News

Microsoft announces Exchange Support for Azure VM as a Witness Server

Fri, 31 Oct 2014 18:37:24 GMT

Today at Teched in Barcelona Microsoft announced in a Exchange session by Scott Schnoll that Exchange will soon support for Azure VM as a Witness Server:

As of January 1, 2015, Microsoft will support using an Azure laaS file server VM as a witness server for an on-premises DAG .

Testing and validation has been completed (by Tim McMichael)
Documentation is in progress
DAG should be extended to multiple sites to benefit (no benefit to single site DAGs)

This is not the same as the 'Cloud Witness' in Windows Threshold (aka Windows Server Technical Preview)

I did suggest that scenario in a previous post on Cloud Witness, sorry for that, but the Exchange Engineering team has not yet decided if they will do the work required to support this.

Below you can see an architectural overview of Exchange with Azure VM as a Witness Server:

Click for larger view

High level steps that need to be taken:

Prepare Azure Networking
a. Create Network Services
b. Connect On-Premises VPN Gateways to Windows Azure
Configure Virtual Machines in Azure
a. Configure Directory Server
b. Configure File Server
Configure Exchange 2013 to use Azure Witness
Validate and Test

Huge for on-prem: Microsoft announces cluster witness in the cloud

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 13:18:21 GMT

Today at Teched in Barcelona Microsoft briefly mentioned cloud witness during a Storage replica demo in the keynote. I was wondering if this was somehow limited to this specific scenario. So I checked this new feature with Mark Russinovich who is now Chief Technical Officer of Microsoft Azure. He confirmed that the cloud witness feature will work with any fail-over cluster scenario, so also for Microsoft Exchange, meaning in the future you can have a stretched Exchange cluster with nodes running in 2 separate datacenters (2 sites) supplying quorum by a witness in Azure (3rd site). This provides much easier implementation for site fail-over and recovery.

The option for a witness in the cloud has been a much requested feature for years now, so this quick mention in the keynote is a huge announcement in my opinion.

Microsoft delivers wave of innovation at TechEd Europe

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:57:37 GMT

The official press release:

BARCELONA — Oct. 28, 2014 — Tuesday at TechEd Europe, Microsoft Corp. announced new cloud services, mobility solutions, APIs, tools and an expanded ecosystem of partner solutions, all designed to help IT professionals and developers compete and thrive in today’s mobile-first, cloud-first world.

“Today’s enterprise is always on, and IT professionals and developers are under constant pressure to keep up with the demands of the business,” said Jason Zander, corporate vice president of Microsoft Azure, Microsoft. “We are using the power of our cloud platform — Azure, Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics — to deliver technology solutions that empower IT professionals, developers and end users to do more.”

Azure innovations to help streamline operations and enhance security

At TechEd Europe, Microsoft announced several cloud services to help intelligently automate and streamline IT operations, including these:

Azure Operational Insights brings together Azure, HDInsight and Microsoft System Center to gather and analyze machine data across cloud environments and turn it into actionable insights that inform business decisions. Available in preview in November 2014.
Azure Batch allows customers to deploy massive scale-out jobs, with access to thousands of cores, to solve complex problems with just a few clicks and no infrastructure investment. Available in preview.
Azure Automation automates time-consuming tasks across Azure and third-party environments, reducing the risk associated with repetitive manual processes. Generally available.

Microsoft also announced a number of security enhancements, generally available now, to Azure Virtual Machines and Cloud Services, including these:

Support for multiple network interface cards (NICs) so customers can bring their own networking and security appliances such as load balancers and firewalls
New Network Security Groups that enable customized security boundaries for network access and provide greater control over traffic flow
Microsoft Anti-Malware for Virtual Machines and Cloud Services, a free service that provides real-time threat protection

Comprehensive enterprise mobility management for nearly any device and data

Microsoft also announced management, security, privacy and compliance enhancements for the Enterprise Mobility Suite and Office 365. These new capabilities give IT the ability to enforce policies, protect corporate assets, and empower today’s always-on and on-the-go workforce.

