Microsoft Connect | Introducing Windows Server 2008

Microsoft Connect (http://connect.microsoft.com) is the place to go if you want to join and participate in beta testing various Microsoft products, including Windows Server 2008. Connect is also a great source of pre-release documentation on the product, though as I said above, this documentation should also be available from the Download Center by the time you read this.

There are two special types of documentation currently on Connect that I want to highlight for you. First, there’s the “Changes in Functionality in Windows Server Code Name Longhorn” document that is updated every few months with more detailed information concerning the new features and enhancements of the platform. This doc and the book you’re holding in your hands provide a very comprehensive overview of Windows Server 2008 as of Beta 3. And while this book will not be updated for RTM-as Microsoft Press will be releasing other (bigger and fatter) books about Windows Server 2008-the “Changes in Functionality” doc will continue to be updated until it’s released in final form at RTM. So keep an eye on this doc as it develops.

The other type of documentation on Connect (and soon to be on the Download Center) is the Step-by-Step Guides, which are hands-on tutorials for testing various Windows Server 2008 features. These Step-by-Step Guides are a gold mine for those interested in getting hands-on experience with the product, and the following list shows the titles currently available at the time of writing this chapter:

Step-by-Step Guide for Windows Server “Longhorn” Active Directory Domain Services Backup and Recovery
Step-by-Step Guide for Windows Server “Longhorn” AD DS Installation and Removal
Step-by-Step Guide for Active Directory Federation Services in Windows Server “Longhorn”
Windows Server Active Directory Rights Management Services Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Auditing AD DS Changes Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Backup and Recovery Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Certificate Settings in Group Policy Step-by-Step Guide
Step-by-Step Guide for Configuring a Two-Node File Server Failover Cluster in Windows Server “Longhorn”
Step-by-Step Guide for Configuring Network Load Balancing with Terminal Services: Windows Server “Longhorn”
Step-by-Step Guide to Controlling Device Installation Using Group Policy
Microsoft Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn” Server Core Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn” Step-by-Step Guide to Distributed File System
Using Identity Federation with Active Directory Rights Management Services Step-by-Step Guide
Microsoft Windows Server “Longhorn” Initial Configuration Tasks Step-by-Step Guide
Installing, Configuring, and Troubleshooting Microsoft Online Responder
Managing Group Policy ADMX Files Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Network Access Protection and DHCP Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Network Access Protection and IPSec Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Network Access Protection Using VPN (RRAS) Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” NFS Step-by-Step Guide
Microsoft Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn” Offline Files Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Performance and Reliability Monitoring Step-by-Step Guide
Step-by-Step Guide for Planning, Deploying, and Using a Windows Server “Longhorn” Read-Only Domain Controller
Microsoft Windows Server “Longhorn” Print Management Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Restartable Active Directory Step-by-Step Guide
Microsoft Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn” Server Core Step-by-Step Guide
Microsoft Windows Server “Longhorn” Storage Manager for SANs Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Terminal Services Remote Programs Step-by-Step Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” TS Gateway Server Step-by-Step Setup Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Release TS Licensing Step-by-Step Setup Guide
Windows Server “Longhorn” Windows Deployment Services Step-by-Step Guide
Microsoft Windows Server “Longhorn” Windows System Resource Manager Step-by-Step Guide

Finally, in addition to the “Changes in Functionality” doc and the Step-by-Step Guides, Connect also has chat transcripts, Live Meeting recordings, and other useful information to those who are beta testing Windows Server 2008.