Windows Server 2012 Unleashed

This is the most comprehensive and realistic guide to Windows Server 2012 planning, design, prototyping, implementation, migration, administration, and support. Extensively updated, it contains unsurpassed independent and objective coverage of Windows Server 2012’s key innovations, including improved virtualization components, enhanced security tools, new web and management resources, and Windows 8 integration.

Windows Server 2012 Unleashed reflects the authors’ extraordinary experience implementing Windows Server 2012 in large-scale environments since its earliest alpha releases, reaching back more than two years prior to its official launch. Microsoft MVP Rand Morimoto and his colleagues fully address every aspect of deploying and operating Windows Server 2012, including Active Directory, networking and core application services, security, migration from Windows Server 2003/2008, administration, fault tolerance, optimization, troubleshooting, and much more.

Valuable for Windows professionals at all skill levels, this book will be especially indispensable for intermediate-to-advanced level professionals seeking expert, in-depth solutions. Every chapter contains tips, tricks, best practices, and lessons learned from actual deployments: practical information for using Windows Server 2012 to solve real business problems.

•   Plan and migrate from Windows Server 2003 and 2008
•   Leverage powerful capabilities that are truly new in Windows Server 2012
•   Install Windows Server 2012 and the GUI-less Windows Server Core
•   Upgrade to Windows Server 2012 Active Directory
•   Utilize advanced AD capabilities including federated forests and identity management
•   Plan and deploy network services, from DNS and DHCP to IPv6, IPAM, and IIS
•   Protect systems and data with server-level security, transport-level security, and security policies
•   Deliver true end-to-end secured anytime/anywhere access to remote/mobile clients
•   Efficiently configure and manage users, sites, OUs, domains, and for­ests through Server Manager console
•   Create more fault-tolerant environ­ments with DFS, clustering, and Network Load Balancing
•   Leverage major Hyper-V virtualization improvements in availability, redun­dancy, and guest support
•   Manage Active Directory more efficiently with Active Directory Administrative Center, Best Practice Analyzer, and PowerShell scripts
•   Systematically tune, optimize, debug, and troubleshoot Windows Server 2012

Rand Morimoto, Ph.D., MVP, MCITP, CISSP, has been in the computer industry for more than 30 years and has authored, coauthored, or been a contributing writer for dozens of books on Windows, Security, Exchange, BizTalk, and Remote and Mobile Computing. Rand is the president of Convergent Computing, an IT-consulting firm in the San Francisco Bay area that has been one of the key early adopter program partners with Microsoft, implementing the latest Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, System Center 2012, Windows 7, Exchange Server 2013, Windows Server 2012, and SharePoint 2010 in production environments more than 18 months before the initial product releases.

Michael Noel, MCITP, MVP, is an internationally recognized technology expert, bestselling author, and well-known public speaker on a broad range of IT topics. He authored multiple major industry books that have been translated into more than a dozen languages worldwide. Michael has presented at over one hundred technical and business conferences in more than fifty countries around the world and on all seven continents, including the first ever IT conference in Antarctica. Currently a partner at Convergent Computing (www.cco.com) in the San Francisco Bay area, Michael’s writing and extensive public-speaking experience across all seven continents leverage his real-world expertise in helping organizations realize business value from Information Technology infrastructure.

Guy Yardeni, MCITP, CISSP, MVP, is an accomplished infrastructure architect, author, and overall geek-for-hire. Guy has been working in the IT industry for more than 15 years and has extensive experience designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise technology solutions. Guy is an expert at connecting business requirements to technology solutions and driving to successful completion the technical details of the effort while maintaining overall goals and vision. Guy maintains a widely read technical blog at www.rdpfiles.com and is a Windows MVP.

Omar Droubi, MCSE, MCTS, has maintained a successful career and delivered quality work as a senior Information Technology professional for more than 20 years by keeping current with the latest technological developments and trends. As a writer, he has coauthored several Sams Publishing best-selling books, including Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Unleashed, Windows Server 2008 Unleashed, and Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed. Omar has also been a contributing writer and technical reviewer on several Microsoft Exchange Server books and publications. He has been deeply involved in testing, designing, and prototyping Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 for the past several years and plans to assist organizations in getting the most out of the latest features included in the products.

Andrew Abbate enjoys the position of principal consultant and partner at Convergent Computing. With nearly 20 years of experience in IT, Andrew’s area of expertise is understanding a business’s needs and translating that to process and technologies to solve real problems. Having worked with companies from the Fortune Ten to companies of 10, Andrew has a unique perspective on IT and a grasp on “big picture” consulting. Andrew has also written eight industry books on varying technologies ranging from Windows to Security to Unified Communications.

Chris Amaris, MCITP, MCTS, CISSP/ISSAP, CHS III, is the chief technology officer and cofounder of Convergent Computing. He has more than 20 years experience consulting for Fortune 500 companies, leading companies in the technology selection, design, planning, and implementation of complex information technology projects. Chris has worked with Microsoft System Center products such as Operations Manager and Configuration Manager since their original releases in 2000 and 1994. He specializes in messaging, security, performance tuning, systems management, and migration. Receiving his first Microsoft technologies certification in 1993, Chris is a current Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) with multiple Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications in System Center technologies, a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) with an Information System Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP) concentration, Certified Homeland Security (CHS III), a Novell CNE, a Banyan CBE, and a Certified Project Manager. Chris is also an author, writer, and technical editor for a number of IT books, including System Center 2012 Unleashed, Network Security for Government and Corporate Executives, Exchange 2010 Unleashed , and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed.