Posts Tagged ‘Windows 7 Server’

Now known as Windows Server 2008 R2, WZor has posted hash information and screen shots from the build soon to be leaked. Below is the info and, as always, keep your eyes on your favorite torrent hub if you’re interested in obtaining this build. It’s sure to leak within the next 12-24 hours from now:

MICROSOFT.WINDOWS.SERVER.2008.R2.BUILD.7260.WIN7_RTM.X64.VHD.ENGLISH
7260.0.amd64fre.win7_rtm.090612-2110.serverenterprise_en-us_vl.serverenterprise.vhd
SIZE: 6,834,271,744 byte
CRC: 874173BD
MD5: A3E6DAC35799D2AF816CA39158B6EBAB
SHA1: F194757D85F0ABAD6255CD471CC69179FCB3F483

Source: WZor

-Stephen

(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)

First of all, thanks to all involved at Neowin and D.Konieczny at AeroXP as they’re the two places I’m referencing to provide this summary. I wanted to write a post to provide a central location containing the information you need to obtain the beta and the public licenses Microsoft is using for them. Feel free to leave a comment if the download links are down for you and I’ll try to find new, active links to replace them with.

Windows 7 Client Beta 1 Build 7000 32-Bit: Download

Windows 7 Client Beta 1 Build 7000 x64: Download

Windows 7 Client Keys:

32-Bit:
6JKV2-QPB8H-RQ893-FW7TM-PBJ73
TQ32R-WFBDM-GFHD2-QGVMH-3P9GC
GG4MQ-MGK72-HVXFW-KHCRF-KW6KY
4HJRK-X6Q28-HWRFY-WDYHJ-K8HDH
QXV7B-K78W2-QGPR6-9FWH9-KGMM7

64-Bit:
7XRCQ-RPY28-YY9P8-R6HD8-84GH3
RFFTV-J6K7W-MHBQJ-XYMMJ-Q8DCH
482XP-6J9WR-4JXT3-VBPP6-FQF4M
JYDV8-H8VXG-74RPT-6BJPB-X42V4
D9RHV-JG8XC-C77H2-3YF6D-RYRJ9

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta 1 Build 7000 x64 Standard/Enterprise/Datacenter: Download

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta 1 Build 7000 x64 Web: Download

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta 1 Build 7000 ia64: Download

Windows Server 2008 R2 Keys:

Standard: 2T88R-MBH2C-M7V97-9HVDW-VXTGF
Enterprise: TFGPQ-J9267-T3R9G-99P7B-HXG47
Datacenter: GQJJW-4RPC9-VGW22-6VTKV-7MCC6
Web: GT8BY-FRKHB-7PB8W-GQ7YF-3DXJ6
IA64 Enterprise: CQ936-9K2T8-6GPRX-3JR9T-JF4CJ

-Stephen

(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)

Arranged seemingly last minute was an “Open Space” Q&A session with Steven Sinofsky. I had to ditch the session I wanted to attend the most (Welcome to the Windows 7 Desktop), but I felt it would be worth it. Sinofsky was very talkative but also very clever with his choice of words and what he did/didn’t expose. He was gone as quickly as he arrived and since this was such a seeminly sporadic thing, I took out my digital voice recorder to record the whole thing. The quality isn’t bad at all; it gets the job done. I think Channel 9 was recording it as well, so if/when they pop the video up, I’ll included it here. Until then, I’ve uploaded what I recorded so that you all can listen to it.

He extends just a bit on some points noted in the keynote, talks a bit about UAC, touches on the initial lack of support for Vista and how SP1 “works,” and much more. Oh, and I managed to get a question in. =) I asked what general users and Windows enthusiasts should look to play around with specifically in 6801. He didn’t really give any specific answers but I suppose people will find their way. lol. If nothing else, it’s an entertaining listen. Enjoy!

Download: Q&A with Steven Sinofsky

-Stephen

(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)

The Windows 7 build that PDC attendees will be given is M3 Pre-Beta build 6801. The exact build string is yet to be determined, but after doing some digging around, I think I’ve found it: Build 6801.winmain_win7m3.081020-1655

Now, just where in the world did I pull that build string from? The back of a milk carton? My butt? The Windows dev building in Redmond (I wish, lol)? Nawwwww. Microsoft threw some security updates on their site for Windows 7 a few days ago, so I downloaded them and checked out the build version of the DLL the updates replace (netutils.dll). This is the version as it exists in the DLL: 6.1.6801.4107 (winmain_win7m3.081020-1655)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Microsoft’s build string terminology, the string reads as follows: Windows 7 M3 (Milestone 3) Build 6801 compiled in the WinMain lab on October 20, 2008 at 4:55 PM (081020-1655)

Even more interesting is that they provided a security update for three versions of the Windows 7 Pre-Beta (click each one to be taken to the download pages):

Windows 7 Pre-Beta (x86)
Windows 7 Pre-Beta x64 Edition
Windows 7 Pre-Beta for Itanium-based Systems

So, does that mean that PDC attendees will be receiving all of those versions? Perhaps! Something else left to be determined is if build 6801 will contain all SKUs or just Enterprise.

