Microsoft Released New Virtualization Policy for Exchange 2010

Microsoft has announced new support policy for running Exchange on virtualization software. 

Basically the Exchange is now completly supported to be run in a virtualized environment. This includes also support for features that were not supported earlier like:

  • The Unified Messaging server role and,
    ·  Combining Exchange 2010 Database Availability Groups with hypervisor-based clustering, high availability, or migration solutions that will move or automatically failover mailbox servers that are members of a DAG between virtualization hosts.

    This applies to all virtualization vendors participating in the Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program  (SVVP).

In addition, the Best Practices for Virtualizing Exchange Server 2010 with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V  whitepaper has been released. This whitepaper is designed to provide technical guidance on Exchange server roles, capacity planning, sizing and performance, as well as high availability best practices.
Complete system requirements for Exchange Server 2010 running under hardware virtualization software can be found in Exchange 2010 System Requirements . Also, the support policy for Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software can be found here .

New Features in Exchange Server 2013

Exchange Server 2013 comes with a number of new features as well as improvements on existing features that are already familiar to those who have worked with Exchange Server 2010.

Here are a few of the highlights:

  • Reduction in server roles to just two; Client Access server and Mailbox server
  • New streamlined Outlook 2013 and Outlook Web App user interfaces, and offline access for OWA
  • No more Exchange Management Console, all administration is now performed using the new web-basedExchange Administration Center and the Exchange Management Shell (using PowerShell 3.0)
  • Improvements to high availability features and manageability
  • Public folders are now stored in mailbox databases and can take advantage of Database Availability Groups for replication and high availability
  • Data loss prevention capabilities that can be integrated into Transport Rules

Exchange 2010’s five server roles

Exchange 2010’s five server roles
Exchange Server 2010 is divided into five separate but related server roles; the mailbox server, client access server (CAS), hub transport server, edge transport server and unified messaging server. It’s important for administrators to understand what they do and how they can be combined for an effective Exchange 2010 deployment.

  • Mailbox server role — The mailbox server is Exchange 2010’s back-end repository and contains content items like mailboxes, public folders, address lists, resource schedules and meeting items. Database availability groups support the mailbox server; this support allows admins to deploy highly available mailboxes within the organization.
  • Client access server role — The CAS role handles all connections between all external clients that need email access. All the protocols necessary for client access are handled in the CAS, including POP3, Internet Message Access Protocol 4 (IMAP4), Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) and HTTPS. The CAS also supports Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Anywhere, Outlook Web App (OWA) and Exchange ActiveSync (EAS).
  • Hub transport server role — This server role processes, routes and delivers all mail sent through Exchange 2010. The hub transport server oversees message filtering and formatting and checks the validity of attachments. This provides the oversight that an Exchange organization needs to control internal and external email.

    A hub transport server also record and journals email messages, adds company disclaimers and other actions that support regulatory requirements. This role can work in conjunction with an edge transport server.

  • When installed, the optional Edge transport server role provides an added layer of security between the Exchange Server 2010 organization and the outside network. The edge transport server checks that messages sent from outside an organization are free from spam and viruses before routing them to the hub transport server. Outgoing mail from the hub transport server is routed to the edge transport (if deployed) before leaving the Exchange organization.
  • Unified messaging server role — the UM server, which is also optional, integrates an organization’s PBX system with Exchange Server 2010. This stores business data like voicemail and faxes with email, calendars and contacts in users’ mailboxes. Users also get features like call answering, automated greetings, message recording and fax support.

The benefits of Exchange 2010 server roles 
Having so many roles might seem to complicate Exchange, but experts note there are several advantages to a role-based architecture. First, adopting individual roles can improve security over previous versions.

“There was a larger potential attack footprint on the machine; 20 or 30 ports might be open on an Exchange box in the old days,” said Sean Evans, senior consultant at Blue Chip Consulting Group in Independence, Ohio. “By separating roles, you only need to worry about the client access server having port 443  open.”

Evans also noted that older server hardware is more likely to provide the resource requirements needed for one or more individual roles. This means organizations can avoid the capital expense of buying powerful new servers to host the entire Exchange Server system.

It’s difficult to say which server role is most important for Exchange 2010. It depends on the organization and its needs. Some experts suggest that the mailbox server role is most important since it’s at the core of any deployment.

Other experts suggest that the CAS is most important because it handles the majority of mail processing in Exchange Server 2010. This removes much of the functionality that existed in the mailbox server under previous versions of Exchange. Still, every organization is different and other admins have focused on other roles. “Unified messaging is extremely important for us,” said Joe Chiarchiaro, senior messaging engineer with Grant Thornton LLP. “We’re moving our voicemail platform to Microsoft unified messaging on [Exchange] 2010.”

