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[8/12/2008]

Serious VMware Bug
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There is a serious bug that causes the licenses to expire in Service Pack 2 of VMware ESX 3.5. This makes it impossible to restart any virtual server guest on the host. The workaround is to set the host date prior to 8/12/08, but if you're synching your virtual server guests with the host, this can cause serious problems with Active Directory (AD) because the time will be off. If you do change back the date on the host, make sure that all of the virtual server guests that run on ESX do not synch their time with the ESX host. This is an option in the VMware tools that run on the virtual server guest. This should be resolved by Wednesday.
- posted by Gayle Rodcay Alan Sugano

[8/3/2007]

A Dreary Black Hat
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8/1/0/7 It’s raining here as the Annual Blackhat security conference starts here in Las Vegas. Its a rare event in the desert, keeping the skies overcast and cooler than the average 105 degrees F in July. An inauspicious beginning to a conference trying to refocus its mission while broadening its audience, a hard thing to do even when you aren’t under new ownership. The show was sold last year to CMP Media, not exactly your avant garde, counterculture company so its going to be hard put to keep its just this side of legitimate cred. However, Blackhat always was the respectable grown up cousin to the accompanying Defcon unabashed hack fest that starts a day later. Blackhat was the show that you could get your company to pay for, so that you could attend Defcon on the weekend. So perhaps a transition to more corporate participation is a natural thing. After all, we aren’t getting any older and most of us have real jobs, mortgages, kids and a house in the burbs now. However, just like your kids, it’s a bit bitter sweet to see them grow up. However, not all hope is lost yet. Our classic measure of a show “jumping the shark” is what we like to call the “pony tail to suit” ratio. As soon as the show attendance ratio of Ponytails (read practitioners) to Suits (read salespeople or other folks simply on a company paid junket), it has passed it ability to give useful education and serves mainly as a corporate showcase and another way to drain your company training allowance. We saw this happen in the computer reseller industry, the network industry and the ISP industry. In fact, once you start referring to a group of companies as an industry, you are well on your way. However, I’d rate Blackhat’s P/S ratio at about 70/30 right now so perhaps we have a few more good years. But I think this process is inevitable and a big company taking over the reins certainly doesn’t slow it down, though I’m sure Jeff Moss will do his best (when hes done counting his millions). By the way, congrats Jeff on a well deserved reward for providing us with years of two great shows. Another sunny forecast is the swag report. It seems this year vendors remembered that the way to a geeks heart is not a pile of literature or a rambling sales pitch but rather free tshirts and other geeky gear. After all, we will be mowing the lawn in that t-shirt and drinking coffee from that mug long after the literature has been deposited in the hotel room trash cause we couldn’t fit it all in our suitcases. Deep pockets also has other benefits. The check-in facilities are now what you expect at a show of this size, long rows of check in booths. Granted we didn’t get checked in any faster than before. The key note speeches were delivered to multiple rooms with a video link to the main ballroom. This cut down on the standing room only jam-packed rooms of the past and made it much more comfortable. Though, it was a bit Big Brotherish watching a giant talking head on the screen (especially when its Richard Clarks face yapping). Weird seeing the speaker react to things off screen or take questions from unseen speakers. However overall, an improvement. And of course its still blackhat in all the ways we’ve come to love and hate. A/V screwups, unintelligible speakers and schedule typos. Some things just don’t change. CMP has also brought in gold plated sponsors such as Cisco and Microsoft. Even though they are a platinum sponsor (The biggest you can buy), I think MS is still a big unsure of what to do at this show. They don’t want to not be there, especially when half the seminars are about breaking their software, but they haven’t figured out where they fit in. So they have a booth where they hand out drink coasters disguised as Windows 2008 Server beta copies and look vacantly into space or play with their blackberries. Honestly Ive never approached a vendor booth at a show and not been drawn into the “vendor tractor beam” of attention and salesmanship like I was at theirs., It was both refreshing and disturbing at the same time. The keynotes were given by Richard Clarke and Bruce Schneier. Richards was more of his less government is good screeds which is curious considering he was President Bushes staff just a few years ago promoting exactly the opposite. I guess that cured him of being a big government fan. Bruce’s speech was quite interesting if a bit obtuse about the psychology of security and our unexpected penchants for risk/reward. A good topic for the setting (Las Vegas) and Bruce is always an engaging speaker regardless of the subject. The sessions have been nicely technical. I know if I feel out of my depth in some of the presentations, then the show hasn’t truly lost its technical edge yet. Lets hope they can keep it up. Now we are off to Defcon (after a pitstop at the blackjack and craps tables to test out some of those risk/reward theories of Bruce’s). More on that in a few days.
- posted by Tony Howlett

[5/12/2007]

Two Head Scratching Announcements from RIM
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Over the past few weeks Research in Motion - creators of the near ubiquitous BlackBerry mobile e-mail solution - has made two announcements that have left me scratching my head. I haven't seen these particular announcements get much mention on the Internet and I haven't seen any in-depth commentary or analysis either.

