Even though many of us are more connected technologically than ever, it seems like we’re also more disconnected from each other as human beings. That isolation isn’t good for us psychologically or physically, and to help combat it, a new campaign by O, The Oprah Magazine, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Skype wants each of us, every day, to “Just Say Hello” to one person we don’t know.

Sound goofy? Maybe at first. “The average person’s social media followers can total hundreds, if not thousands, yet many of us still feel disconnected,” writes Jihan Thompson, health editor of O, The Oprah Magazine, on Skype’s Big Blog. “At any given time, one in five people – or roughly 60 million Americans – are lonely,” she says, citing estimates from University of Chicago psychology professor John T. Cacioppo.

In “Just Say Hello,” an article in the March 2014 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, Dr. Gupta says that the positive effects of social connection are much more beneficial than we might think. “Studies have shown that people with stronger social relationships sleep better, have sharper memories, and are less stressed,” Thompson writes. “But perhaps the most profound finding was that people who have strong ties to family, friends, and coworkers have a 50 percent greater chance of outliving those with fewer social connections. In short, human interaction is just as important as diet and exercise to our overall well-being.”

For inspiration (or courage) to take part in “Just Say Hello,” watch the video above. And to read Thompson’s entire post, head over to Skype’s Big Blog.

You might also be interested in:

· “Today Show” co-host Natalie Morales plays “Mystery Skype” with students
· Update to OneDrive for improved features on Windows Phone 8
· Office Online updates online experience with Office.com, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote

Suzanne Choney
Microsoft News Center Staff

In four days the January release of the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) detected almost a million threats on PCs across the globe.

In the video below, Dustin Childs and Joe Faulhaber explain what happened as the MSRT sprang into action.

For those who want more than one image for their lock screen, Windows 8.1 includes a personalization option that allows for a slideshow to play. For Windows apps developers, this feature is a great opportunity for them to make their app the sole provider of images for that slideshow.

In Windows 8, the lock screen feature introduced the feature that gave users a way to change the single image for each person logged in to the device. In Windows 8.1, you can now have as many photos as you’d like. Users can choose photos from their local hard drive, OneDrive or apps. Apps can provide users with an RSS feed of images they can use in the slideshow by using an RSS feed API.

The Windows App Builder Blog covers best practices detailing how to appeal to users into selecting apps that provide images through an RSS feed. Here’s the pitch to developers to pay attention to this feature: “Apps provide a great way to share this media through social channels and update it dynamically through the tagging and sharing amongst their users…By leveraging these existing enclosed RSS feeds, users have access to all their content hosted in an app that they already use for photo storage and sharing. Because only one app’s feed can be selected at a time for photos, your app will become the sole provider of images for the current user’s lock screen slideshow!”

To find out how to do this for your app, head over to the Windows App Builder Blog.

You might also be interested in:

• After the zombie apocalypse, train “Deadlings” to work for you on Windows devices
• It’s easy to take a hop, Skype and a jump to Windows 8.1
• Office Online updates online experience with Office.com, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote

Athima Chansanchai
Microsoft News Center Staff

With the end of the “Titanfall” beta, the crew over at Xbox Wire have been working hard on your behalf (yes – it’s all for you), spending more than five days "jump-kicking Pilots, rodeo-ing Titans and getting our butts handed to us in Last Titan Standing.” They’ll be ready when “Titanfall” launches March 11, but so will you by learning from their tactical successes and failures.

Xbox Wire shares some of those “most memorable moments,” including one involving “wall running,” or being able to run across the side of buildings.

“While wall running our way down an alley, we were suddenly confronted with an enemy Pilot running in the opposite direction,” they write. “We managed to instinctively (read: luckily) fire a few rounds into him, before we both fell. By the time we figured out where he was, he had already wall run back the other way and killed us from a safe distance.”

For more “Titanfall” beta discoveries made by this brave (read: lucky) crew, head over to Xbox Wire.

You might also be interested in:

· “Today Show” co-host Natalie Morales plays “Mystery Skype” with students
· Update to OneDrive for improved features on Windows Phone 8
· Office Online updates online experience with Office.com, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote

Suzanne Choney
Microsoft News Center Staff

Phototastic is a free Window 8 photo editing app that allows nonprofits to easily create collages of their best images from events and for special campaigns. Nonprofits that prioritize telling their stories through images are well-positioned for mobile and social media success in 2014. Visually compelling collages can be created in less than a minute using Phototastic. For example, below is the process we used to create an image collage of the 2013 Imagine Cup.

