Microsoft has finished the fourth version of its Windows Intune management service, with an obvious yet needed focus on mobile device management.
Allegedly December 17th was the target date to release the new wave including Windows 8, RT and Windows Phone 8 support. But existing customers will have to wait until mid January for the new features.
Besides adding support for the latest versions of Windows and Windows Phone, the new version of Windows Intune enables sideloading of applications for Microsoft and non-Microsoft devices.
Wave D also brings to the table agent-based management for not only Windows RT and Windows Phone 8, but also iOS. This is great news and moves away from the reliance of EAS via Exchange although android will still need EAS for management.
Most customers who were on Office 365 or other hosted Exchange platforms could never use EAS to manage mobile devices, so this is great news.
Microsoft has also modified the pricing and licensing for Windows Intune with the latest release, providing a $6 per user per month version too (with no Software Assurance rights and no Windows Enterprise license) for use for managing up to five devices.
Saturday 22 December 2012
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Citrix & NetApp get closer
Citrix and NetApp have jointly developed a software and hardware package optimised for Citrix's ShareFile with StorageZones.
ShareFile with StorageZones is Citrix's enterprise 'dropbox' alternative and allows CIOs to place data in the organisation's own data center as opposed to in the cloud.
Enterprises can now meet data compliance and users can still access their documents and images from anywhere at any time.
By collaborating, Citrix and NetApp will help enterprises simplify and accelerate on-premise, data sharing and storage deployments.
The joint approach ensures that StorageZones works with NetApp's FAS and V-Series storage systems running its clustered Data ONTAP software.
This allows you to take advantage of features such as de-duplication and compression to decrease the amount of storage needed to host employee content.
NetApp's Snapshot technology can be used to backup and recover the data.
This should come as good news as businesses grapple to contain data in the enterprise yet make it freely available to those needing access.
Need to know more? Contact us.
ShareFile with StorageZones is Citrix's enterprise 'dropbox' alternative and allows CIOs to place data in the organisation's own data center as opposed to in the cloud.
Enterprises can now meet data compliance and users can still access their documents and images from anywhere at any time.
By collaborating, Citrix and NetApp will help enterprises simplify and accelerate on-premise, data sharing and storage deployments.
The joint approach ensures that StorageZones works with NetApp's FAS and V-Series storage systems running its clustered Data ONTAP software.
This allows you to take advantage of features such as de-duplication and compression to decrease the amount of storage needed to host employee content.
NetApp's Snapshot technology can be used to backup and recover the data.
This should come as good news as businesses grapple to contain data in the enterprise yet make it freely available to those needing access.
Need to know more? Contact us.
Microsoft Goes Big Compute with Azure
Microsoft has made enhancements to Windows Azure to allow customers to run applications that require Big Compute.
This is a capability many cloud providers are now offering in the wake of Big Data, such as Rackspace with Hadoop.
In order to demonstrate the capabilities Microsoft ran a LINPACK benchmark resulting in a 151.3 Tflops on 8,065 cores with 90,2 efficiency, and Microsoft therefore submitted the data to be included in the Top 500 of the world’s largest supercomputers.
The capabilities include:
Hardware for Big Compute, which is currently in a private preview and is expected to become available in 2013. Microsoft is planning to offer 2 configurations, a 8 core/60GB of RAM and a 16 core/120GB of RAM configuration, running on top of machines with the following specifications:
Dual Intel Sandybridge processors at 2.6 GHz
DDR3 1600 MHz RAM
10 GigE network for storage and internet access
InfiniBand (IB) 40 Gbps network with RDMA
Microsoft HPC Pack 2012, allows customers to run workloads on Windows Azure, on-premise or both in a hybrid scenario. The 2012 version will add support for Windows Server 2012, VPN integration for access to on-premises resources, job execution control for dependencies, job scheduling policies for memory and cores, monitoring tools and utilities and is expected to be released in December this year.
This is a capability many cloud providers are now offering in the wake of Big Data, such as Rackspace with Hadoop.
In order to demonstrate the capabilities Microsoft ran a LINPACK benchmark resulting in a 151.3 Tflops on 8,065 cores with 90,2 efficiency, and Microsoft therefore submitted the data to be included in the Top 500 of the world’s largest supercomputers.
The capabilities include:
Hardware for Big Compute, which is currently in a private preview and is expected to become available in 2013. Microsoft is planning to offer 2 configurations, a 8 core/60GB of RAM and a 16 core/120GB of RAM configuration, running on top of machines with the following specifications:
Dual Intel Sandybridge processors at 2.6 GHz
DDR3 1600 MHz RAM
10 GigE network for storage and internet access
InfiniBand (IB) 40 Gbps network with RDMA
Microsoft HPC Pack 2012, allows customers to run workloads on Windows Azure, on-premise or both in a hybrid scenario. The 2012 version will add support for Windows Server 2012, VPN integration for access to on-premises resources, job execution control for dependencies, job scheduling policies for memory and cores, monitoring tools and utilities and is expected to be released in December this year.
Thursday 25 October 2012
Windows 8 is Here
Microsoft has launched the successor to the much
venerated Windows 7. For a company which
dominates the PC market the launch is all the more important milestone as it attempts to
take a larger slice of the rapidly expanding market for tablets and phones.
Windows 8 combines the best features of the familiar Windows
7 desktop with a touch interface with a fast and fluid design perfect for a
range of touch enabled devices. The
critical point to note is Windows 8 a fully fledged version of Windows 7, only
better. It will still be able to handle existing programmes such as iTunes, Adobe
Photoshop and any critical business apps running within current Windows 7
environments, at the same time allowing you to be more mobile.
The launch of Windows 8 is accompanied by launch of new products
from all the major tablet, laptop and PC manufacturers(1) (2) ensuring there will be plenty of
choices on what hardware you want to run your OS and apps on. These include devices that offer both laptop
and tablet options within the same model, perfect for tackling essential tasks
on the go.
“A recent survey conducted
by Equanet which included 300 medium to large UK firms revealed more than 37
per cent are planning to adopt the OS, with 11 per cent wanting to adopt it
immediately on release.
When questioned about the reasons for adoption, 44 per cent
of respondents felt Microsoft’s new OS will improve employees' work/life
balance, 34 per cent felt it could improve the control and management of client
devices and 25 per cent felt it would integrate well with BYOD schemes.
According to the respondents, the top five features of
Windows 8 (in percentage order) were: Windows To Go (42 per cent), Windows User
Interface (19 per cent), increased licensing rights (18 per cent), virtual
desktop rights (16 per cent) and Bitlocker (14 per cent).” (3)
If you need tech or licensing support on Windows 8 or
anything else contact us or register for one of upcoming events here
Visit the Equanet Windows 8 Page here
Visit the Equanet Windows 8 Page here
- http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/pc/hp-lays-out-us-windows-8-device-availability-and-pricing-1106967
- http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/desktop-pc/3406721/dell-delivers-full-windows-8-line-up/
- http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2218494/equanet-windows-8-set-for-steady-start#ixzz2AIU7eZ7I
Sunday 21 October 2012
Citrix Synergy Roundup
So Equanet has been busy this week; exhibiting and presenting at IPExpo and attending Citrix Synergy. Both of which were great uses of our time. In this blog we identify some of the key messages from Synergy.
The highlight for many administrators surely has to be Excalibur, which combines management and backend for XenApp and XenDesktop.
Excalibur
Excalibur is Phase 1 of Project Avalon and it finally combines XenApp and XenDesktop into one management console and a single architecture–XenDesktop's FMA (Flexcast Management Architecture).
Also included as part of Excalibur is Profile Manager, Storefront and Edgesight. All of these will be deployed via one install.
One thing to note is that Excalibur does not have support for 32-bit terminal server environments.
FMA has some major differences from IMA. FMA doesn't have the concept of zones, which for XenApp servers are important for spreading around intra-server communication, configurations, and scalability.
CloudGateway / Mobility
Citrix clearly sees CloudGateway as a strategic play for their future.
In simple terms, aggregation of cloud services into a single store front presented to the end user.
ShareFile StorageZones Connector
There is a Tech Preview of the StorageZones Connector, which is an on-premise solution that integrates into your existing file shares, making them available via ShareFile clients (HybridZones).
It is clear that mobility has become the focal point again for Citrix. I say again as they have always had the anywhere, any device and any connection approach to technology. And with the advent of 4G and consumerisation this is the next big wave for Citrix to ride.
The highlight for many administrators surely has to be Excalibur, which combines management and backend for XenApp and XenDesktop.
Excalibur
Excalibur is Phase 1 of Project Avalon and it finally combines XenApp and XenDesktop into one management console and a single architecture–XenDesktop's FMA (Flexcast Management Architecture).
Also included as part of Excalibur is Profile Manager, Storefront and Edgesight. All of these will be deployed via one install.
One thing to note is that Excalibur does not have support for 32-bit terminal server environments.
FMA has some major differences from IMA. FMA doesn't have the concept of zones, which for XenApp servers are important for spreading around intra-server communication, configurations, and scalability.
CloudGateway / Mobility
Citrix clearly sees CloudGateway as a strategic play for their future.
In simple terms, aggregation of cloud services into a single store front presented to the end user.
ShareFile StorageZones Connector
There is a Tech Preview of the StorageZones Connector, which is an on-premise solution that integrates into your existing file shares, making them available via ShareFile clients (HybridZones).
It is clear that mobility has become the focal point again for Citrix. I say again as they have always had the anywhere, any device and any connection approach to technology. And with the advent of 4G and consumerisation this is the next big wave for Citrix to ride.
Hybrid Enterprise Dropbox? That will be Citrix Sharefile
We have all done it and will continue to do it; upload content to Dropbox without thinking about the sensitivity of the information or location of the data. For many months businesses having been looking for ways to offer the enterprise Dropbox to maintain governance on access and data.
Citrix Systems is giving back to business some control over personal cloud-based storage with ShareFile StorageZones, which allows user content to be stored in enterprises' own data centres. Users will still access their content the way they are used to.
