News

Techdays 2010 : win a ticket !

2010-03-24T10:12:12Z

We have a ticket for the Techdays 2010 Belgium (30-31 march & 1st April in Metropolis Antwerp) to offer.

What should you do to win this ticket ?

Register to the MVUG : www.mvug.be
And Send an email to Benoit@mvug.be with your contact information and “Ticket for Techdays” as subject.

We'll randomly select a winner this Friday at 8PM.

The winner will be contacted by email.

The MVUG Team

OCS 2007 R2 is now officially supported for virtualization of certain roles

2010-03-08T07:04:00Z

We are pleased to announce official support for server virtualization for Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

We are introducing support for both a fully distributed virtualized topology across several hypervisors and for a single server virtualized topology. These topologies are supported on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and any Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) certified partner solution (http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvp.htm).

Presence, Instant Messaging (including remote access, federation, and Public IM Connectivity) and Group Chat workloads are supported. The following server roles can be deployed:

· Front-End Servers

· Back-End SQL Server 2008 64 bits

· Group Chat Channel Servers

· Group Chat Compliance Servers

· Edge Access Servers

The virtual machines must be running on Windows Server 2008 64 bits. Archiving Server and Monitoring Server (CDR Only) can be connected to a virtualized Enterprise pool, but they must run on a physical server.

The fully virtualized distributed topology has been tested to handle up to 40,000 users, including 10,000 group chat users.

Virtualization of the other workloads is not supported because of possible quality issues with real-time media. Specifically, voice, video, live meeting and desktop sharing workloads cannot be part of the virtualized deployment. Therefore audio/video/web conferencing servers, audio/video/web edge conferencing servers, dial-in conferencing, Communicator Web Access, enterprise voice, or Remote Call Control may not be deployed as part of the virtualized pool. If any one of these workloads is required, a new pool with physical servers must be deployed for those users. For more information about support for client virtualization technologies, please refer to the official support statement at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951152.

In order to plan both their physical and virtualized topologies, customers can use Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Capacity Planning Tool, which can simulate user load for the available workloads. This will help customers validating the hypervisor load and scalability before going to production.

Along with this announcement, a whitepaper detailing the tested architecture, performance, use of the Capacity Planning Tool, and a methodology to select a successful architecture can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0a45d921-3b48-44e4-b42b-19704a2b81b0

Register for Beta Exam 71-669: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization

2010-03-01T15:21:00Z

Register for Beta Exam 71-669: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization

You are eligible to register for beta exam 71-669: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization. You were specifically chosen to receive this notification because of your Microsoft Learning SME Profile or previous participation with Microsoft Learning. If you pass the beta exam, the exam credit will be added to your transcript and you will not need to take the exam in its released form.

This opportunity will also be offered to the general public. However, please do not post the beta code publicly. If you do post the beta code publicly, you will be excluded from future beta notifications.

By participating in beta exams, you have the opportunity to provide the Microsoft Certification program with feedback about exam content, which is integral to development of exams in their released version. We depend on the contributions of experienced IT professionals and developers as we continually improve exam content and maintain the value of Microsoft certifications.

71-669: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization counts as credit towards the following certification(s).

· MCITP: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

Availability

Registration begins: March 1, 2010 (at 9 AM US Eastern Standard Time)

Beta exam period runs: March 5, 2010–March 25, 2010

Receiving this notification does not guarantee you a seat in the beta. We recommend that you register immediately. Beta exams have limited availability and are operated under a first-come-first-served basis. In some cases, the number of eligible SMEs in our database exceeds the number of available beta slots. Once all beta slots are filled, no additional seats will be offered. We will post a notice on the Born to Learn blog when the beta slots are filled.

Testing is held at Prometric testing centers worldwide, although this exam may not be available in all countries (see Regional Restrictions). All testing centers will have the capability to offer this exam in its live version.

Regional Restrictions: India, Pakistan, China

Registration Information

You must register at least 24 hours prior to taking the exam.
Please use the following promotional code when registering for the exam: DV1D

Do not post this code publicly. If you do post this code publicly, you will be excluded from future beta notifications.
Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta. We recommend that you register immediately.

