http://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2013-06-10T16:23:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/10615/Security/Strategy:-Strategies-for-Improving-Web-Application-Security.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2013-06-06T18:58:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/10260/Security/Gateway-Anti-Malware-Buyer%27s-Guide.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2013-06-06T17:12:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/10242/Security/10-Key-Steps-to-Success-In-Data-Loss-Prevention.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2013-06-06T15:49:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/10277/Security/Strategy:-Tools-and-Strategies-for-File-Level-Data-Protection.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2013-04-17T22:40:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9675/Security/Strategy:-How-Cybercriminals-Choose-Their-Targets-and-Tactics.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2013-04-17T22:22:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/10015/Security/Strategy:-Securing-The-Mobile-User.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2013-02-05T02:13:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9675/Security/Strategy:-How-Cybercriminals-Choose-Their-Targets-and-Tactics.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-12-26T19:48:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9596/Security/strategy-how-to-get-your-mssp-in-line-with-expectations.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-12-18T02:46:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9458/Security/best-practices-6-steps-to-developing-a-risk-based-security-strategy.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-11-15T16:47:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9080/Security/fundamentals-cloud-id-management.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-11-13T00:17:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9042/Security/a-guide-to-security-and-enterprise-directories.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-11-12T23:52:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9015/Storage-Server/windows-8-survival-guide-server-2012.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-10-26T09:06:00ZEven if Microsoft's new OS was a complete disaster, like Vista, enterprise IT can be assured that Windows Server 2012 will continue to thrive.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240010020?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/reviews/8-key-differences-between-windows-8-and/240006106"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/855/01_Intro_WindowsRT_tn.jpg" alt="8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT" title="8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Apple and Google have been systematically killing PC sales at Microsoft's expense, and the situation for Redmond is nearing Defcon 5. It's not even necessary to cite numbers to support that assertion; all you need to is open your eyes and look at what people are carrying around in their hand, or in their backpack. <P> Look at the checkout lines at Best Buy and see what people are buying. Apple has technogeeks camping outside of its stores at 1 a.m. waiting for the next cool new product to be released. When is the last time Best Buy had people waiting outside to buy a laptop loaded with a new copy of Windows? <P> The problem for Microsoft is now two-fold, because it's not just the technogeeks in the consumer segment it's losing. It's also poised to lose ground with the average business professional. IT shops are being bombarded with zillions of iPhones, iPads and Macs, and in some cases businesses are using alternatives to Windows as a foundation element of their key technology initiatives. People love Apple's stuff because it's fast, it's easy to use, it's easy to carry, and it's easy to mix business with pleasure. <P> <strong>[ Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/windows-8-beats-the-mac-appsolutely/240009093?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Windows 8 Beats The Mac, Appsolutely</a>. ]</strong> <P> Microsoft's answer to catching up and becoming cool again? A completely <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-7-more-popular-than-windows-8/240008154">revamped OS</a> with a consistent look and feel that can run on PC's, tablets, or smartphones. Sounds like a great idea. The problem? Execution. Nearly everyone's first impression of Windows 8 is confusion. In fact, every random business professional that I've casually shown Windows 8 to looks at the new user interface like it's like a Rubik's Cube. Put a three-year old in front of an iPad and he'll be downloading apps and movies in two minutes flat. <P> No one will argue that Microsoft has some of the brightest and most talented developers on the planet working for it. And 12 months from now, we might all be wishing we bought Microsoft stock if the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/microsoft-surface-tablets-on-back-order/240009522">Surface tablet</a> turns out to be the perfect fit for the mobile professional who needs to run Microsof Office natively on a portable device. But what if Windows 8 is a complete disaster? What if it never catches on, like Vista? And most importantly, what are the implications for IT pros if Windows 8 blows up in Microsoft's face? <P> What will happen if the enterprise shuns Windows 8? It will simply be Windows Vista history repeated, and enterprises will simply not deploy Windows 8 to business users. <P> By all accounts, Vista was a colossal disaster that brought no incremental value, and most enterprises threw Vista in the garbage can. The idea of a consistent OS across mobile, tablet and PC is a great concept. But in the real world, user acceptance is a big deal, and the initial feedback from real users tends to be less than stellar. We all understand that change in inevitable in this business, but Windows 95 was a drastic departure from Windows 3.1, and I don't remember the backlash being so vocal when Windows 95 went gold. <P> IT pros can take solace in one inevitability: no matter how much market share Microsoft loses on the client side, Windows Server 2012 and beyond will continue to thrive. There are a lot of cool new features inside of Windows Server 2012, and there are hundreds of thousands of IT pros that have their careers and fortunes superglued to a copy of Windows Server. And in many respects, Hyper-V is catching up to VMWare, so if anything, Microsoft is further cementing its dominance in the data center. <P> iOS and Android devices can and probably will continue to take market share on the client side as business professionals transition from bulky devices running Windows to other alternatives. But at the end of the day, enterprise IT will continue to run Windows Server, as we discuss in our report, <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/7/9015/Enterprise-Software/windows-8-survival-guide-server-2012.html">"Windows 8 Survival Guide: Server 2012"</a>. IT will continue to use Exchange, it will continue to scale out SQL and Sharepoint environments, and it will continue to upgrade to the latest Windows Server OS, because really, what other option is there?2012-10-18T01:10:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9009/Security/a-guide-to-network-vulnerability-management.