Now, something else worth noting is the following: Build 6919.fbl_fun_diag_dev(gaurava).080118-1456

That build was compiled 9 months prior to this 6801 build and is over 100 builds higher!!! This is no surprise to those of us who are familiar with the fact that not all the build labs follow the same build time line but it’s interesting to know that builds were compiled in January with that high of a build string. Oh yeah, I pulled that one out of my butt. lol. Only kidding. Seriously, though, I pulled that build string from another DLL provided by Microsoft for Windows 7 in relation to printing issues (DiagPackage.dll). You can find it here: “This troubleshooting pack detects and fixes the printer problems on Windows 7″

Well, that’s all for now! Off to pack for PDC and make last-minute preperations prior to flying out tomorrow. Don’t forget to keep up with my PDC 2008 Blog! Much, much more to come very, very soon. =)

-Stephen

(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)

While the information floodgates certainly haven’t been opened on Windows 7 by Microsoft yet, it seems they’re allowing for at least a trickle. In addition to my posts regarding the updated WSPP documentation to include Windows 7 and Microsoft’s Update Catalog listing drivers available for Windows 7, Microsoft appears to be adding Windows 7 content to the MSDN Library. The fact that Microsoft seems to be slowly but surely allowing information to seep through is exciting but I’ve already noticed something that may be of particular interest to developers.

As written in the “requirements” section on the “GetUrlCacheConfigInfo Function” page (which I link to as a reference at the end of this post):

It appears that anyone who is familiar with the Winineti.h header in the GetUrlCacheConfigInfo Function will need to make a slight change to their code in Windows 7 Client and Server. While that certainly isn’t a big deal in and of itself, it looks like Microsoft is hard at work with changing things up for developers (by natural process of development, of course; not intentionally to just change things for developers). To what extent things are going to change is anyone’s guess at this point, but if you’re interested in developing for Windows 7, I would start paying close attention to the MSDN Library from here on out and try to get a hold of any Windows 7 bits I could to start fiddling around with. Such actions may help aid in lessening any learning curves present by the time Windows 7 goes gold.

Reference: INTERNET_CACHE_CONFIG_INFO Structure | GetUrlCacheConfigInfo Function

-Stephen

(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)

Being a firm believer of following through and in an effort to once and for all clear the air with the whole “Windows 7 Server was always planned to be Windows Server 2008 R2,” I’ve decided to cook up a timeline of screenshots in chronological order from presentations found right on Microsoft’s servers. This basically shows the shift in timing where Windows 7 Server went from being planned as a major release to an update release (or R2, if you will). A few of these shots are new and a couple of them are already being used in a couple of previous Windows 7 Server posts of mine. If you’re a fairly new reader and haven’t seen those previous posts, then get up out of your chair, stand in it, and (very carefully) proceed to jump up ‘n down for joy while saying, “sinOFsky!” as if you’ve sneezed until someone says “gesundheit!” and asks you why you’re jumping up ‘n down. Show them my site and tell them to spread the word using the exact same method above. hehehe. Anyway, check it out:

What Was: Windows Server 2008 (Codename Longhorn Server) -> Windows Server 2008 R2 (Codename Longhorn Server R2) -> Codename Windows Blackcomb Server (Blackcomb became Vienna and Vienna became 7, so it was thought Windows 7 Server would indeed be what was to be Windows Blackcomb Server)

What Is: Windows Server 2008 (Codename Longhorn Server) -> Windows Server 2008 R2 (Codename: Windows 7 Server) -> Codename Windows 8 Server

2004 – 2005 (Windows Blackcomb Server): In presentations related to Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2, these roadmaps had Blackcomb Server coming after Longhorn R2. (Codename Longhorn Server became Windows Server 2008, so, Longhorn R2 would have been Windows Server 2008 R2 by these roadmaps).

2006 – Part of 2007 (Windows Vienna Server): In this release cycle/roadmap, Windows Server 2008 R2 is no longer defined as its codename (Longhorn Server) and is absolutely differentiated from Vienna Server (which was previously codenamed Blackcomb).

Part of 2007 – Present (Windows 8 Server): As we see here, the shift was made back in 2007 where the codename for Windows Server 2008 R2 becomes Windows Server 7 and officially breaks off from the traditional codename relationship between client and server and aligns both the major and minor server releases with the client release cycle.