Distributing Exchange 2010 server roles
Exchange Server architects have the flexibility to distribute roles across hardware platforms. A basic Exchange Server 2010 deployment involves a mailbox, client access and hub transport server on the same physical box. This is the minimum set of roles needed to store, route and deliver messages inside and outside an organization.

It is also possible to add the UM server to the same physical system; the edge transport server cannot coexist on the same computer as other server roles. The physical server must have enough resources to support all roles. This setup is often the most cost-effective approach for smaller, cost-conscious businesses. Blue Chip’s Evans also points out that licensing costs can be mitigated when configuring combined (multi-role) servers.

Distributing roles across multiple servers enables an Exchange organization to scale them according to specific needs. When performance demands increase, segregate affected role(s) on separate servers to make the most of the available computing power. You can also group servers to boost performance and resilience; migrating roles to larger and more capable boxes according to traffic loads can also help.

When selecting servers to host Exchange Server 2010 roles, experts say there are few concrete rules because system requirements aren’t spelled out. However, experts recommend referring to Microsoft best practices for hardware sizing.

Windows PowerShell ISE v3.0

Here you can see the whole application, and you will notice the command bar off to the right. This command bar has some nice features that will let you access commands from the various modules that are available on your machine very easily.

 

Here is a close-up of the command bar showing some of the modules that are available by default.

There are some buttons across the bottom Run, Insert, Copy and Hide. When you select a command from the list above and click Run the command is run and the output is displayed in the output pane. If you have a command selected and click Insert, that command is inserted into either the script pane or the command pane. Finally a selected command can be copied to the clipboard, or you can hide this bar altogether.
Once a command is selected an additional button appears [?] with the command selected clicking this displays the help in a separate window that is not modal, but sits on top of everything. The screenshot below shows you the command bar with all the buttons clicked.

Auto-complete for many things in PowerShell have been around for a while, but if you miss the Intellisense features from like Visual Studio, it’s now available within ISE, both in the script pane and the command pane. I know this can be really helpful as I’m used to using get-member to get a lot of this information as I’m working on a script.

 

Outlines! I really missed this feature when I moved from Notepad++ to PowerShell ISE. But in the following screenshot you can see that you now have collapsible outlines in PowerShell ISE, as well as something like code highlighting. You can see I have one of my functions collapsed, and have left the Process section of the code expanded. In the function below you can see that the help section of the function is highlighted. You can’t see my mouse from this screenshot but it’s hanging out in the border near line 66 where the help section begins.

Changes in Roles and Features from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2008 R2

Table Comparing Roles and Role Services 

 