Enterprises can choose between what Citrix calls customer-managed StorageZones that place data in the organisation's own data center, and Citrix-managed StorageZones, which are available in seven locations around the world.
Working in conjunction with customer-managed zones, StorageZone Connectors are designed to let IT staff create a secure connection between the ShareFile service and user data stored on enterprise networks.
Citrix has also announced plans to add Citrix-managed StorageZones on Microsoft's Azure cloud in 2013.
Next year Citrix will also start shipping the ShareFile StorageZones MPX Appliance. It will have integrated security and network optimisation, and also will be designed to simplify integration with existing storage environments.
This combined with CloudGateway should become central to your mobility plans. Need to know more then contact us.
Citrix Systems is giving back to business some control over personal cloud-based storage with ShareFile StorageZones, which allows user content to be stored in enterprises' own data centres. Users will still access their content the way they are used to.
Enterprises can choose between what Citrix calls customer-managed StorageZones that place data in the organisation's own data center, and Citrix-managed StorageZones, which are available in seven locations around the world.
Working in conjunction with customer-managed zones, StorageZone Connectors are designed to let IT staff create a secure connection between the ShareFile service and user data stored on enterprise networks.
Citrix has also announced plans to add Citrix-managed StorageZones on Microsoft's Azure cloud in 2013.
Next year Citrix will also start shipping the ShareFile StorageZones MPX Appliance. It will have integrated security and network optimisation, and also will be designed to simplify integration with existing storage environments.
This combined with CloudGateway should become central to your mobility plans. Need to know more then contact us.
VMware Extends ESX Support for OpenStack
VMware is not letting the grass grow beneath its feet since joining the OpenStack community and has announced support for its ESX hypervisor on OpenStack.
VMware has been engaging with OpenStack more and more over the past few months. First, it purchased Nicira, then immediately after that deal closed, the company applied to become a member of the OpenStack Foundation.
One of the biggest questions since has been how will VMware contribute to OpenStack. VMware, has announced
a compute driver within OpenStack that would support vSphere. Adding to the support of Xen, KVM and Hyper-V.
Some have said VMware joining Openstack has been to slow the project down, we believe it endorses the project and shows the need for an open cloud platform. Clearly it competes with vCloud Director but also allows sales of vSphere as normal.
OpenStack is already being used by some big-name public cloud providers such as Rackspace and HP to launch public cloud services. That puts it in direct competition with VMware's vCloud Director.
In addition to announcing the ESX support, VMware is also supporting OpenStack in orher ways including Nicira's work in the virtual networking Quantum project, and the effort of integrating its Cloud Foundry platform as a service into OpenStack.
VMware has been engaging with OpenStack more and more over the past few months. First, it purchased Nicira, then immediately after that deal closed, the company applied to become a member of the OpenStack Foundation.
One of the biggest questions since has been how will VMware contribute to OpenStack. VMware, has announced
a compute driver within OpenStack that would support vSphere. Adding to the support of Xen, KVM and Hyper-V.
Some have said VMware joining Openstack has been to slow the project down, we believe it endorses the project and shows the need for an open cloud platform. Clearly it competes with vCloud Director but also allows sales of vSphere as normal.
OpenStack is already being used by some big-name public cloud providers such as Rackspace and HP to launch public cloud services. That puts it in direct competition with VMware's vCloud Director.
In addition to announcing the ESX support, VMware is also supporting OpenStack in orher ways including Nicira's work in the virtual networking Quantum project, and the effort of integrating its Cloud Foundry platform as a service into OpenStack.
Tuesday 16 October 2012
What will $499 get you.. A Microsoft Surface
Microsoft's Surface tablet will be priced from $499 for a 32GB version in the US – and £399 in the UK – and go on sale on 26 October in eight countries including the UK, the company said today.
The cover that doubles as a keyboard, will cost another $100. A bigger model for $699 has twice the memory, 64 GB, and includes a cover.
On the 25th Microsoft is making available Windows 8, truly enabling the 3 Screens and a Cloud concept.
Microsoft will be selling the tablet in its own stores in the U.S. and Canada and online in those countries, plus Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong and the U.K.
This version of the Surface doesn't have an Intel-style CPU. but it does include a version of the Office suite.
Looks like an exciting few weeks!
The cover that doubles as a keyboard, will cost another $100. A bigger model for $699 has twice the memory, 64 GB, and includes a cover.
On the 25th Microsoft is making available Windows 8, truly enabling the 3 Screens and a Cloud concept.
Microsoft will be selling the tablet in its own stores in the U.S. and Canada and online in those countries, plus Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong and the U.K.
This version of the Surface doesn't have an Intel-style CPU. but it does include a version of the Office suite.
Looks like an exciting few weeks!
Friday 5 October 2012
Microsoft sends out the press invites for Microsoft Surface launch
Microsoft has started sending out invites to a special “Surface Reception” event on October 25th.
In addition to a Windows 8 reveal, Microsoft will launch its highly anticipated tablet – The Surface.
It seems like the event will take
place in New York and starts at 10am.
Microsoft still has not released pricing or a full and complete spec list for its Surface RT tablets/PCs. It has not yet made them available for preorder. The Intel-based Surface Pro versions are not due out until three months, give or take, after the Windows RT launch.
It would appear that the highly anticipated Microsoft tablet is nearly here.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
In addition to a Windows 8 reveal, Microsoft will launch its highly anticipated tablet – The Surface.
It seems like the event will take
place in New York and starts at 10am.
Microsoft still has not released pricing or a full and complete spec list for its Surface RT tablets/PCs. It has not yet made them available for preorder. The Intel-based Surface Pro versions are not due out until three months, give or take, after the Windows RT launch.
It would appear that the highly anticipated Microsoft tablet is nearly here.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday 27 September 2012
Openstack Foundation
OpenStack has got its own open source Foundation. The cloud operating system, launched under an Apache 2 license by cloud provider Rackspace and NASA two years ago, will be governed by an independent organisation similar to the Linux Foundation.
Vendors are expected to package OpenStack and incorporate it into various products. Rackspace and Red Hat already offer OpenStack downloads. And public cloud providers such as HP are launching their own offerings based on OpenStack.
Openstack has plenty to offer organisations and the excitement is seen developing right under your noses through the plethora of established vendors developing code for the project. OpenStack provides a management framework for nearly every virtualized resource in the data centre.
The main OpenStack reward for customers is the Collaborative development of core OpenStack that should shorten the time-to-market for private and public cloud solutions, the adoption of which should increase IT efficiency and reduce costs overall.
Openstack promises an awful lot and whether you call it "the cloud" or not, the need for a standardised way to manage vast amounts of virtualised data centre resources is undeniable. At this point it's hard to ignore the genuine excitement among OpenStack developers as they work toward that goal.
This is going to be a very interesting 12 months especially as VMware have just joined the community.
Vendors are expected to package OpenStack and incorporate it into various products. Rackspace and Red Hat already offer OpenStack downloads. And public cloud providers such as HP are launching their own offerings based on OpenStack.
Openstack has plenty to offer organisations and the excitement is seen developing right under your noses through the plethora of established vendors developing code for the project. OpenStack provides a management framework for nearly every virtualized resource in the data centre.
The main OpenStack reward for customers is the Collaborative development of core OpenStack that should shorten the time-to-market for private and public cloud solutions, the adoption of which should increase IT efficiency and reduce costs overall.
Openstack promises an awful lot and whether you call it "the cloud" or not, the need for a standardised way to manage vast amounts of virtualised data centre resources is undeniable. At this point it's hard to ignore the genuine excitement among OpenStack developers as they work toward that goal.
This is going to be a very interesting 12 months especially as VMware have just joined the community.
Friday 14 September 2012
VMware vCloud Suite is now available
Yesterday VMware announced the availability of VMware vCloud Suite 5.1.
VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 is available in three editions, Standard, Advanced and Enterprise and is licensed per processor.
vCloud Includes software-defined datacenter services, policy-based provisioning, disaster recovery, and application and operations management capabilities delivered by:
VMware vSphere® 5.1 – is the proven foundation for the software-defined datacenter, delivering the highest service levels for all applications, including business-critical workloads and low-latency, I/O-sensitive applications.
VMware vCloud Director® 5.1 – vCloud Director 5.1 allows customers to provision complete virtual datacenter services in minutes.
VMware vCloud Networking and Security 5.1 – Providing a full set of software-defined networking capabilities, the new VMware vCloud Networking and Security enables the dynamic creation of virtual networks and services that are completely decoupled and independent from the physical network hardware.
VMware vCenter™ Site Recovery Manager™ 5.1– To enhance the availability and rapid recovery of applications running in the software-defined datacenter, vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.1 simplifies and automates disaster recovery planning, testing and execution.
VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 is available in three editions, Standard, Advanced and Enterprise and is licensed per processor.
vCloud Includes software-defined datacenter services, policy-based provisioning, disaster recovery, and application and operations management capabilities delivered by:
VMware vSphere® 5.1 – is the proven foundation for the software-defined datacenter, delivering the highest service levels for all applications, including business-critical workloads and low-latency, I/O-sensitive applications.
VMware vCloud Director® 5.1 – vCloud Director 5.1 allows customers to provision complete virtual datacenter services in minutes.
VMware vCloud Networking and Security 5.1 – Providing a full set of software-defined networking capabilities, the new VMware vCloud Networking and Security enables the dynamic creation of virtual networks and services that are completely decoupled and independent from the physical network hardware.
VMware vCenter™ Site Recovery Manager™ 5.1– To enhance the availability and rapid recovery of applications running in the software-defined datacenter, vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.1 simplifies and automates disaster recovery planning, testing and execution.
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Apple VPP Announced
Apple have announced a global expansion of VPP (Volume Purchase Plan) which is well overdue and will be music to many of Equanets BYOD clients.
This has been extended to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
IT procurement within the United States has come to appreciate the ease at which VPP enables them to distribute apps to their iPhone and iPad equipped userbase.
What is VPP?
VPP was created to give IT the ability to push pertinent business applications to a sizeable userbase.
