Microsoft announced today that SQL Server 2008 R2 was released to manufacturing today. This release of SQL server concentrated on stability and performance along with some other key features. This version of SQL can now scale up to 256 logical processors and has shown impressive results on benchmark tests. The new version will also have self service Business Intelligence that will allow users to create their own queries using PowerPivot. Another great feature is the ability to centrally manage instances through PowerShell. I am excited to see what can be done with the integration of Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, Office 2010, and SharePoint 2010. There will be allot to learn but businesses should see productivity increase when you put all of these new products together.
Other SQL 2008 R2 Articles
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=72914&page=1
http://www.winsupersite.com/server/sql2008r2.asp
http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/04/21/sql-server-2008-r2-hits-rtm-release-in-may.aspx
http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/windows/article.php/3873446/Windows%20Server%202008%20R2s%20Improved%20Management%20Console.htm
The Poshboard project on Codeplex is a very interesting project. I came across this project while doing a some research on creating dashboards from PowerShell. The project was designed to create a modular IT web portal based on PowerShell and Silverlight. In order to accomplish this the project has leveraged the use of several programs like silverlight cover flow, DevExpress AgDataGrid, blacklight, visifire silverlight charts. The current version of this project is 2.5, but they also have a beta version out of their next release. Check out the links below and let me know what you think.
Poshboard CodePlex Project
http://poshboard.codeplex.com/Wikipage
Poshbaord Site Page
http://www.poshboard.com/
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 is Microsoft’s preferred method for deploying both client and server operating systems. The latest release of MDT occurred September of 2009. The new release was a huge improvement over the previous version. The current version also supports the deployment of Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2.
I have been working with the product now for a few months with deploying Server 2008 R2. I have also deployed a few Windows 7 clients using it. I have been really impressed so far how easy it is to deploy a server image. I also know that I am using just a fraction of this tool and look forward to learning more about it over the next several months. I will try to share my experiences so other people can learn from my trial and error. I have included some links below that are some good resources if you are just learning about this great tool. The next few posts will cover the installation of MDT 2010 and AIK.
MDT 2010 TechNet Site
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/dd407791.aspx
MDT Team Blog
http://blogs.technet.com/msdeployment/default.aspx
MDT TechNet Forums
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/mdt/threads
Michael Niehaus Blog
http://blogs.technet.com/mniehaus/default.aspx
Deployment Guys
http://blogs.technet.com/deploymentguys/default.aspx
