Archive
Performance Tuning Guidelines for #Windows Server 2012
This is a whitepaper that all techies out there should read if you’re dealing with Windows Server 2012!
About This Download
This guide describes important tuning parameters and settings that you can adjust to improve the performance and energy efficiency of the Windows Server 2012 operating system. It describes each setting and its potential effect to help you make an informed decision about its relevance to your system, workload, and performance goals.
The guide is for information technology (IT) professionals and system administrators who need to tune the performance of a server that is running Windows Server 2012.
Included in this white paper:
- Choosing and Tuning Server Hardware
- Performance Tuning for the Networking Subsystem
- Performance Tools for Network Workloads
- Performance Tuning for the Storage Subsystem
- Performance Tuning for Web Servers
- Performance Tuning for File Servers
- Performance Tuning for a File Server Workload (FSCT)
- Performance Counters for SMB 3.0
- Performance Tuning for File Server Workload (SPECsfs2008)
- Performance Tuning for Active Directory Servers
- Performance Tuning for Remote Desktop Session Host (Formerly Terminal Server)
- Performance Tuning for Remote Desktop Virtualization Host
- Performance Tuning for Remote Desktop Gateway
- Performance Tuning Remote Desktop Services Workload for Knowledge Workers
- Performance Tuning for Virtualization Servers
- Performance Tuning for SAP Sales and Distribution
- Performance Tuning for OLTP Workloads
Download here!
//Richard
#Microsoft to Ship #Surface Windows 8 Pro Tablet on Feb. 9
Microsoft will ship the Surface Windows 8 Pro tablet with an Intel Core i5 processor on Feb. 9, with prices starting at $899.
Microsoft will ship the Surface Windows 8 Pro tablet with an Intel Core i5 processor on Feb. 9, with prices starting at US$899.
The tablet has a 10.6-inch screen and comes in models with 64GB and 128GB of storage. The tablet will include the Type Cover keyboard dock that doubles as a case.
The tablet will initially be sold in the U.S. through Microsoft retail stores, Best Buy and Staples, and also through retailers in Canada. The tablet will also be available at Microsoft’s retail site.
Microsoft already offers the Surface RT tablet, which runs on Windows RT. That OS is for the ARM processor, while Windows 8 Pro in the new Surface tablet is for x86 processors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. Although both operating systems have the same look and feel, there are substantial differences in functionality and application compatibility.
While Surface RT was designed to be more of a tablet-only product, the Surface Windows 8 Pro tablet is intended to double as a laptop with the ability to run a full Windows OS and support for applications running on older Microsoft operating systems.
Continue reading here!
//Richard
#Microsoft and Others Fail Antivirus Test – #ForeFront, #FEP, #AV
Microsoft is still behind the competition…
How many of you out there are using ForeFront Endpoint Protection (FEP) to secure your clients/servers?
Below is a good article from Neil J. Rubenking about the latest (Nov/DEc 2012) report from AV-Test:
Based in Magdeburg, Germany, independent lab AV-Test evaluates and rates antivirus products on a variety of different criteria. Every couple of months the researchers summarize their testing and report on which products achieved certification. In the latest such report, several vendors failed to make the grade.
One of the many individual tests involved in AV-Test certification measures how well products stand up to zero-day attacks—viruses or other threats so new that no antivirus signature exists. AV-Test CEO Andreas Marx noted that the 25 consumer products in the current test averaged 92 percent detection of zero-day attacks. “This means,” said Marx “that one out of ten malware attacks succeeded.” He also pointed out that while the products averaged 91 percent cleanup of existing infections, many didn’t remove all traces. “Only 60% could be put back in a condition similar to the pre-infection state,” Marx observed.
Certification Failed
Products can earn six points each for repair of existing malware infestations, protection against new attacks, and overall usability. Here usability means the product doesn’t slow system performance and doesn’t falsely report valid programs or activities as malicious. In order to receive certification, a product must earn a total of 11 points.
Just as in the previous test, Microsoft didn’t make the cut, though with ten points it came close. PC Tools also failed with ten points.
The big loser this time around was AhnLab. In the previous test AhnLab squeaked by with 11 points. The latest test saw that score drop to 8.5 points, well below the certification cutof…
Continue reading here!
