Windows Server 2008

This session follows up from the installation session by diving deeper into the ICS, or Initial Configuration Settings feature.  This is essentially a bootstrap setup feature which configures some of the most basic options required to get your WS08 computer up and running.  After this, you'll be ready to add Roles and Features (covered in separate sessions) and start building your server up from there to suit your needs.

This session walks you through the process of a typical installation of Windows Server 2008 Standard "Full" edition (with GUI) and touches on the ICS (Initial Configuration Settings) phase at the end.  A separate session covers ICS by itself.

Sounds dull and boring, doesn't it?  Wrong.  Microsoft poured their heart and soul into this hidden gem in WS08.  The Task Scheduler has undergone an extreme makeover, and for the good actually.  What you'll find is just how flexible and powerful it has become.

This session walks you through many of the new features and improvements you will find with respect to the Start Menu and Desktop aspects of Windows Server 2008.

This session walks you through the new Server Manager console in Windows Server 2008.  While many WS03 admins moaned about what a pain it was trying to adapt to using the Server Manager in that version, the new SM is finally worth considering as your main interface to managing your server.  You will see how everything is wrapped into a central console in a way that doesn't get in your way, but actually saves you time and effort getting from one place to another while checking on settings, roles, features, events, and more, as well as making it much easier to modify settings for just about everything possible.

This guide covers the new "Roles" feature in Windows Server 2008.  What it is, and what roles are available for you to enable or disable.

This session covers how to enable the ADS role on your Windows Server 2008 computer and promote it to become a domain controller.

This is part 1 of what will be a three part exploration of event management withing Windows Server 2008.  This session covers the GUI features of the WS08 Event Viewer itself.  Parts 2 and 3 will explore event forwarding and subscriptions, as well as command line tools like wecutil, wevtutil and eventcreate.

This session covers the File Services role and share provisioning.  How to add the role and configure it, as well as creating and managing shares with WS08.

This session explores the changes to the Windows Firewall, both from a GUI and command line aspect.  We look at profiles and rules, as well as new features in both the dialog interfaces and the command line via NETSH.