Step 1: Install Phototastic from the Windows Store


Step 2: Select “Create your first collage”


3. Select image collage template


4. Add photos


5. Select photo shape and background


6. Save and upload image collage to social media

Creating photo collages couldn’t be easier. Download the Phototastic app today and tell your organisation’s story through images.

Thanks to Heather Mansfield, founder of Nonprofit Tech 2.0 (Bio) (LinkedIn), and author of Social Media for Social Good: A How-To Guide for Nonprofits for providing these tips on the Phototastic app.

Este mês foi bem movimentado no TechNet Wiki Brasil, tanto na edição como na criação de artigos de assuntos variados nas mais diversas Tecnologias Microsoft.

Estamos entrando na semana final para seleção dos 5 melhores artigos deste mês, que irão definir o vencedor do TechNet Wiki Day de fevereiro.

A definição dos 5 principais artigos no mês é importante porque além de valorizar o trabalho de quem contribui com qualidade para à Comunidade, também é fundamental para que a Comissão de Seleção possa convidar os especialistas necessários para avaliar cada Tecnologia nos artigos selecionados.

Todo esse trabalho de análise das contribuições valoriza nossa premiação no portal TechNet Brasil e na Comunidade TechNet Wiki Internacional.

 A premiação será realizada para os 3 melhores artigos, através da publicação do artigo e do seu autor no Blog Wiki Ninjas Brasil e através do reconhecimento por medalhas TechNet Wiki Ninja.

O vencedor também tem o privilégio de estar na lista de vencedores nacionais e internacionais do TechNet Wiki Day.

Não perca tempo, colabore e no próximo Conselho Spotlight vamos divulgar os finalistas !

Até +,

Wiki Ninja Durval Ramos ( Twitter, Perfil )

Hi

The first Auckland Windows Infrastructure User Group meeting of the year is kicking off at Microsoft this coming Tuesday.  Join Farhan Sattar and Nick Westbrook to network with your peers, and attend an informative session on the "New Features and Improvements in Windows Server 2012 R2" presented by Farhan.

The link to register for this event is here: http://www.mscommunities.co.nz/Events/Auckland-Windows-Infrastructure-User-Group-Feb-201.aspx

See you there!

Regan

Technical Evangelist
Microsoft NZ
@nzregs
http://about.me/nzregs

Each day, I am inspired by the great work that Microsoft partners bring to customers and their ability to market and differentiate themselves from one another through their competencies, employees, and entrepreneurial spirit. Microsoft partner, Nimbo, a cloud services provider that specializes in application migration, hybrid cloud, and custom application development, embodied this sentiment by creating a scalable solution quickly, all while maintaining a level of service to the client.

Mimeo, a provider of online printing services, wanted a solution that could handle a heavier workload and integrate data from a new customer that wanted to submit orders using the electronic data interchange (EDI) standard.

Together, Mimeo and Nimbo worked together to develop a solution that provided a flexible, highly scalable integration platform that was capable of converting large volumes of data from virtually any application. The solution included enterprise resource planning systems, into the XML format used by Mimeo.

With a solution based on Windows Azure BizTalk Services, Mimeo has gained multiple benefits including increased revenues by $8 million by using cloud-based services to handle EDI orders, with just one major contract.

I encourage you to read the case study and watch the short, animated infographic that captures this  example of partner excellence and how Nimbo embodied the entrepreneurial spirit by demonstrating the art of the possible.

Because he’s clearly lived through it, Steven Borg can make me laugh out loud about the pain of software development in a large organization. He can also teach you how to make a lot of the pain go away, so we’re excited to welcome him and the team from Northwest Cadence for our upcoming series of “ALM Wednesdays.” They’ll be covering Visual Studio, Git and Kanban boards, but they go beyond just the tools. You’ll learn approaches and strategies you can use to break down barriers for better collaboration and communication with stakeholders and with management.

Join Steven BorgCheryl M. HammondJames Tupper and Andrew Clear live every Wednesday through March and into April for some lively, interactive training!

ALM Wednesdays

Dates/Times:     March 5: Using Kanban Jump Start (9:00am-5pm PST)

March 12: Using Git with Visual Studio 2013 Jump Start (9:00am-5:00pm PDT)

March 19: Fundamentals of Lean Software Delivery Jump Start (9:00am-5:00pm PDT)

March 26: Enterprise Agility Is Not an Oxymoron Jump Start (9:00am-5:00pm PDT)

April 9: DevOps - Visual Studio Release Management Jump (9:00am-5:00pm PDT)

Where: Live, online virtual classroom
Cost: Free!