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-10-18T01:05:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/20/8991/Network-Systems-Management/design-on-a-dime-vdi*.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-10-18T00:55:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9004/Security/strategy-keeping-dns-services-safe-and-operational.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-10-10T08:00:00ZWorried about controlling access to corporate cloud apps? There's an app for that.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240008421?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div id="analytics_briefsPromoContainer"> <div id="analytics_briefsPromo"> <div class="analytics_briefsInner"> <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9080/Security/fundamentals-cloud-id-management.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20121015" target="_blank"> Get the full-length single sign-on and the cloud report</a> </div> <div class="analytics_briefsBottom"><strong>&gt;&gt; <a href="http://reports.informationweeks.com" class="analytics_link">See all of our reports</a> &lt;&lt;</strong></div> </div> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> When it comes to integrating cloud applications into a corporate environment, one of the biggest challenges for many IT shops is identity management. Users often create their own logon credentials to business-related cloud applications. This can lead to a variety of problems, including the use of easy-to-crack passwords and the difficulty of cutting off access when users leave the company. </p> <P> So how do you build an identity management framework for all of your cloud applications? There are four choices, all of which involve Active Directory, Microsoft's popular directory software, and one that uses the cloud itself.</p> <P> AD or another LDAP-based directory should be at the heart of your cloud ID management strategy. Leveraging AD to manage access to cloud apps addresses a number of security, risk, and compliance issues. It also reduces the administrative burden of adding and removing users, facilitates the deployment of single sign-on, and lets you do some cool things with role-based authentication based on various group memberships and user attributes.</p> <P> The four approaches you can use for managing access to cloud apps are either full or partial synchronization of Active Directory, federation, and identity-as-a-service. Here's how they work.</p> <P> <strong>Active Directory Synchronization</strong></p> <P> With full AD synchronization, you leverage Active Directory to authenticate users to a particular cloud application. Enterprise single sign-on isn't really all that important for companies that use one or a small number of cloud apps. This situation applies to 27% of 166 respondents to InformationWeek's State of Cloud Computing Survey, who have only one cloud application provider. In this case, you simply let your cloud provider synchronize all user objects in AD at a predetermined interval.</p> <P> The benefit of full synchronization is that you can leverage your directory for authentication. The drawback is that you must punch a hole in your firewall to allow incoming LDAP queries from the cloud provider. </p> <P> Another full-synchronization option is to install an agent on your domain controller that synchronizes AD outbound over SSL. This is a better approach, because it doesn't require a separate port to be opened in the firewall. Note that the level of detail that a cloud provider will synchronize can differ. For instance, one provider might only synchronize the user attributes needed to confirm a user's identity, such as the user ID, first and last name, and group membership. Another provider might synchronize your entire directory. That leads to the partial synchronization option.</p> <P> For security and compliance reasons, a company may not want to hand over a full copy of its directory services infrastructure to a third party. With partial synchronization, you only copy the attributes necessary to identify a user.</p> <P> Here's how it works: When an employee logs on to a cloud application, the app forwards the logon request to the employer's Active Directory domain controller to validate the user. With this approach, you get real-time AD authentication but without the security and compliance issues of having a full copy of your directory hosted off-site. The downside is that if a domain controller isn't available to validate the request in real time, then the user won't be able to authenticate to the cloud app.</p> <P> Federation, the third approach to managing access to cloud apps, grew out of the need for companies to provide access to applications for business partners and suppliers. Two or more companies set up a system that allows access to specific systems using predefined authentication and access mechanisms.</p> <P> The concept is simple, but implementation is hard. Companies have to deal with complex identity standards and mechanisms such as identity tokens and digital certificates. You also must purchase, configure, deploy, and manage the infrastructure required--including dedicated servers to run the federation infrastructure--in order to make it work.</p> <P> Microsoft offers Active Directory Federation Services, which is free with the base Windows operating system. ADFS supports many of the standard identity protocols in use today, including SAML 1.1 and SAML 2.0, WS-Trust, and WS-Federation. IBM and Oracle also offer comprehensive federation products: IBM's Tivoli Federated Identity Manager and Oracle's Identity Federation.</p> <P> <center><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1346/346F2_OneToOneConnectionDirgram.jpg" width="585" height="372" alt="diagram: Cloud Connection" hspace="0" vspace="0" border="0" style="margin-bottom:7px;" /><br /></center></p> <P><strong>Identity-As-A-Service</strong></p> <P> Another option for simplifying ID management for cloud applications is to turn to the cloud. A new category of providers now offers identity-as-a-service, or IDaaS. With this service, an identity provider, or IDP, acts as a broker between your employees and the cloud services they use. The IDP makes it easier to manage multiple cloud services, and provision and deprovision users.</p> <P> Consider this scenario: Company A provides Salesforce.com, Google Apps, Office 365, Dropbox, and WebEx as corporate-issued Web apps. In the absence of an ID management product or service, each user (or IT) would have to create a user profile within each individual application, and employees would log on separately to each application. While the user's credentials could be tied to AD, the user would still have to log on manually to each app.</p> <P> With IDaaS, instead of logging on to each application separately, you establish a session with an identity provider. The IDP responds to requests for credentials by a cloud Web application, typically via standards such as SAML or OAuth, automatically logging you on to the cloud app. Many IDaaS providers offer a portal or will connect to a company intranet that lists all the user's cloud applications. The user clicks the appropriate icon and is logged on to the application.