Standard Server Rack

Which shelf would work best in my server cabinet? The general rule of thumb is to measure 6” shorter than depth of cabinet for all 4-post cabinets. This measurement will compute the optimal shelf depth for your particular cabinet enclosure. Also, please take into consideration that rails are often set at a distance less then the actual depth of the internal dimension.

	Solid Flat Shelf - Sometimes called a stationary or fixed rack shelf, a flat shelf mounts to all 4 mounting rails of a 4-Post Server Rack / Electronic Enclosure. Due to its simplicity, Flat Shelves will often occupy less than 1U of rack space. Weight Limit: 150 lbs.
	Adjustable Shelf - Similar looking to a flat shelf, Adjustable Shelves attach to all 4 mounting rails of a 4-Post Server Rack / LAN Enclosure. The main difference between the two is the rear mounting ears for the Adjustable Shelf are adjustable by 4" less than the shelf depth and 4" more than the shelf depth. For example, an 18" Adjustable Shelf can mount on posts ranging from 14"-22" deep. Weight Limit: 150 lb s..
	Heavy Duty Vented Shelf - Heavy Duty shelves are constructed in a special manner in order to accommodate particular mounting needs. Heavy Duty shelves occupy a full 1U (1.75”) of rack space and will support a weight up to 300 lbs. Heavy Duty shelves attach to all 4 mounting rails of a 4-post server rack. Weight Limit: 300 lbs.
	Sliding Keyboard Shelf - This specialty shelf is designed to accommodate rack optimized keyboards. The Sliding Keyboard shelf attaches to all 4 mounting rails of a 4-post server rack enclosure. Weight Limit: 75 lbs.
	Vented Flat Shelf - Ventilated Shelves are equal to standard shelves, though, ventilation slots provide additional air circulation between rack units. Ventilation Shelves mount to all 4 rails of a 4-post server cabinet. Weight Limit: 150 lbs.
	Sliding Pullout Shelf - Pullout shelves are useful for positioning non-rack mountable equipment in a server rack which needs frequent access. Sliding Pullout Shelves mount to all 4 mounting rails of a 4-post server rack. Weight Limit: 150 lbs.
	Sliding Rotating Keyboard Shelf - Designed to accommodate standard sized keyboards, these shelves rotate as unit extends beyond the cabinet to make it easy to type on a standard keyboard. These shelves mount to all 4 mounting rails of a 4-post server rack enclosure. Weight Limit: 50 lbs.

Side Panels

Side Panels

Side panels offer security and Side panels are available in 3 options: solid fixed, solid removable, and louvered.

Server Rack Cabinet Removable Side Panel

Removable Solid Side Panels: These are recommended should you need occasional side access to your equipment, or if you intend to gang rack enclosures together. If you order 2 or more racks, you will only need one set of Left and Right Side Panels for the rack enclosures on the ends of your row of enclosures - racks in the middle would not require them as they will be ganged together. These allow you to have access to the side of the cabinet. The doors have latches on the front side and can be released. When released, the panels open like doors. Each removable side panel adds .75 inches to the width of the cabinet. Keep this in mind when figuring out if you have room for the cabinet. Fixed Solid Side Panels: These are an economical option for those who do not need side access to their equipment, or are buying a single rack and not planning to expand or gang rack enclosures together in the future. These panels are permanently attached to the Server Rack and maintain the original dimensions.

Anti Tip Feet

For mid to top heavy loaded racks, retractable Anti Tip Feet stabilize cabinets ensure your Server Rack will not fall over.

Casters

Casters attach to the bottom of server cabinets to help maneuver racks around the data center. Two of the four wheels lock to assist with keeping the Server Rack from rolling.

Levelers

Levelers should be used if Casters are implemented to ensure that the rack remains level once it’s moved from one place to another. Both Casters and Levelers will install together on your server rack to provide maximum stability.

Air Circulation

A fan is the best way to maintaining a safe operating temperature for valuable rack equipment. Fans attach to the top panel and assists with removing hot air from the server cabinet. A fan mounted on the top of your Server Rack will help to keep your servers at a cooler temperature. A fan is an exhaust fan so it is pulling the hot air out of your server rack bringing in the cooler air from the bottom of the server rack. A single top mounted fan that we offer is rated at 550 CFM single phase 50/60 Hz.

Servers Door

Front Doors

Front doors are available in many different sizes and ventilation options. Locking mechanisms are available on most doors; however, please check with our engineers before designing and ordering.

Perforated Steel w/ Plexiglas Window - Perforated steel door installed with a Plexiglas window.	Plexiglas Door - An Aluminum frame surrounds a full-length Plexiglas window.	Steel - The solid steel door ships with no holes or windows.	Perforated Steel - Perforated steel door creates additional ventilation.	Louvered - A solid steel door with ventilation slots

Rear Doors

Rear doors are also available in many different sizes and ventilation options. Locking mechanisms are available on most doors; however, please check with our engineers before designing and ordering.

Cooling tip: adding a ventilated front and rear door will assist with air circulation by creating a front to back flow pattern.

Mesh - Perforated steel door adds ventilation to any size rack enclosure.	Louvered - A solid steel door with ventilation slots to help assist with rack ventilation.	Solid - A steel rear door

Top Panels

Vented Top Panel

Vented Top Panel with 4" Hole for Cabling

A top panel will help secure servers and valuable rack equipment from foreign objects that could enter into the Server Rack from above. Top panels can be ordered with perforated slots for added ventilation along with grommet holes for supplementary cable management pathways. Top panels are also designed to accept exhaust fans to help pull hot air out of the rack enclosure.
Please note that specialty cabinets such as Dust and Water Resistant Server Racks will not support ventilated or fan.