Register now

And if you haven’t seen the series we did last year on ALM with Steven and Anthony Borton, I encourage you to check it out. 

We wanted to make certain that Exchange admins are aware of an Outlook issue which may impact your plans to move to Exchange Server 2013. As discussed in KB:2934750, Outlook 2013 customers who deployed client updates released in November and December of last year may experience a profile migration error post mailbox migration. When this occurs, it might not be possible to use normal Profile Repair options to restore connectivity. Older versions of Outlook, including Outlook 2013 without the November and December updates will function normally. An Outlook update which resolves this issue is nearing completion and being worked with priority to be released as soon as possible. The Exchange team is working closely with the Outlook team to verify the fix.

The Exchange Team

[This post comes to us courtesy of Rituraj Choudhary from Global Business Support]

In this post we will discuss deploying Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials in an existing Active Directory domain. Some key points to keep in mind in this scenario are:

• The Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials once deployed, must be the domain controller at the root of the forest and domain, and must hold all the FSMO roles.
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials can only be deployed into a single domain. Also, a read-only domain controller cannot exist in this domain.
• It can be installed in a pre-existing Active Directory domain only on the pretext that you are migrating to Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials. Note that there is a grace period of 21 days for completing the entire migration from previous versions of Windows Server Essentials or Small Business Server editions.

Note: If you are planning to deploy a Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter with Windows Server Essentials Experience role in an existing Active Directory environment, please follow our previous post.

Here are the steps we need to cover for this deployment:

• Plan migration for LOB Applications
• Complete the initial setup of Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
• Rename the computer
• Make it a Replica Domain Controller
• Transfer all the FSMO Roles to the new Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
• Configure Windows Server Essentials Experience role
• Make required changes to the DHCP Scope
• Demote and remove Active Directory Domain Services from the source server
• Set up Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials features

Before beginning the deployment of Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials in the existing domain, make sure you plan, rehome and reconfigure your Line of Business applications, so that they are available during and post migration, as per your business requirements.

The first step towards the deployment of the Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials in an existing domain is to complete the initial setup. Once the installation is complete and the server reboots, log on with the local administrator account.

Important: When you log on to the server desktop, you will see Configure Windows Server Essentials wizard that gets triggered automatically. Click Cancel (1) to cancel this wizard at this time, and confirm the cancellation by clicking Yes (2) to the subsequent warning.

Make sure you are connected to the local network. To double-check, you may ping the internal domain name to verify that it resolves to the IP address of the source domain controller.

In most probability you would like to change the name of the server conventionally. Make sure to do that right now, if you intend to. The simplest way would be to open a PowerShell window as an administrator on the target Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials and issue the following command:

Rename-Computer <new name>
* <new name> is the new name of the local computer in the above command.

For example:

Restart the computer for the changes to take effect. Please note that the Configure Windows Server Essentials wizard will show up again and you need to cancel it.

Confirm the new computer name by issuing command hostname on a PowerShell or a Command Prompt window.

The next step is to add this Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials to the domain as a replica domain controller. To accomplish this, open Server Manager. On the Server Manager Dashboard, click Manage, and then click Add Roles and Features.

On the Add Roles and Features Wizard that shows up subsequently, proceed through by clicking Next on each of these pages: Before You Begin, Installation Type, and Server Selection with the default options selected. On the Server Roles page, click to select Active Directory Domain Services.

This action pops up a new dialog to add some features. Click Add Features to add the features that are required for Active Directory Domain Services. Click Next on Features and AD DS (Active Directory Domain Services) pages, and Install on the Confirmation page.

Once the installation is complete, click Close to close the wizard.

Back on the Server Manager, click the Notifications flag, and click Promote this server to a domain controller to promote the server to a domain controller.

This action should bring up the Active Directory Domain Services Configuration Wizard. On the Deployment Configuration page, select the option Add a domain controller to an existing domain, and then click Select… button next to the Domain field.

You need to enter the domain administrator credentials here, so that it picks up the domain name that exists in the local network.

Select the existing domain name here. Once you click OK, the Domain field should now populate with the FQDN of the domain name, e.g. contoso.local. Click Next.

