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Announcing Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta! PDF Print E-mail
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Wednesday, 07 January 2009
Today marks general availability of public beta for the new Windows Server 2008 R2-and. The new release incorporates a host of new features and capabilities that we hope you'll check out; the code is as stable a beta as we've ever seen and combined with the beta of Windows 7 you'll be able to evaluate not just a bevy of new server-side capabilities, but a new level of synergy between server and client operating systems, too.

The company is aligning Windows Server 2008 R2, which briefly was referred to as Windows Server 7, and the client OS Windows 7 although Microsoft officials have not said if they will ship together.
But users who adopt both will get new security, network, and other features although some of those will require network upgrades like implementing IPv6.


The R2 beta's integration with Windows 7 is high on the server's feature list. The integration points include a laundry list of features including DirectAccess, which lets Windows 7 PCs directly connect to intranet-based resources without needing a VPN connection.


While DirectAccess could eliminate VPN infrastructure, users will have to support IPv6 and IPSec on their network in order to access intranet resources.


Bill Laing, Microsoft's vice president of Windows Server and systems, said late last year that a company's entire network does not have to be IPv6 for DirectAccess to work. The client nodes and some of the network nodes for tasks such as authentication have to support IPv6. But he did add that users will also need to support IPSec.
"DirectAccess is a compelling feature, but there is infrastructure work you need to do and it will take time to roll this out," Laing said.


Other Windows 7 integration points with R2 include Branch Caching, which caches frequently used content on a branch-office network; a read-only Distributed File System to improve branch office security, power management via Group Policy, BitLocker drive encryption for USB drives referred to as BitLocker To Go, and an Offline Folders feature for mobile users.


Unique to the server side, the R2 release includes support for Live Migration, a much anticipated feature add-on to Hyper-V. Not only will the feature help Microsoft match similar tools already available from VMware and open source hypervisor platforms, Live Migration is key for availability and scalability in the VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) support coming in R2 server.
Another key VDI component is Remote Desktop Services, formerly called Terminal Services, which allows users outside the intranet to connect to desktops and application running inside virtual machines on a server.


RDS includes the Remote Desktop Connection Broker, an upgrade to the Windows Server's Session Broker, an administrative set-up tool for both server-based virtualized desktops and traditional Terminal Services remote desktops.
Microsoft is building its VDI infrastructure on the back of the Connection Broker, Hyper-V and Virtual Machine Manager.
RDS fits in a loose grouping with Microsoft's other virtualized desktop software that is part of its popular MDOP (Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack), which includes App-V and Enterprise Desktop Virtualization.


Also included are power management features called Core Parking, and deeper integration with PowerShell.
Microsoft is also working on application virtualization for the server, but it will not be part of R2 server. Also not in the release is technology Microsoft acquired when it bought Calista Technologies, which delivers 3D graphics, such as Vista Aero Glass, and multimedia support to virtualized desktops.
Last Updated ( Monday, 12 January 2009 )
 
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Newsflash
Downadup worm replicates itself at amazing speed!

Call it Conficker, Downadup or Kido - the fact is the nasty worm is spreading at a very rapid speed! There is no checking the pace at which it is infecting PCs; and with already more than 9 million victims, including corporate networks worldwide, the worm is still going strong!

The Downadup worm made its first appearance two months back, exploiting a critical Windows flaw in the way the Server Service handles RPC requests. A blended threat, the malware relies upon many attack vectors - from brute-force password guessing to hitching rides on USB sticks - for replicating itself to spread throughout a network.

The unique rate of speed at which the worm replicates has perplexed experts. Security researcher, Derek Brown, of TippingPoint's DVLabs Team, said: "The notion of using multiple attack vectors is not terribly new. The unique thing about this worm is the speed at which it has spread and I think that's a result of the big size of the Microsoft vulnerability."

Experts also opine that though the Downadup malware got started because of the Microsoft flaw, it later proliferated quickly through the unpatched Windows operating systems of the users.

Though the malicious worm knows no land barriers, the hardest hit countries, as per Symantec Security Response, are China and Argentina. According to the Symantec vice president, Alfred Huger, China accounts for almost 29 percent of the infections tracked, Argentina was next in line with over 11 percent infections.