Windows 7 may be the most anticipated desktop release since Windows 95.  I know I cannot wait to see what is in the final version of this product.  So far the beta and RC releases have been nothing outside of exceptional!

You may have seen some of the recent news articles that have started to roll out around the RTM and General availability dates of Windows 7.  As Windows Server 2008 R2 is a joint development effort with Windows 7 we are aligned with the same RTM and General Availability (GA) dates.

With that – Windows Server 2008 R2  RTM code is on track to be available to our partners sometime in the 2^nd half of July. Windows Server 2008 R2 will also be broadly available about the same time as the Windows 7 GA date of Oct 22.

Download and start testing with the RC candidate at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver

Windows Server Division WebLog : Windows Server 2008 R2 RTm and general Availability

Exchange 2010 provides an easy way to verify whether that very important message was delivered to every recipient with a new feature we call delivery reports.

Delivery Reports contains delivery information about messages you sent, such as:

• Why didn’t my message go through?
• Where is my message now?
• Who received my message?

And about messages you received:

• Am I a member of any of the groups addressed in this message?
• Why is this message in a folder and not in my inbox?

Delivery Reports can be accessed by users from Outlook Web Access or by clicking on the "Options" button and then going to "Organize E-mail".

Administrators can access Delivery Reports from the Exchange Control Panel on the "Reporting" tab, and if the Administrator has access to the Exchange Management Console, the "Toolbox" section contains a link to "Message Tracking" where they can search for Delivery Reports. The Message Tracking tool included in previous versions of Exchange has been renamed "Tracking Log Explorer".

 

You Had Me At EHLO… : Spotlight on Exchange 2010: Delivery Reports

Update-Gac.ps1

Below is the content of the Update-GAC.ps1 script that I run whenever I install a new version of PowerShell. Our installation is supposed to ngen the assemblies in the background. If that works, it doesn’t work fast enough for me. Also I’ve seen lots of examples where people run this script long after their install and things get a TON faster so …. The install team is looking into the issue but until then – here is the script I use:

Set-Alias ngen @(
dir (join-path ${env:\windir} "Microsoft.NET\Framework") ngen.exe -recurse |
sort -descending lastwritetime
)[0].fullName
[appdomain]::currentdomain.getassemblies() | %{ngen $_.location}

PowerShell Team Blog : Update-Gac.ps1

1. Open the master page for the site.

2. Find the following lines of code:
          <SharePoint:MenuItemTemplate runat="server" id="MenuItem_EditPage"
           Text="<%$Resources:wss,siteactions_editpage%>"
           Description="<%$Resources:wss,siteactions_editpagedescription%>"
           ImageUrl="/_layouts/images/ActionsEditPage.gif"
           MenuGroupId="100"
           Sequence="200"
           ClientOnClickNavigateUrl="BLOCKED SCRIPTMSOLayout_ChangeLayoutMode(false);"
           />

3. Add to the following lines to the code:
   PermissionsString="ManageSubwebs"
           PermissionMode="Any"
   

4. The code should now look like:
          <SharePoint:MenuItemTemplate runat="server" id="MenuItem_EditPage"
           Text="<%$Resources:wss,siteactions_editpage%>"
           Description="<%$Resources:wss,siteactions_editpagedescription%>"
           ImageUrl="/_layouts/images/ActionsEditPage.gif"
           MenuGroupId="100"
           Sequence="200"
           ClientOnClickNavigateUrl="BLOCKED SCRIPTMSOLayout_ChangeLayoutMode(false);"
           PermissionsString="ManageSubwebs"
           PermissionMode="Any"
           />
   

5. Save the master page and login with an account that does not have Full Control, but is not read only either…  The Site Actions drop down should now resemble:

Hide Edit Page in Site Actions Menu – The SharePoint Redemption

With the official launch of 2008, Microsoft has also started a set webcasts in their "24 Hours of Windows Server 2008".  The series contains 24 sessions covering all aspects of Windows Server 2008.  You can check out and download the first session here.

Well now what?  To start, check out the commands below:

Show NICs
netsh interface ipv4 show interfaces

Show NIC Configuration
netsh interface ipv4 show config

Configure Static IP
netsh interface ipv4 set address name=”2” source=static address=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx mask=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx gateway xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

Add Primary DNS
netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name=”2” address=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx index=1

Add Secondary DNS
netsh interface ipv4 add dnsserver name=”2” address=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx index=2

Rename server
netdom renamecomputer oldname /NewName:newname

Add to Domain
netdom join servername /domain:domainname /userd:domain\username
/passwordd:*

Activate the Server
cscript slmgr.vbs –ato

Enable Remote Desktop for Administration
cscript scregedit.wsf /AR 0

Allow Remote Admin through Firewall
netsh advfirewall Firewall set rule group=”Remote Administration” new enable=yes

Restart server
shutdown /r t 0

Disable Interface
netsh interface set interface “Local Area Connection 2” disabled
Delete DNS entries
netsh interface delete dnsserver name=”2” address=all

As part of their Solution Accelerator for Virtualization, Microsoft has released an assessment tool that will allow you to assess your IT infrastructure and take that data to assist with modeling your migration to Windows 2008, Hyper-V, Application Virtualization, and Vista.  Of course, you could still use this info in planning consolidation to other VM platforms as well.

The Microsoft® Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator (MAP) makes it easy for you to assess your current IT infrastructure and determine the right Microsoft technologies for your IT needs.