On the Domain Controller Options page, leave the default options selected, and enter a Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password. Keep it safe so you won't lose it. Now click Next.

Proceed on these pages with the default options selected: DNS Options, Additional Options, Paths, Preparation Options, and Review Options. On the Prerequisite Check page, after certain checks are validated, you will be presented with an option to install. Click Install to proceed.

Note: After you click Install, the server would automatically reboot at the end of the promotion operation.

PowerShell Script:

We have put the GUI options on the blog post for better grasp and visibility by an end user. You may also choose this PowerShell Script over the GUI.

After the reboot, you would be presented with the domain account to log in with since the server is joined to the domain at this point. After the logon, it will wind up the process of domain controller promotion. You can then verify the domain join and domain controller functionality on a PowerShell window as:

Dir ENV:\U*
Import-Module ActiveDirectory
Get-ADDomainController

You would again see the Configure Windows Server Essentials wizard pop up. Let's minimize the wizard this time.

Let us now transfer the FSMO roles to the new server. Check the current FSMO role holder domain controller using the command:

netdom query fsmo

These FSMO roles should be with your source server currently.

Run the following commands on an elevated PowerShell window on Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials to transfer all the FSMO roles on Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials:

Move-ADDirectoryServerOperationMasterRole –Identity <Target-DC> 0,1,2,3,4
* <Target-DC> is the name of the new Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials in the above command.

You can either say 'a' once or 'y' 5 times for each operation master roles transfer in the subsequent prompts.

That is pretty much it. You may again run the netdom query fsmo command to verify that they are now with the new Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials.

Let us now restore the Configure Windows Server Essentials wizard from the Taskbar or Server Manager under Notifications, and click Configure on the Configure Windows Server Essentials page.

This should take a few minutes. Click Close on the Results page after the configuration is complete.

Change the scope options on the DHCP server on the existing domain to point to the new Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials as the DNS server.

Follow up by demoting the source server. The shortest way to accomplish this is to run the command Uninstall-ADDSDomainController on an elevated PowerShell window on the source server.

Please note that this process reboots the server automatically to complete the operation. After the source server reboots, you may remove the Active Directory Domain Services role from the Server Manager on the source server.

You are now ready to use your new Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials. You may now proceed to add client PCs using the connect wizard so that it shows up in the DEVICES tab of the Windows Server Essentials Dashboard, set up Anywhere Access etc. and other Essentials features as per your requirement.

We’ve gathered the top Microsoft Support solutions to the most common issues experienced using Microsoft Unified Access Gateway (UAG) 2010 (updated quarterly).

1. Solutions related to Sharepoint:

• The Path to SharePoint enlightenment
• SharePoint publishing concepts and considerations
• SSO to SharePoint 2010 through UAG when using two authentication schemas
• UAG and Office integration
• UAG and SharePoint mobile access
• UAG, ADFS, Mobile devices and O365
• SRA and AppWrap FAQ
• UAG published website is not fully rendered
• Make head for headers

2. Solutions related to authentication and authorization:

• Lessons from the Field and Best Practices for Active Directory Authorization on Unified Access Gateway 2010(UAG)
• Configuring authentication and authorization servers in IAG
• Authenticating to UAG with an email address instead of user ID
• Authenticating Exchange Mail Applications using UAG RC0
• SSO (Single Sign On) not working for a published Web Application with UAG
• Understanding and troubleshooting the activation process
• UAG and Office integration
• Certified Endpoints in UAG
• UAG, ADFS, Mobile devices and O365

3. Solutions related to performance and availability:

• UAG Array and Network Load Balancing
• Disaster aversion
• Performance Anxiety
• Load Balancing Backend Servers Farms
• Forefront UAG: About Arrays
• UAG published website is not fully rendered
• Array planning guide
• SharePoint publishing concepts and considerations
• UAG published website is not fully rendered

4. Solutions related to Setup issues:

• Forefront UAG installation troubleshooting flow
• Installation common issues
• Publishing deployment guide
• Implementing a trunk
• KB: Upgrading to Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 Service Pack 1 fails with error 1603
• Disaster aversion
• Troubleshooting UAG installation and update problems

5. Solutions related to a required update or service pack:

• Forefront UAG installation troubleshooting flow
• Installation common issues
• Publishing deployment guide
• Implementing a trunk
• KB: Upgrading to Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 Service Pack 1 fails with error 1603
• Disaster aversion
• Troubleshooting UAG installation and update problems

Eggià il titolo la dice tutta

Microsoft ha investito e continuerà ad investire su Service Manager. Per ulteriori dettagli potete consultare il post originale, che trovate a questo link, scritto direttamente da Christian Booth, Senior Program Manager del gruppo di prodotto.

