Windows User Group - Ireland

Nathan Winters has kindly followed up on his session in Dublin on Exchange 2010 with a blog post.  This includes a copy of his slides, a link to a whitepaper and answers to the two questions he didn’t have answers for on the day.

Microsoft has just released the newest version of System Center Operations Manager, 2007 R2. OpsMgr, AKA SCOM, allows an enterprise to monitor the health and performance of the IT infrastructure from hardware all the way to the applications. Component monitoring, audit logging, service delivery monitoring and performance monitoring have been with us since 2007. SLA monitoring has been enhanced in 2007 R2 and Cross Platform Extensions add the ability to natively monitor UNIX and LINUX from the Microsoft platform

This session by expert Paul Keely will introduce you to OpsMgr and to the new features added in OpsMgr 2007 R2.

Agenda

09:30 Introduction
09:45 The monitoring story
10:00 Operations Manger Whistle Stop tour
10:40 Breakout
10:50 Monitoring deep dive, Monitors, Rules, Synthetic Transactions and Service level dashboards all from the field.
11:50 Q&A

The Speaker

Paul Keely has been working for Microsoft Consultant Services for the last number of years doing enterprise deployments of most of the System Center products, but mostly focusing on SCOM. Paul is back working for himself, is deeply engaged in a number of large SCOM deployments right now and is full of lessons learned and helpful information for anyone thinking about deploying SCOM, and for those working on it right now.

Where And When

Registration is mandatory for attending the in-person event at Microsoft.

The event will be held in Building 2 at the Microsoft European Development Centre (EDC), South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18. 

Registration: 09:00

Event: 09:30 until 12:00

Registration

To attend in person you must register.

Webcast

Registration is not required to join the online webcast. You can join the web cast by:
1) Installing the free Live Meeting Client
2) Clicking on this link: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=OpsMgr2007R2&role=attend

The Irish Windows User Group will be running a session focusing on OCS, aka Office Communications Server.  The speaker is John McCabe, a senior engineer with CDSoft. 

Mobile users and mobile computing have enabled a more flexible workforce but there is a challenge in enabling communications that are just as flexible and mobile.  OCS can be used to resolve these issues.  For most of us, this is an alien world and we just wouldn't know where to start.  This session aims to show you how you can use OCS to resolve communications issues in your business.

The Agenda

• Discussion about unified communications (UC) and a quick open forum: This is to facilitate if people know what UC is to give them background information and concepts regarding it and then a quick open forum of topics/questions they would like emphasised in the run through
• Deployment Scenarios – Internal Deployments: A Discussion on the types of deployment you can have internally in your organisation
• Deployment Scenarios – (Remote Access/Federation/Public IM): A discussion on the types of deployment you can have for external users and internal users to communicate outside the organisation
• Break
• Planning For Unified Communications: Detail the process about planning for a deployment in your organisation and some of the factors you have to think about

About The Speaker

John McCabe works for CDSoft Limited based in Celbridge, Kildare. He has worked for over 12 years in the IT industry in various different fields ranging from telecoms, security, deployment and design. Over the last 12 months he has focused his attention on pushing Unified Communications in the Irish market place. He has presented alongside Microsoft on “Tech Days” about Unified Communications and many times in Microsoft “Envision” Centre. John has attained the 088-924 and 074-924 Voice Specialization Exams from Microsoft further complementing his UC skill set.

Where And When

Registration is mandatory for attending the in-person event at Microsoft.

The event will be held at Microsoft's Microsoft European Development Centre (EDC), South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18. 

• July 9th
• Registration: 09:00
• Event: 09:30 until 12:00

Live Meeting

Although the best experience is to be on site for the presentation, we will be live webcasting the event using Live Meeting.  You should use the installed (not the web) client. 

There is no need to register for the live event if you only wish to tune into the webcast.

The URL for the meeting is: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=OCSOverview&role=attend

Microsoft has posted a collection of guides for Windows 7 on a single page.  Very handy.