Any application on the App Store can be purchased for distribution, meaning you can now pre populate your enterprise application stores with free, home grown and purchased applications.
App distribution: where to begin
First you'll need to create a volume purchasing account with Apple. Once you've created your account, you decide which application/s you would like to purchase for your users in the Business Store.
After your purchase has been completed, you will be sent a VPP File, which contains VPP Codes that can be sent to users.
The quantity purchased will correlate with the number of codes provided in this package.
Using a mobile device management (MDM) solution turns provides IT with an easy deployment platform to iOS devices.
MDM eliminates the need for manual app distribution, it gives you the power to track provisioning, manage licenses, and monitor compliance of your userbase.
Looking at BYOD but are confused about where and how to start? then contact us to see how our approach can expedite your project.
This has been extended to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
IT procurement within the United States has come to appreciate the ease at which VPP enables them to distribute apps to their iPhone and iPad equipped userbase.
What is VPP?
VPP was created to give IT the ability to push pertinent business applications to a sizeable userbase.
Any application on the App Store can be purchased for distribution, meaning you can now pre populate your enterprise application stores with free, home grown and purchased applications.
App distribution: where to begin
First you'll need to create a volume purchasing account with Apple. Once you've created your account, you decide which application/s you would like to purchase for your users in the Business Store.
After your purchase has been completed, you will be sent a VPP File, which contains VPP Codes that can be sent to users.
The quantity purchased will correlate with the number of codes provided in this package.
Using a mobile device management (MDM) solution turns provides IT with an easy deployment platform to iOS devices.
MDM eliminates the need for manual app distribution, it gives you the power to track provisioning, manage licenses, and monitor compliance of your userbase.
Looking at BYOD but are confused about where and how to start? then contact us to see how our approach can expedite your project.
Windows Server 2012 is here
Equanet have been working with Server 2012 for many months now in readiness for general availability so our customers can be assured of our support when it came to both licensing support and technical services. Well that day has now come, as of September 4th Microsoft has made Windows 2012 RTM versions available for test and purchase.
As part of the launch, Microsoft officials have performed webcast demonstrations of some of the 300 new features that are part of the product.
The key theme hasn't been about speeds and feeds but more about Windows Server 2012 being a key component of Microsoft's 'Cloud OS' vision and strategy. Windows Server 2012 has been developed from the ground up with the cloud in mind (Azure and Private).
Microsoft began to bring more feature parity to its Server and Azure components earlier this year, rolling out an implementation of Active Directory for Azure.
The end result, Microsoft officials are hoping, is a more cohesive and compelling message around Windows Server, in terms of positioning, licensing and pricing.
This version of Microsoft Server really should have you thinking differently about your cloud deployments from both technical and commercial viewpoints. Not only should it gain your respect but it has already gained the respect of industry heavyweight Cisco...
Cisco have been working closely with the Windows Server 2012 team for the past few years towards the goal of the Nexus 1000V integrating with Hyper-V, they have announced Nexus 1000V and VM-FEX support for it.
Cisco customers spoke in volumes about proving a consistency across both virtual and physical switching as they did with VMware.
In addition to the integration with Windows Server 2012, Cisco are also working for tighter integration between Nexus 1000V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). This integration helps both the server & network administrators to get a consistent view of the virtualisation environment, and thus reduces operational complexity. Server admins can pick and choose the logical networks, network-sites and VM networks created by the network admins, and network admins make use of the same NX-OS CLI, feature-set across physical & virtual environments.
We think this support alone speaks volumes about the excitement there is in the industry for server 2012.
If you need tech or licensing support on server 2012 contact us or register for one of upcoming events here
As part of the launch, Microsoft officials have performed webcast demonstrations of some of the 300 new features that are part of the product.
The key theme hasn't been about speeds and feeds but more about Windows Server 2012 being a key component of Microsoft's 'Cloud OS' vision and strategy. Windows Server 2012 has been developed from the ground up with the cloud in mind (Azure and Private).
Microsoft began to bring more feature parity to its Server and Azure components earlier this year, rolling out an implementation of Active Directory for Azure.
The end result, Microsoft officials are hoping, is a more cohesive and compelling message around Windows Server, in terms of positioning, licensing and pricing.
This version of Microsoft Server really should have you thinking differently about your cloud deployments from both technical and commercial viewpoints. Not only should it gain your respect but it has already gained the respect of industry heavyweight Cisco...
Cisco have been working closely with the Windows Server 2012 team for the past few years towards the goal of the Nexus 1000V integrating with Hyper-V, they have announced Nexus 1000V and VM-FEX support for it.
Cisco customers spoke in volumes about proving a consistency across both virtual and physical switching as they did with VMware.
In addition to the integration with Windows Server 2012, Cisco are also working for tighter integration between Nexus 1000V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). This integration helps both the server & network administrators to get a consistent view of the virtualisation environment, and thus reduces operational complexity. Server admins can pick and choose the logical networks, network-sites and VM networks created by the network admins, and network admins make use of the same NX-OS CLI, feature-set across physical & virtual environments.
We think this support alone speaks volumes about the excitement there is in the industry for server 2012.
If you need tech or licensing support on server 2012 contact us or register for one of upcoming events here
Wednesday 29 August 2012
VMware vRAM is no more
We all know the issues that VMware brought to the table by changing their license model for vSphere and the opportunity that presented for alternative virtualisation vendors. Well it appears that VMware has listened with its upcoming release of VMware vSphere 5.1.
VMware is removing the vRAM licensing requirements and returning to its previous CPU-based licensing model, which customers preferred.
With only a .dot release of its flagship vSphere product announced at VMworld this week, VMware should expect to get a lot more attention for this release than it normally would have because of the licensing change. And all those vSphere 4.x users who've been waiting to upgrade to 5.0 may now finally make the move.
VMware is removing the vRAM licensing requirements and returning to its previous CPU-based licensing model, which customers preferred.
With only a .dot release of its flagship vSphere product announced at VMworld this week, VMware should expect to get a lot more attention for this release than it normally would have because of the licensing change. And all those vSphere 4.x users who've been waiting to upgrade to 5.0 may now finally make the move.
What's key in vSphere 5.1
VMware has detailed an abundance of new enhancements to its core virtualisation and cloud products: vSphere, vCenter, the vSphere Storage Appliance, and vCloud Director are all being increased to version 5.1. VMware is also introducing a vSphere Data Protection Appliance.
In adding new features VMware will also knock on the door or 3rd party partners who currently add value to the VMware stack. Such as the moving of SRM host based replication into vSphere, implementing a new backup appliance based upon Avamar.
vSphere Replication
vSphere 5.1 can now perform host-based VM replication, a feature introduced in Site Recovery Manager 5.0 but now part of vSphere. Because it will work across the majority of the vSphere product line, this replication capability should be attractive to smaller businesses that can't afford expensive array-based replication.
vSphere Data Protection
vSphere Data Protection (VDP), is an appliance-based, deduplicating backup package integrated into VMware's vCenter management framework. VDP replaces vSphere Disaster Recovery appliance with deduplication from EMC's Avamar backup line. VDP uses vSphere APIs for Data Protection (VADP).
vSphere networking
This software-based switching architecture adds support for 802.3ad LACP load balancing, RSPAN and ERSPAN remote traffic monitoring, a slew of new automated configuration health checks, VXLAN support, and SR-IOV support. Many of these additions should facilitate software-defined networking initiatives happening in the vCloud Director.
In adding new features VMware will also knock on the door or 3rd party partners who currently add value to the VMware stack. Such as the moving of SRM host based replication into vSphere, implementing a new backup appliance based upon Avamar.
vSphere Replication
vSphere 5.1 can now perform host-based VM replication, a feature introduced in Site Recovery Manager 5.0 but now part of vSphere. Because it will work across the majority of the vSphere product line, this replication capability should be attractive to smaller businesses that can't afford expensive array-based replication.
vSphere Data Protection
vSphere Data Protection (VDP), is an appliance-based, deduplicating backup package integrated into VMware's vCenter management framework. VDP replaces vSphere Disaster Recovery appliance with deduplication from EMC's Avamar backup line. VDP uses vSphere APIs for Data Protection (VADP).
vSphere networking
This software-based switching architecture adds support for 802.3ad LACP load balancing, RSPAN and ERSPAN remote traffic monitoring, a slew of new automated configuration health checks, VXLAN support, and SR-IOV support. Many of these additions should facilitate software-defined networking initiatives happening in the vCloud Director.
VMware vCloud Suite 5.1
As discussed earlier today here VMware at VMworld announced a new suite of technologies called vCloud to simplify the transition to a software defined datacenter or indeed hybrid cloud to a vCloud provider.
The aim of a software-defined datacenter is to abstract all hardware resources, pool them into aggregate capacity to facilitate automation of applications and services deployment.
VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 aggregates all the components customers need to build, operate and manage a modern, cloud integrated, infrastructure:
VMware vSphere® 5.1: with more than 100 enhancements and new features constitutes the foundation of the suite
VMware vCloud Director® 5.1: orchestrates the provisioning of abstracted resources such as storage, networking, security and availability pooling them as software-defined datacenter services
VMware vCloud Networking and Security 5.1: VMware’s software defined networking and security solution, enables the dynamic creation of virtual networks and services decoupled and independent from the physical network hardware
vCenter Site Recovery Manager™ 5.1: simplifies disaster recovery planning and ensures predictable recovery through automated testing and plan execution, can also support datacenter migrations and disaster avoidance, integrates with VMware vSphere Replication and replication technologies from VMware’s partners
The VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 is expected to be available Sept. 11, 2012. It will be offered in three editions – Standard, Advanced and Enterprise – and includes the following products: VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus, VMware vCloud Director, VMware vCloud Connector, VMware vCloud Networking and Security, VMware vFabric Application Director, VMware vCenter Operations Management Suite and VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager. Prices will start at $4,995 per processor.
The aim of a software-defined datacenter is to abstract all hardware resources, pool them into aggregate capacity to facilitate automation of applications and services deployment.
VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 aggregates all the components customers need to build, operate and manage a modern, cloud integrated, infrastructure:
VMware vSphere® 5.1: with more than 100 enhancements and new features constitutes the foundation of the suite
VMware vCloud Director® 5.1: orchestrates the provisioning of abstracted resources such as storage, networking, security and availability pooling them as software-defined datacenter services
VMware vCloud Networking and Security 5.1: VMware’s software defined networking and security solution, enables the dynamic creation of virtual networks and services decoupled and independent from the physical network hardware
vCenter Site Recovery Manager™ 5.1: simplifies disaster recovery planning and ensures predictable recovery through automated testing and plan execution, can also support datacenter migrations and disaster avoidance, integrates with VMware vSphere Replication and replication technologies from VMware’s partners
The VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 is expected to be available Sept. 11, 2012. It will be offered in three editions – Standard, Advanced and Enterprise – and includes the following products: VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus, VMware vCloud Director, VMware vCloud Connector, VMware vCloud Networking and Security, VMware vFabric Application Director, VMware vCenter Operations Management Suite and VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager. Prices will start at $4,995 per processor.
VMware Horizon Suite Details
As blogged earlier this week VMware has announced a new product suite known as VMware Horizon Suite,
VMware Horizon Suite is still in Alpha release. Horizon is a platform that will make it easier administrators to manage the challenges associated with consumerisation (mobility, cloud, and employee BYOD) while also providing a simple working environment for your end users, no matter what the device is.
VMware Horizon Suite brings together many of the technologies within VMware – Project Octopus, Project AppBlast, ThinApp, VMware Horizon Application Manager and VMware Horizon Mobile, as well as the management of VMware View. This not only includes VMware technologies, but also software that runs on Windows and applications delivered via Citrix XenApp, for example.
This makes it possible for enterprises to get the consistent governance they need, while workers enjoy separate personal and business workspaces and consistent access to applications and data on any personal device.
Through a central Web management console, the VMware Horizon Suite enables IT to provide a service catalog for all company data and applications. Horizon Suite will understand a user’s context (device, location and connectivity level) and then apply policies across applications, data, and devices no matter where that data or applications resides (Windows, Web, SaaS or Mobile).
With Horizon Suite, end users can also securely access and share their data and files from any device. You can get a feel for what it looks like in the video below:
Horizon manages from the middle, rather than the endpoint, through identity, context, and policy. And through its web console, IT can deliver a customised service catalog to users so they can select delivery of on-demand Windows, Mobile, SaaS, and Web-based applications to end-users on any device.
VMware Horizon Suite provides the security, governance, and manageability enterprises need while also providing all of the freedoms of choice and work style associated with the BYOD and consumerisation of IT trends.
Key VMworld 2012 Announcements
You may or may not be aware that over in America VMware are currently hosting their end user event - VMworld. Like with previous years there has been a slew announcements and Equanet can articulate them into this single blog entry. These are the main announcements from VMware delivered through their key note sessions:
In 2008 25% of workloads were virtualised; today, that figure is estimated to be 60%.
In 2008, everyone was asking, “What is cloud?” Now, according to VMware, we’re asking “How do we build a cloud?”
VMware has an aspiration to increase the number of workloads that are virtualised (aiming for >90%) and the amount of time to provision new workloads (shooting for minutes/seconds). This is what VMware call the “software-defined data center.”
VMware has announced vCloud Suite, which will include vSphere, vCloud Director, vCloud Connector, Site Recovery Manager, vCenter Operations, and vFabric Application Director–all rolled into a single SKU to make it easier to buy, deploy, and use.
VMware also announced that vRAM will no longer be considered a part of VMware’s licensing approach.
VMware also stated its ongoing support of OpenStack by applying to join OpenStack Foundation.
In vSphere 5.1 VM capacity grows to 64 vCPUs, 1 TB of RAM, and 1 million IOPS in a SINGLE VM, so if you have a need for a machine that big I would love to meet you!
VMware announced enhanced vMotion, which is VMware’s ability to perform live migration without shared storage.
VMware discussed Mirage (an acquisition of Wanova) which is built on the idea of layers, allowing organisations to “decompose” images into smaller, more manageable chunks, and allows for synchronisation of images across the network. Mirage is considered complementary to View, and brings VMware functionality for managing physical desktops and adding functionality for offline computing.
Project AppShift was identified to allow you to access traditional mouse style applications on touch based devices.
VMware Horizon Suite has been launched as a single, product suite that assists in managing and brokering desktops, applications, and data between users and devices (very similar to Citrix CloudGateway 2) Project Octopus is now known as Horizon Data and has moved from Beta code to Alpha code. Project AppBlast will be used to deliver desktops to devices. Oh, and Horizon will also be able to manage XenApp based applications.
Horizon also supports mobile applications as well, through Horizon Mobile. VMware announced a "container application" for iOS (Similar to Good Technology) that allows VMware Horizon Mobile to deploy and manage applications to iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad.
So plenty of announcements from VMware and just to recap the main points from the keynotes are:
- vRAM licensing model is to be disbanded
- vCloud Suite is a set of products under a single SKU to help kickstart your cloud projects
- Horizon Suite is again a set of integrated products to help focus on the end user experience
- Project Octopus is now know as Horizon Data
- vSphere 5.1 has been announced
- VMware View 5.1 has been announced.
- Project App Shift
- AppBlast is WIP
- Mobile Application management on iOS via app wrapping
- Horizon will Manage XenApp.
Monday 27 August 2012
Helping your CIO yes to BYOD
The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend is changing the landscape of corporate IT and support models; with the proliferation of mobile devices, corporate networks are becoming more challenging to manage and more at-risk every day. Corporate IT is now forced to react and build a new end user first computing model because the days of pushing technology to the consumer has now ended. Today, IT departments need to become more agile and adapt quickly to BYOD because it is already happening.
Devices need to connect to networks, so they can provide convenient, access to trusted users, IT needs to protect IP but provide agile architectures that are open enough to support devices but align to corporate governance. Saying no to personal devices is no longer an option.
Users are already using the devices with or without permission on your network. With the right BYOD strategy, IT departments can mitigate the risk, say “yes” and even benefit from this change.
The challenge for the CIO, then, is to build and implement a BYOD strategy that supports device diversity while putting the proper safeguards in place and keeping business and personal items separate. Equanet has created a unique approach for providing a comprehensive strategy for device diversity, protecting sensitive data and enabling productivity to create a BYOD environment that works for everyone.
The Equanet approach starts with the end users and moves through all divisions in the business ensuring all issues and opportunities are raised. We link applications to user identities, not devices, so end users can access the data from any qualified device, whether they’re working in the office or remotely. Corporate and personal digital assets are kept separate in a safe and monitored way.
The Equanet approach for BYOD allows IT to think less about devices and more about the user experience and enabling the employee. This shift in focus, from devices to access and activity, makes BYOD improvements more visible and easier to measure.
If you are considering a BYOD strategy and are wondering where you should start, Equanet can help. We have helped many customers through this transition and. Equanet Advisory Services can help CIOs say “yes” to BYOD by:
Leveraging a proven desktop virtualisation model for BYOD
Developing a suitable digital allowance scheme
Ensuring architecture and security excellence
Providing a roadmap to the end user centric computing model
Performing an operational readiness assessment
Defining a ROI and value proposition.
Devices need to connect to networks, so they can provide convenient, access to trusted users, IT needs to protect IP but provide agile architectures that are open enough to support devices but align to corporate governance. Saying no to personal devices is no longer an option.
Users are already using the devices with or without permission on your network. With the right BYOD strategy, IT departments can mitigate the risk, say “yes” and even benefit from this change.
The challenge for the CIO, then, is to build and implement a BYOD strategy that supports device diversity while putting the proper safeguards in place and keeping business and personal items separate. Equanet has created a unique approach for providing a comprehensive strategy for device diversity, protecting sensitive data and enabling productivity to create a BYOD environment that works for everyone.
The Equanet approach starts with the end users and moves through all divisions in the business ensuring all issues and opportunities are raised. We link applications to user identities, not devices, so end users can access the data from any qualified device, whether they’re working in the office or remotely. Corporate and personal digital assets are kept separate in a safe and monitored way.
The Equanet approach for BYOD allows IT to think less about devices and more about the user experience and enabling the employee. This shift in focus, from devices to access and activity, makes BYOD improvements more visible and easier to measure.
If you are considering a BYOD strategy and are wondering where you should start, Equanet can help. We have helped many customers through this transition and. Equanet Advisory Services can help CIOs say “yes” to BYOD by:
Leveraging a proven desktop virtualisation model for BYOD
Developing a suitable digital allowance scheme
Ensuring architecture and security excellence
Providing a roadmap to the end user centric computing model
Performing an operational readiness assessment
Defining a ROI and value proposition.
Microsoft Lync and VMware View 5.0
For those of you who have been using Lync on standard desktop architectures and tried to integrate with VMware View will know issues there has been. Luckily VMware has announced support for Microsoft Lync 2013. With Microsoft Lync 2013 and VMware View, customers will have full access to Unified Communications and Collaboration capabilities, and Office 15 integration.
Naturally, many customers who run Lync 2010 have expressed a desire for support of a combined architecture too. As a result VMware and Microsoft have officially completed validation testing of Microsoft Lync 2010 with VMware View 5.0. Microsoft has updated the Microsoft Lync 2010 Client Virtualisation whitepaper to reflect the addition of VMware View as a supported Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution.
Customers can now deploy Microsoft Lync 2010 on VMware View infrastructure with confidence, knowing that the solution will be fully supported. With Microsoft Lync 2010 and VMware View, users will have access to features such as presence, instant messaging, application sharing, online meetings, sharing whiteboards and PowerPoint presentations.
Other features such as VoIP calling are only available when a Lync client is paired with a USB desktop IP Phone. A complete list of features supported with Microsoft Lync 2010 and VMware View 5.0 can be found in the Microsoft Lync 2010 Client Virtualisation whitepaper.