</p> <P> With IDaaS, companies still need to link Active Directory to the IDP and, for some, that's a drawback. However, cloud identity providers typically don't store passwords, only user attributes. Your users' passwords aren't at risk if the provider's system is hacked or breached. You can minimize the number of user objects that you sync with an IDP if you have specific access needs. For example, if only the sales and marketing team needs access to Salesforce, then you can limit AD synchronization to the specific organizational units within Active Directory that contain the users needing access to Salesforce. Organizational units are used to group users or departments that share common security policy requirements.</p> <P> Here's another plus: With IDaaS you get some cool security features that would be more difficult to implement in the absence of an identity management tool. For example, you could configure an access control policy that says if a user isn't connecting from an internal subnet (that is, the employee is off the corporate network), then force two-factor authentication.</p> <P> But here's where identity providers may really be worth their weight in gold. The good ones have already federated with the most popular cloud application providers. So instead of spending time building and managing a federation server farm, and the SSL and token-signing certificates that are required to make it work, you can dump that responsibility on an IDP. And instead of syncing AD with 10 different cloud providers, you can outsource that task to a single vendor, or in this case, your IDP of choice.</p> <P> There are many provider choices if you're considering IDaaS: ActivIdentity, EmpowerID, Janrain, Intel Cloud SSO, PingFederate, OneLogin, and Symplified are some of the vendors that offer cloud identity management help.</p> <P> <!-- Image Aligning Right --> <div style="margin:0; padding: 0 0 10px 10px; width:289px; float:right; text-align:center;"> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1346/346F2_char2.jpg" width="279" height="422" alt="chart: How many actual cloud providers do you use?" hspace="0" vspace="0" border="0" /> </div> <!-- / Image Aligning Right --> <P> <strong>User Provisioning</strong></p> <P> The ability to provision and deprovision user accounts fast is perhaps one of the biggest advantages of using an identity provider. If you were just using Salesforce and needed to bulk import 100 new employees, you could do that with the DataLoader tool that Salesforce supplies. However, that's a manual, potentially cumbersome, process.</p> <P> Alternatively, you could leverage some of the APIs that Salesforce exposes to provide customers with a range of automation tasks, including user account management. But most IDaaS vendors have already integrated those APIs into their identity clouds. That means when you create new users in Active Directory they'll automatically be synced to your IDP, and from there, the IDP will make an API to create the new user account within the cloud application. Ultimately, you're using AD to control group-based access policy and to add and remove users allowed to access your cloud apps.</p> <P> While IDaaS has many benefits, it can open up a number of compliance issues. Compliance mandates that deal with authentication and access control, such as PCI and Sarbanes-Oxley, will look closely at an IDaaS implementation, because for all intents and purposes, you're exposing critical applications (that is, Active Directory) to the Internet. An auditor will scrutinize password complexity policy, along with your ability to centrally manage and review logs. Log management and review is important, because it can provide early warnings of intruder attempts to access to your systems and employee misuse.</p> <P> If you have an internal log management infrastructure (or even a cloud log management infrastructure), the vendor you select should be able to provide logs of user account activity. At the very least, there should be adequate logging features within the cloud identity platform itself that you can access.</p> <P> Cloud applications are a normal part of the business applications and tools mix that employees need to do their jobs. Given the variety of options that IT has for managing user access to cloud services, there's no reason to leave identity and access management of business applications in users' hands. And as more IT shops make the transition to cloud apps with highly mobile workforces, IDaaS will become more widely accepted and deployed.</p> <P> <center><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1346/346F2_char1.jpg" width="585" height="470" alt="chart: what are your cloud services concerns?" hspace="0" vspace="0" border="0" style="margin-bottom:7px;" /><br /></center></p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center> <div id="printfeaturePDFpromo"><div class="printfeaturePDFCover"><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/83/9095/IT-Business-Strategy/informationweek-october-15-2012.html?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/1346/smallcov2.jpg" alt="InformationWeek: Oct. 15, 2012 Issue" title="InformationWeek: Oct. 15, 2012 Issue" /></a></div> <div class="printfeaturePDFCopy"><strong><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/83/9095/IT-Business-Strategy/informationweek-october-15-2012.html?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download a free PDF of <nobr><em>InformationWeek</em> magazine</nobr></a><br /> (registration required)</strong></div> <div class="clearBoth"></div> </div> </center> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P>2012-09-24T08:00:00ZMicrosoft has packed in plenty of features to help solve pressing business problems.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240007721?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <div id="inlineGreenPromoTop"> <div class="greenBand"></div> <div class="inlineGreenPromoContent"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1344/smallcov.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green - September 24, 2012" title="InformationWeek Green - September 24, 2012" align="left" class="greenIssueImage" /></a><br /> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/graphics_library/misc/Green_leaf_88x88.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green" title="InformationWeek Green" align="right" class="greenLeaf" /></a> <div class="greenPromoText"> <strong><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the entire Sept. 24, 2012, issue of <em>InformationWeek</em></a></strong>, distributed in an all-digital format as part of our Green Initiative<br /> (Registration required.)<br /> <center><div class="innerGreenPromoText" align="center">We will plant a tree for each of the first 5,000 downloads.</div></center> </div> </div> <div class="greenBand"></div> </div> <!-- / InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <br /><!