//Richard
MS to Release Emergency IE Patch on Monday – #Microsoft, #IE – via @appcompatguy
The patch will fix a vulnerability in Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8
Sun, January 13, 2013
IDG News Service — Microsoft will release a patch on Monday for older versions of its Internet Explorer browser, deviating from its normal repair schedule due to the seriousness of the problem.
The vulnerability, which is present in IE 6, 7 and 8, is a memory corruption issue. It can be exploited by an attacker via a drive-by download, a term for loading a website with attack code that delivers malware to a victim’s computer if the person merely visits the website.
Microsoft released a quick fix for the issue earlier this month, but did not have a more permanent patch ready when it released its monthly batch of patches last Tuesday. The company will occasionally release an emergency patch if the software vulnerability is considered a high risk.
“While we have still seen only a limited number of customers affected by the issue, the potential exists that more customers could be affected in the future,” wrote Dustin Childs, group manager for the company’s Trustworthy Computing Group, on a company blog on Sunday.
The patch, which will be released at 10 AM PST, will be distributed through Windows Update. Childs wrote users…
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Correct – SCCM 2012 doesn’t support SQL Mirroring! via @agerlund – #SCCM
Beware before upgrading to SP1. SCCM does not support database mirroring and if you’ve configured it don’t just try to upgrade! Thx @agerlund!
As stated here SQL mirroring is not supported for the ConfigMgr database. However a technet article do not stop all database administrors’s from enabling the setting anyway believing that it will not cause any issues – but boy it does. SQL mirroring will break the SCCM SP1 upgrade process and leave the primary site server in a non-functional mode where a site restore is the only way back.
The issue can be found in the ConfigMgrSetup.log file.
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Great Microsoft System Center 2012 documentation – #SCCM, #SCOM
If you’re looking for something to read when not busy working or have a day of then I recommend to have a look at these great docs for System Center 2012!
- Technical Documentation for System Center 2012 – Configuration Manager;
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Operations Manager›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Service Manager›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Data Protection Manager›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – App Controller›
Happy reading! 😉
//Richard
Large collection of Free #Microsoft #eBooks via @anders_keis
This is a great contribution! Thx a lot Anders Keis Hansen for providing the info to me!
A lot of ebooks provided by Microsoft Press including: SharePoint, Visual Studio, Windows Phone, Windows 8, Office 365, Office 2010, SQL Server 2012, Azure, and more.
Many of these ebooks are offered in three formats – PDF, Mobi (Kindle) and epub. Hope you find them useful & Happy Learning!
These books were originally posted by Eric Ligman, you can read the original posts from here:
1- Large collection of Free Microsoft eBooks for you, including: SharePoint, Visual Studio, Windows Phone, Windows 8, Office 365, Office 2010, SQL Server 2012, Azure, and more.
2- Another large collection of Free Microsoft eBooks and Resource Kits for you, including: SharePoint 2013, Office 2013, Office 365, Duet 2.0, Azure, Cloud, Windows Phone, Lync, Dynamics CRM, and more.
Continue reading and downloading here!
//Richard
#Microsoft #Surface prices released – $499
Microsoft has now released the price of the Surface RT model!
Now we’ll see how it will be received by the market. Will users buy it? Are corporations ready to adopt them as BYOD devices or will they now see a tablet that they could introduce more quickly as a part of the managed client services?
Microsoft Prices Surface Starting at $499 to Rival IPad
A lot of questions and we’ll see how it goes….
Will I buy one? Don’t think so…. Will U? But I guess that this is easier for IT to adopt as an “OK” device for different reasons I’ve heard even though I don’t necessarily agree. Stop managing the devices and the old way of thinking, manage and control the apps, data/info and IPR and ensure that you’re device independent!
//Richard
READ THIS – Demystifying Microsoft virtual desktop licensing: SA vs. VDA vs. CDL
Why can’t you vendors out there make licensing less complex and more “logical”…??
“When it comes to virtual desktop infrastructure, administrators have a lot of choices. You may have wondered about the differences between VDI software options, remote display protocols or all the licenses out there. In this series, we tackle some of the biggest head-scratchers facing VDI admins to help you get things straight.”
Continue reading this great article here!
//Richard
The IT Melting Pot! 