Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 RT and Windows Server 2012 R2 officially RTM'd

Microsoft officially confirmed on August 27 that Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT have been RTM'd.

Microsoft also confirmed that it would not be made available early to any customers, including MSDN and TechNet subscribers. The software will become downloadable globally on October 18th

Windows 8.1 will be free for existing Windows 8 users, but it's unknown what it will cost for those looking to upgrade from previous versions of Windows.

Microsoft also released to manufacturing Windows Server 2012 R2 today, August 27.  No MSDN and TechNet subscribers will be getting the gold bits until October 18.

Microsoft plans to continue to update the RTM bits right up until the time of launch. Brad Anderson said:  “Because this release was built and delivered at a much faster pace than past products, and because we want to ensure that you get the very highest quality product, we made the decision to complete the final validation phases prior to distributing the release.”

So, what is available for download today?

You can download a preview copy of Windows Server 2012 R2 here:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/dn205286

Preview copy of Windows 8.1: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/preview?ocid=blprev_pr_wom

Additional Information:

Readying Windows 8.1 for release: http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/08/27/readying-windows-8-1-for-release.aspx

Today is the RTM for Windows Server 2012 R2! http://blogs.technet.com/b/in_the_cloud/archive/2013/08/27/today-is-the-rtm-for-windows-server-2012-r2.aspx

UPDATED FAB4 Links for IT Pros:

Microsoft confirms Windows 8.1 RTM; no early access to final bits

Microsoft releases Windows 8.1 to manufacturers ahead of October 18 launch -

Windows 8.1 officially finished, nobody to get it until launch day

Windows 8.1 is officially finished, but everyone has to wait until October 18th


Microsoft: Windows Server 2012 R2 goes gold

Windows 8.1 RTMs -- but developers won't get it until October http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/windows-81-rtms-developers-wont-get-it-until-october-225693

Microsoft confirms Windows 8.1 RTM, but expect a large bug-fixing patch on release day

When RTM is No Longer RTM

Now all Windows developers have been thrown under the bus

Why is Microsoft keeping the final release of Windows 8.1 secret?


 

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Solution Accelerator

Convert VMware-based virtual machines and disks to Hyper-V-based virtual machines and disks with a Microsoft-supported, stand-alone solution (MVMC).

MVMC made to ease the migration from vSphere/vCenter-based irtual machines (including vCenter Server 4.1, 5.0, ESX Server 4.1 and ESXi Server 4.1, 5.0) to Hyper-V 2008 R2/Hyper-V 3, adding virtual  NICs to the converted virtual machine on Hyper-V and uninstalling VMware tools.

"MVMC provides the following features:
  • Converts and deploys virtual machines from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts including Hyper-V on Windows Server® 2012. 
  • Converts VMware virtual disks to Hyper-V based virtual hard disks (VHDs).
  • Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 4.1 and 5.0 hosts to Hyper-V.
  • Offers fully scriptable command-line interfaces for performing virtual machine and disk conversions that integrates well with data center automation workflows and Windows PowerShell scripts.
  • Has a wizard-driven GUI, making it simple to perform virtual machine conversion.
  • Uninstalls VMware tools prior to conversion to provide a clean way to migrate VMware-based virtual machines to Hyper-V.
  • Supports Windows Server guest operating system conversion, including Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 SP2.
  • Enables conversion of Windows® client versions including Windows 7.
  • Installs integration services on the converted virtual machine if the guest operating system is Windows Server 2003 SP2."
Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Solution Accelerator http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34591&WT.mc_id=soc-n-[TR]-loc-[Services]-[farukc

Additional Resources:

Microsoft Solution Accelerators: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/default.aspx