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Thursday, August 21, 2008
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WS2008: Good but far from perfect, as expected

As the official launch nears, this review of Microsoft's long-awaited Windows Server 2008 shows that the new OS delivers pretty much as expected. The good news is that review does confirm that the new OS is speedy, more secure and easier to manage than previous versions. The no-surprise news is that the lack of virtualization hurts it. The twist is that its network-access control features are wanting.

The fact that its NAC scheme, (which Microsoft calls Network Access Protection -- NAP) is not compatible with non-Windows and older versions of Windows is particularly troublesome. It is also par for the course for Microsoft these days. Rather than make its product the go-to choice for any client, Microsoft would rather pretend the world wants Vista.

Go to Microsoft Subnet for more news, blogs, opinion.

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nap is coming to windows xp

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nap is coming to windows xp with service pack 3

Hmmm...

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NAC is a Cisco product... NAP is a platform, not a product. It is a standard with APIs that many parties are embracing.

It is up to the companies to design NAP tools for their products. Soon one should be available for Linux http://www.avendasystems.com/products/nap/ .

And Apple from what I understand also has one in the works.

It never ceases to amaze how the staunchly anti-Microsoft people "out there" will say anything to try and validate their disdain for the company. Even when it doesn't make any sense.

NAP and Linux

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You can have doubts about NAP without being "staunchly anti-Microsoft". NAP client's auto-remediation is of particular concern as it raises the question of who owns the computer -- the user or the network. NAP also assumes the local network is not hostile, which is an odd assumption in these days of coffee shop access points.

NAP is also very Windows-focussed. For example, what is the meaning of running anti-virus software under Linux -- it can't be meant literally, so what does it mean? Yet most networks will require anti-virus software in their NAP profile. You can also take the opposite case -- I'd be very annoyed at a network which turned off SELinux on my machine.

A nice review, by the way.

Linux antivirus

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AV matters for Linux because Linux can still forward a Windows virus to a vulnerable system. So there are several proprietary AV solutions for Linux, plus ClamAV, which is open source.

Can it do these and with such elegance?

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alias sex "updatedb; locate; talk; date; cd; strip; look; touch; finger; unzip;"

OR

find . -name 'agregados' -type d \( -exec find {} -type f -mtime -10 -exec ll {} \; \) \;

OR

05 1 * * * /usr/bin/curl -u username:password http://www.somewhere.com/nightly/mailing.php

A "feature"

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nice article. I've used win2k8 for some time now and noticed that MSDN version has a"feature" or something that slows network down BADLY after 2 days uptime.. wonder if it is a ment to be feature before offical release or just MSND trick.

2008 Server

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who cares, more junk in the trunk. Like Vista nobody needs it just those who want to play the
" lets upgrade game ". We will live without it and the next one too.

Upgrade - Smupgrade

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We are using the Commodore 64 here at my company and I agree - upgrades are only for those who want to play that game. Guess what - We do not have any Anti-Virus software or Virus issues. Our IT charges are minimal and we have standardized on our office suite without fear of upcoming upgrades. Apple, Microsoft, etc - great if you have money to burn (microsoft PC Guy) or are a stoner (Apple Slacker dude).

Here, Here!

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Well, fancy pants C64 dude, in MY company, we use a Commodore Pet using the Pet-a-Linux distro to do all our heavy lifting. In fact, my IT Director got a hernia just last week from trying to relocate the server to the new datacenter (we have a Beowolf cluster of those suckers! We found them in a high-school dumpster. How's THAT for economical?).

good grief

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so you antiques like slow performance with no vision for improvement... clever

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The Microsoft Subnet blog is the official blog of the Network World's Microsoft Subnet community, managed by editor Julie Bort. Microsoft Subnet is the independent voice of Microsoft customers and is your gateway to daily Microsoft news, blogs, opinion, books, prize giveaways and more. Visit the Microsoft Subnet index page daily, and while you are there, subscribe to the Microsoft newsletter. The newsletter includes news generated by the Microsoft Subnet community as well as other Microsoft news stories published by Network World.

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