 Windows Server 2008 Roles and Role Services Changes Windows Server 2008 R2 Roles and Role Services
Active Directory Certificate Services  [AD-Certificate] Active Directory Certificate Services  [AD-Certificate]
>Certification Authority  [ADCS-Cert-Authority] >Certification Authority  [ADCS-Cert-Authority]
>Certification Authority Web Enrollment  [ADCS-Web-Enrollment] >Certification Authority Web Enrollment  [ADCS-Web-Enrollment]
>Online Responder  [ADCS-Online-Cert] >Online Responder  [ADCS-Online-Cert]
>Network Device Enrollment Service  [ADCS-Device-Enrollment] >Network Device Enrollment Service  [ADCS-Device-Enrollment]
New >Certificate Enrollment Web Service  [ADCS-Enroll-Web-Svc]
New >Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service  [ADCS-Enroll-Web-Pol]
Active Directory Domain Services Active Directory Domain Services  [AD-Domain-Services]
>Active Directory Domain Controller  [ADDS-Domain-Controller] >Active Directory Domain Controller  [ADDS-Domain-Controller]
>Identity Management for UNIX  [ADDS-Identity-Mgmt] >Identity Management for UNIX  [ADDS-Identity-Mgmt]
>>Server for Network Information Services  [ADDS-NIS] >>Server for Network Information Services  [ADDS-NIS]
>>Password Synchronization  [ADDS-Password-Sync] >>Password Synchronization  [ADDS-Password-Sync]
>>Administration Tools  [ADDS-IDMU-Tools] >>Administration Tools  [ADDS-IDMU-Tools]
Active Directory Federation Services Active Directory Federation Services  [AD-Federation-Services]
>Federation Service  [ADFS-Federation] >Federation Service  [ADFS-Federation]
>Federation Service Proxy  [ADFS-Proxy] >Federation Service Proxy  [ADFS-Proxy]
>AD FS Web Agents  [ADFS-Web-Agents] >AD FS Web Agents  [ADFS-Web-Agents]
>>Claims-aware Agent  [ADFS-Claims] >>Claims-aware Agent  [ADFS-Claims]
>>Windows Token-based Agent  [ADFS-Windows-Token] >>Windows Token-based Agent  [ADFS-Windows-Token]
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services  [ADLDS] Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services  [ADLDS]
Active Directory Rights Management Services Active Directory Rights Management Services  [ADRMS]
>Active Directory Rights Management Server >Active Directory Rights Management Server  [ADRMS-Server]
>Identity Federation Support >Identity Federation Support  [ADRMS-Identity]
Application Server  [Application-Server] Application Server  [Application-Server]
>Application Server Foundation  [AS-AppServer-Foundation] >.NET Framework 3.5.1  [AS-NET-Framework]
>Web Server (IIS) Support  [AS-Web-Support] >Web Server (IIS) Support  [AS-Web-Support]
>COM>Network Access  [AS-Ent-Services] >COM>Network Access  [AS-Ent-Services]
>TCP Port Sharing  [AS-TCP-Port-Sharing] >TCP Port Sharing  [AS-TCP-Port-Sharing]
>Windows Process Activation Service Support  [AS-WAS-Support] >Windows Process Activation Service Support  [AS-WAS-Support]
>>HTTP Activation  [AS-HTTP-Activation] >>HTTP Activation  [AS-HTTP-Activation]
>>Message Queuing Activation  [AS-MSMQ-Activation] >>Message Queuing Activation  [AS-MSMQ-Activation]
>>TCP Activation  [AS-TCP-Activation] >>TCP Activation  [AS-TCP-Activation]
>>Named Pipes Activation  [AS-Named-Pipes] >>Named Pipes Activation  [AS-Named-Pipes]
>Distributed Transactions  [AS-Dist-Transaction] >Distributed Transactions  [AS-Dist-Transaction]
>>Incoming Remote Transactions  [AS-Incoming-Trans] >>Incoming Remote Transactions  [AS-Incoming-Trans]
>>Outgoing Remote Transactions  [AS-Outgoing-Trans] >>Outgoing Remote Transactions  [AS-Outgoing-Trans]
>>WS-Atomic Transactions  [AS-WS-Atomic] >>WS-Atomic Transactions  [AS-WS-Atomic]
DHCP Server  [DHCP] DHCP Server  [DHCP]
DNS Server  [DNS] DNS Server  [DNS]
Fax Server  [Fax] Fax Server  [Fax]
File Services File Services  [File-Services]
>File Server  [FS-FileServer] >File Server  [FS-FileServer]
>Distributed File System  [FS-DFS] >Distributed File System  [FS-DFS]
>>DFS Namespaces  [FS-DFS-Namespace] >>DFS Namespaces  [FS-DFS-Namespace]
>>DFS Replication  [FS-DFS-Replication] >>DFS Replication  [FS-DFS-Replication]
>File Server Resource Manager  [FS-Resource-Manager] >File Server Resource Manager  [FS-Resource-Manager]
>Services for Network File System  [FS-NFS-Services] >Services for Network File System  [FS-NFS-Services]
>Windows Search Service  [FS-Search-Service] >Windows Search Service  [FS-Search-Service]
>Windows Server 2003 File Services  [FS-Win2003-Services] >Windows Server 2003 File Services  [FS-Win2003-Services]
>>File Replication Service  [FS-Replication] Removed
>>Indexing Service  [FS-Indexing-Service] >>Indexing Service  [FS-Indexing-Service]
New >BranchCache for network files  [FS-BranchCache]
Hyper-V  [Hyper-V] Hyper-V  [Hyper-V]
Network Policy and Access Services  [NPAS] Network Policy and Access Services  [NPAS]
>Network Policy Server  [NPAS-Policy-Server] >Network Policy Server  [NPAS-Policy-Server]
>Routing and Remote Access Services  [NPAS-RRAS-Services] >Routing and Remote Access Services  [NPAS-RRAS-Services]
>>Remote Access Service  [NPAS-RRAS] >>Remote Access Service  [NPAS-RRAS]
>>Routing  [NPAS-Routing] >>Routing  [NPAS-Routing]
>Health Registration Authority  [NPAS-Health] >Health Registration Authority  [NPAS-Health]
>Host Credential Authorization Protocol  [NPAS-Host-Cred] >Host Credential Authorization Protocol  [NPAS-Host-Cred]
