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The new version of SQL Server offers a host of new features and enhancements that promise to improve performance, increase security, and make life better for database administrators. Here’s an overview of the key changes and what you can expect from SQL Server 2008.

By Randy Dyess (April 2008)
Service Pack 1 introduces significant enhancements for System Center Essentials 2007. Explore some of the key changes that will improve the user experience and streamline administration.

By Pete Zerger (May 2008)
Windows Server 2008 and the new Windows Server Backup utility bring many changes and welcome enhancements to backing up. Here is an in-depth guide to backing up and restoring Active Directory in the new server OS.

By Gil Kirkpatrick (May 2008)
Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 introduce important changes to BitLocker, including support for data volumes and improved protection against cryptographic attacks. Byron Hynes explores the new features, demonstrates how to use BitLocker on a server, and discusses some of the recent media coverage affecting BitLocker.

By Byron Hynes (June 2008)
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Pav Cherny discusses the limitations of the built-in Directory Management Service in SharePoint and explains how you can replace this component with a custom solution that lets you synchronize SharePoint recipient information with other directory solutions. In particular, he ...
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"One of the common things that administrators must deal with on an ever-increasing basis is the regular changing of the password for shared and privileged accounts, such as the built-in administrator or root account, a firecall account, or perhaps even a process account." In the Read more!
Suppose one of the PCs you support is acting up—freezing, crashing, blue screening. Is some piece of hardware failing? Is some newly installed application causing trouble? Or could it be faulty memory? One way to find out for sure is with the free Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic ...
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Henrik Walther answers your questions about Microsoft Exchange. Here’s just a sample of the ones he tackles in the September issue of TechNet Magazine: ...
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Beyond traditional voice, messaging, and productivity functions, many businesses today want mobile professionals to have access to the same line of business systems they use in the office through mobile LOB applications, adding new considerations for those tasked with deploying and maintaining IT systems. In ...
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Back in the Winter 2005 issue of TechNet Magazine, when TechNet Magazine was still in its infancy, Jesper Johansson wrote a fantastic article called "Anatomy Of A Hack: How A Criminal Might Infiltrate Your Network". ...
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January • February2006 January • February 2006
SQL Server 2005: Set the Stage for a Smooth Upgrade
Randy Dyess
SQL Server 2005: Boost Performance with New Features in SQL Server 2005
Paul Nielsen
SQL Server 2005: Protect your Metadata
Kalen Delaney
SQL Server 2005: Running the Microsoft SAP Infrastructure on SQL Server 2005
Mike Hatch
Windows Administration: Rapid Recovery with the Volume Shadow Copy Service
Dave Field
Exchange Server: New Weapons In The Fight Against Spam
Alexander Nikolayev
Exchange Server: Stop Spam From the Inside by Locking Down SMTP
Greg Taylor
Exchange Server: Stay Better Connected with Exchange ActiveSync
Max Ciccotosto and Paul Limont
Exchange Server: Tune Up Exchange Server with the Best Practices Analyzer
Jon Avner and Paul Bowden

Columns
From the Editor:
In this issue of TechNet Magazine, we are taking an in-depth look at two key products that our readers use at work every day: SQL Server and Exchange Server. Even the smallest companies need to store and track data, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an organization that doesn’t use messaging as a vital part of its daily business. Joshua Trupin
Toolbox: New Products for IT Professionals
Overseer Network Monitor Greg Steen
Utility Spotlight: WMI Code Creator
As a systems administrator you’re surely no stranger to Windows®Management Instrumentation (WMI), which gives you access to a wealth of management information and allows you to automate administrative tasks. Chris Scoville
SQL Q&A: Clusters, Isolation, and More
Your queries answered by Microsoft IT professionals. Nancy Michell
How IT Works: POP3 Delivers
In the last issue, I discussed SMTP, the most common protocol for sending e-mail across the Internet. Now I’d like to discuss the other Internet protocol that almost all mail clients support: POP3, which lets users access the e-mail on their mail server. R'ykandar Korra'ti
Blog Tales: Introduction to Excel XML
With the soon-to-be released next version of Microsoft® Office (currently code-named "Office 12"), there will be new default file formats for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint®, and Excel®. These new formats, called the Microsoft Office Open XML Formats, will open up a whole new world to Office developers. Brian Jones
Hey, Scripting Guy!: Yes, Another One...
Greetings, everyone. In one of their classic Halloween episodes, the Simpsons became rich and famous. Their faces were everywhere: on billboards, on T-shirts, you name it. Not too surprisingly the people of Springfield quickly tired of seeing the Simpsons everywhere they looked. The Microsoft Scripting Guys
Security Watch: Why You Should Disable the Administrator Account
I’ve fielded a lot of questions recently about how to manage the built-in administrator account. I am referring specifically to BUILTIN\Administrator, also known as NT AUTHORITY\Administrator, the account with relative identifier (RID) 500. Jesper Johansson
Serving the Web: Configuring Application Pools in IIS 6.0
One of the best improvements in IIS 6. 0 over earlier versions was the introduction of Application Pools (often called App Pools for short). When IIS 6. 0 is running in Worker Process Isolation Mode (the default in a new installation of Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003), every IIS 6. Brett Hill
How IT Works: NTFS Permissions, Part 2
While security is essential in today’s network, unfortunately some administrators think they are secure if they just have a good firewall. Various studies suggest that up to 65 percent of all network compromises happen from inside the firewall. Richard Civil
Legal Briefs: Breach Notification Laws
It’s almost impossible to read the news these days without running into a piece about computer security, compromised personal information, and bills written to protect consumer rights. Confidential information being inappropriately accessed and used is not a new problem. Don McGowan
Inside Microsoft.com: Making the Move to x64
For many years, one of the biggest challenges faced by the Microsoft. com Web site engineers was the virtual memory limitations of the 32-bit operating system. With hundreds of different applications running on the site, there was often contention for the 2GB address limit that the front-end Web servers had to deal with. Chris St. Amand
Field Notes: Don't Lose the Manual
I have been mucking with computers since I was in the 5th grade. I built microcomputers on breadboards, wrote assembler programs, manually linked network drivers, assembled computers from piles of boxes—all those really old school techie things. Mark Scott
TechNet Update: The SQL Server Ecosystem
It is fascinating to watch the ecosystem grow up around market-leading products. A walk through any computer hardware or software section highlights the fantastic variety of products built upon and for the Windows® platform. Graeme Bennett
Windows Confidential: The Resourcefulness of Annoying People
Windows isn’t as open as it used to be. In the earlier, simpler days, Windows® was designed in a more trusting manner. Internal file formats were documented, and programs could manipulate the system in a wide variety of ways. Raymond Chen
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