLv2 license.The code consists of four drivers that are part of a technology called Linux Device Driver for Virtualization. The drivers, once added to the Linux kernel, will provide the hooks for any distribution of Linux to run on Windows Server 2008 and its Hyper-V hypervisor technology. Microsoft will provide ongoing maintenance of the code.

Linux backers hailed the submission as validation of the Linux development model and the Linux GPLv2 licensing.

Virtualization, cloud underlie Microsoft’s Linux kernel submissionMicrosoft’s Linux kernel submission raises virtualization questions

Microsoft said the move will foster more open source on Windows and help the vendor offer a consistent set of virtualization, management and administrative tools to support mixed virtualized infrastructure.

“Obviously we are tickled about it,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. “Hell has frozen over, the seas have parted,” he said with a chuckle.

Microsoft made the announcement at the annual OSCON open source conference that opened Monday in San Jose.Greg Kroah-Hartman, the Linux driver project lead and a Novell fellow, said he accepted 22,000 lines of Microsoft’s code at 9 a.m. PT Monday. Kroah-Hartman said the Microsoft code will be available as part of the next Linux public tree release in the next 24 hours. The code will become part of the 2.6.30.1 stable release.

“Then the whole world will be able to look at the code,” he said.

The stable release is an interim build between each main release, which come in three-month cycles. The first main kernel release to include the open source driver technology will come in December as part of the 2.6.32 release, Kroah-Hartman said.The drivers will initially be part of the Linux kernel’s staging tree, a place where code is stored and polished before it is moved into the main tree. The code of every first-time kernel submitter begins life in the staging tree.

Kroah-Hartman said Microsoft’s submission was routine. “They abided by every single rule and letter of what we require to submit code. If I was to refuse this code it would be wrong,” he said.

Microsoft’s most important open source act

Sam Ramji, who runs the Open Source Software Lab for Microsoft and is the company’s director of open source technology strategy, called the Linux kernel submission the company’s most important Linux/open source commitment ever.

“It is a significant piece of technology. It is a strategic technology and it is under the GPLv2 license that the Linux kernel uses, and which the community is organized around.”

Read More There

When to expect Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM (Windows Server Division WebLog)

We have received many requests from our customers and partners on when they will be able to get their hands on RTM code of Windows Server 2008 R2. As the Windows Server Operations Manager, I wanted to provide a broad timeline on when different groups of customers and partners will get the final RTM code.

For Partners & OEMs:

ISV (Independent software vendor) and IHV (Independent hardware vendor) partners will be able to download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM from MSDN starting on August 14th.  MSDN will post in English, French, German, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish on August 14^th and will roll out the remaining languages starting August 21^st.

Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified Members will be able to download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM through the Microsoft Partner Program (MPP) Portal on August 19^th.

Microsoft Action Pack Subscribers will be able to download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM starting August 23rd.

OEMs will receive Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM in English and all Language Packs on July 29^th.  The remaining languages will be available around August 11^th.

For Volume Licensing Customers:

If you are a Volume License (VL) customer with an existing Software Assurance (SA) license, you will be able to download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM on August 19^th via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC).

Volume License customers without a SA license will be able to purchase Windows Server 2008 R2 through Volume Licensing on September 1^st.

IT Professionals:

IT Professionals with TechNet Subscriptions will be able to download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM in English, French, German, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish on August 14^th and all remaining languages beginning August 21^st.

Developers:

Developers with MSDN Subscriptions will be able to download Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM in English, French, German, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish on August 14^th and all remaining languages starting August 21^st.

For Technical Enthusiasts:

Starting on August 20, you can download the 180 day evaluation version of Windows Server 2008 R2 from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/try-it.aspx

Additionally, Windows Server 2008 R2 will be available in the retail channel on September 14^th.

Thanks,

Crissy House

Product Manager – Windows Server Marketing

http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/archive/2009/07/22/when-to-expect-windows-server-2008-r2-rtm.aspx

Time for RTM

The acronym stands for Release to Manufacturing, and it means this latest release of Windows Server 2008 R2 is now blessed by engineering as ready for the manufacturing process. We’re talking final code. Sun shining, birds singing, children dancing in the streets.

With evaluation software available for download in the first half of August and the full product available to customers with Software Assurance in the second half of August, RTM is more than just an engineering milestone. Occurring in lock-step with the release of the Windows 7 RTM, these two platforms are now ready for our partners to start testing and installing on their hardware. And that lock-step isn’t a coincidence, it’s a design goal.

Customers using Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 in their enterprises has been Microsoft’s intent from the first day programmers touched fingers to keyboards. Let’s look at the highlights:

HAPPY ADMINISTRATORS

It’s Christmas for server and desktop administrators with Windows Server 2008 R2’s updated management tools, including:

• Hyper-V and Live Migration – still the big stars. R2’s Hyper-V enables a complete server virtualization solution available out-of-the-box. Live Migration allows server administrators to migrate VMs between physical machines with no perceived downtime for current server connections and work streams. That means a more dynamic datacenter and more agility in meeting new business needs For more information on Hyper-V in R2, check out today’s in-depth post on the Virtualization Team blog.
• File Classification Infrastructure – FCI lets you manage your data based on its characteristics, including things like file type, user credentials and even content. Based on this kind of criteria, FCI can assign data different access restrictions, store it in different locations or simply push it into an entirely customized lifecycle scheme – all done automatically via policy. For me, this is one of the most exciting new features in R2.
• Active Directory and Pervasive PowerShell – 240 new PowerShell cmdlets and several management consoles (including a new Active Directory interface) have been built on top of PowerShell. Active Directory has also been enhanced with the Active Directory Recycle Bin as well as AD Group Policy objects that give desktop administrators deeper capabilities when it comes to managing Windows 7 clients.
• IIS 7.5 – The latest edition of Internet Information Server also sports updated management tools as well as application serving capabilities that now including support for PHP and .NET on Server Core installations.
• Server Scalability – Not only is R2 Microsoft’s first 64-bit-only operating system, it also supports up to 256 logical processors in a single server as well as all the latest CPU technologies. And, R2 has support for advanced storage technologies, including SAN management and solid state hardware.