Print Services  [Print-Services] Print and Document Services  [Print-Services]
>Print Server  [Print-Server] >Print Server  [Print-Server]
>LPD Service  [Print-LPD-Service] >LPD Service  [Print-LPD-Service]
>Internet Printing  [Print-Internet] >Internet Printing  [Print-Internet]
New >Distributed Scan Server  [Print-Scan-Server]
Terminal Services  [Terminal-Services] Renamed Remote Desktop Services  [Remote-Desktop-Services]
>Terminal Server  [TS-Terminal-Server] Renamed >Remote Desktop Session Host  [RDS-RD-Server]
New >Remote Desktop Virtualization Host  [RDS-Virtualization]
>TS Licensing  [TS-Licensing] Renamed >Remote Desktop Licensing  [RDS-Licensing]
>TS Session Broker  [TS-Session-Broker] Renamed >Remote Desktop Connection Broker  [RDS-Connection-Broker]
>TS Gateway  [TS-Gateway] Renamed >Remote Desktop Gateway  [RDS-Gateway]
>TS Web Access  [TS-Web-Access] Renamed >Remote Desktop Web Access  [RDS-Web-Access]
UDDI Services Removed
>UDDI Services Database Removed
>UDDI Services Web Application Removed
Web Server (IIS)  [Web-Server] Web Server (IIS)  [Web-Server]
>Web Server  [Web-WebServer] >Web Server  [Web-WebServer]
>>Common HTTP Features  [Web-Common-Http] >>Common HTTP Features  [Web-Common-Http]
>>>Static Content  [Web-Static-Content] >>>Static Content  [Web-Static-Content]
>>>Default Document  [Web-Default-Doc] >>>Default Document  [Web-Default-Doc]
>>>Directory Browsing  [Web-Dir-Browsing] >>>Directory Browsing  [Web-Dir-Browsing]
>>>HTTP Errors  [Web-Http-Errors] >>>HTTP Errors  [Web-Http-Errors]
>>>HTTP Redirection  [Web-Http-Redirect] >>>HTTP Redirection  [Web-Http-Redirect]
New >>>WebDAV Publishing  [Web-DAV-Publishing]
>>Application Development  [Web-App-Dev] >>Application Development  [Web-App-Dev]
>>>ASP.NET  [Web-Asp-Net] >>>ASP.NET  [Web-Asp-Net]
>>>.NET Extensibility  [Web-Net-Ext] >>>.NET Extensibility  [Web-Net-Ext]
>>>ASP  [Web-ASP] >>>ASP  [Web-ASP]
>>>CGI  [Web-CGI] >>>CGI  [Web-CGI]
>>>ISAPI Extensions  [Web-ISAPI-Ext] >>>ISAPI Extensions  [Web-ISAPI-Ext]
>>>ISAPI Filters  [Web-ISAPI-Filter] >>>ISAPI Filters  [Web-ISAPI-Filter]
>>>Server Side Includes  [Web-Includes] >>>Server Side Includes  [Web-Includes]
>>Health and Diagnostics  [Web-Health] >>Health and Diagnostics  [Web-Health]
>>>HTTP Logging  [Web-Http-Logging] >>>HTTP Logging  [Web-Http-Logging]
>>>Logging Tools  [Web-Log-Libraries] >>>Logging Tools  [Web-Log-Libraries]
>>>Request Monitor  [Web-Request-Monitor] >>>Request Monitor  [Web-Request-Monitor]
>>>Tracing  [Web-Http-Tracing] >>>Tracing  [Web-Http-Tracing]
>>>Custom Logging  [Web-Custom-Logging] >>>Custom Logging  [Web-Custom-Logging]
>>>ODBC Logging  [Web-ODBC-Logging] >>>ODBC Logging  [Web-ODBC-Logging]
>>Security  [Web-Security] >>Security  [Web-Security]
>>>Basic Authentication  [Web-Basic-Auth] >>>Basic Authentication  [Web-Basic-Auth]
>>>Windows Authentication  [Web-Windows-Auth] >>>Windows Authentication  [Web-Windows-Auth]
>>>Digest Authentication  [Web-Digest-Auth] >>>Digest Authentication  [Web-Digest-Auth]
>>>Client Certificate Mapping Authentication  [Web-Client-Auth] >>>Client Certificate Mapping Authentication  [Web-Client-Auth]
>>>IIS Client Certificate Mapping Authentication  [Web-Cert-Auth] >>>IIS Client Certificate Mapping Authentication  [Web-Cert-Auth]
>>>URL Authorization  [Web-Url-Auth] >>>URL Authorization  [Web-Url-Auth]
>>>Request Filtering  [Web-Filtering] >>>Request Filtering  [Web-Filtering]
>>>IP and Domain Restrictions  [Web-IP-Security] >>>IP and Domain Restrictions  [Web-IP-Security]
>>Performance  [Web-Performance] >>Performance  [Web-Performance]
>>>Static Content Compression  [Web-Stat-Compression] >>>Static Content Compression  [Web-Stat-Compression]
>>>Dynamic Content Compression  [Web-Dyn-Compression] >>>Dynamic Content Compression  [Web-Dyn-Compression]
>Management Tools  [Web-Mgmt-Tools] >Management Tools  [Web-Mgmt-Tools]
>>IIS Management Console  [Web-Mgmt-Console] >>IIS Management Console  [Web-Mgmt-Console]
>>IIS Management Scripts and Tools  [Web-Scripting-Tools] >>IIS Management Scripts and Tools  [Web-Scripting-Tools]
>>Management Service  [Web-Mgmt-Service] >>Management Service  [Web-Mgmt-Service]
>>IIS 6 Management Compatibility  [Web-Mgmt-Compat] >>IIS 6 Management Compatibility  [Web-Mgmt-Compat]
>>>IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility  [Web-Metabase] >>>IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility  [Web-Metabase]
>>>IIS 6 WMI Compatibility  [Web-WMI] >>>IIS 6 WMI Compatibility  [Web-WMI]
>>>IIS 6 Scripting Tools  [Web-Lgcy-Scripting] >>>IIS 6 Scripting Tools  [Web-Lgcy-Scripting]
>>>IIS 6 Management Console  [Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console] >>>IIS 6 Management Console  [Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console]
>FTP Publishing Service  [Web-Ftp-Publishing] >FTP Server  [Web-Ftp-Server]
>>FTP Server  [Web-Ftp-Server] >>FTP Service  [Web-Ftp-Service]
>>FTP Management Console  [Web-Ftp-Mgmt-Console] >>FTP Extensibility  [Web-Ftp-Ext]
New >IIS Hostable Web Core  [Web-WHC]
Windows Deployment Services  [WDS] Windows Deployment Services  [WDS]
>Deployment Server  [WDS-Deployment] >Deployment Server  [WDS-Deployment]
>Transport Server  [WDS-Transport] >Transport Server  [WDS-Transport]
Windows Server Update Services Windows Server Update Services  [OOB-WSUS]

