Category: 1118

Microsoft has included numerous features in Active Directory the last couple of years. Also, more and more technologies in products like Exchange Server, SharePoint Server and the Windows client (Windows Vista, Windows 7) have an Active Directory opt-in to store information in Active Directory. All this bountiful integration, however, comes with a price. The price … Continue reading "Active Directory Feature Requirements"

Windows Server 2008 R2 was released on October 22nd 2009. With a slew of new Active Directory features, the newest incarnation of Windows Server was appealing to many customers. But not to some customers. One thing that stood in their way was the inability to restructure Active Directory domains and forests. Much needed functionality in … Continue reading "ADMT 3.2 Now Available!"

You might be running Windows Server 2003 (R2) and Windows Server 2008 Domain Controllers at the moment and you're looking to replace these servers with Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controllers to utilize the new features of Windows Server 2008 R2. You might also be looking to replace your aging Windows Server 2003 (R2) and … Continue reading "Transitioning your Active Directory to Windows Server 2008 R2"

While upgrading your Active Directory Domain Controllers, Domain Functional Level(s) and Forest Functional Level to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 offer additional functionality compared to previous versions, also a couple of caveats exist, that I think you should be aware of.

With Windows Vista amounting to a 31% market share in enterprise environments, many big companies will be making to switch from Windows XP to Windows 7 directly. In the eight years between their respective launches, a lot has changed in the world. Not just in the world we know, but also in the world of … Continue reading "7 Things to look for in Windows 7 PC Hardware"

One of the reasons I held back on deploying Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 centrally is the lack of supported deployment solutions from Microsoft. I outlined my deployment checklist here. One of my major objections, however, just got solved; Microsoft has released the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 solution accelerator version 5.0.1641.0.

Since Windows 7 is now available and downloadable for Microsoft Partners (and everyone else with a MSDN or TechNet subscription), one of my first jobs at work is to make plans to replace our Windows Vista Enterprise boxes with Windows 7 Enterprise. I’m about to upgrade all client PCs on the network to Microsoft Windows … Continue reading "Windows 7 Migration Checklist"

You might be one of those persons, fervently running Windows 7 on their day-to-day laptop (like me) and you might be one of those persons building Windows Server 2008 R2 rigs for test and demo purposes. (like me) You might also be one of the lucky persons to lay your hands on a pre-order for … Continue reading "Planning on upgrading to Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2?"