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Tag Archives: WindowsServer2012


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Whats new with Azure Connected Machine agent #Azure #AzureArc #Winserv #ESU

Azure Connected Machine Agent Update version 1.34

New features

  • Extended Security Updates for Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 can be purchased and enabled through Azure Arc. If your server is already running the Azure Connected Machine agent, upgrade to agent version 1.34 or later to take advantage of this new capability.
  • Additional system metadata is collected to enhance your device inventory in Azure:
    • Total physical memory
    • Additional processor information
    • Serial number
    • SMBIOS asset tag
  • Network requests to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) now use login.microsoftonline.com instead of login.windows.net

Fixed

  • Better handling of disconnected agent scenarios in the extension manager and policy engine.

Use Azure Update Manager with Azure Arc enabled Windows Server 2012 R2 for Extended Security Updates

The Azure Connected Machine agent receives improvements on an ongoing basis. To stay up to date with the most recent developments, this article provides you with information about:

  • The latest releases
  • Known issues
  • Bug fixes

This page is updated monthly, so revisit it regularly. If you’re looking for items older than six months, you can find them in archive for What’s new with Azure Connected Machine agent.

Here you find more information about Microsoft Azure Arc for Hybrid IT Management

Here you find more information on Microsoft Tech Community Blog about Extended Security Update Options

JOIN the Microsoft Azure Hybrid Community on LinkedIn

 


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#Microsoft Active Directory from on-premises to the #cloud with #WindowsAzure

Active Directory WindowsAzure

Active Directory in WindowsAzure.

SSO with Windows Azure AD

 Enable single sign-on (SSO) with Windows Azure AD

 

The cloud is changing the way in which applications are written. Accelerated market cycles, multi-tenancy, pure cloud solutions and hybrid deployments, Web programmability, and the rise of devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) as well as rich clients as consumption models offer without any doubt new opportunities.

They also present at the same time new challenges for the key services both on-premises and through the (hybrid) cloud that represent the identity management, the provisioning, the role management, and the authentication.

With:

  • The Bring Your Own Apps (BYOA) for cloud and Software as a Service (SaaS) applications,
  • The desire to better collaborate a la Facebook with the “social” enterprise,
  • The need to support and integrate with social networks, which lead to a Bring Your Own Identity (BYOI) trend,
  • Etc.

Identity becomes a service where identity “bridges” in the cloud “talk” to on-premise directories or the directories themselves move and/or are located in the cloud (see Gartner report 2013 Planning Guide: Identity and Privacy[1]).

Identity, like compute and storage and networking, is an essential platform service.  In the same way that identity played a critical role in the adoption of workgroup computing, identity services will play a critical role as organizations adopt the cloud.  Organizations will use cloud services and applications created by ISVs, Platform as a Service (PaaS) cloud platforms for (Line of Business (LOB)) custom development, (as well as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud environment for specific workloads to onboard the cloud for IT optimization reasons).

Kim Cameron, Microsoft Chief Identity Architect, is convinced[2] that “organizations will find they need new identity management capabilities to take full advantage of the cloud. They will also find that the most reliable and cost-effect way to obtain these capabilities is through Identity Management as a Service – i.e. using the cloud to master the cloud.

We can therefore predict with certainty that almost all organizations will subscribe to identity services that are cheaper, broader in scope and more capable than the systems of today.

Enterprises will use these services to manage authentication and authorization of internal employees, the supply chain, and customers (including individuals), leads and prospects. Governments will use them when interacting with other government agencies, enterprises and citizens.

Identity Management as a Service will require that we move beyond the models of identity management that have guided our thinking to date. A new service-based model will emerge combining more advanced capabilities with externalization of operations to achieve reduction in risk, effort and cost.”


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UPDATE : What’s New in Windows Server 2012 RC

The content in this section describes what’s new and changed in Windows Server 2012 RC.

  • What’s New in AD CS? Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) in Windows Server 2012 provides multiple new features and capabilities over previous versions. This document describes new deployment, manageability, and capabilities added to AD CS in Windows Server 2012.
  • What’s new in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in Windows Server 2012 includes new features that make it simpler and faster to deploy domain controllers (both on-premises and in the cloud), more flexible and easier to both audit and authorize access to files, and easier to perform administrative tasks at scale, either locally or remotely, through consistent graphical and scripted management experiences.
  • What’s New in Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS)? Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) is the server role that provides you with management and development tools that work with industry security technologies—including encryption, certificates, and authentication—to help organizations create reliable information protection solutions.
  • What’s New in BitLocker BitLocker encrypts the hard drives on your computer to provide enhanced protection against data theft or exposure on computers and removable drives that are lost or stolen.
  • What’s New in BranchCache BranchCache in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 Release Preview provides substantial performance, manageability, scalability, and availability improvements.
  • What’s New in Failover Clustering Failover clusters provide high availability and scalability to many server workloads. These include file share storage for server applications such as Hyper-V and Microsoft SQL Server, and server applications that run on physical servers or virtual machines.
  • What’s New in File Server Resource Manager File Server Resource Manager provides a set of features that allow you to manage and classify data that is stored on file servers.
  • What’s New in Hyper-V The Hyper-V role enables you to create and manage a virtualized computing environment by using virtualization technology that is built in to Windows Server 2012. Hyper-V virtualizes hardware to provide an environment in which you can run multiple operating systems at the same time on one physical computer, by running each operating system in its own virtual machine.
  • What’s New in Kerberos Authentication The Microsoft Windows Server operating systems implement the Kerberos version 5 authentication protocol and extensions for public key and password-based authentication. The Kerberos authentication client is implemented as a security support provider (SSP) and can be accessed through the Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI).
  • What’s New for Managed Service Accounts Standalone Managed Service Accounts, which were introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7, are managed domain accounts that provide automatic password management and simplified SPN management, including delegation of management to other administrators.
  • What’s New in Remote Desktop Services The Remote Desktop Services server role in Windows Server 2012 provides technologies that enable users to connect to virtual desktops, RemoteApp programs, and session-based desktops. With Remote Desktop Services, users can access remote connections from within a corporate network or from the Internet.
  • What’s New in Security Auditing Security auditing is one of the most powerful tools to help maintain the security of an enterprise. One of the key goals of security audits is to verify regulatory compliance.
  • What’s New in Smart Cards Smart cards and their associated personal identification numbers (PINs) are an increasingly popular, reliable, and cost-effective form of two-factor authentication. With the right controls in place, a user must have the smart card and know the PIN to gain access to network resources.
  • What’s New in TLS/SSL (Schannel SSP) Schannel is a Security Support Provider (SSP) that implements the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) Internet standard authentication protocols. The Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI) is an API used by Windows systems to perform security-related functions including authentication.
  • What’s New for Windows Deployment Services Windows Deployment Services is a server role that enables you to remotely deploy Windows operating systems. You can use it to set up new computers by using a network-based installation.

Download Microsoft Windows Server 2012 RC here (ISO and VHD)