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Users have complained for years that clustering in Windows Server is too complicated. With the release of Windows Server 2008, clustering received a complete facelift. Explore some of the most significant advancements found in the new Failover Clustering, and see how this new implementation makes clusters much easier to set up and maintain.

By Chuck Timon (July 2008)
Many IT shops are divided into two camps—the Windows team and the Linux team—but we all have the same ultimate goal of providing high-quality and cost-effective IT services. One way you can do this is by sharing core software infrastructure. Think Windows and Linux don’t mix? See how you can configure Linux machines to use Active Directory for authentication.

By Gil Kirkpatrick (December 2008)
Microsoft Office Communication Server brings important changes to enterprise telephony. Examine how voice calls are made layer by layer, learn how calls can be routed to various endpoints, and explore the importance of conversations in OCS communications.

By Rajesh Ramanathan (July 2008)
The release of System Center Configuration Manager SP1 added full support for managing Windows Server 2008 systems, including such new features as server core. Get a quick overview of deploying the ConfigMgr agent and using ConfigMgr to manage Windows Server 2008 systems throughout your organization.

By Cameron Fuller (November 2008)
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Proxy authentication lets users perform a simple bind to an Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services instance but still have an association to an Active Directory account. This can be very useful: it gives developers full access to a user object without giving them access to the Active Directory ...
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The latest installment of our online-only Sustainable Computing column is now available. Find out how you can: Bring Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista Power Management Settings into Compliance Bring Windows Server ...
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The complexity of systems today makes troubleshooting more difficult than ever. It’s harder to keep track of what has changed, when, and how that relates to everything else. If something goes wrong, chances are good that users will ...
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Have various workers in your company been showing up with questions about Macs? The odds of having a homogeneous network today are very unlikely. Macs are becoming increasingly popular and chances are if you don't already have some on your network, soon you will.  Don't consider this a burden. This actually creates a fantastic ...
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Did you just go “whoa!” when you saw that title? Bet you never thought you’d see that here! But the times, as they say, are a-changing and we have too. Many organizations today use multiple operating systems. We all have the same goal of providing high-quality, cost-effective IT services to the ...
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The December 2008 issue of TechNet Magazine is now available online. And it's filled with information ...
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Spring2005 Spring 2005
Windows Administration: Breathe New Life Into Your Server! From Windows NT To Windows Server 2003
If you're moving up from Windows NT to Windows Server 2003, you'll be pleasantly surprised. But before making the move, find out what you need to consider first and get the best migration strategies for your needs. Jonathan Hassell
Windows Administration: Secure Your Desktops With The New Group Policy Settings In SP2
Group Policy lets you control who can access resources across your network and what types of actions users can perform based on their roles. New settings in Windows XP SP2 offer even tighter control so you can regulate more and worry less. Jeremy Moskowitz
Windows Administration: Redundancy On A Budget: Implementing A RAID File Server
Did you know that you can implement a fault-tolerant departmental file server on a low-end desktop PC? All you need is RAID, Windows Server 2003, a PC, and an extra hard drive, and you're good to go. Robert Walker
Windows Administration: Preserve Your Data With The Backup Tool You Already Have
If you're running Windows XP, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows Server 2003, you already have Ntbackup. It's time to dispel some of the myths about how it works so you can get good, efficient backups without blowing your software budget. Jay Shaw
Windows Administration: 10 Easy Ways To Lock Down Your Computer
Here are 10 important Group Policy settings you can start using for more secure user passwords, authentication, user privileges, and persistence of GPO settings. Derek Melber
SQL Server: Reduce Downtime: Implement SQL Server 2000 On A Cluster
Running SQL Server 2000 on a Windows Server 2003 Server failover cluster will get you more uptime by alleviating your reliance on a single server. Stephen Strong
SQL Server: XML To The Max: Get More Power Out Of Your SQL Server
Using the SQL Server 2000 T-SQL syntax, you can manipulate XML in a variety of ways. For example, you can access data contained in an XML string passed into a stored procedure and produce XML output. Find out what these flexible, powerful XML features can do for you. Ward Pond
SQL Server: Get A Traffic Report: Analyze Your Database Usage With System Tables
By querying data from the master.sysprocesses table you can get almost any information you need about connections to your SQL database, what each process is doing, which processes are blocking, and lots more. Then you can use this data to create some truly enlightening reports. Matt Evans and Josh Moody
SQL Server: Async Lifestyle: Manage Your Tasks With Service Broker
SQL Server 2005 Service Broker is more than just a developer tool. DBAs can use it to schedule tasks, run batch processing, and perform routine database maintenance. Roger Wolter
SQL Server: On The Horizon: Improved Data Security In SQL Server 2005
Microsoft has performed extensive threat modeling and security analysis to identify the threats facing database servers. This work has resulted in an upcoming version of SQL Server, SQL Server 2005, that is secure by design. This article enumerates the various security improvements to the popular database. Don Kiely
Exchange for Experts: Be The Master Of Your Domain Rename With Exchange
Domain renaming is not only possible, it's actually easier than you think, especially with this handy guide to the process and the right tool—Rendom.exe, which can be found on your Windows Server 2003 CD. Steve Schiemann
Exchange for Experts: Migration, Active Directory, And You: A Guide for Exchange Admins
You can use the Active Directory Migration tool to migrate users, computers, and groups from one domain to another. Plus, the new version of the tool lets you migrate user passwords as well as accounts, which makes the Exchange Server migration process a whole lot easier. Nino Bilic