Buona lettura

An update to the OneNote Windows 8.1 app gives you support for OneDrive, larger handwriting and quicker, easier access to notes’ locations. The update also makes improvements in accessibility by using Narrator to read your notes.

Update to Windows 8.1 to get the best Windows, OneNote and OneDrive experience and find OneNote in the Windows Store. Read more about this update on Office Blogs.

You might also be interested in:

• Update to OneDrive for improved features on Windows Phone 8
• Office 365 message encryption service is now generally available
• Office Online updates online experience with Office.com, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote

Athima Chansanchai
Microsoft News Center Staff

For developers, Windows Phone App Studio Beta, which has already produced 300,000 projects, is now more streamlined to help them get their app to the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store.

As the Windows Phone Developer Blog reports, Windows Phone App Studio Beta was created as an easy-to-use tool for almost anyone to build apps from end to end. About 350,000 developers have used Windows Phone App Studio Beta, with 20,000 apps published to Windows Phone Store.

The update delivers a redesigned, touch-enabled UI, a rebuilt emulator to see changes on the fly, image conversion from JPG to PNG, full-screen image rotation and new templates for businesses. And now, developers can generate a full Microsoft Visual Studio project containing both a Windows Phone and a Windows 8 version of their app.

Don’t wait – try Windows Phone App Studio Beta now and see how easy it can be to make an app. Read more about the updates on the Windows Phone Developer Blog.

You might also be interested in:

• Update to OneDrive for improved features on Windows Phone 8
• Don’t miss this pit stop: NASCAR Mobile app for Windows devices updated for 2014 season
• Doodle Buddy turns your Windows PC or tablet into an artistic canvas

Athima Chansanchai
Microsoft News Center Staff

We’ve gathered the top Microsoft Support solutions to the most common issues experienced using Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager (updated quarterly).

1. Solutions related to extract, transform, and load job:

• Troubleshooting System Center Data Warehouse Errors
• How to Troubleshoot a Data Warehouse Job
• MP Sync jobs fail and the Data Warehouse Base Library MP shows a Deployment Status of “Failed”
• Customizing the Data Warehouse
• Using and Managing Standard Reports
• Using OLAP Cubes for Advanced Analytics
• System Center 2012 Service Manager Survival Guide

2. Solutions related to setup, deployment, and disaster recovery:

• Troubleshooting System Center 2012 - Service Manager Deployment Issues
• Deploying System Center 2012 Service Manager? Read this first!
• Recommended fixes and updates for System Center 2012 Service Manager
• Disaster Recovery Guide for System Center 2012 - Service Manager
• Deploying System Center 2012 - Service Manager
• Upgrading System Center 2012 - Service Manager to System Center 2012 SP1
• System Center 2012 Service Manager Survival Guide

3. Solutions related to reporting:

• MP Sync jobs fail and the Data Warehouse Base Library MP shows a Deployment Status of “Failed”
• Extending the Data Warehouse and Reporting for Unix Computers
• Selecting a report in Service Manager fails with "Cannot impersonate user for data source 'DWDataMart'"
• Troubleshooting System Center Data Warehouse Errors
• Using OLAP Cubes for Advanced Analytics
• Customizing the Data Warehouse
• System Center 2012 Service Manager Survival Guide

4. Solutions related to authoring:

• Debugging Custom Forms, Console Task Handlers, and Workflows
• Authoring for System Center 2012 - Service Manager
• Troubleshooting Workflows in Service Manager
• Troubleshooting Workflow Performance and Delays
• Disabling Workflows with Overrides
• Application Approval Workflow Sample Templates
• System Center 2012 Service Manager Survival Guide

5. Solutions related to installation: Standalone Component Installer:

• Troubleshooting System Center 2012 - Service Manager Deployment Issues
• Deploying System Center 2012 Service Manager? Read this first!
• Recommended fixes and updates for System Center 2012 Service Manager
• Deploying System Center 2012 - Service Manager
• Upgrading System Center 2012 - Service Manager to System Center 2012 SP1
• System Center 2012 Service Manager Survival Guide

By TwC Staff

Data privacy is a topic that tends to spur wide-ranging conversations, with dramatically varying national and global pivots. Issues related to data privacy are important and complex, so we expect the topic to generate many discussions among attendees at the annual RSA Conference USA in San Francisco, Feb. 24-28.

