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Teched Australia 2012 : I will be there presenting 3 ILL sessions.
TechEd 2012 is going to be HUGE!
I will be there presenting 3 ILL sessions and you are invited to come along.
An awesome tech content is an understatement!
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to explore the latest tech to land in the data centre, be amongst the first to play with amazing Windows 8 apps and loads more.
Plus you can take advantage of Microsoft certification discount at the special event-only price of $99 (inc GST).
Don’t miss out!
Windows 2012 Launch event on September 4th
Make sure you mark September 4th in your calendar as Microsoft will be running an online launch event to have some fun and celebrate the launch of Windows Server 2012.
Make sure you check out: http://www.windows-server-launch.com/ and join us for some fun.
Windows 8 available for download
Windows 8 and Windows 8 Enterprise RTM 90-Day Evals Available Now Open!
System Requirements
Windows 8 works on the same hardware that powers Windows 7:
- Processor:1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
- RAM:1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
- Hard disk space:20 GB
- Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
Additional requirements to use certain features:
- To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.
- To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
- To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.
- Internet access (ISP fees might apply)
Download the 32-bit (x86) version:.jpg "Download Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation") |
Download the 64-bit (x64) version: |
Clustering Hyper-V and Installing a Highly Available Virtual Machine Manager Cluster
Interesting TechNet webcast : how to create a Hyper-V host cluster and install a highly available cluster by using Virtual Machine Manager, a component of Microsoft System Center 2012
Get hands-on : The Cloud OS Signature Events Sep/5 to Oct/11
Get hands-on with the new technology, and learn how to manage and build your modern data center with the Microsoft Cloud OS platform:
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Azure
- Visual Studio 2012
- System Center 2012
Pick your track and register for the event today. http://www.microsoft.com/enterprise/events/signature/#fbid=8R-XXnFl8p2
IT Pro Agenda:
| Time | Duration | IT Professional Agenda |
|---|---|---|
| 8:30am-9:00am | 30 min | Registration. Visit the Microsoft Partner Pavilion |
| 9:00am-10:00am | 60 min | Keynote: Moving from Private and Public to Hybrid Cloud; Windows Server 2012, System Center 2012, Windows Azure and Visual Studio 2012 |
| 10:00am-10:15am | 15 min | Break. Visit the Microsoft Partner Pavilion |
| 10:15am-11:15am | 60 min | Windows Server 2012 Virtualization Enhancements
|
| 11:15am-11:30am | 15 min | Break. Visit the Microsoft Partner Pavilion |
| 11:30am-12:30pm | 60 min | Windows Server 2012 Storage Enhancements
|
| 12:30pm-12:45pm | 15 min | Recap of the Morning. Account Team Introductions. What’s Next. |
| 12:45pm-1:30pm | 45 min | Lunch. Visit the Microsoft Partner Pavilion |
| 1:30pm-2:30pm | 60 min | Overview of Windows Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Hands On Lab
|
| 2:30pm | Closing Remarks and Raffle Giveaway. | |
| 2:30pm-4:00pm | 90 min | Hands On Lab |
Windows 2012 : Converting a Full (GUI version) To Server Core and Vice Versa
For Windows 2012 servers with a full operating system (GUI version) as the base installation:
- To convert a full operating system installation to a server core installation:
- By using DISM cmdlets:
c:\>Dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:ServerCore-FullServer
- By using Powershell (run as Administrator):
PS c:\>Import-Module DISM
PS c:\>Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -online -Featurename Servercore-Fullserver
- To convert a server core installation back to a full operating system installation (GUI version)
- By using DISM cmdlets:
c:\>Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:Server-Gui-Mgmt /featurename:Server-Gui-Shell /featurename:ServerCore-FullServer
- By using Powershell (run as Administrator):
PS c:\>Import-Module DISM
PS c:\>Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -online -Featurename Servercore-FullServer,Server-Gui-shell,Server-Gui-Mgmt
For servers with server core as the base installation:
-
To convert a server core installation to a full operating system installation (GUI version)
1. Create an folder called C:\w2012\image
mkdir C:\w2012\image
2. Insert the Windows 2012 media into the optical drive and copy install.wim from
copy D:\sources\install.wim C:\w2012\image
3. Run the following command to retrieve the name or index number of the image:
Dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:C:\w2012\image\install.wim
4. Create an folder called C:\w2012\MountPoint
mkdir C:\w2012\MountPoint
5. Run the following command to mount the offline Windows image (Note: index:2 = Standard Edition index:4 = Datacenter Edition) :
Dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:C:\w2012\image\install.wim /index:4 /MountDir:C:\w2012\MountPoint /ReadOnly
6. Upgrade the operating system by running the command:
c:\>Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:Server-Gui-Mgmt /featurename:Server-Gui-Shell /featurename:ServerCore-FullServer /source:c:\w2012\MountPoint\windows\winsxs
or by using Powershell:
PS c:\>Import-Module DISM
PS c:\>Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra,Server-Gui-Shell –Restart –Source c:\w2012\MountPoint\windows\winsxs
-
To convert a full operating system installation (GUI version) back to a server core installation
c:\>Dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:ServerCore-FullServer
Counting down for August 15th…Windows 2012 #Hyperv. Reasons to upgrade…
It is next week : August 15th that Windows 2012 will be available for download for MSDN subscribers. Are you ready to deploy it?
