SQL Server Magazine January 2008

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Squash Pesky IT Annoyances
Minimize day-to-day Active Directory hassles, mitigate the risks of file server permissions, and relieve the pain of patch management with these helpful tips.
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[Feature]

Exchange’s Evolving Strategy This article is only available to registered users.  Sign up now and get instant access!

The IT community is awaiting the arrival of Exchange 14 in 2009. Exchange authority Tony Redmond muses on the recent past and possible future of Microsoft’s messaging and collaboration platform.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1: An Overview

If you’ve been waiting for the first service pack before you deploy, now’s the time. New functionality includes a new method of replication and improvements to unified messaging, Outlook Web Access, public folder management, and many other features.

Using Content Types in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

Learn how to create and use content types to better organize your SharePoint data.

Windows Server 2008 Password Policies

Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server let you define only one password policy. Windows Server 2008 introduces fine-grained password policies that let you define different password policies for different domain account categories in a single domain.

Windows Vista and Server 2008 Group Policy Enhancements

New Vista and Server 2008 Group Policy features include the client service replacing system Winlogon, using NLA to improve slow-link detection, new settings for multiple local GPOs, ADMX format for Administrative Templates, improved logging and security.




[Reader to Reader]

How to Get Information About Installed Applications Without Using WMI

Here are three workarounds you can use to get the same information that WMI's Win32_Product class provides. These workarounds get the product information from the registry.

PowerShell Script Lets You Check Patches' Status

Wanting to experience the "power" in Windows PowerShell firsthand and to learn how to use PowerShell to solve problems, one reader rewrote in PowerShell a VBScript script that checks for patches.




[Product Reviews]

Continuous Data Protection

Compare CDP products from CA, SonicWALL, Microsoft, and TimeSpring Software to determine which is right for your environment.

Paul's Picks

HP's MediaSmart Server is truly innovative, and home users and SMBs will want to check it out; however, you might want to mull over whether you really must have an Ultra-Mobile PC at this time.

ThinkPad T61p Widescreen Laptop

If you’re in the market for an enterprise-ready laptop PC, the Lenovo ThinkPad T61p offers leading-edge features at a competitive price.




[TOP 10]

Windows Vista Annoyances

User Account Control isn't the only thing frustrating users of Windows Vista. You've also got to worry about software and hardware incompatibilities and a system that doesn't always remember your preferences.




[Buyer's Guide]

iSCSI SANs for SMBs

If you're looking to buy a network storage solution, take a look at iSCSI SANs, which consolidate storage for multiple servers into one resource.




[Letters to the Editor]

letters@windowsitpro.com

Readers respond to Eric Rux, Paul Thurrott, and Karen Forster; take issue with our November cover illustration; and discuss the many facets of gender in IT.




[Need to Know]

What You Need to Know About How Windows Server 2008 Developed, Part 2

How did Microsoft build Windows Server 2008? In this second part of a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Server 2008, Paul interviews the go-to guy in charge, Alex Hinrichs, to shed some light on this upcoming OS.




[What's Hot]

Readers Review Hot Products

Readers highlight favorite products: Promisec Spectator Professional 3.2, Varonis Data Governance, and SourceAnywhere Standalone.




[Ask the Experts]

Ask the Experts

Learn how to manage POP3 and IMAP4 settings in Exchange 2007, find out how to enable additional SMTP addresses for an Exchange organization, follow along as Mark Russinovich troubleshoots a file copy failure, and more.




[Windows Power Tools]

Protect Your Data with Cipher

To get a real sense of EFS's file-protection power, you need to be using the command-line encryption/decryption tool Cipher. Here's an overview of Cipher's syntax and options.




[New & Improved]

New & Improved

Check out the latest products to hit the marketplace. PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Microsoft's Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit




[IT Pro Perspective]

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

SCCM identifies and resolves common configuration and deployment problems, affording IT the freedom to focus on strategic goals. Have we mentioned that SCCM 2007 also simplifies the upgrade to Windows Server 2008?




[Cover Story]

Avoid Active Directory Pain

Learn how to solve AD problems such as time synchronization after hardware replacement, cross-forest authentication, usability of the least privilege model, and 64-bit Windows challenges.

Castaway on Command-Prompt Island

Curt Spanburgh relates the tale of a Windows administrator who, after patching his company’s servers, couldn't access a server using the Windows GUI tools. The admin’s solution: Use the SC command-line tool to troubleshoot the problem and restore service.

Manage Those Pesky Patches

Patching problems? These patch management tips can help ease your pain and free up your time.

Problems with Permissions

Administrators express annoyance at Microsoft settings for File Sharing permissions. Mitigate the risks of assigning Full Control or Modify, of too much access control for file Creators, and of being unable to customize Contributor and Editor settings.