To register in North America, please call:

•	Prometric: (800) 755-EXAM (800-755-3926)

Outside the U.S./Canada, please contact:

•	Prometric: http://www.register.prometric.com/ClientInformation.asp

Test Information and Support

You are invited to take this beta exam at no charge.
You will be given four hours to complete the beta exam. Please plan accordingly.
Find exam preparation information: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-669

Frequently Asked Questions

You can find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about beta exams here:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/exam-dev-release.aspx#tab2.

For Microsoft Certification Program help and information, you may log in to the MCP Web site at http://mcp.microsoft.com/ or contact your Regional Service Center: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/help/assisted-support.aspx.

For updates and information about exams, visit the Born to Learn blog at: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/.

If you have questions or comments about the Microsoft Learning Subject Matter Experts program, contact mslcd@microsoft.com.

Krista Wall

Content Development Manager

Microsoft Learning

Registration for exam 71-669 TS: Windows Server® 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization will open next Monday, March 1st.

2010-02-25T18:10:00Z

Registration for exam 71-669 TS: Windows Server® 2008 R2, Desktop Virtualization will open next Monday, March 1st.

For this beta, we’re going to try something slightly different in order to avoid having the registration open when Prometric's offices are closed. We’re going to wait to send out the notifications containing the beta code until 9 am Eastern Standard Time on registration day.

What time is this in my region?

Instead of midnight EST, you should be ready to register at 9 am Eastern Standard Time on March 1st. If your SME profile indicates that you have work experience with virtualization, you’ll receive a notification containing the beta code at the e-mail address indicated in your Microsoft Connect profile (i.e., if you received this e-mail, you should receive the beta code notification at the same address).

Note that as always, beta seats are limited. Far more notifications will be sent than there are seats available. Please review the skills measured in the prep guide before you register to ensure that this exam is a good fit for you: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/exam.aspx?ID=70-669#tab2

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact us at mslcd@microsoft.com.

App-V 4.6 Documentation & Planning and Design Guide

2010-02-24T15:51:00Z

After the release of the App-V 4.6 software, now the documentation & the planning and design guide have been released.

The documentation for Application Virtualization 4.6 is now available on the App-V TechCenter Library at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc843848.aspx.
In addition to the App-V 4.6 feature information, in this documentation release we have added a new Getting Started Guide which contains the Release Notes
as well as the detailed procedures for installing and upgrading the system. New Deployment and Upgrade Checklists have also been added to guide you through
the correct sequence of steps necessary to install and test a new installation, and also to upgrade from a prior version.

Note: The main App-V 4.5 & 4.6 documents have been combined with any functionality that is specific to one release or the other called out as such.

The core documentation set now includes:

Getting Started Guide

App-V 4.6 Release Notes

Application Virtualization Deployment and Upgrade Checklists

Planning & Deployment Guide

Operations Guide

Online Help for Client, Server and Sequencer

These documents are written and kept up to date by myself and the other App-V UA technical writers and we welcome comments, questions and suggestions to help us produce
the best possible documentation for you. If you find anything missing or incorrect, or would just like to provide feedback for new content, please let us know by sending an
e-mail to the App-V documentation feedback alias (appvdocs@microsoft.com). We also monitor the App-V Documentation Forum on Technet so that’s another way to provide feedback to us.

In addition, on the Application Virtualization TechCenter home page you’ll find links to other information resources including the “Upgrading FAQ”, White Papers and links to blogs.

App-V 4.6 RTM and MED-V 1.0 SP1 RC are here!!

2010-02-23T12:37:00Z

As announced on the Windows for your Business blog, Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.6, including App-V for RDS, is now publicly available as part of MDOP 2010!!! In addition, MED-V 1.0 SP1 RC for Windows 7 is now available!

App-V 4.6 can be accessed immediately via MDOP 2010. Existing MDOP customers can download MDOP 2010 at the Microsoft Volume Licensing Site (MVLS). For evaluation, MDOP 2010 can be downloaded from MSDN and TechNet.
App-V 4.6 for RDS (formerly App-V for Terminal Services) can be downloaded immediately here.
MED-V 1.0 SP1 Release Candidate is available for immediate download and evaluation at: https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=665. This version adds support for Windows 7 (32bit and 64bit).