Naturally, many customers who run Lync 2010 have expressed a desire for support of a combined architecture too. As a result VMware and Microsoft have officially completed validation testing of Microsoft Lync 2010 with VMware View 5.0. Microsoft has updated the Microsoft Lync 2010 Client Virtualisation whitepaper to reflect the addition of VMware View as a supported Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution.
Customers can now deploy Microsoft Lync 2010 on VMware View infrastructure with confidence, knowing that the solution will be fully supported. With Microsoft Lync 2010 and VMware View, users will have access to features such as presence, instant messaging, application sharing, online meetings, sharing whiteboards and PowerPoint presentations.
Other features such as VoIP calling are only available when a Lync client is paired with a USB desktop IP Phone. A complete list of features supported with Microsoft Lync 2010 and VMware View 5.0 can be found in the Microsoft Lync 2010 Client Virtualisation whitepaper.
Sunday 26 August 2012
Server 2012 Top 5 Features
Microsoft are due to officially launch Windows Server 2012 very shortly, one of the key advancements in this release is Hyper-V 3.0. Equanet have been testing this release of server 2012 for some time now and have identified 5 key features that top our list.
Hyper-V Replica
Simply put it replicates virtual machines between Hyper-V 3.0 hosts. Meaning you can replicate your virtual machines from your production site to your alternate/recovery site – all with the built-in capabilities of Hyper-V 3.0. This should significantly reduce your DR costs.
Storage Live Migration
Migrates Hyper-V virtual disks from one storage array to another without any downtime. It’s built into the base functionality of Hyper-V 3.0, which means you don’t have to pay a premium for the technology.
Shared-Nothing Live Migration
This allows for live-migrating virtual machines between hosts without shared storage. This would be useful for certain businesses and deployment scenarios such as branch office where if you want to virtualise your servers without a SAN and allow for planned downtime you can.
SMB File Share Support
This deploys Hyper-V over SMB (Server Message Block – Microsoft’s file sharing protocol) version 3.0. Hyper-V can now store virtual machine files on your network shares.
This is beneficial for small businesses or simply interested in deploying a POC.
Live Snapshot Management
This merges and purges virtual machine snapshots on the fly.
VM snapshots are very useful, but Hyper-V admins really disliked the fact that with the previous version, you had to take the VM offline in order to manage the snapshots.You can now clean up your snapshots while the VM is running.
Hyper-V Replica
Simply put it replicates virtual machines between Hyper-V 3.0 hosts. Meaning you can replicate your virtual machines from your production site to your alternate/recovery site – all with the built-in capabilities of Hyper-V 3.0. This should significantly reduce your DR costs.
Storage Live Migration
Migrates Hyper-V virtual disks from one storage array to another without any downtime. It’s built into the base functionality of Hyper-V 3.0, which means you don’t have to pay a premium for the technology.
Shared-Nothing Live Migration
This allows for live-migrating virtual machines between hosts without shared storage. This would be useful for certain businesses and deployment scenarios such as branch office where if you want to virtualise your servers without a SAN and allow for planned downtime you can.
SMB File Share Support
This deploys Hyper-V over SMB (Server Message Block – Microsoft’s file sharing protocol) version 3.0. Hyper-V can now store virtual machine files on your network shares.
This is beneficial for small businesses or simply interested in deploying a POC.
Live Snapshot Management
This merges and purges virtual machine snapshots on the fly.
VM snapshots are very useful, but Hyper-V admins really disliked the fact that with the previous version, you had to take the VM offline in order to manage the snapshots.You can now clean up your snapshots while the VM is running.
Windows to Go - Worth Evaluating!
Ok, so Microsoft has now made available Windows 8 RTM and since the launch of the consumer and release previews we have been testing a number of the key features that will make Windows 8 a compelling move. One such compelling reason is Windows to Go.
WTG has been accessible since the previews were made available but needed to be created via command line. Now with RTM Microsoft has enabled the creation of a Windows to Go desktop through the GUI, albeit the HCL for the supported USB devices is restricted to Kingston at the time of writing this. Although the old method of creating WTG via command line still appears to work fine with any USB 2 or 3 device.
Part of the Windows 8 Enterprise edition includes Windows To Go which will enable users to access their Windows 8 corporate image from a USB drive.
IT administrators will have the capability to build their corporate or divisional desktops on USB drives, so they can determine the exact OS experience their users will have. Users can then boot that image from any x64 PC at any location, regardless of whether they are online.
IT administrators are able to control the environment their users work in certainly supporting the BYOD message, all through a single BitLocker encrypted USB device.
Employees should like Windows To Go because their devices will retain the same user interface and provide access the same apps and programs. Plus if there is one thing they are familiar with its USB devices.
No matter what device the user logs on to no data will be stored on their computers. Simply removing a Windows To Go drive from any device causes the system to shut down just 60 seconds later—without leaving a footprint.
So WTG a simple way to deploy, manage and secure desktops that is only restricted by your imagination. Imagine a WTG environment leveraging BitLocker To Go, O365, DirectAccess, App-V and SkyDrivePro managed through InTune. Now there is a compelling proposition to support both corporate assets and personal devices.
Need help on migrating from XP to Windows 8 or defining your EUC strategy then contact us.
WTG has been accessible since the previews were made available but needed to be created via command line. Now with RTM Microsoft has enabled the creation of a Windows to Go desktop through the GUI, albeit the HCL for the supported USB devices is restricted to Kingston at the time of writing this. Although the old method of creating WTG via command line still appears to work fine with any USB 2 or 3 device.
Part of the Windows 8 Enterprise edition includes Windows To Go which will enable users to access their Windows 8 corporate image from a USB drive.
IT administrators will have the capability to build their corporate or divisional desktops on USB drives, so they can determine the exact OS experience their users will have. Users can then boot that image from any x64 PC at any location, regardless of whether they are online.
IT administrators are able to control the environment their users work in certainly supporting the BYOD message, all through a single BitLocker encrypted USB device.
Employees should like Windows To Go because their devices will retain the same user interface and provide access the same apps and programs. Plus if there is one thing they are familiar with its USB devices.
No matter what device the user logs on to no data will be stored on their computers. Simply removing a Windows To Go drive from any device causes the system to shut down just 60 seconds later—without leaving a footprint.
So WTG a simple way to deploy, manage and secure desktops that is only restricted by your imagination. Imagine a WTG environment leveraging BitLocker To Go, O365, DirectAccess, App-V and SkyDrivePro managed through InTune. Now there is a compelling proposition to support both corporate assets and personal devices.
Need help on migrating from XP to Windows 8 or defining your EUC strategy then contact us.
Saturday 25 August 2012
Moving to the Public Cloud? Start with your data.
Once you have decided that leveraging the public cloud is right for your business there are many phases that need to happen to ensure that you remain compliant, in control and more importantly your IP (data) remains accessible and relevant. One area that needs to be top of your agenda is data integration.
The most cost effective cloud architecture is built upon public cloud services such as Rackspace and Microsoft. But that means your data now sits on cheap storage and multi tenanted server architectures.
When you move data to a public cloud, you need to appreciate the need for synchronisation with on-premise enterprise systems. Otherwise, users will duplicate data, save to USB and more worryingly have inaccurate data to manipulate. This typically is a stumbling point for cloud deployment and can hold up the project.
Like many architectural issues that need some face time when you move to the public cloud (such as security, governance, and performance), data integration requires upfront thinking and planning. Here's some of what you need to consider:
The amount of data to be placed in the public cloud
The type of data moving between architectures and the rate of change
The logging and auditing requirements
The exception-handling needs
Many enterprises don't like to think about data integration but if you do the upfront work, your public cloud deployment will work well.
The most cost effective cloud architecture is built upon public cloud services such as Rackspace and Microsoft. But that means your data now sits on cheap storage and multi tenanted server architectures.
When you move data to a public cloud, you need to appreciate the need for synchronisation with on-premise enterprise systems. Otherwise, users will duplicate data, save to USB and more worryingly have inaccurate data to manipulate. This typically is a stumbling point for cloud deployment and can hold up the project.
Like many architectural issues that need some face time when you move to the public cloud (such as security, governance, and performance), data integration requires upfront thinking and planning. Here's some of what you need to consider:
The amount of data to be placed in the public cloud
The type of data moving between architectures and the rate of change
The logging and auditing requirements
The exception-handling needs
Many enterprises don't like to think about data integration but if you do the upfront work, your public cloud deployment will work well.
Thursday 23 August 2012
Microsoft to release Smb server by the end of 2012
Equanet were lucky enough to attend a partner briefing session yesterday with Microsoft to discuss Windows 2012; the technologies and the versions. Firstly the technology is a game changer and secondly they have simplified the licensing models completely. One of the server workloads discussed was the new SMB Server.
Windows Server 2012 Essentials is Microsoft's replacement for Windows Small Business Server. The Essentials product is a combination of on-premises/cloud server.
The free RC of Windows Server 2012 Essentials can be downloaded from Microsoft's download site.
The final version of the Windows Server 2012 Essentials will be released to manufacturing and made generally available before the year is over, officials said in this week's blog post.
Windows Server 2012 Essentials is Microsoft's replacement for Windows Small Business Server. The Essentials product is a combination of on-premises/cloud server.
The free RC of Windows Server 2012 Essentials can be downloaded from Microsoft's download site.
The final version of the Windows Server 2012 Essentials will be released to manufacturing and made generally available before the year is over, officials said in this week's blog post.
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Citrix Enriches VDI in a Box
Citrix has announced this week the release of Citrix VDI-in-a-Box™ 5.1, an ideal solution for the SMB markets or discrete VDI projects within the mid market. The latest release of VDI-in-a-Box delivers end-user personalisation with personal vDisk technology that allows end-user applications and data to be preserved while adopting the single master image concept (again saving costs).
This version also includes several feature enhancements to improve ease-of-use, flexibility, and performance such as optimisations for Google Earth, support for Active Directory failover, and beta support for the upcoming
Windows 8 operating system.
