Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Friday 14 July 2006
Cool!
Steven Bink has taken a look at the new
Microsoft Windows Fundamentals:
Microsoft Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP) is a Windows-based operating system designed for enterprise customers with legacy PCs who are not in a position to purchase new hardware. WinFLP provides the same security and manageability as Microsoft Windows XP SP2 while providing a smooth migration path to the latest hardware and operating system.
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP) requires:
� A minimum of 611 MB of free hard drive space. Actual requirements will vary based on your system configuration and the applications and features you choose to install. Installing all optional components requires 1151 MB of disk space. These requirements are reported on the screen as you select options in the Setup wizard. Additional hard disk space may be required if you are installing over a network. Also, you should reserve additional space for future updates and service packs.
� A computer with 233 megahertz or higher processor clock speed (300 MHz is recommended); Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor is recommended.
� 64 MB of RAM. 256 MB of RAM is recommended.
I installed it in a Vmware Workstation Virtual Machine with 128 MB of RAM.
I also tested a scenario with a 128 MB machine with no disks, booting into XP fundamentals then connecting usig RDP to a terminal server. The same scenario using 64MB resuted in a too low virtual memory error/crash. So 64 MB RAM is supported but it needs a disk for virtual memory."
Category:
Virtualization
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Friday 14 July 2006
If you've always wanted to do "just a little more" with SVS but you needed access to some of the system calls, it's your lucky day. Altiris has just released the SVS Software Developer Kit (SDK).
The SVS Software Developer Kit is available for free download.
The SVS SDK provides API level access to the full SVS system. This API is used internally by the product team and has also been used by several third parties. The SDK contains C header files, a lib file, full documentation, and sample code.
You can download the The SVS Software Developer Kit
here.
(registration required)
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Friday 14 July 2006
Microsoft�s July security updates have passed Citrix testing (updates listed below). No issues were found. The testing is not all-inclusive, and issues may still be found upon implementation. Follow best practices for testing and installing software updates/patches in a development environment before implementing the updates in a production environment.
As applicable, the updates were tested on Microsoft XP, 2000, and 2003 platforms with Citrix Presentation Server and other Citrix products.
Read more in CTX110527
here.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Friday 14 July 2006
Computer Lab International, Inc. (CLI) today that it is partnering with VMware, the global leader in virtualization software for industry-standard systems, to accelerate the adoption of desktop virtualization by joining VMware�s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Alliance.
VMware�s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance is a technology alliance of hardware, software and service providers for building joint virtual desktop offerings. As part of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance, CLI plans to collaborate with VMware to create, test and integrate joint desktop hosting offerings based on VMware virtual infrastructure and CLI thin clients.
Using VMware�s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and CLI�s thin clients, IT administrators host and centrally manage desktop virtual machines in their data center while offering end users a full desktop experience that can be accessed anytime and anywhere. Businesses benefit by alleviating the cost and time spent managing and securing desktop PCs, especially for companies with remote workers or outsourced operations. IT administrators ensure desktop standardization, security and compliance for increased manageability.
Read more
here.
Category:
Security
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Friday 14 July 2006
Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 is Microsoft's flagship workstation software virtualization product. After installing Virtual PC and loading your environment, follow these 10 steps for optimal performance.
By tweaking your image and compacting it, you can have a lean mean Virtual PC machine optimized ideally for your environment. IT pro Steven S. Warren shares a set of recommendations for achieving this goal, including:
� Store your virtual image on a separate drive.
� Run Virtual PC at maximum speed.
� Zero the free space on your virtual disk.
� Eliminate the page file.
Dowload this pdf from
ZDnet.com. (registration required)
Category:
Security
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Friday 14 July 2006
For the third time in two months, a zero-day vulnerability in a widely used Microsoft Office software application is being used in targeted hacker attacks.
The latest attack exploits a previously undocumented flaw in Microsoft PowerPoint, the ubiquitous presentation program used by millions of users around the world. The attack comes just days after Microsoft's July Patch Tuesday and closely mirrors the situation in June when a zero-day Excel attack was discovered 24 hours after Patch Day.
A Microsoft spokesman described the attack as "extremely limited. In order for this attack to be carried out, a user must first open a malicious PowerPoint document that is sent as an e-mail attachment, posted to a Web site or otherwise provided to them by an attacker.