As Windows 7 continues to gain excitement across the industry, enterprises are evaluating their desktop strategy including Office deployment, application compatibility and desktop management. Together, App-V 4.6 and MED-V 1.0 SP1 with Windows 7, Office 2010, Windows Server 2008 R2 and System Center deliver a world class desktop for your enterprise.

Virtualize applications to enable Access from Anywhere
As users continue to need their Windows experience to move with them no matter where they are, it becomes critical for technology to deliver on this ask. By combining App-V 4.6 and Windows Server 2008 R2 access from anywhere is possible for global businesses, meaning:

§ App-V 4.6 is now compatible with 64-bit Windows client and server platforms, enabling IT to take advantage of x64 for client hardware refresh AND also deploy App-V to Windows Server 2008 R2 Terminal Services. The benefits: consolidate terminal server farms, simplify profile management and provide virtual applications via session virtualization for users using App-V with Remote Desktop Web Access and Connections, and Access Gateway.

§ App-V 4.6 enables Windows 7 mobile users to access apps on the road. Virtual applications can be made available offline and can be streamed over the internet and are currently supported in 11 languages, with 13 new languages coming in April to meet global business needs.

“We like to trim our cost basis as much as possible so that we can pass those savings on to customers…. Now that we can manage more applications and support more users with fewer resources, we can achieve greater economies of scale while delivering highly affordable and reliable services.” -- Graham Clarke, Managing Director, Appserv

Improve application delivery & management using virtual applications with Windows 7

Through the App-V Cost Reduction Study and over 80 App-V customer case studies we see that customers are gaining real benefits by using App-V to improve their application delivery. They have saved time, money and simplified their application management.

§ App-V 4.6 and SCCM 2007 R2 SP2 now deliver virtual applications faster to users at logon. Users no longer need to wait for policy

refresh to gain access to their applications.

§ App-V 4.6 saves on SAN storage space by using a cache of virtualized applications that is shared across all your VDI desktops, saving

Gigs of space, eliminating duplicate applications and files, and enabling faster launch of your virtual applications.

“The combination of Application Virtualization, System Center Configuration Manager, and Windows 7 makes for a complete, high-performing application deployment solution. Everything works great together.” -- Doug Miller, Practice Architect CDW

Accelerate your adoption of Office 2010 with Microsoft Application Virtualization

App-V’s native streaming, no installation and isolation capabilities deliver Office 2010 faster than a traditional install and with less user productivity impact. Users can run multiple versions side by side, easing the learning curve associated with advancements like the ribbon user interface. IT has more time to migrate LOB applications dependent on older Office versions.

Cross product collaboration delivers seamless integration and new advancements in virtual Office 2010 and the Office family of products not previously available, this include:

Improved SharePoint integration to Open, Save, Edit files
Find your email items quickly with Outlook’s Fast Search
Send files from directly inside of Office products such as PowerPoint

“App-V 4.6 provides Office customers with a robust set of features to tackle core challenges including application upgrade, application coexistence, and user readiness. It’s an exciting, powerful new way for IT to deliver Office 2010 quickly without impacting user productivity.”

-Takeshi Numoto, CVP Microsoft Office

You’ve heard from us regarding great customer success stories, but it’s also important to hear what our MVPs are saying as they work with customers to deploy the product around the globe. See what App-V MVPs are saying about the latest release by visiting Springboard’s App-V 4.6 Q&A post.

Accelerate your migration to Windows 7 with desktop virtualization
In the migration to Windows 7 you may find applications that aren’t compatible, still require Internet Explorer 6, or cannot be fixed by traditional methods. MED-V can help you remove these deployment barriers.

Whether you are working on your Windows 7 migration plans or already ramping up a deployment, you can start building a MED-V environment and evaluate its capabilities. Check out the MED-V Quick Start guide and the MED-V Evaluation Guide and training videos.

“Windows 7 has proven to be very stable and to work well with our virtualized applications. We plan to use Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 and App-V to help us automate our Windows 7 deployment to 10,000 computers beginning in March 2010.”

