Bob Kelly (Picture by Andre Pronk) At the 10th annual Microsoft Management Summit this week in Las Vegas, Bob Kelly (Corporate Vice President, Server & Tools Business) outlined an infrastructure strategy to help IT customers understand their options as they incorporate “the cloud” into Microsoft’s future plans. Two Cloud models Bob talked about the Cloud, and Microsoft sees two models: The Public and a Private Cloud. According to Bob, Microsoft will be one of the few companies who delivers the Public Cloud with their Windows Azure platform. And secondly there is the Private Cloud which you should see as your internal Data Center. Think about Virtualization to conceptionalize what this means. Microsoft invests across their portfolio, everything from Windows, Forefront, System Center across optimizing your infrastructure and application platform, SQL, Biztalk, dotNet and SharePoint so they all have consistent and coherent API’s in the Private Cloud to the Public Cloud. Windows Azure is that implementation of that Microsoft stack in the Public Cloud. Microsoft took all those investments made in the On-Premise world and have taken those to the Public Cloud.  And what they have learned in the Public Cloud and bring that to the Private Cloud. That will give Microsoft  a unique position, in the way that there are very view companies that have the capacity and toolset to offer a platform that is deep and raw from Private Cloud to Public Cloud. Microsoft will extend their investments, from the learning's they have in the Public Site to what they are doing on the Private site to ensure they have a platform that spans those two worlds and allows you to take advantages of thinks like AD, Security Infrastructure and Microsoft Management Infrastructure across both of that Public and Private Cloud build on Windows Server and System Center. “Our goal is to give businesses the choice of running applications on-site, in the cloud or using a combination of the two,” says Kelly. “This hybrid model gives customers the best of both worlds — the scale and convenience of a public cloud and the control and reliability of on-premises software — and lets them move fluidly between the two based on their needs. It provides customers an on-ramp from their current IT environment to the cloud.” [Soundbite here 4:27 mins) Announcements: Building on its cloud computing strategy, Microsoft made several announcements yesterday: System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 will be available within 30 days. [Soundbite  here] Availability of the Dynamic Datacenter Toolkit for Hosters [soundbite here] Enabling the Foundation for Hosting Partners Availability of the Dynamic Datacenter Toolket for Enterprises (within 90 days) Enabling the Foundation for Private Clouds More announcements can be found on System Center Central. Keynotes will be also be available for live and on-demand viewing here Demo’s During the keynote the next products where used to show how they support Microsoft’s Cloud strategy: Windows Server 2008 R2. With investments in Hyper-V, Live Migration, Remote Desktop Services, IIS 7.5, Integrated IIS Extensions, ASP.NET on Server Core, PowerShell Management, PowerShell 2.0 and BPA. Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2. With investments in Automation of Live Migration, VM migration in SANs, Hot storage management. Demo from Edwin Yuen about Managing the Fabric using a Visio Add-in to show Real Time Power Consumption and demoing Live Migration due to exceeding the Power Budget. Bill Morein demonstrated decoupling applications from the underlying operating system using application virtualization technology. Operations Manager 2007 R2. With investments in Service level monitoring, cross platform monitoring, and live operational data in Visio diagrams. Lorenzo Rizzi (Principal Architect System Center Operations Manager) demonstrated Service Level Dashboard 2.0 Beta for OpsMgr 2007 R2.   SLDV2.0 (Picture by Andre Pronk)

Today was the first unofficial day of MMS 2009 in Las Vegas and here are some announcements: Announcement of the launch of Opslogix. Their mission is to deliver Intelligent Management Packs for Microsoft System Center. No more hassle using converted packs or high maintenance connectors / services. They provide high quality native management packs at a very competitive price. Check out their free Ping Management Pack and read more about their Intelligent Management Pack for Blackberry Launch of launched SystemCenterCentral.com. SystemCenterCentral.com has been founded by three System Center community members; Pete Zerger, Rory McCaw and Maarten Goet. SystemCenterCentral.com is a community initiative that will combine a number of existing internet properties under a single community site and strive to become the leading community landing page for all System Center technologies. Sites to be consolidated include Sytem Center Forum, Techlog and several user group sites, including http://wmug.co.uk Tomorrow is the first official day which starts with a keynote so there will more announcements tomorrow.