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From the Editor:
A few months ago, we launched the first issue of TechNet Magazine, the Microsoft magazine for IT pros. At the time, we were cautiously optimistic about what we were doing, but we were also anxious to see how the people who make everything run—the IT superheroes—would react to the new publication that ended up on their desks.
Letters:
It's about time that a tech magazine showed the "how to" and "why" for Windows administrators. I'd like to see issues that cover Application Center in detail in the future. Also, please show ways to integrate Windows Active Directory and Novell eDirectory.
Toolbox: New Products For IT Professionals
www.gpsoft.com.au Marnie Hutcheson
Utility Spotlight: Limit Login Attempts With LimitLogin
Ever needed to limit concurrent user logins in an Active Directory® domain? Ever wanted to keep track of information about every login in a domain? If so, LimitLogin is for you.
SQL Q&A: Troubleshooting Connections, Using Variables, And More
Your queries answered by Microsoft IT professionals. Edited by Nancy Michell
How IT Works: Decoding TCP/IP
TCP/IP is comprised of a set of protocols including Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Internet Protocol (IP), and Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). Most IT professionals understand how these protocols work together to make network communication possible. Don Parker
Beta Box: Discover SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
One of the most promising updates to a Microsoft product this year is SQL Server™ 2005 (formerly known by its code-name "Yukon"). SQL Server 2005 will come in a variety of versions, supporting many different types of deployments from the desktop to the enterprise datacenter. Brian Randell
Post Mortem: Migrating 240,000 Mailboxes And 29 Domains
I recently participated in a project with a large agency of the United States federal government as they migrated and consolidated their servers from Exchange Server 5. 5 to Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 2003. Dennis Swenson
Blog Tales: A Guide To Public Folder Tools
Are you an Exchange Server op who's confused by different public folder tools? With all the various public folder tools out there, it can be difficult to remember what each tool can be used for. Let's straighten it all out now. Bill Long
How IT Works: A Primer On SQL Joins
One of the trickiest things about learning SQL is mastering how various JOIN statements differ in the ways they combine data from multiple data tables. There are three types of joins: inner, outer, and cross. Joshua Trupin
Serving the Web: Get It Right The First Time With IIS 6.0
Server administrators are always on a quest for the secret formula that will solve their performance woes. But no matter what you may have heard, there is no magic pixie dust. Yet the promises keep rolling in, even though few results are delivered. Chris Adams
InterOp: Windows Services For UNIX
If you're an administrator working in a mixed environment, Microsoft® Windows® Services for UNIX (SFU) 3. 5 can make your life a lot easier. SFU provides a full-featured interoperability solution that includes a Network File Server (NFS) client, server and gateway for file system interoperability, and a Network Information Service (NIS). Charlie Russel
Security Watch: Isolate Servers With IPsec
We live in an age of always-connected communication and are able to send e-mail messages or gain access to files, databases, and Web pages at any time, through a proliferation of networking technologies. Joseph Davies
Resources: IIS 6.0 Performance Tune-Up
By now you've probably gotten to know IIS 6. 0, available in all versions of Windows Server™ 2003, and are taking advantage of much that this Web server offers. It's important to keep an eye on the overall goal of IIS 6. Phil Sherwood
TechNet Live Events Roundup: Vacation 1.0
I know the last thing you want to do over the summer is to sit in a classroom for eight hours a day, listening to an instructor drone on, especially when you'd rather be waiting in line for Star Wars: Episode III. Kai Axford
TechNet Update: Highlights From The Microsoft IT Community
The volume of desktop deployment information on the TechNet site can seem overwhelming, and at times it might be difficult to find exactly the information you need. Here we will point you to some of the most popular sites on TechNet, which should help in your search.
Field Notes: IT and Life Experiences
IT pros don't write code. IT pros don't develop applications, and we certainly don't want anything to do with mathematical algorithms and binary search trees. We leave that to the dev geeks with CompSci PhDs and cases of Mountain Dew under their desk. Joshua Hoffman
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