-- Sebastian Hämpel, IT Manager, Steinbuch Centre for Computing, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

“Without MED-V, we wouldn’t be able to deploy Windows 7 enterprise wide. Now, we don’t have to worry whether an older application is compatible with Windows 7. We just run it with MED-V, and it works. While Windows XP Mode is great for small implementations, it isn’t designed for an enterprise environment because it does not include centralized deployment and management capabilities.”

-- David Feng, IT Director, Sporton International

The final release of MED-V 1.0 SP1 and 13 new localized languages of App-V 4.6 will be available in April 2010.

We always welcome customer feedback so we can continue to improve our products. We encourage you to check out the new App-V Videos and App-V Online Labs. Take the next step, start testing and piloting Windows 7 with virtualization technologies, like App-V and MED-V, to make the migration even simpler and faster. Get out there, give it a try and realize the same benefits that many others are seeing today!

Enjoy!

Karri Alexion-Tiernan
Director of Product Management, App-V

SC DPM 2010 RC is out !!!

2010-02-17T21:58:00Z

SC DPM 2010 RC is out, if you want to download it and test it on Hyper-V go here http://connect.microsoft.com/site840/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=26452

An interesting article on SC DPM 2010 to backup Hyper-V here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=c9d141cf-c839-4728-af52-928f61bebdca

Hyper-V R2/ Xenserver 5.5 : vSphere 4 product comparison

2010-02-17T21:48:00Z

Go to the Media section to find an interesting article about this topic

Virtualization news #6

2009-12-12T13:32:16Z

The FIRST System Center Virtual Machine Manager book is now available (http://bit.ly/7RqpSl)
The Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool v2.1 has now been released! (http://bit.ly/4BipLS)
Hyper-V Technical Information and Resources on TechNet (http://bit.ly/87teL3)
VIDEO: Hyper-V Virtual Disk Overview (http://bit.ly/51UGOZ)
Windows Server 2008 R2 Feature Components Poster (http://bit.ly/5MfaLx)
Microsoft’s Windows 7 Download Tool Re-Posted (works very well with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V server R2) (http://bit.ly/7pTzYX)
PDC session : Mark Russinovich - Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Kernel Changes (http://bit.ly/56Dw54)
Do you want to script RDS for VDI (http://bit.ly/5xwveT)
(French) Administrez Windows Server 2008 R2 en mode Server Core avec SConfig et Core Configurator 2.0 (http://bit.ly/7QuxzQ)
Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) Administration Video Series now available for download (http://bit.ly/7W02cB)
Core Configurator for Windows Server 2008 R2 available (http://bit.ly/8WifE7)
Why Hyper-V cannot boot off of SCSI disks (and why you should not care) (http://bit.ly/7yI9hf)
five free Windows Server 2008 R2 training sessions (http://bit.ly/75v6Om)
How To : Adding a Node To A VMM Managed Hyper-V Cluster (http://bit.ly/67Anrh)
Hyper-V Monitor Gadget Now Available (http://bit.ly/5Hrpjn)

Benoît KRINGS [MVUG Belgium]

Register for Beta Exam 71-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization

2009-11-29T06:43:00Z

I have received an e-mail from Microsoft inviting me for the 71-659 : TS: Window Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization.
So if you have an up to date SME Profile (http://bit.ly/6K0K2u ) with the right expertise mentioned, you probably received the same e-mail:

Register for Beta Exam 71-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization

You are invited to take beta exam 71-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization. You were specifically chosen to participate in this beta because of your Microsoft Learning SME Profile or previous participation with Microsoft Learning. This opportunity will also be offered to the general public. If you pass the beta exam, the exam credit will be added to your transcript and you will not need to take the exam in its released form.

By participating in beta exams, you have the opportunity to provide the Microsoft Certification program with feedback about exam content, which is integral to development of exams in their released version. We depend on the contributions of experienced IT professionals and developers as we continually improve exam content and maintain the value of Microsoft certifications.

71-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization counts as credit towards the following certification(s).

MCITP: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

Availability

Registration begins: December 1, 2009

Beta exam period runs: December 4, 2009– December 31, 2009

Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta. We recommend that you register immediately. Beta exams have limited availability and are operated under a first-come-first-served basis. Once all beta slots are filled, no additional seats will be offered.