Source: MMS 2009 organization I just got an email from the MMS 2009 organization that’s possible to become an MMS 2009 “Virtual Attendee”. Maybe a could idea if your manager didn’t allow you to go to MMS 2009 this year. Ok, it’s still costs you (or your manager) $350, but that’s the same as 25 days internet in the Planet Hollywood hotel in Las Vegas ;-)   “If you are unable to attend MMS 2009 in person this week, a new “MMS 2009 Online” registration option has been created which provides access to the valuable session content being presented at this year’s MMS 2009 event - right from your desktop.  MMS 2009 Online - Features “MMS 2009 Online” is an opportunity to access the MMS 2009 CommNet both during and after the event, just like attendees who are present at the event.  This option provides access to key content including: · Live Webcast of the MMS 2009 Keynotes* · Video Recordings of Breakout session topics** · Downloadable PowerPoint slide decks from the Breakout sessions · Hands-on Lab Manuals · Sample files shared by Speakers · Access to the MessagePoint system for online discussions with other attendees · Copy of the MMS 2009 Post-show DVD set mailed shortly after the event (a $275 value) · Copy of the MMS 2009 Hands-on Lab Walkthrough DVD mailed after the event (a $125 value) · Access to all MMS 2009 Online content for 3 months after the event closes Registration as an “MMS 2009 Online” Attendee costs $350 and provides online access to over 140 breakout topics as recordings and PowerPoint slide decks as well as 76 Hands-on Lab manuals.  The Post-show DVD set provides indexed recordings of all available Breakouts plus bonus materials and supplementary files from session speakers and Event Sponsors.  The Hands-on Lab Walkthrough DVD provides video recordings of the most popular lab topics offered at the event with audio commentary providing step-by-step explanations of the key procedures covered. *Note that the live webcasts of the MMS 2009 keynotes are not restricted to registered “MMS 2009 Online” Attendees.  Access to all other content is restricted to in-person and on-line attendees up to 3 months post-event. **Breakout session recordings for most topics will be posted within 24 hours of the live session. Full Session Details Full details of the sessions being offered at MMS 2009 this week are provided on the event site Sessions Page and in a downloadable Session Details PDF. “MMS 2009 Online” Registration The MMS 2009 Online registration package is available for only $350.  If you would like to register as an attendee of “MMS 2009 Online” click on the following link: · "MMS 2009 Online" Attendee Registration Site The username and password you create during registration will give you immediate access to all the online content available to attendees at the event – and without leaving your desk! Don’t miss out on the top IT Management event of 2009.  Register now! http://www.mms-2009.com

MMS 2009 is very close now and I’m getting ready to leave on Sunday for Las Vegas. More and more people are getting exited including me for this great event to learn about the latest IT Management Solutions from Microsoft. As you may know there is something new that’s called Twitter. If you still not know what Twitter is you are working too much ;-) Ok, I’ll explain once more. Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. People write short updates, often called "tweets"  of 140 characters or fewer.  These messages are posted to your profile or your blog, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search. Quite some people in working in IT Management are already using Twitter and some of them will also go to MMS 2009. To name some: Rod Trent (http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/rtrent/default.aspx) Rikard Ronnkvist (http://www.snowland.se/) Pontus Blomqvist (http://blopon.blogspot.com/) Michael Niehaus (http://blogs.technet.com/mniehaus/) MMS 2009 Team (http://www.mms-2009.com/) Ed Aldrich (http://www.1e.com) SC Service Manager (http://blogs.technet.com/umeno/) ramseygAtDell Jalasoft (http://www.jalasoft.com) [your name here?] just contact me at Twitter I also created a Twibe for MMS09. What is a Twibe? A Twibe is a group of Twitter users interested in a common topic who would like to be able to communicate with each other.  On each twibe's page, there is a list of twibe members.  There is also a tweet stream that lists tweets from Twibe members which contain key word tags. Tags are set by the Twibe founder and are listed just above the tweet stream. So if you are going to MMS 2009 join the Twibe and use the hashtag #mms209 for all tweets about MMS 2009. Hope to see you all at MMS 2009 in Las Vegas.