I believe RIM is up to something. Exactly what it is I don't know, but my gut tells me there's something going on here.

The first announcement was made on April 23, 2007. RIM issued this press release stating their intention to "expand its support for Windows Mobile-based devices with a new software application suite." They plan on doing this by releasing an application for "select devices" based on Windows Mobile 6 later this year.

The application will be a "virtual BlackBerry" running on top of Windows Mobile 6. Upon starting the application you'll be presented with the entire suite of BlackBerry applications including e-mail, calendar, notes, tasks, etc. in addition to being able to run 3rd-party applications written for the BlackBerry platform.

The second announcement was made on May 7, 2007 during the Wireless Enterprise Symposium. RIM issued this press release stating their intention to release a plug-in for Visual Studio that "extends the Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 rapid development environment to enable the creation of rich BlackBerry MDS Runtime applications for BlackBerry smartphones." This plug-in is planned to be a free release later this year. A preview page has already been created.

Standing by itself, the Visual Studio plug-in makes a lot of sense. It enables developers to write applications for the BlackBerry platform using a tool that many already know and use daily. Combine this with the announcement of the "virtual BlackBerry" a few weeks prior and things become a bit more hazy.

Why would RIM which by all accounts is enjoying massive success with the BlackBerry, both in hardware and software, decide to invest time and effort porting their OS and applications (written in Java mind you) to run on the platform developed by their main competitor?

There's no way Microsoft loses by them porting the BlackBerry platform to Windows Mobile. Microsoft will still sell Windows Mobile devices and Exchange Server regardless of which route an organization takes for mobile messaging (Exchange/DirectPush or Exchange/BlackBerry). I've been speaking with our own Karen Forster about all of this for the past few weeks and she wondered aloud if I was thinking that Microsoft might be on the path to buy RIM. That's certainly one possibility. It becomes even more possible when you factor in Steve Ballmer's recent comments about large deals being "conceivable."

Perhaps RIM wants out of the hardware business? In this post on the Windows Mobile Team blog, Mike Calliagro notes that: "While Microsoft writes the bulk of the software on a WM device, a significant amount of it is written by the OEM or ODM who created the hardware." Maybe RIM doesn't want to bother with this anymore.

It's also possible that RIM sees an opportunity here for folks who have a Windows Mobile device right now and aren't satisfied with Microsoft's DirectPush technology. These people might love to switch over to the BlackBerry platform but don't want to buy new hardware. Of course, they're probably running Windows Mobile 5 devices right now and the virtual BlackBerry will only run on Windows Mobile 6. Plus why not simply buy a BlackBerry handheld? I was able to pick up a brand new BlackBerry 7290 for only $49 with a two-year contract late last year through T-Mobile.

There must be some strategic end game here that I'm not seeing. I'd love to hear some reader's thoughts on this!


- posted by Michael Dragone

[4/17/2007]

New Generation of Certifications for Longhorn Server
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Editor’s Note: Welcome to the new Situation Room blog. Our writers and editors want to provide a place where you can go to find out the latest developments on important topics in the IT world and get experts’ opinions and advice as developments happen. This blog was inspired by the recent U.S. Daylight Savings Time (DST) issues, and we wanted to have a place for dialog and up-to-the-minute information about timely developments.

The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification and its two related specializations, MCSE: Security and MCSE: Messaging, are highly valued and sought-after credentials. Likewise, the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) credential and its two related specializations (Security and Messaging) are also popular and highly sought after. Many IT professionals have been eager to know what changes will be occurring to the Microsoft Certifications program in the Longhorn timeframe. I recently attended a Microsoft Live Meeting held by members of the Microsoft Learning team and would like to share the fruit of that meeting with you.

It’s important to note that the current iteration of both the MCSA and MCSE credentials for Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003 are not being retired any time soon and will stay on your Microsoft Certified Professional Transcript indefinitely. Likewise, these credentials are not changing.

A key takeaway from the Live Meeting was that people who are currently pursuing their MCSA/MCSE on Windows Server 2003 and who have already completed some exams should attempt to complete the credential because an upgrade path to the Longhorn certifications will be available. In fact, you can now use various exams based on current products, such as Windows Vista and Exchange Server 2007, as credit towards your MCSA/MCSE. Information about this will be posted soon to the Microsoft Learning site.

You’ll notice that in connection with that upgrade path, I specified the 2003 version of these credentials. Please note that there will be no upgrade path from Windows 2000 to the Longhorn credentials. Furthermore, Windows 2000-related exams will be retired on March 30, 2008. This includes the 2000 to 2003 upgrade exams: exam 70-292 and exam 70-296. A Microsoft Learning senior product manager for IT Professional and Developer Certifications explained that these retirements are based on Microsoft’s published mainstream support timeline and that, at the point of retirement, these particular exams will have been available in the industry for eight years.