When the promotional code will be public I'll publish it on this blog.

Benoît KRINGS [MVUG Belgium]

New virtualization certification

2009-11-26T17:08:00Z

I have just read a post from the blog "Born to learn" (http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/) (MS Learning's Blog) with the new certification :
MCITP : Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

more info here : http://bit.ly/6Clohd

Don't forget to update (or create) your SME profile (http://bit.ly/6K0K2u ) to receive beta exam invitation !

Benoît KRINGS [MVUG Belgium]

Virtualization Day : All the sessions are online now !

2009-11-26T16:25:00Z

All virtualization day sessions are now on TechNet Chopsticks

DESKTOP :

Virtualization Day: Desktop Virtualization – The App-V Sequencing Process

Virtualization Day: MED-V with Windows 7

Virtualization Day: Leveraging the advantages of Virtualization with HP Blade System

Virtualization Day: Desktop Virtualization: Providing You with Clear Guidance

Virtualization Day: Desktop of the future – notes from the field

Virtualization Day: Building a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure using Citrix and Microsoft technology

Virtualization Day: Desktop Virtualization - Microsoft Application Virtualization Explained

SERVER

Virtualization Day: Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V

Virtualization Day: Disaster Recovery and Failover Clustering

Virtualization Day: Security Architecture and Best Practices for Hyper-V

Virtualization Day: Storage and Hyper-V: The Choices You Can Make

Virtualization Day: Microsoft’s Builds the Foundation for your Private Cloud

Virtualization Day: Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V

Enjoy !!!

Technet Roadshow : Exchange 2010 8-9-10 december 2009

2009-11-26T16:05:00Z

TechNet : Discover what’s new in Exchange 2010 and how you can use this rich set of technologies

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 brings a new and rich set of technologies, features, and services to the Exchange Server product line. Join us and and we will provide you with an overview of some of the important new features and functionality, which you can use when you're planning, deploying, and administering your Exchange 2010 organization.

08/12/2009 Brussels register EN sessions

09/12/2009 Gent register NL sessions

10/12/2009 Mons register FR sessions

Virtualization News

2009-11-26T15:11:15Z

A Hyper-V update rollup package is available for Windows Server 2008 R2 http://bit.ly/6XZqwD
MVUG UK Article on MED-V Architectural Design Restrictions http://bit.ly/57tvNf
MDOP: Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) article on www.labo-microsoft.com (French) http://bit.ly/7sEhug
Whitepaper : Running Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 (OCS) in a Virtualized Topology version 1.2 http://bit.ly/4XA501
Hyper-V pass-through disk performance vs. fixed size VHD files and dynamic VHD files in Windows Server 2008 R2 http://bit.ly/67baRN
Fabricem blog's : 1er pas avec SCVMM 2008 R2 - Mise en oeuvre de PRO – Installation et Configuration (French) http://bit.ly/4KOHMl
MVUG UK Blog Post : Guest Operating System Support - Comparing MED-V with XP Mode on Windows 7 http://bit.ly/4FmUf8
Virtual PC guy's Blog : Hyper-V and Domain Controllers – Demo Tips and Tricks http://bit.ly/4NISPR
HP has released "Implementing Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2". : http://bit.ly/7UIv47
Deploying Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 on USB Flash Drive http://bit.ly/8ZfoHC
Announcing App-V 4.6 RC and integration with Office 2010 Beta! http://bit.ly/5JZWj0

Benoît KRINGS [MVUG Belgium]

TechNet event - Virtualization day - 17 nov 2009 - Utopolis Mechelen

2009-11-06T08:21:00Z

TechNet Event: Learn how to use Virtualization from the Desktop to the Datacenter

Using products that span the desktop to the data center, you can bring capacities online in real-time, as needed; streamline and provision applications, services and data on-demand; accelerate backup and recovery, and enhance availability so that your users are well protected against system failure and service interruptions.
This event will consist out of two tracks one for Data Center Virtualization and one for Desktop Virtualization.

Following technologies will be covered:

Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization
Application Virtualization
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Windows Server 2008 R2 - Hyper-V
System Center Virtual Machine Manager
….

More information (tracks details, speakers, …) on Arlindo’s blog and here

Registration : Server Track - Client Track