Learning about the new features in Windows Server 2008 opens up a world of opportunities for solutions providers who are looking to expand their service offerings. Being an expert in Windows Server 2008 means you can offer even more implementation, configuration and deployment services to your clients.
This cheat sheet has our top 10 picks for learning about Windows Server 2008 and includes a study guide, tutorials and advice from experts. Learn about the new components, including Hyper-V and Server Core, and find out how they make server management easier with better performance and more virtualization capabilities.
1. New features in Windows Server 2008 R2
The new features in Windows Server 2008 R2 have significant elements that help drive business opportunities for VARs. The key advantages of these new features include easier server management, improved backup and a wider range of virtualization capabilities. Server 2008 R2 is also the first operating system release from Microsoft that supports 64-bit processors and up to 256 cores.
2. Windows Server 2008 study guide
Test your knowledge of Windows Server 2008 with this study guide. Once you take the quiz, you'll get access to a wide variety of Windows Server 2008 learning resources. Read about the new features, including Hyper-V and Server Core, and become an expert on Vista deployment, upgrading to Windows Server 2008 and ensuring high availability.
3. Failover clustering, network load balancing drive high availability
Using failover clustering and network load balancing (NLB) in Windows Server 2008 is a great way for solutions providers to ensure high availability of clients' servers, applications and services. Understanding failover clustering and NLB is crucial for designing a Windows-based high-availability option for your clients. A Windows Server 2008 failover cluster eliminates the threat of a single point of failure for a server, application or service. With NLB, organizations can scale server and application performance by distributing TCP/IP requests to multiple servers.
4. What's new in Windows Server 2008 security
There are a few important and new security upgrades in Windows Server 2008 that solutions providers should take note of. Some upgrades require configuration changes or modifications to a customer's IT infrastructure. A number of the Windows Server 2008 security improvements target an organization's back-end infrastructure, while others focus on protecting specific files.
5. Windows Server 2008 tutorial
In this Windows Server 2008 tutorial, Windows experts discuss the server's newest features and offer advice about preparation and migration. Find out how Windows Server 2008 improves performance with virtualization and learn about the changes to Active Directory, including a read-only copy of the Active Directory Database that no one can change.
6. Upgrading to Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 delivers significant improvements for administrators and presents new opportunities for solutions providers. When taking on Windows Server 2008 upgrade projects, the first round of work involves evaluating the current environment and existing problems to determine where Windows 2008 can help the most. Learn about the benefits of upgrading to Windows Server 2008, the hardware requirements and the software upgrade process.
7. Windows Server 2008 implementation tutorial
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 received a more positive response than its desktop equivalent, Vista. For solutions providers, Windows Server 2008 presents new consulting opportunities and the chance to convince clients to use your services for upgrading, deployment, testing and training. Learn about the improvements in Windows Server 2008, including features such as Server Core, 64-bit processors and Web server enhancements.
8. New Windows Server 2008 R2 features reduce power consumption
Read about three new power-efficiency features in Windows Server 2008 R2 that can lower costs for your clients. The power-saving features can also benefit clients' data centers -- clients can have more machines in the same location without increasing power consumption.
9. Windows Server 2008 learning guide
As we pass the one-year mark of its release, more solutions providers are starting to perform Windows Server 2008 migrations. If you're planning a migration for a client, you'll need to know everything that's in this learning guide. It has tips and resources that even experienced solutions providers find helpful. Learn about the key Windows Server 2008 features and improvements, changes to Active Directory, virtualizing with Hyper-V, security considerations and more.
10. Hyper-V gains new resiliency features with Windows Server 2008 R2
The new Hyper-V features in Windows Server 2008 R2 have grabbed the attention of solutions providers and have been in high demand since its release. The most notable of Hyper-V's improvements is the upgrade from Quick Migration to the zero-downtime Live Migration. Also on the list are cluster-awareness with disks, Virtual Machine Storage, Hyper-V Manager and Failover Cluster Manager tool sets.