Read the full story at
eWeek.com
Category:
Virtualization
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Friday 14 July 2006
EMC today reported full financial results for the second quarter of 2006. The company's 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth was highlighted by increased demand for VMware virtual infrastructure software and EMC Documentum content management software.
VMware, an independent EMC subsidiary, grew total revenues 73% year-over-year to $157 million, its highest growth rate in five quarters. VMware's exceptional growth reflects customers' increasing adoption and standardization on VMware Infrastructure and the success of its growing virtual appliance/software life cycle and enterprise desktop businesses. VMware Infrastructure 3, which shipped in the last month of the quarter, added significant new hypervisor platform functionality as well as a suite of groundbreaking new virtualization-leveraging services including distributed resource management, high availability, and online agent-less backup. VMware launched the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance during the quarter, with more than 20 hardware, software and service providers joining the initiative focused on hosted and mobile enterprise desktop solutions. VMware continued its focus on industry standards during the quarter, releasing the virtual machine disk format (VMDK) for free and without license.
Read the full press release
here.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
According to a Microsoft Press release: "Continuing the March 2006 rollout of 18 new and enhanced Software Assurance benefits, Microsoft Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is now available to Software Assurance customers. Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs extends the security and stability of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 to legacy PCs and eases the transition to Windows Vista� Enterprise."
As Microsoft announced in September, Windows Fundamentals is being made available as part of Microsoft's Software Assurance licensing program. It's one of several changes Microsoft is making to the program.
Formerly known by its Eiger code name, Windows Fundamentals gives those PCs some of the security benefits of XP but essentially turns the machines into thin clients, able to run only a few programs locally, with most software needing to run remotely from a server.
Read the press release from Microsoft
here and read a related article on ZDnet.com
here.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
The Windows XP Embedded team has been extremely busy the last 4 months working on a feature pack for XP Embedded and they're just about ready to loop you into what we've been doing by giving you early access to the product in the form of a Technology Preview (not quite a Beta).
The most interesting aspects of this Feature Pack are:
� New EEFs! Such as File Based Write Filter and Registry Filter.
� USB Boot! Yes, this is native USB Boot capability in XPe!
� Enhancements to EWF and Hibernate Once Resume Many
� Many of the bug fixes you've been asking for in the Tools (such as Target Designer, CMI, Import Framework, SLX/XML usability)
� New command line tool that replicates Target Designer, enables you to script your builds and much much more!
� Tons of work on component dependencies to reduce footprint (including removing dependencies to the full "Internet Explorer" component)
� New configurable UI to common components to simplify offline configuration of images
� New components added to the database to address more Application Compatibility challenges
� New macro components to allow installation of other Microsoft technologies in your runtime
� All security patches for XPe-SP2 rolled up to the Feature Pack repository.
This page has participant information, which allows you to enroll for the Technology Preview.
Read more
here.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
Citrix today announced Citrix Access Suite won the �Office Systems Desktop Deployment Award� in the Information Worker Solutions Category at Microsoft�s 2006 Worldwide Partner Conference. Citrix was selected from a highly competitive field of thousands of Microsoft partners for delivering innovative access solutions built on Microsoft technology to healthcare services specialist Beverly Enterprises, among Citrix�s 180,000 enterprise customers. Microsoft presented the award, Citrix�s first in the Information Worker category, at a ceremony on July 13 in Boston, Mass.
By standardizing on the Citrix Access Suite, Beverly Enterprises reduced its IT operating budget by $10 million, from $28 million to $18 million, over five years. Beverly Enterprises originally had a decentralized system in which each of its 400-plus U.S. locations managed its own IT environment. The distributed systems were difficult and costly to manage, and presented a potential risk to data security. Beverly turned to Citrix Systems for help building a centralized solution based on Citrix Presentation Server and Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
Read the full press release
here.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
An interestinf read on Thin Clients in conjunction with the rise of wireless networks at
Techworld.com:
A few years ago, thin clients were all the rage. Leading the charge was Sun Microsystems, driven perhaps by a disdain for Microsoft, but many others were producing a variety of thin-client products on both the client and server sides. While stationary thin clients never really caught on, I became - and remain - a proponent of wireless thin clients.