Server Rack

Universal Mounting Rails EIA Standard 10/32 Tapped  Mounting Rails

Rack Mount Rails: We can manufacture server rack enclosures with either Universal Mounting Rails (square holes fitted with cage nuts) or with EIA Standard rails (10/32 tapped holes). All our cabinet rails are high quality gauge steel (1/8" thick or more) and have an electroplate finish to maximize protection. Universal Mounting Rails: Universal rails will support 19" EIA width rack mount and networking equipment and almost all sever equipment. Cage nuts and screws will be needed in order to mount equipment to universal mounting rails. EIA Standard Mounting Rails: Standard Mounting Rails support 19" EIA width rack mount and networking equipment and some sever manufacturer's rack mounting equipment. Please be aware that not all rack mountable equipment will match up against the EIA 1032 hole pattern on Standard Rails. Standard mounting rails will not allow the use of Cage Nuts. Which Mounting Rails do I need? It depends on the equipment you will be mounting in the rack enclosure. Most rack mount and networking equipment such as hubs, routers, patch panels, etc. will conform to EIA Standard hole spacing. However, some sever and rack accessory manufacturers will implement rack mounting kits to assist with attaching equipment to Universal Rails. With this example, proper cage nuts and screws will most likely be needed in order to mount this type of rack mount equipment in one of our server cabinets.

Mounting Hardware
There are currently 3 types of Mounting Hardware used with our server cabinet rails:
10-32 Tapped Cage Nuts and Screws - American Version - Commonly used in all rack mount applications including music, video, broadcast, data and more.  The "10" refers to the drill size for a tapped (threaded) hole. The outside diameter of a 10-32 screw is 0.19", it is smaller than a 12-24 screw. This screw type has 32 threads per inch.
12-24 Tapped Screws - American Version - The "12" refers to the drill size required for a tapped (threaded) hole (a #12 drill is 0.189"). The outside diameter of a 12-24 screw is 0.2160". It is larger than a 10-32 screw.  This screw type has 24 threads per inch

M6 Tapped Cage Nuts and Screws - Metric Version - Metric thread size of 6 millimeters. Typical thread size for European rack applications. Also used in Compaq racks and Euro racks sold here in the US. Larger than both 10-32 and 12-24.
What mounting hardware do I need?
It depends on the mounting rails of the rack enclosure or relay rack you will be ordering. Most 4-Post server racks, cabinets, LAN enclosures either use Cage Nuts and Screws for square hole type Universal Mounting Rails or 1032 tapped screws for round hole style EIA Standard Mounting Rails. Please be aware that almost all 2-post open relay racks use 1032 Tapped Screws (round hole mounting rails).

How to Set Up a Server

Whether you are running a small or big business, setting up a server is of utmost importance. It helps all the users in the network to share resources and also provides security to all the computers in the network. This article has thus been directed to answer the question, how to set up a server.

 Before starting off with solving the query 'how to set up a server', we should know, what is a computer server? The basic purpose of a computer server can be made out from its name. A server is meant to serve the different users in the network. All the resources that the users need to access, are stored in the server and all the users can directly access those resources, without storing anything in their own systems. It is also used for providing security to the system. For example, putting a firewall to the server, to provide facilities like anti spamming and protection against phishing, secures the entire network from the same. With these aspects of the importance of the server in mind, let us try to understand, how to set up a server based network.

Servers are nothing but computers with high configurations. They have large memory capacities and high processor speeds, to handle the request of all the computers connected in the network. Let us try to deal with the set up of different servers, one by one.

How to Set Up a Web Server?
First of all, try to get all the basic requirements of a web server. A web server should have a high speed Internet connection and a large bandwidth. The next important requirement is that you need to choose the right operating system for your server. Linux and Unix are the most appreciated operating systems for a computer server machine. FreeBSD, an open source, Unix based operating system is one of the best options, that you can install in your computer server. The next step after installing the operating system in the web server, is installing an http server. Apache is one of the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) servers, that normally come along with the Free BSD operating system. However, you will need to install it. You can run the Apache server using the 'http' command. But, before doing so, you will have to configure the 'httpd.conf' file in your operating system. Here, you mention the settings for your http server, as well as the name of the website you are going to run. In most of the machines, you will find the 'httpd.conf' file located in the '/usr/local/etc/apache22/'. Now type the IP address of the machine at the web browser. Type http, followed by the IP address. If you can access the web pages stored in your system, that means you have successfully installed the web server and the http server.

How to Set Up a DNS Server?
The next step is to set up a DNS server. DNS is the abbreviation of Domain Name Server. You can learn a few domain name server (DNS) basics first. A domain name server is one that will convert the web address name into the IP address of the machine where the web pages are stored. Suppose if you type the url of buzzle on your machine, your web server will check if the entry of buzzle is there in its database tables, where the web address and the IP addresses of the machines are stored. If it is there, then it will transfer the web address to a web server with a larger database. So much for the importance and working of a DNS server. Now, let's get down to the installation of a DNS server. You will find the file 'namedb.conf' file in the '/etc/namedb' folder in your machine with Free BSD operating system installed. Once, you open the file, make the necessary changes. The file can be easily understood, provided you have some expertise in Unix and Linux based operating systems. All that you need to do is enter the name of the website in that file.

How to Set Up an FTP Server?
For uploading files into your computer server, what you will need is an FTP server. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP can be used in any network that uses TCP/IP model. You can get a lot of FTP servers, if you browse over the Internet. For example, File Zilla software can be used for setting up an FTP server on any machine running on Windows. In FreeBSD you will find FTP servers, with the names, 'ftpd' or 'in.ftpd' in the '/sbin' or '/usr/sbin' directory. It is a single executable file. Once, it is installed, the FTP server will allow all the users added into your systems, to upload, download and access files. These users have to simply type in their user names and passwords on the remote machines.