A New Generation

Last year, Microsoft Learning redesigned the certification program in an effort to “create more targeted, relevant and cost-effective certifications.” Specifically, the new generation of certifications is based on the following three principles.

Principle 1: Targeted & Flexible

·         Create certifications that reflect specific job roles

·         Create credentials that allow individuals to identify custom skill sets

Principle 2: Rigorous & Credible

·         Advance testing technology using simulations, case study, and other complex methodologies

·         Create straightforward exam paths that test more completely and accurately

Principle 3: Relevant & Simple

·         Technology exams verify depth in using technology

·         Professional exams verify relevant job role skills

The new generation of certifications consists of three skill areas and four credentials.

Skill Area 1: Core Technical Skills

·         Proven skills on Microsoft technologies

·         Credential: Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist

·         1-3 exams per credential

·         Certification retires when mainstream product support for the product being tested ends

·         Focused on a key product or technology (Vista, SQL Server, Exchange, etc.)

·         Does not include job role skills

Skill Area 2: Professional Skills

·         Proven ability to perform on the job

·         Credentials: Microsoft Certified IT Professional and Microsoft Certified Professional Developer

·         1-3 exams per credential

·         Technology Specialist Prerequisite

·         Focused on a single job role

·         Recertification required

Skill Area 3: Business IT Skills

·         Proven ability to delivery business solutions

·         Credential: Microsoft Certified Architect

·         Rigorous entry process

·         Work closely with a mentor

·         Culminate in oral review board

·         Recertification required

For a graphical representation of these skill areas click here.  These areas don’t build up in levels as a pyramid would; they are rather a puzzle with the varying pieces fitting together. In other words, you don’t have to obtain all the credentials on the lower half of the image to become a Microsoft Certified Architect, for example.

The new generation of certifications also means new logos. The new logos are split into two parts, with the left side depicting the credential and the right side enumerating the certification(s) held. For example, a Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) may have completed the requirements to be both an Enterprise Messaging Administrator and an Enterprise Support Technician. A certified professional can use a tool called Logo Builder to combine these certifications into one logo. The new logo allows certification holders to be more readily identified to their peers, managers, clients and recruiters as holding the credentials that are in demand in a given situation.

Longhorn certifications will follow this new framework. Specifically, there will be three Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) credentials. These three are prerequisites for two Microsoft Certified IT Professional credentials. Note that these are credentials, not exams. The exam numbers, exam titles, and exact certification titles are not yet available. This information will be previewed to Microsoft Certified Professionals in May and generally announced in June. If you want to be the first to know about these details, sign up for the MCP Flash newsletter here.

If you are currently certified as an MCSA/MCSE on Windows Server 2003, upgrade exams to the MCTS credentials will be available. One exam will upgrade MCSA; an additional exam is required for MCSE. Please note that there is no upgrade path from MCSA/MCSE to MCITP. You will first have to pass the one or two exams required to upgrade your credential to MCTS. From there you can take whatever exams are required to obtain the MCITP credentials.

As I mentioned, recertification of these credentials will be required every three years. Recertification is likely to be a MCTS exam, and if this is not completed within the three-year window, your certification is not revoked but expired. You will need to pass only the relevant recertification exam to be reinstated. Details are yet to be provided on what will occur when a product covered by an MCTS credential enters the mainstream support phase and the credential is retired. Many certified professionals were curious to know whether their transcript would show “retired” or “expired” or merely disappear altogether.

As you might have guessed based on all of this information, there will no longer be any specializations (either Security or Messaging) in the Longhorn certifications. Existing credentials highlight these skill sets: For example, Exchange Administrators can earn the MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator credential.

Mark Your Calendar
Going forward, here are some key dates to keep in mind:

• April 18, 2007: 2007 Office System Certifications Live Meeting. These certifications are also being updated from the existing Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) credentials to a new generation. Click here  for details on the new credentials.
• May 2007: Preview of Longhorn certifications to current MCPs
• May 2007: Vista/Exchange Certification Review Live Meeting
• May 2007: Integrity in Microsoft Certifications Live Meeting
• June 2007: Microsoft Certified Architect Live Meeting
• June 2007: MCSA/MCSE to Longhorn MCTS upgrade exams in beta at TechEd 2007 (and likely expanded to other MCPs afterwards – click here  for more information on beta exams)
• June 30, 2007: Complete your MCSA/MCSE 2003 credential by this date and save 40% on your Longhorn upgrade exam. Click here for details. You must register for this offer.
• October 31, 2007: Windows Server Longhorn expected RTM
• RTM + 30 days: MCTS exams released
• RTM + 60 days: MCITP exams released

      To view a recorded version of the Longhorn certifications Live Meeting that was held on March 28, 2007, please visit Trika Harms Zum Spreckel’s blog. You’ll also find a link there to the recorded Live Meeting that was held regarding Exchange 2007 certifications. Trika’s blog is a great addition to your RSS reader if you want to stay current on the latest happenings in Microsoft Certifications.


- posted by Michael Dragone