-- leave as a br to not interfere w/ the insights boxes --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1344/344CSslot_110.jpg" width="110" height="110" alt="Here Comes Windows 8" title="Here Comes Windows 8" width="110" height="110" class="artInlineTopImage" /> <P> All the hoopla surrounding Windows 8 means the recent release of Windows Server 2012 is flying way under the radar. And that's a shame, because it has a lot to offer. In fact, the server side of Microsoft's ambitious road map may make a far greater impact on your company next year.</p> <P> We want to state up front that if you hate the Metro interface, you'll cringe the first time you boot Server 2012. But don't be deterred: If you can get past the UI changes (and let's face it, you'd better), you'll be rewarded with features that can solve pressing business problems.</p> <P> First, let's take a look at cost, to put the features discussion in context. Virtualization has changed the economics of licensing Windows Server, and Microsoft has standardized on a CPU-socket-based pricing model for Hyper-V. For a short time, Hyper-V enjoyed a competitive advantage against VMware ESX based on RAM licensing restrictions. The ensuing customer backlash clearly was heard, however, because VMware announced at VMworld that it will abandon the vRAM entitlement strategy. So from a server virtualization perspective, you won't pay more to scale out Server 2012 if vSphere is your platform of choice. </p> <P> To Microsoft's credit, the Server 2012 pricing matrix has been simplified. Server 2012 Datacenter edition, which lets you run unlimited virtual machines on a host, lists for $4,809 per processor license, without the required client access licenses. A per-processor license in Server 2012 covers two CPU sockets, as opposed to vSphere's model, where you pay per socket with a 64-GB base vRAM entitlement. So, for a four-socket server, expect to shell out around $9,600 for the Datacenter edition. Server 2012 Standard edition will run you $882 list per processor license but lets you run only two virtual instances on the physical host. </p> <P> The biggest change in the Server 2012 pricing matrix is the elimination of the Enterprise edition. Go with Datacenter if you're running a highly virtualized environment, and go with Standard for standalone servers. Two SMB editions are available; we discuss these and more pricing details <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9015/Storage-Server/windows-8-survival-guide-server-2012.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20120924" target="_blank">in our full report</a>. </p> <P> So the costs are reasonable. Still, when's the last time you saw a flash mob of network administrators fighting to be first in line for a copy of Windows Server? The reality is, server migrations are cumbersome. They're costly and time-consuming, and they sometimes cause more problems than they solve.</p> <P> Inspiring the masses to migrate this time around is complicated by two factors. First, companies tend to upgrade legacy servers to the latest operating system during hardware refreshes, but because so many data centers are now massively virtualized, we're buying less hardware. And second, Microsoft has a habit of using Windows Server releases to solve business problems that were burning 12 to 18 months earlier. Often, IT's already made significant investments in third-party software to meet these needs, so that leverage is gone.</p> <P> Despite these challenges, the 452 respondents to our <i>InformationWeek</i> 2012 Windows 8 Survey who are upgrading report that by 2014, they'll be running 33% of their servers on Server 2012; 37% will still be on Server 2008. But the trend line is going in the right direction since just 4% say they have no plans to deploy Server 2012.</p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center><strong>To read the rest of the article,<br /><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/092412/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the Sept. 24, 2012, issue of <em>InformationWeek</em></a></strong></center><br clear="all" /></p> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center> <div id="inlineReportPromo"> <div class="inlineReportPromo_headline"><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9015/Storage-Server/windows-8-survival-guide-server-2012.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20120924" target="_blank" style="color:#ffffff;">Windows 8 Survival Guide: Server 2012</a></div> <div class="inlineReportPromo_inner"> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1344/344CSreportcover3.jpg" width="175" height="107" style="float:right;"> Our full report on <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9015/Storage-Server/windows-8-survival-guide-server-2012.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20120924" target="_blank">Server 2012</a> is available free with registration.<br /><br /> This report includes <strong>16</strong> pages of action-oriented analysis, packed with <strong>9</strong> charts. What you'll find: <ul class="normalUL"><li>Five features that likely won't drive early migrations</li> <li>Six gotchas that could derail upgrades if you're not careful</li> </ul> <center><strong><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9015/Storage-Server/windows-8-survival-guide-server-2012.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20120924" target="_blank">Get This</a> And <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/">All Our Reports</a></strong></center> </div> </div> </center></p><br clear="all"> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->2012-09-21T02:30:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/8873/Security/strategy-achieving-compliance-in-the-smart-grid.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-09-21T02:24:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/8872/Security/strategy-lessons-learned-from-duqu.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-09-04T11:06:00ZMicrosoft Windows Server 2012, a significantly revamped server OS, launches Tuesday. Our hands-on look explores some of the worthwhile changes for enterprise IT.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240006648?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/reviews/8-key-differences-between-windows-8-and/240006106"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/855/01_Intro_WindowsRT_tn.jpg" alt="8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT" title="8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> With Windows Server 2012 set to hit store shelves on September 4, it's officially time to dust off the Windows Server lab and start hacking through the final Server 2012 bits to see what the final product looks like. Historically, most IT managers have avoided new Windows server releases like the plague, at least for a year or two anyway. But the strategy of getting beta builds into the hands of many IT professionals early and often should pay dividends for Microsoft, because more enterprises are now comfortable deploying on or near day one. The release of Windows Server 2012 (previously codenamed Windows Server 8) promises no big surprises compared to the beta version, but some notable changes compared to its Microsoft predecessors. <P> While we probably won't see a flash mob of server admins breaking into Redmond on Tuesday to get a new copy of Windows Server 2012, there is reason to be excited about some of the cool improvements that made their way into the final product. In this piece, we'll kick into first gear to get a sense of how some of Server 2012's more interesting features drive. Later on, InformationWeek Labs will do a deeper exploration of each high impact feature to see where it shines, and where it doesn't. <P> Take a look at three changes that make Server 2012 worth a look now: <P> <strong>1. Dynamic Access Control</strong> <P> One of the largest data security and compliance challenges that all organizations have is getting a handle on the out-of-control proliferation of sensitive data on our corporate file systems. Larger organizations that have a lot to lose have generally deployed data loss prevention tools to tackle the problem. In Windows Server 2012, a new feature called Dynamic Access Control promises another route, presumably for groups that don't already have investments in another security tool to do the job. <P> Here's how DAC works: The file server role in Server 2012 contains a beefed up version of the Windows File Classification Infrastructure (which was first introduced in Server 2008 R2). The Windows FCI allows you to continuously audit data stored on a file system using conditional expressions and take policy action accordingly. <P> So for example, if an employee saved an excel spreadsheet on the network that contained social security data, you could configure a security policy that automatically applies certain permissions to the file. Or, you could configure a policy to automatically encrypt the document via Rights Management Server. Another choice would be to have a popup to appear telling the employee that saving the data to the network violates company policy. <P> We found that DAC worked quite well in the lab, and our only gripe was that it was a bit cumbersome to set up. If you're testing this feature in your lab, you'll need a Server 2012 DC, you'll need to install the file server role, and if you want to automatically protect data using RMS, then you'll need to light up the right management server role. Broadly speaking, you need to first create a file classification rule that describes the data you're looking for and how to classify it once found. Then you must create a central access rule which describes what do when a match is found. Then you must create a central access policy and deploy that group policy object to the file server hosting the shared drive in order to enforce your central access rule. <P> Dynamic Access Control is a really cool feature of Windows Server 2012, but it's not exactly plug and play to deploy. To be fair, any DLP package from any other vendor can be equally or even more difficult to deploy and manage. <P> <strong>2. Unified Remote Access</strong> <P> Many of the remote access features in prior versions of Windows Server have been consolidated into the remote access server role in Server 2012, including a new and improved version of DirectAccess. One of the biggest disappointments with DirectAccess in Server 2008 R2 was the inflexible and complex deployment scenarios that you simply had to accept in order to make DirectAccess work. All things considered, the first incarnation of DirectAccess wasn't mature enough or an easy enough to manage to become a viable alternative to other remote access solutions. DirectAccess in Server 2012 is much easier to deploy. <P> One of the most notable improvements is that you no longer need multiple DirectAccess servers in order for clients to access internal network resources; you can use network address translation (NAT) to route incoming connections through to a single DirectAccess server. There is also support for global server load balancing so Win8 clients can automatically connect to the closest network entry point. If you're using Windows 8 with DirectAccess in Server 2012, you'll also now have the ability to join a new machine to the domain without needing access to the internal network. <P> In the lab, deploying DirectAccess is mostly wizard driven proposition in Server 2012. The default deployment option encourages you to deploy both DirectAccess and VPN in order to support non-Windows 7 or Windows 8 clients (and therein lies a drawback with DirectAccess). If you've already deployed a best of breed IPSec and or SSL VPN to support XP, MacOS, Linux, or mobile devices, then you should simply install DirectAccess only. All of the group policy objects required to make DirectAccess work are pushed out to Active Directory during the setup wizard, and as a result all clients that can support DirectAccess will have the policy pushed out to them. <P> DirectAccess in Server 2012 doesn't require IPv6 per se, so your internal devices no longer need to be IPv6 enabled. In this scenario, the DirectAccess server will be your conduit to all of your IPv4 devices on the internal network. <P> Using our Windows 8 client in the lab, we had no problem deploying a single DirectAccess server through NAT. The best part about using Windows 8 with Server 2012 DirectAccess is that you can use a self-signed certificate to encrypt the Kerberos exchange between the client and the DirectAccess server. Win7 clients accessing a Server 2012 DirectAccess server still need to use PKI. <P> On the whole, DirectAccess is vastly improved in Server 2012. The drawback is, in order to realize many of those improvements, you need to deploy Windows 8 along with it. <P> <strong>3. Server Core</strong> <P> I'll state up front that this is no reason to migrate to Server 2012, but I'm including this new feature here because it addresses a pet peeve of mine. In Windows Server 2008, selecting Server Core as an installation option was an all-or-nothing proposition. If you built a server core box and later regretted that decision, your only recourse was to rebuild the box. And conversely, if you built a full UI server and wanted to take advantage of the reduced attack surface and performance that you enjoy with Server Core, then you were equally out of luck. <P> (If you're not familiar with Sever Core yet, it aims to help with private cloud chores. See what Microsoft has to say about the benefits, including your ability to <a href="http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2012/03/20/building-an-optimized-private-cloud-using-windows-server-8-server-core.aspx">increase density of VMs</a>.) <P> In Server 2012, the Server Core and full UI installation options are no longer an all or nothing proposition. That's good news for security conscious admins, because it makes the process of hardening a Windows server playing a critical server role much easier. <P> In the lab, we built up a DHCP server that was also running the File and Storage Services role using the full UI option. The full UI server of course had the full shell loaded with 56 running services, using a PowerShell command to revert the server to a command line only version of the same server, we were able to shed 11 running services from the DHCP server, for a total of 45 running services. Security conscious admins could harden