Broadview's Microsoft 2008 Core Product Seminar

Broadview presents two half-day events to feature the latest products launched in the Microsoft Windows, Forefront, System Center, and Server families!

Introducing Broadview's Managed Services

Broadview Networks is expanding our Preventative Maintenance services program to include additional analysis and value to our customers.

Server Core in Server 2008

Read about Server Core, the minimal Windows Server 2008 installation that provides improved performance and reduced risk to security threats.

Broadview Media

First Look at Internet Explorer 8- Windows Internet Explorer 8 has made it into the beta stage and includes a large number of enhancements and new features. Come see some of the new features that will enhance your web browsing experience when the finished product is released.

Windows Server 2008, Exchange 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, System Center, Microsoft Forefront. As one of the top ranked Microsoft Gold Partners in Canada, Broadview Networks has built a class-leading solution around implementing and upgrading Windows Server, Exchange, Dynamics CRM and other Microsoft Server Products. Broadview Networks has attained this leading Partner ranking by achieving Microsoft Competencies that are based on Staff Certifications and customer references! Microsoft has announced the launch of new versions of several products across their product lines in recent months, including the Microsoft Windows Server platform, Exchange Server system, SharePoint Server system, System Center solutions, and Forefront Security solutions. Attend our Microsoft 2008 Core Product Seminar to learn more about these products, and how your business can benefit from Microsoft solutions supported by Broadview Networks. 

1. Upgrade your Infrastructure

• Windows Server 2008 delivers valuable new features and improvements to the Windows Server operating system.
• Features! Server Core, Hyper-V, Read-Only Domain Controller, Restartable Active Directory, Terminal Services improvements!
• Learn about improved security, as well as new and improved features in Server 2008, and gain insight into why Server 2008 is a valuable investment for your network infrastructure.

2. Improve Team Collaboration

• Exchange Server 2007 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 form a foundation for reduced messaging and collaboration total cost of ownership. Unified Messaging, mobile communications improvements, and enhanced administrator tools make Exchange Server 2007 a powerful messaging platform.
• SharePoint Server brings Enterprise Content Management capabilities to organizations so they can manage diverse content, satisfy compliance and legal requirements, and streamline business processes.

3. Optimize the Management of your Network Environment

• Assess, deploy, and update your servers, clients, and devices with System Center Configuration Manager.
• Monitor your servers with System Center Operations Manager.
• Proactively manage your mid-size IT environment with System Center Essentials.
• Protect your environment with System Center Data Protection Manager.
• Manage your Virtual Environment or Virtual Data Center with System Center Virtual Machine Manager

4. Protect your Systems!

• Microsoft Forefront is a comprehensive line of business security products that provides protection and control in an integrated console that simplifies deployment management, and analysis.
• Protect your clients, servers, and your network perimeter (edge).

Location:
Broadview Networks
1-1530 Taylor Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3N 1Y1
204-984-9897 Call Broadview Networks for Details Who Should attend: - IT Managers
- IT Directors
- CFO's
- General Managers Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Time: Call Broadview Networks for details Location:
1-1530 Taylor Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3N 1Y1.
204-984-9897 About the Presenters: Tyson Choptain

• Senior Systems Consultant with Broadview Networks.
• A leading business solutions consultant and veteran of Microsoft Business Solutions.

Registration: Contact us

One of the most exciting new features of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is the minimal and modular Server Core installation option! Server Core is a limited server environment in that it runs only the services necessary to perform core infrastructure services, without additional overhead - yet it is a fully functional server operating system with respect to the most common server roles!

About Server Core in Server 2008 in this article:

* Usage Scenarios
* Key Benefits
* Roles compatible with Server Core

Usage Scenarios

Server Core servers do not have a user interface and there is no mechanism provided to run applications. As such, the usage and management of Server Core differs strongly from past Windows Server systems. The Server Core installation option is designed for use in organizations that either have many servers, where some only need to perform dedicated tasks, or in environments where high security requirements require a minimal attack surface on the server.

A Server Core installation requires you to initially configure the system from the command line, or using scripted methods such as an unattended installation, because it does not include the traditional full user interface. Since no graphical user interface is available for many Windows operations, using the Server Core installation option requires administrators to be experienced in using a command prompt or scripting techniques for local administration of the server. Alternatively, you can manage the Server Core installation with Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins from another computer running Windows Server 2008 (or from Windows Vista SP1 with Remote Server Administration Tools).

Key Benefits

Server Core installations can provide many benefits, including:

• Reduced maintenance. Because a Server Core installation installs only what is required for the specified roles (DHCP Server, File Services, Print Server, DNS Server, AD LDS, or Active Directory Domain Services roles), less servicing is required than on a full installation of Windows Server 2008.
• Reduced attack surface. Because Server Core installations are minimal, there are fewer applications running on the server, which decreases the attack surface.
• Reduced management. Because fewer applications and services are installed on a server running a Server Core installation, there is less to manage.
• Less disk space required. A Server Core installation only requires about 1 gigabyte (GB) of disk space to install, and approximately 2 GB for operations after the installation.

Roles compatible with Server Core

Server Core installations are suitable for running the following server roles:

• Active Directory Domain Services
• Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS)
• DHCP Server
• DNS Server
• File Services
• Print Server
• Internet Information Services 7.0
• Hyper-V

In addition to the above noted Server Roles, a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008 supports many optional Windows Server 2008 features, including failover clustering, Network Load Balancing, Backup, Multipath IO, Removable Storage Management, BitLocker Drive Encryption, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), Telnet client, and Quality of Service.