Microsoft Intune updates. These updates will enable customers to comprehensively manage Office mobile apps, wrap management technology around their own line-of-business applications, enable more secure mobile app viewing and provide powerful conditional access features that allow better control of corporate resources with conditional access features. Available within the next few months.
Built-in Mobile Device Management (MDM) for Office 365. New, built-in Intune MDM capabilities for Office 365 on iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices will provide administrators with policy-driven device management and the ability to wipe corporate data to prevent unauthorized access and use — all while preserving personal data. Available in the first quarter of 2015.
Azure Active Directory (AD) Premium updates. Azure AD Application Proxy, generally available by the end of 2014, will make it possible to publish on-premises applications to external users via the cloud. Azure AD Connect, available in preview by the end of 2014, will make it easier to connect on-premises assets to the cloud and synchronize directories to Azure AD.
Extending Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology across Office 365. Over the next few months, DLP capabilities will be added to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business to provide protection for sensitive content across Office 365. In addition, in 2015, Office apps will support DLP notifications to provide users with helpful prompts related to information protection.

Office 365 APIs and tools for developers

Microsoft also introduced new APIs and tools that allow developers to access the Office 365 API and create new, data-rich productivity applications using the platforms, tools and devices of their choice.

New Open APIs for Office 365. These REST-based APIs for mail, files, calendar and contacts will empower Android, iOS, Windows or Web developers to leverage over 400 petabytes of Office 365 content to deliver enhanced productivity to the millions of Office 365 subscribers. Available now through the Microsoft API Sandbox for Office 365.
New mobile software development kits (SDKs) for native app development. These SDKs make it easier for developers to use Office 365 APIs to create applications for any platform using tools and languages they’re familiar with. A new iOS SDK for Xcode is available in preview. Android and Visual Studio SDKs are generally available.
Office 365 App Launcher. Office 365 App Launcher provides a single, customizable place in Office 365 where people can access their favorite apps. Developers can use App Launcher to increase visibility of their apps alongside apps such as Outlook, Yammer and OneDrive.
In addition, Visual Studio Online customers in Europe can elect to use the Azure Amsterdam Region for their projects and store their data closer to home.

An expanded ecosystem of cloud partners

Microsoft continued to deliver new partner-powered cloud solutions, including:

An expanded Cloud OS Network, with partner support now available in over 100 countries, gives customers broad access to hybrid cloud solutions.
A new Azure Certified for Application Services program, part of Azure Certified, which covers managed APIs and data services. Customers can now access over 50 solutions from more than 30 partners, through the Azure Marketplace, including New Relic, Cloudera, Hortonworks, CommVault, CoreOS, DataStax, NGINX and Veeam.

Teched Europe 2014

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:17:05 GMT

This week I’m attending Teched Europe 2014 in Barcelona. If you’re interested I suggest to follow me on Twitter as I tend to post a lot more there than on this page. So follow me at www.twitter.com/sbink and read back my tweets from today.

Also you can view the keynote of TechEd Europe 2014 on demand here

OneDrive for Business file size limit to be adjusted

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:12:25 GMT

Yesterday Microsoft announced unlimited data storage for all Onedrive users with Office365 subscriptions, including OneDrive for Business. While this is great news, there are other limits still on OneDrive for business that do not make it the perfect cloud storage solution yet. Like the filesize limit of 2 GB and directory depth. (OneDrive for consumers has a 10 GB file limit)

Today at Teched Barcelona I asked Julie White (General Manager Office Marketing) if Microsoft is working on removing the filesize limit. She said they are working on “removing all limits” in SharePoint online and that a announcement on this subject is to be expected “in a few months”

Now I don’t expect the filesize limit to be removed, but upped to 10 GB in a few months just like OneDrive for consumers.