 

Table Comparing Features

 

Windows Server 2008 Features Changes Windows Server 2008 R2 Features
.NET Framework 3.0 Features  [NET-Framework] .NET Framework 3.5.1 Features  [NET-Framework]
>.NET Framework 3.0  [NET-Framework-Core] >.NET Framework 3.5.1  [NET-Framework-Core]
>XPS Viewer  [NET-XPS-Viewer] Renamed XPS Viewer  [XPS-Viewer]
>WCF Activation  [NET-Win-CFAC] >WCF Activation  [NET-Win-CFAC]
>>HTTP Activation  [NET-HTTP-Activation] >>HTTP Activation  [NET-HTTP-Activation]
>>Non-HTTP Activation  [NET-Non-HTTP-Activ] >>Non-HTTP Activation  [NET-Non-HTTP-Activ]
BITS Server Extensions  [BITS] Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS)  [BITS]
New >Compact Server  [BITS-Compact-Server]
New >IIS Server Extension  [BITS-IIS-Ext]
BitLocker Drive Encryption  [BitLocker] BitLocker Drive Encryption  [BitLocker]
New BranchCache  [BranchCache]
Connection Manager Administration Kit  [CMAK] Connection Manager Administration Kit  [CMAK]
Desktop Experience  [Desktop-Experience] Desktop Experience  [Desktop-Experience]
New DirectAccess Management Console  [DAMC]
Failover Clustering  [Failover-Clustering] Failover Clustering  [Failover-Clustering]
Group Policy Management  [GPMC] Group Policy Management  [GPMC]
New Ink and Handwriting Services  [Ink-Handwriting]
New >Ink Support  [IH-Ink-Support]
New >Handwriting Recognition  [IH-Handwriting]
Internet Printing Client  [Internet-Print-Client] Internet Printing Client  [Internet-Print-Client]
Internet Storage Name Server  [ISNS] Internet Storage Name Server  [ISNS]
LPR Port Monitor  [LPR-Port-Monitor] LPR Port Monitor  [LPR-Port-Monitor]
Message Queuing  [MSMQ] Message Queuing  [MSMQ]
>Message Queuing Services  [MSMQ-Services] >Message Queuing Services  [MSMQ-Services]
>>Message Queuing Server  [MSMQ-Server] >>Message Queuing Server  [MSMQ-Server]
>>Directory Service Integration  [MSMQ-Directory] >>Directory Service Integration  [MSMQ-Directory]
>>Message Queuing Triggers  [MSMQ-Triggers] >>Message Queuing Triggers  [MSMQ-Triggers]
>>HTTP Support  [MSMQ-HTTP-Support] >>HTTP Support  [MSMQ-HTTP-Support]
>>Multicasting Support  [MSMQ-Multicasting] >>Multicasting Support  [MSMQ-Multicasting]
>>Routing Service  [MSMQ-Routing] >>Routing Service  [MSMQ-Routing]
>Windows 2000 Client Support  [MSMQ-Win2000] Removed
>Message Queuing DCOM Proxy  [MSMQ-DCOM] >Message Queuing DCOM Proxy  [MSMQ-DCOM]
Multipath I/O  [Multipath-IO] Multipath I/O  [Multipath-IO]
Network Load Balancing  [NLB] Network Load Balancing  [NLB]
Peer Name Resolution Protocol  [PNRP] Peer Name Resolution Protocol  [PNRP]
Quality Windows Audio Video Experience  [qWave] Quality Windows Audio Video Experience  [qWave]
Remote Assistance  [Remote-Assistance] Remote Assistance  [Remote-Assistance]
Remote Differential Compression  [RDC] Remote Differential Compression  [RDC]
Remote Server Administration Tools  [RSAT] Remote Server Administration Tools  [RSAT]
>Role Administration Tools  [RSAT-Role-Tools] >Role Administration Tools  [RSAT-Role-Tools]
>>Active Directory Certificate Services Tools  [RSAT-ADCS] >>Active Directory Certificate Services Tools  [RSAT-ADCS]
>>>Certification Authority Tools  [RSAT-ADCS-Mgmt] >>>Certification Authority Tools  [RSAT-ADCS-Mgmt]
>>>Online Responder Tools  [RSAT-Online-Responder] >>>Online Responder Tools  [RSAT-Online-Responder]
>>Active Directory Domain Services Tools  [RSAT-ADDS] >>AD DS and AD LDS Tools  [RSAT-AD-Tools]
>>>Active Directory Domain Controller Tools  [RSAT-ADDC] >>>AD DS Tools  [RSAT-ADDS]
New >>>>AD DS Snap-Ins and Command-Line Tools  [RSAT-ADDS-Tools]
New >>>>Active Directory Administrative Center  [RSAT-AD-AdminCenter]
>>>Server for NIS Tools  [RSAT-SNIS] >>>>Server for NIS Tools  [RSAT-SNIS]
>>Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services Tools  [RSAT-ADLDS] >>>AD LDS Snap-Ins and Command-Line Tools  [RSAT-ADLDS]
New >>>Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell  [RSAT-AD-PowerShell]
>>Active Directory Rights Management Services Tools  [RSAT-RMS] >>Active Directory Rights Management Services Tools  [RSAT-RMS]
>>DHCP Server Tools  [RSAT-DHCP] >>DHCP Server Tools  [RSAT-DHCP]
>>DNS Server Tools  [RSAT-DNS-Server] >>DNS Server Tools  [RSAT-DNS-Server]
>>Fax Server Tools  [RSAT-Fax] >>Fax Server Tools  [RSAT-Fax]
