Category: Uncategorized

The Basics of the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)

Back in 2001, I worked for a 300-employee company in Palo Alto as their Systems Engineer and one of the things that gave me the most headaches was backups. We had Windows Server across the board, but the backup application was from a third party, which required specific agents for SQL Server, Oracle, Exchange, etc. … Continue reading The Basics of the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) →

What kind of SharePoint site should you create?

Web 2.0 is one of those things everyone is talking about. If you’re implementing Web 2.0 with Microsoft technologies, this usually leads to a SharePoint conversation. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) includes built-in templates for all the different types of trendy Web 2.0 sites, but which one is the right one for your … Continue reading What kind of SharePoint site should you create? →

Moving to headquarters to work with the Storage Partners Team

I just wanted to share that I have joined a new team at Microsoft. After 5 years working with the Cisco Team in Northern California, I am now moving to the Redmond campus in Washington state. As of October 1st, 2007 I am joining the Storage Solutions Division (SSD, part of the Platform and Tools … Continue reading Moving to headquarters to work with the Storage Partners Team →

Step-by-Step MOSS Installation Videos from Rodney Viana

Rodney Viana (a friend from Brazil) just shared with me two very well crafted videos describing in great detail the process to install and configure Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Rodney is working with Alfredo Fortenboher on a Video Book on Sharepoint for a project called LabClasses and was nice enough to share it with the … Continue reading Step-by-Step MOSS Installation Videos from Rodney Viana →

Core Infrastructure Optimization – Models, Capabilities and Requirements by Maturity Level

There's a lot of information posted about Microsoft's efforts around Infrastructure Optimization, also known as simply IO. This is an interesting way to describe the maturity of an IT Infrastructure and also to provide clues to what would be your next logical step in improving it. Your organization can be at any of the four different maturity levels (Basic, … Continue reading Core Infrastructure Optimization – Models, Capabilities and Requirements by Maturity Level →

Questions for Course 6044: Windows Server 2008 Directory Identities and Access

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I am delivering a private, newsgroup-based, Microsoft-sponsored training for Microsoft MVPs. We are reaching the end of the third of five parts of this training, covering Course 6044: Windows Server 2008 Directory Identities and Access (see course description). At the end of each course I pose some … Continue reading Questions for Course 6044: Windows Server 2008 Directory Identities and Access →

Configuring SQL Server 2005 Database Mirroring (includes 8-minute demonstration)

SQL Server 2005 Database Mirroring is a high availability feature that maintains a duplicate copy of a database (close by or across the globe), keeps it up to date (synchronously or asynchronously) and can even provide automatic failover. There are other SQL Server technologies that can use be used in similar situations, like database clusters, … Continue reading Configuring SQL Server 2005 Database Mirroring (includes 8-minute demonstration) →

Questions for Course 6043: Implementing Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I am delivering a private, newsgroup-based, Microsoft-sponsored training for Microsoft MVPs. We are reaching the end of the second of five parts of this training, covering Course 6043: Implementing Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008 (see course description). At the end of each course I pose some … Continue reading Questions for Course 6043: Implementing Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008 →

Comparing default services on Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Server 2008 (Core and Full)

I have been experimenting with Windows Server 2008 for a while now and I recently did a number of comparisons between the Core and Full versions of the new OS. This time I am looking at Services configured in a default installation and I also included Windows Server 2003 R2 in the mix, since there … Continue reading Comparing default services on Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Server 2008 (Core and Full) →