HAPPY USERS

I’ll leave it to the Windows 7 team to evangelize the many advantages that Windows 7 has as a standalone operating system (click here for the Windows 7 RTM announcement). But we server guys love it because combined with Windows Server 2008 R2 we can provide features I’ve never seen before in another client-server platform.

• DirectAccess, for example, provides secure, always-on access to corporate networks no matter from what network a client might be connecting. Better yet, it provides a two-way relationship allowing desktop admins to manage clients the same way whether they’re local or remote.
• BranchCache allows users in remote offices to cache corpnet data locally, providing a better work experience for remote workers while simultaneously lowering expensive WAN bandwidth costs.
• Remote Desktop and Applications – Windows Server 2008’s Terminal Services has now evolved into R2’s Remote Desktop Services, and it integrates so tightly with Windows 7 that administrators will be able to roll out virtualized applications and even entire desktop environments without users being able to tell that these tools aren’t running locally. It’s fast and can even be managed via policy. Very cool stuff.

LOWER BUDGETS

Power efficiency and power management were priorities for R2.  The power efficiency improvements help you save power automatically – without additional steps or configuration.  An improved processor power management engine, storage power management improvements, tick skipping, core parking, and timer coalescing all contribute to improved power efficiency.

While licensing topics are a bit arcane, those of you already running Windows Server 2008 should know that you don’t need new Client Access Licenses (CALs) when updating to Windows Server 2008 R2, which helps make for a cost-effective upgrade.

I’m out of space and have only scratched the surface of what you’ll find in R2. You can follow the buzz about R2 and Windows 7 on Twitter via the #Windows hashtag.

For those evaluating the software for near-term deployment, make sure to visit the Windows Server 2008 R2 Resource Center, our TechNet Resource Center as well and also our Application Compatibility page. And as always, send us your feedback when you’re testing the software. Happy testing,

–Oliver Rist

Technical Product Manager

Windows Server Marketing

http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/archive/2009/07/22/windows-server-2008-r2-rtm.aspx

Microsoft Releases Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

REDMOND, Wash. — July 22, 2009 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the next versions of its flagship desktop and server operating systems.

With the completion of this development phase, industry partners are readying products in time for the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 worldwide general launches.

Windows 7 will be generally available to customers around the world on October 22, and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be generally available on or before that date. As always, current customers of the Windows Volume Licensing program, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers and TechNet subscribers will be among the first to get customer access to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in the coming weeks.

Microsoft will make the announcement on its Windows Team and Windows Server Blogs later today. More information about today’s news is available via the following links:

•	Windows Team Blog, http://windowsteamblog.com
•	Windows Server Blog, http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver
•	Partner Web sites, http://readyset7.com and http://talkingaboutwindows.com/Default.aspx
•	Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for businesses, http://www.microsoft.com/windows/default.aspx And http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/R2.aspx

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.

Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

Virtualization Support Wizard

Microsoft released a virtualization support validation wizard on the internet that can easily help determining if a virtualization configuration is supported prior to taking design decisions or calling Microsoft support.

The URL for the wizard is

http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvpwizard.htm

Please try using this public Wizard yourself, and send me your comments and feedback to help improving it.

It also worth mentioning the Support policy for Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software, please read the below articles thoroughly and let me know if you have any questions.

Support policy for Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization softwareSupport partners for non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software

Finally, there are some useful resources available through the Virtualization Troubleshooting and Support TechCenter on TechNet:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/cc150661.aspx

Windows Server 2008 Clusters and Premier Support

In Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the way that clusters are qualified for supportability is changing significantly with the introduction of the cluster validation wizard.

The cluster validation wizard is a feature that is integrated into failover clustering in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. With the cluster validation wizard, you can run a set of focused tests on a collection of servers that you intend to use as nodes in a cluster. This cluster validation process tests the underlying hardware and software directly, and individually, to obtain an accurate assessment of how well failover clustering can be supported on a given configuration.

 What defines a supported failover cluster configuration in Windows Server 2008?

For a failover cluster in Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 to be considered an officially supported solution by Microsoft Customer Support Services (CSS), the solution must meet the following criteria.

 

• The fully configured solution (servers, network, and storage) must pass all tests in the validation wizard, which is part of the failover cluster snap-in.
• All hardware and software components must meet the qualifications for the appropriate logo. For Windows Server 2008, this is the “Certified for Windows Server 2008” logo. For Windows Server 2008 R2, this is the “Certified for Windows Server 2008 R2” logo. For more information about the Logo Programs, see the Microsoft Web site at:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=111561

  As per kb943984, a Cluster Validation Report is required by customer support as a condition of support provision. This is a new condition on Windows Server 2008, where historically the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) was the basis for supportability for Windows Server 2003 clusters.