>>File Services Tools  [RSAT-File-Services] >>File Services Tools  [RSAT-File-Services]
>>>Distributed File System Tools  [RSAT-DFS-Mgmt-Con] >>>Distributed File System Tools  [RSAT-DFS-Mgmt-Con]
>>>File Server Resource Manager Tools  [RSAT-FSRM-Mgmt] >>>File Server Resource Manager Tools  [RSAT-FSRM-Mgmt]
>>>Services for Network File System Tools  [RSAT-NFS-Admin] >>>Services for Network File System Tools  [RSAT-NFS-Admin]
>>Hyper-V Tools  [RSAT-Hyper-V] >>Hyper-V Tools  [RSAT-Hyper-V]
>>Network Policy and Access Services Tools  [RSAT-NPAS] >>Network Policy and Access Services Tools  [RSAT-NPAS]
>>Print Services Tools  [RSAT-Print-Services] >>Print and Document Services Tools  [RSAT-Print-Services]
>>Terminal Services Tools  [RSAT-TS] Renamed >>Remote Desktop Services Tools  [RSAT-RDS]
>>>Terminal Server Tools  [RSAT-TS-RemoteApp] Renamed >>>Remote Desktop Session Host Tools  [RSAT-RDS-RemoteApp]
>>>TS Gateway Tools  [RSAT-TS-Gateway] Renamed >>>Remote Desktop Gateway Tools  [RSAT-RDS-Gateway]
>>>TS Licensing Tools  [RSAT-TS-Licensing] Renamed >>>Remote Desktop Licensing Tools  [RSAT-RDS-Licensing]
New >>>Remote Desktop Connection Broker Tools  [RSAT-RDS-Conn-Broker]
>>UDDI Services Tools  [RSAT-UDDI] Removed
>>Web Server (IIS) Tools  [RSAT-Web-Server] >>Web Server (IIS) Tools  [RSAT-Web-Server]
>>Windows Deployment Services Tools  [RSAT-WDS] >>Windows Deployment Services Tools  [RSAT-WDS]
>Feature Administration Tools  [RSAT-Feature-Tools] >Feature Administration Tools  [RSAT-Feature-Tools]
>>BitLocker Drive Encryption Tools  [RSAT-BitLocker] >>BitLocker Drive Encryption Administration Utilities  [RSAT-BitLocker]
New >>>BitLocker Drive Encryption Tools  [RSAT-Bitlocker-DriveEnc]
New >>>BitLocker Recovery Password Viewer  [RSAT-Bitlocker-RecPwd]
>>BITS Server Extensions Tools  [RSAT-Bits-Server] >>BITS Server Extensions Tools  [RSAT-Bits-Server]
>>Failover Clustering Tools  [RSAT-Clustering] >>Failover Clustering Tools  [RSAT-Clustering]
>>Network Load Balancing Tools  [RSAT-NLB] >>Network Load Balancing Tools  [RSAT-NLB]
>>SMTP Server Tools  [RSAT-SMTP] >>SMTP Server Tools  [RSAT-SMTP]
>>WINS Server Tools  [RSAT-WINS] >>WINS Server Tools  [RSAT-WINS]
Removable Storage Manager  [Removable-Storage] Removed
RPC over HTTP Proxy  [RPC-over-HTTP-Proxy] RPC over HTTP Proxy  [RPC-over-HTTP-Proxy]
Simple TCP/IP Services  [Simple-TCPIP] Simple TCP/IP Services  [Simple-TCPIP]
SMTP Server  [SMTP-Server] SMTP Server  [SMTP-Server]
SNMP Services  [SNMP-Services] SNMP Services  [SNMP-Services]
>SNMP Service  [SNMP-Service] >SNMP Service  [SNMP-Service]
>SNMP WMI Provider  [SNMP-WMI-Provider] >SNMP WMI Provider  [SNMP-WMI-Provider]
Storage Manager for SANs  [Storage-Mgr-SANS] Storage Manager for SANs  [Storage-Mgr-SANS]
Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications  [Subsystem-UNIX-Apps] Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications  [Subsystem-UNIX-Apps]
Telnet Client  [Telnet-Client] Telnet Client  [Telnet-Client]
Telnet Server  [Telnet-Server] Telnet Server  [Telnet-Server]
TFTP Client  [TFTP-Client] TFTP Client  [TFTP-Client]
New Windows Biometric Framework  [Biometric-Framework]
Windows Internal Database  [Windows-Internal-DB] Windows Internal Database  [Windows-Internal-DB]
Windows PowerShell  [PowerShell] Integrated
New Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE)  [PowerShell-ISE]
Windows Process Activation Service  [WAS] Windows Process Activation Service  [WAS]
>Process Model  [WAS-Process-Model] >Process Model  [WAS-Process-Model]
>.NET Environment  [WAS-NET-Environment] >.NET Environment  [WAS-NET-Environment]
>Configuration APIs  [WAS-Config-APIs] >Configuration APIs  [WAS-Config-APIs]
Windows Server Backup Features  [Backup-Features] Windows Server Backup Features  [Backup-Features]
>Windows Server Backup  [Backup] >Windows Server Backup  [Backup]
>Command-line Tools  [Backup-Tools] >Command-line Tools  [Backup-Tools]
New Windows Server Migration Tools  [Migration]
Windows System Resource Manager  [WSRM] Windows System Resource Manager  [WSRM]
New Windows TIFF IFilter  [TIFF-IFilter]
New WinRM IIS Extension  [WinRM-IIS-Ext]
WINS Server  [WINS-Server] WINS Server  [WINS-Server]
Wireless LAN Service  [Wireless-Networking] Wireless LAN Service  [Wireless-Networking]

