Once again, Train Signal brings us a new course created to help you master Exchange Server 2007. Their “Hands-on” videos detail everything from installation to configuring back-up, and it really breaks down all of the new features the come with Exchange Server 2007. My favorite part is that it is taught by David Shackelford, an MVP and MCSE, so you can be sure he really knows his stuff! Whether you are new to Exchange Server or just need to close the gap between Exchange Server 2003 and 2007, then this is the training for you. Check out more about the instructor and view a sample of the training here!

I was pleased to see that the speaker for the Virtualization sessions was Alessandro Perilli, who runs the www.virtualization.info tell us about the Virtualization features in Windows Longhorn server.

He talked about the different types of Virtualization and defined them as:

• Server Virtualization – like we do with VMware and Microsoft Virtual Server
• Presentation or Session Virtualization – like we do with terminal services
• Application Virtualization – something new that I will talk about in a minute

Server virtualization has become more and more common in production environments today with the use of Microsoft Virtual Server, VMware Server, VMware ESX, and Xen.

Presentation or Session virtualization is really just “terminal services” or “Citrix Server” renamed and
thought of differently.

What is a new concept is “application virtualization”. With application virtualization, the applications
can be abstracted from the OS. By doing this, you can have a “standalone application”, regardless of the operating system, registry, or other underlying applications that are normally required. What that means is that there is no installation for an application and you can “stream the application”. As soon as your computer is able to access part of the application, you can start using the application.

Compare this to listening to streaming music or streaming video over the Internet. This is based on ideas already in use with Softricity’s SoftGrid, a company & product bought by Microsoft.

Alessandro went on to talk about how there are four core applications for virtualization:

• Production server consolidation – used to control server sprawl
• Business continuity management and security – disaster recovery and firewall security
• Test & development
• In the future, the “Dynamic Data Center”

What is new in this list is the concept of the dynamic data center. The dynamic data center is a term
for a server/network infrastructure system where by:

• You obtain maximum hardware utilization – no hardware resources are wasted
• The infrastructure is flexible and efficient enough to completely support your company’s business
• processes
• The complexities today of provisioning and scaling servers, hardware, and applications are removed or reduced
• Server & network infrastructure automatically adapts to the needs of the applications &
• workload

Does that sound too good to be true? This sounds like something IBM has been preaching since 2001 called “Autonomic Computingg”.

This also sounds like what VMware is trying to create with their Virtual Infrastructure system (VI).
That system includes VMware ESX, VMotion, VM High Availability, and VMware’s DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler). With VI, you are getting close to the concept of the “dynamic data center”.

While VMware has a great thing going with their Virtual Infrastructure (and it is clearly the market
leader), Microsoft is going to be challenging them for the top spot in the virtualization market. With the release of Windows Longhorn Server, Microsoft will also release a major new virtualization solution. This will be called Windows Virtualization Server, codenamed Veridian.

Spam email messages are unwanted email in your email inbox. The “ham” is the good mail that you want to read. Spam email is similar to the junk mail that you have certainly received at in your postal mailbox. Some people get hundreds of unwanted spam email messages in their inbox every day. This makes it extremely difficult to locate the good email that you really want. Sorting through that spam email is very frustrating and can be a huge waste of time. Some of the spam can be downright disgusting.

Have you ever wondered why it is that some people receive hundreds of spam messages each day while others receive none? If you think back to your home mail box and the junk mail you will find the answer. People receive spam for primarily one reason- they gave out their email address to some person or some business. Maybe they signed up for a newsletter, ordered a gift, requested an electronic greeting card, or got a login at a website. All of these are the most probable way to receive that spam. Just like your home mailbox where you signed up for a catalog and now receive 25 catalogs that you didn’t sign up for, spam email arrives in the same way. So, you must protect that valuable asset- your email address. By not giving out your email address you are protecting the yourself from spam and preventing yourself from having to dig through it.

But what if you want that newsletter? My advice is to get one email address for newsletters and online accounts. Get a web-based email account through hotmail or yahoo for all personal purchases, accounts, gifts orders, or newsletters. For other more critical email, get a different email account.

How do you get rid of the spam once you begin? The answer is- you don’t. No matter how computer savvy you are, you can’t stop that spam from coming. The “unsubscribe” button at the bottom doesn’t work on real spam- even though the US Government made it a law that it had to. The only thing we can do is to use a spam filter and filter that spam out of your mailbox. However, there is always the chance that the “ham” (the good mail) will also be caught in the spam filter. Inevitably, this means that you have to look through a spam report each day to aid you in preventing your good mail from being lost.

Just like you can usually get rid of your junk mail in your mailbox at home by moving, you can also get rid of spam by changing your email address. However, some people have had that email address for many years and just don’t want to give it up.