How to Set Up a File Server?
Setting up a file server in FreeBSD is not a very tedious task. You just need to download the Samba server setup. Setting up a file server in your network will allow the machines with Windows operating system logged into your network, to access the resources on the server. You need to install samba in the '/usr/ports/net/samba' folder. You can use the command make install to install it, once you are in that folder. Then you will have to make the necessary changes in the configuration files in the '/usr/local/etc/smb.conf' file. For initializing samba at the boot time, you just need to change the line 'samba_enable:=NO' to 'samba_enable:=YES' in the file 'rc.conf' located in the '/etc' folder.

By following the simple procedures mentioned above, you can simply learn how to set up a server network. However, it is better that before dealing with the configuration files, you ask a person with expertise in Linux, to proceed with modifying the files.

Types of Servers

The word server refers to a specialized computer or hardware on which the server software works and provides services to other computers or clients. This article throws light on different types of servers available in the market these days.

 A server has many functions, and they come in different types to facilitate different uses. Before knowing about the different types of servers, let's have a brief idea on what is a server.

What is a Server?
A server is a device with a particular set of programs or protocols that provide various services, which other machines or clients request, to perform certain tasks. Together, a server and its clients form a client/server network which provides routing systems and centralized access to information, resources, stored data, etc. At the most ground level, one can consider it as a technology solution that serves files, data, print, fax resources and multiple computers. The advanced server versions, like Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 enable the user to handle the accounts and passwords, allow or limit the access to shared resources, automatically support the data and access the business information remotely. For example, a file server is a machine that maintains files and allows clients or users to upload and download files from it. Similarly, a web server hosts websites and allows users to access these websites. Clients mainly include computers, printers, faxes or other devices that can be connected to the server. By using a server, one can securely share files and resources like fax machines and printers. Hence, with a server network, employees can access the Internet or company e-mail simultaneously.

Different Types of Servers
The multiple types of servers or types of network servers are as follows:

    * Server Platform: Server platform is the fundamental hardware or software for a system which acts as an engine that drives the server. It is often used synonymously with an operating system.
    * Application Server: Also known as a type of middleware, it occupies a substantial amount of computing region between database servers and the end user, and is commonly used to connect the two.
    * Audio/Video Server: It provides multimedia capabilities to websites by helping the user to broadcast streaming multimedia content.
    * Chat Server: It serves the users to exchange data in an environment similar to Internet newsgroup which provides real time discussion capabilities.
    * Fax Server: It is one of the best option for organizations seeking for minimum incoming and outgoing telephone resources, but require to fax actual documents.
    * FTP Server: It works on one of the oldest of the Internet services, the file transfer protocol. It provides a secure file transfer between computers while ensuring file security and transfer control.
    * Groupware Server: It is a software designed that enables the users to work together, irrespective of the location, through the Internet or a corporate intranet and to function together in a virtual atmosphere.
    * IRC Server: It is an ideal option for those looking for real-time discussion capabilities. Internet Relay Chat comprises different network servers that enable the users to connect to each other through an IRC network.
    * List Server: It provides a better way of managing mailing lists. The server can be either open interactive discussion for the people or a one-way list that provide announcements, newsletters or advertising.
    * Mail Server: It transfers and stores mails over corporate networks through LANs, WANs and across the Internet.
    * News Server: It serves as a distribution and delivery source for many public news groups, approachable over the USENET news network.
    * Proxy Server: It acts as a mediator between a client program and an external server to filter requests, improve performance and share connections.
    * Telnet Server: It enables the users to log on to a host computer and execute tasks as if they are working on a remote computer.
    * Web Server: It provides static content to a web browser by loading a file from a disk and transferring it across the network to the user's web browser. This exchange is intermediated by the browser and the server, communicating using HTTP.

These were the different types of servers which can be categorized according to their applications. Servers along with managing network resources are also dedicated, i.e. they perform no other task other than their server tasks.

DNS Error - Cannot Find Server

All of us, who have used the Internet have come across DNS error 'cannot find server'. Why is it, that we get this error? Let's get an answer


I had just logged onto the Internet, but I was not able to reach the page I was looking for, as I kept getting the DNS error - cannot find server. I tried again and again, but in vain. That is when a friend suggested, I talk to my Internet service provider. They were also not able to help me. That is when I decided to take the issue in my hand. And I found out, that DNS error - cannot find server is, more often than not, your computer's inability to make a two-way connection to the Internet. If you have had an interrupted connection to the Internet, then the issue lies with your personal computer itself. All said and done this error will restrict you from using Internet technology to the fullest.

How to Fix DNS Error - Server Cannot be Found

The first step is to refresh the page, which failed to load. If the page reloads, then this was just a momentary lapse in service, which happens even to the best Internet service provider. If the problem is not resolved, you will need to follow the following steps.

    * Check the page address you have typed into the address bar. There is a chance, that you may have misspelled the address. In most cases, an error in the URL address gives rise to this error message.
    * Try to refresh the page, you will now be able to view the web page, you are looking for.
    * If the above mentioned step, is not able to solve the problem, you will have to go to connection settings. You will have to ensure, that the settings, match with those of the Internet service provider or that of the local area network.
    * To do this you will have to click on the tools menu on the tool-bar, then click on Internet options. There you will come across the Connections tab, under which you will notice Settings.
    * Now you can try to refresh the page and check, if you are able go to the web page you have been looking for.
    * If this option does not work either, then click on the link 'Detect Network Settings' on the Internet Explorer page, which accompanies the error message to let Windows try to find an optimum connection to the Internet.
    * Now again refresh the page.
    * You can download DNS server error software off the Internet, if all the above options do not work.
    * These software are free on some of the websites, and they would be able to identify the problem. A PS3 DNS error problem can also be corrected by downloading this software.

In case you persistently face the problem DNS error server cannot be found, you may have to put in a request for a new IIS Certificate. Depending on the situation you may have to renew the existing license. The certificate will be issued to you or you will be asked to check back within 10 days. In case the policy module has been set to automatically issue the request, you will not have to put in a request yourself. Apart from all these steps for DNS error cannot find server, you may want to check the modem or router for any sort of irregularities. In case there are some lights flashing or some of them are not seen at all, which ideally should be on, then the server error is most probably not correctable on your computer. You will have to get in touch with your Internet service provider to rectify the problem.

