Windows Server 2008

Now customized for IBM, the MAP Toolkit allows stronger brand presence for IBM server products and offers more specific recommendations of Hyper-V virtualization together with IBM System x and BladeCenter servers.

Did you know... Windows 7 also provides the ability to encrypt removable storage devices, such as USB drives, via BitLocker To Go, making sure the data is secure in the case if device is lost or stolen.

Designed for Small and Medium businesses, watch this 7 minute Silverlight video about how Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 makes it easy to install and run older Windows XP productivity applications directly from your Windows 7-based PC.

I’m just heading out of Monday’s Keynote address here at TechEd Europe 2009, and it was definitely a stunner. If you couldn’t attend, here’s a short summary, and if any of this floats your boat, check back to the New Efficiency Virtual Launch Event in a few hours because we’ll be posting a recording of the session there.

The session began with an intro by Achim Berg, Chairman of the Managing Board Microsoft Germany and Area Vice President International, who explained why I was left with standing room only: over 7200 people from 104 countries completely sold out the TechEd Europe 2009 event a few days ago and a large percentage of them had filled the keynote theater to capacity! Achim then introduced Stephen Elop, President of the Microsoft Business Division, but first he paid homage to the historic celebration happening in Berlin today. It’s been 20 years to the day since the Berlin Wall came down, symbolically ending the cold war and re-uniting both Germany and Europe. He also pointed us to an impressive artistic project focusing on today’s celebration of the event and using several Microsoft technologies to build a mosaic of impressions, remembrances and opinions of the Wall from people around the world. You can take part yourself by clicking over to www.citymosaic.de to participate.

Stephen Elop also paid homage to Berlin’s history, but then got down to business, explaining just what Microsoft means with our New Efficiency campaign. With help from Microsoft execs and customers deploying our newest platforms, he did a great job of clearly explaining the New Efficiency and what it means to businesses and IT operators today. Tune in when we post the recording for a fascinating discussion with IT operators on the cutting edge. All are facing challenges like a workforce that now spans four generations, an economic landscape that can shift on a dime, and new competitive technologies, including cloud computing and virtualization, and balancing them against a cost-conscious management mind set.  My favorite line? “Ninja-proofing your IT infrastructure.”

He also oversaw a great demo of Exchange 2010 – loads of stuff I didn’t even know Outlook 2010 or Exchange 2010 could do, even though I’ve been using both for over a month now! Get set for much smarter voicemail, email discussion views and way easier Exchange server management.

Stephen then introduced Robert Wahbe, Corporate Vice President, Server and Tools Marketing, to talk about all the new capabilities of Windows Server 2008 R2. We’ve covered them here in depth, but even so Robert dropped a few new facts, like that 460,000 customers have so far downloaded Windows Server 2008 R2 since it became available and that all major server makers are already offering it on new hardware. He also monitored a great demo of the synergy between System Center 2010 and Windows Server 2008 R2, including not just an easy dashboard-style interface but the cool capabilities of PowerShell.

All this is well worth the look once the recording posts. Meantime, check out a new Forrester study on the Total Economic Impact of Windows Server 2008 R2. I’ve sat through many a keynote in my day, and this one really is worth the time; thanks to Stephen and Robert for making it so interesting.

 

Oliver Rist

Sr. Product Manager

Windows Server Marketing

Today, Microsoft announced the final release of IIS Application Request Routing (ARR) 2.0 RTW.

 

Customers - such as hosting providers, Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers, and IT Professionals are changing the way they do business as a result of ARR 2.0. ARR 2.0 delivers cost savings, elastic scalability, and flexible deployment options. With IIS 7.5 and ARR 2.0, customers can create a native Silverlight infrastructure and configure their CDN so that it provides superior live and on-demand media offerings for their users. Customers can implement new capabilities in their CDN and as a result, can replace Apache Squid on their edge servers and cut costs. By deploying this new solution based on ARR 2.0, customers can provide a better viewing experience for Web consumers, boost the scalability and level of control they have over their CDN, and enhance the reports they can provide their users.

 

There are now several new scenarios available to the Microsoft Web Platform. My personal favorite is a media solution combining IIS Live Smooth Streaming with ARR 2.0 to deliver live HD video over a CDN – a scenario nobody else can do today. ARR 2.0 also adds support to enhance disk based cache and cache proxy for CDNs while increasing Web application reliability and scalability through rule-based routing and load balancing of HTTP server requests. ARR 2.0 is able to cache on disk any HTTP traffic that passes through the server. By combining the disk caching capabilities along with a hierarchy of IIS Web servers running ARR 2.0, CDNs and hosting providers are able to considerably reduce the network traffic that traverses up to the origin server.

 

In other words – get your free software load balancer with caching on top of Windows Server! And oh, if you want to stream live HD media across a CDN – we got you covered! Did I mention it’s free? And it’s available to download and install today with the Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0, your one-stop shop to get everything for the Microsoft Web Platform – including ARR 2.0 RTW. From IIS Extensions to the Windows App Gallery, there is sure to be something useful for your Web site endeavors.

 

If you still aren't convinced that ARR 2.0 is the coolest thing since sliced bread, as LeVar from Reading Rainbow would say, "But don't take my word for it!" Internap, an Internet Service Provider company based out of Atlanta, Georgia deployed ARR 2.0 and IIS 7.5 in the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system to implement new capabilities in its content delivery network. As a result, the company can replace Apache Squid on its edge servers, cut costs, and improve scalability, reporting, and the users' Web experience. Be sure to check out their brand new case study.

 

For more information or to download, please visit the IIS ARR 2.0 RTW page.

 

Eric Rezabek

Senior Product Manager

IIS/Web