VDI-in-a-Box is built upon a grid architecture without any shared storage requirements. The architecture runs on inexpensive off-the-shelf servers. Scaling simply involves adding another server, with nothing to rearchitect or reconfigure. New features within this release are:
Personalised Virtual Desktops:
VDI-in-a-Box 5.1 eliminates the need to create separate static desktops to carry forward end-user customisation by coupling single-instance management with the ability to have individual user workspaces for their applications and data.
Single Instance Management:
IT can maintain one master copy of desktop images while preserving the personalisation of user applications and data. This dramatically reduces maintenance efforts and cuts datacenter storage costs up to 90 percent.
VDI-in-a-Box 5.1 continues to simplify management; the new touchless desktop agent automatically propagates upgrades across all the images in a VDI-in-a-Box grid.
Support for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 8 (Beta): VDI-in-a-Box 5.1 manages Windows 2008 R2, Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8-based virtual desktops).
All features of Windows 8 including the new Metro interface are fully supported. This feature is currently in beta pending the general availability of Windows 8.
Looking at virtual desktops, interested to know more? Contact us to see how we can help.
This version also includes several feature enhancements to improve ease-of-use, flexibility, and performance such as optimisations for Google Earth, support for Active Directory failover, and beta support for the upcoming
Windows 8 operating system.
VDI-in-a-Box is built upon a grid architecture without any shared storage requirements. The architecture runs on inexpensive off-the-shelf servers. Scaling simply involves adding another server, with nothing to rearchitect or reconfigure. New features within this release are:
Personalised Virtual Desktops:
VDI-in-a-Box 5.1 eliminates the need to create separate static desktops to carry forward end-user customisation by coupling single-instance management with the ability to have individual user workspaces for their applications and data.
Single Instance Management:
IT can maintain one master copy of desktop images while preserving the personalisation of user applications and data. This dramatically reduces maintenance efforts and cuts datacenter storage costs up to 90 percent.
VDI-in-a-Box 5.1 continues to simplify management; the new touchless desktop agent automatically propagates upgrades across all the images in a VDI-in-a-Box grid.
Support for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 8 (Beta): VDI-in-a-Box 5.1 manages Windows 2008 R2, Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8-based virtual desktops).
All features of Windows 8 including the new Metro interface are fully supported. This feature is currently in beta pending the general availability of Windows 8.
Looking at virtual desktops, interested to know more? Contact us to see how we can help.
Monday 20 August 2012
Want to test drive VMware vCloud?
VMware has announced a vCloud Service Evaluation which allows customers to “test-drive” a cloud built on the VMware platform.
The idea is that the vCloud Service Evaluation would give to VMware customers the chance to test drive a cloud built on the VMware vCloud platform as well as support for apps and virtual machines that VMware customers already have.
VMware strategy is to attract more potential customers giving them a free try and allowing systems admins to learn about the capabilities of vCloud.
The vCloud Service Evaluation gives customers the opportunity to add an enterprise cloud to their infrastructure and migrate workloads between existing private cloud, the vCloud Service Evaluation, and VMware’s extensive ecosystem of service providers.
Customers can register for VMware vCloud Service Evaluation, and beta invites will be sent out starting August 27, 2012.
The idea is that the vCloud Service Evaluation would give to VMware customers the chance to test drive a cloud built on the VMware vCloud platform as well as support for apps and virtual machines that VMware customers already have.
VMware strategy is to attract more potential customers giving them a free try and allowing systems admins to learn about the capabilities of vCloud.
The vCloud Service Evaluation gives customers the opportunity to add an enterprise cloud to their infrastructure and migrate workloads between existing private cloud, the vCloud Service Evaluation, and VMware’s extensive ecosystem of service providers.
Customers can register for VMware vCloud Service Evaluation, and beta invites will be sent out starting August 27, 2012.
Sunday 19 August 2012
NetApp and XenServer get closer
NetApp has now released a version of its Virtual Storage Console for Citrix XenServer as a plug-in to XenCenter. The VSC allows you to provision, resize and destroy storage repositories, manage deduplication and provision VMs using FlexClone and then import them into XenDesktop.
One of the architectural principles about XenServer and XenCenter is you create storage at the pool level and it is automatically mounted to all hosts in the pool rather than having to provision the storage for each host individually like you need to do in vSphere clusters. This VSC now makes it even simpler by being able to create the volumes and exports on the array as well.
Need to know more read about it here.
One of the architectural principles about XenServer and XenCenter is you create storage at the pool level and it is automatically mounted to all hosts in the pool rather than having to provision the storage for each host individually like you need to do in vSphere clusters. This VSC now makes it even simpler by being able to create the volumes and exports on the array as well.
Need to know more read about it here.
Thursday 16 August 2012
Citrix takes on Good Technology with CloudGateway 2
Citrix earlier this year announced a mobile email client, that would be native to a device. As time has moved on this year it is evident that Citrix are betting big on CloudGateway with the recent release of CloudGateway 2, and why not the concept is fantastic based upon the needs of an ever diverse workforce and disparate IT infrastructure.
With the latest release Citrix now has technology in their stack that competes with Good Technology leveraging their email client.
Email clients are a necessity on mobile devices yet they are full of security concerns as the clients built into the device are designed to share their information with other applications on the device.
Using a sandboxed third-party email client helps avoid this problem and Good was one of the first companies offering this technology even before the iPhone came onto the market.
Citrix's email client will be "MDX ready," which suggests that it will be able to plug into Citrix Receiver, ShareFile, and be managed using CloudGateway.
When we learn more, we will be able to tell you more. This could be an interesting ride based upon the focus that Citrix has on end user experience and the appetite they have for secure tablet computing.
Wednesday 15 August 2012
Build your own OpenStack Cloud
Rackspace has today released what it calls Rackspace Private Cloud Software, allowing organisations to download a free (yet complete) version of Essex OpenStack that the company runs in its own hosted private clouds.
This is an approach that Citrix took when they released XenServer to the masses FOC in an attempt to gain a foothold in the server virtualisation market, and it was a gamble that paid off.
The Rackspace Private Cloud Software, code-named Alamo, comprises Rackspace's version of OpenStack, which is 100 percent open source Essex. A new version of OpenStack, dubbed Folsom, is expected in September. A new version of the installer that incorporates Folsom will be available about 60 days postrelease, according to the company.
Alamo includes Ubuntu 12.04 LTS host operating system and KVM hypervisor. Components include the Horizon Dashboard, Nova Compute, Nova Multi Scheduler, Keystone Integrated Authentication, the Glance Image Library, and various APIs.
All of the above comes out as a single installer, enabling companies to deploy a private cloud on bare metal in a matter of minutes.
Rackspace won't profit from licensing its Private Cloud Software, but they expect to make revenue through support and services. With this release, Rackspace is offering its Escalation Support services, which include 24/7 ticket and phone support. The company will continue to add more services, such as cloud monitoring, later this year.
This is an approach that Citrix took when they released XenServer to the masses FOC in an attempt to gain a foothold in the server virtualisation market, and it was a gamble that paid off.
The Rackspace Private Cloud Software, code-named Alamo, comprises Rackspace's version of OpenStack, which is 100 percent open source Essex. A new version of OpenStack, dubbed Folsom, is expected in September. A new version of the installer that incorporates Folsom will be available about 60 days postrelease, according to the company.
Alamo includes Ubuntu 12.04 LTS host operating system and KVM hypervisor. Components include the Horizon Dashboard, Nova Compute, Nova Multi Scheduler, Keystone Integrated Authentication, the Glance Image Library, and various APIs.
All of the above comes out as a single installer, enabling companies to deploy a private cloud on bare metal in a matter of minutes.
Rackspace won't profit from licensing its Private Cloud Software, but they expect to make revenue through support and services. With this release, Rackspace is offering its Escalation Support services, which include 24/7 ticket and phone support. The company will continue to add more services, such as cloud monitoring, later this year.
WAAD - Whats that then?
An area of cloud that is critical for maintaining single sign on activities that businesses have been busy implementing for many years is a directory service; welcome to WAAD. Windows Azure Active Directory. One of the biggest obstacles to corporate customers joining Microsoft in the cloud was the lack of an identity management platform that could join cloud and on premise solutions.
There are three major parts of the Windows Azure Active Directory (WAAD) service:
1. A Web service to create, read, update and delete identity information in the cloud. Developers can also use the SSO abilities of WAAD to allow individuals to use the same identity credentials used by Office 365, Dynamics and Windows Intune.
2. The developer preview allows companies to synchronize their on-premises AD with WAAD and support identity federation too.
3. The recently released developer preview supports integration of WAAD with consumer identity networks like Facebook and Google, making for one less ID necessary to integrate identity information with apps and services.
Currently the version of WAAD is a developer edition and so not all functionality is known yet.
WAAD is hosted by Microsoft in its data centers and is used largely by Office 365, the vendor's cloud Office suite. Information about users, groups and services that are part of the Office 365 offering are stored in a cloud-based AD instance that lives as a tenant on Microsoft's services.
Microsoft says that in the future, you'll be able to bring up an instance of WAAD as part of your overall Azure subscription, but for now, Office 365 is the entry point.
Setting up your cloud tenant instance of Active Directory this way allows the users and groups to come straight from your on-premises directory. This happens the first time that you connect your on-premises ADFS2 instance up to WAAD using DirSync.
This is good move by Microsoft and gives plenty of scope for developing and migrating to the cloud. Things that we don't currently know are as follows:
How will Group Policy work across boundaries?
Where does Intune fit in the overall scheme of things?
Will Kerberos be supported?
What's your thoughts on this? We think it is a pretty smart move by Microsoft to help pave the way to their cloud service.
Need help with your cloud strategy then contact us to see how it can take shape.
There are three major parts of the Windows Azure Active Directory (WAAD) service:
1. A Web service to create, read, update and delete identity information in the cloud. Developers can also use the SSO abilities of WAAD to allow individuals to use the same identity credentials used by Office 365, Dynamics and Windows Intune.
2. The developer preview allows companies to synchronize their on-premises AD with WAAD and support identity federation too.