 

Lists Comparing Roles and Role Services 

 

New Roles, Role Services

  • >Certificate Enrollment Web Service  [ADCS-Enroll-Web-Svc]
  • >Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service  [ADCS-Enroll-Web-Pol]
  • >BranchCache for network files  [FS-BranchCache]
  • >Distributed Scan Server  [Print-Scan-Server]
  • >Remote Desktop Virtualization Host  [RDS-Virtualization]
  • >>>WebDAV Publishing  [Web-DAV-Publishing]
  • >IIS Hostable Web Core  [Web-WHC]

Renamed Roles and Role Services

  • Remote Desktop Services  [Remote-Desktop-Services] (Jose: RDS used to be called Terminal Services)
  • >Remote Desktop Session Host  [RDS-RD-Server]
  • >Remote Desktop Licensing  [RDS-Licensing]
  • >Remote Desktop Connection Broker  [RDS-Connection-Broker]
  • >Remote Desktop Gateway  [RDS-Gateway]
  • >Remote Desktop Web Access  [RDS-Web-Access]

Removed Roles and Role Services

  • >>File Replication Service  [FS-Replication]  (Jose: Use DFS-Replication instead. FRS can only be used for specific SYSVOL replication scenarios, see details at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754297.aspx)
  • UDDI Services
  • >UDDI Services Database
  • >UDDI Services Web Application

 

Lists Comparing Features

 