the OS even more, but as a quick hit security strategy, the ability to revert back and forth between Server Core and full UI is an enormously cool new option for server administrators. <P> For more detail on what else has changed in Windows Server 2012, see my first look at the beta version, which <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/operating-systems/windows-8-server-hands-on-first-impressi/232700321">details the server management and Hyper-V features</a>, among others. <P> Also, see Charles Babcock's look at Microsoft's addition of Azure management capabilities within Windows Server 2012, including the automated provisioning of virtual machines. This move amounts to white-labeling Azure, and <a href=" http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/infrastructure/microsoft-white-labels-azure-in-windows/240003563">and steps up the rivalry with VMware</a>. <P> <i>Extending core virtualization concepts to storage, networking, I/O, and application delivery is changing the face of the modern data center. In the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/tech-center/storage-virtualization/download?id=189600017&cat=whitepaper?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe">Pervasive Virtualization</a> report, we discuss all these areas in the context of four main precepts of virtualization. (Free registration required.) </i>2012-07-23T16:29:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/8835/Security/strategy-threat-intelligence-what-you-really-need-to-know*.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software2012-04-30T08:00:00ZSMBs have saved big buying complex software on a subscription model. Here's how to determine if infrastructure services can pay off, too.http://www.informationweek.com/news/232901030?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <div id="inlineGreenPromoTop"> <div class="greenBand"></div> <div class="inlineGreenPromoContent"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/043012smb?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/smb/009/smallcov.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green - Mar. 7, 2011" title="InformationWeek Green - Mar. 7, 2011" align="left" class="greenIssueImage" /></a><br /> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/043012smb?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/graphics_library/misc/Green_leaf_88x88.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green" title="InformationWeek Green" align="right" class="greenLeaf" /></a> <div class="greenPromoText"> <strong><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/043012smb?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the entire May 2012 issue of <em>InformationWeek SMB</em></a></strong>, distributed in an all-digital format as part of our <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/green/">Green Initiative</a><br /> (Registration required.)<br /> </div> </div> <div class="greenBand"></div> </div> <!-- / InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <br /><!-- leave as a br to not interfere w/ the insights boxes --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/smb/009/009SMB_CScloud_art_110.jpg" width="110" height="110" alt="Cloud beyond Saas" title="Cloud beyond Saas" width="110" height="110" class="artInlineTopImage" /> <P> Damian Brennan doesn't mince words about the benefits his manufacturing company gets from the software-as-a-service model of IT delivery. "Most cloud providers offer software and services that are more secure, scalable, and feature-rich than what we could hope to develop internally or buy out of the box," says Brennan, VP and CIO of Artco Group International, a steel industry supplier. Brennan currently use SaaS for ERP, email and archiving, Web hosting, spam filtering, IT support desk, backup</p> <P> and file sharing, and more. Where he hits the wall, for now, is with Active Directory, some legacy and niche applications, and VPN and network appliances--though he's in the market for a cloud provider to take those on. </p> <P> A cut of our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/5/8658/Cloud-Computing/research-2012-state-of-cloud-computing.html?cid=pub_analyt_iwk_20120430">InformationWeek 2012 State of Cloud Computing Survey</a> reflecting companies with fewer than 1,000 employees shows that while Brennan is one of a very small group--just 7% strong--planning to have 75% or more of their IT services delivered from the cloud, few will take a pass completely. About half of SMB respondents are either using a cloud provider now or expect to by the end of the year. Just 26% have no plans, down from 33% in our 2011 survey. </p> <P> Among the doubters is Mark Webb, IT and operations manager for the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul, and he's made that decision mainly based on cost analysis. "Since we are a nonprofit, we get great discounts on software and hardware," says Webb. "Currently there are no services out there that could even come close to handling what we do in-house at our cost." Webb's also leery of losing tight integration and being tied to the way the service provider wants to operate, concerns IT leaders often cite.</p> <P> Still, looking ahead, avoiding cloud services will be a bit like trying to keep iPhones off your LAN. You'll succeed for a while, but eventually, most companies will succumb to the ongoing shift in the way enterprise technology is sold, deployed, and used. And when companies do give in, they may be playing catch-up with early-adopting competitors who saw the advantages. </p> <P> Love them or hate them, cloud services do level the playing field. The smallest company can rent a robust BI or CRM package or VoIP system that makes it look like a big business in the eyes of customers. And, like any buy-vs.-rent decision, the need to save money short term usually weighs heavily--a factor no doubt contributing to cloud providers' bottom lines. IDC reports that worldwide revenue from public IT cloud services exceeded $21.5 billion in 2010 and predicts it will reach $72.9 billion in 2015; that's a compound annual growth rate of 27.6%. Compare that to the 6.7% growth the research firm projects for the worldwide IT market as a whole.</p> <P> Even true believers, though, tend to hit a bump in the road, one that's common among CIOs at smaller companies: SaaS is an easy sell; infrastructure-as-a-service, not so much. Many have data center gear that they can't afford to entirely retire, even as they eye the lower maintenance and fixed costs that could come from a largely cloud-based infrastructure. And there's often, as with Webb, a legitimate fear of forced standardization and lock-in. We also see a skills gap: Admins used to managing virtual infrastructures with VMware will need to adapt to a new platform, with much less granular control than you've enjoyed with VirtualCenter. It's worth pushing forward, though, because the IaaS model lends itself particularly well to small companies, as we discuss in this <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/utility_ondemand/232901031">Practical Analysis column</a>. </p> <P> The question then becomes, how do you migrate your infrastructure to the cloud in as efficient and risk-free a manner as possible? The answer is to develop a methodology for assessing where a cloud infrastructure provider could maintain or improve the quality of the IT services you deliver. We'll present a road map to help you focus your efforts on the areas of your infrastructure that could benefit the most from a migration to the cloud. You'll also need to consider the full return-on-investment picture; our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/5/8702/Cloud-Computing/research-cloud-roi-calculations.