3. The recently released developer preview supports integration of WAAD with consumer identity networks like Facebook and Google, making for one less ID necessary to integrate identity information with apps and services.
Currently the version of WAAD is a developer edition and so not all functionality is known yet.
WAAD is hosted by Microsoft in its data centers and is used largely by Office 365, the vendor's cloud Office suite. Information about users, groups and services that are part of the Office 365 offering are stored in a cloud-based AD instance that lives as a tenant on Microsoft's services.
Microsoft says that in the future, you'll be able to bring up an instance of WAAD as part of your overall Azure subscription, but for now, Office 365 is the entry point.
Setting up your cloud tenant instance of Active Directory this way allows the users and groups to come straight from your on-premises directory. This happens the first time that you connect your on-premises ADFS2 instance up to WAAD using DirSync.
This is good move by Microsoft and gives plenty of scope for developing and migrating to the cloud. Things that we don't currently know are as follows:
How will Group Policy work across boundaries?
Where does Intune fit in the overall scheme of things?
Will Kerberos be supported?
What's your thoughts on this? We think it is a pretty smart move by Microsoft to help pave the way to their cloud service.
Need help with your cloud strategy then contact us to see how it can take shape.
Thursday 2 August 2012
Citrix Releases CloudGateway 2
Citrix has announced the availability of Citrix CloudGateway 2, including its new MDX mobile experience technology.
With the addition of MDX technology to CloudGateway 2 Citrix provides mobile app technologies that enable centralised management, security and control over native iOS, Android and HTML 5 apps.
The four primary components of MDX include an App Vault, Web Connect (a secure mobile browser technology), Micro VPN (an app-specific secure access technology), and Policy orchestration for granular policy-based control over native mobile and HTML5 apps.
CloudGateway also supports not only native mobile apps delivered through MDX, but also integration with Citrix ShareFile. Using CloudGateway 2 with ShareFile, businesses can give employees access to their files on whichever device they choose through seamless role-based management.
Enterprises need to look beyond managing the device to managing the apps and data. With MDX Technology in CloudGateway, Citrix gives enterprises an end-to-end solution that securely manages the apps and data, leaving device choice to the users. The combination of CloudGateway, Citrix Receiver and ShareFile allows for the support of a mobile workforce while maintaining the right levels of security, control and aggregation of services across multiple delivery technologies (SaaS, Web, Mobile and Virtual).
With the addition of MDX technology to CloudGateway 2 Citrix provides mobile app technologies that enable centralised management, security and control over native iOS, Android and HTML 5 apps.
The four primary components of MDX include an App Vault, Web Connect (a secure mobile browser technology), Micro VPN (an app-specific secure access technology), and Policy orchestration for granular policy-based control over native mobile and HTML5 apps.
CloudGateway also supports not only native mobile apps delivered through MDX, but also integration with Citrix ShareFile. Using CloudGateway 2 with ShareFile, businesses can give employees access to their files on whichever device they choose through seamless role-based management.
Enterprises need to look beyond managing the device to managing the apps and data. With MDX Technology in CloudGateway, Citrix gives enterprises an end-to-end solution that securely manages the apps and data, leaving device choice to the users. The combination of CloudGateway, Citrix Receiver and ShareFile allows for the support of a mobile workforce while maintaining the right levels of security, control and aggregation of services across multiple delivery technologies (SaaS, Web, Mobile and Virtual).
Rackspace go OpenStack
Rackspace with a number of other contributing organisations have been developing an open platform for cloud services, this activity has been ongoing for over two years now and Rackspace has started offering its hosted servers and databases using the open source OpenStack suite of cloud software, showing that the organisation that is fanatical about support believes that the platform is ready for adoption.
Rackspace currently has over 180,000 customers of its hosted services. The company offers Windows and Linux servers, content delivery network services, and .Net and PHP hosting, all with associated management and monitoring services.
When new customers log into Rackspace to requisition servers, they will interact with Rackspace Open Cloud services, which is based on the OpenStack Nova compute component. Rackspace has run the Swift object storage component of OpenStack for over 2 years for its Cloud Files storage service; it created the technology in-house and then contributed its code when it co-founded the OpenStack project.
Rackspace is not alone in offering OpenStack cloud services. On Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard launched its HP Cloud Object Storage, also based on OpenStack.
Begun two years ago by NASA and Rackspace, the OpenStack project is an effort to create a stack of open source software that can be used to provide IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) cloud services, either to customers or for internal use. The project rapidly gained popularity, attracting
at last count the development efforts of over 3,300 programmers and 184 companies.
The OpenStack suite will allows users to provision resources much more quickly than they could have through Rackspace's previous console. An administrator can launch as many as 200 servers in 20 minutes.
Rackspace currently has over 180,000 customers of its hosted services. The company offers Windows and Linux servers, content delivery network services, and .Net and PHP hosting, all with associated management and monitoring services.
When new customers log into Rackspace to requisition servers, they will interact with Rackspace Open Cloud services, which is based on the OpenStack Nova compute component. Rackspace has run the Swift object storage component of OpenStack for over 2 years for its Cloud Files storage service; it created the technology in-house and then contributed its code when it co-founded the OpenStack project.
Rackspace is not alone in offering OpenStack cloud services. On Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard launched its HP Cloud Object Storage, also based on OpenStack.
Begun two years ago by NASA and Rackspace, the OpenStack project is an effort to create a stack of open source software that can be used to provide IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) cloud services, either to customers or for internal use. The project rapidly gained popularity, attracting
at last count the development efforts of over 3,300 programmers and 184 companies.
The OpenStack suite will allows users to provision resources much more quickly than they could have through Rackspace's previous console. An administrator can launch as many as 200 servers in 20 minutes.
Tuesday 24 July 2012
Meraki Air Marshal
Equanet has long been involved in partnering with innovative technology companies that add significant value to our customer base. Meraki is one of those technologies that makes you sit up and take note. A cloud based Enterprise networking service, that reduces the cost of deployment significantly and keep on innovating at lightening speed can only be a good thing for the industry.
Meraki have done it again with a new firmware update for their MR wireless access points. The latest release includes Air Marshal, a new integrated suite of real-time wireless intrusion detection and prevention tools.
Although Air Marshal was developed for exceptionally security-conscious customers such as finance, healthcare, and retailers, it is available to all Merkai customers and can help secure networks of any size. And, like all Meraki products, Air Marshal runs on Meraki’s cloud infrastructure so configuration and management is easy no matter how large of a network you’re running.
In addition to Air Marshal, this latest release includes a number of performance and mobility enhancements, including an enhanced mobility architecture for improved ultra-fast roaming; high density video streaming optimisations; and new authentication methods for guest access.
This latest release is available at no cost to all MR customers, and will be rolling out over the next few weeks.
Are you looking at wireless technologies for your business either as a refresh or as part of a tablet strategy? If so you could do with talking to Equanet to understand your options and architecture.
Monday 23 July 2012
VMware Acquires Nicira
VMware just announced to have signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Nicira, Inc., for approximately $1.05 billion in cash plus $210 million of assumed unvested equity awards.
The parties expect the acquisition to close during the second half of 2012.
Nicira, Inc. is specialised in software-defined networking (SDN) and a leader in network virtualisation for open source initiatives.
VMware is relying on this acquisition to expand its networking capability.
It will be interesting to see any implications this acquisition has on the relationship between VMware and Cisco.
The acquisition of Nicira adds to our portfolio of networking assets and positions VMware to be the industry leader in software-defined networking.
Citrix XenClient Enterprise 4.1 - What's new?
Citrix has long been associated with leading the desktop virtualisation market, one of the key issues has been the need to connect to the network to receive corporate desktop services. Clearly there has been XenClient to cater for offline VDI in the past but this had a restricted HCL and many doubters. Citrix has been on the acquisition trail for many years and one of the latest acquisitions to be integrated into the portfolio is Virtual Computer; welcome to XenClient Enterprise.
Citrix has recently announced the first full release of XenClient Enterprise within XenDesktop Enterprise and Platinum.
What does this mean to you? Citrix have cited the following benefits:
9X More Devices Supported
- XenClient now supports more PCs than ever before with an increased hardware compatibility list (HCL).
- Support for desirable devices including Ultrabook™ systems and the latest 3rd generation Intel® Core™ processor systems
- 3G/4G modem support, enabling users to make full use of their XenClient PCs.
Enterprise-Class Management Scalable to Thousands of Endpoints
- Open, scalable backend management system supported on all industry standard server hypervisors – Hyper-V, vSphere, and XenServer.
- Enterprise level scalability supporting thousands of endpoints for large deployments in multiple locations and geographies.
- Enhanced policies and role-based administrative control deliver the granularity IT needs to manage XenClient effectively.
Easier to use
- In-guest controls make XenClient feel more like native Windows to end users, so they can manage wireless networks, mouse settings, and other controls from within Windows, and IT can hide the hypervisor from less sophisticated users.
- Automated over the air upgrades let XenClient update itself with no intervention needed from the end user.
- A ’Connect’ environment for quick-boot access to the web, with Google Chrome included.
It is worth remembering though that desktop virtualisation is not about technology it is about users and processes. If you're looking for an innovative approach to desktop services then please contact us to learn how our approach can help simplify your end user computing architecture.
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Microsoft integrates cloud deeply into Office 2013
Microsoft took the lid off Office 2013 yesterday at a press conference in San Francisco and showed it's intention around integrating with cloud. The new version of Microsoft Office integrates seamlessly with cloud services, can edit PDFs and is built for Windows 8 (both tablets and PC's).
A preview of the new version was unveiled at an event in San Francisco. Steve Ballmer, claimed the software was “a new generation that brings some of the same boldness and beauty that we’ve shown you in Windows 8 and Windows Phone”. He added, “This is the most ambitious release of Microsoft office that we’ve ever done”, and emphasised that it was aimed as much at students, busy families and consumers as it was aimed at businesses.
The suite of applications, including Word, Outlook, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint have all been updated to include touch interfaces to cater for users who have phones and tablets. Although note-taking programme OneNote has been comprehensively redesigned to include touch support, the bulk of the applications have been polished to improve their overall functionality so they work better on both tablets and PCs.