DNS Server Error

If you are looking for some hints on how to fix a DNS server error, this article offers you some help in that matter. Read and get to know what a DNS server error means and how can it be fixed effectively.

What is DNS?

DNS stands for 'Domain Name System', which is a technique developed to assign IP (Internet Protocol) addresses to domain names. It is like the phone book of the Internet, which assigns numbers to domain names of sites. Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique IP address which is a series of numbers separated by dots. Every web site is hosted on a web server and it has a unique IP address assigned to it. You can open a site by directly typing in the IP address after 'http://'.

However, it is difficult to remember IP addresses for all websites and simpler to remember and recall domain names or host names of sites. That is why the hierarchical domain name system was developed. This system converts the domain names of sites that you type in the browser address bar into IP addresses. Then the web server, hosting that website, is located and the page is served on your computer, once a connection has been established to it through your ISP (Internet Service Provider) using the 'Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)'. A local DNS server, implements this 'IP address' lookup system for every ISP. Read more on

    * Domain Name Server (DNS) Basics
    * How to Determine a DNS Server Address

What is DNS Server Error?

A DNS server error occurs when the server cannot resolve IP address corresponding to the domain name you typed in the web browser. There can be many reasons why you might get a DNS server error. The error may be local or remote. By local, I mean the problem may have arisen due to internet connectivity problem on your side. The problem may be remote in the sense that the web server hosting that website may have some problems like lack of authentication, which might be giving you the error.

How can you check to see if the DNS server error is local or remote? Try opening other websites and if they all open, except one, which is giving you the DNS server error, then the problem may be remote. If none of the web pages are getting displayed, then you may have an internet connectivity issue. XBOX 360 DNS server error or PS3 DNS error may occur due to faulty Internet connection settings in the connected wireless router. In the next section, I share some tips on how to fix DNS server errors. Read more on dns error.

How to Fix DNS Server Error?

There are many problems that may cause a DNS server error. Here are some of the basic things that you could do to fix a DNS server error.

Change Firewall Settings
The incoming and outgoing Internet data traffic to and from your personal computer is controlled by a firewall. Certain software programs may be banned from accessing the Internet through firewall settings. Your browser itself may have gotten blocked by the firewall. To resolve the problem, go to the 'Control Panel' and open the windows firewall settings. Under 'Exceptions' tab, if your browser isn't added, click on 'Add Program' and click on your browser in the list of programs that open. Click on 'OK'. Open the 'Add Port' option and enter the name 'HTTP' for name and the number 80 for port number. With that, your browser will be released from the firewall ban and your DNS server error may be resolved.

Clear DNS Cache
Every time a site is opened in a browser, a request is sent to the DNS server for IP address translation. The retrieval of the IP address information is stored on your computer in the 'DNS cache'. Next time, when you enter the request for the same web site again, the DNS information is retrieved from the cache itself, to save time and provide a faster browsing experience. The contents of the DNS cache can be looked up by the command- 'ipconfig / displaydns' entered in the command prompt.

However, if there was an earlier unsuccessful attempt at retrieving IP address, that negative attempt information gets stored in the cache too. So, subsequent attempts at opening the site may fail, as the information may be retrieved from the cache which has no information. That's why, to resolve the issue, you need to clear your DNS cache by typing in the command - 'ipconfig /flushdns' in the command prompt. This may get rid of the DNS server error message and the site may get loaded.

Clear Cookies & Browsing History
Also, clear the cookies and browsing history on your browser that may be causing a problem in displaying the page. This may help in resolving the DNS server error. Read more on how to delete search history.

Check DNS Settings
Check the DNS settings for your internet connection. Get information from your ISP about the right DNS settings and see to it that those are entered correctly or match with your DNS settings. Entering the right DNS settings might solve your problem.

Hope these tips for fixing DNS server errors are helpful. A local error is bound to get fixed with any of the above suggested fixes. If none of this works, contact your ISP for a resolution of the problem, as there may even be a problem from their side,which is causing the error.

What is a Computer Server

Most of us are very well acquainted with the word computer server. We know that in all organizations, schools and colleges there is a computer server, to which all the computers are connected. But many of us will give absurd answers, if asked the question, what is a computer server? Thus, in this article, I will be explaining to you, the answer to the question, what is a computer server?


So, you want to know what is a computer server. Computer servers are among the most important infrastructure in any organization. The basic answer to the question 'what is a computer server', lies in the name of the term. It is a computer that serves all the computers or terminals, that are connected to it. Applications are stored in this computer and the other computer terminals connected to it, can access it.

Tasks Performed by a Computer Server
Well, the tasks performed by a computer server depend on the use of the computer server. We will come to this process of classification of the server, at a later stage. For now I have listed down some of the generalized tasks performed by a computer server.

    * Stores applications and databases required by the computers connected to it.
    * Provides computer security features. It protects all the computers connected to it using a firewall.
    * Provides an IP address to the machines connected to it. An IP address is a unique number in the format x.x.x.x, where x can be any 1 to 3 digit number, which is assigned to every computer in the network.

Features of a Server
The server that you choose for your organization, should satisfy certain conditions. It needs to have a memory size or RAM, large enough to hold the number of queries that are executed by the computers connected to it. It may have to provide services to a large number of computers and hence it will require a primary memory of that capability. The next aspect that you need to take care of, is the processor speed. The processor speed is usually measured in Giga Hertz and it needs to be sufficient to execute all the commands requested by the machines. It is very necessary that your server should have an optimum processor speed, because it needs to provide multitasking facility. The hard drive storage capacity of the computer server, needs to be large enough to be able to store all the data that the host machines will require. In a network, computer users generally store the information, that they intend to share on the computer server.