Enhancements in Hyper-V and Windows Server 2012 , on network (Teaming, Hyper-V Extensible Switch), multi-tenancy security, higher performance and flexibility.
The performance improvements in Windows Server 2012 over the Server 2008 R2, are huge :
- Increases in the number of logical processors on server hardware, to 160 from 64;
- Increases in the amount of physical memory, to 2TB from 1TB;
- Increases in the number of virtual processors per host server, to 1,024 from 512;
- Increases in the number of virtual processors per virtual machine, to 32 from four;
- Increases in the amount of memory per virtual machine, to 1TB from 64GB;
- Increases in the number of active virtual machines, to 1,024 from 384;
- Increases in the maximum number of virtual nodes in a single server cluster, to 64 from 16;
- Increases in and in the total number of virtual machines, to 4,000 from 1,000
- New virtual disk version : VHDX ( with a built-in feature for preventing data corruption)
- Virtual fiber channel ( making possible to offer the HBA in the host as a virtual HBA to the Virtual Machines)
- SMB file shares to store Virtual Machines
- Hyper-V Replica ( makes possible to create a replica of VMs on other Hyper-V hosts, even in – remote locations ) – ESSENTIAL in DR solutions.
Plus, true live storage migration, shared-nothing live migration, improvements in Dynamic memory… and counting.
Windows Server 2012 will also be available in the desktop version : Windows 8. You can install the Hyper-V on Windows 8 by navigating to the Control Panel and selecting Turn Windows features on or off and select the Hyper-V Platform option.
Note: One of the requirements of running Hyper-V on the Windows 8 edition is that the processor needs to support SLAT (Second Level Address Translation), otherwise Hyper-V will not available.
Resuming, Windows Server 2012 has a lot of improvements and quite a lot of new functionality as well! So, enjoy the upgrade!
It is time for you to upgrade do the new Windows 2012 #HYPER-V
Windows 2012 is now RTM.
It will be generally available for evaluation and purchase to customers around the world on September 4th. Save the date : http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/new.aspx
Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V provides key capabilities that can help you meet the needs of your organization at whichever level you are in the virtualization life cycle—Basic, Standardized, Orchestrated, and Automated.
Windows 2012 RTM : This is the news we’ve all been waiting for! Are you ready for it?
Microsoft release Windows 2012 RTM on August 1st. . It means that it is time for you to upgrade do the new Windows 2012 HYPER-V .
It will be generally available for evaluation and purchase to customers around the world on September 4th
Get your hands on it! There will be 5 SKU’s
Editions Overview
| Edition | Ideal for… | High Level Feature Comparison | Licensing Model |
| Datacenter | Highly virtualized private & hybrid cloud environments | Full Windows Server functionality with unlimited virtual instances | Processor + CAL* |
| Standard | Low density or non- virtualized environments | Full Windows Server functionality with two virtual instances | Processor + CAL* |
| Essentials | Small business environments | Simpler interface, pre-configured connectivity to cloud based services; no virtualization rights | Server (25 User Account Limit) |
| Foundation | Economical general purpose server | General purpose server functionality with no virtualization rights | Server (15 User Account Limit) |
More …
Licensing and pricing details in the downloadable datasheet : http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/4/B/04BD0EB1-42FE-488B-919F-3981EF9B2101/WS2012_Licensing-Pricing_Datasheet.pdf
Find the answers to the most commonly asked pricing and licensing questions. : http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/D/B/4DB352D1-C610-466A-9AAF-EEF4F4CFFF27/WS2012_Licensing-Pricing_FAQ.pdf
Recommended Books
System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 Cookbook
Cloudtidings.com 