Test Drives

This demo shows how easy it is to create clusters using Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering. For added value, the cluster is created using the Microsoft ISCSI Software Target and initiator that is included with Windows Server 2008. The cluster nodes are running on Server Core, and are configured from a remote computer using WinRM. Cluster validation reports are demonstrated, as well as the process of actually creating the cluster and performing some basic tasks. Finally, the command line tools that can be used to automate a cluster are shown.

This demo shows some of the neat things you can do with PowerShell with regards to server administration. There are 10 demos you can run through ranging from simple queries for services to enumerating information in Active Directory. Some of the scripts use lists of computers, some prompt for a computername. Each script shows a different thing you can do with PowerShell to quickly create administration scripts.

This demonstration highlights the benefits of Server Core, with its low overhead, and highlights how it is easy to manage Server Core with the new management tools and technologies included in Windows Server 2008.

This demo shows two ways you can protect a file server from users who may connect to it using computers that contain Malware. This demo focuses on the use of three key technologies, NAP, Directory Services Auditing, and USB Device Restriction. NAP is used to ensure that only computers running current AV and Anti-Spyware can connect to a key file server. USB device restriction is used to prevent those approved computers from potentially inserting infected USB devices while connected the server, and directory services auditing is used to track changes to groups that grant computers exemption from this checking.

In this demo you will see several ways that user accounts in a branch office can be secured. Branch offices traditional are a place of high risk for domain controllers. Placing domain controllers in branch offices good for functionality and productivity, but bad for security. This demo shows how you can place a domain controller in a branch office, and take measures to make those branch office accounts more secure. The demo uses a combination of BitLocker, RODC, Fine Grained Password Polices using a tool from Special Operations Software, and Admin Role Seperation to achieve this goal.

In a production environment, having a server which averages only 5% CPU utilization costs time and money. Windows Server 2008 provides key virtualization functionality Hyper-V, which enables you to consolidate multiple server roles as separate virtual machines running on a single physical machine. This walk through shows you how Windows Server Hyper-V can help reduce server sprawl, while still ensuring your IT reliability.

Terminal services allow both remote and internal users securely access business applications, where ever they are. New enhancements include Terminal Services Gateway to support secure communication through firewalls, RemoteApp which enables remoting of individual application windows instead of the whole desktop, and Terminal Services Web Access allowing you to use web pages to access remote applications. This walk through shows how using these scenarios, you can provide terminal server access to all your employees easily.