If you think about it, this shift makes sense. With major client releases scheduled to happen alongside both major and minor server releases, the codenames for both server and client will constantly be one in the same. So, basically, instead of them working on Windows 7 Client and Windows Longhorn Server R2 (with the next server codename being Windows 7 Server), they’re now working on Windows 7 Client and Server. When they release both, if Sinofsky (aka Anti-Codename Guy) is still running the Windows show, then we’ll have Windows 8 Client and Server and so on and so forth.

While the stereotypical apologetic view of “well, things change internally” certainly applies, as was the case in my previous related posts, my main point is to show even furthermore why many people around the community were quite confused when it was announced that “Windows 7 Server” was in fact scheduled to be an updated server release as opposed to a major release (which, as you can see by the timeline above, we all weren’t crazy for thinking as such).

To all who cared, there ya go. To everyone who thinks this is pointless, I probably would, too, if I were you, so… lol. Until next time…

-Stephen

(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)

Cutting straight to the point here (my oven’s preheating in preparation for corn dogs… mmm… corn dogs…), a recently updated version (dated August 19, 2008) of Microsoft’s WSPP (Workgroup Server Protocol Program) documentation contains information regarding new and modified protocols both in Windows 7 Client and Windows 7 Server. As noted in the following screenshot from said documentation, these protocols will be present in the Beta 1 release of Windows 7:

(…Time to put the corn dogs in the oven… mmm… corn dogs… brb…)

Okay, back. Now, unless you’re in the business of security or a reverse engineer or developer, most of this stuff will go over your head. If you ARE, you may find all of this information quite interesting. There are few new protocols on this list but a ton are modified up to this point… so many, in fact, that I was going to list them here, but I’m waiting for corn dogs and don’t have the patience to go through the whole list. Speaking of that, I’ll be back to finish writing this in a little bit… mmm… corn dogs…

Alright, I’m back again (I heart corn dogs). Basically, there’s a document that tells you what’s updated, what isn’t, which versions of Windows they work for, etc. For everything, there is a corresponding label which allows you to go straight to the PDF document of your choice. For instance, if you want to read into the new BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service) Peer-Caching protocol for Windows 7, you can refer to PDF’s [MS-BPCR], [MS-BPAU], and [MS-BPDP]. You can find all of the PDF documents mentioned in the updated WSPP document on MSDN, searchable as individual documents or all downloadable in one large ZIP file. Links to everything are listed below. *POW!*

References: WSPP/MCPP MSDN Site | Updated WSPP Document | All WSPP PDF’s (ZIP) | All MCPP PDF’s (ZIP)

-Stephen

(Follow me on Twitter: msftkitchen)

On my routine Sunday drive along the internet, I ran across the Microsoft Update Catalog site. Curious as to if anyone with a client or server build of Windows 7 could check for driver updates, I decided to check for myself. While there isn’t a whole heck of a lot that’s interesting at this point (printer drivers, hardware drivers, etc.), it may be worth it to keep an eye on this site. Have a look-see for yourself by clicking on one of the two reference links below the screenshot (screenshot provided just in case MS decides to remove the Windows 7 references). Whichever link you click on, whenever the page loads, click the “Last Updated” tab to order the results by date.

Reference: Windows 7 Client Drivers | Windows 7 Server Drivers

-Stephen

Keep the following in mind: “7” was previously “Vienna”, “Vienna” was previously “Blackcomb”.

As you know, Microsoft recently decided to make everyone feel stupid for assuming Windows Server “7” was ever anything BUT the codename for Windows Server 2008 R2. If that’s true, then see the title to this blog entry. Up until Microsoft stated otherwise, the community’s assumption of the two being separate entities was perfectly pieced together through Microsoft’s minor/major release cycle in conjunction with a mash-up of official Windows Server presentations along the way. Being the net gopher that I am, I decided to dig up anything I could find in regards to Windows Server 2008 R2 being mentioned as a separate entity from Windows Server 7 in the same document, straight from Microsoft. Well, I finally struck gold. This discovery should make folks like MJ Foley, who felt the two were not *always* planned to be one in the same as was so confusingly-yet-authoritatively asserted by Microsoft, quite happy.

Well, there it is; “WS08 R2” (Windows Server 2008 R2) mentioned as an updated release and “Vienna” (again, formerly known as “Blackcomb,” now known as “7”) mentioned as a major release. Now, either a Microsoft employee privy to such information didn’t understand (just like most of us, apparently) that “Vienna” and Windows Server 2008 R2 were actually one in the same, or somewhere along the way, Microsoft decided to change it up. If the latter is the case, then the question is, “why?”

Is it possible that codename “Vienna” was – and still exists internally as – the codename for the next major server release as indicated by the first slide I posted above? A drastic and highly unlikely conclusion, I’m sure, but just a little observation to throw in, none-the-less.