Types of Server
The different types of computer servers can be categorized in two main categories.

Dedicated Server
This type of a server performs a particular function, like hosting a website. There are various web hosting services, which use dedicated servers for hosting websites. On the payment of a certain amount of money, you can upload your webpages on their computer servers. They will perform the task of hosting your websites. Certain companies also have dedicated computer servers to hold their own websites. These type of servers require to be very powerful because they need to handle the web traffic, that tries to access the webpages contained in them.

Shared Server
A shared computer server is an ordinary server, that is used in a network, for multiple users. Large number of applications, databases etc. are stored in them. Different users connected to the server, access the server depending on their requirements. These server do not require to be customized like the dedicated servers. The most common example for this type of server, is an application server. An application server stores all the information required by the people in a network. In many organizations, the employees are often given dummy terminals. It means that, they have a computer keyboard and a computer monitor, but the entire processing and storage is done at the computer server. These terminals do not have individual hard disks, instead, they store data on the computer server's hard disk.

Hope this article has helped you in solving the query, what is a computer server? This article was meant, not only to answer your question, what is a computer server, but also to acquaint you with the different aspects related to it.

Receiving Support

Receiving Support

Customers can initiate support with the virtualization solution provider or Microsoft through existing channels for issues related to Windows Server running on a validated virtualization solution. Microsoft only supports Microsoft's products and will not be able to provide support for other companies' solutions. Microsoft and the virtualization solution provider will collaborate through TSANet if the root cause is believed to be from the other party's software and assistance is needed to resolve the issue.

Participating Vendors

The following companies who supply server virtualization software to the marketplace have formally committed to participate in the Server Virtualization Validation Program. Microsoft is working with them to validate their solutions as platforms for Windows Server 2008. Please contact them directly for any additional information.

CA Technologies

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Citrix Systems, Inc.

Hitachi, Ltd.

Novell, Inc.

Oracle, USA Inc.

Parallels Software International, Inc.

Red Hat, Inc.

Riverbed Technology, Inc.

Sun Microsystems

Unisys Corp.

Virtual Iron Software

VMware, Inc.

As more vendors sign up for the SVVP, their names (and any validated solutions) will be added to this site.

Server Virtualization

Welcome to the Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program

To improve customers' support experiences when running Windows Server on virtualization technologies other than Hyper-V™ and Virtual Server, Microsoft has launched the Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP).

SVVP is open to any vendor that delivers a machine virtualization solution that hosts Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and subsequent service packs. The virtualization solution can either be hypervisor-based or a hosted solution. The program enables vendors to validate various configurations so that Microsoft customers can receive technical support for Windows Server in virtualized environments.

Customers can benefit from the support provided by Microsoft as part of the regular Windows Server technical support framework when running Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 SP2 and subsequent service packs on validated solutions running on server hardware Certified for Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, with the same validated processor architecture and not exceeding the maximum virtual memory or processors validated. Microsoft Life Cycle Support policy still applies for support and end of support for specific versions of an operating system and Service Packs.

The Server Virtualization Validation Program is not a logo program, rather a reference that companies and customers will be able to use in conjunction with their validated solutions.

Validated Configurations

The list of validated configurations (Products) will enable customers to identify what configurations have been tested and validated to work with Windows Server, similar to a support matrix for hardware devices. A validated configuration consists of:

• Vendor Name
• Product Name
• Product Version
• Operating System Architecture [32-bit, x64, ia64]
• Processor Architecture [Opteron©, Xeon©, Itanium©]
• The Maximum Supported Processors and Memory validated for a virtual machine to qualify for support

The SVVP only validates virtualization products and Windows Server [all versions] running on server hardware that is Certified for Windows Server 2008 R2. Contact your virtualization vendor for detailed information on what systems, adapters, storage external to the system such as SAN and NAS products, and networking devices such as switches and routers, are supported by the virtualization vendor. Please note that the vendor's virtualization solution may support larger virtualization, additional Operating System architectures and Processor architectures than they have submitted for validation. Additional configurations will not be eligible for support until the vendor performs additional tests and validations.

Windows Server 8

Windows Server 8 is categorically different than its predecessor versions. There’s an argument to say that it’s not actually Windows. It's pre-beta, and it's an enormous statement covering many positions on the chess board. Windows 8 Server editions are preferred to be run, according to Microsoft spokesperson last week, in Server Core format, although Windows GUI will be available if desired. Headless operation can also be used. It's just not Windows by default anymore, but instead, a "cloud operating system" specifically poised towards competing with VMware.
TECHNICAL DETAILS: Windows Server 8: To the Cloud!
I'm pretty sure that VMware's Paul Maritz would have been hung in effigy at the server workshop I attended last week (under heavy secrecy) if it could have been done. Each Windows 8 version can be strongly PowerShell-controlled, and optionally with traditional GUI. Microsoft’s lead server architect is also the “inventor” of the PowerShell scripting methodology, whose command list will exceed 2300 native commandlets in Windows 8. In a way, it’s Microsoft Server 8, and optionally Windows Server 8 and breaks Microsoft's naming convention, as well as Microsoft's established version release timing. No one would speculate when it would arrive, only that it was pre-beta and about to go beta-- but not feature complete.
While seemingly radical for Microsoft, there is much pressure on operational efficiency, coupled to increasingly complex control options and infrastructure character of the operating system. Administrators familiar with Microsoft’s MMC won’t need to fret, as familiar contexts will remain for them, but the center-thrust of Windows Server administration was encouraged to be PowerShell-driven, rather than through the maze of administrative GUIs that have been the mainstay of Windows Server versions for nearly two decades. There are script-managing tools, and Microsoft has evolved a "community" sharing of PowerShell scripts and procedures designed to control Server in a way that's increasingly competing with Unix/Linux/BSD/Solaris scripting languages and procedures-- but in a distinctly Microsoft way.
Underneath the control surface is Hyper-V, and Microsoft listed many features poised towards increasingly “automagic” functionality, although they tended to use the patented Steve Jobs phrase, “It just works”. Heavy attention towards ease of OS instance movement (along with requisite IP address management and resiliency options) within the constructs of cloud were mentioned in the early-stage release that will be available to developers and architectural analysts. Many of the items we saw in the reviewer's workshop were specifically poised towards side-by-side comparable features in VMware's latest version, vSphere 5-- recently released. Of course, underneath Server Editions will be Hyper-V. How the latest cut of Hyper-V will play atop other hypervisors remains to be seen.
Indeed Microsoft called Windows Server 8 a "cloud operating system" but models weren't clear about IaaS, rather, they spoke to organizational PaaS as in the Azure model-- which to date has been slow to release and slow on the uptake. How business partners and MSPs would provide value seemed to be missing data. The cloud components fit a customer mold, we were told.
How the Metro UI plays into the scheme of things appears to be a new layer-- the UI layer. Imagine for a moment where there's a user interface, and underneath application UI, there's a middleware layer that is a communications transport. In turn, there's a back-end that's designed to be application infrastructure, in a three-tiered model. Servers are the back-end substrate, busily doing work and getting shuffled around to meet demand.
The entire Windows Server 8 is a markedly different endeavor for Microsoft, as radical as Windows 2000 was. Microsoft was fighting for server share back then, and reminded us that they believed we're looking at a third generation, and that Microsoft often takes three generations to get it right.