On June 12th we will be running a session on Exchange 2010, also known as Exchange 14. The speaker, Nathan Winters, is an Exchange MVP, consultant and author with huge experience and a growing international reputation. As you can see from the session agenda, the world of email has evolved into a world of communications and collaboration, introducing many new technologies and offering new ways to access existing technologies with solutions for the major corporates and the small businesses. This will be an interesting session that will explain what's happening now and in the near future.

Agenda

- Introduction: Nathan will discuss the history of email with a particular focus on Exchange, this sets up the rest of the presentation which is about the future of email (Microsoft Style!)
- Software + Services: Whether this is the future or not, what Microsoft is doing, the BPOS suite, limitations, benefits, and customers who have used it. Nathan will also show a demo. He will touch on Exchange Lab@Edu which leads into Exchange 2010 – Approx 20 mins
- Exchange 2010 will be the main section of the presentation: The basics (roles, prerequisites etc). Nathan will take a look at the aims of the product group and dive into depth around the new features related to each of the roles
- A brief intro to Unified Communications: This section will give a very brief intro to Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and then end with a demo of some key work scenarios and features
- Summary and Questions

Where and When

June 12th from 09:30 until 12:00.  Registration starting at 09:00.

Microsoft European Development Centre (EDC), South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, Ireland, driving directions

Live Webcast

We will be using LiveMeeting to share this presentation live to the world!  You can sign in here using this code: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=46G74S&role=attend

Please use the free installed client instead of the web client.  The web client has issues regarding audio sharing.

About Nathan Winters

Nathan Winters is a Lead Consultant for Dimension Data. He is responsible for the Microsoft Exchange practice in the UK. Nathan has been working in I.T. for six years and specializes in Exchange and Office Communications Server.

Midway through 2006 Nathan founded the Microsoft Messaging and Mobility User Group UK which holds regular meetings in the UK to discuss topics related to Exchange. In April 2007 Nathan was awarded an MVP (Exchange Server) for his work with MMMUG and regular contributions to the Mark Minasi Forum. Nathan is a regular contributor to the MSExchange.org website and Nathan's other articles have been published by Penton Media (Exchange and Outlook Administrator newsletter), Microsoft (TechNet Industry Insiders) and on the MMMUG website. 

Registration

Anyone wishing to attend the event should register.  This event is being held in Microsoft so registration is mandatory.  As usual, there is no cost associated with this event.

There is no need to register if you are only going to join the webcast.

On June 12th we will be running a session on Exchange 2010, also known as Exchange 14. The speaker, Nathan Winters, is an Exchange MVP, consultant and author with huge experience and a growing international reputation. As you can see from the session agenda, the world of email has evolved into a world of communications and collaboration, introducing many new technologies and offering new ways to access existing technologies with solutions for the major corporates and the small businesses. This will be an interesting session that will explain what's happening now and in the near future.

Agenda
- Introduction: Nathan will discuss the history of email with a particular focus on Exchange, this sets up the rest of the presentation which is about the future of email (Microsoft Style!)
- Software + Services: Whether this is the future or not, what Microsoft is doing, the BPOS suite, limitations, benefits, and customers who have used it. Nathan will also show a demo. He will touch on Exchange Lab@Edu which leads into Exchange 2010 – Approx 20 mins
- Exchange 2010 will be the main section of the presentation: The basics (roles, prerequisites etc). Nathan will take a look at the aims of the product group and dive into depth around the new features related to each of the roles
- A brief intro to Unified Communications: This section will give a very brief intro to Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and then end with a demo of some key work scenarios and features
- Summary and Questions

Live Webcast

We will be using LiveMeeting to share this presentation live to the world!  You can sign in here using this code: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=46G74S&role=attend

Please use the free installed client instead of the web client.  The web client has issues regarding audio sharing.