Microsoft’s Chief Privacy Officer, Brendon Lynch, will be in attendance and will share his thoughts on emerging trends in the privacy world, as part of a panel of privacy leaders, on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The panelists will tackle current “Hot Topics in Privacy,” with a focus on important and emerging privacy issues.  See more >>

IT Evangelists just love bringing you blog posts with a theme!  There is one whole week left of the Disaster Recovery Blog Series. If you are just getting started - start here for the complete list.

I really enjoy writing about disaster recovery.  I have 3 posts in the series:

• Disaster Recovery Considerations - http://www.techbunny.com/2014/02/disaster-recovery-for-it-pros-how-to.html
• Why Test? - http://www.techbunny.com/2014/02/question-is-there-value-in-testing-your.html
• COMING SOON: Your DR Checklist!

I constantly stress to my customers that significant assessment and planning revolving around the design and implementation of connection groups is essential to a successful lifecycle for virtual environments. One of the primary challenges with connection groups is that while understanding the mechanics of setting them up is quite easy; it is the sequencing thereof (as well as the understanding of how applications are affected by them) that is challenging.

I approach connection groups from a packaging and integration perspective. With that approach, I must plan out my strategy PRIOR to sequencing as retrofitting previous sequenced applications for connection groups can be quite risky and I recommend avoiding it.

Connection Group Architecture

I am not going to do too much diving into this point because there is already good information available. But a connection group is a virtual environment that contains more than one virtual package. All of the packages share the same virtual environment where the VFS and tokenized paths merge and the registries are converged. This gives sequencing engineers the flexibility to maintain packages independently and removes the redundancy of adding the same application several times onto a machine. Simple Concept. How about Execution?

Targeting

The first thing you need to reconcile will be targeting. Connection groups, like packages, can be targeted to users or to machines (globally published.) But targeting cannot overlap. All packages within a connection group must align. If a connection group target is per user, member packages must be published per user. If a connection group target is machine, member packages must be published to the machine.

Test Strategy

A connection group needs to be tested operationally and functionally by incorporating the connection group and package publishing life cycle into your QA\UAT application testing. Creating Connection groups in stand-alone mode allows for more seamless testing. It can also be automated using PowerShell. The general flow for this is as follows:

• Add and Publish packages
• If possible, test the functionality of the individual applications.
• Manually create the connection group XML descriptor document (to be used in stand-alone testing to verify functionality independent of delivery system.)
• Add and Enable connection group
• Test applications
• Disable and Remove connection group
• Unpublish and Remove packages

The Easy Part – the CG Descriptor

Creating connection group descriptor documents is a pretty easy process. All you need to do is supply a unique GUID for the connection groups VersionID and AppConnectionGroupId. The packages PackageId and VersionId fields come from the packages themselves. You then list the individual packages under the <appv:Packages> element in order of convergence priority. When you create connection groups using the management server or through SCCM, you are simply automating this very process. For more detail on this descriptor document and the format, please refer to the following Technet article: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj870811.aspx

The Hard Part: Actual Sequencing for Connection Groups

The Technet article above also mentions supported scenarios for using connection groups. Connection Groups are great in that they facilitate the use of primary applications virtualized separately from plug-in or add-in applications to be brought together. You can also use connection groups to leverage run-times or middleware without having to package everything together creating a servicing nightmare. The use of converging primary applications with add-ins and plug-ins is one of the most desired use cases of connection groups – HOWEVER, they can be the most difficult to implement if you do not understand how the add-in is loaded and used by the application. This is important information because it will govern how you sequence the application.

Not Every Application Loads an Add-in the same way.

Each type of load method will govern how we sequence. In earlier blog posts, we even learned that Office Add-ins are even registered or loaded differently depending on the addin.

(See the following: http://blogs.technet.com/b/gladiatormsft/archive/2013/07/25/app-v-on-that-failed-office-add-in.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/gladiatormsft/archive/2013/08/01/app-v-more-on-that-failed-office-add-in.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/gladiatormsft/archive/2013/08/08/app-v-still-more-on-those-office-add-ins.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/gladiatormsft/archive/2013/09/04/app-v-on-virtualizing-multiple-excel-add-ins.aspx )

Most add-ins load because they are registered to load. Some add-ins load because there’s a variable or a search path. In some cases, they load because the add-in simply exists in a special directory. Understanding how the plug-in or add-in loads (and it’s format) will affect how you engineer your connection groups.

