New month, new drama in the virtualization world. After the hot debate about the VMware ESX memory overcommit capabilities that involved Citrix, Microsoft and obviously VMware, this time is the turn of the virtual machine migration capabilities included in ESX and upcoming Hyper-V.

Once again Mike DiPetrillo, Specialist System Engineer of Industry Research and Competitive Analysis department at VMware, ignited the fire comparing ESX VMotion with Hyper-V Quick Migration, stating that the latter has an excessive gap (8 seconds at the best) in resuming the virtual machines and causes severe faults in networked applications like database servers or file servers (technical details are covered here and here).

Full Article – http://www.virtualization.info/2008/04/vmware-esx-vmotion-vs-microsoft-hyper-v.html

Since writing Part One of this series back in January 2008, a number of things have happened with regards to Windows 7, the next Windows version. First, there’s been an amazing amount of silliness and speculation about the Windows 7 release date, in part due to off the cuff remarks from outgoing Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, but mostly because of bored (and boring) tech pundits who are eager to write about something controversial. Second, I’ve finally gotten my hands on Windows 7 build 6519, the first external build of Windows 7 to make the rounds outside the hallowed halls of Microsoft. In this part of my Shipping Seven series, I’d like to discuss both developments.

Full Article – http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/win7_shipping_02.asp

Nvidia’s chairman has lashed out at Intel, calling the company’s integrated graphics “a joke”.

The comments, reported in DailyTech, clearly indicate Nvidia’s unease at Intel’s growing interest in the graphics market which has traditionally been its stronghold.

Speaking on a conference call to analysts, Nvidia boss Jen-Hsun Huang insisted that even a told-fold increase in the performance of Intel’s integrated graphics would still leave the chip giant lagging behind Nvidia in terms of performance.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/186807/nvidia-boss-lashes-out-at-intel.html

Generally speaking, I like to focus my blogs on what we’re doing at Microsoft regarding Hyper-V virtualization and pretend the rest of the Internet doesn’t exist. However, there’s some buzz on the web about a topic that I feel I need to address. Today, this blog is the first of a multi-part blog on the topic of Hyper-V’s High Availability/Quick Migration capabilities compared to VMware’s VMotion (Live Migration) capabilities.

Before I dive into details, let me take a step back and discuss why high availability is absolutely CRITICAL to virtualization.

Virtualization is an awesome technology. It provides numerous benefits for reducing overall TCO, one of the most obvious benefits being power consumption savings. If you have a data center with 10,000 servers and you cut that number in half with virtualization (2:1 consolidation) you will achieve very tangible power and cost savings by retiring those 5,000 servers. Just look at your monthly power bill. Honestly, 2:1 consolidation is dead simple. (In fact, our own internal IT has been using Virtual Server for years now IN PRODUCTION with over 2,500 virtual machines and easily achieves 8:1 consolidation with four 9’s uptime. With Hyper-V, we see those consolidation ratios climbing in a big way.)

Full Article – http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2008/04/09/hyper-v-quick-migration-vmware-live-migration-part-1.aspx

Generally speaking, I like to focus my blogs on what we’re doing at Microsoft regarding Hyper-V virtualization and pretend the rest of the Internet doesn’t exist. However, there’s some buzz on the web about a topic that I feel I need to address. Today, this blog is the first of a multi-part blog on the topic of Hyper-V’s High Availability/Quick Migration capabilities compared to VMware’s VMotion (Live Migration) capabilities.

Before I dive into details, let me take a step back and discuss why high availability is absolutely CRITICAL to virtualization.

Virtualization is an awesome technology. It provides numerous benefits for reducing overall TCO, one of the most obvious benefits being power consumption savings. If you have a data center with 10,000 servers and you cut that number in half with virtualization (2:1 consolidation) you will achieve very tangible power and cost savings by retiring those 5,000 servers. Just look at your monthly power bill. Honestly, 2:1 consolidation is dead simple. (In fact, our own internal IT has been using Virtual Server for years now IN PRODUCTION with over 2,500 virtual machines and easily achieves 8:1 consolidation with four 9’s uptime. With Hyper-V, we see those consolidation ratios climbing in a big way.)

Full Article – http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2008/04/09/hyper-v-quick-migration-vmware-live-migration-part-1.aspx

Microsoft is set to begin a pilot of a new Genuine Advantage anti-piracy mechanism for Office that will add a “nag-like” feature, akin to what is now part of Windows Vista, to Office.

Office already currently includes an Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) validation mechanism (for Office XP and Office 2007), but Microsoft doesn’t do a whole lot to “punish” those it deems to be running non-Genuine versions of Office. However, as part of a new OGA notifications pilot program — which Microsoft is launching in Chile, Italy, Spain and Turkey, according to an April 8 announcement buried in a Q&A on Microsoft’s Web site — Microsoft is set to turn up the unpleasantness a notch.

I asked Microsoft to explain what will happen in the new pilot. According to Cori Hartje, Director Genuine Software Initiative:

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1322

Microsoft is set to begin a pilot of a new Genuine Advantage anti-piracy mechanism for Office that will add a “nag-like” feature, akin to what is now part of Windows Vista, to Office.