About Nathan Winters

Nathan Winters is a Lead Consultant for Dimension Data. He is responsible for the Microsoft Exchange practice in the UK. Nathan has been working in I.T. for six years and specializes in Exchange and Office Communications Server.

Midway through 2006 Nathan founded the Microsoft Messaging and Mobility User Group UK which holds regular meetings in the UK to discuss topics related to Exchange. In April 2007 Nathan was awarded an MVP (Exchange Server) for his work with MMMUG and regular contributions to the Mark Minasi Forum. Nathan is a regular contributor to the MSExchange.org website and Nathan's other articles have been published by Penton Media (Exchange and Outlook Administrator newsletter), Microsoft (TechNet Industry Insiders) and on the MMMUG website. 

Registration

Anyone wishing to attend the event should register.  This event is being held in Microsoft so registration is mandatory.  As usual, there is no cost associated with this event.

The Irish Windows User Group will be running two events over the next 2 months.  The details are below.  Note that anyone outside of Ireland or not near these venues can still attend online using Live Meeting.  We’re also planning to host the recordings on a new Microsoft TechNet Ireland portal.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Deep Dive (This Thursday)

At TechDays for IT Pro’s 2009 there will be some sessions on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. This will include some information and demonstrations on the new version of Hyper-V. However, due to time constraints, we won’t have time to get into the deep details of how and why things work.

Aidan Finn (C Infinity) will be talking about the new technologies that will be included as part of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. This includes new functionality and improvements in performance thanks to cooperation between Microsoft and their hardware partners.

Dave Northey (Microsoft Ireland) will be doing some demonstrations of the technology in action, including the much anticipated Live Migration.

Who's Speaking?

- Aidan Finn - C Infinity

- Dave Northey: Microsoft Ireland

When and Where?

07:30 until 10:00 on April 30th.

Swift Suite 2, Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8, Ireland (Near St. Patricks Cathedral)

Registration

You can register for the event here: http://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=137699. 

Anyone who registered for the event using the old event system does not need to re-register.

Online

The Dublin event on April 30th at 07:30 GMT will be web cast using Live Meeting.  You will need to install Live Meeting to watch.  The entry details are:

Attendee URL: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/mvp/join?id=H73KPG&role=attend
Meeting ID:  H73KPG

Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services (aka Terminal Services)

Windows Server 2008 R2 sees Terminal Services being expanded and rebranded as Remote Desktop Services.  MVP Alex Yushchenko will be once again presenting for the Windows User Group and sharing his wealth of expertise and experience.  And be sure to check out his own event that is running in Dublin, PubForum.
This presentation will cover the following:

-       New features of Remote Desktop Services (previously known as Terminal Services) in Windows 2008 R2
-       Migration from W2003 or W2008 to R2
-       VDI – Virtual Desktop Architecture built-in
-       Application Delivery, TS Web Access, Session Broker & Load Balancing and Licensing
-       Powershell in Remote Desktop Services
-       Virtualization of Terminal Server?!
-       How to get the most of Remote Desktop Services and maybe even replace your Citrix farm and save costs

About Alex Yushchenko
Alex Yushchenko a.k.a Dr.Conti is a worldwide recognized Virtualization and Server Based Computing expert. He is a Microsoft Terminal Services MVP and Citrix CTP of which there are only about 25, worldwide. With over 10 years of experience in the application virtualization field he often attends Microsoft events as part of “Ask the Experts” team across the globe and is regularly presenting on application virtualization related topics. He is also founder and organizer of European Wide Virtualization and Application delivery Event called PubForum.net in Dublin in June this year. Alex holds a M.Sc. Degree in Information Technology.

Where and When?

May 20th Wednesday
Galway - 9.30 - 12.30: Days Inn Hotel
Cork - 18.30 - 21.30: Rochestown Park Hotel
May 21st Thursday
Dublin - 9.30 - 12.30: Microsoft Atruim Building Block B
Belfast - 18.30 - 21.30: Wellington Park Hotel 

Location details on the event registration pages.