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20120430">Cloud ROI report</a> can help. </p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center><strong>To read the rest of the article,<br /><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/043012smb?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the May 2012 issue of <em>InformationWeek SMB</em></a></strong></center><br clear="all" /></p> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center> <div id="inlineReportPromo"> <div class="inlineReportPromo_headline"><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/166/8780/Professional+Development+and+Salary+Data/research-2012-smb-it-salary-survey.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20120430" target="_blank" style="color:#ffffff;">Research: 2012 SMB IT Salary Survey </a></div> <div class="inlineReportPromo_inner"> <center><strong>SMB IT Works for Less, Enjoys It More</strong></center><br /> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/smb/009/009SMB_CSreportcover.jpg" width="175" height="107" style="float:right;"> Our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/166/8780/Professional+Development+and+Salary+Data/research-2012-smb-it-salary-survey.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20120430">2012 SMB IT Salary Survey</a> is free with registration.<br /><br /> This report includes action-oriented analysis and is packed with <strong>67</strong> charts. What you'll find: <ul class="normalUL"><li>Compensation trends for IT pros at companies with 1,000 or fewer employees</li> <li>Staff and management base salaries by job function</li> </ul> <center><strong><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/166/8780/Professional+Development+and+Salary+Data/research-2012-smb-it-salary-survey.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20120430">Get This</a> And <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/">All Our Reports</a></strong></center> </div> </div> </center></p><br clear="all"> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> <P> <P> <P> <P>2012-03-27T12:33:00ZMicrosoft talks up every release of Windows Server as the best ever. But based on our first experience with Windows 8 Server, some key changes deserve your attention.http://www.informationweek.com/news/232700321?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/windows/operatingsystems /232601852"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/750/Win_8_preview -02_tn.jpg" alt="Windows 8 Beta: Visual Tour" title="Windows 8 Beta: Visual Tour" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Windows 8 Beta: Visual Tour</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Windows Server 8 debuted in beta form earlier this month, so it's time to start paying attention to what you can expect to see when Windows Server 8 goes gold. We can't think of any release of Windows Server that Microsoft hasn't claimed is the most significant release ever. But to be fair, Windows 8 does promise to include some cool enhancements and new features that might make deployment worthwhile in the shorter term. <P> Of the hundreds of new features that Microsoft is packing into Windows 8 Server, only a few are truly impactful in our opinion. Here's a Cliff Notes version of the high-impact features that I think could actually make a difference in your environment in late 2012 and beyond. <P> <strong>1. Finally, an improved DHCP server</strong> <P> A downed DHCP server can create mass hysteria and send employees running to IT with baseball bats in hand (it's happened to me). Microsoft's historical unwillingness to provide High Availability for DHCP has been a royal pain in the butt for many IT admins, and it's been a boon to the third-party vendors (Infoblox, for example) who have stepped in to fill the void. While Microsoft is understandably sensitive about stepping on the toes of partners and innovators, the Windows team finally started to extend DHCP in Server 2008 R2 by making it a cluster-aware application in the eyes of Windows Failover Clustering services. However, Windows 8 Server sports a much more robust DHCP Server, and implementation looks simple. <P> Here's how DHCP in Win8 Server is different: You can configure two servers running the DHCP Server Role to work in an Active/Active (load balanced) or in an Active/Standby pair. Setting up DHCP clustering is really easy. You simply right-click the IP scope that you want to provide HA for, select Configure Failover, and follow a quick, wizard-driven set of prompts to complete the cluster. <P> One negative in Server 8 Beta is that you can only cluster a scope across two DHCP servers. But Microsoft's emphasis on this limitation in the beta versions implies that it may not be a limitation when it goes gold; for many environments, a simple 2-node DHCP cluster may suffice anyway. Another disappointment is that one of the DHCP servers in the cluster must be a Domain Controller. No room for a deep dive on DHCP here, but keep an eye out for our future coverage with detailed hands-on testing. <P> <strong>[ Learn how Windows 8 Server Core could reduce storage costs for enterprises building a private cloud. See <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/operating_systems/232602959?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Windows 8 Server Core Promises Cheaper Clouds</a>. ]</strong> <P> <strong>2. A poor man's ISE for PowerShell</strong> <P> When Microsoft first released Exchange 2007, Exchange admins everywhere nearly rioted in the streets when they discovered that the only way to manage public folder client permissions was through PowerShell. The ensuing battle between scripting wonks and pragmatic sysadmins unfolded quickly. On the one hand, Windows Server is supposed to be easy to manage, so why try to turn Windows into Linux by forcing people to use PowerShell? On the other hand, we can't expect Microsoft to develop a UI to account for each and every big business system management use case in existence. <P> The conventional wisdom is that if you're not a scripting wonk, and if you don't need to automate the creation of 1000 accounts a day, then you really don't need to learn or use PowerShell. Thankfully, Microsoft is finally starting to find a well-balanced middle ground. It's eliminating the requirement to use PowerShell where it can, and in Windows 8 server, it's providing a first-generation Microsoft-supplied ISE to manage PowerShell. <P> One of the biggest issues that point-and-click administrators have with PowerShell is navigating the vast database of Commandlets available along with their parameters. The new PowerShell ISE is really cool because it auto-completes Commandlet names, and it also