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 3.0 adds p2v support

Mon, 13 Oct 2014 19:25:47 GMT

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter (MVMC) is a Microsoft-supported, stand-alone solution for the information technology (IT) pro or solution provider who wants to convert virtual machines and disks from VMware hosts to Hyper-V® hosts and Microsoft Azure or alternatively convert a physical computer running Windows Server 2008 or above server operating systems or Windows Vista or above client operating systems to a virtual machine running on Hyper-V host.

MVMC can be deployed with minimal dependencies. Because MVMC provides native support for Windows PowerShell®, it enables scripting and integration with data center automation workflows such as those authored and run within Microsoft System Center Orchestrator 2012 R2. It can also be invoked through the Windows PowerShell® command-line interface. The solution is simple to download, install, and use. In addition to the Windows PowerShell capability, MVMC provides a wizard-driven GUI to facilitate virtual machine conversion.

New Features in MVMC 3.0

The 3.0 release of MVMC adds the ability to convert a physical computer running Windows Server 2008 or above server operating systems or Windows Vista or above client operating systems to a virtual machine running on Hyper-V host.

Standard Features

Converts virtual disks that are attached to a VMware virtual machine to virtual hard disks (VHDs) that can be uploaded to Microsoft Azure.
Provides native Windows PowerShell capability that enables scripting and integration into IT automation workflows.
Note The command-line interface (CLI) in MVMC 1.0 has been replaced by Windows PowerShell in MVMC 2.0.
Supports conversion and provisioning of Linux-based guest operating systems from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts.
Supports conversion of offline virtual machines.
Supports the new virtual hard disk format (VHDX) when converting and provisioning in Hyper-V in Windows Server® 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012.
Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 5.5, VMware vSphere 5.1, and VMware vSphere 4.1 hosts Hyper-V virtual machines.
Supports Windows Server® 2012 R2, Windows Server® 2012, and Windows® 8 as guest operating systems that you can select for conversion.
Converts and deploys virtual machines from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts on any of the following operating systems:
Windows Server® 2012 R2
Windows Server® 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Converts VMware virtual machines, virtual disks, and configurations for memory, virtual processor, and other virtual computing resources from the source to Hyper-V.
Adds virtual network interface cards (NICs) to the converted virtual machine on Hyper-V.
Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 5.5, VMware vSphere 5.0, and VMware vSphere 4.1 hosts to Hyper-V.
Has a wizard-driven GUI, which simplifies performing virtual machine conversions.
Uninstalls VMware Tools before online conversion (online only) to provide a clean way to migrate VMware-based virtual machines to Hyper-V.
Important MVMC takes a snapshot of the virtual machine that you are converting before you uninstall VMware Tools, and then shuts down the source machine to preserve state during conversion. The virtual machine is restored to its previous state after the source disks that are attached to the virtual machine are successfully copied to the machine where the conversion process is run. At that point, the source machine in VMware can be turned on, if required.
Important MVMC does not uninstall VMware Tools in an offline conversion. Instead, it disables VMware services, drivers, and programs only for Windows Server guest operating systems. For file conversions with Linux guest operating systems, VMware Tools are not disabled or uninstalled. We highly recommend that you manually uninstall VMware Tools when you convert an offline virtual machine.
Supports Windows Server and Linux guest operating system conversion. For more details, see the section “Supported Configurations for Virtual Machine Conversion” in this guide.
Includes Windows PowerShell capability for offline conversions of VMware-based virtual hard disks (VMDK) to a Hyper-V–based virtual hard disk file format (.vhd file).
Note The offline disk conversion does not include driver fixes.

Download: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42497

Windows Server Technical Preview now on MSDN and Azure

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 19:17:56 GMT

You can now download Windows Server Technical Preview on MSDN as ISO and VHD and you can deploy a VM on Microsoft Azure.