Registrations
There is no fee for attending the event.  You can register for each individual event:

May 20th Wednesday
Galway - 9.30 - 12.30
Cork - 18.30 - 21.30

May 21st Thursday
Dublin - 9.30 - 12.30
Belfast - 18.30 - 21.30

Online

The Dublin event on May 21st at 09:30 GMT will be web cast using Live Meeting.  You will need to install Live Meeting to watch.  The entry details are:

Attendee URL:  https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=6PC9BQ&role=attend
Meeting ID:  6PC9BQ

Windows Server 2008 R2 sees Terminal Services being expanded and rebranded as Remote Desktop Services.  MVP Alex Yushchenko will be once again presenting for the Windows User Group and sharing his wealth of expertise and experience.  And be sure to check out his own event that is running in Dublin, PubForum.
 
This presentation will cover the following:

-       New features of Remote Desktop Services (previously known as Terminal Services) in Windows 2008 R2
-       Migration from W2003 or W2008 to R2
-       VDI – Virtual Desktop Architecture built-in
-       Application Delivery, TS Web Access, Session Broker & Load Balancing and Licensing
-       Powershell in Remote Desktop Services
-       Virtualization of Terminal Server?!
-       How to get the most of Remote Desktop Services and maybe even replace your Citrix farm and save costs

About Alex Yushchenko
Alex Yushchenko a.k.a Dr.Conti is a worldwide recognized Virtualization and Server Based Computing expert. He is a Microsoft Terminal Services MVP and Citrix CTP of which there are only about 25, worldwide. With over 10 years of experience in the application virtualization field he often attends Microsoft events as part of “Ask the Experts” team across the globe and is regularly presenting on application virtualization related topics. He is also founder and organizer of European Wide Virtualization and Application delivery Event called PubForum.net in Dublin in June this year. Alex holds a M.Sc. Degree in Information Technology.

Where and When?

May 20th Wednesday
Galway - 9.30 - 12.30: Days Inn Hotel
Cork - 18.30 - 21.30: Rochestown Park Hotel
 
May 21st Thursday
Dublin - 9.30 - 12.30: Microsoft Atruim Building Block B
Belfast - 18.30 - 21.30: Wellington Park Hotel 

Location details on the event registration pages.

Registrations
There is no fee for attending the event.  You can register for each individual event:

May 20th Wednesday
Galway - 9.30 - 12.30
Cork - 18.30 - 21.30

 
May 21st Thursday
Dublin - 9.30 - 12.30
Belfast - 18.30 - 21.30

Online

The Dublin event on May 21st at 09:30 GMT will be web cast using Live Meeting.  You will need to install Live Meeting to watch.  The entry details are:

Attendee URL:  https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=6PC9BQ&role=attend
Meeting ID:  6PC9BQ

Aidan Finn has posted the PowerPoint slide deck from the February event on branch office infrastructure.

Talking about Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Deep Dive

Hosted by: Aidan Finn & Dave Northey Date and time: 30 April 2009 from 07:30 to 10:00 Location: Swift Suite 2, Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8, Ireland View this event on Windows Live

Tech Days’ are a collaborative effort between Microsoft and the IT Pro community to re-deliver the highlights of Tech Ed Conference to IT Pros across Ireland. Most of the sessions will be delivered by a combination of Microsoft and Community technical presenters and will involve as much time spent demo the technology, as possible. The content delivered will be technical level 300. March will see the four-city tour stop for evening events in Galway and Cork, with full day events in Dublin and Belfast.
Don’t miss this amazing opportunity to get up-to speed on the latest Microsoft technology at no cost!

See the official page here.