Office already currently includes an Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) validation mechanism (for Office XP and Office 2007), but Microsoft doesn’t do a whole lot to “punish” those it deems to be running non-Genuine versions of Office. However, as part of a new OGA notifications pilot program — which Microsoft is launching in Chile, Italy, Spain and Turkey, according to an April 8 announcement buried in a Q&A on Microsoft’s Web site — Microsoft is set to turn up the unpleasantness a notch.

I asked Microsoft to explain what will happen in the new pilot. According to Cori Hartje, Director Genuine Software Initiative:

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1322

Maintaining harmony between security and privacy concerns is a difficult balancing act for many companies, and the continued convergence of the two disciplines is creating a whole new set of challenges.

In a Tuesday keynote speech at RSA 2008, Craig Mundie, Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT)’s chief research and strategy officer, said the software giant has met the initial challenges of trust and security and is now shifting its focus to building a ‘trusted stack’ of software that encompasses not just the OS, but also devices, applications, identity, and data integrity.

“Today we are in a transitional situation at Microsoft. We moving beyond the first generation of trust and security and moving into the trusted stack,” said Mundie.

Full Article – http://www.crn.com/software/207100422?cid=CRNFeed

It’s not uncommon to come across a patch for a software problem you’ve never heard of or thought was possible. In most cases they’re caused by an unconventional use-case or a bad combination of hardware/software configurations. Sometimes the symptoms are so exceptional it makes you ponder about who in the world would be affected by it in the first place. I wouldn’t be surprised if in this case it was just one person. The Microsoft KB article speaks for itself.

Full Article – http://www.istartedsomething.com/20080408/cant-resume-windows-32-processor/

It’s not uncommon to come across a patch for a software problem you’ve never heard of or thought was possible. In most cases they’re caused by an unconventional use-case or a bad combination of hardware/software configurations. Sometimes the symptoms are so exceptional it makes you ponder about who in the world would be affected by it in the first place. I wouldn’t be surprised if in this case it was just one person. The Microsoft KB article speaks for itself.

Full Article – http://www.istartedsomething.com/20080408/cant-resume-windows-32-processor/

The WSPP technical documentation set provides detailed technical specifications for Microsoft proprietary protocols (including extensions to industry-standard or other published protocols) that are implemented in Microsoft Windows Server work group server software and that are used to deliver file & print and user & group administration services to Windows work group networks. The documentation set includes a set of companion overview and reference documents that supplement the technical specifications with conceptual background, overviews of inter-protocol relationships and interactions, and technical reference information, such as common data types and error codes.

The scope of communications covered by this technical documentation set includes all protocols implemented and used in Windows Work Group Server Operating Systems (namely Windows NT Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server Standard Edition, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, and Windows Server 2008) to provide file & print and user & group administration services to Windows client operating systems (namely Windows 98 and successors up to and including Windows Vista) and other Windows Work Group Server Operating Systems.

Download Link – http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7708dd71-8c01-420f-aae3-044d1691566d&DisplayLang=en

Intel plans to release an anti-theft technology for laptops during the fourth quarter of this year, but the company isn’t offering many details yet.

Called Intel Anti-Theft Technology, the new capability will be added to Intel’s Active Management Technology, which is part of Centrino vPro and allows IT managers to remotely access and configure computers.

In the event of theft, the technology will “basically lock the system, lock the disk, so people cannot be maliciously using and getting the data,” said Dadi Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager of Intel’s Mobility Group, according to a transcript of his presentation at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in Shanghai.

Full Article – http://news.yahoo.com/s/macworld/20080406/tc_macworld/inteltoreleaseantithefttechnologyforlaptops;_ylt=AqGSaoaX_SvfkuEMrr0GP8wxVrIF

After dangling some vague promises about its plans to create seamless social and device “meshes,” Microsoft is set to deliver more details about its mesh-syncrhonization strategy — and deliver its first Live Mesh beta to external testers — later this month.

In a Web 2.0 Expo keynote on April 23 entitled “Get Mesh!,” Amit Mital, who is identified as “General Manager of Live Mesh product at Microsoft,” is set to unveil more of Microsoft’s vision. There are no further details on the Web 2.0 site about Mital’s slated 10-minute appearance, other than the fact that Mital was previously General Manager of Microsoft’s Live Meeting Web conferencing service, as well as BizTalk Server, Microsoft’s integration server.

Full Article – http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1318

Windows 7 could be arriving much sooner than anticipated, according to none other than Bill Gates.

When asked about the progress of Windows Vista during a speech at the Inter-American Development Bank, Gates told the audience: “Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version,” according to a report on CNet.com.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/184932/gates-windows-7-coming-next-year.html

Windows 7 could be arriving much sooner than anticipated, according to none other than Bill Gates.

When asked about the progress of Windows Vista during a speech at the Inter-American Development Bank, Gates told the audience: “Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version,” according to a report on CNet.com.

Full Article – http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/184932/gates-windows-7-coming-next-year.html