File Convergence

Only VFS Folders and tokenized paths merge. Pure and simple. If you suspect you will use an application or a plug-in within a connection group, you will need to sequence your application a specific way when it comes to selecting a PVAD (Primary Virtual Application Directory) and an installation directory. Unlike the former DSC (Dynamic Suite Composition) where the opposite was true, non-VFS folders do NOT merge. You will need to fully VFS the packages, that is, provide incorrect ‘Primary Virtual Application Path’ (PVAD) while sequencing the packages. This puts all the files of the package under VFS folder and nothing ends up in the root folder.  For example, use C:\<PACKAGE_NAME> as the PVAD and install to its regular tokenized path (i.e. C:\Program Files, etc.) If the application does not normally install to a tokenized path, make sure you install to a different folder then the PVAD.

Registry Behavior across Connection Groups

Registry keys will merge across connection groups however the data and value overlap will be ruled by order within the connection group. To clear up potential issues with conflicts due to registry opacity configuration where key information may not resolve properly, I would consider placing virtualized plug-in/add-in information (where the add-ins were registered) ahead in the list inside the connection group descriptor document to ensure the right configuration wins out. This is especially important not only when it comes to add-ins but when it comes to VFS file convergence where you may have duplicate directories across multiple packages.

In the next few posts, I will discuss case studies on different types of applications.

These are the top Microsoft Support solutions to the most common issues experienced using Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (updated quarterly).

1. Solutions related to Active Directory replication:

• Replication error 8453 Replication access was denied
• Replication error -2146893022 The target principal name is incorrect
• Replication error 1753 There are no more endpoints available from the endpoint mapper
• Replication error 1396 Logon Failure The target account name is incorrect
• Replication error 8614 The Active Directory cannot replicate with this server because the time since the last replication with this server has exceeded the tombstone lifetime
• Replication error 8524 The DSA operation is unable to proceed because of a DNS lookup failure
• Replication error 1256 The remote system is not available
• Replication error 8451 The replication operation encountered a database error

2. Solutions related to DNS:

• Don't be afraid of DNS Scavenging. Just be patient.
• Optimizing your network to keep your DNS squeaky clean
• The size of the Active Directory increases rapidly on a Windows Server 2003-based or Windows Server 2008 R2-based domain controller that hosts the DNS Server role
• Some DNS name queries are unsuccessful after you deploy a Windows-based DNS server
• No records in the secondary DNS zone and DNS error 6527
  A DNS Update is recorded as failed: Event ID 5774, 1196, or 1578

3. Solutions related to bugchecks, stop errors, and unexpected restarts:

• Bug Check Code Reference
• How to generate a kernel or a complete memory dump file in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2
• How to use the special pool feature to isolate pool damage
• How to determine the appropriate page file size for 64-bit versions of Windows
• Using Driver Verifier to identify issues with Windows drivers for advanced users
• How to diagnose Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 performance issues
• How to troubleshoot Directory Services PKI and ADCS issues for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 using Fix it Center Pro
• Collect memory dump files in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2

4. Solutions related to Active Directory issues:

• Root Causes for Slow Boots and Logons (sbsl)
• How to remove data in Active Directory after an unsuccessful domain controller demotion
• "Directory Services cannot start" error message when you start your Windows-based or SBS-based domain controller
• How to restore deleted user accounts and their group memberships in Active Directory
• Running Adprep.exe
• Upgrade Domain Controllers to Windows Server 2012
• Upgrade Domain Controllers: Microsoft Support Quick Start for Adding Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 Domain Controllers to Existing Domains

5. Solutions related to File Replication Technologies (FRS and DFSR):

• Where’s my file? Root cause analysis of FRS and DFSR data deletion
• Understanding DFSR debug logging (Part 14: A sharing violation due to a file locked upstream between two Windows Server 2008)
• Understanding DFSR debug logging (Part 17: Replication failing because of blocked RPC ports (uses debug severity 5))
• DFSR Event ID 2213 is logged on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012
• Common DFSR Configuration Mistakes and Oversights
• List of currently available hotfixes for Distributed File System (DFS) technologies in Windows Server 2008 and in Windows Server 2008 R2