Windows Vista SP2 TechNet
Windows Server 2008 SP2 TechNet

SP2 is an update to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista that incorporates improvements discovered through automated feedback, as well as updates that have been delivered since SP1. By providing these fixes integrated into a single service pack for both client and server, Microsoft provides a single high-quality update that minimizes deployment and testing complexity for customers.

Service Pack 1 is a prerequisite for installing Service Pack 2. Please make sure that your system is running Service Pack 1 before you install Service Pack 2.

Note: Windows Server 2008 released with Service Pack 1 included. Windows Vista SP1 information and downloads can be found on the Windows Vista SP1 TechNet page.

Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 – Five Language Standalone version can be installed on x64-based systems with any of the following language versions: English, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish.

Downloads:

Windows Vista and Server 2008 SP2 x86
Windows Vista and Server 2008 SP2 x86 DVD ISO
Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 x64
Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 ia64

Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta is prerelease code offered to the public through our Customer Preview Program. Please see the Windows Server SP2/Windows Vista SP2 Customer Preview Program page on TechNet/MSDN for additional details, documentation, and forums.

Windows Vista SP2 TechNet
Windows Server 2008 SP2 TechNet

Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta apply to people, organizations, and technical enthusiasts who are comfortable evaluating prerelease software. This prerelease software is provided for testing only. Installation of Service Pack 2 Beta will result in Microsoft collecting information about the installation process, even if the installation is not completed. We do not recommend installing this software on primary or mission-critical systems. We recommend that you have a backup of your data before you install any prerelease software.

Download Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta – Standalone

Download Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta – Windows Update Experience Kit

Of course the results were all hypothetical, because Hyper-V is not yet available, but what we found when running a realistic scenario through the model and then from reading the report’s fine print, is that like most Microsoft version 1.0 products, the initial release of this calculator has numerous errors, contains critical design mistakes, and completely misses its mark. Any results generated from this model are so unrealistic as to be completely worthless for accurately comparing costs and benefits of alternate virtualization solutions. (Maybe we all need to wait for the SP1?)

Other than that, how did he like it? He gets specific, saying among other things:

“The tool assumes the following pricing for Windows Server 2008 Editions: $719 for Standard, $2334 for Enterprise, and $2381 for Datacenter. That doesn’t match up to the list pricing that Microsoft publishes on its website, so the prices must be some sort of volume/discounted pricing.”

Source: CRN

Companies cannot survive without some form of data protection, so backup and storage management is an essential part of every data center.

Part of putting together a solution lies in Windows Server 2008′s new data management features. By probing under the surface, the CRN Test Center found some new and exciting features, techniques and tools that can help solution providers build robust data management solutions with the new Windows Server 2008.

We will take a look at how such a solution can be built in the areas of storage, backup, virtualization, application management and overall data management.

Read the rest at CRN

Apparently, Cerrudo plans to share more information about the security flaws during April’s Hack in the Box Security Conference. That will give Microsoft some time to research the problem before Cerrudo tells all. He plans to demonstrate zero-day exploits for elevating privileges in IIS, SQL Server and Windows Server 2008.

Assuming the exploits, or flaws, are really as serious as reported, they should be a reminder to Microsoft when the bug counting starts. Sometime in the next few months I expect Microsoft to count off the number of security vulnerabilities found in Windows Server 2008. Microsoft took this approach with Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista in comparison with their predecessors. The counting tactic is flawed for lots of reasons, but here’s a simple one: It’s not the number but the severity that matters. One really bad flaw can be worse than 20, or 50, smaller ones.

Flaw counting is meaningful, just not the way it’s used by Microsoft. Fewer vulnerabilities means fewer patches, which means fewer patch management headaches.

In the meantime, the question for enterprises to ask is, “When?” Are Windows 2008 and Windows Vista really enterprise security-ready? Some enterprises should consider a slower testing and migration path until more concrete information is available.

Microsoft has taken great pains to improve security in both operating systems. But Cerrudo has identified flaws with fundamental Windows services accounts—NETWORK SERVICE or LOCAL SERVICE—and claims the ability to seize control of exploited systems.

As I said, one really bad flaw is enough for concern. IT organizations should ask about the ease with which IIS 7 and either SQL Server 2005 or 2008 could be compromised for public-facing Web sites. Ryan reports that in IIS 7′s default configuration, skilled hackers can completely compromise Windows Server security using ASP.Net applications.