MAP is a powerful inventory, assessment, and reporting tool that can securely run in small or large IT environments without requiring the installation of agent software on any computers or devices. The data and analysis provided by this Solution Accelerator can significantly simplify the planning process for migrating to Windows Vista®, Microsoft Office 2007, Windows Server® 2008, Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid), and Windows Server virtualization technologies including Virtual Server 2005 R2 and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator expands upon the assessment features included in the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment Solution Accelerator. These features include Windows Vista assessment, Microsoft Office 2007 assessment, and non-Windows device inventory, using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Reports for these assessment scenarios are localized in French, German, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish.

Feature Overview

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator performs three key functions; hardware inventory, compatibility analysis, and readiness reporting.

Secure and Agentless Inventory

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning tool provides secure, agent-less and network-wide inventory that scales from small business to large enterprises. It collects and organizes system resources and device information from a single networked computer. Assessment tools often require users to first deploy software agents on all computers to be inventoried, but this tool does not. MAP uses technologies already available in your IT environment to perform inventory and assessments. These technologies include Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), the Remote Registry Service, SNMP, Active Directory Domain Services, and the Computer Browser service. Assessments can be completed on the following Windows platforms:

• Windows Vista
• Windows XP® Professional
• Windows Server 2003™ or Windows Server 2003 R2
• Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server
• Windows Server 2008

Comprehensive Data Analysis

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator performs a detailed analysis of hardware and device compatibility for migration to Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Application Virtualization, and Windows Vista. The hardware assessment looks at the installed hardware and determines if migration is recommended. If it is not recommended then the reports tell you why it is not.

Device assessment looks at the devices installed on a computer and reports availability of drivers for those devices. Device assessment is provided for both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista migration scenarios.

For customers interested in server consolidation and virtualization through technologies such as Hyper-V or Virtual Server 2005 R2, this tool helps to gather performance metrics and generate server consolidation recommendations that identify the candidates for server virtualization and how the physical servers might be placed in a virtualized environment.

In-Depth Readiness Reporting

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator generates reports containing both summary and detailed assessment results for each migration scenario. The results are provided in both Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word documents. Reports are generated for the following scenarios:

• Identification of currently installed Windows Client operating systems, their hardware, and recommendations for migration to Windows Vista.
• Identification of currently installed Windows Server operating systems, their hardware, and recommendations for migration to Windows Server 2008 (including a report detailing currently installed server roles).
• Identification of currently installed Microsoft Office software and recommendations for migration to Microsoft Office 2007.
• Detailed assessment and reporting of server utilization gathered using the Performance Metrics Wizard.
• Recommendations for server consolidation and virtual machine placement using Hyper-V or Virtual Server 2005 R2.
• Assessment of client machines, servers, and the technology environment for the implementation of Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid).  
• Reporting of SNMP-enabled devices found in the environment during inventory.

Download the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator

p2vd.com » Microsoft Virtualization Assessment and Planning Tool

Is Vista a bigger bust then Windows ME?  Could be seeing that there are rumors out there that "Windows 7" might be here sooner than expected.

"A recently-released roadmap for the next major Window release — Windows 7 — indicates that Microsoft is planning to release the new operating system in the second half of 2009, rather than the anticipated release date of some time in 2010. This quickly-approaching release date would seem to be at least partially verified by news of a milestone build available for review by an anonymous third party."

Slashdot | Windows 7 To Be Released Next Year?

$sender = sender@host.com
$recipient = recipient@host.com
$server = mail.host.com
$targetFolder = c:\MyFolder
$file = c:\MyZipFile.zip if ( [System.IO.File]::Exists($file) )
{
  remove-item -force $file
}

gi $targetFolder | out-zip $file $_
$subject = "Sending a File " + [System.DateTime]::Now
$body = "I'm sending a file!"
$msg = new-object System.Net.Mail.MailMessage $sender, $recipient, $subject, $body
$attachment = new-object System.Net.Mail.Attachment $file
$msg.Attachments.Add($attachment)
$client = new-object System.Net.Mail.SmtpClient $server
$client.Credentials = [System.Net.CredentialCache]::DefaultNetworkCredentials
$client.Send($msg)

Mike Hodnick : PowerShell: Zip up a folder and email it

#generate-rdpfiles.ps1

$input = Get-QADComputer -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue -SizeLimit 0 | Where-Object { $_ .operatingsystem -match “Server” }

$RDPRoot = ‘C:\RDP-Files’

if ( -not ( Test-Path -Path $RDPRoot )) {

    New-Item -Path $RDPRoot -ItemType Directory | Out-Null

}

$input | ForEach-Object {

    $path = “$RDPRoot\$($_.Name).rdp”

    $rdpfile = Test-Path -Path $path

    if ( $rdpFile -eq $true ) {

        Clear-Content -Path $path

    }

    Add-Content -Path $path -Force -Value @”

screen mode id:i:1

desktopwidth:i:1152

desktopheight:i:864

session bpp:i:16

winposstr:s:0,1,0,0,1032,795

full address:s:$($_.Name)

compression:i:1

keyboardhook:i:2

audiomode:i:2

redirectprinters:i:0

redirectcomports:i:0

redirectsmartcards:i:1

redirectclipboard:i:1

redirectposdevices:i:0

drivestoredirect:s:*

displayconnectionbar:i:1

autoreconnection enabled:i:1

authentication level:i:0

prompt for credentials:i:0

negotiate security layer:i:1

remoteapplicationmode:i:0

alternate shell:s:

shell working directory:s:

disable wallpaper:i:0

disable full window drag:i:0

allow desktop composition:i:1

allow font smoothing:i:1

disable menu anims:i:0

disable themes:i:0

disable cursor setting:i:0

bitmapcachepersistenable:i:1

gatewayhostname:s:

gatewayusagemethod:i:0

gatewaycredentialssource:i:4

gatewayprofileusagemethod:i:1

“@

}

PowerGUI – Administrative Powershell Console : Generate rdp-files from AD …