Now, I'll grant that anyone who's ever had a dropped call or experienced the high degree of variability in data throughput that's endemic to most wide-area (cellular) wireless networks probably thinks that moving to the thin-client model for mobile computing is just plain nuts. But let me explain. If you've not experienced thin-client computing, it's very simple. It's just like using any other computer but with the processing and data on the server side of the network, and the clients looking and acting very similarly to the familiar Windows-based interface that we've all come to adopt.
The idea is that one shouldn't care where one's data or processor is; all we need to know is that we'll have access wherever and whenever we need it, with the same degree of utility and responsiveness that we have in a more classic client/server implementation. And, indeed, on a hard-wired LAN connection, the thin approach should work just fine. There are many examples of successful thin implementations, and companies like Citrix, Hewlett-Packard and Wyse have been doing just fine in the thin-client business for some time. Microsoft has also been offering Windows Terminal Server.
But there's a fly in the ointment here. In the office, we have continuous, essentially predictable throughput. On wireless, we don't. What happens when someone needs connectivity to run a vital application but can't get it? This is the counterpoint to the vision I outlined above, and it's a more than valid point. Thin-client mobile computing can't work until there's a critical mass of wireless connectivity, at least where a given worker needs to be most of the time.
And there is one other benefit of a mobile thin-client strategy - security. I'm sure you've heard about the bozos who stored critical, live and unsecured data on their notebooks, only to have these computers stolen and the data potentially compromised. In a thin-client world, information is fundamentally secure, and that's another major incentive for adopting this strategy as wireless coverage becomes, if not ubiquitous, at least reliable.
Read the entire article
here.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
BioLink Solutions announces successful development and implementation of the custom application allowing for biometric identification of users on the Citrix platform.
The project is intended for biometric integration with the QECG (Quintiles Centralized Electrocardiogram) service. It is an advanced application designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies analyze ECG data from clinical trials and use digital ECG data in submissions to regulatory authorities. The QECG application is built on the client-server architecture; all authentication and automation tools are installed at the server side, while the devices like BioLink scanners, a barcode scanner and printer, as well as a signature pad are connected to the client machine. The custom application developed provides authenticated access of the client machines to the database of the QECG system installed on the Citrix server.
In general, biometric identification of Citrix platform users is a popular trend in the authentication technology market. Embedded into the medical application, BioLink�s biometrics helps improve, speed up and add credibility to the procedures of identifying the medical staff, thus preventing misuses of patients� ECG data.
Read the full press release
here.
Category:
Virtualization
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
An interview with Eyal Dotan at
SecurityFocus.com, who has developed application-level virtualization software (Bufferzone) that protects Windows hosts from malware. The interview discusses the architecture, advantages of it's design, performance, and how this method could be applied to servers running Windows or be ported to other OSes.
Bufferzone allows users to run unknown, dangerous programs and malware without harming the system.
The general idea is that programs running in our virtual Bufferzone can see the hard-disk files and registry, but whatever they write back is virtualized: redirected elsewhere ("write" includes: rename, create, delete, or modify). For example, if a program running in BZ modifies the registry, then these changes will only be seen by programs running in BZ. Windows itself will not see any modification.
Trustware is the company behind BufferZone. BufferZone is a family of application-level security products that utilize virtualization software to secure personal computers. Trustware has recently been nominated one of the 10 hot start-ups of 2006 by Microsoft.
Read it all
here.
Category:
Virtualization
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
A view on Data Center Virtualization by a Cisco consultant on
IT-observer.com:
Virtualisation has long promised higher utilisation rates for storage, more effective distribution of network services and more efficient use of computing resources, and consequently reduced costs for those responsible for an IT infrastructure. While people have grown weary of the hype, two things have happened to give CIOs pause to revisit virtualisation technologies.
First, the demand for storage capacity has skyrocketed; IDC estimate that the amount of data storage purchased by an enterprise is growing at a rate of 80% per year. Given that current storage utilisation rates are only around 30% of capacity, the promise virtualisation gives of expanding that beyond 80% has a significant implication for the bottom line of any business. Secondly: the technology has improved. Industry leaders have developed products which make it possible to achieve these efficiencies in hardware terms, and also manage them so that the cost benefits can genuinely be achieved.
