Updating environments with Hyper-V can be more of a challenge compared to updating an environment that consists of mere physical servers. Not only the workloads need regular updating, but also the Windows servers and Hyper-V servers underneath them. The challenges Hyper-V relies on a Parent Partition, whether you're using a Full installation of ...

One of Server Core's touted benefits is it requires less security updates. Jeff Jones did some interesting research a little while ago in which he compared a theoretical Windows Server 2003 Server Core edition to a Windows Server 2003 installation in terms of security updates. In the accompanying blogpost he concluded: […] looking at the ...

Since the launch of Windows Server 2008 a lot of configuration tools have been released to help administrators get the most out of Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V Server 2008 installations. This blog post features free configuration tools and initiatives to develop this kind of tools for Server Core installations of ...

Microsoft's Hyper-V Server 2008 product comes with a wizard, that allows easy configuration of the Server Core-based subsystem.   This tool can be used on normal Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 too. This blogpost describes what files to copy from a US English Hyper-V Server 2008 installation, where to place them and how ...

Hyper-V Server 2008 is Microsoft's free server hardware virtualization product. You can  deploy this Microsoft product  like a Windows product with your favorite deployment suite. When you use Windows Deployment Services (WDS) or Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT)to deploy Microsoft's Hyper-V Server 2008 however, you are prompted to ...

Microsoft released a new server hardware virtualization product yesterday: Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008. I've already discussed this product in full detail a while ago, so today I'll show you how to install this free and optimized Hyper-V product in five easy steps: Step 1 Choose a good box to use. The processor should be a recent x86-64 one, ...

Sometimes a Windows disk encounters an error. Luckily it doesn't happen a lot. A Windows-equipped hard disk is bound to become fragmented. Bits and bytes are placed, deleted and moved across the drive and is in the end effectively bringing your beloved Server Core box to a standstill. In fact: after installation the drive is already fragmented, ...

In the recent days I've been enjoying seeing Mark Wilson slinging good information on Active Directory design online on his (we)blog, based on the MCS Talks: Active Directory design considerations, part 1: Introduction Active Directory design considerations, part 2: Forest and domain design  Active Directory design considerations, part 3: ...

Today I'll show you a neat little solution I deployed in an environment recently as a solution for a centralized Start Menu based on Active Directory group membership. It enables users to see and use networked applications they have rights to from their Start Menu and it enables administrators to easily allow and disallow users access to these ...

Remote Management incompatibility is one of the biggest problems with Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2007 on one side and Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 (R2) and Exchange Server 2003 on the other side. Up until today the table below gives an accurate picture of this problem: Compatibility chart ...