Richard and Greg talk to Clint Huffman about the Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool. The tool can be downloaded at http://www.codeplex.com/PAL. PAL helps identify what performance counters to monitor and what are reasonable thresholds for Microsoft products like IIS, MOSS, SQL Server, Exchange and Active Directory. Clint has a blog at http://blogs.technet.com/clint_huffman/.
Richard and Greg dig deep into PerfMon with Shane Creamer. Shane works with Microsoft Premier Field Engineering and runs the Vital Signs workshop, a three day course teaching everything the administrator needs to know about performance monitor. Download the video Here. Also, a link to the 25 key perfmon counters is in Stephen Choy's article at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc718984.aspx?pr=blog.
Richard and Greg talk to Itzik Ben-Gan about all things T-SQL in SQL Server 2008. Itzik doesn't just talk about what's new, he talks about what's missing (in his opinion). This is a must-listen for serious SQL geeks! Check out Itzik's web site at http://www.sql.co.il/
Michael Anderburg returns to talk to Richard and Greg about code security. Focused around the book The Security Development Lifecycle (http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/books/8753.aspx), Michael describes the role of IT in making code security work. While it sounds like a topic for developers, the book is equally applicable to IT Pros and what they can do to help development and even third-party applications be more secure.
Richard and Greg bring back Wes Miller to talk about Windows Rights Management Services (RMS). RMS secures email and other Office documents to have precise security options, limiting the ability to view, print, copy and so on.
Richard and Greg talk to Stephen Choy about measuring and managing server performance. Stephen digs into the intricacies of performance monitor and other tools for measuring server performance. One of the tools mentioned is Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool at http://www.codeplex.com/PAL.
Richard and Greg talk to the illustrious Kim Tripp, in a rare interview without her husband Paul Randal. The conversation delves deep into the wonders of indexes in SQL Server, including the value of clustered indexes, their impact on non-clustered indexes and a huge number of details on why some indexes rock and other suck. Check out Kim's blog at http://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/kimberly.
Richard and Greg talk to Michiel Wories about Powershell for SQL Server 2008. The latest version of SQL Server implements several object models through Powershell to let folks manage SQL Server without using the management tools. Michiel's blog is at http://blogs.msdn.com/mwories/
Richard and Greg talk to Paul Randal about the new file stream technology in SQL Server 2008. File streams provide a solution to very large files being connected with SQL Server transactionally while still storing the files themselves in the file system, rather than the database. Check out Paul's blog at http://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/paul
Richard and Greg talk to Jeff Goodwin about Microsoft Unified Communications. Jeff lays out the relationship between Exchange, Office Communicator and Unified Messaging Server to combine email, telephone and instant messaging. Check out Jeff's TechNet articles at http://www.shrinkster.com/11mj and http://www.shrinkster.com/11mk.
Richard and Greg talk to Paul Randal about the involuntary DBA - those folks that end up being the DBA without previous training or expectations. Kim Tripp (Paul's wife) pops in here and there to support her husband's ideas. Check out Paul's blog at http://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/paul/
Richard and Greg talk to Laura Hunter about all things Active Directory. Laura digs into the key aspects of Active Directory, breaking down the differences between simple single domain installations and complex environments. Laura also shares her favorite resources, including the Ask the Directory Services Team (blogs.technet.com/askds).
Richard and Greg bring Erin Welker back to talk about Performance Point Planning. Performance Point Planning is part of the Office Server suite that ties SQL Server, Analysis Services, Integration Services and Reporting Services together to provide budget and forecasting services. You can read Erin's blog at www.sqlblog.com/blogs/erin_welker.
Richard and Greg talk to Brian Randell about what the IT Pro needs to know around virtualization for developers. The topics range from automating (and limiting) the creation of virtual machines for developers, licensing issues, testing, using virtualization to control IP and work the remote developers.
Richard and Greg talk to Keith Mayer about Microsoft's Infrastructure Optimization initiative. The conversation ranges across the optimization of the data center, productivity applications and custom development. More information on Microsoft Infrastructure Optimization can be found at http://www.microsoftio.com/ and http://www.microsoft.com/optimization.