New Features

  • >Compact Server  [BITS-Compact-Server]
  • >IIS Server Extension  [BITS-IIS-Ext]
  • BranchCache  [BranchCache]
  • DirectAccess Management Console  [DAMC]
  • Ink and Handwriting Services  [Ink-Handwriting]
  • >Ink Support  [IH-Ink-Support]
  • >Handwriting Recognition  [IH-Handwriting]
  • >>>>AD DS Snap-Ins and Command-Line Tools  [RSAT-ADDS-Tools]
  • >>>>Active Directory Administrative Center  [RSAT-AD-AdminCenter]
  • >>>Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell  [RSAT-AD-PowerShell]
  • >>>Remote Desktop Connection Broker Tools  [RSAT-RDS-Conn-Broker]
  • >>>BitLocker Drive Encryption Tools  [RSAT-Bitlocker-DriveEnc]
  • >>>BitLocker Recovery Password Viewer  [RSAT-Bitlocker-RecPwd]
  • Windows Biometric Framework  [Biometric-Framework]
  • Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE)  [PowerShell-ISE] (Jose: PowerShell itself is now integrated, this new feature is just the ISE)
  • Windows Server Migration Tools  [Migration]
  • Windows TIFF IFilter  [TIFF-IFilter]
  • WinRM IIS Extension  [WinRM-IIS-Ext]

Renamed Features

  • XPS Viewer  [XPS-Viewer] (Jose: Used to be under the .NET group, now is a separate feature)
  • >>Remote Desktop Services Tools  [RSAT-RDS] (Jose: RDS used to be called Terminal Services)
  • >>>Remote Desktop Session Host Tools  [RSAT-RDS-RemoteApp]
  • >>>Remote Desktop Gateway Tools  [RSAT-RDS-Gateway]
  • >>>Remote Desktop Licensing Tools  [RSAT-RDS-Licensing]

Removed Features

  • >Windows 2000 Client Support  [MSMQ-Win2000]
  • >>UDDI Services Tools  [RSAT-UDDI]
  • Removable Storage Manager  [Removable-Storage]

 

Windows 8 Start Menu

Let’s say that you want to quickly get to the folder where you download stuff. You can make the Downloads folder available on the Taskbar as well as the new Start menu.

Pin to a Taskbar icon

You can drag any folder to your Explorer Taskbar icon and pin it. Here the menu is visible when right-clicking on the Explorer icon. You can also pin (promote) links from the Frequent section as well.

Downloads is Pinned to the Explorer Taskbar

Pin to the Windows 8 Start Menu Screen

You can also take any icon or folder from the desktop and right-click to Pin to Start.

Pin to Start

Now my Downloads folder is on my Start and can be opened in one click/touch after pressing the Windows key.

Pinning other Shortcuts of all Kinds

Once you know you can pin stuff, you can make custom shortcuts and pin other stuff. Right click anywhere and make a new Shortcut. This is a generic pointer to whatever you like.

New Shortcut

You can change the properties of a shortcut like I have here. I’ve got a shortcut to shutdown with -t 0 added to the parameters so the system will shutdown immediately.

NOTE: You CAN make these shortcuts if it will make you happy but in the case of Shutdown, I just press the Power Button.

shutdown.exe -s -t 0

Now just right click the new shortcut and pin it to either the Taskbar or Start. If you’re tidy, and I am sure you are, why not customize the icon?

Shutdown Icon customized

And now my new Shutdown icon looks like this.

Shutdown Computer

Shutdown.exe -s -t 00

Restart Computer

Shutdown.exe -r -t 00

Pin Internet Explorer 10 Desktop in the Start Menu

Now that you have figured out how to make crazy shortcuts then Pin them. Hopefully this is as empowering to you as it is to me.

As a Web Developer I have a bunch of Web Browsers pinned to both Start and the Taskbar. However, the Internet Explorer icon in the Start Menu goes to the full screen IE10 and sometimes I want the Desktop IE10.

Desktop IE10

WINDOWS NLB ON HYPER-V R2

Today I had the luxury of setting up a Unicast NLB on a couple of Windows 2008 servers (for Citrix Web Interface 5.2). The servers themselves are guest VMs running on Hyper-V R2. I noticed that when trying to create the NLB, it would not converge. The NLB wizard was erroring out, plus the entire NIC would go offline, losing its static IP association. I would also see Error 12289.


I mean, I’ve done NLBs plenty of times before… unicast or multicast… 2003 or 2008… really no difference… its not that hard, but it would not work!!! Arrrgggg!!! After bashing my head for a few minutes thinking I was insane, I did some digging.I’ve done this on Physical Servers (check), VMWare ESX guests (check), and XenServer guests (check)… no issues. So I figured it was Hyper-V related… and viola! NLB creates a virtual MAC for the balanced servers to listen on, however the v-switch in Hyper-V does not allow it by default.

In R1, I found out, you had to statically assign the NLB MAC as the VM MAC. Luckily, in R2, they made this easier (along with a lot of other nice enhancements). In Hyper-V R2 / SCVMM R2, set the NIC of the VM to enable spoofing.

 Once I set this, the NLB could properly configure, bind, and converge.

Of note: Although I could have left the MAC at dynamic, I chose to set both VMs to static, but inheriting their current MAC address. I’m just not a big fan of MACs changing. 🙂 Also, the VMs were OFFLINE when I made the changes through SCVMM console.