Microsoft Community Tech Days for IT Professionals
Galway, 10th March (Venue tbc)
7pm-9.30pm
Cost: Free
Register Here

Agenda

1. An Introduction to Windows 7 and Quick Overview of Client Deployment Tools
2. The Accidental DBA
3. SQL Server Reporting Services

Microsoft Community Tech Days for IT Professionals
Cork, 12th March (Venue tbc)
7pm-9.30pm
Cost: Free
Register Here

Agenda

1. Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 working Great Together and WS 2008 R2 Virtualisation (Live Migration is here!)
2. SharePoint - The Implementation  Journey..from WSS to MOSS
3. Unified Communications - Using it Today and Preparing for the Future

Microsoft Community Tech Days for IT Professionals
Dublin, 24th March (Venue tbc)
Cost: Free
Infrastructure Morning (9.30am – 1pm)
Register Here

Agenda

1. Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 working Great Together and WS 2008 R2 Virtualisation (Live Migration is here!)
2. An Introduction to Windows 7 and Quick Overview of Client Deployment Tools
3. Virtualising Windows Essential Server Solutions (SBS &EBS)

Unified Communications and Collaboration Afternoon (2.30pm – 6pm)
Register Here
Agenda

1. SharePoint - The Implementation  Journey..from WSS to MOSS
2. Unified Communications - Using it Today and Preparing for the Future

Microsoft Community Tech Days for IT Professionals
Belfast, 26th March (Venue tbc)
Cost: Free
Infrastructure Morning (9.30am – 1pm)
Register Here

Agenda

1. Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 working Great Together and WS 2008 R2 Virtualisation (Live Migration is here!)
2. An Introduction to Windows 7 and Quick Overview of Client Deployment Tools
3. Virtualising Windows Essential Server Solutions (SBS &EBS)

Database and Business Intelligence Afternoon (2.30pm – 6pm)
Register Here

Agenda

1. The Accidental DBA
2. SQL Server Reporting Services
3. Integrated BI Solutions with SQL Server 2008, SharePoint Server 2007 (including scorecarding, dashboarding and analytics) & Excel 2007

(including scorecarding, dashboarding and analytics) & Excel 2007

MS @ Home Evenings Event Description:
Placeholder for content

Microsoft @ Home Evening, for IT Professionals
Event Description:
This session will be an overview of the connected technologies of Windows 7, Windows Home Server and Xbox to provide a secure, shared and media rich home computing experience. We will demonstrate parental controls, media tagging, shared media, centralized backup and the extensibility of Home Server and the community that surrounds this product. We will also look at how the web plays a part in this experience through remote web access and a personalized website address for sharing photos and home videos in home server.
Dublin, 23rd March, 7pm-9.30pm (Venue tbc). Register Here
Belfast, 25th March, 7pm-9.30pm (Venue tbc).Register Here
Cost: Free

Agenda

1. Digital Photography
2. Home Server & Media Extender
3. Securing Your Home Network

Mark Russinovich led a roundtable discussion last night on Windows 7 featuring a number of MS program leaders and Windows gurus/MVP’s/authors Rhonda Layfield and Mark Minasi.  It’s a good look into where Windows 7 is now and what to expect.  You can watch a recording of the discussion.

Paul Thurrott has posted news on the editions you can expect of Windows 7 and the features included.

Paul Thurrott has posted news on the editions you can expect of Windows 7 and the features included.

Microsoft is working with the IT Pro Community around the country to redeliver the best bits of the Tech Ed conference, which took place in Barcelona last November. As well as local MVPs (Microsoft Valued Professionals) delivering content on the days, local Microsoft technical speakers will contribute. We are also lining up a number of high-profile international speakers, details of which will be released in the coming weeks.

A multi-topic format ensures there'll be something for everyone and we will also host 'Microsoft @ Home' sessions in the evening which will look at Home Networking and Digital Photography. The agenda is set to include the following:

• Virtualisation and Virtualisation management tools
• Windows Client - including Vista deployment and First look @ Windows 7
• Security
• SQL - BI and the Accidental DBA
• Small Business Server
• Unified Communications & Collaboration
• First look @ new products coming from Microsoft

Who Should Attend?

All IT Professionals: Infrastructure Specialist, DBA, App or LOB Specialist, IT Manager, Network Specialist, Desktop and End User Support.

