What’s your main goal this year?

Let me guess… is it increasing productivity, while at the same time saving your company some time and money?

Well, you’re not alone. These days, the main goal for many businesses is increasing productivity and having a mobile workforce that can access information instantly, saving valuable resources. Internal employees and external clients need accurate up-to-date information, even when they are on the go.

If your network is running Windows Server 2008 R2 and your clients are using Windows 7 you can take advantage of Direct Access to connect your mobile workforce.

Why Use Direct Access?

Direct Access has many advantages over Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and is meant to be a VPN replacement. With Direct Access the connection between the client computer and the company Intranet is as seamless as using the Internet, while at the same time being more secure than a VPN. P

lus your clients won’t have to worry about authentication and the several steps involved with establishing a VPN connection or dealing with the hassles of re-establishing a connection if the VPN is lost. Going through a VPN can also slow down Internet connections, so that is another advantage of using Direct Access instead of a VPN.

In spite of Direct Access creating a seamless connection on the client side, you as the administrator will have some work to do, to get Direct Access installed and configured correctly. But it is well worth the effort because not only is client productivity increased, network security is increased as well.

Direct Access creates a bi-directional connection which allows you to update client computers behind the scenes, whenever they are connected to the Internet. This means that you can install software updates and other security patches without the client actually being connected to the company Intranet.

If you truly want to understand how Direct Access works Microsoft suggests you familiarize yourself and understand:

• TCP/IP architecture,
• IPv6 addressing,
• IPv6 forwarding and routing,
• IPv6 transition technologies,
• how Internet Protocol security (IPsec) protocols work to protect network traffic,
• and how to create a public key infrastructure (PKI) with Active Directory Certificate Service (AD CS).

In this article I will touch on all these subjects but I won’t go in depth; consider this your introduction to Direct Access.

Click to continue…

Server 2008 R2 is the latest and greatest server operating system from Microsoft. It is chocked full of new enhancements to make creating and managing your network easier.

Server 2008 is easier to deploy and has added reliability. Security has increased enabling you to create a policy driven network that will keep your servers, data, and business safe.

Improvements in virtualization help to consolidate servers and make more efficient use of hardware.

There are also many enhancements to terminal services. Web administration is much easier from diagnostics and development to applications. Plus there are enhancements with the latest version of Internet Information Services.

Those who are creating a new Server 2008 R2 network from the ground up, can take advantage of all of these enhancements and more.

7 Server Management Improvements in Server 2008 R2

Today we’ll focus on seven improvements in managing your network, which is one of the most time consuming tasks for any network admin. Fortunately, Server 2008 R2 has several improvements in server management that will make your job much easier.

Here are the 7 server management improvements we’ll cover today:

1. Server Manager — the first one is the improved server manager itself, which makes administration of a single server a snap using the integrated Microsoft Management Console (MMC).
2. Windows PowerShell — management of multiple servers can be automated using the Windows Power Shell command line scripting language.
3. Windows Deployment Services — is an updated version of the Remote Installation Services which is used to set up new workstations and servers.
4. Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor — makes it easy to monitor system performance.
5. Data Center Power Consumption Management — improvements in the methods of reducing power consumption.
6. Remote Administration — enhancements for remote management through graphical management consoles that integrate with Server Manager.
7. Identity Management — which helps keep your network as secure as possible.

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Using network access protection (aka NAP) is critical for keeping networks secure — not only do users need to be authenticated properly, but client machines need to have the latest security updates and policies in place.

Threats from malware and viruses are not only increasing they are also becoming more sophisticated.

Enterprise networks also have a larger mix of global users accessing the companies’ intranet, Internet and databases; these global users include customers, contractors, consultants, suppliers, partners, and internal employees.

More users are also connecting using Wireless LAN, Wi-Fi, and 3G which creates the need for ever increasing enforcement of security policies.

Windows Server 2008 has a built in core security feature called Network Access Protection. NAP requires a client computer to be compliant with system health policies before it can connect to other computers within the network.

Once NAP is set up properly the system administrator should be able to rest easier.

In this article I’ll give you an overview of how NAP can protect your network from malware and other threats and talk about the required services and configurations you’ll need to run and setup NAP.

Click to continue…

The Server 2008 R2 Haiku contest that began last November is coming to a close. I hope you got a chance to express yourself and submit an entry!

The nine finalists have been selected from over 2,200 entries by a panel of judges based on the following criteria:

• 50% Accurately capturing the benefits of Windows Server 2008 R2
• 25% Originality
• 15% Community feedback on haikus
• 10% Strict Haiku Format (5-7-5 syllables)

Now it’s up to you to choose the winner.

Just visit this page to vote for your favorite Server 2008 R2 Haiku:

Hurry! Voting ends on Friday, January 29th, 2010.

The official contest rules for are listed here https://www.r2haiku.com/Home/Rules.

Free Server 2008 R2 Book Download — Still Available

The Server 2008 R2 Haiku contest might be over, but you can still get your hands on a free copy of the Server 2008 R2 book from Microsoft.

The book, written by Charlie Russel and Craig Zacker, is an introductory resource for learning about what’s new in Server 2008 R2 in terms of virtualization, management, the Web application platform, scalability and reliability, and interoperability with Windows 7.

 

Free Intro to Server 2008 R2 Video Training — Still Available

Our Intro to Server 2008 Training is still available for free with any training purchase.

This 6 hour course will help you master the new AD management tools, learn how to build an ASP.Net application server on Server Core, see what’s new in Group Policy and much more.

You can learn more about this course and how to get it free here.

The release of Server 2008 R2 was largely overshadowed by the more consumer friendly release of Microsoft’s next desktop operating system, Windows 7.

However, Windows Server 2008 R2 provides many new features and upgrades, including several that go hand in hand with new features found in Windows 7.

That means there are more new reasons to upgrade both the desktop operating system and the server operating system at many companies.

If that doesn’t sound like major undertaking, I don’t know what is.

What is an R2 Release Anyway?

Many businesses have been plugging along comfortably with older combinations of Windows XP and either Server 2003 or Windows Server 2000, and installing only those service packs and features designed to keep those systems running securely and stably.

Therefore, the question that has to be asked is what is an R2 release and exactly what does the R2 version of Sever 2008 have to offer?

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