provides a bubble that depicts how to structure the parameters that the Commandlet requires. The PowerShell ISE supports scripting tabs and color-coding of syntax, so in some ways writing PowerShell scripts now feels like working in Visual Studio. The only thing that bugs us here is that there's no detailed Commandlet description built into the ISE, so you have to fish for what the Commandlet actually does outside of the ISE. In addition to the ISE, there are many new Commandlets available (like a DHCP Server module, for example) that should help nuts-and-bolts administrators do their job more efficiently in Win8. <P> <strong>3. Hyper-V is no longer crippled</strong> <P> Catching up to VMWare in the hypervisor market isn't exactly child's play from an engineering perspective, so let's not bash Microsoft for trailing the pack here for the last few years. There's a perception that Hyper-V is still an inferior hypervisor, and in some respects it still is--but that gap is narrowing. <P> Here's a short list of our favorite Hyper-V improvements in Windows 8 Server Beta: <P> --You can now trunk multiple VLANs across a Hyper-V virtual switch attached to a single physical NIC. <P> --Live migration of a virtual machine in previous incarnations of Hyper-V could only be done in a shared storage scenario. Now you can perform live migrations to any Hyper-V host. Perhaps more importantly, you can now live-migrate multiple VM's on a single instance of Hyper-V (the same host) simultaneously. <P> --Hyper-V hosts will now support up to 160 logical CPUs and 2TB of RAM, and VMs can now be configured to support up to 32 virtual CPUs and 1TB of memory. (And Microsoft is not relating pricing to memory, as VMware has done.) <P> --You can present native fiber channel storage directly to a Hyper-V guest VM. <P> --The new Hyper-V Replica feature asynchronously replicates VM's to a host offsite (or elsewhere) to provide HA in the case of a sudden and abrupt loss of the primary Hyper-V host. Note that cutting over to a replica requires manual intervention, unless otherwise automated by a script or third-party tool. <P> In a purely technical head-to-head competition, vSphere still wins, but the improvements listed above put Hyper-V only a few steps behind. Ironically, Hyper-V's future success isn't primarily tied to its capabilities at all, but rather to whether there is remaining ill will among VMWare customers related to vRAM licensing changes earlier this year. In Windows Server 8, Hyper-V is now actually a viable (and free) alternative to vSphere for IT shops that are completely married to Windows Server. <P><strong>4. DirectAccess, without the need for IPv6!</strong> <P> When I first heard about what DirectAccess was designed to do, I nearly hit the ceiling jumping for joy at the promise of a Microsoft-supplied, clientless VPN solution. In simplest terms, DirectAccess clients communicate with a DirectAccess server that acts as a traditional IPSec gateway for providing complete remote access to the domain from any location. DirectAccess beats traditional VPN offerings, because complete access to the domain can be established prior to logon, and that allows IT to enforce security policy, execute logon scripts, and remotely manage clients regardless of physical location. The main problem with the first incarnation of DirectAccess was that it was cumbersome to deploy and it required that you deploy some IPv6 in your environment. Perhaps the coolest improvement that Microsoft made to DirectAccess in Windows 8 is removing the requirement to run multiple IP stacks in order to make it work. In addition, certificate-based authentication is no longer a mandate; you can authenticate using your AD credentials. You can now even join a brand-new PC to the domain from outside the network boundary; however, it must be running Windows 8 in order to take advantage of this feature. <P> If you consider all of the remote access challenges that big business has with respect to remote user management (password expiration, group policy enforcement, software distribution, to name a few), DirectAccess has the potential to solve those problems quickly and at minimal cost. DirectAccess was a flop in Server 2008 because it was cumbersome to deploy, but we anticipate deployments picking up steam quickly once Windows Server 8 hits the street. <P> <strong>5. Server management</strong> <P> Microsoft is definitely headed in a better direction with the overhaul that it's made to the traditional server management tools in Windows Server 8. First, in the Windows Server 8 beta, there is no traditional start menu or cumbersome navigation required to reach server management tools. For the most part, you have only two options: Server Manager and PowerShell. As a result, the new Win8 Server UI doesn't feel like a desktop PC anymore. <P> If you work in an environment that contains hundreds of servers, then you already know how cumbersome it is to perform certain tasks. Checking logs, adding or removing roles, starting or stopping services, or executing a shell script are all often more efficiently done by connecting to the individual server itself to perform the task. Windows 8 offers a much more elegant way to manage servers, by giving the administrator the option to add pools of servers to a management group for single pane of glass management. <P> So, for example, you could create a server pool that contains all of your Exchange servers and see all event logs from each of those servers in one view, which of course is huge for troubleshooting a large environment. The same goes for adding roles or manipulating servers for remote machines; all of it can be done from any Windows 8 server in the environment (that's servers, not workstations, at least for now.) As a result, you won't find yourself RDP'ing to individual servers that much anymore in Windows 8 for management because on the whole, it's not necessary. You can also natively run Powershell scripts against remote Windows 8 hosts, which makes running complex scheduled batch jobs against several systems easy. <P> While Windows Server 8 has a lean look and feel, the OS itself is still a monstrosity of a compilation with an ISO image size of 3.5GB (compared to just under 3GB for Server 2008 R2.) But at least it appears that all of those millions of lines of code are coming together into a much improved server platform. There's a lot to like about the direction that Microsoft is taking Windows Server 8. In the coming months, we'll see if we can break Windows Server 8 by putting the OS through some thorough testing. Stay tuned for the results. <P> <i>The <a href="http://e2conf.com/boston?_mc=E2IWKPREM">Enterprise 2.0 Conference</a> brings together industry thought leaders to explore the latest innovations in enterprise social software, analytics, and big data tools and technologies. Learn how your business can harness these tools to improve internal business processes and create operational efficiencies. It happens in Boston, June 18-21. Register today! </i> <P>2012-03-07T16:23:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/8704/Security/strategy-fisma-lifts-all-compliance-boats.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Windows_8_software