Windows Server Datacenter Technical Preview (x64) - VHD

Windows Server Technical Preview (x64)

Microsoft Hyper-V Server Technical Preview (x64)

MSDN

What's New in the Windows Server Technical Preview

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 19:14:38 GMT

What’s New in Active Directory Federation Services. Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) in Windows Server Technical Preview includes new features that enable you to configure AD FS to authenticate users stored in Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directories. For more information, see Active Directory Federation Services Overview.
What's new for Hyper-V in the Technical Preview. This topic explains the new and changed functionality of the Hyper-V role in Windows Server Technical Preview, Client Hyper-V running on Windows 10 Technical Preview, and Microsoft Hyper-V Server Technical Preview.
Windows Defender Overview. Windows Defender is installed and enabled by default in Windows Server Technical Preview, but the user interface for Windows Defender is not installed. However, Windows Defender will update antimalware definitions and protect the computer without the user interface. If you need the user interface for Windows Defender, you can install it after the operating system installation by using the Add Roles and Features Wizard.
What's New in Remote Desktop Services in the Windows Server Technical Preview. For the Windows Server Technical Preview, the Remote Desktop Services team focused on improvements based on customer requests. We added support for OpenGL and OpenCL applications, and added MultiPoint Services as a new role in Windows Server.
What's New in Storage Services in Windows Server Technical Preview. This topic explains the new and changed functionality of Storage Services. An update in storage quality of service now enables you to create storage QoS policies on a Scale-Out File Server and assign them to one or more virtual disks on Hyper-V virtual machines. Storage Replica is a new feature that enables synchronous replication between servers for disaster recovery, as well as stretching of a failover cluster for high availability..
What's New in Failover Clustering in Windows Server Technical Preview. This topic explains the new and changed functionality of Failover Clustering. A Hyper-V or Scale-out File Server failover cluster can now easily be upgraded without any downtime or need to build a new cluster with nodes that are running Windows Server Technical Preview.
What's New in Web Application Proxy. Web Application Proxy now supports preauthentication for applications using the HTTP Basic protocol, wildcards in external URLS of applications, redirection from HTTP to HTTPS, use of pass-through authentication with HTTP applications, publishing of Remote Desktop Gateway apps, a new debug log, propagation of client IP addresses to backend applications, and improvements to the Administrator console.
What’s New in Windows PowerShell 5.0. Windows PowerShell 5.0 includes significant new features—including support for developing with classes, and new security features—that extend its use, improve its usability, and allow you to control and manage Windows-based environments more easily and comprehensively. Multiple new features in Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) are also described in this topic.
What's New in Networking in Windows Server Technical Preview. With this topic you can discover information about new networking technologies, such as Network Controller and Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) Tunneling, and new features for existing technologies, including IP Address Management (IPAM), DNS, and DHCP. Detailed information about what’s new is available for these networking technologies:
- GRE Tunneling in Windows Server. This preview release introduces a new feature that enables Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) for the Windows Server Gateway.
- What's New in IPAM in Windows Server Technical Preview. IPAM support for DNS is greatly enhanced.
- What's New in DNS Server in Windows Server Technical Preview. The DNS Server role includes enhanced logging and a new policy based feature for DSN response management.
- What's New in DNS Client in Windows Server Technical Preview. Window DNS Client provides enhanced support for computers with more than one network interface.
- What's New in DHCP in Windows Server Technical Preview. The DHCP Server role no longer supports Network Access Protection (NAP).

Release Notes: Important Issues in the Windows Server Technical Preview

Windows 10 Technical Preview download now

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 18:49:34 GMT

Http://preview.windows.com

I have succesfully upgraded two Windows 8.1 machines and I love it already!

Windows 10 announced! (updated see the recording of the event)

Tue, 30 Sep 2014 20:10:37 GMT

Today in San Fransico Microsoft announced Windows 10.

The under the covers the version is still Windows 6.4 , marketing wants to segregate from the current Windows experience.