I just received an email from the MMS Event Team to prepare for MMS 2009. I’ve already done that, but if not please do as soon as possible.     Email: First of all, many thanks for joining us at this year’s Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas.  As a registered attendee there are a number of ways you can prepare for the event, to ensure you get the most out of your week at MMS 2009. This email describes how to: · Vote for Birds-of-a-feather topics most relevant to you · Volunteer for Focus Group sessions with Microsoft Product Groups · Build your personal schedule for the week at MMS 2009 · Book your Instructor-led Lab sessions prior to the event Last Chance to Vote for Birds-of-a-feather (BOF) Topics This year we will again be hosting BOF sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday evening after the final breakout sessions of the day. These informal community sessions allow small groups of attendees to meet and discuss a topic of common interest peer-to-peer or with Microsoft or Industry experts, covering questions on specific areas of IT management. To ensure that the topics hosted at these BOF sessions reflect the interests of all MMS 2009 attendees, we are asking you to vote for the topics you would prefer to attend or propose your own topic. On Friday night we will close the BOF Survey and the most commonly requested topics will then be scheduled and published to the CommNet web site. To vote for your preferred Birds-of-a-Feather session topics: Log in to the MMS 2009 CommNet using the credentials you created during registration Select “BOF Survey” in the left hand navigation pane You may either: Select from the dropdown list of most commonly requested topics so far or Enter a new topic proposal, including rough abstract and optional speaker/moderator name for the session Press Submit to enter your vote The selected BOF topics will be published to the MMS web site by end of day Tue, April 14th, allowing you to add them to your schedule via the “Schedule Builder” option.  Note that space is limited at these sessions, so early booking is advised. Volunteer for Product Focus Groups Are you interested in providing feedback to Microsoft product teams, to help them design future IT management products? We are seeking volunteers during MMS 2009 to attend Focus Groups run by Microsoft product teams. These sessions typically last only 1-2 hours and aim to gather information about your experiences and work scenarios, enabling future releases to address a broader range of customer scenarios. To help us identify the Focus Group sessions most relevant to you, we request that you complete a short on-line survey for each topic in which you are interested.  The survey questions ask about your experience, the products you use and your IT operations environment. You may volunteer for any number of product sessions which seem relevant to you. To volunteer for Focus Groups during MMS 2009: Log in to the MMS 2009 CommNet using the credentials you created during registration Select “Focus Groups” in the left hand navigation pane Each of the Focus Group topics being offered during MMS 2009 are listed on this page Click the icon to the left of any Focus Group topic in which you would like to participate Complete the survey for that topic Each survey should take only a few minutes to complete.  The deadline for submissions is April 14th at midnight PDT – but places will be allocated on a first-come basis, so we encourage you to complete the survey as soon as possible. Selected volunteers will be contacted approximately one week prior to the event to confirm participation. Time to Build Your Personal Schedule There is a massive amount of information available during the week of MMS 2009. To get the best out of the event we strongly suggest taking a few moments to plan your schedule by selecting the breakouts and labs most valuable to you. To help you with this process a number of session listings and on-line tools are available. A searchable detailed listing of all Breakout, Self-paced and Instructor-led Lab sessions is provided on the event web site Sessions Page and in a downloadable Session Details PDF. In addition a grid view of all the Breakout and ILL schedules is available in two page formats: Session Grid (11”x17”) and also Session Grid (Legal). Since there may be some schedule changes or updates prior to the event, we suggest that you monitor the MMS News RSS feed. Any new topics or changes to existing sessions will be posted here, as well as being reflected in the Session Links above. The “MMS News” page will also provide updates and general information about the event up to and during the event itself. How to Log On and Build Your Personal Session Schedule Log in to the MMS 2009 CommNet using the credentials you created during registration Select “Schedule Builder” in the left hand navigation pane Search the content database using the filters and review the labs and presentations being offered during the event To add a breakout or lab session to your schedule, simply click the circle beside the time and location you wish to attend You may print out your schedule or export sessions to your Outlook client by clicking on the relevant icon Booking Instructor-led Lab Sessions at MMS 2009 The Instructor-led Lab (ILL) sessions at MMS are extremely popular and many lab sessions will be fully booked well before the event opens.  We strongly recommend that you use this opportunity to book places in the labs that most interest you while places are still available in all sessions.  Lab topics are being offered in two formats.  