Virtualisation enables three main things: first, higher utilisation of storage capacity, second, simplified management and operation of resources and thirdly, the flexible and agile use of resources � for example, faster provisioning of services and reuse of resources as patterns of usage change.
The consequence of these is that overall costs can be reduced and essential services can be delivered more rapidly.
With technology now available that delivers these results in practise, as well as theory, virtualisation is coming of age � and is unquestionably the way forward.
Read the full article
here.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
Devon IT, the information technology products subsidiary of the Devon International Group today announced record quarter growth in sales of its NTA line of thin client terminals. Sales figures indicate nearly 300% growth in global thin client terminal sales for the quarter.
Research and analyst firms such as Gartner and IDC predict that thin client terminal sales will continue to grow over the next several years. As PC security issues continue to be a major focus, IT departments will be looking to replace desktop and laptop PCs with more secure devices.
Devon IT recently introduced the NTA 6020 and NTA 8020 lines of thin client terminals with prices starting at US$149. These thin client terminals are designed to be a cost-effective approach to server-based computing.
Read the entire press release
here.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Thursday 13 July 2006
This download is the componentized version of the .NET Framework 2.0 for Microsoft Windows XP Embedded. The componentized version of .NET Framework 2.0 installs components in the Windows XP Embedded components database that provide support for .NET Framework 2.0 on the XPe platform.
If you require localized support for .NET Framework 2.0, change the language of this page to the language you wish to support.
Execute the MUI packs on a machine with the Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 2 tools and appropriate SP2 MUI packs installed.
Download
here.
Category:
Misc
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Wednesday 12 July 2006
From Virtualization.info: Despite the launch of VMware Infrastructure 3 (including VirtualCenter 2.0), the company continued to develop VirtualCenter 1.x branch, and is now releasing the 1.4 version.
This new one is aimed to correct existing 1.3 bugs, centrally manage ESX Server 2.x but mostly the just released VMware Server 1.0.
The product has been in fact renamed VirtualCenter for VMware Server. In details:
VMware Server support
A VMware Server can now be managed by VirtualCenter as a host, along with ESX Server 2.x and GSX Server 3.x hosts in a heterogeneous environment
VMware Server 64-bit support
Create and use 64-bit virtual machines and templates on VMware Server
VMware Server SMP support
Create and use SMP virtual machines and templates on VMware Server
VMware Server virtual hardware support
Create or edit virtual machines to use the additional virtual hardware options on VMware Server. This includes the E1000 NIC and new autodetect options.
Virtual machines not using the new hardware continue to be supported on ESX Server 2.x and GSX Server 3.1 or later hosts
VMware Server migration support
Virtual machines on ESX Server or GSX Server hosts can be migrated or imported onto VMware Server hosts. Once migrated to a VMware Server, they can be migrated back to an ESX Server or GSX Server, provided their virtual hardware has not been upgraded through the VMware Server Console.
Read on
here.
Category:
Virtualization
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Wednesday 12 July 2006
Microsoft has made Virtual PC 2004 SP1 available for free download.
"Save time and money as Virtual PC allows you to maintain the compatibility of legacy and custom applications during migration to new operating systems and increases the efficiency of support, development, and training staffs."
You will need to apply
a hotfix if you will be installing it on a laptop computer.
Download Virtual PC 2004 SP1
here.
Virtualization.info reports that Microsoft
announced that the next version of Virtual PC, Virtual PC 2007, will be released during 2007 and will be completely free as well.
Category:
Server Based Computing
Posted By
Michel Roth
On Wednesday 12 July 2006
The Microsoft Windows XP Embedded SP2 Resource Kit contains a set of integrated documents that make it easier to develop Windows XP Embedded devices.
This document set will help you understand Windows XP Embedded to determine its suitability to your product design. In order to reduce content redundancy, this document set makes frequent use of hyperlinks that you can click, to reference pre-existing on-line content. To use these hyperlinks, the computer that you use to view this document must also be connected to the internet.
Download
here.
I don't like using 100% on a table cell when I have a pixel width defined in the other cell so rather than defining the 100% I just hide a large div at the bottom to push out the edge. I don't like using 100% on a table cell when I have a pixel width defined in the other cell so rather than defining the 100% I just hide a large div at the bottom to push out the edge.