Windows 10 will run all full range of devices from afrom the Internet of Things to enterprise datacenters worldwide (Azure)

And yes the start-menu is back and better!

The familiar Start menu is back, with some improvements, including a space you can personalize with your favorite apps, programs, people, and websites. Disclaimer: Windows Technical Preview may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here. Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software. Some apps sold separately; vary by market.

Multi-desktop:

You can create multiple desktops to keep things organized—whether for work or personal use, or both. Disclaimer: Windows Technical Preview may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here. Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software. Some apps sold separately; vary by market.

Snap improvements:

Working in multiple apps at once is easier and more intuitive. When you snap an app or a program, Windows suggests ways to fill the remaining space. Disclaimer: Windows Technical Preview may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here. Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software. Some apps sold separately; vary by market.

Task-view button:

The new task-view button on the task bar gives you one-click access to all of your running apps and programs. Disclaimer: Windows Technical Preview may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here. Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software. Some apps sold separately; vary by market.

Windows Store apps run in Windows:

You can now open apps from the Windows Store in the same format your desktop programs do– in windows that you can resize and move around, and with title bars at the top so you can maximize, minimize, and close with a click. Disclaimer: Windows Technical Preview may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here. Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software. Some apps sold separately; vary by market.

Pin apps in Start Menu:

Pin apps, programs, and folders to the Start menu for fast access to the things you use the most. Apps with Live Tiles will show updates for the people and things that matter. Disclaimer: Windows Technical Preview may be substantially modified before it’s commercially released. Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information provided here. Some product features and functionality may require additional hardware or software. Some apps sold separately; vary by market.

Tomorow the preview program will start called the Windows Insider Program:

Sign-up here: http://preview.windows.com

And download the preview October 1st!

See the official announcement video wich contains a short demo.

UPDATE! You can now view the recording of the Windows 10 event:

Watch Teched North America 2014 keynote live

Mon, 12 May 2014 12:04:35 GMT

Watch Teched North America 2014 keynote from Houston live, it will be streamed here:

http://channel9.msdn.com/?WT.mc_id=tena_hp

I am in Houston too, so be sure to follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/sbink

Out of band Security Update for Internet Explorer released MS14-021 even for XP!

Thu, 01 May 2014 21:27:28 GMT

This update addresses the vulnerability discussed in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-021. To find out if other security updates are available for you, see the Overview section of this page.

Description of the security update for Internet Explorer for systems that have security update

Windows 8.1 Update (KB2919355) direct download links

Wed, 09 Apr 2014 07:29:30 GMT

Windows 8.1 Update is a cumulative set of security updates, critical updates and updates.

Windows 8.1 Update for x86 (KB2919355)

Windows 8.1 Update for x64 (KB2919355)

Windows Server 2012 R2 Update (KB2919355)

IE Enterprise Mode Site List Manager

Tue, 08 Apr 2014 21:58:40 GMT

This tool helps create and manage the Enterprise Mode site list for Enterprise Mode IE.

This tool lets IT Professionals create and update the Enterprise Mode site list for their company, without directly editing the XML. The Enterprise Mode site list only works with Enterprise Mode IE.

KB2942883

Download

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 2.0

Tue, 08 Apr 2014 21:56:29 GMT

Converts virtual disks that are attached to a VMware virtual machine to virtual hard disks (VHDs) that can be uploaded to Windows Azure.
Provides native Windows PowerShell capability that enables scripting and integration into IT automation workflows.
Note The command-line interface (CLI) in MVMC 1.0 has been replaced by Windows PowerShell in MVMC 2.0.
Supports conversion and provisioning of Linux-based guest operating systems from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts.
Supports conversion of offline virtual machines.
Supports the new virtual hard disk format (VHDX) when converting and provisioning in Hyper-V in Windows Server® 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012.
Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 5.5, VMware vSphere 5.1, and VMware vSphere 4.1 hosts Hyper-V virtual machines.
Supports Windows Server® 2012 R2, Windows Server® 2012, and Windows® 8 as guest operating systems that you can select for conversion.