Windows Server 8: An Introduction

Today at the Microsoft BUILD conference I had the pleasure of introducing the developer preview of the next release of Windows Server codenamed Windows Server 8, now available on MSDN.  In a room full of software developers and hardware partners I got to share some of our thinking behind the design of Windows Server 8 to help them prepare their new and existing applications, systems, and devices for the new release.  Now, on this blog, I want to share that same thinking more broadly with a series of posts from me and members of my team.
Let me start with a reminder that this is a developer preview version, the purpose of which is to enable our development team to engage with the industry as we progress toward final release. This developer preview is not for deployments in enterprise environments. However we do welcome feedback from IT professionals doing early evaluations, and I would like to thank many of you for your help in getting us to this point. So far we have surveyed over 26,000 customers, had more than 200 customer meetings and documented over 6000 customer requirements during the course of planning and development.
As the person who leads Windows Server and Windows Azure engineering, I have had the experience of building and operating a cloud platform. We have been able to apply many of our insights from Windows Azure to Windows Server 8, enabling us to deliver world class cloud capabilities to enterprises of all sizes. Windows Server 8 will be a big leap forward, especially in terms of helping IT organizations progress beyond virtualization to build private cloud services.  We innovated and worked with the industry on virtualizing network and storage infrastructures for multitenant support. Our goal is to give customers the choice and flexibility to build and deploy applications across their choice of private and public cloud environments, or a combination of both.
Another big area of focus is on manageability and serviceability of cloud infrastructure without service down time.  For example, one of the most common customer comments we have heard is that patching and updating servers is a costly and error prone process.  We are delivering new technologies, such as “cluster aware updating,” and the ability to script workflows with Powershell to make it an easier and repeatable process to patch multiple servers while maintaining continuous service availability.
Continuous availability of services typically requires expensive hardware infrastructure, but not every IT organization can afford the necessary hardware.  So, with Windows Server 8 we are delivering high availability and disaster recovery at a much better price point, using software technologies and commodity networking, storage and servers.  For example, we are giving customers access to high-end storage capabilities that before required specialized hardware, such as device pooling, disk virtualization, and thin provisioning, in Windows Server 8. To evaluate how development is progressing I have a server in my office with 10 disk drives ranging in size from .5 to 3 terabytes. I find it very easy and quick to pool the disk drives, create volumes, and have them available for service within minutes using the new built in tools.   
This is just a taste of what’s coming in Windows Server 8.  There is much, much more to discuss over the coming weeks and months, so I’ve asked some of our engineering leaders to write posts on this blog to further explain some of the hundreds of new features.  Be on the lookout for those posts in the coming weeks and months. We look forward to engaging with you on the new technologies in Windows Server 8.  
Best,
Bill Laing
Corporate Vice President, Server and Cloud

Windows Defination

The most widely used operating system for desktop and laptop computers. Developed by Microsoft, Windows primarily runs on x86-based CPUs, although some versions run on Intel's Itanium CPUs. Windows provides a graphical user interface and desktop environment in which applications are displayed in resizable, movable windows on screen.

Windows comes in both client and server versions, all of which support networking, the difference being that the server versions are designed to be dedicated servers. The client versions of Windows may also share data over the network and can be configured to grant access to all or specific files only. Windows PCs are used to access a variety of servers on the network, including Windows servers, Unix, Linux and NetWare servers, as well as mainframes. See operating system.

Windows How to's

All the Windows "how to's" in this encyclopedia have a "Win" prefix in front of their name in order to group them together in the index; for example, Win Change window appearance and Win Finding files. For fundamentals on how to work with Windows, see Win abc's.

Following is a summary of Windows versions.

Windows NT Lineage (32 & 64 bit)


Windows 7
The successor to Windows Vista, expected in 2009. See Windows 7.

Windows Vista (2006) - MS Version 6.0
The current client version of Windows, which comes in several flavors (see Windows Vista). Windows Server 2008 is the server version (code named Longhorn Server). See Windows Server 2008.

Windows XP (2001) - MS Version 5.1
Windows XP was the previous version of Windows, available in Home and Professional versions, the latter adding more security and administrative capabilities. There were also versions of XP that ran on AMD's 64-bit CPUs and Intel's 64-bit Itaniums. See Windows XP.