Richard and Greg bring back Simon Goldstein to tackle another challenging IT Management topic: IT Risk Management. Simon outlines a plan for getting started with Risk Management, including how to "manage up" to get budget for risk management solutions.
Richard and Greg talk to Daniel Nerenberg, the Lazy Admin (www.thelazyadmin.com)! Daniel talks about the great free tools Microsoft provides for facilitating the migration and updating of Windows XP, Vista, 2003 Server and 2008 Server. Tools include Microsoft Deployment Tools (www.shrinkster.com/zq8), USMT (www.shrinkster.com/zq6) and the Application Compatibility Toolkit (www.shrinkster.com/zq9).
Richard and Greg talk to Mark Minasi of the Mastering Windows Server series (and more)! While the conversation ranges around a lot, listen for a serious dig into the networking stack of Server 2008 (and Vista).
At Tech Ed IT Pro 2008 in Orlando Florida, Richard and Greg talk to Hal Rottenberg and Carter Shanklin about VMWare's support for Powershell. VMWare has added an extensive Powershell accessible interface to VMWare to simplify the automation of virtual machine related tasks.
Live from the floor at Tech Ed IT Week in Orlando Florida, Richard and Greg talk to Frank Simorjay and Dan Griffin about NAP and Forefront. Network Access Protection (NAP) is a technology for controlling access to the network for workstations, especially laptops that might fall behind in patches and upgrades. Forefront is the client protection technology from Microsoft. Together they make an effective solution for keeping mobile worker systems safe.
A year after his first show (number 10!) Isaac Roybal comes back to talk about the state of IIS7 and the new modules being released by Microsoft. Recorded on the main floor of Tech Ed 2008 IT Pro in Orlando, Florida. And check out the new modules at www.iis.net/downloads.
Richard and Greg run a panel discussion on the compliance features of SQL Server 2008 while at Tech Ed US IT Pro week in Orlando, Florida. The discussion focuses around the tools built into SQL Server to make it easier to support compliance requirements like SOX and PCI.
Richard and Greg talk to Allan Hirt about using virtualization with SQL Server. Allan digs into where virtualization makes sense for SQL Server and when it doesn't. And yes, its true, sometimes virtualizing SQL Server really does make sense!
Richard and Greg talk to Matthew Roche about SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). SSIS comes with SQL Server 2005 and 2008, replacing Data Transformation Services (DTS) from SQL Server 2000. Matthew digs into the dramatic improvements SSIS has over DTS and some of the best practices for using SSIS. Check out Matthew's blog at bi-polar23.blogspot.com.
Richard and Greg talk to Erin Welker about Data Partitioning in SQL Server 2005 and 2008. Erin digs into the advantages of partitioning for OLTP and OLAP, as well as the changes between 2005 and 2008. Check out Erin's blog at www.sqlblog.com/blogs/erin_welker.
Richard and Greg talk to Susan Bradley, the SBS Diva herself, about Small Business Server (SBS). The discussion digs into the various features of SBS including the upcoming 2008 edition. Susan blogs at http://www.sbsdiva.com.
Richard and Greg talk to Mark Beckner about using BizTalk Server for Integration. The discussion explore understanding the integration needs of an organization as a whole, how BizTalk can be utilized without development and how Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has improved in BizTalk Server 2006 R2.
Richard and Greg talk to Greg Lamothe about Windows SteadyState. SteadyState allows administrators to configure PCs to roll back to a base configuration after every reboot. Combined with Group Policy for restricting access to resources you can create the perfect kiosk computer that cleans off all traces of the previous user, ready for the next.
Richard and Greg talk to Garth Jones about SMS 2003 and its new version, System Center Configuration Manager 2007. Configuration Manager takes over where SMS left off, handling software distribution, updates, asset management, even working with Windows Deployment Services to do bare metal installations!
Richard and Greg talk to Sean Siler from Microsoft about IPv6. Sean talks about what Microsoft is doing to make IPv6 work and how IPv4 and IPv6 will be living side-by-side for many years.
