Microsoft's Simple SAN

Microsoft is looking to simplify SANs

According to this press release they hope to get more customers for Windows Storage Server by:

• Ensuring interoperability with the storage capabilities in the Windows platform.
  Windows Server 2003 has built-in support for SANs. By providing
  technical support and Plugfest assistance, hardware interoperability in
  Windows Server improves.
  
• Working with vendors to simplify hardware setup. By
  reducing setup complexity of the individual SAN components, the
  potential for incorrectly configuring the SAN is reduced. Simplifying
  setup documentation is a part of this effort.
  
• Helping customers to make an informed decision about SAN purchases.
  By introducing the Simple SAN for Windows Server Program, Microsoft
  provides a vehicle to channel SAN hardware solutions that are simple
  and easily deployed. Customers who want help with putting together
  their first SAN can see which vendors are committed to simplifying SANs
  and then make their purchase decisions accordingly.
  

Mac OS X annoyance and fix

If you have a mixed network that includes Macs running OS X you've probably seen .DS_Store files all over your file server. Anytime a Mac user copies files to a network share with the Finder it will leave one of these files behind.

I found a link today while browsing del.iciou.us on how to fix it:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301711

One Year to switch from SUS to WSUS

Microsoft recently announced that they will end support of Software Update Services (SUS) 1.0 on December 6, 2006. The replacement for SUS is now called Windows Server Update Services.

WSUS includes a number of new features like targeting of patches to specific groups of machines, support for more products inculding Microsoft Office and better reporting.

A quick Google serach turned up a good WSUS Wiki full of information, tips and tricks for your reading pleasure. Another good place to look for information is the del.icio.us tagging service. Put in your search topic and you'll find links to sites that other people have found interesting along with related sites.

Bloglines is a great way to keep up with technology news and other RSS feeds. I have a number of del.icio.us tags in my list of feeds including one for WSUS. To subscribe to a del.icio.us tag you simply add "rss" to the URL as in:

http://del.icio.us/rss/tag/windowsupdateservices

Check it out.

Altiris ManageFusion

Altiris recently held their ManageFusion event in Orlando Florida. It's one of a number of similar events they hold all over the world. They chose this venue to announce a new product that I think is really cool.

Software Virtualization Services (SVS) expands the concept of virtualizing operating systems to applications. SVS loads as layer between the operating system and the user such that any application installed into a virtual software package can be activated or deactivated with one click.

This has lots of implications for anyone that needs to keep multiple versions of the same software around - like software developers. It also has the ability to "fix" a broken application in much the same way. A utility named Trinklet sits in the system tray and gives you instant access to all your applications. You can "uninstall" everything to get a clean machine with just a few clicks.

You can apply for the Altiris beta program at http://beta.altiris.com.