For more information about Microsoft Windows Server Core, or if your organization would like to evaluate the benefits of this minimal and modular Server installation option in Server 2008, please contact Broadview Networks.

The first Internet Explorer 8 beta is out and there have been some big advances since IE7. Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 offers improved performance, standards support and some innovative user-oriented features, such as:

Activities

Activities give users ready access to the online services they care about most from any page they visit, and developers gain an easy way to extend the reach of their online services.

WebSlices

Developers can mark parts of webpages as "WebSlices" and enable users to monitor information they rely on as they move about the web. With a click in the Favorites bar, users see rich "WebSlice" visuals and developers establish a valuable, persistent end-user connection.

Enhanced Protection from Deceptive Web sites

As part of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to privacy and security, in Internet Explorer 8 they are making enhancements to the phishing filter to provide additional protection against evolving threats to the consumer. With the Safety Filter, Microsoft will now help protect against a broader set of online threats by analyzing the full URL string, providing more granular detection and prevention capabilities, and enabling better protection against more targeted and sophisticated attacks.

Domain Highlighting

Domain Highlighting is a technology that highlights the top level domain in the address bar, allowing users to quickly confirm that the site they are visiting is the site they intended to visit. The domain name is in bold and black, standing out from other characters in the URL which are gray.

Standards Improvements

In past versions of Internet Explorer, developers and designers have found inconsistencies with the way the browser handles HTML, CSS, scripting, etc., as opposed to defined standards. In some cases, these inconsistencies happen because Internet Explorer supports standards before they are finalized. If those standards change when they are finalized, Internet Explorer releases can have a different implementation of the standards. The Internet Explorer team traditionally has decided to support the legacy Internet Explorer model so that sites developed to it would continue to behave as expected in newer versions of Internet Explorer. Moving forward, the decision to support legacy behaviors versus strict standards will be put in the hands of Web developers because they can select the rendering mode on a page-by-page basis.

Crash Recovery

With the advent of tabbed browsers, users typically have multiple browser windows active within a single instance of the browser. In Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers, a crash in one browser window does not cause the entire browser to crash, thereby helping to prevent the user from losing the list of pages they are browsing. In addition, for any tab which does crash, the user is automatically returned to the page they were browsing before the crash. This is true whether a single tab or the whole browser crashes.

Performance and Memory Improvements

Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers will include several changes that improve the performance of Web sites. These changes impact many Internet Explorer subsystems, such as the HTML parser, CSS rule processing, markup tree manipulation, and the JScript parser, garbage collector, and runtime. Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers also includes improvements to memory management that mitigate memory leaks previously created by circular references between JScript objects and DOM objects.

Managing Add-ons

Being able to manage add-ons running in the browser is a key component of keeping the browser and personally identifiable information protected. The ability to easily manage and remove suspicious add-ons is critical to building confidence in users who are concerned about malware.

The add-on management experience in Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers has been updated so that users can more easily find, research, and manage the toolbars and controls running within the browser.

Developer Tools

Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers introduces a host of tools that enable a great debugging experience for both new and seasoned developers. These tools enable developers to quickly debug HTML, CSS, and scripts in a visual environment. Upon hitting a breakpoint, document properties and script variables can be inspected and even edited, resulting in a real-time update to the browser view.

According to Microsoft two versions of IE8 will be released, one for Windows Vista and one for Windows XP SP2 or SP3. The version for Windows Vista will include extra security functions that cannot be included in the Windows XP version due to technical differences.

Contact Broadview Media for more information.

Bronze Level

This level offers an improved Preventative Maintenance Report review system that doesn't rely on the customer for review and follow up. Broadview has established a new position called "Managed Services Supervisor". This person is responsible for following up with the customer on recommendations made in the Preventative Maintenance reports. This frees the customer from trying to interpret technical recommendations. All customers currently receiving Preventative Maintenance will automatically benefit from this enhancement.

Silver Level

This level includes Bronze but also includes the availability of an IT Analyst. This person is available on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis to discuss the current status of your IT environment and how this relates to your business requirements. The IT Analyst keeps current on your network and the services performed within it. The IT Analyst also stays informed as to what your organization's business requirements are so he can make strategic IT recommendations that will improve your business.

Gold Level

Gold includes Bronze and Silver but replaces the IT Analyst with a Network Consultant. For customer's that want to step back from day to day network management, Broadview offers a Senior Network Consultant. This person will both manage the customer's network and be accountable to a designated authority within the customer's organization to meeting mutually agreed upon objectives. For example, objectives may include the following:

1. Provide a stable infrastructure for applications
2. Maintain network health
3. Progressively work towards business continuity

The Network Consultant is responsible for meeting these objectives to the extent the budget allows. Regular communication and status reporting between the Consultant and Customer authority will occur.

Outside of these levels, Broadview offers several "A La Carte" options. These include:

1. Weekly Scheduled Technician: This service is suitable for customers that appreciate knowing that at a certain time every week a technician will be onsite to assist with issues that have come up through the week.
2. Guaranteed Response: This service provides guaranteed response from business hour up to 24x7. It is also available as short term coverage during projects or vacations.
3. Consulting: General IT consulting is available anytime. This may include the role of a communication liaison between the customer and a supplier (Telco, ISP, Software Supplier, etc) or expertise around RFP development or procurement.

Broadview strives to provide the best network support experience possible regardless of how unique your requirements may be. For more information on any our Managed Services, please call Sales at    984-9897.