Instructor-led Labs: Five rooms are dedicated to Instructor-led lab (ILL) sessions running throughout the week. During these sessions an instructor provides an introduction to the each lab topic and leads you through the lab procedure for a specific topic. Places in all Instructor-led Sessions may be reserved in advance though the MMS 2009 attendee web site Schedule Builder tool. Prior reservations are recommended since the most popular sessions often become fully booked before the event opens. Self-paced Labs: A self-paced hands-on lab area adjacent to the CommNet area offers walk-up access to all lab topics where attendees may complete their choice of lab without an instructor. Lab proctor support is provided in this area during session time-slots and the area remains open outside session times without proctor support. Access to this area is provided on a first-come basis - on-line reservations are not available for the self-paced lab area. ILL sessions match breakout session slots and are 75 minutes long. Scheduled lab sessions start on Monday, April 27th. These Monday lab sessions are very popular and tend to become fully booked well before the event opens. Instructor-led Lab Booking Quota At this time you may reserve places in up to 3 ILL sessions. From Monday, April 13th you may book an additional 3 lab sessions and once the event opens on Monday April 27th any number of ILL session slots may be reserved in your schedule. Many thanks for choosing to join us again at MMS 2009.  We look forward to meeting you again in Las Vegas this April. Best wishes The MMS 2009 Event Team You have been sent this email as a registered attendee of MMS 2009.  If you no longer wish to receive email updates about the MMS 2009 event please reply to this message with a subject line of “Remove”

I’ve just planned my sessions for MMS 2009. If you haven’t planned your sessions please go the website. My Schedule   Monday, April 27 7:30 AM - 8:30 PM Registration       10:30 AM - 11:45 AM IO13 Operations Manager 2007 R2 - An Introduction Lido 3005       12:00 PM - 1:15 PM SO12 Management Pack Design Session 1: Modeling Your Application Bellini 2001B       1:30 PM - 2:45 PM IO16 Authoring Management Packs - Advanced Concepts Lido 3005       3:00 PM - 4:15 PM SO14 Management Pack Design Session 3: Scripting in Operations Manager 2007 Bellini 2001B       4:30 PM - 5:45 PM SO15 Management Pack Design Session 4: Management Pack Internals Bellini 2001B       5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Welcome Reception - Expo Open       Tuesday, April 28 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM Registration       7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Breakfast       8:30 AM - 9:45 AM Opening Keynote       10:15 AM - 11:30 AM SO21 Service Manager - Overview Bellini 2001B       11:45 AM - 1:00 PM SO01 Overview of Operations Manager 2007 R2 Bellini 2001B       12:30 PM - 4:00 PM Expo Hall Open       1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Attendee Lunch       2:15 PM - 3:30 PM IO14 Operations Manager 2007 R2 - Advanced Concepts Lido 3005       4:00 PM - 5:15 PM SO22 Using Service Manager to Achieve Process Integration Across System Center Titian 2201B       5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Ask The Experts (ATE)   Birds-Of-A-Feather Sessions (BOF)       6:45 PM - 7:45 PM Birds-Of-A-Feather Sessions (BOF)       Wednesday, April 29 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM Registration       7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Breakfast       8:30 AM - 9:45 AM Keynote       10:15 AM - 11:30 AM SO04 Understanding Operations Manager 2007 Performance and Scalability Bellini 2001B       11:45 AM - 1:00 PM SO07 Monitoring Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Exchange 2007 Bellini 2001B       12:30 PM - 6:00 PM Expo Hall Open       1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Attendee Lunch       2:15 PM - 3:30 PM SO09 Monitoring Unix/Linux with Operations Manager 2007 R2 Bellini 2001B       4:00 PM - 5:15 PM     5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Ask-The-Experts (ATE)   Birds-Of-A-Feather (BOF)       6:45 PM - 7:45 PM Birds-Of-A-Feather (BOF)       Thursday, April 30 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Breakfast       7:30 AM - 9:00 PM Registration       8:30 AM - 9:45 AM SO10 Understanding the LAMP stack and How to Monitor It Using Operations Manager 2007 R2 Bellini 2001B       10:15 AM - 11:30 AM SO11 Interop Connectors for System Center Bellini 2001B       11:45 AM - 1:00 PM SO30 Taking Control of Your Operations Manager Alerts Bellini 2001B   SV05 Virtual Machine Manager 2008: Heterogeneous Management of Hyper-V and VMware Titian 2304       12:30 PM - 2:30 PM Expo Hall Open       1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Attendee Lunch       2:30 PM - 3:45 PM SO25 Targeting in Operations Manager 2007 Bellini 2001B       4:00 PM - 5:15 PM SO05 Developing Custom Reports and Operational Dashboards with Operations Manager 2007 Bellini 2001B   SU20 Getting involved in the Operations Manager MVP Community Titian 2201B       5:30 PM - 6:30 PM Ask The Experts (ATE)       7:00 PM - 10:00 PM Closing Party       Friday, May 1 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM Registration       8:00 AM - 10:00 AM Breakfast       8:30 AM - 9:45 AM SM31 Running and Maintaining the Microsoft System Center Suite on Microsoft Hyper-V Bellini 2001B       10:00 AM - 11:15 AM SO08 Advanced Management Pack Authoring Bellini 2001B       11:30 AM - 12:45 PM SO33 Operations Manager 2007 R2: Driving Compliance with ACS Titian 2201B       12:45 PM - 12:45 PM Event Closes