Where and When?

Galway (10th March) - register your interest
Cork (12th March) - register your interest
Belfast (24th March) - register your interest
Dublin (26th March) - register your interest

Aidan Finn will be talking about Branch Office Infrastructure Solutions. Businesses today face many economic challenges. The desire to compete is being challenged by the difficulties of using IT infrastructure to connect workers in different locations, whether they be in different counties, countries or even just working from home.

This presentation will look at the problems, identify the real causes of the difficulties and offer solutions from Microsoft’s current catalogue of products. We will also look into the near future to see what is coming in Windows 7 Enterprise Edition and Windows Server 2008 R2 to help with inter-office working.

Ronald Dockery (Windows Client Business Group Lead at Microsoft Ireland) will follow up this presentation by diving a bit deeper in the technologies that Windows 7 Enterprise Edition will bring to the table in just a few months to further enable Branch Office Infrastructure Solutions.

About Aidan Finn

Aidan Finn has been working in IT since 1996.  He has worked as a consultant and administrator for the likes of Amdahl DMR, Fujitsu, Barclays and Hypo Real Estate Bank International where he dealt with large and complex IT infrastructures.  More recently Aidan has been working in the server hosting and outsourcing industry in Ireland where he has focused on server management, including a large VMware VI3 deployment.  Currently he is working for C Infinity, an outsourcing and data security services company in Ireland, where he is the Systems and Infrastructure Manager.  Here he has been working with Hyper-V and Microsoft System Center as part of an advanced server deployment and management infrastructure.  Aidan is the leader of the Windows User Group in Ireland.  He is also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) on System Center Configuration Manager and is an active blogger.  When Aidan isn't at work he's out and about with camera in hand trying to be a photographer.

Where and When?

The event will take place at 7PM, Wednesday February 25^th at the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Dublin 8.

Registration
Admission will be free to members of the Windows Server 2008 User Group.  If you are already a member then you will receive an invitation via email.  If you are not a member then please sign-up for free by e-mailing the group. 

Thanks to ...

Microsoft Ireland for sponsoring the event.

The annual conference run by Mark Minasi is on again this year, this time in April in Virginia Beach, USA.  You may know Mark from the day of presentations he kindly did for us at MS Ireland in 2008.  The agenda as of now (subject to change) is:

Sunday, April 19, 2009

• 1:00 pm:  Welcome
• 1:15 pm:   TBD  Keynote  by Windows IT Pro
• 2:30 pm:  Break
• 2:45 pm:  Mark Minasi   Introducing Windows 7
• 4:00 pm:  Break
• 4:15 pm:  Aidan Finn   Hyper-V - The Future of Infrastructure
• 5:30 pm:  Close

Monday, April 20, 2009

• 9:00 am:  Eric Rux   The Big One - Merging 2 Companies!
• 10:15 am: Break
• 10:30 am: Nathan Winters  The Future of Email: Exchange 14 and Online Services
• 11:45 am:  Lunch
• 1:00 pm:   James Summerlin  SQL Reporting Services
• 2:15 pm:   Break
• 2:30 pm:   Roger Grimes  How I Fixed the Internets!
• 3:45 pm:   Break
• 4:00 pm:   Todd Lammle    TBA
• 5:30 pm:   Dinner organized with coach transport

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

• 9:00 am:   Rhonda Layfield  Windows 7
• 10:15 am:  Break
• 10:30 am: Mini Session A  TBD
• 10:55 am: Mini Session B  TBD
• 11:20 am: Mini Session C  TBD
• 11:45 am: Lunch
• 1:00 pm:  Mark Minasi   More Windows 7
• 2:15 pm:   Break
• 2:30 pm:   Curt Spanburgh   Hybrid Solutions, SaaS
• 3:45 pm:   Break
• 4:00 pm:   TBD  Light Session (Photography or other topic)
• 5:30 pm:    'No Host' dinner at local restaurant  (one last chance to rub elbows with people in the know)
• 6:30 pm:    Vendor Evening - Details TBD - An evening with various vendors either on site or via Web conference, to look at relevant products.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

• 9:00 am:   Stacy Hein  SQL for the Windows Administrators
• 10:15 am:  Break
• 10:30 am:  Joe McGlynn   SBS 2008 for the Small Business
• 11:45 am:   Closing thoughts and summing up
• 12:00 pm:  Final Lunch
• 1:00 pm:    Round Table Discussion

You can register by following the instructions on the site. 