Standard MVMC Features
In addition to the new features previously identified, MVMC provides the following functionality:

Converts and deploys virtual machines from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts on any of the following operating systems:
Windows Server® 2012 R2
Windows Server® 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Converts VMware virtual machines, virtual disks, and configurations for memory, virtual processor, and other virtual computing resources from the source to Hyper-V.
Adds virtual network interface cards (NICs) to the converted virtual machine on Hyper-V.
Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 5.5, VMware vSphere 5.0, and VMware vSphere 4.1 hosts to Hyper-V.
Has a wizard-driven GUI, which simplifies performing virtual machine conversions.
Uninstalls VMware Tools before online conversion (online only) to provide a clean way to migrate VMware-based virtual machines to Hyper-V.
Important MVMC takes a snapshot of the virtual machine that you are converting before you uninstall VMware Tools, and then shuts down the source machine to preserve state during conversion. The virtual machine is restored to its previous state after the source disks that are attached to the virtual machine are successfully copied to the machine where the conversion process is run. At that point, the source machine in VMware can be turned on, if required.
Important MVMC does not uninstall VMware Tools in an offline conversion. Instead, it disables VMware services, drivers, and programs only for Windows Server guest operating systems. For file conversions with Linux guest operating systems, VMware Tools are not disabled or uninstalled. We highly recommend that you manually uninstall VMware Tools when you convert an offline virtual machine.
Supports Windows Server and Linux guest operating system conversion. For more details, see the section “Supported Configurations for Virtual Machine Conversion” in this guide.
Includes Windows PowerShell capability for offline conversions of VMware-based virtual hard disks (VMDK) to a Hyper-V–based virtual hard disk file format (.vhd file).
Note The offline disk conversion does not include driver fixes.

Download

The last public updates for Windows XP!

Tue, 08 Apr 2014 21:45:12 GMT

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP (KB2936068)	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42436
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP x64 Edition (KB2936068)	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42496
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB2936068)	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42396
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer for Windows XP x64 Edition (KB2936068)	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42495
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP x64 Edition (KB2936068)	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42467
Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer for Windows XP (KB2936068)	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42431
Security Update for Windows XP x64 Edition (KB2922229)	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42352
Security Update for Windows XP (KB2922229)	http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42329

What's in Windows Server 2012 R2 Update

Thu, 03 Apr 2014 12:45:06 GMT

Windows Server 2012 R2 Update is available for download for MSDN and Technet subscribers and it will be generally available through Windows Update starting on April 8, 2014. So what's in this update?

Internet Explorer 11 now includes an “Enterprise Mode.” This mode is available if you disable Enhanced Security Configuration and provides better compatibility for sites designed for Internet Explorer 8, along with tools to manage which web apps use it. You can specify a list of web apps to render dynamically in Enterprise Mode, avoiding compatibility problems with web apps written for older versions of Internet Explorer. For more information, see the Internet Explorer 11 FAQ for IT Pros or TechNet documentation.

The user interface includes buttons for Search and Power on the Start page. If you install the Desktop Experience feature, other changes introduced with Windows 8.1 Update will also be visible. For details, see What's new in Windows 8.1 Update and Windows RT 8.1 Update. The specific Windows 8.1 features installed when you install Desktop Experience have not changed from those in Windows Server 2012 R2 (see Desktop Experience Overview).
Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) has added the capability for an administrator to enable signing in with an alternate login ID that is an attribute of the user object in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). This enables customers to adopt Azure Active Directory without modifying on-premises User Principal Names (UPNs). It also allows users to log in to the computer using an Office 365 email address instead of a UPN. This change does not affect the Active Directory schema. For more information, see Configuring Alternate Login ID.
The update includes all other updates released since Windows Server 2012 R2 was released.

