Megh Neupane

In Remote Desktop Services deployments, application conflicts can lead to silos of remote desktop session host servers. To avoid application conflicts, applications typically must undergo significant testing to determine which applications will collide and, therefore, must be separated and run on different session host silos—a time-consuming and costly process. Separating out multiple remote desktop session hosts to accommodate specific applications routinely results in servers being underutilized because each one is locked into a specific configuration, capable of serving only a limited set of non-conflicting applications. Often, 20 servers are required to support 1,000 users.

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AppLocker is a new feature of Windows7 that allows administrators to define policies that can allow or deny a user’s ability to run or install executable, MSI, or script files. Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) separates the application from the operating system preventing application conflicts and enabling the ability to run multiple versions of an application of the same desktop. Virtual applications can be delivered in many ways – streaming by assigning applications to user, delivering to machines via Configuration Manager or by using file streaming from removable media. Using App-V and Applocker together ensures that no matter how the application is delivered or what format is takes, physical or virtual, it will respect the policies defined by IT.

Watch these demonstrations to learn how to configure App-V; create, update, and publish virtual applications; and create and manage policies for virtual applications.

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Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 is the newest version of Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, a Solution Accelerator for operating system and application deployment. MDT 2010 supports deployment of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in addition to deployment of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP. MDT is the recommended process and toolset for automating desktop and server deployment.

MDT provides you with the following benefits:

• Unified tools and processes required for desktop and server deployment in a common deployment console and collection of guidance.
• Reduced deployment time and standardized desktop and server images, along with improved security and ongoing configuration management.
• Fully automated Zero Touch Installation deployments by leveraging System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate and Windows deployment tools. For those without a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure, MDT leverages Windows deployment tools for Lite Touch Installation deployments.

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Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 (WSUS 3.0 SP2) delivers updates to corporate environments from Microsoft Update. This release adds new features and fixes issues found since the release of the product. WSUS 3.0 SP2 delivers important customer-requested management, stability, and performance improvements. Some of the features and improvements include the following:

• Integration with Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Support for the BranchCache feature in Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 clients.
• Compliance Report
• Windows Update Agent (WUA) offers a collection of performance enhancements, user experience improvements, and bug fixes software updates.

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Microsoft is offering a free E-Book covering SQL Server 2008. Microsoft SQL Server is a relational model database server produced by Microsoft. Its primary query languages are T-SQL and ANSI SQL.

Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008
by Peter DeBetta, Greg Low, and Mark Whitehorn
ISBN: 9780735625587

The E-Book covers major new features in SQL Server 2008 including security, administration, and performance with the following table of contents:

Chapter 1: Security and Administration
Chapter 2: Performance
Chapter 3: Type System
Chapter 4: Programmability
Chapter 5: Storage
Chapter 6: Enhancements for High Availability
Chapter 7: Business Intelligence Enhancements

Sign up today to get your own free copy of E-Book here.

If you have wondered ever to use Windows Vista in Nepali Language, well the wait is now over. Microsoft has now published the official NEPALI Language Interface Pack (LIP) for Windows Vista that can be instantly applied to change the user interface. Do make sure that you have an English version of Windows Vista running as the NEPALI LIP can only be applied on such.

For folks requiring detailed installation instructions and someone who would like to see how the interface looks like (visual confirmation) before and after applying the NEPALI LIP, I have attached some screenshots for ease and access. ENJOY!

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Ben Armstrong, a Program Manager on the core virtualization team at Microsoft recently posted a blog with powershell and vbscript examples that will allow an administrator to boot up virtual machines (built with Windows Virtual PC) directly via scripting. He argues it will provide the following benefits:

• Automated testing
• Patch deployment
• Faster launch

Read his blog to view and download the scripts.

Microsoft is offering a free eBook covering its prominent virtualization technologies that include -

• Server Virtualization (Hyper-V, Server 2008 Virtualization, Virtual Machine Manager 2008)
• Application Virtualization (App-V)
• Desktop Virtualization (Enterprise Desktop Virtualization and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)
• Presentation Virtualization (Terminal Services)
• Profile Virtualization (Roaming Profiles, Folder Redirection, Offline Files)

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