One mitigating circumstance puzzles me: server roles. Apparently, Cerrudo didn’t tell Ryan whether Windows Server 2008 can be compromised in all configurations or whether some server roles are less vulnerable than others. Windows XP and Vista don’t use roles. But businesses can install portions of Windows Server 2008 for specific tasks. I haven’t fully tested Windows Server 2008, so I can’t say in what context, if any, the NETWORK SERVICE or LOCAL SERVICE accounts could be disabled.

News source: Microsoft Watch.

Internet Explorer 8 takes the Web experience beyond the page and introduces a new way to seamlessly experience the power of the Web whether you are a Web developer writing to standards, or an end user discovering a new online service. This beta release is available to everyone, but is primarily for Web developers and designers to test the new tools, layout engine, and programming enhancements.

When not developing your web site, you can click the Emulate IE7 button in the command bar to browse the web like you did in IE7.
Visit the Internet Explorer website to learn more about how Internet Explorer 8 puts the Web at Your Service.

This beta release is not supported by Microsoft Support Services. Visit the Internet Explorer Newsgroup to discuss Internet Explorer Beta 1 with other users.

If you use a screen reader, please consult the Internet Explorer Beta 1 release notes before downloading.

Download links:

• Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
• Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Windows Vista x64 Edition and Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition
• Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Window XP SP2
• Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Windows Server 2003 SP2
• Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Windows Server 2003 SP2 x64 Edition and Windows XP SP2 Pro x64 Edition

Microsoft, which will release the latest update to its server software at an event here Feb. 27 titled “Heroes happen here,” has pushed back the release of Hyper-V and cut some of the features originally planned. While Windows Server 2008 will contain the beta bits for Hyper-V, the final product will be made available as an add-on later in 2008. But that decision is likely to delay enterprise adoptions of the new server.

“We do not expect to see enterprise deployments of Windows Server 2008 of any significance until the final version of Hyper-V is out,” James Staten, principal analyst at Forrester Research, told eWEEK. But Microsoft has made early previews of the hypervisor available to most enterprises that want them, so that they can start getting familiar with it and determine whether it will meet their needs. “This is a trick they have learned from the Linux market,” Staten said.

Read the full story at eWeek

Roy Illsley, senior research analyst at Butler Group, told silicon.com: “They’ve listened to people and put into 2008 the enhancements that the system administrators and people like that actually want to see in an operating system.”

He said: “I don’t see this as being a massive thing. It’s lots of little bits that have added up. They’ve put a lot more effort on the bits.” He added that the availability of a core version of the OS could be a significant benefit as it will require fewer patch updates and will be easier to manage due to its smaller footprint.

Read the rest at silicon.com

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Vista also has an ongoing issue with application compatibility that is not cleared up in the pending release of Vista Service Pack 1. Other issues unique to Windows Server 2008, such as new, clustering APIs, will require application testing and some recoding of applications, according to Microsoft.

The server also will present issues for in-place upgrades and upgrades to servers running Exchange 2007.

Experts say Windows Server 2008, which has been under development for five years, provides many improvements over the current platform; but getting there from currently installed software will require some perseverance and result in methodical rollouts. “The comparison should not be to Windows 2003, it should be to Windows 2000,” says Al Gillen, an IDC analyst. “2003 was an improved version of 2000, but [Windows Server 2008] is not an improved version of Windows Server 2003 R2.

[Windows Server 2008] has enough new stuff in it that it will cause people to go through a whole evaluation and scenario planning activity. It is disruptive in a lot of respects and will impact application compatibility.” Gillen says he anticipates a substantial impact on older applications, although he said he does not yet have a sense how extensive or invasive the impact might be.

One area that Microsoft has already highlighted is clustering, where it has rewritten the MSClus APIs that shipped with Windows Server 2003. Microsoft says the new APIs provide better features, scalability and management, but it acknowledges that applications using the old APIs will break or provide incorrect results if they are run on Windows Server 2008.

Read the rest at PC World

The software will be bundled with Small Business Server and Essential Server 2008 editions, along with a one-year subscription to Forefront for Exchange. “We’ve taken a different tact on connecting subscription services with the core infrastructure,” VanRoekel said about the bundling.

I asked if Microsoft planned to extend Windows Live OneCare for Server bundling to the desktop.

“No. We’re not doing any client AV with this wave. We think that’s part of the partner opportunity with the product,” VanRoekel said.

The Microsoft senior director didn’t discuss discreet pricing, but Windows Live OneCare for Server would be part of the purchase price of the new small business and midmarket server software.

I asked about discreet pricing because Microsoft will offer the software for at least one other product: Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition.

“As far as other support across the server SKUs, I’m not part of that group, and they haven’t made announcements of that yet,” VanRoekel said. “But it’s something I definitely think that they’re looking at.