Microsoft Word can now edit PDFs as well as save in the Adobe format, and has added the ability to embed YouTube clips more easily. Users are encouraged to log on so that all devices, from tablets to phones or PCs, return directly to exactly the same point when a document is reopened. A ‘reading mode’ has also been added to encourage tablet users to read more on their devices. All programmes will now integrate with Microsoft’s cloud storage system, SkyDrive, to offer permanently up-to-date and easily accessible documents.
Microsoft Outlook has been altered so that ‘peaks’ of the calendar or contact details can be layered on top of the main mail window, allowing users to keep Outlook as their entire main screen on either tablets or PCs. New add-on applications can also automatically scan emails for addresses and show locations, or look for suggested meetings and generate appointments.
PowerPoint now has an enhanced presentation mode, too, allowing users to project their documents onto a screen while simultaneously viewing their notes and slides on a tablet or PC.
Microsoft has also added more social networking elements aimed at businesses, allowing users to ‘follow’ colleagues and documents and tasks as they might follow friends or brands on Facebook. The company recently purchased business social network Yammer, and will also integrate its other purchase, Skype, allowing calls and instant messaging to be built directly into Office software. Collaboration has been augmented with new video conferencing and live collaborative document editing tools.
Microsoft will sell Office 2013 as a standalone piece of software, and will also offer its subscription-based Office 365 software in parallel.
With the coming version of Office, the centrepiece is cloud. In this case, the "cloud" means Office 365, which is the Microsoft-hosted back-end suite of SharePoint Online, Exchange Online, Lync Online It also means SkyDrive, its personal-cloud storage service. Additionally, it means support for roaming settings, which can move with users across devices, as well as the ability to stream Office components to new PCs (and remove them later) using Office on Demand.
This does indeed look like a very innovative change of a core Microsoft product with the challenge of supporting multiple devices and gestures. This clearly is a big year for Microsoft with the plethora of new technology they are bringing to the market. We think you will like it, but dont take our word for it try it for yourself here.
Friday 29 June 2012
Happy Birthday Office 365
This week saw the first anniversary of Microsofts Office 365 and in that year Microsoft has seen many, many organisations adopt the collaboration platform across public and private sectors. And this is certainly a trend Equanet are seeing further enforced this week at our Microsoft Windows 8 and Cloud event.
A further announcement this week was the availability of Office365 for Education to officially replace Live@@EDU.
Office 365 for Education replaces Live@edu, which will remain available for 18 more months to give its customers -- about 10,000 educational institutions with about 22 million students in about 130 countries -- a window for planning and carrying out the migration.
Although Office 365 is a cloud-based suite, it can require upgrades to customers' desktops and infrastructure depending on the case.
The first thing to keep in mind is that while Live@edu and Office 365 for Education are conceptually designed to serve the same type of customer, they have several different components.
Live@edu, which is free, includes Outlook Live for email, Office Web Apps, Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live SkyDrive for 25GB of online data storage.
Office 365 for Education comes in a variety of packages. The free, standard one, called A2, includes Exchange Online, Lync Online, SharePoint Online and Office Web Apps.
The Office 365 Exchange Online component is basically the same as Live@edu's Outlook Live, so transferring from one to the other should be fairly straightforward.
Should you want to onboard The A2 plan, which includes the online versions of Office, Lync and SharePoint, or the fee-based and more sophisticated A3 and A4 plans, they must sign a new Microsoft Online Services agreement or a current Volume Licensing Agreement.
Live@edu users will be able to retain their SkyDrive accounts even after the suite is decommissioned .
The Office 365 for Education Plan A2 includes the online version of Office 2010, called Office Web Apps, instant messaging and conferencing via Lync Online, collaboration capabilities via SharePoint Online, email and calendar via Exchange Online, antivirus and anti-spam protection and individual storage.
Plan A3 costs £1.98per student per month, and £3.50 per faculty/staff per month, and includes everything in Plan A2 plus additional components, including the full-featured desktop version of Office 2010 Professional Plus and voicemail service.
Plan A4, at £2.38 per month per student and £4.75 per month per faculty/staff, adds voice communications.
So if you are a Live@EDU user and need help migrating your infrastructure to Office 365 you would be well placed to contact us to see how we can help.
A further announcement this week was the availability of Office365 for Education to officially replace Live@@EDU.
Office 365 for Education replaces Live@edu, which will remain available for 18 more months to give its customers -- about 10,000 educational institutions with about 22 million students in about 130 countries -- a window for planning and carrying out the migration.
Although Office 365 is a cloud-based suite, it can require upgrades to customers' desktops and infrastructure depending on the case.
The first thing to keep in mind is that while Live@edu and Office 365 for Education are conceptually designed to serve the same type of customer, they have several different components.
Live@edu, which is free, includes Outlook Live for email, Office Web Apps, Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live SkyDrive for 25GB of online data storage.
Office 365 for Education comes in a variety of packages. The free, standard one, called A2, includes Exchange Online, Lync Online, SharePoint Online and Office Web Apps.
The Office 365 Exchange Online component is basically the same as Live@edu's Outlook Live, so transferring from one to the other should be fairly straightforward.
Should you want to onboard The A2 plan, which includes the online versions of Office, Lync and SharePoint, or the fee-based and more sophisticated A3 and A4 plans, they must sign a new Microsoft Online Services agreement or a current Volume Licensing Agreement.
Live@edu users will be able to retain their SkyDrive accounts even after the suite is decommissioned .
The Office 365 for Education Plan A2 includes the online version of Office 2010, called Office Web Apps, instant messaging and conferencing via Lync Online, collaboration capabilities via SharePoint Online, email and calendar via Exchange Online, antivirus and anti-spam protection and individual storage.
Plan A3 costs £1.98per student per month, and £3.50 per faculty/staff per month, and includes everything in Plan A2 plus additional components, including the full-featured desktop version of Office 2010 Professional Plus and voicemail service.
Plan A4, at £2.38 per month per student and £4.75 per month per faculty/staff, adds voice communications.
So if you are a Live@EDU user and need help migrating your infrastructure to Office 365 you would be well placed to contact us to see how we can help.
Wednesday 20 June 2012
One Pane of Glass Many Devices to Manage
As the noise of BYOD and Consumerisation continues to increase in volume and interest the number of tools to manage such a diverse range of devices typically increases too. Hopefully the latest news from Airwatch is a trend that will continue. Historically MDM providers have looked to offer support and governance to tablet style devices. Airwatch has just announced announced its mobile security solution now supports devices running Mac OS X Lion.
With this new release, IT administrators can maintain security across both iOS and Mac OS X Lion operating systems to ensure consistent policies and profiles throughout their organisation. This new update also enables organisations to manage corporate liable, employee liable (BYOD) or shared Mac OS X Lion devices throughout the entire device lifecycle. As part of the company’s commitment to the Mac platforms, AirWatch plans to support the new features in Apple’s upcoming Mac OS X 10.8 release.
The initial OS X management release includes MDM capabilities for web-based enrolment; commands to remotely lock and wipe devices; and device and application list query. Support for profile management capabilities include:
- Passcode and policy settings
- Email (POP, IMAP, SMTP) and exchange settings
- Wi-Fi and VPN configurations
- Certificates and simple certificate enrollment protocol (SCEP)
- Lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP), calendaring extensions to WebDAV (CalDAV) and contact extensions to WebDAV (CardDAV)
- Webclips
- Custom profiles
Equanet has an end-to-end tablet capability from strategy definition through to implementation and support. So if you are looking at BYOD using a cross platform of Mac devices we can help you design, implement and support it.
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Welcome to Microsoft's Surface Tablet
So Microsoft has unveiled it's first foray in the physical tablet world with what it is calling Surface. This is a very smart move and will come in two operating system standards; WindowsRT and Windows 8 Pro.
Steve Ballmer was quoted as saying: “It was always clear that what our software could do would require us to push hardware, Much like Windows 1 needed the mouse, we wanted to give Windows 8 its own hardware.”
Surface is designed to work as both tablet and PC. The features are impressive too, the ones we are hearing about are:
- Very thin, (9.3mm for Windows RT and 13.5mm for the Pro version.)
- Both have two full size USB ports
- Micro SD port on the side of the RT version
- MicroSDXC port of the Pro version for adding data to the device
- Surface has a 10.6-inch 16:9 widescreen HD display screen.
- Made of Gorilla Glass -– an ultra-strong glass.
- A built-in kickstand on the rear of the tablet to keep it upright
- A Touch Cover for the device protects the screen, and is connected via magnets
- The inside of the 3mm cover doubles as a fully functional keyboard with a built-in trackpad
- Surface running Windows RT comes with 32 GB and 64GB sizes
- Surface running Windows 8 Pro will be available in 64 GB and 128 GB sizes.
The video below is the introduction to the Surface Tablet, enjoy.
Monday 18 June 2012
Not long now until Microsoft's announcement
So, the location is now known in LA (Milk Studios). We just need to know the announcements to be made. There are plenty of rumours doing the round one of which is a Windows 8 Based Tablet with the newly announced SmartGlass technology.
Today's event almost certainly includes some sort of tablet device whether it's an iPad compete, a glorified e-reader, a sub-$500 device or something else entirely different. It's fairly safe to assume that whatever device it is will be running some version of Windows 8, likely Windows RT. Still, it also seems likely that the implementation will be different than the plans for third-party licensing partners. Smartglass certainly would be a big announcement on a tablet device.
This is why many expect Microsoft to announce an Xbox SmartGlass enabled tablet, designed to interface seamlessly with the Xbox 360 as well as other Windows 8 devices. A tablet designed to integrate seamlessly with Xbox Live. It would look similar to the iPad, but connect seamlessly to the new Xbox Music and access video from various Xbox Entertainment apps. If you combine that with web browsing and web chat that becomes a very interesting consumption device to enter into the market.
And it might just look like this:
Anyway only a couple of hours to wait and see what Microsoft has up its sleeve!
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