Anyway, my bets are on Microsoft changing it up and if “Blackcomb” = “Vienna” = “7” across the board (meaning, those codenames were always designated for both client AND server), then “Blackcomb” = Windows Server 2008 R2. If that’s the case, then we may have an indication of Windows Server 2008 R2 being planned to be as significant to the server line as XP SP2 was for client. Since bits and pieces of the original “Blackcomb” vision have already come to see the light of day, does that mean “Blackcomb” will be fully realized in Windows Server 2008 R2, thus the desire to codename it, “Windows Server 7”? Regardless of what it means, I am now more curious than ever as to why they gave an update release a codename that was once clearly designated for a major release, and at that, why they’re downplaying the confusion of the community by saying, “we don’t know what you all are talking about, because it was always planned like this…”

Microsoft: Your confusion. Our laughter.

-Stephen

First of all, a GINORMOUS “THANK YOU!” to Mary Jo Foley for bringing to my attention and piquing my interest in regards to Microsoft’s recent announcement that Windows 7 Server is (and always has been, apparently) synonymous with Windows Server 2008 R2. If not for her, I probably would’ve simply forgotten about the following information for much longer than I already have. lol. Anyway, thanks, MJ! You da (wo)MAN! =)

First thing’s first: If you haven’t heard, Microsoft managed to thoroughly confuse the crap out of much of the community by dropping one of their infamous ambiguity bombs: Windows Server 2008 R2 (slated for a 2010 release) = Windows 7 Server.

Derrrrr, HUH!?

Allllrighty, then! So, those of us who have been adhering closely to Microsoft’s release cycle up to this point by assuming (comfortably, I might add) Windows Server 2008 R2 would come well-before Windows 7 Server were basically dropped off in the land of “wtfville”. Interesting place, this “wtfville!” What’s there to potentially learn here in “wtfville?” Let’s find out, shall we? Yes, we shall.

For your reference, here is a slide dated November, 2007 that I’ve had for way too long to not have done anything with it by now, but perhaps that’s best since it may provide some sort of clarity to Microsoft’s recent statement. This does make Microsoft’s seemingly odd statement mesh (Full resolution image at the click of a mouse!):

Interesting slides here in “wtfville.” Let’s recap:

Windows Server “7″: 2011
Windows Server “8″: 2013
Windows Server “9″: 2015

DRAMA!

If Windows 7 Server really is Windows Server 2008 R2, then does that roadmap imply the following?

Windows Server “7″ = Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server “8″ = Windows Server 2013
Windows Server “9″ = Windows Server 2013 R2

I assume they’re just going to treat every minor and major update for the next 7 years or so not as they have up to this point, but rather in their newly-adorned numerical codename format. The question from there is how does Microsoft then plan on publicly referencing those server releases? By their ambiguous numerical codenames or as is assumed by me above… or better yet, in some kind of top-secret ninja format where one must DIE if they ever found out! (Any takers that Sinofsky would go for the extreme latter if he could? hehehe)

Let’s make this even MORE confusing by tweaking that roadmap to fit their latest projected year of release for Windows 7 Server (aka Windows Server 2008 R2, mind you) in the following January 2008 server roadmap (Confucious say: “Clicky-clicky for full resolution image.” Long Zheng say: “I don’t talk like that, Stephen. Prepare to die, Stephen.”):

Windows Server “7″: 2010
Windows Server “8″: 2012
Windows Server “9″: 2014

Then, we would have:

Windows Server “7″ = Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server “8″ = Windows Server 2012
Windows Server “9″ = Windows Server 2014 R2

Actually, let’s get even MORE wacky in “wtfville” by referencing the following slide out of a February 2008 presentation which tentatively places Windows Server 2008 R2 in a 2009 release slot (You know what to do for a full resolution image… I hope):

Hmm, “Windows 2012 Server” DOES have a nice ring to it, now that I think about it! Anyway, Microsoft’s release cycle of 2 years between minor releases and 4 years between major releases still seems to apply regardless of which slide we reference above. Don’t forget that the exact date of release may fall on what appears to be the 1st, 3rd or even 5th year due to a number of factors, such as whether they go by the calendar year, their fiscal year, etc. Basically, what I’m taking away from this is that Microsoft has decided to go with a numerically sequential codename standard. Man, if Microsoft was superstitious, imagine the confusion and mass chaos to ensue when they got to Windows 2013 Server or Windows Server “13″! …oh yeah, I forgot… they ARE superstitious. *cough, cough* OFFICE 14 *cough, cough*

Well, “wtfville,” it’s been real and it’s been fun but it hasn’t been real fun, if you know what I mean! And now, let’s see what MJ’s take on all of this is. GO!

-Steve-O

PS – Yes, I realize I used “Windows Server ’7′” and “Windows 7 Server” interchangeably, but so does Microsoft, so, PUH! =)

Oh, and Rafael Rivera Jr. say:

UPDATE: Supposedly, this really was all just a matter of Windows 7 Server being the internal codename for what will be Windows Server 2008 R2 but MJ doesn’t buy it.