Dave and I are your DirTeam bloggers on Microsoft’s Tech∙Ed Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA) conference for IT Professionals in Barcelona (Spain) from November 3rd, 2008 to November 7th, 2008.

Welcome to the last day of the conference. The last chance to get ahead with sessions, hands on labs, instructor led labs, and networking.

Let’s talk about the information handed out in the sessions, saying goodbye to old and new friends and a thing called sleep deprivation…

Sessions

There were loads of interesting sessions today, but unfortunately you can only attend one at a time…

The first session I attended was Ilse van Criekinge’s session on Certificates in combination with Exchange Server 2007 SP1 and ISA Server 2006 SP1. Ilse gave a good rundown on how to install them, how to use them and the caveats to avoid when working with certificates.

After this session I attended an interactive session led by Chris Jackson and Aaron Margosis on fixing application compatibility. This was a fun session, where Aaron Parker and I sat on the first rows.

During lunch I sat in at Tony Krijnen’s session on Windows Home Server. Tony explained what the current incarnation of Windows Home Server looks like, what you can do with it and why it’s such a fun product. The backup functionality already proved its worth: The hard disk in Tony’s Apple MacBook had died a couple of days earlier and he was able to continue working after purchasing a new hard disk and restoring the box in as little as 45 minutes.

Another interesting session I saw was Jason Langridge’s session on Windows Mobile devices connecting to Exchange servers, debunking the myth on Blackberry security and scalability, and a nice inside story on how Microsoft’s Exchange admins handled the load on their servers during the snow storm late 2006 when most of Microsoft’s Redmond campus connected from home!

The last session Dave and I attended was Mark Russinovich’s session on Windows Security Boundaries. Just like Mark Russinovich’s session yesterday this session provided excellent information on the internals of Windows and why some problems justify ‘important’ and ‘critical’ security updates, while other identified problems remain unsolved, unknown or get dismissed.

Saying goodbye

Mark Russinovich made a sharp remark at the beginning of the session. He said it was the last session of this Tech∙Ed event and the only thing that stood between us and drinks. The first part of his remark is undeniably true. Everyone left the conference center like the plague had just resurfaced. (unlike a VHD file I might add)

With a little hesitation we also left the conference center. Just outside of the center we luckily ran into a couple of people we know. This extended our event a little further and for our colleagues over at OGD comes with a pretty sight:

Ladies and gentlemen: Meet Koen Wijnstok
(Former OGD colleague, now a MCT)

Sleep deprivation

The latter part of Mark Russinovich’s remark is something I didn’t take at heart. Since his session marked the end of this Tech∙Ed event, I decided it would also mark the end of my binge-drinking and late night clubbin’ days in Barcelona.

No more sleep deprivation for this guy. Time to sleep regularly and often again to recharge the battery again. After all: I’m no 20-year old guy anymore and in 6 months time I’ll need all the reserves possible to get through a similar event, which is not limited to a week abroad. (More on that another time though)

Concluding

Suffice to say Dave and I ransacked the local Subway to get some food and drinks on our way to our beds. I guess I set a new world record felling asleep.