This is the event where Mark often debuts new presentation material.  Irish speakers include Joe McGlynn is speaking on the Wednesday about SBS 2008 and Aidan Finn who is talking about Hyper-V after Mark Minasi (no pressure).

Other speakers include MVP's Nathan Winters (Exchange and mobile communications whiz from England), Curt Spanburgh (Dynamics guru and master of disasters), Rhonda Layfield (the queen of OS deployment) and Eric Rux (IT pro and all-knowing of Windows Home Server).  Todd Lammle is a world renowned Cisco author, trainer, speaker and consultant.  Those of us from year 1 still shake from when he scared us with his IPv6 talk.  Roger Grimes is a security expert with 7 books to his name.  Stacy Hein is a SQL wizard well known to us on the Minasi forum.  James Summerlin is the rarest of creatures: a developer and an IT pro!  And Mark Minasi is the famous author, speaker, trainer and consultant specialising in AD and Windows.

Last year, attendees came from USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Netherlands and Denmark.  If you have the opportunity to go then I'd recommend it.  The fee is costs only and you'll have a blast.

MS Ireland is running an event called Virtualisation Unplugged at short notice in Cork and Belfast.

Who should attend: IT Managers, IT Professionals

Summary: Virtualisation Unplugged is a full day technical session with Microsoft experts to discover a complete set of virtualisation tools from desktop to datacentre that will improve business continuity and maximise ROI. The day will cover loads of technologies including Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, System Centre Virtual Machine Manager, Terminal Services and Application Virtualisation.
James O'Neill, Virtualisation expert from the UK sub, has had great success touring all over the UK delivering this seminar and we are delighted to bring him to Ireland to deliver two 'Virtualisation Unplugged' tour dates here. Date: 3rd February, 4th February

Location:
Belfast (3rd) - Register Here!
Cork, (4th) - Register Here!

Cost: Free Event

The next generation of Windows for desktops and servers have been released as public betas.  Windows 7 is the successor to Windows Vista.  You can download it from here.  Windows Vista may not have had the features to make you want to upgrade from XP but Windows 7 might just have them.  The really cools ones are when Windows 7 is teamed with Windows Server 2008 R2.  These include BranchCache and and DirectAccess.  By the way, contrary to rumours spread by the uninformed, Windows 7 is not a new version of Windows XP.  It is an evolution of Windows Vista.  If your software and devices work on Vista they should work on Windows 7.

Windows Server 2008 R2 brings some new stuff and can be viewed as Windows Server 2008 V1.1.  Mark Russinovich talked about the new features of power savings and virtualisation at TechEd EMEA.  There are evolutionary improvements all around including web services, virtualisation (Hyper-V will have live migration AKA VMotion thanks to a new cluster file system), power savings and new remote access and branch office/remote computing access.  You can download the beta now.

By the way, these betas are very popular right now so the links are being hammered.  Downloads might be slow for a few days.

MS has released step-by-step guides on how to build 2-node clusters:

• Print
• File Server

I've been asked a few times why people should move to Windows Server 2008.  We know that many in Ireland have only recently made that move from NT to Windows 2003 in the last few years so they cringe at the thought of another project.  Mark Minasi got Rhonda Layfield to quickly document the performance and security improvements of Windows Server 2008 in his free newsletter.  This is a nice short listing rather than the usual epic novels we normally see in this sort of thing.