To confirm the exact version of Windows Server 2012 R2 that is installed on a computer, run Msinfo32.exe. If Windows Server 2012 R2 Update is installed, the value reported for Hardware Abstraction Layer will be 6.3.9600.17031.

Microsoft Volume Licensing customers who are planning new or upgrade Windows Server 2012 R2 deployments will be able to get the new OS image through the Volume Licensing Service Center starting on April 14, 2014. We are also working with our server OEM partners to have their offerings updated to the Windows Server 2012 R2 Update image as quickly as possible. We expect various OEMs to roll out systems with Windows Server 2012 R2 Update quickly, but at different times.

Additional note from the Windows Server team blog:

No system APIs have been changed and there are no changes to hardware requirements. Aside from a single reboot, there is no action for you to take if you have turned on automatic update. Plus, you will not need to re-verify nor re-certify your server applications, including System Center. They should “just work” without requiring any additional testing.

Windows 8.1 Update Guides and Videos

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 21:21:04 GMT

Windows 8.1 Update how-to videos for business users

A series of short videos designed for business users to learn about basic Windows 8.1 features and capabilities via guided, step-by-step instruction. These videos can be used as self-learning tools for users and facilitate Windows 8.1 adoption.

Windows 8.1 Update Power User Guide for Business (Raw files for printing)

This package allows you to produce your own hard copies of the Windows 8.1 Update Power User Guide for Business and give it away as training assets to your end-users. This zip file includes the content in PDF, and Adobe InDesign formats that you can use as-is or customize to match the requirements of your organization.

Windows 8.1 Update Quick Guide for Business_Raw files for printing

This package allows you to produce your own hard copies of the Windows 8.1 Update Quick Guide for Business and give it away as training assets to your users. This zip file includes the content in PDF and Adobe InDesign formats that you can use as-is or customize to match the requirements of your organization.

Windows 8.1 Update Power User Guide for Business_raw files for printing

This 20 pages brochure-type guide is designed for end-users who want to learn more about the advanced features of Windows 8.1, such as Taskbar customization, Task Manager, Internet Explorer 11, Mobility Center, Windows To Go, Miracast, OneDrive for Business, and File Explorer. Power users will enjoy learning about how they can get the most out of their Windows 8.1 devices.

Windows 8.1 Update Quick Guide for Business

This 16 page brochure-type quick guide provides a basic introduction to key Windows 8.1 features and capabilities in business settings – how to get around, navigate, manage apps, work on desktop, and personalize Windows 8.1. It can be used as first introduction of Windows 8.1 to business users.

Windows 8.1 Update MSDN download links

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 21:19:14 GMT

Windows 8.1 and Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Update (x86) - (Multiple Languages)

Windows 8.1 Enterprise N with Update (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 Enterprise N with Update (x86) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 Enterprise with Update (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 Enterprise with Update (x86) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 N with Update (multiple editions) (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 N with Update (multiple editions) (x86) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 Professional N VL with Update (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 Professional N VL with Update (x86) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 Professional VL with Update (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 Professional VL with Update (x86) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 with Update (multiple editions) (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1 with Update (multiple editions) (x86) - DVD (English)

Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Update (x64) - (Multiple Languages)

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Enterprise with Update (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Enterprise with Update (x86) - DVD (English)

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Pro with Update (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Pro with Update (x86) - DVD (English)

Windows Server 2012 R2 VL with Update (x64) - DVD (English)

Windows Server 2012 R2 with Update (x64) - DVD (English)

Startmenu returns to Windows 8.1 in a next update

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 21:13:49 GMT

What Microsoft should have done after the criticism it received when Windows 8 beta and preview were released, is finally announced today. In a future free update for Windows 8.1 a redesigned start menu will return and Modern apps will be able to run in a window. Rumors of this have been doing rounds, but today we actually could see it in the Build 2014 keynote:

Click on image for larger view.

To be clear this is not part of the Windows 8.1 Update that will be released to Windows Update next week on patch Tuesday (and now on MSDN)