Windows 2000 (2000) - MS Version 5.0
Windows 2000 is an updated version of Windows NT 4 for client and server. It added numerous enhancements including Plug and Play and Active Directory. Windows 2000 comes in one workstation version and three server versions. There are server versions that support AMD's 64-bit CPUs and Intel's 64-bit Itaniums. See Windows 2000.

Windows NT (1993) - MS Versions 3.1, 3.5, 4.0
Windows NT 3.1 was a completely new 32-bit OS with separate client and server versions. Introduced during the reign of Windows 3.1 and two years before Windows 95, it used the same Program Manager user interface as Windows 3.1, but provided greater stability. In 1996, Windows NT 4.0 switched to the Windows 95 Start menu and Taskbar interface, but did not include Plug and Play. NT Server gained significant market share, while NT Workstation (client version) was used by the professional user and did not impact the Windows 95/98 market. See Windows NT.

Windows Sidebar

Windows Sidebar and gadgets (overview)

Windows Sidebar is a long, vertical bar that is displayed on the side of your desktop. It contains mini-programs called gadgets, which offer information at a glance and provide easy access to frequently used tools. For example, you can use gadgets to display a picture slide show, view continuously updated headlines, or look up contacts.

Sidebar and gadgets

Why use Sidebar?

Sidebar can keep information and tools readily available for you to use. For example, you can display news headlines right next to your open programs. This way, if you want to keep track of what's happening in the news while you work, you don't have to stop what you're doing to switch to a news website.

With Sidebar, you can use the Feed Headlines gadget to show the latest news headlines from sources you choose. You don't have to stop working on your document, because the headlines are always visible. If you peripherally see a headline that interests you, you can click that headline, and your web browser will open directly to the story.

To open Sidebar

• Open Windows Sidebar by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, and then clicking Windows Sidebar.

To keep Sidebar visible at all times, you must set it so that other windows won't cover it. The Sidebar width is a fixed size.

To keep windows from covering Sidebar

Because of the space Sidebar requires, this option works best if you're using a large or wide-screen monitor or multiple monitors.

1. Open Windows Sidebar properties by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Windows Sidebar Properties.
2. Select the Sidebar is always on top of other windows check box.
3. Click OK.

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Getting started with gadgets

Windows comes with a small collection of gadgets, but only some of them appear on Sidebar by default. To understand how to use gadgets, let's explore three gadgets that you'll see on Sidebar when you first start Windows: the Clock, Slide Show, and Feed Headlines.

How does the Clock work?

When you point to the Clock gadget, two buttons will appear near its upper-right corner: the Close button—which is the top button—and the Options button.

The Clock

Clicking the Close button removes the Clock from Sidebar. The button below the close button displays options for naming the clock, changing its time zone, and showing its second hand.

Note

Not all gadgets have an Options button. Gadgets without an Options button don't have settings that can be changed.

How does Slide Show work?

Next try resting the pointer on the Slide Show gadget, which displays a continuous slide show of pictures on your computer.

Slide Show

When you point to Slide Show, the Close and Options buttons will appear near the upper-right corner of the gadget.

Clicking the Options button allows you to choose which pictures appear in your slide show, control the speed at which your slide show plays, and change the transition effect between pictures.

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To change the slide show pictures

By default, Slide Show displays items in the Sample Pictures folder.

1. Point to Slide Show, and when the Options button appears, click it.
2. In the Folder box, select the location of the pictures you want to display.
3. Click OK.

To set the slide show speed and transition effect

1. Point to Slide Show, and when the Options button appears, click it.
2. In the Show each picture list, select the number of seconds to show each picture.
3. In the Transition between pictures list, select the transition you want.
4. Click OK.

How does Feed Headlines work?

Feed Headlines can display frequently updated headlines from a website that supplies feeds, also known as RSS feeds, XML feeds, syndicated content, or web feeds. Websites often use feeds to distribute news and blogs. To receive feeds, you need an Internet connection. By default, Feed Headlines won't display any headlines. To start displaying a small set of preselected headlines, click View headlines.

Feed Headlines

When you point to Feed Headlines, the Close and Options buttons will appear near the upper-right corner of the gadget. Clicking the Options button allows you to choose from a list of available feeds. You can add to the list by choosing your own feeds from the web.

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To choose a feed from the web with Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer, a web browser included with Windows, looks for feeds on every webpage you visit.

1. Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Internet Explorer.
2. Browse to a webpage that has feeds.
   (When Internet Explorer finds available feeds, the Feeds button , located on the Internet Explorer toolbar, will change from gray to orange.)
3. Click the arrow next to the Feeds button, and then, in the list that appears, click the feed you want.
4. On the webpage that appears, click Subscribe to this feed.
5. In the dialog box that appears, click Subscribe.
   The feed should now be available to Feed Headlines. To display the feed in Feed Headlines, see the procedure below.

To display a feed in the Feed Headlines gadget

1. Point to Feed Headlines, and then click the Options button.
2. In the Display this feed list, click the feed you want to display.
3. Click OK.

Note

To scroll through the headlines, point to Feed Headlines, and then click the downward- or upward-pointing arrows that appear on the bottom edge.

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Which gadgets do I have?

Before a gadget can be added to Sidebar, it must be installed on your computer. To see which gadgets are installed on your computer:

1. At the top of Sidebar, click the plus sign (+) to open the Gadget Gallery.
   Add Gadget button
2. Click the scroll buttons to see all the gadgets.
3. Click a gadget, and then click Show details to see information about it at the bottom of the dialog box.

The Gadget Gallery

You can download additional gadgets from the web. To find gadgets online, go to the Microsoft Gadgets website.

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Adding and removing gadgets

You can add any installed gadget to Sidebar. If you want, you can add multiple instances of a gadget. For example, if you are keeping track of time in two time zones, you can add two instances of the Clock gadget and set the time of each accordingly.

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To add a gadget to Sidebar

1. At the top of Sidebar, click the plus sign (+) to open the Gadget Gallery.
   Add Gadget button
2. Double-click a gadget to add it to Sidebar.

To remove a gadget from Sidebar

• Right-click the gadget, and then click Close Gadget.

Organizing gadgets

You can organize your gadgets in any of several ways:

• You can keep all of the gadgets attached to Sidebar.
• You can change the display order of gadgets in Sidebar. To do this, drag a gadget to a new position.
• You can keep some gadgets attached to Sidebar and place some on the desktop.
• You can detach all of the gadgets from Sidebar and place them on the desktop. If you organize your gadgets this way, you might want to close Sidebar.

Start menu

The Start menu (overview)

The Start menu is the main gateway to your computer's programs, folders, and settings. It's called a menu because it provides a list of choices, just as a restaurant menu does. And as "Start" implies, it's often the place that you'll go to start or open things.

Use the Start menu to do these common activities:

• Start programs
• Open commonly used folders
• Search for files, folders, and programs
• Adjust computer settings
• Get help with the Windows operating system
• Turn off the computer
• Log off from Windows or switch to a different user account

Getting started with the Start menu

To open the Start menu, click the Start button in the lower-left corner of your screen. Or, press the Windows logo key on your keyboard. The Start menu appears.

Start button and Start menu

The Start menu is divided into three basic parts:

• The large left pane shows a short list of programs on your computer. Your computer manufacturer can customize this list, so its exact appearance will vary. Clicking All Programs displays a complete list of programs (more on this later).
• In the lower left corner is the search box, which allows you to look for programs and files on your computer by typing in search terms.
• The right pane provides access to commonly used folders, files, settings, and features. It's also where you go to log off from Windows or turn off your computer.

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Opening programs from the Start menu

One of the most common uses of the Start menu is opening programs installed on your computer. To open a program shown in the left pane of the Start menu, click it. The program opens and the Start menu closes.

If you don't see the program you want to open, click All Programs at the bottom of the left pane. Instantly, the left pane displays a long list of programs in alphabetical order, followed by a list of folders:

The Start menu after clicking All Programs

Clicking one of the program icons launches the program, and the Start menu closes. So what's inside the folders? More programs. Click Accessories, for example, and a list of programs that are stored in that folder appears. Click any program to open it. To get back to the programs you saw when you first opened the Start menu, click Back near the bottom of the menu.

Clicking the Accessories folder shows the programs it contains

If you're ever unsure what a program does, move the pointer over its icon or name. A box appears that often contains a description of the program. For example, pointing to Calculator displays this message: "Performs basic arithmetic tasks with an on-screen calculator." This trick works for items in the right pane of the Start menu, too.

Pointing to an item displays information about it

You might notice that over time, the lists of programs in your Start menu change. This happens for two reasons. First, when you install new programs, they get added to the All Programs list. Second, the Start menu detects which programs you use the most, and it places them in the left pane for quick access.

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The Search box

The Search box is one of the most convenient ways to find things on your computer. The exact location of the items doesn't matter—the Search box will scour your programs and all of the folders in your personal folder (which includes Documents, Pictures, Music, Desktop, and other common locations). It will also search your e‑mail messages, saved instant messages, appointments, and contacts.

The Start menu Search box

To use the Search box, open the Start menu and start typing. You don't need to click inside the box first. As you type, the search results appear above the Search box in the left pane of the Start menu.

A program, file, or folder will appear as a search result if:

• Any word in its title matches or begins with your search term.
• Any text in the actual contents of the file—such as the text in a word-processing document—matches or begins with your search term.
• Any word in a property of the file, such as the author, matches or begins with your search term. (For more information about file properties, see View the properties for a file.)

Click any search result to open it. Or, click the Clear button to clear the search results and return to the main programs list. You can also click Search Everywhere to search your entire computer; or Search the Internet to open your web browser and search the Internet for your term.

Besides programs, files and folders, and communications, the Search box also looks through your Internet favorites and the history of websites you've visited. If any of these webpages include the search term, they appear under a heading called "Favorites and History."

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What's in the right pane?

The right pane of the Start menu contains links to parts of Windows that you're likely to use frequently. Here they are, from top to bottom:

• Personal folder. Opens your personal folder, which is named for whoever is currently logged on to Windows. For example, if the current user is Molly Clark, the folder will be named Molly Clark. This folder, in turn, contains user-specific files, including the Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders.
• Documents. Opens the Documents folder, where you can store and open text files, spreadsheets, presentations, and other kinds of documents.
• Pictures. Opens the Pictures folder, where you can store and view digital pictures and graphics files.
• Music. Opens the Music folder, where you can store and play music and other audio files.
• Games. Opens the Games folder, where you can access all of the games on your computer.
• Recent Items. Opens a list of files you've opened recently. Click one of the files in the list to open it.
• Computer. Opens a window where you can access disk drives, cameras, printers, scanners, and other hardware connected to your computer.
• Network. Opens a window where you can access the computers and devices on your network.
• Connect To. Opens a window where you can connect to a new network.
• Control Panel. Opens Control Panel, where you can customize the appearance and functionality of your computer, add or remove programs, set up network connections, and manage user accounts.
• Default Programs. Opens a window where you can choose which program you want Windows to use for activities like web browsing, editing pictures, sending e‑mail, and playing music and videos.
• Help and Support. Opens Windows Help and Support, where you can browse and search Help topics about using Windows and your computer. See Getting help.

At the bottom of the right pane are two buttons: the Power button and the Lock button. Click the Power button to turn off your computer, or click the Lock button to lock your computer without turning it off. Once locked, your computer cannot be used until you unlock it with your password.

Clicking the arrow next to the lock button displays a menu with additional options for switching users, logging off, restarting, or shutting down. For more information, see Log off from Windows and Turn off a computer: frequently asked questions.

Note

The Switch User option does not appear on the Start menu in Windows Vista Starter.